Hello, Summer!

My first semester at Columbia is [finally] over! Now I get one luxurious week to run every errand that I didn't have time for during the last 5 months--stock up on toilet paper, go to the DMV, start in on the mountain of laundry--all before summer school starts on Tuesday. Awesome.
And with that, let's move on to the knitting.Pattern: Textured Shawl Recipe by orlane
Yarn: Indecita alpaca, brought to me from Peru by one of our family friends, Randy Green--thanks Randy!!!
Needles: US 8 Addis, 32"
Raveled here!I saw Parikha's version of this shawl on Ravelry and was, of course, immediately inspired to make one myself. I had this ginormous bag of uber-soft alpaca from my little brother's best friend's dad (who regularly brings medicine and lots of good stuff to tribal peeps in South America, check it out), so voila, here it is! I held the yarn double to get gauge, and what resulted was a perfectly sized little something to throw over my shoulders on a chilly evening.
Next up? I'm feeling ambitious:Pattern: Paper Crane by Kirsten Johnstone of assemblage
Yarn: Habu Cotton Gima
OK, so, what with school and all, I have totally fallen off of the blog reading bandwagon, but when Kirsten announced that she'd put her pattern up, I had to go check it out--and of course, once I saw it, I had to tell her how pretty it was! And then... I won her contest for a free pattern!!! I was so psyched--perhaps this means I should read blogs more often....
Anyhoo, if you haven't seen her lovely blog, you should really check it out. And hopefully I will finish this pretty cardi before summer's end.
OK, off cook some soba noodles for my hubby, watch the downloaded pilot of Caprica, and knit! Vacation, you go by oh-so-quickly.

Hexagon Love

There has been an awful lot of awesome hexagon action around the internets lately, and I am by no means immune to their appeal:

Yarn:Noro Kureyon, colors 124 and 88, about 1.2 balls each
Pattern: Hexagon How-to from Attic24 (which is awesome, BTW!)
Raveled here!I really love Noro. Some people find it scratchy; I just don't care. The colors make up for anything lacking in the way of texture, in my opinion.
And hexagons are great too. They're about all I can handle, mentally, during this pre-finals part of the semester. Keeping track of where I am in a sweater doesn't work so well when I have to put it down for weeks on end.
Which is why I also started a blanket, using stash yarn!Yarn: Knitpicks Swish Bare (white) and Fleece Artist BFL Aran (green)
Pattern: Hexagon How-to from Attic24
Maya's super-cool hexagons inspired me--plus, I can do these without thinking, planning, keeping track of anything.... Perfect for a study-break, and some "Real Housewives of New York City".... ;)

Holy Cow, It's Spring!

Well, let's see, it's April 9th--how long has it been since I blogged? Argh, what can I say, it's been a crazy couple of months! But I have a few new handknits to share, so I'm briefly resurfacing....
But where have I been, you ask? I have only one word for you: Columbia. No, not the country. In January, Vitalay and I transferred from Brooklyn College to Columbia University, continuing our studies of all things biological. It has been, um, enlightening. I should have been worried when they kept using the word "rigorous" to describe the workload during all of our orientations, but somehow, it just doesn't sink in until it's 3AM and you're still hunched over your computer, pecking away at a paper that was due yesterday.... Perhaps I will plan myself a more balanced schedule next semester....
Anyhoo, the knitting! Not much time for it, these days, but I did finish a couple of things over the holidays:
Pattern: Harper
Yarn: Brooks Farm Four Play
Raveled here!
This lace is addictive! And it was actually a fairly quick knit--I just took for-EVAH to take photos.
I did some sewing too!
Pattern: Summer Blouse from Heather Ross's Weekend Sewing
Fabric: Liberty of London, purchsed at Brooklyn General
I got to model this blouse for Heather's book last year, and have been wanting one ever since. I even splurged for the fancy-schmancy Liberty fabric, which was truly as heavenly as everyone said it was.Ha! I didn't knit this--Carrie did!
Pattern: Flared Lace Smoke Ring Cowl
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Merino DK
This was my lovely gift from Carrie for our second annual Spiders swap, hosted by the gracious and fabulous-ziti-cookin' Marie. It is so pretty and delicate and SOFT! And I wear it all the time. Thank you Carrie!
Oops, I did it again!
Pattern:Star-Crossed Slouchy Beret
Yarn: Road to China, 2 skeins
What can I say, I needed another one.
Raveled here!Pattern: Felicity
Yarn: Jade Sapphire Cashmere
Raveled here!
I l-o-v-e this hat. It gives lots of snuggly head-and-hair-coverage.
That's all for now! Back to the books!

Star-Crossed Slouchy Beret

Well, I finally took photos of yet another 2008 hand-knit:
Pattern: Star-Crossed Slouchy Beret by Natalie Larson
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay 100% Wool
Needles: US 8 & 9
Ravelry, I love you.
I knit this back in October. I think it took 2 days. It was a smaller yarn than called for, so it was not as slouchy as the original, but whatevs. Some days, I just can't think about gauge. ;)
It was a very quick, very fun, and very rewarding knit.
That's all! We're in full wedding-planning/getting-ready-to-go-back-to-school mode over here. There's a lot going on, but some progress has been made: orientation has been attended, I am registered for all of my classes, and... I bought a wedding dress today! Yippee!

Hello, 2009!

I'm a couple of days late to closing out 2008, but what can I say, it was a busy year! I did wrap it up with a couple of new FO's, though:
Pattern: February Lady Sweater
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy, 3 skeins of the Happy Forest Colorway
Needles: Addi US 7 circs
Want deets? Ravelry
So, this has got to be the most popular knit since the Clapotis craze, and I chose one of the most popular yarns to knit it in. Gotta say, though, I'm glad I did. This sweater is classic and wearable, just the perfect thing to throw on with jeans to make your outfit a little more interesting. Though I purposefully made it short to account for blocking growth, it grew WAY more in length than I was expecting, and I had to take out several inches at the bottom and reknit the edging. As always, the bit of extra labor was worth it, as I am now completely satisfied with the sweater.
Next FO:
Pattern: Luna Moth Cowl, using the lace repeat from the Luna Moth Shawl
This cowl was knit with some gorgeous yarn that Maya actually spun with her own pretty little hands, and gave me for Christmas at the Spiders party. It was so pretty, I just had to knit it up into something right away.I'm not sure if the photos really show it, but there's little flecks of red and blue and green in there. So pretty! Thank you, Maya, I love it!
Speaking of the Spiders Christmas party:It was hosted by the lovely Virginia this year, who graciously let us throw all of our various baked goods (except the rum cake, which Carrie wisely put a stop to before disaster struck) into her new deep fryer. Virg, you're awesome, and so is your deep fryer.
Vitalay and I finished our exams and left the next day for a week in Atlanta with my family. It was his first Christmas, and my first Hanukkah, and we had a really lovely, relaxing week:
We arrived back in NYC just in time for the New Year:
And an evening of Prosecco and SingStar on the new PS3.
On the list for 2009? Better time management; more blogging; more blog reading; utilizing Columbia's lovely gym; and planning our wedding and all of the knitting that goes with it.
Happy New Year, everyone!!!

December Already?!?

Wow, this semester went by fast! And it's been such an eventful one, too!
Thank you all, so so much, for your sweet well-wishes. V and I were so excited for a while that we could barely concentrate in school--I mean, it just seems CRUEL to have to go to Physics class when you're daydreaming about weddings and chuppahs, and staring at your new ring. But concentrate we did, and now, it's already time for finals again. Where did the time go?!
In the moments when I wasn't studying like I should have been, I finished this:
Pattern: Tree Jacket
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool
More deets? Ravelry here.
This pattern was great--very simple, easy--perfect for someone who's in the middle of too much school to focus on a complex pattern. I bound off a little on the short side, since I knew the Silky Wool would grow, and it did. It knits up into a really nice, thin fabric, and I love the deep red and the nubbly texture.
Another FO, this one a LOT quicker:
Pattern: Honey Cowl by Jess at Fig & Plum
Yarn: Morehouse Merino Bulky, 1 skein
Ravelry
Seriously, the fastest knit, EVER! I saw Jess's post, decided I had to have one, raided the stash, and 2 hours later, I had a cowl. And I stopped to eat some Middle Eastern takeout. Awesome.
And now it's time to get ready for Christmas/Hanukkah! Is that Christmukkah? I don't know, but we've got the tree up, and the Shabbas candles lit on the fireplace, and I am SO ready for the holidays! Let the merriment begin!

Surprise!

So, we have some pretty big news over here:
Vitalay and I got engaged! And married too!It was a big surprise. We went to City Hall and got married on Friday, so in the eyes of the State of New York, we're official.
But we also got engaged--complete with a total surprise of a down-on-one-knee proposal at beautiful Battery Park City, and we're going to have a proper ceremony with family and friends sometime in the next year. I have so many handknits to plan!!! All of my friends have been coming up with the coolest DIY ideas for their weddings, so I have a treasure trove of information at my fingertips.... ;)
Steph was our witness:
As were Vitalay's friends, Ilya and Eugene.BTW, they're single and on the lookout for some Belarussian twins who knit--any ideas, ladies?
Yay for love!!!