After work collapse

Surely you've experienced those days when you get home after a long day of work and nothing feels better than collapsing on the couch.

This has been happening a lot to me lately.  It could be because working at the institute surrounded by so many brillant people and the high expectations expected of students there is making me work towards a whole new level of efficiency and training me to be more adaptable.  I have to the realization that I am moving away from simply being a molecular biologist to more of a biomedical engineer.  I've found my dream job.

Of course stage 2 of my recharge time is working with yarn.  If I have the energy, I work on the more complex sweater pattern I wrote about last post.

If I'm more exhausted than usual I succumb to my obsession with knitting my whole stash, which lately has been simple crocheting:

This is destined to become the first of a set of placemats (this is special yarn, I want to put it on display)

This is going to be part of the most comfy kitty bed ever and help me use up even more scraps (I have no idea where they all come from!) 

...because this kitty isn't spoiled enough as it is.  

I have no idea why she gets a gray tummy during the summer, it is probably because she is "part fancy cat" as my mother would say.

Charybdis

One of my Fiber Goals for 2013 was to knit Skew, but as I finished the first sock I was very disappointed with how it looked.  I just didn't like it, it didn't feel right.  I know that this happens to us all at one point or another, and I felt much better to know that Dina (Five Cats From Crazy) had a similar experience with Skew.

I decided that I liked Charybdis by Fiona Lucas much better, the design was less mysterious to me and it still had spirals.  I definitely like the end product better.

I'm enjoying my new pair of rainbow socks, and guess what?  I actually blocked them!  I must be turning over a new leaf when it comes to finishing technique.

The yarn was one that I had been interested in for a while Crystal Palace Yarns Mini Mochi.  It was nice to knit with, no Noro-like complaints when it comes to this yarn.  

It is single ply, which has just the correct amount of twist keeping it from twisting up on itself, it didn't pull apart either.  Perfection.

I'm quite proud of these, they definitely remind me of the many colorful pairs of socks Andi (My Sister's Knitter) has knit.  Although I'm definitely not as prolific of a knitter as she is!

Friendly KAL

Recently I have been knitting a pattern along with a dear friend.  I've known Rebecca for many years, we bonded over terrorizing our homeschool group when we were little (we were unstoppable troublemakers).  

We remained close even after I moved away to "somewhere over the rainbow" and she is one of those special friends that even if I don't see her for years, the second I meet up with her again it is like we were never apart.

When she suggested that we knit the Artemisia sweater together, I immediately agreed (she has excellent taste obviously).  I've found the pattern a little bit challenging and so I'm quite a ways behind where she is, but it is a beautiful pattern and I cannot wait to finish it.

I'm knitting it with Plymouth Yarn Worsted Merino Superwash Solids, one of my absolute favorite yarns, that I picked out during my latest Webs adventure.  It always produces the most comfortable garments.

We have grand plans to each wear our sweaters the next time we see each other.  Hopefully I can finish it by then!

Olive Handspun

Look!  New handspun!  It has been a little while since I have finished a skein that I really feel proud of, but here is a pretty example.

• Spun: June 2013
• Roving: merino/silk blend (Webs)
• Colors: Shiny olive green with specks of red
• Spindle: Schacht 3” Hi-Lo drop spindle (2.2 oz.)
• 3 ply, ~230 yards, ? Ounces, fingering weight

I had some of this fiber left over from my first spin-to-knit project, not enough to do much, but definitely worth spinning.  This is such a nice fiber to spin, it is slick and easy to coax into thin strands.  It is also very soft because of how fine the merino is and the silk content.  

You can also see one of my hairs sticking out in this photo, that frequently happens when I get distracted while spinning.  There is rarely a day when my long hair doesn't get in the way, I dread the inevitable day when one makes it into a lab experiment or a liver organoid starts developing hair follicles.

I'm joining Lisa (Wicked Artsy) this week for Photographic Sunday: a chance to share an image (or images) from the week with little to no text. 

my haul from the local farmer's market

learning R programming environment and visual notetaking

kitty with extreme crazy eye (pre-attack butt wiggle soon followed)

spinning leftover merino/silk

enjoying hard cider season

perfect new lab space, includes natural light and allegedly genetically engineered plants (for the record, that is not my messy desk)

Crochet scrap rug

As you can see, I've finished my crochet scrap rug!  It was a fantastic project for when I wanted to keep busy but didn't want to think about it too much, I seem to have a lot of those kinds of projects lately...

I wasn't completely happy with how it turned out after blocking (yes, I actually blocked this, please be proud of me).  Even after some determined pinning, and repinning after kitty noticed it, it still curls a little at the edges.

But it still does it's intended job as a soft surface to step onto getting out of bed.

This mat was crocheted completely out of scrap DK yarn with fiber types ranging from merino wool to soy/cotton (the mustard yellow).  There is even some yarn I dyed myself, the bright blue and the red/orange/yellow superwash wool.

I honestly have no idea what size hook I used, all I know is that it is the only hook I have, an outcast in my crafting corner.

As predicted, kitty enjoys using this as a sled or as a comfortable place to sit while obsessively watching birds through the window.