I'm back

Wow, I've been MIA for weeks! I've been really busy meeting grad school deadlines but have been squeezing in yarn whenever I can.

Since my last post was about crochet, I'll start there. I got super motivated after "learning" to crochet a granny square at my knitting group, went out and bought all the stuff in this picture, and then massively failed at crochet attempt after crochet attempt. I could do the set-up round but was incapabale of going further. It turns out that I was pulling it too tight and trying to crochet into the wrong chain.

It wasn't until my group met up again on March 25th that I was able to master the granny square. And look at how much progress I've made!

Please excuse this cell phone picture, but here's what I've got so far. I'm doing LP, DP, LP, P, LP, DP, etc. Since I'm using the light pink yarn every other time, I've used up one full ball already. I'm not sure how big a square baby blanket should be, but I'll just crochet until I've either run out of light pink yarn or think the blanket is big enough.

I've also been knitting Dennis's Oliver socks. The cuff of the second sock is about 2/3 done and has been my commuter-knitting for the past couple of weeks. It's a super boring k2p2 ribbing that is perfect for mass transit (unless it's rush hour when you're crammed in the subway car like a sardine) and I've been keeping it in my purse for my frequent bus, subway, or train rides. Once I finish the cuff, I'm going to have to find another commuter project because the foot requires lots of concentration. The fussy foot is worth the effort though because sock #1 fit Dennis perfectly.

Lastly, Girasole is resting comfortably in my yarn basket. On March 6th I started ripping back to Chart C's halfway point, where I had put a lifeline. <-- Here is a picture of the blob that resembled a sea creature.

Since then, I knitted six more rows, put in a lifeline, then knit some more before realizing I'm one stitch short. I'm currently contemplating whether I should again rip back to mid-Chart C or fudge the one stitch and knit on. I don't see any errors in my knitting and am feeling kind of defeated. I'm supposed to see Jared Flood again tomorrow night (Kim sucked me into this one) so maybe I'll be that annoying audience person and ask for his expert eyes.

p.s. I really want to cast on for a black lace shawl; I'm not optimistic about finishing it in time for the May 1st wedding but may give it a go. This is of course despite the fact that I haven't worked on my mom's vest since before the Olympics. *sigh*