Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Coming Attractions: A Preview

The Periodic Table Scarf, in all its unfinished glory:And a close-up:

I apologize for the awful picture quality--these were taken using my camera phone. Still, you get the point, right? I just finished the lanthanide series yesterday. It's my first attempt at stranded knitting, so there's quite a bit of puckering going on. I'm hoping that blocking it to within an inch of its life will help when it's finished (whenever that might be.)

Saturday, June 9, 2007

The Physics of Fainting

I wound up in the ER yesterday. Long story short--dehydrated. Blacked out in bookstore. Spent 3 hours in the ER with a saline drip in my arm.

Physics is driving me up the wall. It's a chapter a day, basically. And I have an exam on Monday. So I'll be spending tomorrow and perhaps part of Sunday where I can't get so distracted--Starbucks.

I have an FO to show you all. Very cute. I don't have my camera with me, so you'll have to wait until I get home. (July 6th.)

The knitting I have with me is something I started back in March or April, and got sick of knitting. So, a fiber change, a needle change, and life is better. What is it? Let me tell you a tale:
Back in March, I was hanging around outside my chem professor's office, knitting one of the SWS socks. There were a bunch of people already in his office, discussing test corrections and such, so I- along with a bunch of other people- just sort of stood there outside his office. (Very narrow hallway, so it's not conducive to doing much.) The prof came out of his office, told the assembled masses that he'd be back in a little while, then saw me, knitting away. "Knitting again?" he asked rhetorically, in a somewhat disparaging way. I usually get ignored or "Ooh! That's so cool!" when I knit in public. This little comment was annoying. I think he meant it as a joke, as I don't think this professor is the type to be nasty to people just for the heck of it, except that it didn't quite sound that way.
So, on the advice of some Knittyheads, I set about looking for something chemistry-related to knit, just to...I don't know, be strange. It'd be very Case of me anyway. :D I was pointed towards this chart, so I modified it to include Sg-Rg, cast on 260 stitches (that was a nightmare) and got knitting. My first foray into colorwork of any type. Might I add that I was using Clover's Bamboo circs (16"). Terrible joins. And might I also add that I was using Red Heart Supersaver. That was no fun to knit with. It was initially a very Oberlin-spirited scarf (maroon and gold). Fitting, as that was where I bought the yarn while I was visiting a friend. I hated knitting it, if only for the yarn and needles. So, when I went home, I made a trip to the LYS and bought 2 skeins of Cascade 220 in a purple color. I'm still using the gold (Paton's Classic Merino) from Oberlin. (It's very Imperial Rome-ish now, I think. And, as an added bonus, it goes with both my coats.) I also bought an Addi Natura circ in a size 5. So much easier, apart from the fact I can't seem to read the chart anymore! And the yarn keeps tangling.
And, as a bonus, an amusing story about it (which I posted on the Knittyboard, so I'll just copy and paste):
[Originally posted Wed April 18, 2007]
"I had a few spare moments after class today, so I pulled out the periodic table scarf and knitted a few more rows, with the chart balanced on my bookbag. While I was doing this, my professor walked over and asked conversationally how my day was. He then happened to see the chart, said "Is that what you're working on?!", picked it up, looked at it, and then: "That's the coolest thing I'e seen all week!" He then told me not to leave out seaborgium."
[end]
Of course, the man also asked if it was a cross-stitch pattern. :| I think I'll go back and annoy him when I finished the scarf. I'll post pictures when it's recognizable. (Right now, it's about two rows into the actual table part of the chart, with a gold border.)