Just Ignore the Time Stamp

Today was a very productive day. I got up, showered, got dressed, dryed my hair, then looked at the list I had made the night before of things I wanted to do today, a rare Wed. off of work.
Then I looked at the list a little longer, happy that I had a day to do these things, but not really excited about doing any of them.
Then I sat there a little longer.
Then I got mad at myself and wondered, how much of this would I all ready have done if I were at work and this was my to-do list. If I were responsible for using my time wisely because someone was paying me I certainly wouldn't be sitting here thinking about getting things done.

I decided to play a game, a work game. I went to my kitchen and set my timer for 1 hour, then I ran back downstairs. The race was on to see how much I could do in 1 hour.
1. sort and start laundry
2. vacume front hallway, lower stairway, middle hallway, upper stairway, upper hallway, and bedroom.
3. make bed and put away random things accumulated in upper hallway
4. load dishwasher, wash dishes, clean kitchen and clear of "landing" zone.
5. straighten family room
6. put away folded clothes and hang up closet clothes.

I was half way through #6 when the timer went off. I decided to finish what I was doing (it was my game after all,) and that took another 20 min or so. I thought I did pretty good. I was a little winded at the end of it. I certainly couldn't keep that pace all day, but for an hour, sure. Maybe, just maybe, I will play my game a time or two a week and see how it goes. No promises though, there are certainly more fun games to be played.

As for knitting, oh yes, there has been knitting and in fact, there is even a FFO to be shown. (That is a finally finished object, as it has been in the works for nearly a year.)
So this is Samus from Knitty. You may noticed that I have changed the pattern a little, as in the fact that it is a vest, not a sweater.
It was a sweater on Monday, that was the problem. The sweater was finished, but, problem #1, I had made the sleeves too long. Not a big deal, I know how to shorten sleeves. It was problem #2 that was keeping me from FO status. I didn't like how the sleeves fit, they were much too loose for the fitted nature of the body. They looked funny together.
So there sat Samus, all sad, for 9 or so months, thinking that she had been forgotten forever.
But then, salvation!
A few nights ago as I was putting away my yarn into my new storage, I saw Samus and I began to wonder anew what I was to do for her.
I went to bed that night and my brain actually did something useful while I was sleeping. I dreamt that I look the sleeves off of Samus and turned her into a beautiful vest. I woke up the next day and knew it was to be. The sleeves came off with no problem (that, mother, is why you don't weave in your ends until after you try on your sweater.) I even knew where the extra skien of yarn I had was, since I had just organized my stash, so the addition of I cord edging to the armholes was done in one night. Hurray for being so obsessed with knitting that you even dream about it. (Kinda scary, don't you think?)

So here is a close-up of the "Celtic Braid." Pretty, no?
I was thinking that I would still put a zipper in it, but I actually like it so well open that I don't think I will stress myself out with the details. I think I will go over to Nancy's and pick up a cool Celtic clasp to go at the top, and that will be it. Easy!







My "therapy" sweater is also coming along well. I knit most of the second sleeve tonight during class. I will join the sleeves to the body tomorrow if all goes well and be done no later than next week, if even that long.

unprecedented, two sweaters done in two weeks. It's unheard of. We'd better open an investigation.

Logan will head it up, he's the perfect dog for the job.

On the Fiber Front

AND, one last post to let you know that despite the lack of blogging time, I have still been able to find a little knitting and spinning time.

Remember that fiber from the OFFF, that oh so lovely BFL/Alpaca blend. Well, it makes the softest most luxurious yarns in the world. It was more difficult to spin than straight wool, as it was more slippery, but felt so nice on my hands that I was willing to progress along the learning curve.
Oh yes, and I remembered the name of the lady's company who bought it: Great Balls of Fiber by Sarah Anderson of Snohomish WA. She apparently doesn't have a website, at least not that I can find. Too bad, her dyed rovings are AMAZING!

I have started another pair of socks.





And what is this? Oh nothing much, just MY FIRST SWEATER EVER KNIT FROM MY OWN HANDSPUN! It is a simple raglan knit from the bottom up. I didn't have enough yarn to knit the entire thing in handspun, so from where the raglan decreases begin, including the arms, I am using a matching yarn, Nashua's Creative Focus Worsted. The cuffs and neck will still be in the handspun.

And last, but not least, remember that batt that came from Abi?
Well, it is spinning up into a very lovely yarn. Navajo plyed, of course. This is about 1/5 of the batt. I am hoping I will have enough for another sweater.

























This photograph shows the colors better. The first one's are a little too bright.

How I failed to become a photographer.

So, as I was going through the mess that is the third floor of my house, and trying to get it sorted and put away, I came across my portfolio and creative exercise portions of my second application to the photography program at BYU. It is a tiny program, and I SOOOOO wanted to get it. After my first failed attempt I did a little research and found it was going to take a lot more effort than I had put into the first one.

I took an entire semester off of school, got a job with a photographer, and spent those four months working on my application. I was very proud of it when I got it done. It was not, however, impressive to the photography powers that be.

Here are three of my 12 creative exercise pieces. I thought the first one was appropriate to show for Veteran's day. (As a side note, everyone call your veteran grandfathers, fathers, uncles, brothers, and friends this weekend and let them know how much you appreciate what they did to give you the life that you have.)
































This last one is a butterfly I did later. It was the first drawing I did after having my application rejected. I haven't drawn in such a long time. Maybe it's time to hunt down my sketch book and Prismacolors.














You can see the photography portion of my portfolio here. It is actually a lot better than the creative exercise.

Project Closet

Where have I been? With limited time for blogging to start out with, when a new demand on my time comes up, I go missing from the online world.
So what have I been doing?

RECLAIMING MY HOUSE!
HORRAY!!!!

The hydraulic ladder is in, leading up to 400 sq feet of storage. We've put everything up there that we want to, and it is still mostly empty. Got to love that.

In addition to that, the closet now has shelves all the way to the 10 foot high ceilings!

What did you say? We have too many books? No, not possible.
















And the coolest thing about this closet, see those gray things? There are 12 of them, and what do they contain?

YARN!

ALL OF THEM ARE FULL OF YARN!

Soon the den will be all put back together and I will move into my new fiber studio! I can't wait!

How Neurotic am I?

My Personality

Neuroticism	40
Extraversion	83
Openness To Experience	86
Agreeableness	62
Conscientiousness	83

Test Yourself Compare Yourself View Full Report Find your soulmate / pysch twin MySpace Layouts and MySpace Layouts by Pulseware Survey Software

So I actually don't really agree with this entirely, but it may be that I am in denial. I do think I'm a little more neurotic than that, but hey, maybe the drugs are working!

On another topic. I wrecked our car yesterday. No injuries other than some stiffness and headaches. The car needs its hood and front bumper replaced. Thank goodness for insurance. I seem to be having a run of bad luck as of late, bad cold, supper hard classes, wreck the car, and to top it all off I also fell down the stairs yesterday. Well, let's just say I'm very much looking forward to a little vacation in a few weeks.

A Few Good Things

1. This week is over. My midterm has been turned in. The fashion show was a smash hit. I have tomorrow off to spend with the Duke, and that is a good thing.


2. I got this in the mail yesterday from High Prairie Fibers (thank you Abi!) and no one can argue that isn't a good thing.


























3. Knitty rejected my pattern, and while that perhaps wasn't a real good thing, I really wasn't too upset. It isn't my finest pattern (it is intended to be a quick project to knit before Christmas.) But it does mean that the pattern, Jane, is now up on Yarnnation Patterns, and that is a good thing!

Stash in the City - An Urban Fiber Story

See the entire set, with minimal comentary here.

Plying Around in the Neighborhood

See the entire photo set, with minimal commentary, here.

Pretty in the Park

See the entire photo set, with minimal commentary, here.

Famous Last Words

I have wanted a scooter for soooooooo long, so last year I got one!

I am a native Utahn, it gets cold in Northern Utah, really really cold.

I moved to Seattle, I didn't think it ever got very cold here. Well, let me tell you, under scooter circumstances (yes scooter circumstances) it can get very cold.



WARNING
DISCLAIMER: If you are in the group of people who are my parents or grandparents,
DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING POST!


Here is me.
Here is me at about 9:15 pm just after getting home from school.
Here is me at about 9:15 pm just after getting home from school on my scooter on a very very cold evening.

If you went outside tonight you wouldn't think it was particularly cold. The thermometer on my scooter said it was 4 degrees Celsius, that is 40 degrees Fahrenheit. It wasn't freezing, a jacket would keep you warm, a scarf, gloves, you would be nice and toasty, until. . . wind chill factor

I go to school on Capitol Hill. I live in North Seattle. It is about 10 miles nearly all of it on I-5. I don't have the math skills to figure out what the wind chill factor is at 40 degrees when you are traveling on a scooter at 60 mph. Just trust me, IT'S COLD!

So here I am, scarf, gloves, wrist warmers. I love wool, I will sing the praises of wool, but let me tell you, it just may be that God never intended a person to be traveling out in the open at 60 mph. It seems that one of the warmest natural fibers on earth, was not meant to keep this little girl warm under these somewhat unnatural conditions.

BUT-
This little scooter girl knows that wool is not nature's warmest fiber.

To Be Continued. . .

Sweet Socktober

Here they are, one pair of finished socks for Socktober. Aren't ya'all proud of me, well you should be.

Here are the specs:
Patterns: Jay walkers by Grumparina
Yarn: "Merino" by Fleece Artist
Color: I think it was "vintage" but it isn't on their website anymore. Sorry.
New Skill Learned: Magic Loop, and I am never going back- my apologies to my abandoned double points.



I also cast on for another pair of socks today. The call of the Socks that Rock was more than I could resist. I know, I know, should be working on my vest for the fashion show on Thurs., but I couldn't knit that during church! Socks are the perfect church knitting item.
And just so you know, the vest is 75% done. In just a few rows I will cast off stitches for the arm holes. Yes, it will be done by Thurs. and I will get my midterms done, even if I won't be getting paid this week. It doesn't seem to make much difference to my sickly band account anyway.

I just keep telling myself, it's OK. In 5 months, I will, for the first time in nearly 6 years, no longer be the one making the money to support this family, and seeing as I don't seem to be very good at it, I am very much looking forward to passing that responsibility on to the Duke and becoming "the student" of the family.

AKO PA (a little self affirmation)

Ako Pa

Literal translation: "Still me."

Meaningful translation: "I'm the man!" (or woman as the case may be, as Tagalog has no gender specific pronouns- gotta love that.) or "I Rock!"

Today, for me, it means, that I am successfully navigating my world. It means that I am accomplishing my sometimes too lofty goals. It means that despite the reality that it is hard to be a woman in today's world, and that can sometimes frustrate me beyond rationality, when I take a step back I see that I am on my way to being the person that I want to be.

Here's why:
In the past 10 years I have managed to:
-live in the Philippines, learn about their culture, and become fluent (or proficient by academic standards) in their language, Tagalog.
- help people there learn how to better themselves and live more fulfilling lives.
- find and recognize the man of my dreams and marry him. (Probably the hardest thing on this list.)
- graduate with a BA from a great university.
- become extremely efficient at one profession, realize it wasn't for me, and take the risk to leave it.
- find a job and become submerged in an industry that I love.
- be admitted to a top 25 MBA program.
- support my husband (without divorcing him) through pharmacy school.

When I look around at the women around me, and the struggles they face, I am amazed and inspired.

I don't think that we often enough say AKO PA! Look what I have accomplished, look at the struggles I have overcome to get where I am. I deserve a freakin' award!

So here is my award to all of you. Post it on your blog along with a list of all that you have accomplished. Give yourself a big ol' pat on the back, and proclaim, with pride, to the world. . .

Giant Vests and Random Things

So, now I know the true sacrifice it is to knit for your tall, broad shouldered, or in other wise giant hubby.

This isn't for my med. sized Duke, but for Jen's husband. He will be modeling it in our up coming fashion show on Nov. 2. (6:00 at Hilltop, see you there!)

I had the good fortune of having class let out after only 45 min (normally a 2 hr and 40 min class.) This lead to some good knitting time, thank you very much Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP. (She was speaking at SU. We were released early so that we could attend, and me being the huge fan of cooperate America that I am, decided I could skip this one.)

And a few random things.

1. You may have noticed that I have a "finished projects" link and a "patterns" link on my sidebar now. There isn't much in the finished projects as of yet. I may or may not be adding previously finished thing to it, but there are two of my patterns available FREE, FREE, FREE under the patterns link. Help yourself, the only thing I ask is that you give me credit and link back to my blog if and when you post your project.
I will also be adding links to where you can buy copies of my other patterns as soon as I get the new Hilltop Site up and running.
2. Tzarina sent me this crazy link, you have to check it out. This lady (Lauren Porter) was crazy and dedicated enough to knit an entire full size car. Granted, she had help, but I have a hard time knitting a sweater, for heaven's sake.
3. My mom, The Yarn Queen made her debut into the bloggin world today. Visit her here.

OK, off to do some more knitting.

And the Winners Are. . .

The names







The drawing- out of a knit mitten (it is Yarnnation after all.)















And the winners are:

1st: Lucy van Pelt
2nd: Manic Hispanic
3rd: Kat

YEAHHH Happy Birthday.

So Lucy, let me know which gift you want.





Now, moving on to yesterday's activities. First, we (The Duke, friend J., and myself) went to the post office to pick up a much anticipated package.


It is the Duke's early Christmas present. The Dale of Norway 2002 SLC Olympic commemorative sweater pattern and yarn.
I had a hard time finding this, but finally found it at Allegro Yarns. I was a little bit miffed that she sent me the wrong cream and red colors. The red is actually fine, but the cream really needs to be cream, but an internet search should remedy this. Also, she didn't have any patches left, as it has been a long time since they were issued. I just figured that I would search for them on them on ebay.


























Here is the close-up of the photograph. He is getting the navy one that the woman is wearing.

So, then we took off to Poulsbo, WA for a day get-a-way. I visited Wild and Wooly, where, as usual, I didn't buy anything. I am not a big fan of that particular yarn store. There is another one in town called Amanda's Yarns which I had never been too, as I am usually there in the evenings after she is closed. I walk in, and lo and behold, what do I see, the SLC Olympic Sweater all knit up! I also find some lovely sock yarn from Nature's Palette.

I go to the register to pay and I start talking to the owner, Amanda, about how just that day I had received the kit to make the SLC sweater, and how exciting it was to see it in person.
Then she asked if I got the patches. I told her no, Nora at Allegra Yarns had said she couldn't get them anymore.

"Oh Really," says Amanda as she opens up her drawer and pulls out a small plastic bag. She opens it and produces. . .

THE PATCHES FOR THE SLC SWEATER!














Can you believe it??? Isn't that the defenition of serendipity? The very same day I get the kit for the sweater, and the main patch is even the right color. The Dale patch for the sleeve is gold instead of silver, but I'm not complaining. No, not one bit.




The rest of the day was spent happily frolicking around Poulsbo and Bainbridge Island (after a few short business meetings.)

We went to a pumpkin patch and picked out our pumpkins. We also ate at a great recurrent called "Winslow Way." I highly recommend it.