I did it! Despite my sesame disappointment, I pulled things together on my rainy Sunday (with the help of some key DVDs) at home and took care of business!

Project specs:
Yarn: Trekking XXL, color 100
Needles: Dpn, size 1
Pattern: Wendy's Generic Toe-up pattern, in 2X2 rib, with a stretchy cast off for my cankles.

I'm SO glad that I went with a simple ribbed sock for this yarn. The colors are so great, that any pattern definitely would have taken away from it. Thanks to all the wise, experienced knitters who pointed this out to me. I still do have one issue with my sock--it's the hole in the short row heel.

Can you see it? The holes aren't really THAT big or noticeable, but it just bugs, you know? I'm considering taking some of my leftover yarn and doing a few duplicate stitches over the problem areas to tighten things up. I think that with the next pair of socks I start (probably later this week--always have to have emergency train knitting on hand) I'll have to force myself to do a non-short row heel. As much as picking up the stitches can be a pain, I'm afraid if I go on much longer I might not actually be able to do it anymore.

Posted by Molly at 07:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

I started seaming my body pieces last night, and quite enjoyed using my new crochet head attachment to pick up the stitches along the neck. Things were going along just great! I had to tink back just once when I found a knit that should have been a purl about 20 rows back in my ribbing. But the collar was a cinch! I was really enjoying finishing up this sweater, focusing on enjoying and perfecting my own knitting and finishing style rather than getting jumpy and panicky about being able to wear it soon. I started the button band this afternoon, and picking up those 140 stitches for the right band was relatively painless. But this whole time, I was ignoring one potential glitch. As it turns out, this is not enough yarn to knit two buttonbands. I kept going as long as I could, wishing that the yarn would keep multiplying like the fishes and the loaves, but sadly I'm not so fortunate. And it's JUST my luck that Knitpicks says coal won't be available until St. Patrick's day!

I think I hear some thrums a-calling me.

Posted by Molly at 09:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I finished 5 pieces of my sesame cardigan! Since my apartment is so small, I couldn't spare more than two towels and I ran out of pins, so I have to block in shifts. But it made sense to do the body pieces first so that I can knit some collar action this weekend while the sleeves have their turn. I made it through this babies really fast, but not only because I'm totally results driven--it is a great knit. (The grey is much more accurately shown in the close-up).

I've been doing a really bad job of not letting other people bother me lately, hence the speedy knitting (Oh, what? You didn't notice? This is really fast for me). I hate it when I let other people's judgements of me affect the way I feel. No way, Jose! If I choose not to drink caffeine and to leave work on time every day, I have every right to do so, and I know it. But until I figure out a good way not to let annoying people get under my skin, I have a feeling there is going to be a lot more knitting progress around here. But with a smile!

I'm almost out of black yarn and I still have to knit the collar and button bands, so please cross your needles for me!

Posted by Molly at 10:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Posted by Molly at 09:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Last week I whipped through both front sides of my sesame and was onto the sleeves by Friday. Things were going along so speedily! But then I remembered that sleeves get quite wide as they approach the shoulder. I was shocked and appalled when I noticed that the sleeve had gotten wider than my laptop. You can't see it so well in the photo, but trust me. Even though it was going slowly, I still enjoyed every minute of knitting this. It seems so simple, but the stripes really keep my attention. Each time I finish a stripe it's like reaching a mini-goal. Since taking this picture I've cast off and started sleeve #2. Tonight I think I'll watch an episode (or two) of Desperate Housewives and see how far I can get. I almost can't believe that I've had the whole season for about a month and I'm not even halfway through yet. I'm doing a good job of stretching out my viewing pleasure rather than doing one big tv binge like I used to.

And let me draw your attention to the real star of the show, the little red fellow in the upper right. These row counters exist at home, right? What a great invention! My favorite part is the name. "Kacha-kacha." It reminds me of how my grandparents call the remote control the doopa-doop. Nothing like some onomatopoeia to add a little spice to life.

Posted by Molly at 08:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Isn't this the loveliest yarn? I got a surprise package from Janine the other day with her very own beautiful handspun. It was so unexpected, and a very welcome surprise to have rubberbanded to my doorknob when I came home from school. Thank you, Janine! Now I just have to decide what to make!

There hasn't been a whole lot of knitting excitement around here as I've been spending a lot of spare time reconfiguring my computer. It sure feels good to have things working again, and fast! Instead of installing the Japanese Photoshop program that I got at school, I've started to use Gimp, a free photo editing software. So far, I'm really happy with it! It's fast and easy to use (and having the commands all in English really can't be beat). Now I just have to do some knitting around here and I'll get to use it. I've made it onto the sleeves of my Sesame cardigan so I'm considering letting myself start a swatch for some fair isle mitts this weekend. Would I be crazy to jump into 3+ colors on my first project?

And in personal news, I'm into week three of my new caffeine-free lifestyle. I'm drinking hot water at tea ceremony, decaffeinated tea when I get to work in the morning, and the other day I was at Starbucks and I didn't cave. I feel great! I did, however, have to let chocolate back into my diet. It doesn't have THAT much caffeine, I told myself, and the kids in my ESS club handmade chocolates for Valentine's day. It would have been cruel of me to refuse. If I just stick with dark chocolate, I can still feel good about my new "healthy" living.

Posted by Molly at 01:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

After a day and a half of stress and worry, my computer is back up and running and the future is looking bright! In case anyone is planning on doing the same thing, make sure you have all the drivers you need on disc before reinstalling. Luckily I could download them at work so I'm back online.

When I deleted everything on my hard drive and did all the Windows business, I decided to weave in some ends on my sesame pieces (3 down, 2 to go) while I was waiting for the machine. Things degenerated into somewhat of a crisis when my computer malfunctioned, so I put it away, called it a night and knit on Trekking sock #2 to calm my nerves.

I had a revelation that being so dependent on the computer is not so great. I use my computer for music, news, DVDs.. and of course to stay in (very close) touch with family and friends at home. Not to mention blogging! Despite the initial panic ("It's gone forever! I'm all alone! I can't blog from work! I'll never be able to afford a new computer! What will I do!?") I did actually enjoy my computer-free life, short-lived as it may have been. I even worked a few rows on my long-lost Flower Basket Shawl last night and fit in an unexpected trip to the airport before getting connected today.

There is so much we can do on the internet these days that adds value and ease to our lives. But is it worth it when it really seems to have taken over? I've been thinking about this today, but then again I did still take the time to post. Hmm...

(Reinstalling all the necessary components over the next few days... hopefully photos will be back soon!!)

Posted by Molly at 04:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I think I'm going to reinstall Windows on my computer tonight. I'm not much of a computer whiz, but I've been having lots of problems lately and supposedly this will remedy all my woes. I'm pretty sure I've backed up all my files, but I'm a little afraid I've forgotten something. Still, I guess it's better to have the choice to reinstall now rather than wait until my computer really dies and then lose all my files.

Any words of wisdom before I embark on this journey would be appreciated. Hopefully I'll be back online soon!

Posted by Molly at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

This Saturday, I decided that I wanted to start and finish something that I needed. And voila! A new hat.

Specs (I have to do this from now on since I refuse to write anything down):
Yarn: Noro Kabuki Tamu, Col No. 2, 1 skein
Needles: Japan size 13 (6 mm)
Pattern: None, really. Cast on 72 stitches and made it up as I went.

The hat is a little more purply than it looks in the picture, so it matches my Ene's shawl nicely! It was freezing cold last week and I decided that I really needed a new hat that was more stylish than my earflap hat and that wouldn't give me severe hathead on the way to school. So yesterday I did an experiment. I styled my hair, wore the hat for 40 minutes while I made my french toast, and then surveyed the results. See for yourself.

Overall, although there is definite hathead in the last shot, I am pleased. I didn't knit the cap too long to try to preserve my general hair shape, and I think I succeeded. This week it's going to be in the 50s, though, so of course I won't be needing this anymore. Typical!

We will be back to our regularly scheduled knitting soon.

Posted by Molly at 08:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Last night I spent a much needed night in, making a tasty dinner, watching tv, knitting and reading before calling it a night. It was great to finally have a weekend night in. It's been a while! I watched a special on TV about the Olympics and managed to muster a little bit of enthusiasm about it, even though I'm not at home with 24 hour cable, but rather over here when everything is broadcast in the middle of the night. And sure, the Olympics is the same all over the world, but it would be nice to see the American coverage. Or at least English. So I decided a few weeks ago that it wouldn't be fair to join the Knitting Olympics (I probably don't need to link), and I designated myself an un-official cheerleader. Can you believe how many people are doing this? It even made the papers! Anyway, I digress.

The reason for this post is to show you the progress I'm making on my sesame. What a lovely sweater. It practically knits itself. The only problem is all those ends! I have considered weaving in the ends as I go, but I'm not sure if it's better to weave them in pre-blocking and pre-seaming or better to wait. Any suggestions?

The opening ceremony is going to be re-broadcast tonight on TV but I will be at the annual Valentine's Day ball so I'm going to have to miss it. Not wearing any hand-knits this year, though. I'm so glad I decided to ditch the wrap idea and I'm going for the all store-bought black sequined skirt, plain top and big dangly earrings instead. Hope everyone has a good weekend--and good luck with your Olympic knitting!!

Posted by Molly at 03:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Whenever I start thinking of thrumming, I can't help but insert it into songs and jingles that have rhyming words. It's quite fun. So here's where I stand. Thrumming is great, but it's really the preparation phase that throws me off and I just end up working on something else. I should have finished a mitten by now. Seriously, a mitten should not take this long. Anyways, I discovered a tray strategy that works really well, and keeps the roving relatively contained instead of sticking to every surface in my apartment. All you need is a tray.

Gross, isn't it? I know it looks like hair, exactly the same color as my hair in fact, but I promise it's just roving.

I find that if I make a whole huge tray of thrums it's much easier to sit down and knit a bit chunk of it. Still, it can't compete with Sesame, which is the winner in the wow-it's-knitting-itself-so-fast-I-almost-can't-believe-it category. When I'm not working on it, I can put the whole shebang on the tray and set it on the TV until I'm ready to take off again. Maybe tonight...

And because I'm sure people want to know just how cool my music taste is, I bring you the music meme that Laurie tagged me for a few days ago. Read on if that's your thing..

It's good timing since I have been listening to music like crazy putting the finishing touches on this year's reward CD for students in my English classes and making sure it's even better than last year's.

Here's how it goes. You're supposed to list seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to.

1. My Life, Billy Joel. "Keep it to yourself, it's my life!"
2. Do You Want To, Franz Ferdinand. This whole CD is awesome. Great picker-upper!
3. My Doorbell, The White Stripes. Awesome beat, allover great song that I have been borderline obsessed with for about 6 months.
4. Garden Party, Ricky Nelson. I love oldies, and this is one of my favorites. Has a great message, too!
5. The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Go ahead, make fun.
6. For the Love of Money, The OJays. Money, money, money, money, MONEY! Been watching last season's Apprentice on tape during knitting time recently.

and, surprise!

7. Whistling in the Dark, They Might Be Giants. How could I leave this one out? I like to think of this as my own personal theme song.

There's only one thing that I know how to do well,
I've often been told that you only can do what you know how to do well.
And that's be you!
Be what you're like!
Be like yourself!
And so I'm having a wonderful time but I'd rather be whistling in the dark!!

I generally don't like the pressure of memes, so I'm not going to put that on anyone else. But if you're reading this and want to give it a try, consider this an open invitation!

Posted by Molly at 05:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

It's kind of amazing how much I can get done when I'm on a tight schedule. This weekend I had a work party Friday night, a 14 hour bus tour on Saturday, and Sunday I woke up early, cleaned, had friends over for knitting time and even fit in time to talk with my mom and dad. Not the busiest weekend ever, but the amazing thing is that the apartment is clean, the dishes are done and I did a lot of knitting!

I really thought I was a slow knitter, and marveled at my friend Becky's speed when she has been powering through her Sesame sweater lately. This sweater is just the kind of mindless, no time for mistakes because my eyes are glued to the season premiere of 24 knitting that fit into my weekend just perfectly.

I'm using Knitpicks Merino Style and I have to say that I really like it! I read a lot of different reviews, but decided that the price was right so I'd give it a try. It hasn't been splity, the yarn and fabric is just the right amount of firm and stretchy... I have no complaints, and it feels like that has been pretty rare lately! It's worth ordering a color sample though, because I really thought I was getting a two-toned dark grey striped sweater and it's much more black and white. Still fine with me--ought to fit into my wardrobe just fine!

I'm also thrumming along at a good pace although the making of the thrums is slowing me down a fair bit. It's really enjoyable although the roving looks so much like hair (the exact same shade as my hair in fact) that it was grossing out all my friends yesterday. I'll work on finishing a mitten shortly. I have a great new lifestyle thanks to an effort to stop staying unnecessarily late at work. It's fabulous! More time to keep my home neat and my social life under control which of course all adds up to more knitting time. It doesn't get any better than this!

Posted by Molly at 02:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I think I reached an all-time anti-social low tonight when I zoned out at a work party and started thinking of what I could be knitting at home. In my defense, they started talking about a lot of technical educational teacher issues and I just did not follow. Once my thoughts turned to how much (or rather how little) I had had to drink and the time, I realized that if I headed home soon I could still squeeze in some knitting before bed. It's sick! But I did finally make it home in time to post this and still knit on my sock before bed. One good thing about simple ribbed socks? Easy to knit even if you've had a fair amount of sake.

Tomorrow I have another office New Year party that starts at 8 am--it's a bus trip to the Sea of Japan to eat crab and get wasted, basically. Hopefully I can hold off the drinking til lunchtime, but I don't think there's any chance I'll get to knit on the bus. Have to get my fill tonight!

Posted by Molly at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

I visited the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival with my mom last week in Tokyo. Despite being slightly offput by the idea of a giant quilt show (I went to many as a child) I had a really nice time and quite enjoyed the quilts. The crowds of short, old ladies were a bit much, but other than that it was nice. I didn't take a lot of photos since I knew my mom was, but I did capture this one of a quilt that caught my eye.

There were a lot of vendors there too, but to my disappointment, the Clover booth didn't have any great knitting stuff. I hesitated for a while by the needle felting, but tore myself away at the last minute to cast on the toe of my sock. As I approached one booth, I couldn't believe that there were cars there. How could they possibly tie this in to quilts, I wondered?

But of course, the Honda Quilts Fair! It totally makes sense, doesn't it? I just love how they put quilted stuff in the trunk of the car.

By mid-afternoon I was pretty beat from all that wandering around the floor of the Tokyo Dome. But I got a good chuckle when I saw these guys at the door.

It does make sense to have people manning the revolving doors, especially when there's a crowd. But I just can't imagine any guy at home donning an arm band and going to work to spin a door all day. Just another reason that Japan is great!

Posted by Molly at 04:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)