It's Official...

... I'm going to Israel!!!

I know, crazy, right?  It's been a nutty couple of weeks over here.  Where to start?

This semester has been insane.  After spending way too much time studying and working, and getting sick with the flu, I took a much needed week in Arizona with my mom for Spring Break. It was gorgeous there--I don't think I saw a cloud for a whole week.  We lounged by the pool, got massages, and ate everything in sight--or I did, at least. Mom managed to control herself.

Meanwhile, Vitalay was in Belarus:

having, shall we say, a not-so-luxurious time.

That's a knitted hat, BTW.  As in, knitted-by-me.  Yes, I actually still knit.  In fact, I have a blissful summer of knitting ahead of me, just around the corner....

So, upon getting back, we decided to make plans and go to Israel (he's from there) this summer. And now that the tickets are bought, I can officially announce it, and I am SO EXCITED!!! Sunshine and the beach and going out in Tel Aviv and seeing Jerusalem....  I can't believe it. Yippeee!

So ladies (and gents, if you're out there), here's the question: what knitting to take?!?  I had this problem with India too, where I didn't actually knit at all, but this trip is going to have a lot more downtime.  It's gonna be hot, and I need simple-simple-simple, b/c if I have to drag a chart around, I don't think it's going to happen.  So lace, while packing-friendly, is not quite the thing.  Any suggestions?  Socks, I guess?  Like, maybe some fair-isle ones...?  ;)

Spring in the air

Temperatures are getting a little warmer, midterms are getting stressful, and it was seeming like a good time for a weekend away. Away somewhere where there are no tall buildings, where it is quiet at night, where you have to drive around in an actual CAR! Vitalay and I were at a bit of a loss for where to go, but our well-traveled (and witty) Botany teacher recommended Intercourse, Pennsylvania as a quiet and romantic getaway. Right in the heart of Amish Country, it is only a 3 hour drive from the city, and a quick 45 minutes away from Longwood Gardens, a huge and spectacular botanical garden whose extensive conservatory is having an orchid show right now. Wanna see some pictures?







The weekend happened to coincide not only with Easter, but my birthday too!
Thanks, Vitalay, for the ice-cream cake! Yes, I know I'm not 4 anymore, but I still love ice cream cake on my birthday--particularly the cake-batter flavored one from Cold-Stone....
But now it's time to get back to midterms and all of the chemistry homework that I'm so dreadfully behind on. I'm already looking forward to a long, lazy summer in Brooklyn.... Maybe then I'll even have time to knit this beautiful sweater that I already have some Fibre Co. Road to China for....

Domestication

I've never been much of one for the kitchen. Sure, I like to eat, but it's more of a task to be completed than an experience to make an event out of. I like simple food, things that I can make quickly in a frying pan that involve tortillas and cheese.
But there's something to be said for spending a chilly winter Sunday indoors, shacked up with a roaring fire, 33 flash cards of plants to memorize, and a kitchen full of food. Warm, heavy comfort food, potatoes and rice and hummus and eggs and vegetables and all sorts of strange things that I never thought belonged together, let alone in my kitchen.
I am still a creature of habit, though, sticking to the simpler things that I know will please: What better way to sweeten the memorization of plants than with a pile of freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies?
And I know I promised knitting content:May I present the lovely Eleonora sock knitted for me by Kaitlyn for our first ever Spider Single Sock Swap! This event was, I think, even more of a success than we expected it to be. A few people have had some bad experiences with online swaps with strangers, so we figured that an exchange among friends was the way to go. It was a gorgeous array of knitted beauty all gathered in Marie's fantastic new apartment. Thank you Marie for being, as ever, such an excellent hostess!!!
Here's another shot of my pretty, pretty sock:Now I just need a little time to knit the 2nd one!

Spiders Sing!

Warning: there is no knitting content ahead. Occasionally we Spiders do put down our needles for a short time (though they're always nearby in our gigantic bags full of yarn) and take the edge off the week with a few drinks and... karaoke!The evening started off demurely enough with the usual couple of hours of knitting at The Point, but then traveled south into the depths of Chinatown to Asia Roma, a restaurant/bar/karaoke joint that boasts a menu of both Chinese and Italian food. Plus, they have all of the favorite Chinese ballads--what more could we ask for, really?After pissing off some 7-year old girls ("Hey, it's our turn!") and getting a couple of drinks in the system, the Spiders took the stage. I think the highlight of the night was Lisa's rousing rendition of "I Will Survive," which prompted the aforementioned 7-year-olds to shyly walk over and tell her that she needed to try out for American Idol. Towards the end of the night, the place filled to bursting, and after busting out a few more songs to a crowd of about 30 people, we made our exit.
I promise, next time I post, it won't involve a bar! I'm closing in on the end of the Gathered Pullover, and am so excited for it to be done--everyone's on Ravelry are just gorgeous.
Happy singing, everyone!

I think his name was Rob...

... but am not entirely sure, focused as I was on his unusual knitted cap:
Rob (if that was indeed his name) seemed unconvinced that Carrie and I were only interested in his hat, but was happy to go along with it, only allowing us to photograph said hat after showing him some credentials (her press badges, and my pouch with a sock on the needles). Sadly, he claims to have purchased the hat, so there was no knitter to track down for the pattern.
So, anyone seen this one before? Know of similar patterns? I was ogling it from across the bar for a couple of hours before I dragged Carrie over to help me get a photo. The colors are a little washed out here, but it was a chocolate brown with mint-green cables--it made me think of ice-cream, yum. :)

If You Come Here, You'd Better Like Cupcakes....

... because you'll most definitely be getting one.My darling friend Charlotte, with her requisite Magnolia cupcake. Charlotte's an Aussie who lives in Edinburgh and came to me by way of Florida. She is, as many of my visitors seem to be these days, a fantastically talented musician (a fiddle-player, to be precise) who can be spotted playing with various cool bands around the globe.
I got her all to myself for 3 days of Serious New York fun and sightseeing. We saw "Avenue Q" one night and the "Farnsworth Invention" the next (just to get both ends of the intellectual spectrum), visited MOMA, and viewed the city from the top of Rockefeller Center (this is a great bird's-eye-view option of NYC b/c you can actually see the Empire State Building in all its glory).
We visited one of my all-time favorite book characters in Central Park, Alice in Wonderland:And did about a million other things. And then she flew home, over that big old ocean, and now I miss her! Charlotte, come back anytime!
But wait! Just so's you know, the Swirly-girl Socks are done!I've already worn them, throughout a whole day of wearing tights and a skirt in this freezing cold weather so that I could show them off. I've always been willing to freeze just a little for vanity's sake, but now for knitting vanity too? I'm doomed. ;)

You want more?

Well, OK! Gosh, you sure are greedy little knitters! ;)
I give you... Swirly-Girl Socks:
Some pretty fair-isle swirls to work on once you've knitted all of the beautiful mittens that one girl can reasonably own. (But if you're still low on mittens, no worries, we've got a pair of those on the way, too.) I used Colinette JitterBug, which is SO nice and soft and squishy.
Got to go knit the other one, then! See ya!
Oh wait, the pattern is here. It's in the sidebar, too. Happy knitting!