As promised...

As I said in my last post, spring would surely arrive just as I finished my mittens. Well, there's my evidence of spring...



...and here are my mittens! Boston has been frustratingly cold lately, so maybe I'll still get a chance to wear them (not that I want to, but you know, silver linings). Quick recap: these are the Herringbone Mittens with(out) Poms from Eliphantom Knits. I used gray and navy Cascade 220, and I would guess I didn't even use a half ball of each color. I was using partial balls to begin with, and I still have quite a bit left over. I finished these a couple of weeks ago, but still... they took an inordinate amount of time to complete by the calendar, but I'd say the total work was only a few hours. My relationship with time is off-kilter though now. "Just a few mintutes" now translates into at least fifteen, and if I say "fifteen minutes," chances are I really mean thirty. I'm still adjusting to city life.

In other news, my semester is complete, as of last night! I had a really great, productive semester, where I learned so much. Both of my professors were not only knowledgeable, but also passionate and enthusiastic and interested in helping their students succeed after their programs are complete. I got a lot of great advice from both of them regarding making a living at what I want to do. So now I've got almost two entire months off before I start a summer class. I've spent most of today thinking about all of the things I'd like to do. Would it be foolish to start a sweater?

I Done Went to the City

Most people are surprised to learn that, at 35, I still hadn't been to New York City. That all changed last weekend!

It was one of the greatest weekends of my life. Seriously. Every street we turned down, every block, had fourteen thousand things to do and see. I just walked around most of the time totally slack-jawed.



I saw the view from the (almost) top of the Empire State Building. I went to Grand Central Station and imagined passing through those beautiful hallways so often I become blind to them. I got to go to a fancy restaurant and see a magnificent burlesque show.



I even got to hang out with dinosaurs.



The best part though was day dreaming about living there. Seeing all of the activity, watching the people going about their days, sitting on the train and feeling the lull of the smooth motion. I kept feeling confused, thinking in some spots I was in Boston. NYC is really close to Boston.



I'd like to think I'd live there some day, for awhile. I always thought of New York City as somewhere to live when you're young, in your twenties, fresh. But now that I've been there, I see all this opportunity. Maybe someday.

I didn't make it to a single yarn shop. Went with a non-knitter. I'm at the tail end of my spring break and spent this evening working on my mittens and concentrating on relaxing. As promised, I am now about half a mitten away from finishing this pair and spring is sproinging all over here. You're welcome.

The Surest Way to Spring

Clearly this semester has been challenging! I love both of my classes. My workshop classmates are all so good at critiquing, and I love the format of the class. This will be the workshop against which all others will be measured. My other class is a magazine publishing class, which is what I want to do when I'm done with school. We're making a magazine as a class, which is fun. This is the first time I've had a group project where I've actually enjoyed working with everyone else in my group! I don't think I'm alone in my distaste for group work, but these girls in my group are all very organized and prepared. Love it!

Anyway, about that title. I'm convinced that the surest way to spring is to finish a project that is winter specific. Enter: mittens.

This picture is... aged. I've since finished this mitten and actually started mitten #2! Shocking, I know. I'm itching to make a sweater but at the rate it takes me to finish an accessory, I'm afraid I wouldn't finish it until I'm 47. These are the Herringbone Mittens with Poms by Eliphantom Knits. Mine are without poms. The poms are undeniably adorable, but totally impractical. I'm sure I'd rip one off within a week. The yarn is Cascade 220 in navy and gray. I'm a big fan of gray lately (especially these Gray Chucks I keep seeing everywhere), and I had this leftover navy laying around, et voila! You can thank me later if the second I cast off the second mitten the east coast is swept with temperate weather.