A Saturday for doing

Huzzah! Thursday is Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving. I love making a ton of food. Whether I'm feeding the two of us (most years) or 10 of us (this year), I love to make lots and lots of yummy holiday foods. For some reason, this tendency seems to upset others around me (my husband, my sister?), but it's my favorite way to spend my favorite holiday. Plus - leftovers!

This year I got an early start, and got lots of yummy bits made today, including 4 pie crusts (hooray pie!) and sweet potato crescent rolls (many thanks to my friend Liz for sharing the recipe years ago). These are in the freezer now, awaiting the big day. The fridge has also been cleaned and arranged, and the turkey is thawing and dreaming of it's upcoming briny bath.

During rising & baking time, I also got some spinning in. A pretty aqua yarn that I'm pleased with. Pictures are forthcoming. And I've been knitting and knitting, but only on Christmas gifts, so no pictures for a while.

I managed to pursuade H to see "For Your Consideration" with me tonight. Although the ensemble was funny as always, especially ad libbing most the movie, the writers really ought to have outlined a plot for the movie. Despite lots of giggles, I spent the whole movie waiting for it to start. Such a bummer, given how much I adore the Christopher Guest troupe. (Note to said: Please stop re-making "Waiting for Guffman" - it wasn't strong in the first place, and certainly does not bear reenactment.)

Halfway through November already?!

It's been a busy several weeks, without a ton to report.

In addition to the biopsych class I was planning to teach, I've also been asked to teach a developmental psych class next quarter. Against my better judgement, I agreed, and am currently prepping 2 brand new classes that I've never taught before. Awesome-o!

I've been a bit behind in the crafty department, but have been able to make a bit of yarn and a few baby gifts, as shown below. (The blue blanket in the upper left hand corner, and the yellow bonnet on the left, middle.)
Other than that, we're just looking forward to having a full house on Thanksgiving. Family + friends + wine + pie = FUN!

Gratuitous crafty post

In and effort to keep up the appearance that I occasionally turn something out, here is a pair of socks I made.

(Shhh, don't tell... I actually finished them in July.) I just forgot to take a picture of them until last week, before they finally flew out to their intended feet.

They are made of handdyed, handspun, superwash merino, using Adrian's Afterthought-heel recipe.

Mmm, pie!

After I mentioned taking some comfort (over our recent home-buying let-down) in an NPR report on delinquint mortage payments and the idoitic borrowing practices that have lead to such a state, H sent me a link to this: Schadenfreude Pie.

Yes indeed, Schadenfreude pie is just what I need a little slice of these days.

As my mother would readily tell you, I'm a rotten person. But, aren't we all, at least a little?

I don't want to talk about it.

Rather than erase half of my last post, I'm just going to say this - plans have changed and we are not going to be buying a house, condo, etc. at this point in time.

Yeah, I'm sad about it. But life goes on.

Progress

A completed project - finally!
I've been working on this pinwheel baby blanket for months now, on and off. I finally finished it the other night. Washed and blocked, it's very soft and a reasonable approximation of what I was going for (i.e., a round baby blanket). Since the little person I started it for is now virtually in college, it will go to a newer little person, who shall remain nameless for surprise reasons.

This leaves me with approximately 25 baby gifts left to make. *sigh*

It's been quite the week, with plenty of emotional ups and downs. These mostly stem from the fact that we are slowly beginning to wade into home buying. On one hand, this is just plain old exciting. We're going to buy a home! But on the other hand, this proposition is fraught with lots of worries and pitfalls. For one thing, we are looking for a home in Seattle, WA. For anyone reading this in the rest of the country, thinking "but home prices are coming down!" - no, in Seattle they are not. Which is why I keep using the term "home" and not "house." The likelihood of finding a house in our price range that is actually habitable is slim. So, while owning *anything* will be good, my dreams of a cute little cottage are being killed by the reality of the situation. At least I have H's promise that I CAN get a dog, even if we are in a condo, to keep me going.

And then, of course, I also feel stupid that we are only just now approaching home-ownership. At 29 & 30 years old, I feel like we are totally behind the curve on this. Getting my degree was what kept us in limbo for so long, and now that I have it, that should be of some comfort, right? Unfortunately, teaching one class while I deperately scramble to find "real" academic employment is not exactly the fulfilling situation that one might imagine. (And then, let's not even get started on what kind of big fat loser "drops out" of science to teach...)

Alas, I'm such a whiny pile.

The good news is that, at the rate that I update this blog, chances are pretty good that I might actually have a house and a dog and 2.5 kids by my next post! On second thought, let's scratch the kids...

Making stuff

I keep thinking "I should post some stuff." Which is rapidly followed by the thought "Just let me finish one more thing, then I'll take some pictures." Ok, so at the rate that I work, I'm never going to post anything if I keep that up. So here's what I've been up to lately. Besides school.

After the OFFF, Sarah and I swapped hand-dyed fiber. This is what she gave me:

And here it is, all spun up and plied:

I call it "Sarahndipity" - the colors are so perfectly Sarah's colorway. I just love it. I'll post a picture once it's knitted up.

I have also spun up a bunch of thick and thin for my etsy shop. And in other craftiness, I constructed a lightbox in which to take pictures of my yarn. I fear the colors actually come out truer when photographed against a blanket or sheet on the couch. Meh.

Oregon Flock & Fiber Fest!

This past weekend was my debut, along with Sarah of Maisy Day Handspun,at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival in Canby, OR.

Yes indeed, for the past month, I've been working like crazy to get ready to sell my wares at this great festival. And now that it's over, it's safe to say that we were quite successful for first-timers! We had a blast, made lots of contact with great people - both shoppers and other vendors alike, and sold a whole buncha stuff!

Here are some pictures of our booth while we were setting up. Unfortunately, I forgot to take more pictures the next day, when things were in full-swing!
This table has a basket of Maisy Day hand-dyed sock yarn, a selection of my hand-dyed fibers, and my needle cases.
And this table (as yet uncovered in this photo) has more of my hand-dyed fibers, my hand-spun yarn, and a basket of my sachets. Oh, and those are my hand-dyed sock yarns up on top.


The third table featured Sarah's hand-dyed fibers and handspun yarns, along with another basket of my sachets.


Here is a closer view of some of my hand-dyed superwash and regular merino.


These are my hand-sewn needle cases.
And these are 2 of the 3 tote bags I brought along. Although they garnered much attention, none sold. Alas!

We also featured a variety of Maisy Day handturned tools (nostepinnes and drop spindles). Those were a big draw, as they are lovely, and impossible not to touch!

We had such a great time. This was my first time selling my handmade goods, and it was incredibly rewarding to see that people were interested. I am definitely planning to go back next year!

If you are interested in my handmade goods and couldn't make it to Canby, I am happy to announce that my Etsy shop is now in business. Please check it out at FreshYarns.etsy.com. It will be updated with more goods very soon!

Girly

I'm feeling very pearls-and-Chanel today. Perhaps it is the new eyeliner I bought yesterday... so dramatic and swoopy on my eyes. Perhaps it is standing on the precipice of adulthood (on the eve of my 29th birthday - I'm a bit late in coming). Whatever it is, I'm feeling terribly girly, in that Audrey Hepburn, classic, sexy, demure way.

Too bad my jeans and flip-flops betray me.

Done

Writing a dissertation does not make for a very bloggable life. Hence, my recent silence.

However, I am now here to shout from the rooftops: I'M DONE!!

Yep, I defended last Thursday (8/10) and turned the thing in yesterday (8/15). I have a little signed receipt that says I'm all done! It was fairly anticlimactic. The defense went exceedingly well. My committee was great, and I feel like I performed pretty well. I was close to done with my revisions then, so I polished the manuscript up over the weekend, did a final check Monday, and trundled it over to the grad school Tuesday. That was it.

There were no choirs of angels, the clouds didn't part... I was just suddenly done being a graduate student. After 7 years. The nicest thing, I think, is the feeling of relief and amazement that floods me when I stop and realize that I'm done. I did it. I successfully earned my Ph.D. Sure, that was the whole goal, and I said I'd do it. But now that it's done... whew! I can hardly believe I did it.

And now, onto life as a grown-up. I'll be teaching the same class I've been teaching for the past year again this fall. But I get all of September off. Despite the lack of paycheck coming my way, I'm very excited for a whole month off! I am planning a grand month of cooking dinners, exercising, and being as crafty as I can possibly be.

Woot! I love being DONE!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Today marks 8 years of marriage for H and I. It's been a very good 8 years, with each one better than the last. I owe H so much, but most of all, I thank him for the happiness that he brings me day in and day out. I could go on and on and get sloppy, but I'll just say that we make a very good team.

Today also kicks off August. I took a very deep breath yesterday, as I don't anticipate breathing until mid-October now. In the space of one month we will celebrate our anniversary, turn 30 (H, not me!), defend our Ph.D. (me, not H!), turn 29 (me again!), go to San Francisco, and play host to my father. September promises to be about half as busy, which is still busier than most months. My head is spinning just thinking of it all.

Work on the dissertation has progressed (devolved?) to the point where I can no longer make sense of certain sections of it. I've read it so. many. times. I think it's going well, although the anxiety dreams have been coming full force. Last night I showed up for my defense and realized I had to take a written test that I wasn't prepared for. Awesome! I can only imagine that the dreams will get worse as I start to freak out in waking life as well. Wait, did I say "start to"? Yeah, that's begun as well. There are moments where I feel calm and ready, and then there are the moments when I remember that defending one's dissertation does not guarantee passing. I'm close, but with no promises.

9 days to go... we'll see what happens.

Awesome Saturday

What a fantastic day!

I turned in a draft of my dissertation on Wednesday - what a relief! I have plenty of work yet to do on it, but took today for myself and H. It was perfect in every way.

We went to a favorite fish 'n chips stand for lunch, and also stopped by Ms. Laura Bee's store while in the neighborhood. It was my first time visiting her shop... I am now in soooo much trouble! Her website totally does not do justice to the plethora of goodies all in one place. If you are in the Seattle area, go see her! Get yourself something cute and support a local artist!

We then headed over the lake and through the hills to visit some good friends who we hadn't seen in FOR. EVER. R & M, and their kidlets O & M, are wicked rad. It was awesome to see them, and hopefully it won't be so damn long next time. They have 3 CUTE alpacas, who were recently shorn, and I am now the owner of about 40lbs of fresh alpaca fiber. Dude! I have to find someone to prep it for me... and then I will be in alpaca spinning heaven! I totally have to teach R to spin too - this is a ridiculous wealth of fiber and she just handed it over to me!

On the way home we passed a little cherry stand and stopped to buy about 8 lbs of cherries for $8. Crazy! Apparently it was "get fantastic stuff for nothing or next to nothing" day. Woot!

TA DA!

Never underestimate the power of having a dissertation to write as a motivating factor to finish anything and everything else that might need doing!

As you can see, I finally finished the tank. I'm very happy with it. Here's the front:

And here's the back:My tattoo looks blurry there - it's just the picture. I had to do a two-mirror/camera acrobatic act to take the picture... so, you know.

Anyway, my two small issues are that the back V isn't quite as low as I'd meant for it to be, and that I forgot to bind off with bigger needles, so the bottom is a bit snug. Hopefully it will give a bit with wearing. I'm forgiving myself those two details, as this was the first thing I designed for myself.

I've been meaning to post a bit about writing my dissertation, but a) I've been too busy doing it, and b) that's just boring. I'll try to spare you as much as possible. In exchange, you can know that that's what I'm up to when I'm not posting here.

I'm here... really!

Just a brief update, since it appears that someone does actually read this, and wonders about my presence on the earth when I vanish for a bit. I recieved an email from an old high school chum who asked about my tank progress. It seems that Mr.F gets bored enough to follow these things from time to time.

So, for SF, and anyone else checking in... I'm here. And the tank is still on the needles. It was done at one point, but trying it on lead to ripping out the straps to make them longer, and ripping out the bottom hem to make that A LOT longer. So I'm still poking along on it. (The whole project lost it's velocity when I didn't have it done by Solstice.)

Speaking of Solstice - it was fantastic! Sarah came up to join us in the festivities, and we had a fabulous time. Someday I'll get around to posting pictures, but if you're wanting to see them NOW, click on the Sarah link and look at hers.

OK, so where the hell have I been? Right here, typing away. It seems that a completed draft of my dissertation is due to my committee on July 12. Yikes! Yes, I've been working on it for a looooong time now... but I've been poking along. Now I am in the fast lane, trying to speed along. (It feels like I may be driving a 4-cylinder up the fast lane in the Alps, but I'm definitely leaning on the gas pedal, and not coasting anymore.) So, I'm a bit out of touch these days. But the good news is: I really can see the light. I have a list of deadlines, and I will meet them, by god! And then? Then I will be done, my friends.

And when that happens, you are all invited for drinks!

Tank progress

If the micrometers of work I'm accomplishing on a daily basis constitute prgress, I'm making it. Goodness, this is getting boring. If anyone ever reads this, I'm sure they have fallen into a boredom-induced coma. But I shall persevere, just as I shall finish this tank. See, the back is openning up nicely. That's something.



Unfortunately, I keep finding little mistakes. These things happen, right? Ugh - they drive me crazy. Nothing major, like dropped stitches (which I would definitely fix) - just little visual oopses. They displease me, but I'm ignoring them in the interest of time and sanity.

Tanking along...

Here's the latest:


As you can see, I've begun the back split. It's going well, except that either side of the V is in a completely different stitch. I simply could not replicate the lovely slip-stitch pattern from the knit side over on the purled side. Oh well. I am satisfied for now that the stitches on either side are consistent. I'd muck around with it some more if I wasn't in such a hurry. But alas, I am rushed, so this will suffice.

The Tank Rolls On

I'm making progress... almost done with the waist decreases. Once the decreases are done, I'll start the divide on the back. Last night I managed to knit in not one, but two bars. I'm on a mission, a mission to knit.



While knitting in bar #1 (a wonderful local joint specializing in potpies - YUM!), a friend and I were discussing our crafty endeavors. She said that she tried her hand at sewing, figuring she should be able to do something "domestic". That got me to thinking... isn't being "domestic" about running a household efficiently? If that's domesticity, by definition, I have to think that crafting is no longer a domestic activity. Spending $75 and 3 weeks to make a sweater that you could buy at Target for $15? Not efficient. No, I do believe that being crafty may now be considered a luxury, in more ways that one. What would our foremothers think?!

Today I met with a glorious, unbelievable windfall. Unfortunately, it was the direct result of the company my sister works for going under. She's in merchandising for a chichi company that makes party dresses for little girls. Apparently the soccer moms aren't doing their capitalistic duty, as the company ceased to be financially viable and was dissolved. The upshot of this is that the now-former employees were given permission to help themselves to the leftovers. So today my sis pulled up with a trunk full of huge bolts of silks, satins, and all manner of fancy fabrics. For me! She's doesn't sew, so in exchange for a promise of a skirt or two... the fabric is all mine! Oh my. I am now swimming in miles of luxury fabric... I just can't believe it!

Tank mission: day 2

I have this sense that by doing a daily update, I'll get more done and finish this project quickly. Bear with me!

I have finished the pattern rows at the bottom of the tank and started on the decrease rows. You can see the pattern in this picture:

I'm designing as I go, and trying not to be scared. Why must I be so obstinate about using patterns?

Tank challenge!

A little background... every year, there is a huge festival to celebrate summer solstice here in Seattle. It is kicked off with a big crazy parade, featuring all manner of talent and insanity, followed by 2 days of street fair extravaganza. In a city full of summer street fairs, this one is the pinnacle. I love the solstice fair. It's a big, fun deal, and I look forward to it yearly.

Also yearly, I have some sort of pre-solstice freakout about something that I absolutely must make. 2 years ago, I NEEDED the perfect bag to carry (I finished it the midnight before the fair). Last year, I think it was a skirt. I know it needed to go with the tiara I would be wearing. This year, I have determined that it is imperative that my tattoo be visible for the fair. Now, when getting my tattoo, a part of location selection was that it NOT be visible most of the time. So it is in the very center of my back, and never visible. This is the challenge. Not finding any commercial tops that are low-cut enough in the back, I've undertaken making myself one. Not only am I trying to whip up something wearable in two weeks (and I am a notoriously slow knitter)... I'm also designing it myself, more or less as I go. So, we shall see. I will post pictures as I go, but right now it's just 5 rows on the needles. I'm knitting it in Brown Sheep cotton fleece, in a color called "Nymph" - seems a fitting color to showcase my knitting pixie. Here's a swatch:

I really hope this works! Stay tuned...

2-ply Sunshine

Remember this?
It's now this:
At some point in the *hopefully* near future, it will be a pair of socks for a friend of mine. For now, it's a big squishy skein of delight.

In other spinning, I finished up the remaining fiber from my first attempt at dyeing. I am so enamoured of this yarn! Perhaps everyone feels that way about their "firstborn" fiber.

I finally got a bunch of sachets whipped up this weekend. Some will go to a friend, as promised a month ago, and some will be saved for a project Sarah and I are working on. Shhhhh, we'll talk about that later.
Don't even ask about knitting... I'm just as behind on that as I am on my dissertation. Perhaps someday I'll figure out how to wedge 18 more hours into a day... then I'll be just about set!