Last night at the pub, I got these as a birthday gift from my friend Jane.
And I just spent over 800 words of my 5000 limit explaining why I titled my dissertation’s set of stories the way I did. I guess I feel very passionately about that.
I should be working on my dissertation commentary. And I will start it today. The story section I got done last Thursday (14,081 words, giving me about 1000 words or so to play with while editing). My goal is to have half of the commentary done this week, the other half next week. So that’ll leave me with about four weeks to edit and revise the whole thing during August.
But while I haven’t been actively working on the dissertation (I think about it constantly), I’ve been doing other stuff. Like participating in two KALs (a blanket and a shawl knit-a-long). And when those two weren’t giving me enough to knit, I started Christmas present knitting. My dad’s present is going swimmingly. :D
This is what I did just now (about ten minutes ago). I started off with two empty tea cans like this:
And about ten minutes later, I had this:
The stripe-y one now holds pens and pencils, the green one matches the paint in the kitchen and is in there holding my wooden utensils.
In yarn-y news, I finally scored some Wollmeise. I just happened to stumble upon an update and I got a skein of Campari Orange (medium) in the Twin 80/20 base. The color saturation is wonderful. And I’m going to knit it before I buy more to see if it really is worth stalking the site for an update.
I’ve finally wound off the singles from my spindle and begun spinning the other half of the bfl/silk.
Aeolian is done. Ends still need to to be woven in and then blocking. It’s a pretty good size the way it is now. And I can tell it’ll be very warm (doing it in fingering weight instead of laceweight helps).
I’ve started some Milo socks from Cookie A’s Sock Innovation book. I’m using Lisa Souza’s Sock! Merino in Shade Garden on 2,25mm dpns. Looks great so far. I finished the gusset decreases of sock #1 yesterday. ^_^
School stuff? Eh, I’ve got two coursework pieces due in June (which means that I’ll be missing UK Rav Day). The Children’s & Young Adult Fiction one has the story section almost complete (tweaking needs to be done), just needs the commentary. The Fiction coursework still needs a ton of work. Need to totally restructure the story. But I’ve got about 4,000 words out of 4,500 words so far. And once the restructuring’s done, then the commentary. Good thing I’ve got no classes next week, going to spend all week doing that.
I tried reading Memoirs of a Master Forger but after about nine chapters I gave up. It just wasn’t gripping me. Not sure why. And that’s kinda sad, since I really like the author as a person (hint: I go to his class every other Wednesday so I do know him). And he’s got really good advice and stuff. This book just… not my cup of tea. So instead, I’ve been listening to CraftLit. I started from the beginning and the first book Heather chose was Pride and Prejudice. Darcy has just proposed to Elizabeth! I know how it ends, but it’s still great to read/hear/see it again. :D
I’ve bought shoes! I got some black Skechers from Schuh (so I got a student discount). They didn’t have any in my size in store, so they’re being delivered to me. According to the tracking on ParcelForce, they should be here tomorrow. :D I also thought about getting these Skechers but I couldn’t decide on a color and I figured I should wait until the Boston trip to see if they’re any cheaper over there.
I bought these really cute stitch markers today. Cheese and strawberries! There was a reason for wanting them too (besides the cuteness). I’m working on this sweater and my current stitch markers (cheap, plastic Lion Brand ones I got while back in Montana) just aren’t working. They’re too big and causing oddness in the raglan increase sections. So new stitch markers! o/ It’ll take awhile for them to get to me, since they are being shipped from Hawaii.
I’ve also placed another Happy Housewife order. I got the Berry Basket. And soap! Haven’t bought soap from there before, but I’ve heard really good things about it. I got Tea Time and Pumpkin Bread. I thought about holding out for more soap to go up, but after waiting like a month or so (the strawberry scents went up last month), I got tired and wanted the sniffies now. :D
I’ve just been to Belgium for a week visiting one of my sisters. Met up with old friends, met some of her new friends, shopped. I went to the Palais des Thés and bought three new flavors (two black teas, one red). On the same trip I went to a yarn shop and got a little under 1000m of laceweight wool in natural and about 300m of DK weight alpaca in blue-green. I also bought a cute summer dress from H&M (and socks). Yes, I knit socks (and wear them!) but during the summer, they’re too warm. And I don’t want them to get stinky when I wear sneakers and have sweaty feet.
We were invited to go to another party tonight, but I’m feeling kinda stressed about school stuff (which could be why I’m shopping so much) and spending today and tomorrow over there just wouldn’t help things. I have finished the story that’s due in a week, I just need to edit it and write the commentary. But I’ve got two more stories to work on that have to have be presentable drafts done by Friday and Saturday, so taking two days off just isn’t something I want to do. So even if I don’t work all day on these three things, I’ll get something done since I’ll be near my laptop a lot, instead 50 miles away.
Not much to say. Usual stuff going on:
1. Knitting Lots of stuff. Mainly socks right now. Still need to knit up a bookmark as a birthday present. Then I’ll be starting Pioneer from the newest Knitty. OMG this issue is made of win. I want to knit most of the patterns in there. I’ve already queued up Decimal, Absinthe, Cachoeira, Cirque and Sourwood to make after Pioneer (or at the same time). There just isn’t enough time in the day to make everything I want. And the cool thing about Pioneer is that I already have the yarn in my stash that I want to use. So yay, stash busting!
This is good, because I can’t seem to stop myself from buying some yarn whenever I go to my LYS. Like on Tuesday, before S&B at the pub, I got a skein of Trekking XXL in 305 (it’s pinks, need I say more?) and then four balls of Laines du Nord Royal Cashmere in brown. Still, all of that totalled £21.95 so it’s not like I’m going to go broke. £40-ish a month for yarn isn’t that bad money-wise. But I am trying my hardest not to reach SABLE (Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy). So knitting up stash is good. Because that way I can buy more. :D
2. Cleaning Lately it’s just been surface cleaning though. We had the exterminator come again a few weeks ago because of the carpet beetles and that means I can’t vacuum for at least two weeks. Longer if possible. And it’s driving me nuts. I want to vacuum so I can put down the silk rug we had in the living room. We took it away for the party and the exterminator and I want to put it on a clean floor darn it. So mainly, it’s been laundry. And ironing. I’m loving the weather here btw. It’s been 10-16 C and sunny during the days which means that I can put the laundry out to dry instead use the dryer function. I prefer the feel of line dried clothes than dryer dried.
3. Writing Because I haven’t been able to clean as thoroughly as I’d like, it has freed up more time for me to write! I’m actually making progress on my school stuff. And as soon as the load of laundry that’s in the machine right now is done, I’m putting it out to dry and then staying out there to write the conclusion to my Young Adult story (it’s what I’ll be handing in in June as my coursework, so I want it to be done and ready for the critiquing by my classmates).
Speaking of classmates, one of the guys in my Children’s & Young Adult Fiction class is just… augh. Talks all the time. And I’ve noticed that he & I do not agree at all about what the aim is in our stories. Everyone else seems to get what I’m getting at in my stories, whereas he doesn’t. I’ve explained my point of view. But every single time he brings up the same points. Over and over again. I’ve just started to nod when he talks and write down what might be good points that I need to think about, but most of the time, it’s just information overload. He needs to learn how to distill his thoughts a bit. He’s just an odd guy in general. He told us one night that he’d experimented with drugs while he was still in uni doing his first degree in Philosophy. I think they’ve addled with his brain a bit…
I’ve already got my dissertation planned out too. And my Fiction coursework. Now I just need to actually write them. Oh and the coursework that’s due on April 20th too.
Laundry’s done!
That’s what I’ve been doing today. Now all I need to do is vacuum and move the final things off the floor. The exterminator’s coming over tomorrow. Yep, the carpet beetles are back. Augh. I found one in the bedroom on the wall and the other in the living room on the phone. I wonder who it wanted to call…
Anyway, I let our landlady know immediately by e-mail. She e-mailed me back like 30 mins later and had arranged for the exterminator to come over. She’s made of awesome. Seriously.
I’ve done a little bit of writing for the thing that’s due on Saturday. Not the complete required amount, but a little less than half. I have edited the first sections quite a bit, so if my brain still feels a bit addled from the goo and antibiotics, I’ll just send what I’ve got so far and tell them why it’s shorter than it should be.
And it’s raining/snowing again. Last week or so it was almost +15 C! Why won’t the weather make up it’s mind and just decide that it’s spring? Really, it’d make a lot of people a whole lot happier.
I seem to post only when I’m sick. Huh…
But yeah, I’ve got an ear infection. Just been to the doctor’s and now I’ve got antibiotics. I hope they kick in soon. I’m still going to knit night tonight. I don’t feel that bad right now. And I’ve still got all day to see if I feel up to it.
I also asked about why my hands and feet get really cold. He checked my blood pressure, circulation and asked if anyone in my family’s got Reynaud’s. The conclusion? A spasm in a nerve. I think that’s what he said, my head’s so full of goo that it’s hard to think straight. Anyway, just another reason to knit more wool socks because nothing can be done about that.
I also really want to go to the dentist. Need to talk to her about my wisdom teeth. I don’t think there’s enough space in my mouth for the lower left one. Possibly the same goes for the upper left as well. I keep biting my cheek on that side when eating. Owwie. :( The right side seems fine though.
Lots of knitting progress. Started working on some Froot Loop socks with my Wendy Happy in the Aquarius colorway. I’m also making a pair of fingerless mitts from my handspun. And I’m itching to cast on a sweater. But I also want to make a pair of fingerless mitts for my sister and a chunky scarf using up my Wendy Roxy and Sirdar Harvest DK (this one’ll probably go to charity).
School’s going fine. Consistently scoring in the high 60s (a high 2.1) for my coursework, so basically the same grades as for my first degree. Now I just need to e-mail my dissertation idea to my teacher to see what he thinks about it.
I’m procrastinating again. I’ve got to write two stories for my next Fiction and Children’s Fiction classes (well, rewrite two stories actually). I made myself a deal, I can do whatever until 3pm, then I need to go do school work. Then at 4pm, I get to stop and go on the WiiFit.
My knitting’s going pretty well. The first Bayerische is done and I’ve got a pattern repeat done on the second one. I’ve finished off my mom’s Mother’s Day present and I’m on the final color of the baby blanket border. I’m hoping to get the blanket done in the next few days. I’ve already got my grandma’s Mother’s Day present lined up, but I can’t say more about that since they read my blog!
I finished spinning up my pink-black-gold fiber yesterday. Now I need to ply it. I’ve also picked out a pattern to use my first handspun on. But I won’t cast that on until I’ve finished the Bayerische socks.
I finally got O’s last Christmas gift for me: Knitted Lace of Estonia. I’ve only had a chance to flip through it, but the patterns are really pretty. And I can understand some of the lace pattern names, which I thought was cool.
It’s nice and sunny here today. Still have some snow on the ground, but it’s going away. Finally. The slippery drive was really beginning to bug me. Monday was trash day and as I stepped out the door, arms full of trash, I go flying. Luckily I landed on my butt and didn’t hit my head on the step inches away, but yeah. -That- sure was a fun way to start the day. ¬_¬
Oh oh oh! The Wool Baa has agreed to carry my Instant Human mitt pattern. o/
Last week I was talking about hair with one of my classmates and she recommended this one shampoo that she uses. I looked for it over here and couldn’t find it, so she said she’d get me some for Monday’s class. So last Monday we exchanged money and product. Another one of our classmates looked at us and was like: “o_O Guys? That looks kinda dodgy…” What I got (and have used twice now) is this stuff from Schwarzkopf that’s supposed to make dull grey hair shiny silvery (not the aspect that I need). But it also reduces brassy tones in blonde hair. Which is why I wanted it. It seems to be working okay. :)
I made makaroonilaatikko (a macaroni casserole-y dish) for the first time yesterday. Turned out very well. I love the cookbook I got from my parents for Christmas. So many familiar recipes. ^-^ And I also baked some white chocolate chip cookies for O as a Valentine’s Day gift. They turned out all wrinkly and non-pretty, but they taste good. That’s the main thing, right?
We’ve got snow. It started last night and still going on now. So this morning, I took these pics:
Last I checked, we had about 12 cm (5"-ish).
And because of all this snow, traffic and trains have been kind of a mess. I decided to go to Nottingham early, drop off my coursework that’s due today and come back straight away. Skipping class is so worth not being stuck at a train station late at night. When I got home, there was an e-mail from my course leader saying that because so many of the readers have cancelled due to the weather, the session has been cancelled. W00t! Now I don’t feel guilty about deciding not to go to class. ^-^
Oh and now the news just said that the Met Office has issued an “extreme weather warning” because of the snow. For some reason this amuses me very much.
The garter stitch has finally ended, now I’m onto the crochet edging. After that dark blue yarn runs out, I’ll use up the light blue and then add white until it reaches the “right” measurements. :)
The first pic has the correct colors, the second shows the edging.
I seem to be on a Batman kick right now. Watched “The Dark Knight” last night (which was just awesome btw) and now “Batman Returns” is playing on TV. That and playing Lego Batman on the XBox 360.
In other news, coursework is finally done. Good thing too because garter stitch is beginning to melt my brain and have it ooze out of my nostrils. Kinda like what Proust thought was happening to him (’twas because of syphilis). But luckily spinning brought back some sanity.
This brings me to my next point: I’ve just joined this fibre club!. Can’t wait for the first shipment. But I guess I’d better spin up some of my stash first, just to make room.
And now I’m going back to having my brain dribble out slowly.