Shedir is finished! It turned out well, but there are a few visible snafu's that I'd do differently.
1. Do 1 row of ribbing instead of 5 in order to make the hat a little shorter
2. For the crown decreases, buy a #1 29" inch circ. I tried to use a 24" for a while, then ended up switching to a bamboo #2 29" simply cause that was all I had. It screwed up my tension a bit.
3. Because the hat would be a little shorter, do not omit rows 75 and 78 (I omitted even rounds 75, 76, 78, 79 because the hat was so long which led to the crown puckering a bit)
That said, I love the hat. I have a headache right now so I don't really feel good wearing it, but that's due to the headache, not the hat. I'm going to line the inside with fleece or cotton so my sensitive skin doesn't tweak out from the wool.
I ripped it out again. It was about 24" unstretched, and while I have a huge head, it kept slipping down. I don't want to have to depend on the crown to keep my hat on.
Their hat (the pattern)
8.7 sts/in
14.2 in circumference (from CO only)
10 rounds per inch
my gauge (with US 6)
4.5 sts/in
3.8 rows/in
9 inches = 34 rows
so: 5 rows ribbing
11 rows cable (ie. chart 10-20)
31 rows decrease
**Won't work**
So, switch to a US 4 - do swatch
Did swatch. Got 5 sts/in and 5 rows/inch. I liked the look of this fabric a lot more. However, I still need nearly double the amount of sts per inch. Next I'm going to switch to US 1's. I don't think I have a US 1, so I might have to buy one.
My newest project: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/shedir
This hat gave me a bit of trouble at first. I'm doing this in two colors, in fair isle. I love the appearance of fair isle but I can't seem to manage floats longer than 1, occasionally 2 sts without puckering. So horrible am I at fair isle that I attempted to do this hat in intarsia. With 16 bobbins. Although extremely complicated, it was actually working until I tried on the hat and realized that it was much too big. I frogged it. I cast on again, casting on 112 sts rather than 128, and using fair isle. Only did 5 rows of ribbing.
I have about 3" done, and it's still a bit big. However, I am planning to line it with fleece, so hopefully it won't fall down around my ears. :D With this fair isle, I just can't push myself to rip back. Again. If I do rip back, I'll take out another 8 sts.
I'm an idiot. It's not going to be as hard to come up with $250 as I thought. I'll use a bit from the paycheck I got today, but then I also have another paycheck coming on Dec 15. As of right now, that paycheck will be at least $110, and the month is only halfway done. If I can get at least $200 for that paycheck... I'll be good.
Though it'll make gift giving for Christmas interesting.
It's been very busy here. I have two work study jobs and am taking 15 credits (semester hours, not quarter) and finals are coming up. I had a horrible flu all last week, so I missed all of my classes except one, so there's lots of catch up to do. I'm in the process of switching my Spring schedule around, as I met with my second advisor today to declare my 2nd major, and he told me that it would be more advantageous to switch one of my classes. I'm also have the great opportunity to work on a real research project with a professor, but I needed to switch my Spring classes around for it. The project I've been working on organizing and heading up started last night, and there was another edition of it today, so there's been a bit of last minute finalizing and stressing. There's one more to go, but my work's going to help me out a bit, so I'm pretty close to being done. My spring schedule is now all set, my work project is pretty much done, so all I have to worry about is finals.
Recently, I've been looking into study abroad programs. When I first applied to my school I was not going to major in Integrated Media, so I didn't look at the program. While it's not bad, it's actually decent, it is lacking in certain aspects. It's a liberal arts Integrated Media, but that's good. The problem is that I want to go into web design and there aren't any upper level web development classes, or upper level programming for web design classes. During a reception for a very interesting sociologist CJ Pascoe, a friend of mine mentioned how he was planning to study internationally in order to take classes that aren't offered here and at the same time get the cultural experience. It sounded perfect. I immediately started looking into the English speaking international programs my school offers. Since I'm double majoring, I don't have the time to go to a foreign country and take courses that don't apply to my major, as I would have to do if I went to somewhere that didn't speak English. I need to maintain the academic level of courses that I'm taking.
I've found a great solution. My school has an agreement with St Mary's College in London. The program price includes a homestay with breakfast and dinner. They have a great media program with upper level web design and programming classes. Because I came into the school with so much credit while being a freshman, even with double majoring I have enough time to spend a semester in England. It would be perfect.
However, I have to raise the funds. My parents can't afford to help at all, so I have to come up with all of it. It's going to be difficult, but I can do it. The program itself (tuition, homestay, breakfast and dinner) are covered by my school's tuition and room and board. This means that my scholarships which allow me to go here will still apply. I'm meeting with the coordinator of study abroad programs to discuss the exact financial and application details. Hopefully, my federal grants and loans will still apply. If they don't, I most likely won't be able to go.
I'll need to pay for my plane ticket, lunch for a semester, and spending money. It'll be quite bit of money. I also need to come up with $250 in order to submit my application on February 8. Normally, that'd be easy. I make that in about a month of working. However, we get paid the month after. So I get January's paycheck on Feb 15. That's not going to work. We're gone all of December. So that means that within the next 20 days I need to come up with $250. There's no doubt that a bit of the paycheck I got today is going towards the $250. However, there's been a bit of a paycheck snafu where I haven't gotten one of my paychecks (that happened last month too) and I owe my sister a chunk of change because of it.
plane ticket: $750-830 (school will reimburse me $750)
lunch: ???
spending money: ???
I'll find out the details about class fees, books, etc on Tuesday, when I meet with the study abroad coordinator. I was really happen with the plane ticket price (although that is for this year, rather than next cause orbitz won't let you go that far ahead) and I think that going to England is doable. The hardest part right now will be coming up with the $250.
I've decided to get back into riding. I started riding when I was 8, and took lessons 2-4 times a month for a bit over 5 years. I stopped riding when I was 13, in October 2001 when my trainer moved nearly two hours away. By then, I was in junior high and had a lot of things going on other than riding. Over the next six years I missed it quite a bit. I've always been a horsecrazy girl, and I'd go to a horseshow over a mall any day. A lot of the reason why I didn't go back to riding was my weight. I was not happy with it, and I was too embarrassed to find a new trainer, a new barn, because of it.
However, I've lost a bit of weight (25 lbs) since this summer and I've decided I'm no longer going to deny myself what I love. Even though I'm still a bit off from my target weight, I'm a lot happier with myself. I don't mind the way I look in breeches, although I might keep my shirt untucked :D. Plus, I know that once I start riding, that alone will help me get into shape. But I'm not going to rely on only that. I don't eat as much as I used to, and I hardly ever eat junk food (excluding a candy bar when I really need a sugar fix). But even the candy bar may be twice a month, rather than twice a week. If I have fruit or something else that is naturally or healthily sweet, I don't even have candy. It's only because right now the money I have for food (ignoring what's currently in my fridge) is on my meal card, and they don't have anything that is healthy sweet and doesn't have lactose.
I'm planning to go to the gym at least twice a week. As I discovered today, they have a lot of machines that are perfect for strength training in regards to riding. Looking on the net I discovered that the majority of feelings towards the abductor/adductor machine are negative, but it depends from what point of view you're looking at it from. The big critique about this machine is that it builds muscle (like it's supposed to Lol) and that muscle is under the fat, which only makes your thighs bigger. However, thigh muscle for riding is good, especially for the sitting trot. I'll just have to make sure that I don't use it as much as I originally planned to, or at the very least, make sure that I do more cardio. I don't need my thighs any bigger, I need them stronger and more toned.
I also wanted to compile a list of English apparel manufacturers who realize that not all of us are 5'6 and 112 pounds. Believe me, the equestrian world (mostly English) is second only to gymnastics on the emphasis on weight. Tack shops usually carry breeches from 28" waist to 36". They run small, and if you are any larger than that, well it can be a bit hard to find breeches that not only fit, but look good. With the exception of show hunter breeches, which are supposed to be a bit larger and more loose, wearing breeches is like wearing tights, only they're made out of thicker fabric. And of course, each brand's breeches fit completely differently, even the styles usually are completely different. You may fit a pair of style A from company A perfectly, but style B seems to be three sizes too small.
Because of this, recently I've spent a lot of time in tack shops and searching for products online. Every time I do, I seem to find hidden, but very good resources. I want to list them here not only so that I won't lose them, but to also help anyone else who is trying to find good English schooling and show apparel.
Breeches
Equestrian Connection, specifically Tuffrider
Boink Equestrian - they not only have sizes going up to 2XL (and their sizes don't look like they run small at all) but they have XL petite breeches for all those short riders like me! It's only a matter of time until I purchase the Clarino Leg Patch breeches from them.
Boots
Horse & Rider, ETC - the Victoria Plus Size Ladies Field Boots are one of two pairs that I'm considering getting. Those two are the only ones I've found yet that will accommodate a calf size of 17 1/2 and larger.
Dublin Equileather - comes in calf sizes up to 17"
This entire list has boots that come up into larger sizes (not large enough for me though)
Tallyho Equestrian Outfitters do custom boots that will not cost you an arm and a leg (too expensive for a poor college student though)
Nittany also has larger sizes, but there are mixed reviews on them. These are one of my two pairs.
More to come later!
So.
It's been several rough weeks over here. Without complaining incessantly, this whole LI (lactose intolerance) thing is a pain in the pa-tootie. With more research I have discovered that it looks like LI (severe LI) rather than milk allergies. Until the end of last week, I had no food in my refrigerator, and I couldn't eat anything except salad at the cafeteria. So, stuck between the choice of eating something with dairy in it and getting sick, or not eating, I didn't eat. For two weeks, I think I ate maybe four times. While that has done wonders in making me comfortably fit pants a size smaller, I was so incredibly out of it. I felt like a zombie wandering the earth.
After two weeks, and when I finally start to eat again (I have food in my fridge), I get smacked down by the cold from hell. For some reason, my sleeping schedule got all off track and let's just say I'm beating my own personal insomnia records. Finally, a week after I get my cold, I'm 90% better and can function without being heavily medicated, when I get hungry and decide that eating a Panini, with the cheese taken off would be just fine. It did have mayonnaise, but it was a mayonnaise-Dijon blend which I reasoned couldn't upset me too much.
Boy was I wrong. Over 30 hours later, I'm still feeling icky.
I really hate LI.
Knitting wise, this is going to be quick cause I'm actually tired and I have a huge test that I'm getting up early to cram for (see what I mean about the insomnia thing? And this is nothing) I haven't been doing much of it. I'm working on the earrings project, plan to resume the Monkey socks and finish up the Counterpoint blanket.
So I'm doing what I never thought I would: I'm going vegan (this is the easiest summation of how I'm changing my diet). I love animals, but I've never thought of going vegan. I remain blissfully ignorant to this day about what exactly occurs in slaughterhouses, because I knew that once I was aware, I would never be able to eat meat again with a clear conscience. However, just because I didn't bookmark PETA didn't mean that I was a very carnivorous person. In fact, in the past year I can count on one hand the number of times I've eaten a meat other than chicken. Not that chickens were less abused in farms, but I want everyone to know where I'm coming from. Going vegan does not mean that I'm going to have to completely change a diet of veal and duck to no meat at all. I ate meat very rarely, but I still ate it.
However, lately meat or should I say chicken, because in actuality that was all the meat I was eating, just doesn't appeal to me. At all. Last week I ordered this delicious creamy pesto fettuccine with pine nuts and chicken. I nibbled on on of the tiny bits of sliced and diced chicken, and that was it. It just didn't appeal to me, or sound good in any way, as I devoured the rest of the dish.
This leads me to the main reason I'm going vegan. For some strange reason, for the last two weeks every time I have eaten a dairy product, including cheese, I get the worse nausea known to man. This isn't the vaguely uncomfortable, 'oh my stomach is gurgling' this is 'holy crap I should go sit on the bathroom floor for the next hour because any second I may throw up' sort of nausea. Of course, I despise feeling like this. If I feel like I have the flu every time I eat a dairy product, well then by god, I'm going to stop eating dairy.
Unfortunately, my school cafeteria has little to no healthy vegan options (their idea of vegetarian options is instead of throwing meat into the stir fry for a minute, they take tofu, right out of the bag, cut it up into 1 1/2 blocks, and toss it into the stir fry instead. No thank you!! Unprepared tofu is like unprepared meat: disgusting). So this means that I have to try to cancel my meal plan for the next term. Since I'm living in a room that doesn't have a kitchen, ie. an apartment, and only has one kitchen (complete with ants) for the entire building, I'm probably going to have to bully my way through the red tape in order to abscond. This will probably mean going to an M.D. and getting a doctors note and harrassing the food company. Good fun.
The one good thing about this is that although it makes me queasy in the extreme, if I am absolutely forced, I can eat dairy products. If all of my friends go out for a slice at a non-vegan friendly place, I can have a slice without keeling over. But without that social issue, if it's a choice between eating dairy and not eating at all, I'm going to have to take the not eating. I didn't eat anything all day today until 10pm when I found the vegan wrap at my school's Bistro. Two days before that I only had dry cheerios and a cup of noodles.
Come tomorrow, the vegan wraps will be gone. The other vegans on campus are probably just as hungry as I am.
