The ABC Along 2006

A was for Amy
B was for Boob Cake
C was for Cader Idris/Cregennan
D was for Dinosaur
E was for Epstein-Barr
F was for Faux-suede boots
G was for Greenhouse
H was for Holly and Hedera
I was for Icons and Ice
J was for Journals
K was for Knitting!
L was for Lorna's Laces Lotus Blossom
M was for Malta
N was for Northumberland
O was for Orange
P was for Pennines
Q was for Quill
R was for Rose
S was for Statistics and science
T was for Towels
U was for Urea
V was for Valetta
W was for Writing
X was for X-ray
Y was for Yarn
Z was for Zygote

This was fun! Thanks to Anne for hosting this ABC Along. See you in the new year!

OK, so I lied!

The last post isn't the last one before Christmas.
I just logged on to my university's website to accept my degree and I found out the classification.

A closer look?

It's a 2.1!!!!!!!

I'm not normally a fan of the over-use of the exclamation mark, but I think it needs it!
As I mentioned previously, I thought I'd get a 2.2, so this is a complete surprise. I hadn't felt like celebrating yet, just in case they'd made a mistake and were going to take it away from me. Bring on the Dandelion and Burdock* - let the part-ey begin!

And now, I promise, that's it. Really. Totally nothing until after Boxing Day. Or at least Boxing Day. Christmas Eve?

*I can't drink alcohol for medical reasons (well, I could, but I'd have to have 999 on speed-dial) so this is as wild as I get!

Just the seven and a half months late

Not too bad, is it?

Ends. Ends. All of those ends ...

Snip, snip!

Name: Argyle scarf
Pattern: Argyle Scarf, Knit.1 magazine
Size(s): I haven't measured it, but it's longer than my legs (useful, no?)
Yarn: King Cole Magnum Chunky in black, Burgundy, beige and cream
Yarn source: My LYS
Needles: 8 mm straight
Recipient: My dad
Modifications: Change of yarn and tension/gauge
Notes: Well, it was supposed to be for my dad's birthday in May. At least I finished it in the same year. That's good, right?

It may be stuck in a bucket and being held up with wire and a fork, but I think it's pretty!

That'll probably be it for me blog-wise until after my brother's brithday (the 29th of this month). I'll still be stalking everyone else though, so no-one can relax!
So I wish you a or you had a happy , or a good (it's supposed to be Kwanzaa??!) or just have a great

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Technorati tags: yarn; knitting; argyle;

Labels: argyle, knitting, scarf, yarn

Sorry for the weirdness

I upgraded to Blogger Beta (or Blogger as it's now called) and things seem to have gone phooie with the feeds. If you get multiple post updates in your feed-aggregator - sorry!

In the meantime, look at my last ever entry in the ABC Along.

Z is for

Zygote. What's a zygote, I hear you ask? Well, it's two fused gametes - obviously!

Early-stage zygote sketch by moi.

I thought this was a particularly fitting final entry for my ABC Along, because it represents the start of life at the beginning of a new year (ya know, the old alpha and omega whatsit). It's also fitting because I'm now done and dusted with my biology degree. I am no longer an undergraduate. Eep.

I'm going to publish the full A to Z list for the ABC Along 2006 on the last day of this year, just to round things off nicely. There will also be at least one more FO to share before then, possibly two, or even three - ooh, I'm a tease!

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Technorati tags: ABC Along; zeneedle;

FO: Checked shirt

The dancing shot - a la Becky

More photos on Flickr here

Name:Black and White checked shirt
Pattern: Simplicity 4171
Fabric: Viscose/polyester blend
Fabric source: My local haberdashers
Modifications: Shortened the length (to change it from a shirt dress to a shirt) and cut it smaller in the waist and larger in the upper arm as usual. Added a security pocket in the right side seam to fit my travel pass and some loose change.
Notes: I love it! The pattern is one with three cup sizes so you don't have to do the hard work yourself! Ignore the measuring instructions in the booklet. I came out as a C-cup - HA! I could have done with a tad more room in the busom area (I'm wearing a minimiser in the photos so it looks better) but apart from that it's all good!

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Technorati tags: sewing; fabric; Simplicity;

I am normal?

I've been prodded, poked, had blood taken and stuck my head inside a giant magnet, and apparently I'm "normal". Part of me is relieved that they haven't found anything (specifically no spinal chord compression like my mum, which was my biggest fear) but I'm also dissapointed because ... well ... they've not found anything?!

Reader questions answered:

Yes
No
Yes
Only with a banana
And yes.
Seriously though, Emma (the one that's moved to France, not the one in the north-east of England) asked if I knew my degree classification yet. I can work it out manually, but can't be bothered. It should be a 2.2 (where 1 is the best, 2.1 is what most people get, and 3 is the lowest). Given all the problems I've had during this degree (my cruddy health, my mum's worsening condition, my grandad dying) I'll take it!
2Paw - yes, the OU is the Open University. They are lovely in all their loveliness and I love them.
April - yes, 7 years is a long time. A very, very long time!

Knitting? On a knitting blog?

Surely not!

Top-down hat in lemon and red Rowan Cashsoft DK {commence drooling over yarn}

Up next will be some mittens and booties for Baby F (in case anyone was wondering, that's not her actual name.)
I got some craft fabric for ... well, crafting. Can't say anymore about specifics in case CERTAIN PEOPLE are reading this. All will be revealed in good time.
I also got an amazing pair of cuffs from France as part of yet another Craftster swap (somebody stop me). I'll show just one of them here, but more photos can be seen here.

I've nearly finished the black and white check shirt (just the buttonholes and buttons to do) so that should be the next thing up. Something to look forward to?

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Technorati tags: yarn; knitting; hats; hat; fabric; sewing

I'm no longer an undergraduate

BECAUSE I'M A GRADUATE!!!!!!!!!

I can now add "BSc (Hons)" after my name (although I think it would be a bit pretentious if I did). I still have to wait for the confirmation of the award (probably in the new year), but this should be it. Seven years ... I'm shattered!

Random Monday

No overriding theme, other than knitting, really!

Biting the dust:

Enjoy it while it's here

It doesn't fit. I'm not sure if it's the stranding on the lettering section or whether I need to go up another needle size, but the top section will be coming out. I'll get the heel done first (the gaping hole in the middle of the sock in the picture above).

Housekeeping:

I've tidied up the project tracker in the right-hand menu of the blog. I've removed the non-active projects, or ones that I know I won't finish. I've also added a new article ...

Chunky lass:

This swatch

is for this top-down jacket (first spotted over at Craftster). I'm using Sirdar Denim Chunky and crossing everything I can that I will have enough yarn to finish it. Kate (Zeitgeist) reckons on about 915 m (1000 yds) of chunky. I have 750 m (820 yds). I'm bigger than her. Even my brother could do the maths on that one. I am working the lace much looser than she is, but I may have to do the lower hems in another yarn (already on standby, just in case!).

Arrrrrgyle!

WooHoo! I call this progress!

My dad may have a scarf for Christmas.

Breaking my own rules:

I have some un-written, un-spoken rules for this blog (no religion, swearing, politics, naughty bits, pets, or babies), so of course I'm about to break one:

My First Cousin (TM):

I am a biased - she is adorable.

It's going to be a tough week (my mum and more tests are involved) so I'll probably see you for the final ABC Along entry. TTFN (ta-ta for now).

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Technorati tags: yarn; knitting;

Y is for

Yarn! OK, so it was pretty much a no-brainer for this knitter, but go with me.

Yarn yet to be:

Yarn I created:

Yarn (commercial) I dyed:

The next "... is for ..." entry will be the last. I'm sad .
But look what 2Paw sent me:

I'm happy

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Technorati tags: yarn; knitting; ABC Along

You socksy thing!

Yay for insomnia, the cricket and my epistaxis! These things have come together beautifully to produce this:

Right side:

Wrong side (showing the floats):

Three-quarters of the way up the sock is the waste yarn for the afterthought heel (another technique I haven't tried before).
I'm now up to the part with the lettering - a chance the designer gave us knitters to go "wild". This is also the point in the sock where I stop showing pictures. I want to reveal the phrase/saying/pattern for both socks at the same time. It wont take a genius to work out what the lettering is likely to relate to (read my blog for five minutes, and you'd probably get it) but the effect will be greater if all is revealed at once!

Philosopher's Wool Vest:

Hence forth to be known as the PWV (because I can't be typing that out everytime I blog). I've been sketching what I'd like the finished vest/waistcoat to look like:

The kits don't really come with a pattern, in the conventional sense. It's much in the spirit of Elizabeth Zimmerman, where you make a swatch, measure yourself and then do a little maths. The "pattern" is written as a straight up 'n' down tube which is not going to work for me. This is where my annoying propensity for fiddling with patterns (and a love of maths problem-solving) comes in handy!
I have finally settled on the Trillium pattern and I'm going to use the background/foreground colours as they were packed in the kit (very useful little trick that - foreground colours at the top and background colours at the bottom of the bag) .

That's all for - ta-ra!

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Technorati tags: yarn; knitting; Stranded KAL; Philosopher's Wool; Iris Garden; socks