A month!

Yes, I know, it's been more than a month without blogging. What happened? Well, nothing. Literally. There has been no knitting during the last month. That's because classes started on August 28 and I've been very busy. So busy, in fact, that I hardly found time to buy light boxes for the two lamps I made this Summer. But I finally completed the lamps and took a picture, just so I would have something crafty to blog about:



I need to find a better place for them, I believe the effect will be better if they are separated a bit more. I'll try to get back to knitting and blogging, though I know I will not  be posting as often as before.

Visitors from Spain

We were finally able to convince someone (beside my parents) to come and visit us. Since we want them to tell everyone back home what great hosts we are, we kept them really busy and took them to all sorts of places around the bay area.



The poor pooch had to spend many hours alone each day, and the neighbors complained about him howling while we were away. Who would have guessed that such a little dog could create such disturbances? Our guests have left and things are back to normal, but we are being extra nice to the pooch to make up for all that loneliness.

Done!

Whew, I didn't notice how overwhelmed I was with this test until it was over. Now I wish I had done it sooner, I could have enjoyed the Summer a little bit more. To celebrate the test, I sewed on the buttons of the baby cardigan. Sadly, I forgot about the pooch and his funny rag habit. Whenever he finds a piece of fabric on the floor or the sofa, he'll "burrow" around it. Usually all I have to do is make sure I don't drop anything when hauling clean laundry, and never leave the laundry basket on the floor. (If left unchecked, he'll even burrow inside the laundry basket). So I wasn't very surprised a about this:



I just stepped away to get the camera and he rearranged things to his convenience. Should I worry about this? My pooch is usually clean, but still, I assume you'd want your baby items far away from any animal. I was going to wash the cardigan by hand anyway, but now I'm thinking of throwing it in the washer: after all, the label says I can.

I rescued the cardigan and placed it somewhere safe to get this picture:



If I ruin it in the washer, I can always send the picture instead.

Apples

I know this blog has slowed down a bit, but that's because I've been  working on this. My test will take place this Monday and after that I hope to get more crafty time. I'm grateful for all the nice ideas and suggestions, but I ended up not following anybody's advice.

I had already decided on green (not being sure about the shade) for the buttons, but once I got to Michaels I couldn't resist these apples:



They're pretty, aren't they? They certainly cheer up an otherwise boring yellow cardigan.

More math stuff

I know. I should be knitting. Or studying for my test. But I could not resist trying out the new Google Page Creator. Here's the result:

Barron's Precalculus Errata
http://fdpioggia.googlepages.com/barron%27sprecalculus

I thought that creating that webpage was better than including algebra blabber in a knitting blog. Also, who knows? Other frustrated souls like mine could find it useful. I did manage to knit a bit:



Yes, that's an almost finished baby cardigan. It needs some buttons and I'm thinking of Smurf blue, to contrast with that chicken yellow. Would that be too much contrast?

More ceramics stuff

I read about these a long time ago. My first attempt is so ugly I will not even show it, but these are better. Anyone knows what they are?



Here's a hint: They're used to create a two stitch cord:



Of course, you're supposed to use only one end of the yarn, but I was eager to test both of them without wasting too much yarn. That's some of my Easter egg handspun.

Taking too long

I don't know why, I have not been in a knitting mood lately. It's taking me forever to finish this baby cardigan. I think the problem is that I've decided not to work on anything else until I'm done, but I hate the boucle yarn and I'm tired of the pale yellow color. Remind me not to knit anything yellow in a long time.




I'm not far away from the finish line, but I'm really dragging my feet.

One sleeve

I picked up the baby cardigan because, among all my UFOs, it's the one with a deadline. Here's a picture of it with a sleeve, knitted as a tube using two regular needles. I don't recommend using this technique with bouclé yarn. Also,  casting off is a pain and it is better accomplished by separating  the stitches into two separate needles.



The pooch took the opportunity to show off his new Glampyre button.

The spoils

I was finally able to take a picture of the Sinfonía yarn I got in Mexico City. I also got to dig into my mother's knitting supplies and, with her approval, brought with me some metric needles. The aluminum ones used to belong to my great aunt, and the wooden ones to my grandmother. I also got some stitch holders and a set of 3.0 mm double point needles, which so far I had not been able to get in the US. That blue thing is a needle holder. It's not very pretty, but it's useful.



Of course, I brought many other non knitting things, most notably nine bags of spicy peanuts which my husband begged for.

Back home!

What could possibly improve a perfect, flawless trip? Why, finding out that your husband just vacuumed, cleaned the refrigerator and did the laundry, including the doggy bed and even the sofa cover. But wait, there's more: While I was away, I got an e-mail from Glampyre letting me know that a package was on its way and sure enough, it was here when I arrived:



Sock yarn, stitch markers in a pretty purple box and some other glampyre goodies. I got all this because she liked a design suggestion I made. Golly, I'm in such a great mood I feel like singing. Thank you!