Week 7...turning heels and turning heads

"I'm gonna fight 'em off/A seven nation army couldn't hold me back" -The White Stripes ♪
I played a little hooky on Tuesday...instead of going to knitting, I spent some time with my mom and we went out to my favorite restaurant, Texas Roadhouse, and then went shopping. So, for this week I attended the Thursday night knitting class and learned how to turn my first heel.

I'm evil.

First of all, turning a heel is really annoying. I couldn't figure out with the heel flap slip-one-knit-one thing if they were supposed to follow down the line like ribbing or alternate each row like seed stitch, so I kinda winged it. Then came the create-20-stitches-down-the-side thing, where you have to guess the placement of each create one so that it's even when you get to the bottom. I hate winging things and I hate guessing things, so this whole area of the sock SUCKED.

My desire to repeat this process is zero.

Now I'm at the point where I'm decreasing until both needles have the same number of stitches. This requires slip slip knit, which I'm glad I've learned. Then I knit until it is one inch shorter than my big toe. My goal is to do those two things before this Tuesday so I can finish the toe and be done with this sock- 3 classes is waaaay too much time to spend on ONE F#CK!NG SOCK!

Progress on the scarf continues each week. I'd say I'm 75% done at around 4 1/2 feet. I guess the rule of thumb is to make the scarf as tall as the person wearing it, so I've got less than a foot to go.

I'm making more of these puppies for my sister!

I knit the second mitten while nannying Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and then finished the thing on my own on Thursday. This is my first object outside of class that I have cast on, knit successfully, bound off, and sewn in the ends without any help. I had my teachers attach them and now they are being proudly displayed, hanging off my moms curtain rod until winter.


In personal matters, I'd like to lose 10 pounds before I go back to school. I've got 5 weeks and a gym membership, so lets see where this goes. I'd like to be able to run a 5k in 30 minutes, so maybe "training" for that can help me lose weight. At this point in time I can run a mile in 9 1/2 minutes, but halfway through the mile I'm tired and by the end I'm miserable. I don't understand how people can enjoy running- I cramp up and because I have asthma it's hard to breathe.

I was so excited for the vibes, but the weekend was excruciatingly hot. Also, I'm pretty sure we were camped on the breeding ground of angry biting flies. With that combination, I was sweaty and annoyed for the majority of the trip- it was difficult to enjoy everything when that uncomfortable. I bought a new hoop and couldn't even play with it because it was sweltering.

The painfully hot sun sets on our almost fun trip

This weekend my boyfriend and I toured the Boston Harbor Islands, and it was a blast! We did a walking tour of Spectacle Island and then bumbled around Georges Island on our own. We had a groupon for Thai food in the area so we tried out some different cuisine. It was a great time, I was sad to leave! :(

Too bad that indian lady ruined our photo.

Week 5...sock it to me!

"Well in five years time we could be walking round a zoo/With the sun shining down over me and you" -Noah and the Whale ♪

We're sharp!

I have finally won the battle of the socks! I was emailed a flyer announcing my LYS was having a 20% off everything sale, so I moseyed on down to grab sock knitting materials. Because my knitpicks set (and most other interchangeable sets, for that matter) only goes down to a size 4 needle, I knew I'd have to buy another, smaller pair of addis to make these socks. After doing all my research, I had the intense desire to try out the addi lace needles, which have a pointier tip. This way when I finally buy the addi interchangeables, I'll know whether I want turbos or the lace set. I bought a size 3, 40" circ.

Magical self-striping yarn

I also bought one skein of sock weight yarn ($18...cringe). This is enough yarn to make both socks.

I've made it up to the heel turn, and am going to need help with that. So far, it's easy...the same as the mitten, really. A couple inches 2x2 ribbing and then plain old stockinette. I love love LOVE the sharp, pointy needles and the stretchiness of the thin yarn. Not to mention the fact that this yarn is self-striping, making all these nice lines and patterns by itself.

I also received my package of notions from knitpicks!

Everybody likes getting packages. Don't lie.

I love trinkets and knick-knacks and knitting supplies are so cute. In my shipment, I got: point protectors, stitch markers, locking stitch markers, a needle gauge, a yarn threader thingy, and most importantly, cable connectors to make my interchangeable cords longer.

But where will we live?

Since class 5 was supposed to be my last class, I made the executive decision to purchase another pack of 5 lessons to continue this hobby through the summer. I'm loving it too much to stop now...there is so much to learn!