I'M BAAAAACK!!! - Part Three

Being loved by knitterly people....for no reason other than you knit.

And last, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST!!! I got my first RAK today!! The wonderful Momma Monkey from Hawaii sent me a lovely package: (details) For non-knittys, an RAK is a random act of kindness. Someone from the board can send you a package just to be nice and brighten the day of a lovely knitster. Thank you so much!!

Turns out, Momma Monkey was my Winter SP!! But the same thanks go none the less!!

I'M BAAAAAAAACK!!! - Part Two

Off to Vegas.......I'm leaving on a jet plane........

These are the Jaywalkers I finished and wore them on the way to Vegas. Hey, how many of you can say you have a piture of your knitting in the DFW airport? :-P

Here is the first thing that catches my eye:

This is the Christmas tree in front of Caesar's Palace. It has fiber optics in it and constantly changed color....it was awesome.

I didnt' get much knitting time in Vegas except on the ride there and back. I casted on the Fair Isle socks from Knit Picks, which is what I am working on here:

For those of you who have never been to Vegas, yes, those are slot machines in the background....at the airport. We finally got into Vegas at 6:30am Friday morning. For those of you who live anywhere from Austin to Gainsville, you can bet how fun that was. We had huge storms cxome through and the turbulance was awful.

Back to knitting...so I mentioned the Fair Isle socks:

They were coming along nicely, until I noticed something....they were coming out too SMALL!!!! All of that Fair Isle....wasted.......However, after I got done cursing up a storm, I noticed something else...they fit my hand NICELY! So, they are now fingerless gloves. No, of course they were never going to be socks....that was me fooling you....um, yeah!

I'm BAAAAACK!!! - Part One

As most of you know, My family went to Las Vegas right after Christmas. We had a great time and I am now trying to get back to the real-ish world. I haven't been to my computer in a week, so I have a TON to share, so bear with me.

First, CHRISTMAS!!!

We had wonderful fun and everyone loved their gifts. There was a little of this going on, I had to admit...

But there were no KUI (knitting under the influence) mishaps. I just quit when it got too hard to concentrate!

I made my brother a Fake Isle Hat from MagKnits (details):

Doesn't he look excited? Plus, he's single gals!!

My Mom and Dad both got a pair of Fuzzy Feet:

Here's Dad, modelling his pair (he wore them for two days, God bless him!)

I received some lovely knitting books, including At Knit's End, Dyeing to Knit, A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting, a Joann's Gift Card (yes, it's already spent!), the Seventh (and final, sniff) season of The West Wing, yummy candy and.....a ticket to see Jerry Seinfeld in Vegas! My brother is a HUGE fan!

Next, since blogger is being stupid and will only let me upload a certain number of pictures at a time, will be VEGAS!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

.....It's the mooost wonderful tiiiiimmmmmme....of the yeeeeeaaarr!!!!!

I love Christmas, if you can't tell. I am currently at my grandparents house, so no pictures, but a little update.

The Brea Bag is 95% done....as in I finished knitting it right before I got one the road, so it needs to be sewn together and a handle attached.

I finished my Jaywalkers....and they will be worn tomorrow on our family trip to Las Vegas. I need good vibes from ya'll.....I need yarn money....and maybe a spinning wheel......sush!....don't tell Mom!....she thinks I have enough "crap" :-P j/k Mom!!

My next socks are the Simple Stripes Fair Isle socks from KnitPicks. Those will get casted on on the 4.5 hour drive back to DFW for our flight out.....woo....hoo...

Everyone loved their knitted gifts, which was nice. I made some felted slippers for my parents and my Dad has been wearing them all day....bless him....and I made my brother a "fake isle" hat, to which he was grateful, but gave me construction tips for next time.

Allright.....must go back to packing up and trying to fit all of my liquids into a quart size ziploc.

I love the holidays, especially this time of year. I love getting together with the family and being a family. It makes you reflect on your life and what is in it.

A few weeks ago, I did "Christmas Baking", which consisted of fudge, peanut brittle, haystacks, and cookies. I loaded it up and delivered it to a bunch of people at school. This is a tradition that I love that goes back MANY a moon. I can remember my lovely mom slaving over the hot stove doing racks of peanut brittle, trays of fudge, and sheets of millionares. All of this would go to the neighbors, friends, and the teachers for my brother and I.

In my new research group, I am the only native graduate student. We have two from India and one from Taiwan. This wasn't necessarily a "Christmas" thing, more of a "goodwill towards men" thing. I didn't hesitate giving each one of them their share of the booty. It took some explaining that it wasn't Christmas or anything. They were in awe...they didn't know what to say. One of the guys told me later that in they four years he had been there, that was the first gift anyone had given him. Makes you feel all warms and fuzzy inside, huh?

For those not curious about my life, here is some knitting!

This is the Brea Bag, side one...or it would be if I could get the light right. I was sifting through patterns I wanted to do and my roommate commented that she loved this one....plus she is a purse person. So, I obliginingly began to knit it up. The first side took about a day-ish in front of the TV. (For more curious folk it took My Fair Lady, Pirates 2, The Devil Wears Prada, and Christmas Vacation.)

WOO HOO!!!! Let me say that again.... WOO!!!! HOO!!!!!

Classes are over and my Christmas knitting is complete!!!

...but you won't see them until after Christmas!! :-P

But, for your veiwing pleasure, I have been spinning a bit. Sunday, I went to my first meeting of the Denton Spinning Guild. It was exciting and I met alot of people and got to see some great wheels in action. Here's what I worked on:
It is spinning up wonderfully, very barber-pole-ish. The pictures don't do it justice.
At the meeting, we also had a gift exchange and I got some hand-dyed Tussah silk roving in peaches, oranges, and rust colors. It will be beautiful spun up.
During a study break, Kerry and I finally got around to felting her bag, which is her first knitting project. I think it turned out great!

The pictures were taken pre- and post-felting, with the lovely Microwave Spectroscopy book for scale. Hey, we're chemists....it's what was handy!

Now, back to the regularly scheduled knitting.....

FINALS ARE OVER!!!!

...at least for me. My roomie still has two more.

That is about all of the good news. My final was awful....dreadful....but it is over and there is nothing else I can do about it now. I do have some nice knitterly content, but I will save it for later. I am off to drink my sorrows away with my fellow classmates.

Ahh...Dead week....

For those non-academics, that would be the week before finals when all loose ends are tied up from classes. But in grad student land, this just means more time to focus on research, or so my boss tells me. :-P

The good part is that my work consists of sitting in front of the NMR, monitoring experiments for hours. Hmmm...hours of sitting aimlessly, what to do, what to do....yep, I knit.

So, since I can't show you any knitting pics, enjoy a nice meme from Trillian42:

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Lifeguard
2. Phlebotomist
3. Winn Dixie Cashier
4. Research Assistant

B) Four movies I would watch over and over
1. Harry Potter (any of them)
2. The Princess Bride
3. The American President
4. Galaxy Quest

C) Four places I have lived
1. Sweetwater, TX
2. Shawnee, KS
3. Omaha, NE
4. Denton, TX

D) Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. The West Wing
2. Little House on the Prarie
3. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
4. Star Trek: TNG

E) I have been on vacation:
1. Florida
2. Cozemel, Mexico
3. Ruidoso, NM
4. Las Vegas, NV

F) Websites visited daily:
1. Hotmail
2. Knitty Coffeeshop
3. Yahoo
4. Yarn Harlot

G) Four of my favorite foods:
1. Potatoes (any make or model)
2. Steak
3. Beans 'N Cornbread
4. My Grandmother's Chicken Fried Steak

H) Four places I would rather be right now:
1. In bed, asleep
2. Las Vegas
3. Italy
4. Anywhere with all of my family

I) Four people I’m tagging with this questionnaire:In the spirit of the holidays and giving, I'm not tagging anyone specific. If you want to post this one, go right ahead! :D

Home Stretch....
...both for holiday knitting and school, both to which this blog is dedicated. Next week is Dead Week and then my one final is next Tuesday. I am ready for my class to be OVER!!! But I won't rant....yet....

Ok, I will probably curse myself by saying this, but I will do it anyway....the holiday knitting is acutally on schedule and coming along nicely....but another snow day wouldn't hurt either. I promise to have the pictures posted ASAP...I know Sarilyn is waiting patiently. :-)

Tomorrow, I am off to help Kerry grade two sets of exams and then we will be bums by knitting and finally felting her purse she finished last week. I will post pictures when I return.

Since my blog disaster a few weeks ago, I think I have finally put everything right. I had forgotten my yarn store links, which are now in place. So, you know, if anyone needed a gift certificate, um..yeah....so...how 'bout them Cowboys?

Hope everyone is staying warm!!!