Wardrobe Therapy: The Interview

So, I'm behind already, which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who knows me. But not that behind, which is a bit surprising to me, because this has been a very difficult week. I spent the first half being jet-lagged from Arizona. Which wouldn't have been so bad except I also spent the first half of the week putting 12-hour days in at school. Having fun on Spring Break was all well and good, but it really had me playing catch-up there for a while. So much for relaxation.
I did get my clothes off to the dry cleaners, though the mending is just going to have to wait (but it's part of the tasks for week 2 of WT, so it might get done this week (maybe). The other outstanding item from week 1 is the interview. So here it is:

Favorites

• Who is your candidate for Best Dressed, real or fictional? I'm going to play it safe here and say Katherine Hepburn. Also, maybe Helen Mirren.
• What is your favorite garment or outfit ever? I had this beautiful black Anne Klein cocktail dress in the late nineties. Very simple sleeveless sheath with a little gold bar pin at one strap. Mom and I bought it for a college semi-formal. It's too small, but I will never give it away as long as there is any possibility it might ever fit again.
• What is your current favorite garment? My black leather jacket.
• What would be your favorite thing to wear, if reality were not an issue? I would love to wear knee-high boots, maybe with a bit of heel, but I have yet to find a pair that will zip up over my freakishly wide calves (seriously, I'm not being a body hater here, they are oddly big. And it's not fat, it's muscle. Why I only have muscle there, I don't know.)
• Where would you shop, if money, time, and geography were not issues? If there were good vintage plus size clothes and stores that sold them, I would so be there.
• What's your favorite fashion faux pas story to tell, now that the scars have healed? In junior high (c. 1992) I had an outfit that consisted of black leggings, plaid flannel shorts, and a sweatshirt with appliques in the same plaid flannel. I probably wore it with a double pair of scrunched socks in complementary colors and one of my many pairs of imitation Keds. It was a matching ensemble, and I was so proud of it that I wore it until the shorts wore out. And then I wore the sweatshirt until I lost it. Fashion gods, I am sorry.
• What colors do you associate with happiness? (Your Joyous Colors) I really love dark jewel tones, and any blues/blue-greens. I love pastels but am realizing that they don't really do me many favors as items of clothing.

How You Live

• If there were a uniform for where you spend most of your time, what would it be? Nice jeans, fitted t-shirts, sweater or blazer, cute sneakers or loafers.
• If there were a uniform for where you spend your leisure, what would it be? Pajamas or yoga pants, comfy t-shirt, warm knit socks (this is my at home wear :) )

Your Wardrobe

• What is the problem with your wardrobe? (Maximum of three bullet points) I wear the same things all the time and have tons of things that don't get worn because I don't really feel "right" in them or because they've gotten lost underneath unworn garments. Also I can't accessorize.
• If your wardrobe could speak, what would it say is the problem? Half the clothes would be suffering from exhaustion, the rest would be feeling abandoned.
• What would you like your wardrobe to do more of? I don't want to be totally Garanimals, but I'd like enough of it to coordinate that it would be easy to think of things to wear each day. I also want it to only consist of things that make me feel good.
• What would you like people to say about how you dress? (Max 3) 1. She looks really confident/put-together/etc. 2. Where'd you get that purse/those shoes/etc.? Because I want one. 3. She looks amazingly well-rested for a graduate student.

Ok, so there we go. Now I have to quit procrastinating and head to the library. I've got two assignments due next week that aren't going to write themselves. There's not much to report on the knitting front (although the sock that drove Erin insane is nearly done), and I still haven't managed to upload those Arizona pictures yet. Maybe tomorrow afternoon. I don't know if the library is closed on Easter or not, but I'm going to take it as a day of rest.

Eeee!

So I got tagged for this meme by Anne and Phoebe. Hi Anne and Phoebe!

Here is what you do. Use the 1st letter of your middle name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real places, names,things…nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person you took this from had the same 1st initial.You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

1. Middle name letter: E. That's right. It's an "E" for all three initials. Makes remembering my monogram pretty easy.
2. Famous artist/band/musician: Edgar Degas.
3. 4-letter word: I don't know if there are any swear words that begin with "e." :( For the sake of completeness, I'll say evil, though it isn't 4-letters in that particular sense.
4. U.S state: How sad is it that I had to really think about this one before I realized that there weren't any? Boy, e kind of sucks, doesn't it? Too bad there's not an East Virginia.
5. Boy name: Eustace
6. Girl name: Enid
7. Animal: Elephant
8. Something in the kitchen: Easter candy!
9. Reason for being late? Elevator's broken
10. Body Part? Elbow
11. Drink? Egg Cream
12. Something you shout: Eeek!
13. Something you eat? Eggplant (sorry, had to reuse an egg word, but couldn't think of anything else. I'm not too creative today. I spent 12+ hours at school and I think my brain is broken.)
14. A movie you've seen? Ever After (oh, I should have said Encino Man, but I'm not proud of that)
Whew! That took longer than it should have. E is a tricky letter. I should tag somebody now, but as usual, I'm the last to respond and am all out of meme buddies. So if you read this, please consider yourself tagged.

In which I return home and start overhauling my wardrobe

Just this morning I got back from a trip to Tucson to see my best friend. I had a blast, and will hopefully have pictures up soon. I saw giant cacti! Mountain lions! Road runners! and there was decent Mexican food! And margaritas! And also one of the best birthday presents ever (more on that later).

I came in on a redeye, getting back to JFK at 6:30 a.m. It would have been fine if I could have gotten a bit of sleep, but in a fit of niceness, I swapped seats with a member of a school group who had been assigned a seat far from her classsmates. While it was no doubt a quieter location, it was also near the bulkhead, so I couldn't stretch my (admittedly short) legs out far enough to get comfortable. I have no idea how the tall guy in the aisle seat managed. So I was grumpy and fidgety and dead tired by the time I made it back to the Bronx. I was very sad to have to put my coat back on again. I spent the day alternately napping and reading, and also bemoaning the fact that Spring Break is over and I have to get back in student mode again. I am not looking forward to it.

But at least Wardrobe Therapy has started. I'm very excited about clearing out my overflowing closet and drawers and making my wardrobe less, well, blah.
Here are this week's tasks and my thoughts so far:

• BONES: Catch up on laundry and dry-cleaning. I did laundry right before I left for Arizona, so am pretty good in that department. There are several blouses that I hope to take to the cleaners this week. And maybe I should do a bit of mending if I can fit it in.
• BREATH: Choose one garment, accessory, or beauty product that you know is a Torture Device and ruthlessly de-accession it. (Do make a note of why you hate it, or vice-versa.)I have a few candidates in mind. There is a pair of pants I really hate. They're dark brown, but not a shade or a material I like, they're tapered (a very bad idea for my shape), and they don't have pockets. I feel very wide and frumpy in them. I think I'll go toss them right now. (runs to closet, goodwill box, and back to computer) DONE!!!
• HEAD: Complete the WT Interview. After you finish it, find a source of clothing pictures that you enjoy looking at. It need not be a fashion magazine or current catalog. Old movies, Old Masters... doesn't matter. This will have to wait a day or so for posting, but I'm thinking about it.
• HEART: Do something pampering for yourself. This week, this isn't a hard task. Before my trip, I gave myself a pedicure. Then I got a haircut while window shopping, and then my super best friend gave me an early birthday present of a face mask, foot soak, and custom perfume blend here. So I'm feeling pretty pampered at the moment.

So I'll be back soon with my interview results and photos of the trip. For more information on Wardrobe Therapy, try the links above or see Dr. Wende's blog for current posts and links to other participants. Now I have to go amuse the cat. She's been alone too much this week, so I need to make it up to her.

Uncle Dave, this pun's for you

Oh Internets, I am out of sorts. There's so much I'd like to write about right now. What a wonderful concept Spring Break is, how the airport screeners in Peoria, Illinois, have far too much time on their hands, how much I'm looking forward to my trip to go see my best friend Saumya, why I am mad at the socks I've been knitting, why the superhero stamps I bought are really cool but kind of embarrassing to use, how excited I am to start Wardrobe Therapy, and how bummed I am that I'm too busy with school to do Apartment Therapy right now. See, I have lots to say.
But I don't really want to write about any of that right now.

I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Peoria. Normally I love visiting. It's my mom's hometown, and lots of my relatives are nearby. They're the side of the family I'm really closer to, and since I haven' t been back since my grandmother's funeral in 2003, it was really about time for a visit. But this visit wasn't the kind you like to make.

My uncle Dave was a really great guy. He loved puns, as do many of my family members, and a visit was never complete without several long punning exchanges, each of us competing to come up with the best reply. He started my obsession with dollhouses, and by extension with the decorative arts. He and my aunt restored an old dollhouse for their daughters in the seventies, and eventually started a miniatures business of their own. As a kid, I got lots of "castoff" miniatures from them -- things that were a little out of scale or a bit rough around the edges. I had a great time ripping them apart and reassembling them into something special for my own dollhouse. Later on, they gave me more detailed and elaborate kits and pieces that are among my most treasured miniature possessions. They even took me to my first miniatures show. All of this exposure to tiny houses combined with my obsession with historical accuracy eventually led me to the study of material culture and design. So he sort of helped make me who I am today.

This weekend I went to his funeral. He had fought cancer for more than ten years, going in and out of remission. This winter, cancer finally got the upper hand. I got to see him this summer, when he was still doing really well, and I am really thankful that I have good memories to hang on to. It's hard to think that he's gone, that I won't find him puttering in the basement or working on his miniatures the next time I go back. It's even harder because of my father, who just finished a round of chemo and radiation himself. He's doing well, but these past few weeks have been a sobering reminder for me, all the awful "what ifs" you think of in the middle of the night made horribly, terribly real. As bad as I feel, I know that my aunt and cousins feel so much worse.

If there's one bright spot, and I have to believe there is, it's that he led a truly exemplary life. The attendance at his wake and funeral, the volume of cards, flowers, and callers -- he made a mark on so many lives, and an impression like that won't soon be forgotten.

Feeling better, finally

So, I can breathe again, which is handy what with it being necessary for living and all. Thanks to copious doses of cold medicine, zinc, and vitamin c, the cold didn't progress much beyond my head, which is good because I hate chest colds. Although the weekend full of sinus headaches was not much fun either.

But! I'm feeling fine, and the school week is over, and I'm really looking forward to this weekend, even though large parts of it will be spent cleaning my apartment or reading in the library. I've really let the apartment go, which I tend to do when I'm stressed. I've been finding little tumbleweeds of cat hair under all the furniture, so it's time to vacuum again. I keep telling myself I should do these things more often, and then they wouldn't be such Herculean tasks each time I finally get around to doing them. Maybe it's time to dust off my Flylady stuff and try to create a routine that works for me. There are large parts of her program that rub me the wrong way, but I can't deny that that timer thing really works.

There's not much knitting progress to report. My mom's socks are stalled out. I thought I was being clever by knitting a plain vanilla toe-up pattern. "It will knit up so quickly," I said to myself. "You will be done with these socks in no time."
Not quite.
They're boring. And they don't even have the dubious benefit of ease/speed, since I don't have much time to work on them right now. I'm not even to the heel of sock #1. I actually started a new project because the socks just weren't doing it for me. I really don't know if I want to frog and start over on them or just keep on pushing through. Arrgh.

I'll be back with pictures soonish. Maybe after I clean up enough to have space to take some :) In the meantime, happy weekending!

So that's what that noise was

Saw this widget on Knelly's blog and couldn't resist:

We have heard the knitting at midnight.

Which work of Shakespeare was the original quote from?

Get your own quotes:

There's a cold that's been going around school for weeks now, and its finally my turn. I'm spending some quality time with my bag of Cold-eze, a box of kleenex, and my kitty. More blogging later when I can swallow without wanting to cry again. :)

Muffin Recipe

So good I had to share!
Here's the link to the recipe:

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Cappuccino-Muffins

Somehow my muffins never get as round on top, though. I guess I'll just have to make another batch and try again! :) Also, apparently I can't spell Cappuccino. Oh well.

p.s. Thanks for the compliments on the monkeys!

The Monkeys are off my back!

And on to my feet!




I finished them on Super Bowl Sunday, and had them done in time to watch the Giants win. Yay! (for the socks and the Giants!) I immediately cast on the Jitterbug for my mom's socks, but have had to start over since they were looking a little big. I'm using the generic toe-up recipe from Wendy Knits. I may put some fancy ribbing on when I get to the leg, I'll have to see, but I'd like this to be a relatively speedy knit (speedy for me, at least, which isn't really objectively speedy at all.)

I've also been on a yarn buying kick, which is bad, but hopefully after my order from the Loopy Ewe gets here, I'll have the buying urge under control for a while. I just can't say no to pretty sock yarn.

Things have been a little crazy for me, school-wise. My part-time job got sorted out at last, and I think I'm going to really enjoy it. It is surprising how it's affected my schedule though. Having one less day to get my reading done is making it a bit hard to stay caught up. I don't really like having to go in to the library on the weekends, but it looks like I'm not going to have much choice.

Yesterday I had a much needed Day of Fun. A friend came in to visit me, and we hit Dinosaur BBQ (pretty good for not being in Texas :) ), the New York City Police Museum (a really interesting museum. I saw an actual sawed off shotgun in a violin case in their historic weapons section. I thought that was just what movie mobsters did), and the Fraunces Tavern Museum. The last one was really interesting. Aside from being the oldest standing building in NYC, it was also the site of several important events in the Revolution and early Federal periods, including George Washington's farewell to his troops when he resigned command of the Continental Army. We happened to come on Benjamin Tallmadge day, which is an important date for the Sons of the Revolution who run the place, and there were reinactors all over the place, including a brigade (?) of dragoons from Connecticut. They had very cool uniforms. Sadly I had no camera with me. After touring the museum, we went into the restaurant/bar on the ground floor and had a beer. It was fun to drink in the same historic place as George and his pals.

Today I puttered around, did some reading, and made muffins. Cappuchino Chip Muffins, to be exact. They're delicious. What you do not see in this picture is the coffee cream cheese spread that I made to go along with them. With the topping, they're really more like cupcakes, and that's fine with me.



Mmm...muffins. Not a bad way to end a weekend.

Seven things, and then some more things

Sorry for the long delay in posting. School started and then things got a little crazy. I've got four classes, and four sets of reading, plus I'm working on the grad student symposium committee, and I'm also trying to set up a part-time job (which is a whole set of frustrations in itself). Also, I had friends come and visit, and lots of other stuff. In the few moments I've had where there wasn't any work to be done, I've been knitting instead of blogging, and I can't say I've really felt bad about that choice :) But here I am, on Sunday night, trying to get my mind and my work organized for next week, and I thought, hey, why do that when I could procrastinate on my blog?

A while ago, I got tagged by Costumechick, to list seven things about myself, so here they are, in no particular order.

1. I hate cucumbers, but I love pickles. Even the scent of cucumbers makes me blanch, although oddly, I don't mind things like cucumber-scented bath products.
2. All the guys I have ever dated have been Eagle Scouts. I don't seek them out or anything, it just happens that way. I wonder what that says about my taste in guys?
3. I don't have a fear of heights so much as a fear of falling off of high spaces. Going up in a skyscraper? No problem. Standing at the edge of a 2nd story balcony? No thank you.
4. I have never been ice skating. I don't blame my parents for much (they did a great job overall), but I do blame them for never taking me, especially since I was obsessed by figure skating as a kid. What gives? Now I'm too old and scared (of falling and breaking things) to go.
5. I love Dolly Parton.
6. I taught myself to read as a kid, and polished off Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol when I was four. According to my mom, I then went around asking people if they liked to read novels, too.
7. The first time I saw something that I wrote in print I almost cried. Now I get a secret thrill from looking up my name in our school's library catalog.

So what else?
Well, I knit two Calorimetry (Calorimetries?), sewed their buttons on, and managed to get pictures before I gave one of them away to a friend.
Here they are:


The blue one was for my friend, the noro version was for me, to match my mitts. Details on both are on my ravelry page.

The monkeys are coming along nicely. I've gotten to the foot of sock 2, so it's only a matter of time now. Normally these are my travelling project, but I've been working on them at home too, trying to hurry them along. Also, more progress on the granny square afghan - 4 squares done, 92 to go. Sigh.

I need to get moving on my WIPs. I want to finish the socks and get a handle on my Tomato sweater, then I can think about my 2 lace projects that are currently on hold. I have all the yarn I need for a clapotis, so I'm going to use that as a lure to finish up some of the things I have lying around. I also found the lost button for my plaid bag, so I might try to knock that one off the list soon, too. Ah, the bravado of youth!*

* One of my very favorite college professors said that once after listening to one of my classmates make a series of very grand pronouncements about life. I think of it now and then whenever my mouth (or in this case, my fingers) starts writing checks that I can't cash (I love that saying too).

Well, I should get back to my preparations for Monday. I don't have class, but need to spend a good chunk of time in the library reading. I also need to mail some packages, drop off a bunch of papers to get copied for a meeting, and hit the grocery store. And it would be nice to get some laundry done. My to-do list is too long already, and I haven't even started the week yet. Boo.

Oh well, at least there's another weekend coming up.

Good times!

I have had such a good week! I cleaned my apartment, I bought some yarn (Patons SWS in Natural Denim and Sheep Shop Yarn Co. Sheep 3 in the most amazing pink purple green and white colorway). I bought some really good chocolate (Ritter Rum and Raisin with Milk Chocolate). I went on a great hike on Saturday. I have friends coming to visit this week. And best of all, I got to go to Stitch n' Bitch again! It was so great to see everyone. I didn't get to chat with everybody as much as I would have liked, but it was so good to get to catch up with everyone. I can't tell you how much I've missed hanging out with all my friends. Knitting with pals is so much better than knitting alone. I really need to find a group to knit with here. It won't be the same, but it might be fun.

Also, Knelly, I got my buttons sewn on. Pictures after they're done blocking.

Works in Progress

Well, I already went to bed with dirty dishes in the sink, and it's only January 8. I reufse to feel too bad about it, though. They're just dishes. :)

In keeping with one of my other resolutions, I'm going to list all my works in progress. There are several here that I could knock off pretty quickly if I just sat down and worked on them, but there are also some that will require a good amount of work to finish.

1. Monkey socks -- no problem here, they travel around with me and get taken out pretty frequently
2. Tomato sweater -- I'm on the colorwork band. This stalled out because I didn't take it home with me for the holidays, but I'm working on it again now.
3. Mystery Stole 3 -- This needs dedicated knitting time and space. I need to get everything set up for the charts and beading before I work on it, so it tends to stay in hiding. But I was inspired by my progress over Christmas, so hopefully I can keep plugging along
4. Icarus shawl -- on hiatus. I want to finish the MS3 first, so this one might be a while. But I finally got through with all the tedious repeats on chart 1, so at least I'm on to something different now.
5. The afghan of doom -- due to my ignorance about crochet hook size and gauge when I made this, I'm rapidly approaching the size I want, even though I'm apparently only about 1/2 way there according to the pattern. I just need to finish one more repeat and then I'm calling it a day and putting on the border. I've only been working on this one for 6-7 years.
6. That 70s afghan -- It came from the basement!! (Cue horror movie music) This is a granny square afghan kit that I got from my aunt.

I thought this would be a fun and mindless project for watching tv and such. It would be, too, if I ever got it out. I need 96 squares, and I currently have 2 1/2. I should get a counter for this. (Edited to add: I did it! I used the instructions here and it couldn't have been easier!!)
7. The world's tiniest sweater vest -- this was done on 00 and 000 needles for one of my dolls. I struggled through knitting the pieces, but stalled out on sewing them together and doing the neckbands and arm bands. Have you ever tried to pick up stitches at that scale? Crazy-making.
****I think I might have a finishing problem****
8. Chinese Charm Bag (from Stitch n' Bitch book). It is knit. The lining is sewn. The handles are purchased. I even found a cute little charm-y thing to go on it. I just need to put it all together.
9. Plaid felted bag. Needs a button. Has needed a button for over a year and a half. I had a button for it, but now have no idea where it is. Oops.
10. Crocheted market bag. Needs the ends woven in. Why I didn't do this as I made it I'll never know.
11. Calorimetry -- needs a button. Just whipped this up this weekend for a birthday gift. Need to finish by Sunday.
***Not started, but need to do soonish***
12. Socks for my mom -- these will be up next after the monkeys are done.
13. Birthday knitting for 2 more friends. I'm thinking another Calorimetry, and maybe a fetching or some other kind of mitt.

The round-up. Projects 8-11 will take mere minutes, if I can make myself do them. Projects 1-3 will get done soonish, with 12 and 13 in there somewhere, and projects 4-7 will hopefully follow one day, but I wouldn't advise anyone to hold their breath or anything. It doesn't seem like much written down, but some of these are pretty intimidating, like finishing the two lace projects. Plus, now that I've written them down, I have incentive to finish them and show y'all the pictures. :)

P.S. If all goes well, I'll see you at S&B on Thursday! Yay!!!!!

Resolutions!

Happy (belated) New Year! I hope 2008 is getting off to a good start for everybody.

I had a wonderful vacation in Texas. It was so nice to be home again. My dad is doing really well, and is in good spirits as he starts what we're hoping will be his last round of chemo. It was weird to go home without Wilma. I kept looking for her everytime I came in the door, or at night, when she used to sneak into my room and hide under the desk. Often I wouldn't know she was there until the snoring started.
Christmas was great, and Santa was very good to me. He didn't bring me any yarn, but I did get a book on crochet techniques, which is great since I want to start doing more of that this year. I did buy myself some yarn though, and I'm justifiying it because it's for my mom and I'm going to make her a pair of socks with it. It's Colinette Jitterbug in Marble, and while it's a little more subdued than what I'd choose for myself, I think my mom will really like it.



One of the nicest things about being home was that I had lots of time on my hands and no school work to do. So I knit. And I crafted. And there was glitter glue.
A few months ago, I came across this book in Barnes and Noble (on the left, seen here with my new crochet book). It's The Cute Book by Aranzi Aronzo, a Japanese company.


I fell for the cute little mascots, and last month I finally got the chance to make a few. Here's a selection (I also made a super cute panda, but gave it away before I got a picture):


I especially like the monkey. He reminds me a little of our current president, but I love him anyways.


I also finished my first monkey sock, and got a good start on number two.


Oh, and best of all, I finally got back to work on my mystery stole. I hadn't picked it up since August, and thought that this vacation would be a good chance to get going again. I set up all my stuff in the corner of my parents' living room and knit like a mad woman. I'm mostly done with clue 4 now (I was stuck in clue 3 before), and think I am going to do the repeat that will make it longer. I hate the thought of doing this section again, but I hate the thought of having a stole that isn't long enough even more. I know it will stretch a lot in blocking, but I'm a broad broad, and I want there to be plenty of stole to go around.


I've been reading all the blogs of my fellow SnB'ers, and I want to put my New Year's Resolutions out there too. If other people know about them, I'm more likely to stick to them, right.
First, the non-knitting stuff:
1. I want to get organized. My apartment, my life, myself. I'm tired of living in chaos and I want to be more relaxed and have more fun in 2008. That will be easier if I have a serene and organized home to come back to each day. I'm actually pretty good at cleaning, but not so good at staying clean. I have a real problem putting things back when I'm done with them.
2. I'd like to blog more. Sort of knitting related, I guess, since that's what I mostly blog about.
3. I want to go to bed each night with no dirty dishes in my sink. Very Flylady of me, I know, but she has a point. It makes the whole kitchen seem cleaner.

Now for the knitting. I think Yankee Lagninappe started this:
My knitting accomplishments for 2007 included lace with laceweight yarn (even if I haven't finished a project with it, I'm still counting it), a baby sweater, starting a sweater for myself, colorwork, lace socks, toe up socks, and sharing my blog with my friends (this was a big one for me).

Here's what I'd like to tackle for 2008:
1. Knit every day, even if it's just a few stitches. It's a good way to relax, and I've always been a big believer that "slow and steady wins the race."
2. Speaking of slow and steady, I resolve to finish my UF0s and WIPs before I start any new projects, excepting socks. I've already sort of broken this one, since I've got emergency birthday knitting coming up, but I still think it's pretty doable. Socks don't count because they're my portable project and I like to always have a pair going. I'll list all of my projects in my next post since this one is already long.
3. Fix up my ravelry page so it's got more projects and more photos. Pretty self-explanatory, I think.

If you've made it all the way to the end, thanks for your perseverance. And once again, happy new year!

Hello, I Must be Going

School is finally finished for the semester. I handed in my last papers on Friday evening, and couldn't be happier to see the end of them. All told, I wrote 4 papers, for a total of 77 pages, plus illustrations. Starting on Thursday, I worked pretty much nonstop, and had been up for almost 36 hours by the time I finished. So of course, I went out to a party afterwards.

My friend Vicki was in town for the birthday party of a friend of hers, and dragged me along with. It was at a bar down in the Village, and there was Wii bowling. It was so much fun. Turns out I'm much better at virtual bowling than the real thing. I even won a trophy in the bowling contest, which is something that would never happen in real life. I had a great time, but by the time I made it home it was after 1 a.m. and I was dead on my feet. I fell into bed and didn't wake up until noon on Saturday. Usually I'm a really light sleeper, and wake up several times in the night, but not that night. I think I'm still making up a sleep deficit from finals week, because I'm still sleeping like a log.

Saturday, Sunday, and Monday I hung around the apartment, cleaning (boy, did I let that go while I was studying), watching movies on t.v., and knitting (finally!). Sunday was not much fun with the storm and everything, but it was nice to be snug at home with a cat, some hot cocoa, and my yarn.

Today I dropped Minnie off at the vets, which was interesting because I had the smart idea to take her on the subway. It was only a short ride, but she hated it. I feel bad for subjecting her to it, but I didn't know what else to do. There really aren't tons of cabs in the Bronx, and I didn't see any of the unmarked cabs (which I hate to take but would have), so we hopped on the 2. Poor baby, she hated the noise of the trains. She was very quiet, but kept nudging my hands with her nose through the bars of her carrier.

AFter I dropped her off, feeling like the worst pet owner ever, I did a little shopping. It was really the first Christmas shopping I've done, and I really enjoyed it. I got some great gifts for my friends, but I'm leaving my family for when I get home, so I don't have to pack their presents. I did buy some bagels to take home, though.

This time tomorrow I'll be home in Texas, full of Mexican food. We're stopping on the way home from the airport. It will be weird to be home without Wilma there.

Before I go, I wanted to show a few of the pictures from the sugar sculpting workshop I took recently. In conjunction with an exhibit at school, there was a lecture by a noted food historian who recreates period dinners. The day after, he taught a workshop where we learned how to make basic sugar paste flowers like one might have seen at an eighteenth-century table. It was really fun, although I don't think I'll be taking this up as a hobby.

The paste was made of powdered sugar, gum tragacanth, and a bit of water. It was like clay, but dried out very quickly. It was also sticky, and we had to moisten our hands with butter to keep from sticking to our flowers. We took a small ball of paste, rolled it into a cone, pused a pointed tool into the cone to sort of hollow it out, and then cut and formed the sides of the cone into petals. At the end, you stuck a wire with a few thread "stamens" into the center of the flower.



Here are the flowers I made. Some are much nicer than others. I still have to decide what to do with them. They're supposed to last for quite a while if you keep them dry.



I'll do my best to blog over vacation, though I don't know if I'll get any pictures up since my parents are still on dial-up. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

In which there is actual knitting

Hi again. I have four papers to write. Two are due on Monday, two more on next Friday. Two are half-done, but unfortunately those are the two that are due last. I estimate I have around 40 pages to go total, plus time to edit. So what am I doing? Working busily at my computer, thinking brilliant thoughts and committing them to the screen? Reading ancient tomes, picking out facts to support my brilliant arguments? Noooo! I'm blogging.

That's right, with the deadlines looming ever closer, it's procrastination time chez Erin. No half-assed attempts at avoiding work. We use our whole ass 'round these parts! I may feel too guilty about not working on my papers to knit, but at least I can show you pictures of what I was knitting back when I had the time to knit. Also, a cat photo.



My half-done purple Tomato! I decided to put the colorwork under the bust for an empire waist effect. One more row and I'm ready for the pattern.



Why yes, that is half a Monkey! Out of Lorna's Laces, no less. The color is Tuscany, so I call them my Tuscan Monkeys. Love the little blue stripe!



I can has nap? Not right now, but at least the cat's getting some sleep.



Random. But while I had the camera out, I thought I'd take the picture. These are my favorite non-hand knitted socks. My friend Holly got them for me in London back in college. I think Johnny Rotten would be proud.

Hmmm. I seem to be a little punchy. Maybe I should lay off the caffeine. I do have to get up tomorrow, after all. Speaking of which, I bet I am doing something tomorrow morning that none of you are (unless my classmates are still reading. Hi guys!). I'm going to a workshop on sugar sculpting. We're going to make little sugar flowers. Best of all, it's school-related, as we are learning about eighteenth-century European court dining practices. I'll try to get photos to show, though who knows when I'll get them posted.

Well, the papers are calling again, so I'm signing off. Until next time, whenever that is.....

Thanksgiving, Turkey, and Term papers

Sorry to drop off the face of the blogosphere like that. It's been a busy few weeks at school, and I've had to let many non-essentials (like this blog, laundry, and actually cooking) slide while I try to get ready for the end of the semester.
My dad is doing great, which I'm really pleased about, of course. He's home and very restless -- it's hard for him to accept that he needs time to heal -- but seems to have come through the surgery with flying colors. I'm really looking forward to seeing him and the whole family at Christmas.
Thanksgiving sort of marks the end of the regular semester at school. Now it's all presentations and final papers. I have four big ones due in the next three weeks. There's a presentation due tomorrow that I'm procrastinating on right now in fact. I feel like I'm in pretty good shape for the papers, especially since I'm usually a last-minute procrastinator.
This Thanksgiving was nice. I relaxed on Thursday and Friday, and spent Thanksgiving with some friends. YEsterday I did lots of sleeping, and also hit the libraries for a while. More library work today, and hopefully I won't have to stay up too late tonight to finish.
There has also been knitting. I'll try and get some photos up tomorrow or at least this week. Can't wait to show off my partly-done monkey. :)
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.

What sleepless nights are good for

Socks! Yes the Roza's socks are finished at last. Plymouth Sockotta, color 367, knit on size 1 dpns. They're a grumperina pattern from the Spring 07 IK. Technically, I made three socks, but the first sock was so tight I had to frog it and start again. I went up a size and made the heel flap slightly longer, and voila! I really like this pattern. The brioche stitch is pretty and very easy to memorize. These were great socks for mobile knitting, and were knitted in Connecticut, Texas, the Bronx, and Manhattan. They've really gotten around, and I haven't even worn them yet.

I've been on the verge of finishing them for ages, and finally, I stayed up late to finish them off. I was on edge, and the knitting was just what I needed. I haven't talked about it much, but my father has not been well this past several months. He was diagnosed with liver cancer, and has been undergoing chemo since the spring. Thankfully, the tumor was isolated to the liver and shrunk a lot with the chemotherapy. Yesterday he underwent surgery to remove it. I talked with my parents about possibly going home to be with everyone, but we decided it was better for me to stay in school. I know it was the practical thing to do, but yesterday I was not feeling good about that decision. I really wanted to be with my family. I went to class, but I'm not sure I learned a thing. I was just waiting for the phone to ring. I finally got the call that he was out of surgery and stable around 7 last night, and I just felt all this stress leaving me when I heard he was out and safe. I still couldn't sleep though, and these finished objects are the result.
He's resting now, and finally, so am I.

Thank you

Thanks for your kind comments on my last post. I'm still sad, but am coping. It still doesn't seem real, and I can't imagine going home at Christmas and not seeing Wilma there. It's been really hard on my parents, too, who are now petless for the first time in their 31-year marriage. I know my mom is taking it especially hard.

This has been a long week, for numerous reasons, and I am so glad it's over. Midterms are done, and I can finally relax for a little while. I've found my stride at school, and my assignments aren't seeming so overwhelming. I've even found some time to knit. Today is chilly, rainy, and damp -- perfect for spending the day in a cozy chair, with knitting and a cat and a cup of tea. Which is how I'm planning on passing the afternoon. I started my Tomato sweater last weekend, and am knitting away. My first adult-sized garment!!! And I've only been knitting for what, 3 or 4 years??

p.s. I started the sweater last weekend because I was too sick to go to Rhinebeck. Boo! All the late nights reading and working on papers caught up with me, and I was in no shape to go. I really enjoyed all the posts I've read about how fabulous it was. I'm trying not to be jealous that so many of my S&B friends stalked the Yarn Harlot. :) Oh well, there's always next year. Or maybe there's a trip to Flying Fingers in my future. Is anybody up for a ride on the yarn bus?

Good dog

Everybody thinks their dog is the world's best dog, and through some bizzare kind of physics, it's true. All dogs are the world's best.
Our dog Wilma was one of the really good ones. It's killing me to use the past tense, but I have to, because she passed away today. She was old, and had been getting slower and more tired all the time. Late last week she stopped barking, and this week she stopped eating. My mom called me this evening to tell me that she had been put to sleep.
Wilma was a goofy dog, looks-wise and personality-wise. She was crooked-backed, and ran with a funny sideways gait. Her tongue almost always stuck out of her mouth. She had big brown eyes and a surprisingly loud bark for such a tiny dog. She was abused and neglected by her first owners, but that didn't turn her into a mean dog. She was kind and loving and always willing to come up and lick your hands and face every chance she got. She loved to steal my dirty laundry, and had a knack for grabbing my clean clothes out of the laundry basket and running off with them. Oddly enough she never stole anyone elses. She hid her treats all over the house, and I'd come home on visits and find little doggie biscuits tucked into all the corners of my room. She was terrified of thunder and rain, and would head straight under my brother's bed at the first sign of a storm. She hated baths, and for most of her life it was an olympic event to catch her on bath day. She seemed to know when we were getting a bath ready, and would hide under a bed where we couldn't reach her. We used to ring the doorbell and she'd charge out barking, forgetting she was supposed to be hiding. She'd give us a reproachful look when we caught her, but forgave us almost immediately.
Wilma was a runt. She came from a line of champion Shih Tzus, but wasn't "show quality". She was a champion in our eyes. She was with us for almost 16 years, which I know is longer than many dogs get, but it wasn't long enough for us.
Wilma, you were a good dog. A very good dog, and I miss you.
I don't have many good pictures of Wilma on my computer, and no way to scan in the others. So here's a picture of Wilma asleep in one of her favorite spots. For scale, it's a regular bed-sized pillow.

I can has free time?

So I love lolcats. I just find them wildly hilarious and I don't know why.


My favorite site is I can has cheezburger?


I also recently discovered lolsecretz, which combines cat macros and post secret, which is one of my other guilty pleasure websites.


So when I saw this on ravelry, I had to take the quiz.

Your Score: Sad Cookie Cat

57% Affectionate, 46% Excitable, 53% Hungry

You are the classic Shakespearian tragedy of the lolcat universe. The sad story of a baking a cookie, succumbing to gluttony, and in turn consuming the very cookie that was to be offered. Bad grammar ensues.

To see all possible results, checka dis.

Link: The Which Lolcat Are You? Test written by GumOtaku on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Ravelery revelry

I'm in!!!!! I haven't had a chance to do more than set up a user name, but I'm on Ravelry and hope to start playing soon. My user name is erinelise. Please friend me! (bats eyes coquettishly)



Also, it's midterm time, and I'm actually on the schedule I've set for myself. I have a presentation on Friday, a paper and a book discussion to lead on Monday, and a bibliography for one of my final papers due next Thursday.



Plus I'm going to Rhinebeck this weekend, so it's not like I don't have anything fun to do. I debated for a long time about going to Rhinebeck. One of the many knitters in my program saw me with my sock, struck up a conversation, and offered to give me a ride (knitters rock!), but I wasn't sure I could spare the time to go. I ultimately decided that the mental health benefits outweighed the lost study time, and I (and my wallet) can't wait! If any of you guys from New Haven will be there on Saturday, drop me a line and maybe we can meet up. I miss you and would love to see you in person again!



Also, hi to Spice who commented on my last post! She's one of my fellow sufferers, I mean graduate students, and is also a knitter. I hope she'll stop by again.



Knitting wise, I'm still plugging away on the second sock. At least I'm on the foot now, and the end is in sight. Pictures soon, I hope.



And since it isn't a knitting blog without an occasional cat photo, here's my official yarn inspector:

Do you think she can smell the chitin?