Still Alive and Knitting!

      Hm, yes, despite my thesis' best efforts, I am still alive.  My apologies for the disappearance, but the past year has been hard.  For anyone who has done a doctorate, I hit the rough patch where nothing works and there is no plan and I wake up at 4am and wonder what am I doing AAAAAHHH!!!  I kept swimming and got past it.  Knitting was there for me and it was either that or take up some rather unhealthy habits.  Things are slowly getting better.  I am hoping for Transfer Panel in the next month.  For anyone unfamiliar with academia, this is when you meet a panel of three people and present the revised version of your thesis project and a sample chapter for feedback.  It's the halfway point of the Irish Ph.D.  While things will still be stressful, and I'm sure I'm going to have more 4am freakouts, I will get a vote of confidence in my project.  I can't wait to get it over with.

     Back to the knitting . . . the last several months has been using knitting as a coping mechanism.  I have no mental bandwidth at the moment, so I have been focusing on garter stitch shawls and vanilla socks.  Coming up is The Knitgirllls Stash Dash.  This is a craftalong run by two podcasters that runs from late May to late August.  The goal is to craft a certain amount of stash yarn; the set levels are 3km, 5km, 7km, 10km, and 15km.  Goodness knows I have enough WIPs and balled yarns lying around from the autumn, so here we go!  Normally I compete in the 5km category, but I will challenge myself this year and aim for 7km.  I already have an almost-completed pair of vanilla socks, but I've already made a list of current and hibernating WIPs to complete:

Current WIPs:
  Mithral in Fyberspates Cumulus: 30% completed
  Meriboo Cabled Cowls in Louisa Harding Orielle: 0% completed

Hibernating WIPs:
   A Second Chance for Mr. Rushworth Socks in Knitpicks Stroll: 45% completed
   Winterchild in Zitron Fil Royal: 75% completed
   Innsmouth Bodice in Baa Ram Ewe Dovestone DK: 0%
   Hurricane Ridge cowl in Malabrigo Finito: 0%

Also on the list because the yarn is already balled up:
    Bonny in Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace
    Cobweb in Malabrigo Silkpaca
    Almost Autumn in Malabrigo Merino Lace Superwash
    Narcissis pseudo-narcissis cuffs in Arucania Botany Lace 
    Riyito in Malabrigo Sock
    Pomme de Pin Cardigan in Wollemeise Pure 100% Merino Superwash
    City of Roses in Drops Baby Merino
    Maia Fingerless Mitts in Arucania Botany Lace
    Raitahullannus in Malabrigo Finito
    Heaven Scent in Manos del Uruguay Lace
    Cheddar the CraftLit Critter in Hedgehog Fibres Sock
    Florac Pumpkin in Lousia Harding Trenzar
    Geek Socks in Knitpicks Felici
    Leonore Socks in Knitpicks Stroll 

It's a long list and I know I won't get to it all, but it's nice to have some options and to clear out the WIPs.  I doubt I'll even get through this list before classes start again in the autumn, but it would be nice if 80% of it was completed by the first day of autumn (September 22).  Onward Knitty Soldiers!

A Comedy of Errors

        I have finally returned to Ireland and have somewhat adjusted to the time difference.  Apparently my brain took its vacation early, though, as I said in the last post that I would have WIPS and neglected to include them.  The brain vacation didn't stop there, either.  Take this shawl, for example.

It's Winterchild by Carmen Oliveras which I'm making in Zitron Fil Royal, a 100% alpaca laceweight.  I finished the body months ago and am now working on the knitted on border.  It's my first time doing this technique and I find it somewhat fiddly.  I seem to be making the join too tight and I'm worried this is going to block out wonky.  Maybe I'm also irritated at myself that this thing has been on the needles for over a year and it's not finished yet.  You want to know what's really getting my goat, though?  That tiny ball in the bowl is all the yarn I have for this shawl; I forgot the other skein back in the States.  Grr!  And I love alpaca!

Round Two came with this skein of Cascade 220 Superwash.

I had planned to make it into The Proverbial Cap by Meg Swansen for ages.  I planned on it being my sister-in-law's present for Christmas.  The pattern is pretty and it's got lots of twisted stitches that make my heart sing.  The problem?  I forgot the pattern.  It's back in the US, too.

Round Three came with my Chrysanthemum frutescens socks.

I had noticed since the beginning that everything was coming out tight.  I thought that it was the pattern since I've been getting 8 stitches to the inch on US0/2mm since I started knitting socks with this yarn (Knitpicks Stroll Tonal, Foliage colorway, by the way).  I plowed ahead, still slightly concerned that everything looked tight.  I started the gusset decreases during my long layover in Washington, DC airport and tried the sock on for fit.  It became very obvious the sock was very tight, although I was knitting the large size of this pattern, which is for a 9.5 inch foot.  I pulled out my tape measure and checked the gauge.  It turns out that my gauge has tightened up and I now knit nine stitches to the inch.  I had to add two extra stitches to the foot to make sure it would fit.  They are very lovely socks, but from now on, I'm doing a gauge swatch!  I hope to finish the socks this weekend partly because the weather is currently like this:

Overcast with sides of cold and damp.

And partly because I am sick.  I was fighting a throat bug over the holidays and it came back as a vicious throat and ear infection earlier this week.  Since I've done all of my homework reading for classes, I can knit and start some reading for my thesis.  Should I finish the socks, I have all this to play with:

Knitting, first crochet project, and spindle spinning.  Bring it on, foul Irish weather and evil bacteria!