Studio Marlowe

So, I know, I haven’t updated much in the past month or so.  There are a couple of reasons. I was working on some projects that I couldn’t blog about, so there was that.  And I have also decided it’s time to buckle down and make some progress on the PhD, so there is less time for knitting/blogging.  But, I’m still alive and I’ve even knit some stuff!  For now, let’s reveal that I finished a mitt:

I’m teaching a class on these and the first one was last Thursday.  It was a pretty small class which I think was probably better for now.  Overall it was pretty fun and (I think, no major disasters).

Okay, I’m off to catch up on housecleaning now but I’ll try to blog sometime again in the next month

A couple of full-on shots of Lena, version long sleeves:

I’ve had several people busy test knitting the pattern to get the kinks worked out, and I’m hoping to have it available for download realllllllly soon.  Mostly because I have a ton of new stuff that needs working on so I need to get this out ASAP or it won’t happen at all.

The first half of the second set of Crispin mitts (that’s a mouthful, no?) is almost ready for blocking:

I’ll be teaching a colorwork class using these mitts as the project in May/June, so once I’m done with the second mitt they’ll probably be residing at Loop and Leaf as a sample for a little while.  But next winter I will be breaking them out on a daily basis when the bike ride starts getting chilly again.  They’ll be a nice warm layer between me and the cool morning wind.

I’ve always bought most of my spices in the bulk section of whatever food co-op I happened to be living near at the time.  This method of purchasing has many advantages: spices are cheap, you only have to buy as much as you want, you can sniff things before you buy them, and so on.  The major disadvantage is that you wind up with a million little bags of spices that need keeping track of.  Historically, I’ve also had almost no personal kitchen space to organize my spices in.  Now, I have a dedicated spice area, but the disorganization has persisted:

Yuck, no?  I could catalog the problems, but let’s just move on.  Since I moved into my own place, I’ve been on the lookout for a spice rack of some kind, but most of the ones I saw for sale involved countertops.  I have almost no counter space.  Then, I saw this great post over at my aim is true.  Eureka!  I got myself some aluminum tins, magnets, and a little glue (thanks to Susan at West Coast Crafty for the glue suggestion, btw):

Then I got to work. The project will take several hours, but most of that is glue drying time.

Step 1: glue the magnets to the back of the tins.  Remember that glue fumes are no good for your brain–work in a well-ventilated area.  We were having nice weather so I did all my glue work out on the patio:

The glue will need a little while to dry.  I did some housework and got on with reading The Hobbit, since my knitting group has apparently now also become a book club (yay!).  I also pulled all the spices out of the cabinet to fully asses the spicing situation.  I discovered (big surprise) that I had duplicate or even triplicate bags of some things.  Yikes!

When the glue has set, transfer your spices into the tins.  I used a Sharpie marker to label each tin:

The * mark indicates that there’s still more of the spice in the cupboard, so now I’ll know to check there before running out to buy more (the mark will come off with a little rubbing alcohol when the cupboard supplies are finally exhausted).

Next, you’ll need a surface to stick the tins on.  I used my refrigerator:

Currently they’re organized alphabetically, we’ll see how that works out.  If you don’t have fridge space, you can also use wall mounted magnetic knife racks, which can be found at Ikea and probably most kitchen supply stores.  You can also get magnetic sheeting and mount that on the wall. Be warned that each of these options will up the cost of the project considerably and you may wind up finding it more economical to just buy a magnetic spice rack.  However, using just the fridge, I calculated that my setup cost 1/3 to 1/2 of what I would pay for a premade magnetic spice rack with comparable storage capacity.

Finally, since I’d cleared up the bagged spice situation, I was also able to reorganize the cupboard:

So much tidier, no?  The top shelf holds the duplicate spice supply, middle shelf is for “savory” seasonings and some sushi making supplies, and the bottom shelf is baking things, mostly my collection of extracts.

Here’s a little sneak peek of the finished long-sleeved Lena:

I wanted to get a full-on shot but between recent furniture rearrangement in my apartment and high winds out of doors it was just not happening.  So instead, here are the cuffs, just to prove that I got down to the ends of each sleeve.  Modeling the cuffs are my forearms and hands.

Hands can be such a little snapshot of a person.  You can spot a classical guitarist by their fingernails (long on the right, short on the left).  An avid gardener will often have a bit of dirt stuck under the nails.  And since our hands are so out there, doing things for us every day, they can accumulate the battle scars of our daily life.  Mine certainly have.  When I was a toddler, I nearly lost a finger in an accident with a closing door–there’s a scar (and the occasional tingling sensation under my fingernail) from that.  In middle school, I had a run in with a hot glue gun which has left a distinctive heart-shaped scar at the base of my right thumb.  There are a few other little cooking related-scars as well, which leads me to suspect that a stranger might conclude I could do with acquiring an oven mitt.  But despite all I’ve subjected them to, my hands are still a magnificent set of tools.  They made this whole sweater, so it’s fitting that they get to be front and center of the photo announcing its completion.

The area surrounding our community gardens would probably be described by most people as “overgrown”.  I think it’s also quite beautiful and a little Secret Garden, in its own way.  The flowers have been blooming in force for the past few weeks, so today I went out to snap some photos before they were all gone:

These pinks ones are everywhere around my plot. Around the corner there is some color relief with a patch of yellow:

And finally, these are down the path and I think probably my favorites:

When I’m getting close to the end of a project, I always start thinking about what I can start next.  Usually several things I can start next, which is how I seem to have accumulated too many projects on the needles. I’ve definitely hit that stage with Lena. I’ve been playing around with swatches in the navy angora/wool blend I mentioned last week, and now I’m thinking about this:

Because obviously what I need is an alpaca lace shawl! Actually, I’m thinking it would make a nice birthday or Christmas gift for my mother.

I’m not decided on whether or not I’ll let myself cast on for two new projects at once (I really am trying to keep the projects pile under control), but definitely expect to see this yarn again. It is too lovely to just sit in my stash!

I’m down to the last 40 rows on Lena:

The longer sleeves are working out really well.  I’ve made the decreases on the lower arm very gradual, which gives the sleeves a very slightly belled appearance.  An excellent look, in my humble opinion.

Of course, now I am getting antsy to move onto the next project!  Impatience is definitely a signature trait of mine at times.

The exams were a bit of an ordeal, but they’re over, and I actually did do quite a bit of knitting.  Because really, when you come home in the afternoon and your brain has gone all soupy from sitting for eight hours of exams, you don’t want to do anything difficult.  Enter the miles of stockinette on the body of Lena:

I think this second version of the sweater is going to be just as nice as the first.  The body fits perfectly, and I’m excited to get on with testing out the pattern for the longer sleeves.  I know I’ve said it before but I am really, really enamored of the shoulder/sleeve construction I came up with here.  I can definitely see myself using it in future projects.

Remember that angora/lambswool yarn I acquired recently?  I’ve been working up some swatch ideas with it:

If I’m thinking of working in a mix of stitch patterns with a yarn, my swatch usually gets pretty long.  I hate to cast on and knit another bit of garter stitch and make a whole new swatch for each stitch pattern, so I just keep the swatch going.  Sometimes it only takes a few rows to figure out that something is not going to work.

Here…I have a few definite ideas for what I want to do with this yarn, but there are still some things up in the air. Fortunately, I have some time to decide, since I have Lena and a mitt and a half to finish up before I cast on for anything new.  However, I will say that I am really loving the look of the cabled border bit on the right. Thoughts?

And, a general housekeeping note, I will definitely not be updating the blog for the next few days.  Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I will be sitting the written exams that I have to take as part of advancing to candidacy in my doctoral program (I have to pass an oral exam also, but that will be later this year.  Then, if I’ve passed both, I’ll be a “PhD candidate” instead of just a plain old “graduate student”).  Assuming I make it through in one piece, I should be back to blogging on Thursday.  See you then!