Stócaí

Ravelry tells me I started these on the fourth of January.  Bit embarrassing, that.  In my defense, I did go to London (can't take knitting needles on planes these days, boring) and knit a squirrel and have quite important tests (only have the results from one back, but I got a First - not so smart now, are you, chordates?) and a few assignments each week for the last month.  Excuses, excuses.

But! they're finished now.  And  they've been nearly finished for quite some time, so it's very satisfying on that front, and they're my first ever real socks so I have a nice sense of accomplishment, and I quite rarely make anything inedible for myself, so it's a nice indulgence.  Even if the cold weather has passed.  They're a little big and one is slightly longer than the other, but I made socks!

See how happy and rainbowy they are?  Very happy and rainbowy.

Photographing things on my laptop case instead of my bed, shaking things up!  And they are quite wide and chunky, as you can see, but the best cosy socks are, so that works out alright.

The pattern can be found here.  One day I will post a pattern of my own here and be very proud of myself.  Perhaps people will even use it!

Like this, but about Dublin.

Mars Bar Cake

One of my not-written-down-because-that-way-it-doesn't-count-if-I-break-it new year's resolutions was to update this at least once a fortnight.  It's a good exercise in writing.  I keep a diary, but that's more for the sake of memories and chronology, so if I'm busy an entry can be something like "Woke up late, lectures fine, lab report took forever, didn't get around to doing X" where X = the most pressing item on my to-do list.  For this, though, I know other people are reading it (stats are addictive), so articulation seems worthwhile, even if it's just talking about yarn.  I have been fierce busy and not had time to make things, but for the sake of an update, here is the recipe for Mars Bar Cake.

You will need:

• 3 King-size/ 5 snack-size Mars Bars
• 3 oz. margarine (not essential but it makes the chocolate melt a little smoother, and means things won't burn the second you turn your back)
• 1 tbsp Golden syrup (again, not essential)
• 3 big Mint Crisp Bars
• 1 big Dairy Milk Bar
• Rice Krispies

I don't know what the size of the Cadbury's bars I mean is termed.  Not the huge ones, but the ones usually only sold in Supermarkets, bigger than you'd get a new's agents of at the checkout.  You know the ones.

• Melt the Mars Bars, margarine, golden syrup and half of one Mint Crisp Bar in a saucepan.  It might seems like it's done for a while, with lumps taking a while to melt, but it'll be clear when it's done. It's very smooth.
• Stir in Rice Krispies until the consistency feels right.  (This is a very "sure, you know yourself" recipe, but it's hard to go wrong with it.)
• Pour into a square pan.
• Melt the Cadbury's chocolate in the microwave, pour over Krsipies.
• Leave in the fridge to set.
• Om nom nom.

And here is one I made yesterday for my dad's birthday!  It went down well.

I used to use this for crafts I think.

First of my OpWall Crafting projects: a squirrel on wheels.

One of these days I will have to start taking proper photos of things I make, or at least take them somewhere other than my bed.

The pattern is from Knitting Mochimochi by Anna Hrachovec.  Amigurimi can be knit these days. Who knew?  The wool is some Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride that I have left over for another project.

I've doing quite well with OpWall crafting orders, and really should try and make headway into the list, but after a rather stressful week I'm being decadent and finishing off the socks I started for myself over the Christmas holidays.  First proper socks!  (These were knit flat and then sewn up, so they don't feel like 'real' socks.  Is that snobbish?)  Very exciting times.  One of these days I will have me some free time.  It will be a very good day.

Snip snip.

I like A Softer World a great deal.  It is my kind of pretentious, and puts some sentiments very well.

Last week I cut off most (fourteen inches) of my hair for The Rapunzel Foundation, which makes wigs for children who've lost their hair due to chemotherapy or for other health reasons.  I have had long hair since I was a tiny little thing, so it was a bit daunting.  I decided on it about a year ago when my hair was nearly long enough, and have been semi-binding myself into it by responding to "Wow, you're hair's getting so long!" with "Yeah, I'm growing it to donate to an organisation that makes wigs for cancer patients."  The more people to know about it, the worse it would look if I copped out.

I had misgivings about the fact of having misgivings.  My general attitude to charity and volunteering is "I can, so why wouldn't I?" but I did have to steel myself for this.  Part of it stems from having had long hair forever, and I'm not interesting enough for dramatic changes.  Part of it, though, is self-consciousness - long hair is feminine and pretty and the done thing, and not being the done thing can be a bit of a statement, and I am a sucker for the invisibility conferred by conformity.  I felt guilty wanting to place that over a child feeling ugly and not themselves.  So what pushed me in the end was not just a desire to help, but a desire to be - or at least act like -  the kind of person who values the happiness of others more than her own temporary self-consciousness.

I also got it cut the day my dog died, so wasn't really going to care how my hair looked.

Before:

After!:

That was taken before I had washed my hair, significantly less perfectly sculpted now.  I think my face is a little too chubby for it to look as well as it might, but I still like it.  It is still a novelty to reach back and ruffle, or go to wash my hair and find no hair there.  Bizarro!  Incidentally, that big coldsore turned out to be two coldsores which had melded together.  Awesome.

Also, I am not good at being stereotypically girlie in many regards.  Hair is one of them, just never got the hang of it.  Part of me wants to learn how one does hair while it's short and manageable, but that probably won't happen.

Fourteen inches of my hair.

I mentioned to the hair school what it was for, and they wouydn't let me pay at the end.  People are just lovely sometimes.