Natalie Knits

Yesterday was a very good day. I spun a lot, and we grilled out for dinner. J made black bean burgers that were yummy and healthy, and he also grilled zucchini (my favorite) and figs stuffed with goat cheese. After dinner I knit a little bit of Kenobi, and while we were relaxing I realized that it was our 6 1/2 year anniversary. I know it might be silly to count the half years once you get past one, but I can't believe how much time has passed since we met. My life has changed dramatically in the last 6 and a half years (as it does when you go from being 18 to 25), but J and I have been pretty steady over the years so the time passing seems less dramatic until I put a number on it. Of course we have relatives who want to know when we will get married, but we're pretty happy with things right now! And I vacillate between wanting to get married (the romantic in me) and wondering why marriage is so prevalent and if it is necessary (the feminist in me). I'll figure it out all in good time. Now on to more exciting things-- you know, the kind involving fiber!

I started spinning my second Lagoon single, and I am REALLY hoping to get enough to ply them today. I can't wait to see the yarn-- I feel like with spinning, there is always a great reveal moment when the yarn is plied and you see what you've created, and even when I've done a small test first it's not the same as seeing everything come together in a beautiful skein.

And for good measure, here's Kenobi-in-progress, happily occupying my "misc" basket. I am really enjoying this sweater, particularly how lovely the yarn is and how easy it is to pick up after a long absence and jump right back in-- no pattern consulting necessary (well, at least until I get to the armhole).

One last thing-- as I mentioned, my birthday was a few days ago, and Molly (my best knitting friend) gave me a subscription to Interweave Knits!!! Woo-hoo! I am so excited, the first issue will come this summer! I had thought about subscribing for a while, but being a grad student and having access to the magazine at the Library prevented me from taking the plunge. But now I will have my OWN copies! To keep! Forever! So excited.

I would like to start posting more frequently, but all this stuff keeps happening and my pictures and thoughts pile up faster than I can get to the blog. I have been working on a new rug for the bathroom made from recycled t-shirts... much like the calamari knitting I was doing a few months back, but this time it's blue and gray to fit into the bathroom.

It's really coming along-- I should have a finished picture soon! And I am surprised, I cut up 6 or 7 shirts, and it is becoming the size of a real rug. I thought it would be much smaller, but it is holding up well. A few rows every day and it's almost done-- though it is large enough that it's getting harder to knit.

Just for scale-- those are my shiny size 17 needles. That's a big rug!

It will be nice to finish something! I need that boost to keep on working on other things-- I find that to be true about knitting as well as my work. I have been working on the same research projects all summer, and I am close to finishing one, which I think will help keep the motivation alive for the other projects.

Hey! I actually finished something!

First off the needles: My new rug/bathmat!

Under my feet:

Draped oh-so-elegantly on the tub:

And the requisite close up shot:

Then, I was on a roll, so I wove in the ends and sewed the button on the baby bib. My advisor from my master's program is having a baby in about a month, and I wanted something small and home-made to send.

Woohoo! Can you tell I'm excited? Finishing things really helps. It helps everything. I always feel good when I get something done.

Well, my blog has been feeling some neglect as my summer research projects have been winding up. Sadly, my knitting has fallen by the wayside, too. But that doesn't mean I don't have pretty things to share!

Over the last few weeks I have been organizing my handmade jewelry so I can begin to list it on my etsy site. Please, please visit it! The url is: www.natalies.etsy.com. Here's a preview:

So, although I don't have much knitting to share, I have been expressing my artistic thoughts in other forms. And though my blog hasn't been seeing much of my writing, I did submit one article for publication about a month ago, and today my advisor and I sent off our book chapter (where the majority of my summer went!) to the editor. I am off to San Diego to present at a conference this coming weekend, and in 2 more weeks J and I are heading to San Francisco for my other conference, and a vacation. I also got approval to being data collection on my other project this week, so it is nice to feel like things are coming together a bit. I am looking forward to being done with the conferences so I have a bit of time to sit, knit, and relax... just for a few days, then back to school. But it's all good, I'm looking forward to it :) and I am starting to miss my sweater knitting, so the break was useful.

Also, I saw a preview for the upcoming Interweave Knits, and Oh my oh my, I can't wait to get mine. SO MANY good sweaters, I'm not sure how I'll choose which will be next...