Back to Blogging

Hey there folks! Long time no see! I've kind of fallen off the face of the planet, haven't I? Well, as the weather gets colder and the leaves begin to turn colors, my little fingers begin itching to be knitting again. Caleb is also changing shifts this week, so we will finally be back on the same -- and now new and improved day -- shift! Hopefully all this means that I can get back into normal routines that have been disrupted for the past several months, and will actually have something to write about in the coming weeks.

As far as what has happened in the last month and a half craft-wise... not too much other that stockpiling, haha. A lot of things have progressed some, albeit slowly, but nothing has really been completed (other than a chemo cap for a member of my knitting group which I didn't get a photo of). I've also been organizing and redoing my craft/guest room (making it more crafty, haha), but it isn't in a state to be photographed yet. So all in all, some progress, but no real pictures. I have a few pictures of the stuff I bought at Stitches and WI Sheep & Wool, but none from the actual events. I'll post them in another post later so that I can actually get this one posted :o)...

And now to leave you with a questionnaire for a new swap. I participated in the Spring Coffee Swap earlier this year, and am super excited about the Amazing Autumn Coffee Swap that is beginning now. Sign Ups are open until tomorrow, October 15, so go sign up now!

Questionnaire

About Your Yarn Passion

1. Do you knit, crochet, or do both? When did you first learn?

So far I only knit, but I would love to learn how to crochet. I learned when I was about 10, but then didn't really get into it until I went off to college... and even more so when I was studying abroad in Germany. See my first post on this blog for a more detailed account :o).

2. Do you like using a particular type of needle or hook? (wood, metal, straight, circular) Is there something you've been wanting to try, or a particular size you always seem to be short on?

I use dpns for socks and circs for most everything else. I usually use metal because I'm a rather tight knitter and am always afraid I'll break wooden ones. I did recently get a gorgeous pair of wood dpns in a sock club package though... I may have to try them.

3. What kind of projects do you enjoy making? Any types you just haven't ever gotten into as much as others?

I've done a lot of socks, but am really on a mittens and sweater kick right now (well, I haven't actually knit any, but I got yarn for a few patterns I really like - ha!). As far as types of projects I don't do.... I don't think there are any really. I love any challenge!

4. What's on your needles\hook right now? What's your oldest UFO (unfinished object)?

I have a lot of WIPs/UFOs. A lot. Like about 15 -- as you can see from my Ravelry list on the sidebar. I get distracted very easily. I have a few pairs of socks, a couple shawls, a stuffed pig, an afghan, a couple more pairs of socks, etc. etc. Haha. My oldest UFO would be an afghan. Since we can use the part that is done, I don't really have any motivation to work on it. I should get back to it though.

5. If you were going on vacation tomorrow, what project(s) would travel with you?

The socks that I'm almost done with and the shawls for my friends that recently got married. They're all almost done.... and I really could use some free time to work on them!

6. What are your favorite types of yarns? Any you're allergic too, or just hate working with? Anything in particular you've been dying to try?

I love (and have a lot of) alpaca. It's the softness that does me in. I've also recently purchased a merino-tencel blend.... sooo pretty! It looks like silk! As far as what I dislike working with -- acrylic. I'm somewhat of a yarn snob, though can see where it has its place. When it feels like plastic though, that's where I draw the line.

7. What sort of colors do you love in yarns? Brights? Pastels? More muted colors? Variegated? Are there any you can't stand?

I love saturated fall colors! Reds and yellows and oranges. I'm not a big fan of pastels, and try to avoid pink at all costs (unless it's in some cool variegated yarn, and then I at least look at it, haha).

Your Coffee Passion

1. Do you prefer caffeinated or not?

Caffeinated. I don't think I've been in a situation where the caffeine was not OK, haha.

2. Whole bean or ground? For what type of pot or press?

I got a grinder just before the last coffee swap, and have used whole beans ever since... yum! We have an autodrip coffee maker, and also one of the little stove top "Italian coffee" makers.

3. What types of roasts do you enjoy? Are you more the light and lively or dark and robust type?

I am a light roast gal... the dark ones can get a little too bitter for me. I also like flavored coffee -- caramels and nutty flavors.

4. How do you 'take' your coffee? Creamers? Sweetener? Other add ins?

I like my coffee like I like my chocolate -- with milk and sugar! I usually have a hazelnut creamer, but have also added just milk or half-and-half. I 've also been known to add a shot of flavored syrup if I'm at a coffee shop.

5. That first morning cup - is it about the taste, or the caffeine?

Can I say both? In the past it was all about the flavor, but since transitioning back to day shift from nights, it's been a little about the caffeine too. If it tastes bad though I won't drink it just for the caffeine -- hence me bringing my own coffee to work everyday instead of drinking the crap they have there.

6. Do you enjoy going out to coffee shops like Starbucks? What are some of your favorites?

I do like coffee shops, though I usually get the espresso drinks there and not just straight coffee. I like Caribou Coffee and a couple other local shops that are in my hometown.

7. You've just made the perfect cup of coffee - is it in a thick mug, or a thinner cup? Where would you sit to drink it?

Thick mug!! I'm all about the coziness of the experience, I'm not into fancy designs or thin porcelain cups. I like something I can wrap my hands around. Typical I curl up on the sofa and wrap myself in an afghan.

8. You're enjoying that perfect cup, and have a magic cabinet in your kitchen - when you open it, magically, your favorite treats will appear to enjoy alongside the coffee - what are they? Are they sweet? Crunchy? Soft and flaky?

Since I'm all about the sweet, flavored coffee, they would of course have to be sweet too! Like I said before, I like my coffee the same way I like my chocolate.

All about YOU!

1. Do you have other hobbies like spinning or scrapbooking?

I "spin" (I have a wheel), "scrapbook," "embroider," and "sew" -- but don't have time to do it as often as I like. I just have time to shop for it, haha. If only I could retire at age 25 and just craft the rest of my life.

2. Do you collect anything?

Unless you count crafting supplies, not really. I do have a "bierdeckel" (sort of like paper coasters from bars) collection that I have from when I lived in Germany.

3. What is your favorite part of Autumn?

I love everything about Autumn! The colors, the weather, the air, the holidays -- it all makes me happy!

4. What sort of scents do you enjoy? Any difference in what you like for your house versus what you like for your body?

I like spicy scents -- vanilla, cinnamon, etc. -- and fresh scents -- cucumber melon, green tea, etc. I don't like flowery scents! (except maybe lavendar)

5. Are you allergic to anything?

Nothing other than a couple medicines -- but I really don't like coconut!!

6. Are you on Ravelry? What's your ID?

I am :o). My nickname is KnitEurope -- even though I'm not in Europe anymore, haha.

7. How would you spend an ideal fall afternoon/day?

Hmm... it would probably start by drinking a mug of coffee sitting in a chair outside wearing a big, cozy sweater, then a walk through the park with my boyfriend, and finished by curling up on the couch knitting while watching a movie.

I suppose that's "everything" about me. I probably go into a little more detail than required, but I always want to know more information about my pal than a simple "yes/no" answer, so I try to provide it too. I can't wait to get paired up and start working on getting together fabulous stuff for my pal!

Apologies

Life has been a whirlwind the past few months to say the least. We've been back in Michigan almost every other weekend and working pretty much the rest of the time.

It has not left me much time to do anything, let alone knitting or blogging. I have been in general crafty (gotten into some cross-stitching and embroidery), but that still hasn't progressed much. I have been stocking up for when I will eventually have time though, ha.

Anyways, not too much news wise that I can tell you right now. May have a big announcement in the next week though (cross your fingers!).

And now I will leave you with a photo from my friend Kelly's wedding:


Yes, that's right folks! I caught the bouquet and Caleb caught the garter!

Oh, and P.S., no, I did not finish the shawl I was knitting for Kelly in time, nor have I finished the shawl for Jennie yet. I am no longer allowed to promise knitted presents ahead of time. I can knit things for people, but without their knowledge so I don't have deadlines. Ha.

Disorganized, Disheartened, and Discontent

(Sorry guys, this one is going to be a downer. Jump to the end of the entry for a nice picture of C and I at my friend's wedding if you want something happy.)

Life sucks right now. I feel like my job is screwing me over and I really just want to quit. This job has almost made me hate chemistry (which is pretty impressive since I've loved chemistry and known I've wanted to do it FOREVER... and even biochem (which I hated with the passion of a thousand suns) didn't make me want to choose a different profession). C keeps telling me to just quit, but I feel like I need to have something else lined up first, because I really don't want to go without health insurance or an income for too long. I really don't want to look for a new job though. I have seriously considered just becoming a bank teller. At least it still involves math.

The working long shifts and at night has taken a toll on both of us. We've become very irritable and even little things can set us off. We haven't gotten into any huge fights (mostly because I think we each know where the irritability of the other is coming from), but it has put a damper on some of the little time we get to spend with eachother. C may have an opportunity to move to day shift (though still the 12 hour shift and odd schedule) in a couple months, but I don't see one opening up for me where I'm working. At least that would be an excuse to look for a new job other than "I hate my current employer." It will be odd looking for a job while being currently employed though... I've never had to do it.

All of this stress at work has led to me being somewhat lazy at home. I just don't want to do anything (even knit really... it's been more than a week!). I feel like I have stuff all over the house (which I do, really) and even though I have all these big plans for organization, I never feel like implementing them. I'm too tired, or just don't want to do anything that feels like work.

I also have been really lazy about my 101 in 1001. I realize I still have a ton of time (969 days according to my countdown), but Ihttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=967788185531302294#
101in1001 haven't been doing a lot of the stuff I said I would do once a week. Like go to the gym. It opened 2 weeks ago and I haven't been there yet (though of course, there have only been 2 nights in the past 2 weeks that I've been not working and in town and one of them was C's birthday). I may have to re-examine my list and eliminate some of those goals.

I have so much half finished stuff lying around the house too. Lots of craft projects. I feel like I can't accomplish anything right now (whether at home or work). Sigh, well I'm going to end my complaining rant now. I'll leave you with some fun pictures!


C and I at my friend Jennie's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony and I'm so glad I was able to share the day with her.


The shawl I'm knitting for my friend Jennie. It was supposed to be done for her wedding, but obviously it's not. It's turning out really pretty though and I am quite happy with it.

OK, that's it. Hope you guys are having a better time of it than I am. I'll try to keep this updated, but I've been gone every other weekend and working almost the rest of the time. Time for bed for me though.

Distract with Cuteness?

Work right now sucks BIG TIME. I just found out through other people on my shift (READ: haven't heard it from my boss, who never talks to me!) that we are completely changing our schedules as of June 9 (READ: only a little more than a week away). Instead of working 7 12 hour shifts in 2 weeks (with a 2 on 2 off-esque schedule), we are switching to 4 10 hour shifts Monday-Thursday. And my shift is going to be later (10pm-8:30am instead of 6pm-6:30am). Now work-wise this is not wholey and entirely bad. I will finally have someone in my department on my shift. And not working 12 hours days is a definite plus. I also will be getting 4 vacation days back that I was using in July for weekend weddings and family functions. Life-wise though this is terrible. It means that C and I who were on essentially the exact same schedule are now on only slightly overlapping schedules. Our non-sleeping face time will be cut practically in half. The only time we see each other when neither of us work will be 3 day weekends ever other week (which this summer will be filled with travelling to above mentioned weddings and family events). I cannot do this for 7 months. I don't know what we're going to do. (Also means a rather hefty pay cut... which isn't horrible... but definitely sucks. Especially with the rise of gas prices and all the travelling we're going to be doing.)

Now for the distraction. A coworker is having a baby boy the end of June! So I knit a cute little blueberry hat for him (note: I don't really know the coworker, but how often do I get to knit cute baby things!):



I (and apparently everyone else.. I couldn't make the shower) thought it turned out rather cute! (Oh, this also counts towards one of my 101 in 1001 items. Horray!)

I also have decided on a pattern for my friend's wedding shawl and am about 25% done with it. Didn't get a picture of it yet though. Maybe next time, if I need to be distracted more.

One Year (+ a couple days) Older

Well I started this post a couple days ago (Sunday to be specific) when it actually was my birthday (golden* birthday... ha!). But then work turned into hell and I got the flu. What a great birthday (to be fair, C was really nice and took me out to dinner -- when I thought I was up to it -- and made me a carrot cake and got me wonderful presents).

I have to admit I'm starting to feel old though. This has been my first real year out on my own. College and even heading back to Germany last year were sort of old hat -- something familiar enough that I felt I understood/could handle the situation. But now I've moved to a new city (though having C here with me has been a big asset, and made it not so intimidating!) and started a real job. One where I only get a certain number of vacation days (and not many!) and can be rather stressful at times. And then there's worrying about health insurance (luckily now well covered through my job, but I had to wrestle with crap "short-term" insurance for a while... ugh!) and car insurance and all other forms of insurance. Of course, this amount of worry and stress is really nothing new. It's just different.

But I've also loved having a place of my own (well.. C and I both, but you get the point)! Feeling like I could set down some roots (actually hanging pictures on walls!) because there is no set point when I know I'm going to be leaving. Actually being able to decorate. Setting up a craft(/guest :o)) room. And having a reliable income that covers more than rent/bills has been nice!

The past year+ has also brought about a lot of change in my knitting/fiber life as well. I knit my first pair of socks in Decemeber of 2006. I now buy yarn other than the acrylic super cheap stuff from non-craft stores. I started spinning (though admittedly haven't done much the past week). I got addicted to in to the online knitting community. Podcasts!

So all in all the past year has been great. I'm hoping for the same this year (though it certainly didn't start out that good... ).

Happy knitting.

* For those of you not familiar with the term, golden birthday refers to the birthday on which your age matches the day of the month (ie I just turned 24 on the 24th).

REALLY bad blogger!

Hey.

Well I was planning on bringing my laptop with me to Madison and writing this big huge entry with all of these great pictures and stories about the last month and a half. But of course I forgot my computer at home. Life has been crazy busy. Between driving to Madison for interviews and trying to pack up all of my belongings, I haven't had a lot of spare time. And the time I did have I wanted to knit! But it's looking really good that I've found a job (I have an interview tomorrow that is really more of a formality) and it looks like C and I will be moving to Madison ASAP. So hopefully sometime in the next few weeks I will have pictures of a new apartment and new stash storage location. And.. I PROMISE that once I get back home I will immediately get out my computer and write a huge post about knitting.

In the meantime.... I got my first SP11 package... and it was AMAZING! I can't thank my SP enough! I got a ball winder (which will definitely come in handy for all my Wollmeise, etc) and she also got me a skein of STR in Seastone (I think that's what it was called... I don't have it with me). GORGEOUS. And I think best of all she got me a copy of Knitting Vintage Socks.... SIGNED BY NANCY BUSH! Yes, that's right people, Nancy Bush told me to enjoy knitting her sock patterns. I was speechless! And no one was home for me to gush to, lol. I will definitely post pictures of it when I'm back on my own computer.

Anyways, I guess that is all for now as I am on a computer in the hotel lobby. I should get ready for my interview tomorrow anyways. I will try to be a better blogger... life is just getting in the way currently..... Sorry!

Beeeeeeep Beep Beep

That's the sound my computer makes when I try to turn it on. Apparently that means there is something wrong with the video card, though nothing happened to it between me turning it off last night and trying to turn it on this morning. Sigh. I really don't need to deal with this right now. Anyways, this means no picture posts... and probably not many other posts... while I work this out. I can update slightly from work, but I have lots of other stuff to do too.

Hopefully I'll write again soon!

Quick Update

Hi there. Just dropping in quick to say hi and that my Monkeys are finished! They look great and I am awaiting better weather and more time to take some great pictures.

C is unfortunately heading back to the States on Thursday, and I am trying to get all the last minute stuff together before I leave in 2 weeks. Like ordering some (a lot) more Wollmeise, haha.

Anyways, I probably won't post again until after C leaves.. be that Thursday evening or Friday or what. Hopefully I'll have some pictures for you by then though.

Talk to you then.

Can I go Home yet?

OK, so this post probably won't have much to do about knitting. But I'm going to put it out there anyways because the knitting community seems like a great group of people who won't mind me going on a little about myself (and if you do care, you should probably stop reading now).

So about... 1.75 years ago (August 2005) I had this fantastic idea that I wanted to come live in Europe for a while. I was 6 months removed from my 6 month study abroad term and missing stuff like yummy pastries and travelling all the time and the fantatstic German beer. So I decided to apply for a Fulbright, even though according to my college it was way too late for me to get everything together. But I did and I ended up getting the fellowship and now I'm here living in Germany. You see, at the time this was a great idea. I didn't really know what I wanted to do after college. Grad school, which had seemed a given since I started attending preschool (that's what 2 parents with advanced degrees will get you), wasn't really all that appealing any more. So I decided to put it all off, head to Europe, and hopefully have a great time. As luck would have it, C got a position teaching English in France and we were both going to be in Europe and it was going to be great!

Fast forward to now. Well, it hasn't been great. For the first 8 months C and I were 7 hours and about 80euros apart. We tried to see eachother 1 or 2 weekends a month, and because he worked at a school he got a lot of holidays, but after having been around eachother almost 24/7 for the past year, that just didn't cut it. Long distance relationships SUCK! We have both vowed to never let that happen again... I only hope it can work out that it doesn't.

Now his program is done, and he is living with me! Which is great! Most of the time. It has nothing to do with him. Just the accomodations in which we live. Living in an approximately 280 square foot apartment, one room (except for the bathroom), with 2 stove burners and a dorm size fridge was tolerable for one person. Sure, I have to sleep on a sofa bed, and I have limited options as to what I can cook, but I have internet so it's ok! Now the slightly larger than twin size bed is just a touch small for 2 people. We bought a microwave and a mini oven in February, but food is still limited. And there just isn't any privacy (which is tolerable when it's just the 2 of us, but when we have 1 or 2 people visiting, gets... annoying.).

My job has kind of stalled. I don't have any reason to do the research (chemistry research in a grad student lab... where I'm a nobody) other than for the "fun" of it.. and nothing seems to be working for me. I feel like I'm in limbo where I'm trying to plan for when we head back to the states in less than 2 months so I don't have to live with my parents for long... but everytime I apply for a job it seems they need someone RIGHT NOW. So I want to move forward, but there's a wall. There's nothing for me here, and I have no idea what is in store for me back home.

And I miss my car. And Taco Bell. And things being open after 8pm or on Sundays.

Europe (Germany specifically) isn't all bad. There are fantastic pastries. And Nutella. And AMAZING beer (for cheap!!). And it's nice (most of the time) to walk everywhere and take public transportation and feel like you're being good to yourself and the environment for doing so. And the trains here are awesome! But walking to grocery store and having to carry everything back every other day or so gets old. Especially when you live a good bit away. And travelling is great (see Venice!) when I get the chance, but I feel bad taking off of "work" and having a tiny apartment that costs more than half of your monthly stipend doesn't leave a lot extra to travel on.

I feel stuck in the life of a college student, and, believe it or not, I'm ready to grow up.

(Sorry that was really rambly and didn't make a lot of sense... I just had to get it out somewhere, and apparently the internet was the place it needed to go.)