Scrumble is now a hat

That little scrumble piece that I posted a picture of a few back is now a lovely little had. I'm really pleased with it, and it was so fast to make! the entire thing is crochet, which may be a first for me.

So I haven't knitted anything for my boyfriend ever because I've been afraid of the knitter's myth. For the uninitiated the myth is that as soon as you finish a knitting project for a signifigant other, he/she will leave your life. The only other boy I've knitted something for did leave soon after I finished it (although, I did kind of know that it would happen). Now I've been with my current boyfriend for nearly 4 years so I'm probably just being silly. I was wondering if there is any crocheter's myth? Could I crochet him a hat without any fear?

Fractal Necklace

I've noticed a trend: As soon as I post something on this blog of about a work in progress, I instantly loose any interest in working on it. That being said, I'm kind of scared that the flower I knitted up and posted yesterday was a little too normal for my sensibilities. I just didn't put in the amount of creativity into it that I like to. Not to say that it wasn't a usefull experience because I was playing with some new increasing/decreasing techniques while working on it. You see, other than the knit stitch, I've mostly taught myself to knit so there are still some things that I'm still picking up on. Here's what I just learned K2tog and SSK are mirror images of eachother, K2tog and sl k psso are NOT.

Speaking of getting technique down, I've noticed that my DVR has started showing up with Knitty Gritty episodes again. They're not new, and are coming on in the wee hours of the morning, but I'm still happy to watch it again!

This has all been preamble to present the Fractal Necklace that I knitted yesterday. I picked up the coral-colored yarn to add on to the darned flower, but ended up with this. Its very much inspired by one of my favorite classes I've taken at college: Plan II Math. Or as I like to call it "Math for Hippies". We learned about all kinds of fun math like fibonacci numbers, platonic solids, topology, mobius bands, the fourth dimension, and fractals. Here's my knitted
interpretation of a very simple fractal:

Update: Knitted Virus

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I wanted to attempt a knitted virus, so I've done some more searching into what had already been done.

Here are some fabulous virus doilies

http://laurasplan.com/ (click doilies)

They are based on images of viruses and made by sewing machine

She really captures the intricate beauty of the viruses.

I found a couple of other pictures that look sort of like knitted balls covered in bumps.

Most of what I found are based on pictures of viruses, and I would like to work from the protein structure of it, which I think would fit in nicely to my modular style

but first I need to finish this project:

hopefully it will eventually look like this, but more knitty:

New Things

I hope everyone had fabulous Christmases and New Years!

I finished another scarflette over the holidays and just got it listed to etsy

I started to fall in love with it during my "photo shoot" but lets face it, I have a scarf for every scarf-worthy day of cold we get down here in Texas.

I also started working on something else using the same yarns, but I'm not sure what yet.
Another Scarflette or purse? I was also thinking maybe hat...it would be some work to figure out the geometry, but I think that it could end up being quite aesthetically pleasing.

I'm trying to embrace the crochet more. I'm just coming to realize that the things that I want to make just make more sense with crochet than knit. Its more willing to be formed around the curves and corners that I love to make. Maybe I'm having a fiber identity crisis.

I also got a new camera for Christmas, so hopefully I can post more often because I won't have to wait for my boyfriend to bring his home from work anymore. Likewise, I am trying to improve the pictures on my etsy page. It is not going all that well so far because I haven't been able to get the light right yet. Honestly, I think the best ones are the ones I've taken in the bathroom! Oh well, practice practice practice.

Rebecca doesn't know how to crochet

Seriously, I don't. But I've never let that stop me from doing anything.

Also...I made my first sale on etsy! WOOOOOOOOO! I should get to making more scarflettes, but I want to make sure that the one I just sold remains one of a kind.

And...for no reason other than that I am obsessed with him, here are some pictures of the dog that I stole from my boyfriend's facebook page.

His name is Rocky, and he is awesome. Even if he does pee under our Christmas Tree.

Biology

I know I've had little to post recently because everything I'm currently working on is top-secret. I don't really think anyone in my family reads this, but there is a link to it on my etsy page, which I've made most people look at, so you never know.

For eye candy then I thought I'd post some pictures from my Cell Biology Lab from last year. I certainly hope that there is nothing wrong with me posting these. My lab partner and I took them, under the guidance of Dr. Malcolm Brown, who is an insanely smart guy. The things I was able to see in that class were really amazing. Its one thing to have access to a picture of something tiny, but another to see it for yourself through a microscope. Although the things I make do have a certain quality of chaos to them, they are very much inspired by the geometric and modular way that nature is made up.

This is a Tillandsia scale as viewed through a polarized light filter with a compensator. Tillandsia is the ball moss plant that you see growing on trees and power lines. If you look closely they appear to be covered in a white powder. The power is actually scales that trap water for the plant. This is what the look like. The colors are representative of the arrangement of the cellulose molecules that make up the scale.

This picture (no, I'm sorry photomicrograph) is also a tillandsia scale but this time treated with GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein--it is what it sounds like) connected to CBP ( Cellulose Binding Protein-- also aptly named). Every once in a while there will be a news story about how scientists have made a glowing green pig, or engineered a blue rose, or something else that seems completely useless to the general public. I'm fairly certain that the glowing pig thing had something to do with GFP, which is probably one of the greatest advancements in Molecular Biology to happen in the last decade because it allows us to see tiny, colorless things so much easier! Its uses in the lab are various and very useful.

This was the most exciting part of the class for me...They let me not only touch, but actually use an electron microscope. This is a T4 bacteriophage virus. I have to admit, I always had my doubts that these guys actually look like the "lunar lander" with their cute little icosahedral head, spiral body and jointed legs. But behold! that is exactly what this looks like in a blurry-electron-beam-degraded-by-the-time-we-could-click-the-capture-button-way.

I wonder if anyone has ever tried to knit/crochet a replica of a phage virus using its genome as a pattern? I wish I had thought about that about a year ago so I could submit THAT to be my thesis topic (I'm in the kind of free-thinking interdisciplinary honors program that just might have gone for it) .

A quick google search came up with this cool virus-inspired cape:

http://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/MIT/863.07/people/caitlin/knitvirus/knitvirus_2.html

But no actual virus, perhaps I shall attempt one once things clear up...

Oh yeah, and I have a dog now too. I found him in the street a couple of weeks ago. He was hit by a car, but is doing all better now. In fact, he's the best dog ever. I love him.

By the shortness of my sentences I can tell I'm getting tired and must rest. My last final is tomorrow night y estoy muy allegra.

Underwire Purse Handles

For some reason I was lamenting both my disappointment in the available purse handles at the craft store and the fact that my bras seem to last for a very short amout of time. In the midst of this internal complaint I may or may not have come up with a brilliant idea.

Yes, the underwire that was poking me in the underarm all day suddenly seemed like the perfect size for a purse handle. I took off the plastic ends, added some beads, and used needle-nosed pliers to curl up the ends.

what do you think?

Sadly, I don't have much else to share. I realize that I haven't actually finished a project since I started this blog. I'm thinking that that is only because of bad timing. I've been day dreaming alot about just having one job and having the evenings free to knit and paint and maybe learn to spin.

I am working on some cool stuff (however slowly), but it is top-secret. The holidays are coming up!