Saturday, May 12, 2007

Summer Knitting Goals: Over Ice with a Twist of Lime, please!


The semester wrapped up on Friday, and all that lies between me and several uninterrupted months of daily 5pm gin and tonics (alternating with Pimms), masturbatory uploading of pictures of my obscene yarn stash to Flickr (as it's the only conduit to Ravelry), and, of course, round the clock stitching, is a stack of student portfolios. And then people, it'll just be me, a bottle of Bombay Blue Sapphire, and a shitload of knitting...

Ali, one of the principal designers over at Blue Sky Alpaca and the blogger behind Skeins Her Way, is sponsoring a clever little contest. She wants to know what everyone's summer knitting goals are, and because of my career in Crapademia (thanks for that one Knitting Philistine!), I am a perpetual adolescent on the precipice of summer, whereas I imagine that for adults not still living on the semester timetable, it's just mid-May. So here are my goals:

#1. To make some headway through the Koigu zip code in my stash. There just feels like way too much Koigu there and it's starting to make me seem like a yarn glutton.

#2. To lovingly fondle said Koigu while I engage in the ultimate self-love for today's modern knitter: uploading pictures of my stash to Ravelry (massive amounts of people are being added daily, so if you're feeling like you're on the outside looking in, that will change very very soon!) and imaging all the pretty little things I'll make with it...

#3. To put my knitting down everyday at 5pm for gin and tonics, (alternating with Pimms). Hey, my mother is English, I'm genetically programmed to have bad teeth and drink the above-mentioned drinks heavily, without getting drunk, just red in the face.

#4. To finish a substantial project, like the Audrey tank, but not to get torqued out of shape about it or let it interfere with #3.

There you have my goals. Go enter Ali's contest, let her know that I sent you, and may the best lush win!

Now, I have a finished object to show you all, lest you think I'm all talk and no completion:


Socks for the Darling Resident Marxist Curmudgeon and his Proletarian Feet

Pattern: LYS pattern

Yarn: Karabella Aurora Mélange, colorway #18

Needles: #5 dpns

Gauge: 48 sts over 3 needles, 1 x 1 ribbing, then straight stockinette



These were fun, fast, and the recipient is so pleased with them, which is always nice. Upon receiving them he noted that "the yarn feels deluxe" and wondered if it "was expensive"...
now can you guess which one of us if the fiscally responsible of the two? He may be grouchy at times, and boy o boy is he holding on to those purse strings tight, but he sure does appreciate a FO with his name on it...

29 comments:

Charles said...

Great socks!!
I really like the color!!

By the way.... Visit my knitting blog too!!

Thanks

Charles

KnitPastis said...

I bet the recipient loved these socks!I think it's the nicest gift, handknit socks custom fit to someone's foot. Watch, you will hear that they have become their favorite pair. My husband has only two pairs made by me (size 12 foot, ugh) but he wears them around the house all the time. Tells me how much he loves them.

Mintyfresh said...

during the school year, i don't envy teachers, but right now i hate you all!! i think g&ts at 5pm is a great idea; i should stow a bottle in my desk :)

~Kristie said...

I LOVE goal #3. With goals like that, I may also be able to participate.

The socks are GREAT! They look so comfy and soft I'm sure they are very appreciated.

I'm so jealous you're on Ravelry. Patience is definitely not one of my better attributes so I hope my name comes up soon.

Anonymous said...

I am jealous that you cast on a mere 48 stitches for man socks. 48! Waaaaaah! Must get rid of manly fingering weight yarn.

Karen said...

Sounds like you are going to have a really wonderful summer. Cheers and Salud!!

Gingersnaps with Tea... said...

Great socks! Don't you love working with heavier weight sock yarn? Yup, knitting should not interfere with daily gin and tonics on the deck. You have to draw a line somewhere! Sounds like a great Summer to me.

schrodinger said...

Love that photo, makes me smile. Enjoy the summer relaxation and productivity.

sophanne said...

That is one lucky marxist curmudgeon.

YawnOver said...

You are too funny. Those are some great man-socks. Enjoy your G&Ts :)

Stephanie said...

Great socks!

I love the gin & tonics at 5pm...I might have to adpot that one!

Anonymous said...

Hmm, joli programme, comme je t'envie... Je comprends que le Ronchon Marxiste se méfie : avec d'aussi douillettes chaussettes aux pieds, il pourrait prendre goût à l'horrible confort bourgeois !!
;-D

Heather said...

You are too funny, and I'm completely green with envy. Hmm, maybe there's something I can teach, so that I can knit all summer and drink g&ts.

Great socks, btw. (I thought you didn't like DPNs. I've gone over to magic loop, which I love love love.)

Melissa said...

Great socks! I can't wait to get over to Ravelry! Then again, I might need to wait as I will probably spend hours upon hours over there. :)
Great goals. Especially the drinks. I should institute that here.

pamela wynne said...

ah, summer! Congrats on being (almost) finished!! The socks are lovely and quite down-to-earth -- clearly socks of The People. xo

Anonymous said...

Ah yes, "the mother's ruin"--one of my favorites too. Totally jealous of your summer plans! And I think I need to go ogle your Koigu...

Faith said...

Those look like perfect puttering-around-the-house socks! Pretty.

Coley said...

I was tagged. So I tag you. http://pixiefarts.blogspot.com/2007/05/i-was-tagged-by-devon-this-is-how-it.html

carrie said...

quite the impressive list of goals! i loooong for 5 p.m. gin and tonics.

Anonymous said...

Loverly socks! I'm a massive fan of the preprandial G&T, and I applaud your taste in gin.

Knitting Bandit said...

Enviable goals! Too much Koigu--you poor girl. I feel so bad for you! Great socks---there's something to be said for straight stockinette socks isn't there? Sometimes I forget how wonderful socks can be when they're simply knit without a fancy stitch repeat.

Kirsten said...

Those sound like some fine goals for the summer! I'll be sitting poolside sipping a few G&T's myself. As long as a girl knows how to pace herself it never interferes with the knitting!

Zarzuela said...

LOL! Great post! :)

The socks look wonderful. It's amazing how they change their minds about the whole knitting thing when handknit socks end up on *their* feet, isn't it?

I'm very curious about the Ravelry thing. There sure has been a lot of hype.

Good luck with your goals. They all sound very relaxing. :)

Jessica

Sheila said...

You socks are a great color. I thought it was funny that you live in Hollidaysburg. I grew up in Roaring Spring. Small world.

Theresa said...

Ambitious! I didn't know you were a Brown grad, too. There are a bunch of us with knitting blogs . . .

knittingphilistine said...

Lemme know if you need any assistance slimming down that Koigu zip code... I'm always there to help a friend out with her goals. Also, the name of your latest sock creation? Awesome. Sheer genius, even.

Alison said...

Yay! Let's all cheer each other on as we work on our goals!
Great list, good luck!
Happy knitting-
ali

WonderMike said...

Gosh, I'm just now catching up on all my favorite blogs and, sister, you totally throw down. I love your yarn choices, I love your projects, I love your drink and I love your prose.... Thanks for keeping me entertained.

Anonymous said...

those socks look nice and comfy! Great colors too.
I'm still laughing, kiogu zip code!!! Love it!