what i did with my summer vacation

So this summer, one of my goals was to make sure I traveled at least a little. This is year is the last one where I’ll have a “summer vacation” before I start studying in earnest and need to be a responsible grownup, and – since it’s been a goal of mine, for a few years now – I thought this year would be a good one to go to Comic Con with a few friends.

It. Was. Awesome.

I saw a lot of people dressed as superheroes, and met up with rad knitters for a bit, and saw a lot of really, really excellent panels that I can’t believe I was allowed to go to. One of the really interesting things about going was seeing the odd sort of subculture that develops within the convention itself – basic social rules suddenly change the second you get that badge and actually step into the convention hall. For instance, despite the fact that I’m sure most of the people at the convention are not three hour line sorts of people, once you’re there, it becomes totally reasonable to wait in line for something (like getting to see a panel with the cast of Fringe, be still my heart) for two or three hours. This may have happened to me more than once over my four day trip.

This is my Bellevue. When I left, I’d finished the body and most of one sleeve. Thanks to all of those long lines, it very nearly became The Sweater I Finished At Comic Con. As it is, I’m moving merrily along on the yoke (which goes quickly), and getting very excited about having this in my wardrobe.

less spinning, more sweatering

I have yet to learn how to use my wheel, unfortunately. However, I started this cardigan a week ago, and it’s quietly becoming my new favourite thing to knit. This is Bellevue (a name which, as an aside, is kind of rad. My grandparents used to live on a Bellevue Ave!), in Malabrigo Sock. I’m enjoying the yarn – it’s a little finer fingering-weight than I usually go for, but it’s nice and soft like Malabrigo tends to be, and the colour is lovely. Good blues always get extra points in my books. This yarn is also plied, so I have high hopes that it won’t be quite as felty as the Malbrigo singles I’ve worked with in the past.

The lace portion at the bottom of the body I found a bit fussy – I don’t know why, because I’m used to knitting lace on hundreds of stitches in fingering-weight yarn, and the lace pattern is actually really easy to memorize, but I guess doing it while I was in “sweater mode” instead of “shawl mode” made it harder. (Also, it’s been brought to my attention that I did the decreases on the purl side wrong, because I’m bad at reading – Laura’s version of this lace is much, much neater.) Now that it’s done, though, I really like the look of it.

white cat, black sweater

Okay, so the cat isn’t entirely white, but she sure sheds white.

This, of course, is the nearly-done body of my Goose Rocks hoodie, which (of course) I won’t be able to wear until at least October, considering the way the weather’s been going lately. But it’s still going to be a good hoodie to have in the fall, and knitting it is a pretty good time. The construction is a little odd compared to other low-seam (not seamless – the arms are knit separately and sewn on) sweaters I’ve made in the past, and the more I work with the cotton-based yarn, the more I find I don’t mind it. Plus, I get to do many, many cables: my one true knitting love.

Some sewing-related stuff also came in the mail today, which was very exciting for me. I ordered some fabric online shortly after finishing my sexy cowgirl pillow – trying something a little bigger is one of my goals for the summer. Ideally I’d like to make a quilt, but I’m scared of actually quilting (it looks hard/ what if I make a mistake/I’m not worthy, etc), so we’ll see.

I also couldn’t resist a half-yard of this fabric – anyone who knows me well has, at some point, heard about my ridiculous love of Alice in Wonderland, and this was too good to pass up. I’d love to turn it into a skirt, but being a classy lady older than about nine, I’m not 100% sure if I can pull it off. There’s a fine line between “hipsterishly cute” and “childlike in a sad, empty sort of way.”

Maybe if I used a skirt pattern that involved panels of different fabrics? I’d like to think if I toned it down with really sensible black and a grown-up A-line pattern, it might be more okay, but it’s possible that I’m just thinking wishfully.

Also, out of curiosity – if I had a pattern to write up, perhaps one that was related to last week’s blog post, would any of you be interested in test-knitting? The only things I can offer as compensation are a copy of the pattern, and eternal glory.