FO: Late Night Grading Handwarmers

Wow, it's been awhile, hasn't it?
It's amazing how fast September blew by.  After the engagement party, things kind of took off.

I started back at the dance studio, which is 3 nights a week (before I schedule my solos/duos/trios).  I'm loving being back, though it's a hard thought to know that I have half a dozen or so seniors graduating this year.  I'm firmly ignoring that thought until at least May, though I have to start planning senior gifts now (lotta knitting this year- uffda!).
One of my old college friends got married a week after the engagement party.  My house that weekend became a gathering place for old college roommates, and it was amazing!

I haven't seen a lot of those awesome folks in awhile, and it was a ton of dancing, movies, talking, laughing, and late nights.  I loved every minute of it!

I spent the following weekend at the Sandstone Climber's Festival, hanging out with old friends and meeting new ones!  It felt really good to stretch my muscles, sleep in a tent under the stars, and find some new projects to thrash myself on!

(Pic is of my friend Katie working Sigma, a 5.12 line that I haven't touched in 3 years, but I'm going to jump on it first thing next week!)
I'm going to be heading to Sandstone next week a few times to hopefully project some routes, and I couldn't be more excited to actually work hard and push myself!
I also was appointed to be the faculty adviser for my school's honor society, which is great- more face-time with students!  I'm also now going to start teaching 4 credits at my old University in October, so my schedule is about to get super crazy!
Throughout all of this, I've been trying to keep up my knitting, and been mildly successful.
Case in point- a long-standing project that's been idling at the bottom of my knitting drawer finally got finished a week ago- my Late Night Grading handwarmers for my chilly office!

Pattern: Carrie Handwarmers by Doris Chang
Yarn: Malabrigo Rios in Archangel
Needles: Size 6 DPN's, bamboo
Timeframe: March 3-Sept 23

Mods: I knit in the round instead of flat, and to get a thumb, I added a 12-stitch thumb gusset.  I kept the gusset in the moss-stitch that the rest of the pattern asked for.
Worst Part: This took way too long to make.  I shouldn't have let them languish.  Also, when I finished, because I was eyeballing the entire thing, I knit one slightly shorter than the other.  It's only visible when you lay the handwarmers side by side, but it'll still both me just a little.
Best Part: I love that I finished these in time to wear with fall colors, and I love the way they look when stretched out on my hands!

I'm actually really excited about the next post- I finally have some underwater pictures to share from my recent diving adventures! :)
Until then... more knitting, lots of grading, lots of choreographing, and lots of snuggling with these guys... :)

FO: Gift Hats

So one of the big events that kind of ended my summer was my brother's surprise Fiesta Engagement Party last weekend!

It was a ton of fun, and we had about 70 people show up to wish my brother and his betrothed their well wishes.  My dad flew up from Florida for the festivities, a keg was tapped, tequila was passed around, and eventually...

a conga line was set up.  

My family is kind of amazing at partying- festivities went on well into the night.

Another cool thing that happened?

I was asked to be a Bridesmaid in the wedding!  SOOOOO excited!  I'm kind of a professional bridesmaid by now.  I can bridesmaid the crap out of a wedding. :)

The next day, despite some headaches, the partying continued on the golf course!

I don't golf.  I feel like I've explained this before.  Me golfing is like a two-year-old who's had too many juice boxes swinging a pinata stick around their head.  It just doesn't work.  

So what do I do instead?

Hang out on the golf cart and get in 4 hours of quality knitting time!

18 holes of golf means that I started and finished an entire hat- the second of two gift hats I knit for people over the last couple of weeks!  Really happy to get these done, because Christmas knitting is beginning to loom...

Pattern: Turn-a-Square by Jared Flood

Yarn: Leftover Cascade 220 in a forest green and a dark blue (the tags are long gone) and Noro in Worsted.  I'm not actually sure what kind- Maeby may have run off with the tag...

Timeframe: August 25-September 6 for both hats!  Woowoo!

Worst Part: None.

Best Part: Knowing that I have this pattern MEMORIZED, since I've knit this hat so many times... uffda! 

Onward to a barter knit, and some knits for myself to wear as the weather begins to turn!

FO: Camping Socks

My August Adventures have concluded for now, and it's back to school and work (and next week- dance!) for at least a month or so for me.  That's not to say I'm going to stop doing all of my activities- if anything, I feel like I barely have time to sit down and relax, between school, dance, training for climbing, diving, and hanging out with friends (one last wedding this weekend!).  It's okay, though- I need to be busy right now.  I'm good at busy. :)
I'll wrap up my August Adventures in another post, but for today, I want to share an FO that I had originally finished at the end of my climbing trip to Colorado.  Unfortunately, the Chubbs-monster got her little face in it and... well, you probably know the rest of the story.

Yep.
Not surprised.
I ended up finishing these camping socks right at the end of August, and I'm excited to wear them to keep my toes cozy when I go climbing up the shore this fall!

Pattern: Climb by Jane Richmond (I own her incredible book Journey, and can't wait to make more patterns from it!)
Yarn: Wildefoote Sock Yarn in gray, red, and cream-white

Needles: Size 2 DPN (I used bamboo)
Timeframe: May 18th-August 25th
Mods: Only a small one- Increased 2 stitches about every inch or so above the heel (only 3 times, so 9 stitches total increase) to take into account my big tap-dancer calves).

Worst Part: Leaving them out for five minutes- which is all it took for the kitten-monster to destroy them.
Best Part: I love the heel on these!  I might use this heel when doing toe-up from now on.