catching up

i can't believe it, but i have a number of finished projects to show you! i feel like i haven't been knitting much lately, yet i have accumulated some finished knits... how did that happen?

first up: noro silk garden socks


pattern: basic top down with a ribbed cuff and a standard slipped stitch heel flap.
yarn: noro silk garden (duh) - 1 skein
needles: size 2 (or 1.5, not sure...)
size: cast on 64 sts
result: love! colorful and surprisingly soft.
rav

next up: drops lace hat


pattern: drops slouchy lace hat
yarn: brown sheep cotton fleece, 1 skein, bright blue
needles: sizes 3 & 5
result: love! great summer hat (is that an oxymoron?)
rav

lastly: lotus leaf mittens


pattern: lotus leaf mittens by elliphantom
yarn: louet gems fingering in red and sky blue
needles: size 2
result: love! (i realize this is a love-fest). they are a little snug in the thumb, but otherwise they fit perfectly. the pattern is wonderfully written and fun to knit. i didn't do the greatest job carrying the red yarn around to the start of each round, but i don't care. when i'm wearing them, i hardly notice the sloppy stitches.
rav

whew! that was quite the back- log...

progress continues on some other projects, which i hope to post up soon. hope everyone is enjoying a fun and active summer!

p.s. eek! i almost forgot... i just spent a delightful weekend with evergreen knits and her husband camping and climbing outside of tucson. we had beautiful weather and tons of fun. if you're reading, thanks for driving down and hanging out hanna!!

posted by rockbridge @ 10:40 AM 2 Comments

climbing...

... is getting in the way of my knitting.


my fingertips are so sore and damaged i can't handle needles. so sad! especially since i just started 2 new projects: coraline and a drops lace hat. i've also started float (rav link), by Melinda Hunt - such a gorgeous pattern!

posted by rockbridge @ 12:12 PM 1 Comments

MOM

for all of you who have been touched by (breast) cancer... you were in my thoughts this weekend.

posted by rockbridge @ 7:49 AM 1 Comments

Endings and beginnings

i've been waxing philosophical and feeling a bit nostalgic these days.. As my time as a grad student draws to a close (May 4 and i am done for good!), i'm starting to find it hard to think about letting go of my life here in the desert. my friends are so wonderful and my life is so rich and full of adventure. the mountains are out my back door and the rocks are plenty and fun to climb on (and study).


what will i do when i have to relocate? what happens when i can no longer ride my bike everywhere and i have to take into consideration the cold and the rain? i like T-shirts and flip flops and slow paces and the outdoors. i hate traffic and paperwork and dressing up and... i guess i'm having a temper tantrum because i equate those things with growing up and i don't want to grow up. i'm scared to not be a student any longer. student = young. being a student is like having a pass to live cheaply and simply and to be a bit brazen and irresponsible in your choices. not that i am... i've become pretty square, but it's part of my student mindset. aaaahhh, my student life is ending...

also ending is my time spent on the central park hoodie. it is done! finished! no longer a WIP!


i don't have much to say about it other than 1) i'm proud of it. i did a good job with the finishing (the side seams are totally invisible!). toot toot on my own horn. 2) i wish it were a little longer. 3) i wish it didn't make me look so square and pudgy. 3) cascade 220 is really a great value - no wonder everyone uses it. and 4) seaming really isn't that bad. i think there's a sick part of that actually like knitting in pieces and sewing them together.



needles: 8 (ribbing too)
yarn: cascade 220 (5 skeins?)
buttons: coconut buttons from Jo-Ann fabrics
time spent: not sure, but it was fast knitting
details: here

Henry was waay to cool for the photo shoot. he's, like, totally over it.

oh, and did i mention beginnings? there are some of those around here, too. for example, life with short hair! i cut it all off and i couldn't be happier. or, how 'bout some noro socks?


these are flying on US 2s and the silk garden sock is fun to knit with. in fact, i'm almost done with the second one already! i marvel and how i am even able to knit and write a dissertation at the same time (toot toot)!

posted by rockbridge @ 6:20 PM 3 Comments

Trip Report: Red Rock, NV

I know this is supposed to be a knitting blog, but sometimes the knitting just isn't as exciting as other life events... bear with me though, I'm nearing a couple of FOs and will be posting them soon!

I took a mini climbing trip to Red Rock last weekend and had a blast. RR has got be one of my most favorite places to climb. It's huge, the possibilities are endless, and it offer tons of long, moderate trad climbs.


Day 1: The epic. After going around in circles about what to climb, we settled on a 4-pitch climb called Johnny Vegas which takes you to a large ledge from which you have the option of either descending or continuing up another 7-9 pitches to the top of the formation. We really wanted to get to the top, but thought we thought we'd play it by ear...

I led the 1st pitch, which was easy and tons of fun. When my bf got to the belay ledge he said he had gotten sick at the bottom and wasn't feeling great, but didn't want to give up on the climb. So the dubious honor of leading the remaining pitches fell to me. Nowhere to go but up, I led through the climb, enjoying every move and challenge. It couldn't have been more fun and satisfying. While I felt horrible for my dear bf, I loved the experience.


At the ledge, we ate a little something and he started feeling a little better. What should we do? Continue on up! From the ledge we climbed Solar Slab wandering many pitches up a huge sandstone wall, full of awesome cracks and interesting plate-y face climbing. Because walking off the top would have been an adventure of several hours, we decided to stop short of the top and rappel the route. After a couple of hours and 8+ rappels, we were safely back on terra firma, although we did the walk back out of the canyon by headlamp. 'Twas a spectacular day!


Day 2: after getting up at the crack of dawn the previous day, we slept in 'til 8 am and slowly packed up and grabbed coffee and breakfast. On the agenda for the day: a 2 pitch climb called Physical Graffiti. The first pitch was a little funky, but the second pitch was a full rope length of awesome hand crack.


After physical graffiti, we thought it might be nice to squeeze in a few more casual single pitch sport routes. So off we went to a place called the panty wall (ick). For some reason, the steeper nature of the sport climbing unnerved me a bit and I found what should have been easy straightforward climbing to be... um... challenging. We led a couple of routes (in shaky form) and called it a day.


Although I ticked a few things off of my to-do list, it's still quite long and I can't wait to get back there!!


Back with knitting soon!

posted by rockbridge @ 9:50 AM 2 Comments

taking shape

i've pretty much been working around the clock lately, but in those few stolen moments, here's what i've eeked out:


i'm finishing the last sleeve now and will seam up and knit the hood soon. i'm feeling very motivated to get this done.


this was my travel project. i've finished one mitten (minus the thumb) and am partway through the second. this mitten looks crumply because it's been folded and shoved in a bag for a long time, but i think it will block out nicely. the pattern is beautiful and very fun to knit - thanks to elliphantom for another great project!

i also snuck out of the lab for about 30 hours last week to participate in a 24-hour mountain bike race. i was the proud captain of a team of 4 rockin women. what a cool event - we had a blast!! other than a 4.5 hour lap due to a broken derailleur and 4 flats (aaaaarrggghhh!), it was smooth sailing. :)

in other news, i'm busy trying to get a job and finish a phd. turns out it's a shitload of work. i miss my knitting!!

posted by rockbridge @ 2:03 PM 0 Comments

Trip highlights (southern China and Vietnam) - a photo tour

posted by rockbridge @ 10:56 AM 1 Comments