Dr Chop Suey Knits

Convertible Mitts

2012-01-28T09:45:00.000-05:00

Convertible or Texting Mittens!

Pattern: Heavily modified from a number of mitten & fingerless glove patterns

Yarn: Berroco Jasper Sport (100% Merino Wool)

Started: November 18, 2011

Finished: December 13, 2011

Yep, convertible! I wanted a pair of mittens because I find mittens keep my hands much warmer than gloves. However... I play with my smart phone too much. And now that I stand at the bus stop or metro station I get bored and play with the phone. So I thought making a pair of convertible mitts would be perfect.

And they are perfect!

Perfect colors for me (red, black and grey). Oh so soft (100% merino wool). Warm and functional!

I've been wearing the mittens for about a month now and I can tell they are starting to pill and felt a little. I actually don't find felting... they will keep me even warmer. But the pilling? Hmmm... but still I love these mittens and wear them almost every day. They might only last this one winter season... only time will tell. The yarn is soft but might not have been made for such wear n' tear like mittens. Oh well, like I said, I love these mittens.

Happy Lunar New Year!

2012-01-23T12:30:00.000-05:00

This weekend marks the celebration of the Lunar New Year. Most people know this weekend is the Chinese New Year, but it is also known as Seollal, the South Korean New Year. The official day this year falls on January 23rd and is the year of the Dragon. Seollal is one of the most celebrated holidays in Korea -- it is typically a long weekend so people can go home and spend time with the family, honor the family ancestors and elders and eat lots of yummy food!

For the past couple of years the hubby and I have been trying to honor my family and have started to incorporate some of the Korean holidays and traditions. While living in Indiana this meant eating traditional foods (yum!). But now that we live in a larger city that has lots of diversity, we are lucky to celebrate by attending a Chinese New Years parade! We had one this weekend right in our town square and next weekend we plan on going to DC's China Town event.

As I said we watched the New Years parade right here in our town center. Here are some of the pictures from the event:

After the parade there was a small market with local Asian vendors selling products and services (I was very impressed with the number of local attorneys, doctors, accountants and such that are geared to helping the Asian community). We meandered around, looking at the foods, jewelry and kids games. I was also impressed with the local arts center... for the next month they will feature Asian arts. The dragon below caught my eye!

Later that evening we made some food. Rather than making the traditional New Year's rice cake soup (I looove this soup, but the hubby isn't a big soup fan) we opt'ed for dim sum and mandu (egg rolls and dumplings). We had some friends come over and hang out. Overall a fun weekend.

Happy New Year!

Homemade Body Spray

2012-01-19T08:07:00.000-05:00

I have a difficult time finding bodyspray/perfume. Most perfumes just smell too cosmetic/synthetic to me. Which is funny because I usually like how perfume or body spray smells on others, but I have a difficult time finding something that smells nice on me.

After a long search I found Avalon Organics Deodorant Spray. These are all natural deodorant sprays that use essential oils and give a nice, light, natural fragrance. They also claim to kill odor-causing bacteria (apparently essential oils kill bacteria -- I need to see the science behind these claims... but I digress). I have this obsession with rosemary - I have a mini rosemary tree, I use rosemary shampoo and conditioner and then I found the Avalon Organics Rosemary D/O Spray - I fell in love. I didn't use it as a deodorant but just as my body spray or as an afternoon pick-me-up.

Avalon Organics Deodorant Spray

So I've been using the rosemary scent for a couple years now and after searching for weeks for a replacement I have come to find out that they have discontinued the product. Travesty I know (yes a first-world problem here).

After searching for a replacement product turned up nothing I have decided to make my own. Because it's really just the rosemary scent that I love I decided that it really shouldn't be too difficult to make my own body spray. After searching the interwebz for ideas on how to do this I combined various methods and have my own recipe. Because it was relatively simple I thought I'd share it with all of you.

Homemade Body Spray
2.5 oz distilled H2O
1.0 oz witch hazel (apparently you could use vodka, perfumer's alcohol, etc).
0.5 oz Polysorbate 20 (also called Tween 20 for you science peeps - this is the emulsifier)
0.5-1 tsp. fragrance oil or essential oil (I used rosemary essential oil and a couple drops of peppermint essential oil)
0.5 tsp liquid glycerin

Combine all ingredients into a spray bottle - top off with additional dH2O if needed. I used my empty Avalon Organics Deodorant Spray bottle (a 4.0 oz bottle). I figured it's already labeled and a great way to reuse something rather than throwing it out. Side note: I'm so used to using milliliters but everything on the internet shows ounces - so I complied and found an oz measuring cup. Very odd this measurement of volume/weight... the ounce. Someday we'll convert to the much easier metric system... but again... I digress with a rant!

I'm pretty happy with the results. It smells like me -- which is a bonus. But really you can use this recipe to make room sprays -- I'm thinking of making another scent for the bedroom - maybe a nice relaxing lavender scent. Hmmm... that sounds really nice - I think I'm going to go make that right now!

Enjoy!

Love From a Friend on the Day I Needed It

2012-01-13T09:10:00.000-05:00

We all have THOSE kind of days.

You know what I'm talking about.

A couple days ago I had a heck of a morning. First - I woke up to find my bed SOAKED. My hot water bottle had leaked ALL night long. I love my hot water bottle, it keeps me nice and warm. But it has been leaking lately so it might be time to purchase a new one.

So next -- I managed to spill my coffee all over myself and all over the bathroom floor. Yes, this is always the danger of multitasking - taking a shower, doing my hair and makeup and all the while trying to consume enough coffee to wake my sorry butt up. And clearly this was one morning when the caffeine really needed to be ingested rather than trying for the absorbed through the epidermis method. So with this mishap I had to change my suit -- and then I realized I was running late for the bus. So I quickly got my stuff together and ran out to catch my bus (mind you I can either take an earlier bus or the later bus and still make it to work on time... I was running late for even the late bus). As I ran outside to the bus stop I realized I didn't have my bus pass. I started fumbling around for my metro pass and realized... yep I left that in the apartment as well. So I sprinted back up to the apartment as quickly as possible... and... I missed the bus. Luckily we live close enough to the metro so I walked over there and boarded the next train to work.

Luckily by the time I got to work the world of bad luck decided to move on to the next poor soul. Nonetheless, after work I decided to do a little shopping therapy. Thank you Mumma Roy for the Victoria's Secret gift cards!! I was able to hit the semi-annual sale and scored some sweatpants and big, comfy sleeping t-shirts.

Finally -- when I got home I found a cute package addressed to me in the mailbox. The packaging was perfect -- recycled (and recyclable) shipping packaging. I quickly opened it and out pops a cute little handwritten notecard (card handmade by a local artist). My friend (who authors an amazing blog that you crafty peeps would love) sent me a little thank you for some yarn that I gifted her. Also in the package.... handwarmers! She knit these from the yarn I had gifted. The yarn is from Frontier Fiber Mills (I first wrote about the yarn here) - it is a beautifully soft alpaca & merino blend. One thing that I noticed - simple and elegant garter stitch fingerless gloves -- oh my so nice! Seriously every stitch is perfect. Briney Deep is such a good knitter -- her homemade gifts are better than homemade. Seriously. Crafted with excellence.

So thank you Ms. Briney Deep, your gift was a wonderful surprise. It would have been special regardless, but after the hectic morning it was truly special to receive such a nice gift. Thank you!

And yes... it reminds me to always pass it on :)

Happy Birthday Wishes

2012-01-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to my best friend in the whole world.

Love you!

Cabled Pillow Cover

2012-01-06T08:45:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time there were these adorable bunnies that liked to wreck havoc wherever they roamed. Those bunnies were known as Kyle and Gwen Bean.

These two cuties like to jump on couches, run and hop around freely and cause mass destruction. One of their favorite past-times: chewing on couches and pillows.

Good thing they are cute little buggers -- huh? But it is true, one of the poor couch pillows had such a gaping hole and I thought it was time to fix the problem. Since tossing the furbabies out is not an option, I decided to knit a pillow cover instead. One pillow done thus far - at least one more to go. Here is the first attempt at the bunny-destruction-cover-up.

Pattern: The cable is called Open Trellis and is from the Vogue

Knitting Stitchionary 2: Cables book.

As for the pillow... I just kinda winged it. Followed the cable pattern as stated

and added a five row garter stitch as a border. The backside is knit with a

stockinette stitch (although the garter stitch border is the same).

Yarn: Loops & Threads - Impeccable Worsted in Soft Taupe

Needles: 7US (4.5mm)

Started: November 19, 2011

Finished: December 24, 2011

Ravelry Link here.

As for the pillow... I just kinda winged it. Followed the cable pattern as stated and added a five row garter stitch as a border. The backside is knit with a stockinette stitch (although the garter stitch border is the same).

I'm not a huge fan of the yarn, but overall I'm pretty happy with the outcome. The acrylic doesn't really have any give so knitting hurt my hands a bit. But because these are toss pillows on the couch the toughness of the acrylic will probably stand the test of time better than some other yarns. Or at least... maybe withstand a couple months of the destructive beasts Kyle and Gwen Bean....

Happy Holiday Images

2012-01-01T12:46:00.000-05:00

**Edited to add pictures -- clearly I've been away from blogging too long and have forgotten how to add pictures!

Our first Christmas in Washington DC would not be complete without a trip to see the National Christmas Tree and National Hanukkah Menorah. Here are some pictures from the visit.

National Menorah

National Christmas Tree

Picture of the Ellipse with the Washington Monument in the background.

White House.

I tried to take a picture of the Pageant of Peace... all the mini trees with the decorations decorated by artists and children from the various states but unfortunately my pictures came out too blurry. But believe me when I say the Ellipse, the grassy area across from the White House, was beautiful.

Christmas tree at the Canadian Embassy in Downtown DC.

Christmas Tree in front of The Capitol Building.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday.

Last night I was reminiscing about my 2011 -- I finished a second masters degree, beat cancer for a third time, moved out of Indiana and back to the East Coast and live in a pretty cool city, landed an awesome fellowship, met and made lots of new peeps and strengthened the bond with some close friends and family. And of course I was blessed to be able share all of these experiences with my hubby. I had a great 2011 and I'm totally looking forward to the many adventures 2012 will bring

Back in time for the Holidays

2011-12-25T11:14:00.001-05:00

I just noticed my last post was back in August... I can tell you that I have NOT been on vacation since August. :)

Instead I have been having an AMAZING time learning, studying and enjoying my time with my fellowship. Coming back to the East Coast after living in Indiana for 6 years is a sweet home coming. And living just outside of DC has been interesting. Within the first month of moving here we experienced an earthquake, hurricane and sweltering hot heat that has continued to warm us up - even today on Christmas day as it is above 50F!

Interesting times indeed!

For the past 4 months I have not knit much. In fact with the hot, crazy temps this summer I did not knit AT ALL. Blasphemy I know!

However, in the past couple of weeks I have been knitting up a storm. I am taking the weekend to update Ravelry, upload pictures of our DC adventures and hope to bust out a couple of blog posts. So stay tuned! Dr. Chop Suey is knitting once again!

Quick Vacation

2011-08-01T18:13:00.003-04:00

After a quick week of frantic unpacking, I've left the SO and buns behind to make a quick visit to New England. It was sad to leave them but it's nice to be home visiting family and friends.

I'll post next week when I return to Maryland - I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Lace Cardi Update

2011-07-26T12:23:00.020-04:00

The SO and I are now in Rockville and starting to make the new pad into our home. I should have some updated pictures of the move soon.

What I wanted to do today was introduce you to my new project. A couple of days ago I posted a quick pic of the Lace Cardi, but no formal introduction was done. So here, my friends, is the Lace Cardi:

I decided to kit the Lace Cardi (patterned designed by Courtney Kelley) published in the Vogue Knitting, Spring/Summer 2011. I'm using Plymouth Yarn's Dreambaby DK Solid, in a lushous deep purple colorway. Thus far I'm enjoying the pattern and the yarn. It's actually a very simple lace pattern (I don't even need the instructions). I haven't been able to knit a whole lot because of the 11+ hour drive... but I'll try to sneak in a row here and there.

I know, not the best pictures... but it'll have to do until I find my camera (these were done with my android phone). I hope to have more pics and stories for you soon!

Last Minute Indiana Trips - 5

2011-07-23T09:25:00.004-04:00

The SO and I took a trip to DePauw University, his undergrad and where he proposed to me. Mainly I think he wanted to eat a GCB (the famous garlic cheese burger from Marvins), but we'll just pretend that he wanted to visit the magical spot one more time before we left Indiana.

So this was the spot. Right in between these two trees where I had originally asked him if we were official (okay I said a couple of explicit words and was a little rude about it). And then 2.5 years later he took me to the same spot and proposed. And today we walked by, holding hands and had a laugh. The SO made comments that maybe there was a black hole in this spot where the universe sucked all rational thoughts out of your head, and as we stood there we were shocked at the heat and burning beam of light that reflected off the windows of the academic building across the street! It was actually pretty hilarious. Nevertheless, we took a moment to enjoy the memories and reminisce over some of our times here in Indiana.

I'll be the first to admit that I've wanted to leave the state from the moment I moved here. And between ending a phd program, having cancer (three times), losing two grandparents and being too far away from my family, I've had some rough times in this state. However.... I've also found the love of my life and a best friend. I've gained some life-long friends, colleagues and mentors. I finished another masters program, gained tremendous amounts of research experience and I have found a profession that I am so excited to begin. I've gained so many experiences and acquaintances that would have only happened if I came here. And I would never ever change any aspect of what I've learned and experienced these past six years. Am I looking forward to moving? Of course! It's the next chapter in my life... in our lives! But I'm surprised and a little emotional because I now realize that I will miss this place... the people that I've met here have made such an impact on me. So as this blog post goes up the SO and I are starting on our drive to Maryland to start the next chapter. With us, I plan on taking all the memories of Indiana and cannot wait to share with all of you the next stage of our lives!

To the Indiana peeps... I heart you! Thank you for the amazing times!

Last Minute Indiana Trips - 4

2011-07-20T09:01:00.002-04:00

The SO and I took a trip to Delphi, Indiana to see the Wabash and Erie Canal. Back in the mid-1800's over 460 miles of canal were built and most of it was right here in Indiana. They wanted to link the Great Lakes to the Ohio River and to the Mississippi and thus the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately for the canal owners, the modern railroad prevailed and the canals never made money and thus were disbanded in the late 1800's. Today you can visit some of the canal in Delphi. The area has become a bit of a tourist attraction and you can hike and bike trails and visit a museum.

Here we are trying to move a wooden "riverboat." As you can see we couldn't even budge it.

You can see some of the original canal stone. Other than the smell from the stagnant water (appealing I know) it was actually kinda pretty.

The little tunnel we had to pass through... I just thought it would make a cute picture op.

And other other side of the closed canal. Yep. More stink and lots of algae.

We saw lots of huge fish! My bro would have loved to fish in the canal.

And in the museum (I couldn't take pics in the museum) we learned (well re-learned) a lot about the canal system. To be honest the most fun was a model canal system with actual running water and a wooden boat. The SO and I had so much fun opening and closing the wooden canals and splashing water everywhere. I kinda want a water table to play on!

Lace Cardi sneak peak

2011-07-19T09:24:00.003-04:00

Here's a little sneak peak at some knitting goodness. Not too much is going on as I should be packing....

I'll give more details about the pattern and yarn later. But I thought I'd give you a little sneak peak at what's to come! :)

Last Minute Indiana Trips - 3

2011-07-18T09:08:00.001-04:00

A quick trip to historic Prophetstown, Indiana brought us back to early 1900's Indiana.

The Prophetstown State Park is located in Battle Ground Indiana and has a 1920's farm, a Native American village, hiking trails and camp grounds. The SO and I visited the farm and some of the driving trails to see the pretty area. And plus we love visiting state parks (and donating) since our wedding ceremony in a state park last November!

We saw some cute goats.

Don't you think this is a picturesque farm?! Love this!

We had a blast watching this little guy drink... he drinks like our Gwen Bean! She slops like a piggy!

Happy little piggy! Actually we visited on a hot and humid day and I would have loved to take a cool mud bath (although not with the pigs!).

This little chicken (rooster? no sure) followed the SO. Quite comical!

Windmill! You know how much I heart these!

Oh, and along our way we traveled over a 1-lane bridge. A one-lane bridge! Crazy! We had to let the other cars cross first before we could. I had never seen anything like that before.

Overall a fun day! Something different and we're glad we visited before we moved!

Last Minute Indiana Trips - 2

2011-07-16T08:50:00.001-04:00

The past few years has seen a surge in interest in renewable energy. We have been lucky enough to see some of the first wind farms in Indiana built and become fully functional energy sources right in our back yards. Not too far from where we live we have two wind farms: Benton County Wind Farms and Fowler Ridge Wind Farms. To me these wind turbines are absolutely beautiful.

I'd like to say my little measly portion of GoGreen Duke Energy helped put up these wind turbines. :)

Regardless they are beautiful and hopefully we can see continued efforts to increase the number of sustainable energy resources. It is always nice to pass these turbines on our way north and I will miss seeing them!

This Little Bunny

2011-07-14T11:09:00.000-04:00

This little She-Devil has struck again! I started my project (will announce it soon!) and she chewed my yarn and ran away with the project!!

Gwen Bean is lucky she is so cute.... grrrrr!

Last Minute Indiana Trips - 1

2011-07-13T08:34:00.001-04:00

The next couple of blog posts will feature some of the recent adventures the SO and I have taken the past few weekends. You can think of it as us trying to crunch in our last bits of soaking in Indiana history, culture and sites right before we leave the state!

To begin the adventures, the SO and I recently visited Battleground, Indiana. Why might we do this? Well we found out this was the event that spurred the infamous US Presidential Curse. Have you heard of it? Between 1840 and 1960 US presidents elected in a year ending with a "0" have either been assassinated or have died of natural causes while in office. This is known as the Presidential Curse (also known as the Curse of Tippecanoe, Tecumseh's Curse or the Twenty-Year Presidential Jinx).

One explanation has been a story about an old Native American curse placed on early America, so that every 20 years the "great chief" dies in office. There are a number of variations of the curse. But one centers around the Battle of Tippecanoe (1811). William Harrison (the eventual 9th President of the US) bribed the Native Americans living in the Indiana Territory to cede their lands to the US government. This, of course, angered the Shawnee Native Americans and Chief Tecumseh declared war (became known as Tecumseh's War) to try to stop the white westward expansion. One of the bloodiest battles was the Battle of Tippecanoe which led to the eventual War of 1812 and to the eventual slaying of Tecumseh. To revenge the death of his brother, Tenskwatawa, a Shawnee medicine man known as The Prophet, placed the curse on the leaders of the white man.

Horrible to bring up the fact that our founders committed a genocide on the native peoples. But it is an aspect of US history. The SO and I were a bit surprised to find out the curse and Battle of Tippecanoe happened in our back yards here in Purdue country. So we decided that before we left the area we should go and take a visit to this historical site.

In Battleground, Indiana you can actually visit the site of the 1811 Battle. Today there is a memorial and museum dedicated to the history of the battle.

The area actually has a small park and a number of hiking and walking trails.

Various gravestones mark the memorials for fallen soldiers.

A map of some of the trails and local areas of interest (i.e. where other battles and skirmishes were fought).

It took a little while but we also found the Prophet's Rock. This was the spot where Tenskwatawa endlessly chanted and delivered prophecies that the white men would fall and the Natives would eventually prevail.

They say he chanted atop this rock. I was surprised how huge it actually turned out to be. And it was up on a hill! I swear this was the largest rock and hill I've seen in Indiana since moving here 6 years ago!

The SO is 6'2"... told you Prophet's Rock is HUGE!

So yeah, not the nicest location we've ever visited. But it was interesting to learn (and re-learn) some American history. We never think to visit local historical spots and today was a reminder that we really should.

2011-07-11T10:07:00.000-04:00

New Project!!!

I'm trying to figure out a new project and I have so many options... What is a girl to do!?!?! Here are some of the potential projects:

1 - I cannot find this pattern listed in Ravelry and I've already packed up all knitting mags and books! Oops! Well I guess you can tell I did not pick this to knit.

2 - Lace Cardi by Courtney Kelley published in Vogue Knitting, Spring/Summer 2011

3 - Fashionista by the Verena Design Team published in the Verena Knitting, Spring 2009 issue

4 - Helsinki by Sabine Ruf from Verena Knitting Summer 2010

5 - Mina's Tuxedo Vest from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard

I have yarn and needles out... stay tuned to see which one I start knitting next! :)

More Pics of Amythest

2011-07-10T22:40:00.002-04:00

Finally took some pictures of my fingerless gloves on... just wanted to share! :)

Amythest on my Wrists

2011-07-08T10:06:00.003-04:00

Started: 6/1/2011

Completed: 6/29/2011

Yarn: Premier Yarns The Deborah Norville Collection, Serenity sock yarn. In colorway Amethyst.

Pattern: Modifications from various patterns and the lace pattern was from Wendy Johnson's Socks from the Toe up - Labyrinth Socks.

You are never going to believe this but I actually finished a project (Ravelry Link)! I wanted my intro back into knitting with a small project. Something that would challenge me but also be an easy knit to ease my way back into the knitter’s world. And because I’ve wanted a pair of finger-less mitts for a while now I thought this would be the perfect little project! I have never knit thumb gussets or knitted fingers; and the minimal mathematical calculations to figure out the lace pattern with the modifications of various fingerless glove patterns all gave me enough to think about without having me overwhelmed with a “first-again” knitting project.

Originally I looked for a pattern for arm warmers or fingerless gloves and realized I didn’t really like any that I saw. I mean, I liked some of the constructions, some of the shaping structures or the descriptions. But overall none really appealed. So I ended up taking bits and pieces from 5 different patterns and wrote up my own fingerless glove pattern. But after doing this I realized I didn’t want to do just plain stockinette stitch so I searched for a lace or cable pattern that would fit in with my modified fingerless glove pattern. I ended up falling for the Labyrinth Socks from the Wendy Johnson's Socks from the Toe Up book. It was easy to convert the lace pattern to fit the glove and walla! I have my very own (modified from other’s) fingerless gloves! Granted it is now 80-90 degrees F outside so I really don’t need to wear these gloves. But in a couple of months I will be working in an office and who knows maybe it’ll be cool inside so I can wear these while at work. Nevertheless, I have a cute pair of fingerless gloves and I’m feeling my craftin’ mojo is coming back!

I’m going to go start digging through Ravelry and my knitting book/mag stash to look for the next project. I’ll let you know what I decide!

VINEGAR my new BFF

2011-07-02T11:00:00.005-04:00

I have a new found love for vinegar. This simple, fermented, acidicy liquid is my new BFF. A while ago I came to the realization that the SO and I are cleaning product snobs. We have a separate cleaner for EVERYTHING in the apartment. It is crazy! We typically purchase Seventh Generation, a wonderful company from Vermont that uses recycled and post-consumer materials in it's packaging and is biodegradable as well as being chlorine- and phosphate-free! So yes, environmentally, however a little pricey for our graduate student budgets. Additionally, all of these excessive chemicals in the products (although compared it to what other cleaning companies SG isn’t too bad) is probably not great. So I thought this would be a good time to investigate alternatives that would be kind to our health (our bunnies health) and to our budgets.

We ended up borrowing a couple of different books from the library:

An oldie:
Cheaper and Better: Homemade Alternatives by Nancy Birnes

The Complete Guide to Eco-Friendly House Cleaning by Anne Kocsis

Honestly, for me I couldn’t sit and read these books. They were a little too Jiminy Cricket, “you must keep a clean house and wash everything including the walls once a week”. Ek! Who has time for this stuff! So most of it I quickly skimmed just to pay dues to the authors who spent time writing the books, but mostly I wanted some ideas for cleaners and I found that vinegar was used for most of the recipes. And after careful selection (as to not mix certain chemicals together) I have a new set of cleaners. Mostly various concentrations of vinegar in water (each one mixed with one or more essential oils) and I have a new set of cleaning sprays for the bathroom and kitchen! I actually cannot stand the smell of vinegar. So I ended up using a lot of essential oils (lemon and tea tree oils) to make these sprays smell nicer. I even have the daily shower spray with sweet orange essential oils so every morning after the shower the bathroom smells like sweet orange!

I even took it one step further and cut up a bunch of old t-shirts and we now use these instead of paper towels (I’m usually a paper towel freak and go through rolls and rolls of Seventh Generation recycled paper towels). So I’m feeling a little better about that as well. All I know is that the disgusting mineral buildup that we had going on in the shower is now gone thanks to the vinegar… something my Magic Eraser and Seventh Generation sprays couldn’t do the past two years. I’m now fully converted over to this simpler way of cleaning. Well... we'll see how long I keep at this until I just go out and buy another bottle of Seventh Generation cleaner.

Is anyone else a freak about cleaning? What products do you use?

Happy Cleaning!

I Should Learn How to Spin

2011-06-30T08:18:00.004-04:00

This picture was taken several weeks ago. Look at all that fur - and it's from only one of the fur-babies!

I have been brushing him every day for the past 3 weeks and I get a small ball of soft fur each time. I totally should have collected it. Would it be weird to collect and spin my own pets' fur? It is just very odd... Kyle has never shed like this before. Typically he'll shed twice a year - once in spring to shed the winter coat and once in fall to get ready for the thick winter coat. However this spring into summer has been crazy with the fur coming from fuzzy butt. Gwen Bean has different fur, although still baby soft it is not similar to Kyle's. Kyle is a Netherland Dwarf and Gwen is a Dwarf Hotot -- so completely different. But I never thought to collect his fur....

I totally should have!

Annnnd the winner is.....

2011-06-28T18:13:00.000-04:00

And the random number generator says: Congrats to Amy from Chicago!

Amy could you please email me at: slroy10 at gmail dot com so I can get mailing info from you.

And thank you everyone for adding comments, sending me Facebook and Tweets! I really like to hear from you. :)

I still haven't received my laptop back from the company... some have suggested I get an iPad.... I totally agree! I might actually start looking into a new tablet or iPad.

But in the meantime... I have a woman's USA soccer game on the dvr and a knitting project close to completion!

Thanks again for the comments and Amy I hope to hear from you soon!

Funny how things work

2011-06-21T09:59:00.001-04:00

Just a soon as I begin to get excited about crafting and blogging again.... I go and break my computer! Yep, I smooshed the screen to death. I sent the laptop out to get fixed... But it may be a while until I get it back. But no worries, I have other ways to post updates (although using swype on my android is sooo slow!)

Watch for the next post later this week... You'll get a sneak peak of the give away. And don't forget to leave a comment and tell your friends!

Dr Chop Suey Posts Number 200?!

2011-06-13T09:03:00.000-04:00

Wow - this is post number 200!

I know my readership has dropped in the past year due to my lack of crafting and sporadic posting. But now that I'm done with the degree program and I'm only working I have time for blogging once again.

Therefore, for my 200th post I'm going to have a give-away contest. This will be to celebrate number 200 and for the rejuvenation of this blog. To enter, please leave a comment either on here or message me on Twitter (DrChopSuey) and tell me what you hope to do to enjoy your summer. I'll be spending the summer packing, moving and then unpacking and I want to know what you are planning to do. Please let others know about the rejuvenation of this blog and tell them to leave a comment as well!

So leave me a comment and you will be automatically entered into the drawing. I haven't quite decided on the exact items in the give-away.... But think summer, yarn, and other knitting goodies. Maybe I'll post a couple of hint pictures in the next week. Either way, you'll like it.. and I cannot wait to see comments! In two weeks (from today) I'll choose a winner using a random number generator. Don't be shy -- leave some comments! :)

We Found A Place!

2011-06-10T08:27:00.001-04:00

This past weekend the SO and I took a trip to the suburbs of DC to find an apartment/condo for our July move. After visiting a number of places we found a cute (i.e. small and expensive) apartment in Rockville. Very pretty area with a cute downtown.

So for those of you who know us, you know that this is not really "us." Okay, snobby and pretentious... probably yes us. But in downtown with all the hussle and bussle? Not really. But we figured my fellowship is for one year and when would we EVER live in an upscale condo in the middle of downtown? Probably never. So we went for it and did the splurge. The condominium has two roof-top pools and our place overlooks a roof-top terrace. There are three fitness centers and three lounge/games rooms. Yeah it's like a hotel. :) Again we figured we could try it out for a year. Totally different from what we ultimately want (a cute small house in a wooded area in Oregon). But hey, one year in the big downtown in a city! July 23rd is the big day! I cannot wait!!!

Last Trip to ChicagoLand

2011-06-08T22:15:00.000-04:00

Kinda sad... our last trip to Chicagoland while living in the MidWest. Granted the SO's family all live in Indiana so we'll be back every year. But it's just nice to be able to drive up (or take the train) to Chicago just for a quick day trip.

Last weekend we attended a Cubs game - and as it was my last Cubbies game I decided to forgo my typical Red Sox gear and I actually bought a Cubs top. Actually it was FREAKIN' hot as heck, and I sweat out of my other tank, to I bought a new shirt. Really everyone around us was just a sweaty and stinky... but I guess I can be a diva like that.

It was probably good that I sweat so much that day because that was the foot-long hot dog that I ate. That is a foot-long bison dog with buffalo sauce and cole slaw. Chicagoans love to put salads on their dogs. Weird I know. But it was delicious.

The SO is ready to ban me from attending any of his teams' games as they always lose (especially great when my Pats play his Colts). Sorry Cub fans, this day was no different and they lost (bad) to the Astros. :(

After the game we hit a local pub for food and drink and then ran back to catch the train home only to find out we missed the early train! But the station is across the street from Millennium Park so it we ended up relaxing for a couple of hours and catching a free concert in the park. Not bad at all!

So despite the loss... great day in Chicago. Again, sad that we won't be able to quickly go to Chicago for a day trip. But I guess we're moving to the suburbs of DC so I shouldn't complain too much!

Until next time folks!

SURPRISE!

2011-05-30T10:41:00.017-04:00

Yep a finished project! It only took me 6 months to finish. I started these babies back in December 2010 while in NH visiting the family. I actually finished one sock in about three days. However, due to the insane semester, the second sock took me all semester. But a couple weeks after semester ends and I finished these knee-high, wool socks - and as per my typical impeccable timing - just in time for the 90 degree weather this week! :)

Pattern: A basic sock pattern knit top-down with a gusset and slip-heel and ribbed to fit my big leg muscles. And anatomically correct toes so it fits nicely on my tooties.

Started: December 2010 - finished one sock in 3 days

Finished: May 12, 2011 - second sock took 6 months

Yarn: The SO's parents bought me the yarn while they were on a trip in Germany. When they gave me the yarn all I thought of were amazingly warm knee socks. I would love to tell you the brand and content of the yarn, however I currently cannot find the ball band - but I will as I'm cleaning and packing to move, and when I find it I'll update on here and in Ravelry.

I don't know if you caught that but yep, I said move - and just to recap the past couple months --

I finished my second masters degree! Summa cum laude, just to brag and inflate the ego.

And guess what else... I got that fellowship that I described a couple posts (or months) ago! That means the SO and I are getting ready for a move across country! This coming weekend we are going to Bethesda, Maryland to see apartments and hopefully (well, we'll have to) sign a lease. And in July we will be moving! My fellowship doesn't start until September 1st. But the lease on this apartment expires and really the SO and I have just been waiting to move from Indiana. I mean, he is from here, so of course we will be back yearly to visit his family and our friends... but it is time for a move and to advance my career. And really this fellowship is going to be amazing. I'm wicked excited!

I have about 2 months here in IN and at my current job. In the meantime I have started attending a local Toastmasters club, volunteering and also started back at knitting (as you can see) and running and yoga! Amazing how much I can do when I'm not working, schooling and interning! But as you can see I have already filled my empty schedule with all kinds of fun things. And hopefully soon I'll have another finished project to post on here.

Other than that I hope you all have a nice holiday weekend. The SO and I are taking a "final Chicago trip" while living in the Midwest. Cubbies game and some people watching and foodie hits. Should be fun!

And now that I'm back at it... I'll have my knitting with me! :)

Super Re-Charged!

2011-05-12T10:10:00.000-04:00

Just checking in to let everyone know I'm still around. Semester is coming to a close (I'll be a Master-Master!) and second Master's degree is almost done. I am presenting at a conference this Friday and then the SO is driving me to the airport on Saturday so I can fly out to another conference (I've never been to Minneapolis!).

Then when I get back the SO and I will start thinking about places to move to... yep I got that job that I blogged about last month! I was fortunate to receive the Associate Fellowship position for the next year. So we are moving to Bethesda, MD (just north of DC)! I'm so excited!

But in the meantime... I am back down to only working. So you KNOW that means knitting and crafting will start up soon! I'm so happy because without crafts I tend to get a little crazy. I'll update more once I return from this trip and soon I hope to have some projects going! Yay!

First Professional Interview!

2011-04-17T16:00:00.000-04:00

I'm here... it's been a while. I've been a bit busy! Unfortunately absolutely NO knitting :( Mostly because my semester has been kicking my butt. Still working full-time, grad school full-time and part-time internship. I think the last time I checked in I was in isolation for my body scan. Unfortunately my cancer has come back -- so on top of everything I'm gearing up for another round of high dose of radiation. Luckily the doctors have been very supportive and have allowed me to continue with my crazy hectic schedule and we are squeezing radiation in at the end of April. And while I'm getting radiated I'll be writing my thesis.... So as you can see, I haven't had much time for fun stuff (well yoga and runs here and there, but no crafty-goodness!). The semester ends in a couple of weeks though, so I will be getting back into knitting within the next month or so!

Other than all that, I've been busy squeezing in some traveling for conferences and professional development. I was awarded a scholarship for leadership training so I've been fortunate to have to opportunity to travel to conferences and recently returned from a conference in Philly. I have another conference in May assuming radiation goes well!

Last week I went for an interview for a fellowship position. I have to admit, I was NERVOUS! This was for a pretty big institution and I hope that I represented my SLIS graduate program, institution and myself well!

Regardless if I get this position or not I think this was a valuable learning experience for me. After all, this was my first "Big Girl" interview. A day-long interview is VERY different from the other 1hr job interviews that I've had in the past. Additionally, instead of just one-on-one meetings, I had a tour, lunch, and panel interview. For me the most intimidating moment was the panel interview. I was being interviewed by a number of the Directors and Associate Directors of various departments! And during this panel session I had typical interview questions and I had scenario/situational questions. I think I did well on most questions and scenarios, except for one of the scenario questions. Grrr... Other than that one senario question, all of the questions that I was asked were things that I had previously thought of. So I felt pretty prepared and confident. Furthermore, most of the questions were about me, my leadership skills and abilities and my thoughts about my future aspirations. So really, as long as I was true to myself, I couldn't go wrong.

In addition to the program/institution interviewing me to see if I was the right fit, I also took the time to see if I thought they would fit for me. And honestly, going into this interview I was still in shock that they called me (!?!?!) and how was I ever going to fulfill the position. After all, others who went before me are THE movers and shakers in our field of health science librarianship. However, once I got there (and got over the shock of being at the Mecca of research!), I realized that I needed to try them out as well. And I found out some aspects of the program are changing and I'm not 100% sure I like everything that will be changed. I mean, I still think if I was offered I'd have an amazing opportunity. But these changes will make me think about things from a more logistic aspect. I mean, I will be relocating my family (i.e. my husband and two bunnies) half-way across the US. So I really need to make sure that everything that I heard, saw and felt will be right for not just me, but also my (albeit small) family. But it is good to know that I have choices, and yes the selection committee will dictate whether I'm offered, however I get to dictate my own professional career and I can decide if this will be the right next step.

As I mentioned, regardless if I get the position or not I'm proud of myself for making it to the interview portion. And as this was my first professional interview I think it was good practice (too bad this IMPORTANT interview was my practice!). But hey, we all have to start somewhere.

To end this post I have a couple of pictures from the institution. I flew in the day before my interview and that afternoon I took the Metro in to campus so I could figure out where I was going (so I wouldn't get lost, flustered and late the morning of the interview). After I figured out where I was going I took some time to walk around campus. This was an overwhelming and humbling moment. For me, as a research scientist, I have held this institution in high regards. To be there, walking around the campus, knowing that they had called me for an interview was just an amazing feeling of self-pride. So yes, I was dorky. I took pictures, sent them to my scientist friends and PI. I almost shed a tear when I walked by a bed of yellow daffodils that smelled heavenly, felt the sun shining warm and bright and walked by the National Library of Medicine. It was a surreal experience!

Not So Wandering Wednesday

2011-03-16T17:57:00.002-04:00

Yep -- Isolation in my little room!

Just a typical low-dose of radiation for a body scan. Just a 1 year follow-up to verify I'm still cancer-free. So I'm doing the Cancer Free mantra and dance (good thing I'm isolated and no one can see me!).

I'll be doing taxes, writing the thesis and working on a pair of socks. I hope to have an update on the socks (and test results) later in the week!

Wish me luck!

Pi Bowl

2011-03-14T09:10:00.002-04:00

Pi Bowl for Pi Day!!

Wandering Wednesday: Health Update

2011-03-09T09:44:00.000-05:00

I wanted to let everyone know that I am doing well health wise. So having said that... I'll be getting radiation (again) next week -- but it's just the 1 year body scan. So I will be receiving a low dose of radiation for a body scan to check for (hopefully no) thyroid cancer. I've been on that dreaded low-iodine diet for the past 2 weeks with one more to go. But I think I'll be able to post a little more (and knit some more) while I'm in isolation next week.

So nothing major (to the family -- this means DON'T freak out!). But I will be getting radiated again and will have to be in isolation. Just wanted to keep everyone updated! :)

So Close!!

2011-03-07T09:38:00.000-05:00

I haven't been blogging as much because of time constraints. However, look (!) I'm getting sooo close! By the time I finish these babies it'll be summer. I hope to post more about this project soon!

Hope you are all doing well!

Grumpy butt

2011-03-06T16:27:00.001-05:00

I should learn how to crochet!

2011-02-27T17:59:00.000-05:00

This time-lapse video of a self-assembling Amigurumi bear had me dancing along and reaching for a hooks. Looks like a good project for a rainy (or snowy) weekend! [via Neatorama]. So cute!

Wandering Wednesday - Brain Matters

2011-02-23T09:29:00.000-05:00

One of my friends alerted me to this:

Isn't it AWESOME!?!?!

If you know where I can find the pattern to this knitted human brain, please let me know. I want to knit this like whoa!

Have a Wonderful and Happy Wednesday!

A Big Oops!

2011-02-18T10:30:00.006-05:00

Last week I made a big oops.

As I was leaving my internship I had a sudden urge to buy yarn. Silly, I know, because I have a huge stash and I have not been knitting at all. But I really needed to buy something, specifically yarn, at that very moment.

I just happened to be driving by, not not a LYS, but a big box store. So I quickly pulled into the parking lot and opened up my door -- only to have it BLOWN out of my hand and smack into the car next to me! I quickly jumped out and checked the car next to me as well as my car door. I didn't see any dent, only a small tiny scratch. But I felt so bad! I didn't know what to do. And after the fiasco from the previous year when my car was damaged by a hit and run, I'm a little hypersensitive about these sorts of things. Plus, I felt really bad about putting a scratch in someone else's car. So I did the nice thing, I took out a piece of paper and wrote the owner of the car a note, apologized and signed it with my name and number.

And then I decided that because I already did some damage, why not go in a buy some crappy ass yarn!?! So I did. And I bought this:

I really don't know what it is. Deborah Norville? Serenity? The content is 50% Merino, 25% Bamboo and 25% Nylon. It IS wicked soft. And it is in a nice purples and black/gray colorway. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it. But it was cheap, and I needed to spend money at that moment, so I bought it as a splurge.

Finally, that evening I received a phone call from an elderly gentleman. He wanted to tell me that he thought that my note was a very honest, caring and noble deed. He said that he had not seen a nice gesture like that in eons and he wanted to call and let me know that the car is fine, he didn't even see a scratch and wanted to thank me for being honest. He really was surprised and humbled by my gesture. I'm glad I did it. I was a little scared. But looking back I'm proud that I was honest - yes maybe a little hypersensitive. But who knows, maybe I just did one of those pass-it-on gestures. I know I saw at least two people watching me leave a note (and take a pic of both cars - I told you I'm crazy). But I hope I continue to do little gestures of kindness like this - it made me feel good knowing I helped this man, as he put it, "feel that the younger generation isn't that bad, after all."

Bunny Training

2011-02-17T08:50:00.000-05:00

We have started training/bonding the two buns.

Boy - this is a chore!

The vet recommended placing the buns in a neutral place - such as a bathtub. So the SO and I prepped the tub (i.e. made sure it was dry, got plenty of hay and a water spray bottle in hand for any fights) and threw (or gently placed) Kyle and Gwen into the tub. And this is what we got for the first 10 minutes.

They totally ignored each other. Well - kinda. It was more of a standoff. Look at Kyle try to hog all of the hay! What a brat! But you could tell Gwen was really interested in Kyle and really wanted to play. So she gathered up the courage and ran next to him.

And that seemed to go okay ------ until he took a nip at her! He came away with a mouth full of black fur :(
She seemed okay but I felt so bad! So we went back to the stand-off. But a little closer.

Gwen kept inching closer. But Kyle was onto her moving.

And here he is going for the attach (she is okay - the SO grabbed Kyle out while I took the picture like a good mommy).

So after a week of trying to bunny bonding/training and we are still struggling. I know it's going to take a while but these two are difficult. Actually it's just Kyle. Little Gwen really wants to play and Kyle is just an old bunny stuck in his ways. Hopefully soon we'll have some cute buns snuggling pics, but for now we just have two grumpy buns in a tub for ya!

Wandering Wednesday - Roses

2011-02-16T08:50:00.002-05:00

This is a picture of a rose that I saw at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. I have no idea what kind of rose, but I thought it was so unique. It has roses within a rose! If you know what kind of hybrid this is, please drop me a line. But I wanted to share it with you today. Happy Wednesday!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T08:34:00.001-05:00

Okay if you know me then you know I'm not one for Valentine's Day. In fact, the past three V-Days I've spent it with my girl Kate. But this morning I dropped her off at the airport (at the ass crack of DAWN!) so she could fly out to one of the coasts for a job interview! I'm so excited for her (Good Luck Girl!). But I'm going to miss her today!

I guess... I'll hang out... with... my husband today?

Weird!

I hope everyone has a Happy Valentine's Day!

Snowed In!

2011-02-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

How did you do last week during the Snowpocalyse? We had a day of snow and an evening of ice. Here is my Princess after a 1/2hr of letting the car starter do it's magic.

Yeah those tires are not snow deep, those are iced in.

As you can see, we didn't get a lot of snow - just ice!

It was a miracle because Purdue actually closed for two days! Nevertheless, even though I'm not a grad student I still had to go in on Tuesday to do some experiments. However, after my boss found out I was to be paid time & a half for hours worked during a snow emergency/university closure, he told me to stay home on the second day. Unfortunately for my peeps, a grad student was charged with finishing the second day of experiments (grad students = free labor!).

So on the second day I took advantage of staying home. The SO and I shoveled and chipped the cars out of the snow and ice and I did homework (and some yoga and Zumba too!). My school (the place I am actually a graduate student at) also closed and I was able to use the time to catch up on reading and essay writing. Did you get any knitting done during your snowed in days? I hope you did so I can vicariously live through you! :)

Wandering Wednesday

2011-02-09T09:25:00.000-05:00

I am not one for Valentines Day.

But this would be AMAZING!

Bunny Fight!

2011-02-07T09:03:00.000-05:00

Little Gwen Bean got bit on the nose!!! :(

By this little fuzzy-butt....

Good thing he is adorable!

BTW -- Gwen is okay, no bleeding and it has scabbed over. Love sibling fights! Argh!

Alpaca oh-paca!

2011-02-04T08:53:00.001-05:00

I mentioned in a previous post that while in NH, Mumma Roy, the SO and I went to America's Stonehenge for snowshoeing. Located in Salem, New Hampshire it was a quick 1/2hr drive from my rents place.

The model shows the astronomical alignments of the rock formations.

The info plaque for the model located in the visitors lodge.

Overall the place is pretty cool. Well, for one, we were able to rent snowshoes and hike around the trails. But the snowshoeing is not what has made this a popular place. America's Stonehenge is on the map for the (maybe ancient) rock formations. Many of the rock formations are in exact alignment with the astronomical calendar (i.e. equinoxes and such). They cite the similarities in other ancient observatories throughout the world such as Easter Island, Stonehenge in England, the Pyramid of Giza and Machu Picchu in Peru. Okay, I honestly cannot make any factual statements about America's Stonehenge being similar to the magnificence of these other sites... but that is what the place claims! :)

Unfortunately we could not see the rock formations because of the blanket of snow. But we went for the snowshoeing (previous post on the snowshoeing trip can be found here). What I wanted to show you today is the yarn that I purchased!

Funny, huh? Alpaca's at a place such as this. But they apparently have a small alpaca farm that they call Alpaca Tracks. This was, of course, much to my surprise and excitement. I'm not sure Mumma Roy and the SO were as excited about the alpaca's. The SO especially. I'm sure he knew that alpaca farm meant some yarn was getting purchased and coming home!

I have already shown a couple of these pictures of the alpacas... but they are just ADORABLE! I'm sure you don't mind seeing these buddies again!

Rocky

Trooper

More Rocky because I fell in love with him!

I think these are the females in another enclosure - away from the boys.

I am not sure if this is Trooper or Kordell... either way he's cute!

So yes... I go on a random hike through the snow and I still find a place with fiber-y goodness!

The yarn. Okay... I have to admit. It is not the most luxurious, softest alpaca yarn I have ever touched. But just seeing the animals and knowing where the yarn came from was enough. I only bought one skein so it'll be a small, itty-bitty project. Maybe it was a pity purchase. But I wanted to try to support this place and their alpaca farm.

Nice weight and nicely spun.

Nice colors... just not as soft as I would like.

I have some yarn from Rocky's fine fiber!

Have you ever purchased a skein (or more) just because? I wanted to purchase more... but at $23 for a 213 yard skein for yarn that I wasn't enthusiastic about, I couldn't purchase more. Clearly I bought it because I fell in love with these fuzzy buggers and wanted to support the farm. So, have you ever had a moment like this?

Wandering Wednesday -- SO

2011-02-02T09:24:00.008-05:00

Good morning!

Today I wanted to show you the SO's alter ego (if you know the SO you know he couldn't hurt a fly so this is totally joking). This huge hulk is located in the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua, NH. The SO is 6'2". Yeah. Huge!

Hopefully I didn't scare you too much! Have a great Wednesday!

3 Year Thyroidectomyversary!

2011-01-31T08:20:00.000-05:00

I tell the gruesome story in this post from 2009.

Really I just wanted to take a moment to remember that people can heal and move on from things. Especially when surrounded by love and support from family and friends.

Thank YOU to my wonderful peeps and family... this event seems like a million years ago! I think you guys are what have helped me keep going and better myself. Love you!

Another Dream Swatch

2011-01-30T09:38:00.000-05:00

So I promised to update my knitting blog... and here it is! The project that took me over three months to knit....

A Second DreamSwatch!

Pattern: Dream Swatch Headband, by Wendy Bernard
Yarn: Don't laugh... Red Heart - Heart & Sole.
Needles: 2.0 mm
Started: August, 2010
Finished: December 22, 2010

What can I say? I like it. The yarn is okay. It was cheap and I was having a bad day and wanted to purchase something. I was next to a Hobby Lobby so I bought it. Impulse buy. But honestly this ball of yarn and headband got TRASHED. It was shoved into bags, purses and any other nook and cranny. Basically I carried it around for four months just hoping to knit a row or two here and there. Having said that, I think the yarn held up to the abuse. And the colors complement my hair. It's sad though, that it took me so long to complete this project but seriously I pretty much knit a row or two a week -- that's all I had time for! I did knit a pair of socks... that'll be another post. I have to stretch my little knitting out! So here it is... the triumph for last semester!

I have another pair of long socks in the pipeline. During the holiday break I made great headway on the project. But semester started a week ago and my knitting has decreased to almost none. :-( I hope to squeeze in some knitting time soon so I can show you and so I can wear these new warm knits!

Holidays in NH - 2011

2011-01-28T08:46:00.003-05:00

Every year we split our holidays between New Hampshire and Indiana. For the past 4 years we have spent Christmas in Indiana and New Years in New Hampshire. This year, we spent our Christmas in NH! It was great to see the family and relax away from the stresses of work and school. Here is a photo rundown of the trip!

Sad but true -- I ate him. I almost cried... but then he was delicious.

We went to Kittery in Maine and I made the SO pose in front of the moose. He always jokes that these are mythical creatures that don't exist because he has yet to see one!

Mumma Roy went shopping -- I had to hold her bags.

Meet my Bro's SO. Yes they are engaged... she is lying on the floor trying to get pack the SO and me to get to the chicken fingers. Yes, I will soon be related to her. :) She brings joy into my life.

Two of my fav people -- Mumma Roy and the SO!

We got some snow in the Hamp. Mumma Roy had to shovel her way out to the car.

I wanted a picture in the snow. The SO was a champ and obliged.

The SO had never gone snowshoeing so we went! We went to a place that had trails and rentals. It was so fun!

The SO trying to get his snowshoes on.

The snowshoe gang!

Isn't she just ADORABLE!!!

Can you tell we had fun?

Mumma Roy and me -- breaking "new" snow!

Okay I don't know how to rotate in Blogger... but you get the picture.

Okay so we went to America's Stonehenge (I'll have more on this later) but they had alpacas!!! Isn't he cute?!?!

I just think these guys are adorable! Of course I bought some yarn!

So that is our trip in pictures and captions. The full album of the trip can be found here. Hope you enjoyed!

Return of Wandering Wednesdays!

2011-01-26T08:25:00.000-05:00

It's the happy return of Wandering Wednesday! I'd like to start another series -- I'm still thinking about what it could be. But for now I'll just do my random pictures and thoughts. For today I have a hibiscus flower that was at my rent's house. Mumma Roy was so excited because one of the flowers bloomed on the day we arrived. The funny thing -- the second one bloomed the day we left - like 9 days later. Funny huh? But anyways... it's it beautiful?

I bid you a very, very, happy Wednesday!

Yes the SO and I took the plunge!

2011-01-24T08:43:00.000-05:00

Last blog post I might have quickly mentioned the SO and I decided to get married.

Well we did!

We both will be graduating in May and we are hoping to find joint faculty positions at a college or university. So in order to get a spousal package deal we needed to get married. Because we've been dating for ever and because we have been having anxiety over meshing the two families (our families are VERY different), we decided to elope! Well, kinda, sorta, elope. It wasn't really eloping because everyone knew about it. We approached both families and explained our situation. And we told all of our peeps. The only part that was eloping was the fact that the SO and I flew out to the Oregon Coast and got married by ourselves. We contacted a reverend and a photographer and met everyone at Ecola State Park and did our ceremony!

This happened in November. We decided on our 5 year anniversary - November 12th. November in Oregon is cold. November in Oregon is rainy season. Guess what... we TOTALLY lucked out! The day was absolutely gorgeous and sunny. It wasn't too chilly. Thank goodness as I was in a strappy dress, on a cliff, overlooking the ocean!

We did have a photographer. I still don't own the digital pictures, however I have a link to the photographer's website: http://prints.sarahmcallisterphotography.com/g/suzy__ryan If you are out in Oregon and need a photographer please contact Sarah McAllister. This young lady is amazing! She is artistic and professional. Her photos explain everything.

And if you need a Reverend out in Oregon, please contact Reverend Tim Barnhart. He was a pleasure to have residing over our nuptials. He let us write out whole ceremony and our own vows. Actually, the SO wrote our whole ceremony! Reverend Barnhart also brought his two dear friends who have been married for over 50 years to witness our wedding.

Of course our wedding day had to have some drama. So we started our ceremony in Ecola State Park and overlooked the ocean. Afterwards we walked around the park and took pictures in the woods and such. Next the Sarah, the SO and I went down to Cannon Beach to take some more beach pictures next to the water. I had this brilliant idea to visit Peter Iredale, a shipwreck from 1906. I thought it would make as a cool backdrop for some pictures. And I wanted to wreck the dress. However this shipwreck is 20 minutes north of Cannon Beach so the photographer jumped in her car and we jumped into our little rental car (a Prius) and followed her north. After a couple of twists and turns we found ourselves driving on the beach... well in the sand dunes. And do you know what... yep... our little Prius got stuck. Without hesitation I told the SO to put it into neutral and I jumped out (wedding dress and all) and started to push the car out. I was afraid that if we let it sit too long it would start to sink and then we'd be screwed. Sarah quickly came over and helped push it out. By the end we were all laughing because seriously who pushes a car out of the sand dunes in her wedding dress? I DO!

Other than that it was a fabulous day. Actually getting the car stuck just makes for an even better story! We have a video of the event but I have yet to edit it. But I hope you enjoy the pictures... the SO and I are so happy we had our little non-traditional wedding this way... the whole event was just so... us! :)

Hello!!!! :)

2011-01-20T09:33:00.000-05:00

Wow! It has been a while, huh?

Well as you can see Grad School has taken a big bite out of my free time. This past semester I maintained my full-time scientist job, continued full-time grad school AND took part in a part-time internship. The SO and I took an emergency trip to NH to be with family for my Grammy's passing. Oh and to throw a little extra into my schedule I traveled to two conferences, the SO decided to elope and get married and we just adopted another bunny. Phew... a couple of things, huh? I will update about my life by this weekend. I have oh so much to tell you!

On the crafting front, you can probably tell it has been slim-to-nonexistent. In the past six months I have knit a pair of socks, a Dreamweaver Headband, and now starting on another pair of socks. Yes, 2.5 projects. And most upsetting... I have not been keeping up-to-date with all of you! Luckily I have some time this weekend to go through blogs and will be catching up on what you have all been up to. So if you suddenly see a number of posts from me from your archived blog posts... you know why. I'm six months behind in your life!

So this is just a quick hello and I cannot wait to catch up with what you have been up to. And look out within the next week or so for my rambling blog posts to catch up with where I am now! And just to brag about my new little fuzzy butt - here is a quick peek at Gwen Bean, our new addition to the family!

Wandering Wednesday: More Seattle Fun!

2010-08-12T12:05:00.000-04:00

A day late: but we are back for another installment of Wandering around the Pacific Northwest!

What is a visit to Seattle without a stop at the world-famous Pike Place Market?!

The SO and I joined two peeps (my Peanut and knitting-extraordinare Kristin) and did some site-seeing prior to the wedding. We started our 1/2 day of Seattle at Pike Place and loved it! I'm not a flower gal, however the flowers were BEAUTIFUL! And cheap! This photo does not do the flowers justice, but trust me the bouquets were beautiful and cheap. Some of the big beautiful bouquets were only $10-$15!

A stroll around Pikes Place can only be better if you are munching on something delicious. And trust me, there is not a limited supply of yummy food. We stopped at Piroshky Pieroshky, a delicious Russian bakery. Of course we had piroshkies.

They had amazing looking veggies. Including fiddleheads - something I have been describing to the SO for years. Apparently we can't get them here in Indiana. But these baby ferns were in abundance (back in May) at the market. Check out the morel mushrooms in the pic below! And just all the beautiful fruits and veggies!

And of course what is a trip out to Seattle's Pike's Place without a stop at the fish market. We saw the dudes throw and catch the fish. It was pretty cool.

I tried to get a pic of the fish flying, however I'm not that skillzzed.

And what about the first Starbucks?! Yeppers. I got a wonderful mocha cafe,with soy, no whip. It was yummy!

And of course I had to pet Rachel the Pig. She is the unofficial mascot of the market and apparently if you drop some change in her and rub her nose you'll have good luck. I dropped a number of coins in and rubbed, rubbed, rubbed! :)

Yarn Bombing In My Town!!!

2010-08-06T10:26:00.000-04:00

A couple months ago Mumma Roy and I were walking in downtown, visiting the Farmers Market when I came across this (I tried to highlight the knitting because my phone sux as a camera):

I found a tree that has been Yarn Bombed! I was so excited (much to the embarrassment of my Mum and to the passers by on the sidewalk). Kudos to you who did this... I loved seeing it!

10 Years of Color - a study

2010-08-01T09:22:00.000-04:00

Two years ago I painted a huge canvas red. Yes Red. I took red and black acrylic paint and I created this:

I still don't really know why. I just felt in the mood to paint.

Fast forward two years later.

After the SO and I got back from the trip and I felt inspired to paint again. Weird, I know! This is the scene that inspired the painting urge:

This is a pic of the scenery from our hotel room window in Astoria, Oregon. Isn't that lovely?! It was really beautiful. AND... just a 3 minute walk from this spot we saw sea lions! Astoria really is an amazing place (here is my nod to the SO's USA Today's PopCandy guest blog post on our Astoria trip).

When we got back to IN, I created this painting "inspired" from the picture. It is now hanging on our wall with my red painting. I'm guessing another 2 years and I'll have another random painting, maybe yellow or orange. I call it my 10 Years of Color series. I'm totally joking... maybe.

Knitting?! On a Knitting Blog?!

2010-07-30T09:39:00.000-04:00

YES!

I actually finished both of these items a while ago. However, I was a badass and didn't send either to my cousin so I haven't been able to blog about it (Dear Cous is an occasional prowler of this blog). But while I was in NH I saw my Dear Cous and I gave her the gifts... and now I can show you!

First, I have simple little booties. My Dear Cousin is having (well has now had) her second child. Dear Cous was oh-so-uber preggos when I saw her. She is SO FREAKIN' CUTE! I hope that if the SO and I ever decide to procreate, I am that cute. But I astray, back to the booties. Everyone at work loved the little Mary Jane's. I liked the little purple flower button for the strap.

Pattern: Mary Jane Baby Booties by Lucie Sinkler

Started & Finished: In one evening back in May

Yarn: Snuggly Baby Bamboo

The next item was something I started back in February. Basically, I didn't want to send the Mary Jane's and gift card for the baby and not give anything to Little E. Little E, is my Dear Cousins' first child. She is ADORABLE! So to appease Little E (and my urge to knit a strawberry purse) I just started knitting and would knit a couple rows then put it down for a week, then pick it up and try to figure it out as I went.

I knit the main part. Intarsia and all! Then I added a bead handle. Initially I had a long handle, then (because I have the fantastic imagination of Guillermo del Toro and Steven King) I envisioned it getting tangled around Little E and I would be the cause of harm to Little E. So I went with a small, hand-held handle. Then I didn't like how things could poke through the knitted fabric. So I (yes I) sewed! I went out and purchased red fabric, found red thread and I hand stitched a liner and stitched it into the bag! I am kinda proud of that.

Finally I knit a flap so Little E could close her purse for privacy.

I really loved the little knit. I was uber proud of myself for 1 - doing intarsia, 2 - sewing and 3 - free-style knitting! I think Little E liked it as I saw her holding and playing with her new purse. Someday I'll make another one, and I'll try to write up a pattern. But for now I'm just satisfied that it came out and it came out wicked cute... and most importantly Little E liked her gift!

We're back!

2010-07-28T19:21:00.001-04:00

The SO and I have been back for a week now. It was nice to see the family and take some time to think about Grammy. It is still hard for me... so I'm not going to say too much - other than it was wicked good to be back in NH for a week and see and be with the family.

So yes, we are back, and my-oh-my what a summer it has been!

My summer Library Management course is wrapping up (one week to go!). And work is, well work. Oh, on the upshot... I got my internship! I will be interning at a local hospital library this fall semester. I hope to meet with Patty (the library director) in the next week or two so I can figure out the projects I will have for the semester. I cannot WAIT to dive into LibraryLand - You will all hear about it as the semester progresses.

And finally... Yes, I will get back to the Wandering Wednesday - Pacific Northwest Trip posts. But most importantly... KNITTING! I have been ITCHING for some knitting! The SO told me last night I have (HAVE) to take 10-15 minutes each night just dedicated to knitting. I haven't knit a stitch in over a month. So yes, I will have some posts soon of previous FO's and starting tonight I will be dedicating a little time each night just to knitting. I think the SO knows, I need to knit even just a little... for my sanity and everyone else's! :)

Rose from the Portland, OR at the Rose Garden.

Happy Wednesday Folks - it's good to be back!

Wandering Wednesday: Seattle Fun

2010-07-14T09:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Wednesday!

As mentioned I am going to give you little bits of my trip over the next couple of months. I thought it would be good to start from the beginning.

The SO and I took a flight from Indy to Houston, then Houston to Seattle. The SO always see someone famous when he's at an airport (or just walking around the city - the guy has an uncanny way of sniffin' out the famous people). I, of course, have no idea until he explicitly points them out to me. So who did we see this time? Bela Karolyi, the famous gymnastics coach! Of course I had to kinnear him! The best part, he was on our plane (first class section) so we walked by him on our way back to coach. And when we did; he checked me out!!! Like almost creepy... really checked me out (or he knows I was the crazy chick trying to kinnear him in the airport). I was going to say something like, Hello Mr. Karolyi, but no I pansy'ed out and instead just walked by.

Here's the best pic I captured of him. Kinda blurry but still kinda cool to be that close to the man - as long as he didn't make me try any gymnastic-like move.

Next week I will have the next part of our trip - Seattle!

Edited to Add: I had this entry scheduled for posting... However I send this with a heavy heart. My dear Grandma passed away on Tuesday 7/13, a little after noon. She has been with progressive supranuclear palsy for a couple of years. This is a rare and dreadful tauopathy disease displays symptoms that are similar to other neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Picks Disease. At the time of this posting the SO and I are on our 17hr drive back to NH to be with the family. We have services later this week so I will be back to see you all later next week after I have some time with the family. All please take care.

Knitpiration: Crochet Smart Car

2010-07-13T09:48:00.000-04:00

Make: Online : Crochet Smart

Damn that looks cool!

Great article on Medical Librarianship

2010-07-11T16:40:00.001-04:00

The Accidental Medical Librarian–You need what? � Closed Stacks

A great article on medical librarianship that I had to share. Many people don't understand what I want to do when I grow up. This sums it up. I am so excited and cannot wait!

Catching up

2010-07-11T08:27:00.000-04:00

Whoa... Long time! I think I needed that break to come off the vacation high, get shot back down to real world with work, have a visit from Mumma Roy and start a new class.

That pretty much sums up the past month!

I do have to share this with you. The SO was asked to be a guest blogger on Pop Candy (a blog with USA Today). His blog post talked about our time in Astoria, Oregon. This post was about the movie spots we went to. You can find that post here.

I am thinking about posting random bits of my vacation as my Wandering Wednesday for the next couple of months. The SO and I loved it so much and really would love to move out there. But alas... we are "stuck" here for another year as we both finish up our graduate programs. So I'm thinking this year long - Wandering Wednesdays in Oregon will be a fun little reminder as the Senior-itis kicks in. It'll be motivation to finish so we can maybe move out there (or at least somewhere!).

I have a couple of projects that I finished and started during the break. Look for posts later this week!

Wandering Wednesday: I'm Back!

2010-06-09T09:59:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone! We are back! I've been back but busy at work, getting ready for Mumma Roy's visit and getting set for my summer course. The SO and I loved, loved, LOVED our vacation in the Pacific Northwest. The next couple (well several) blog posts will be of our vacation. Today's Wandering Wednesday post is a view from Coxcomb Hill in Astoria, Oregon. It looks like a painting, but folks, that is the beautiful view these people in Astoria see every day. Beautiful!

I'll be catching up on blogs over the next few days and can't wait to see how you guys are doing. In the meantime, Happy Wednesday and enjoy the beautiful scene!

Wandering Wednesday: Google Ballet

2010-05-19T09:00:00.001-04:00

Last Friday (5/7/10) Google celebrated Tchaikovsky's 170th birthday with a scene from Swan Lake ballet. I thought it was a beautiful picture of ballerina's in poses depicting the Google and wanted to share it with you guys.

In just a few days the SO and I will be boarding a plane to take us to Seattle and then we start our vaca! I'm so excited.... I'll check in when we get back to let you guys know how the vacation to the Pacific Northwest went!

A Couple of Gifts

2010-05-18T18:36:00.000-04:00

Well you could probably gather that I was knitting a blanket or something of the sort from the previous cryptic posts. Basically because I wasn't sure if my peep glances at my blog and it was a gift I had to keep it on the DL. But here it is!

Pattern: Moderne Baby Blanket by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne from Mason-Dixon Knitting

Yarns: Baby Bee Sweet Delight Baby, in Teal too!, Angel, Teddy and some cream color

Needles: 4.0 mm (US 6)

Started: Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Finished: Saturday, May 15, 2010

Ravelry Project Link

This was an easy knit. Although if you noticed one side is wonky because I knit the bind-off on the border a little too tight. But it is for a baby whom is hopefully going to love it and use it to pieces!

Pattern: You Seek Yoda Hat (Rav link) by Nancy Lutz

Yarn: Some Green color yarn

Needles: 3.5mm (US 4)

Started: Monday, April 19, 2010

Finished: Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The SO and his friend (the dude counterpart to said pregnant friend), are ENORMOUS Star Wars fans. Remember back in December when I had to endure the night of symphony ruined with Star Wars? (Actually I don't hate Star Wars, I just have to keep up a facade so the SO doesn't think I like what he likes). Well I thought I'd amuse the both by knitting a cute little Yoda hat for baby. I have to admit, I really think it is adorable. Ears on hats on babies. Adorable!

Also I should let you know -- I am going on vacation!! I am very excited as this is the first official vaca for the SO and me. We are attending a wedding of dear friends' in Seattle, and then taking the next week to travel around Oregon! We were originally debating between Vancouver or Oregon. And, well, I have always had this odd fascination with Oregon (and Arizona... I'll make it there someday). So we decided to do an Oregon road trip. So I will probably not blog at all next week. If I am good I will try to have a post scheduled for next Wednesday and maybe of my travel projects. But I can't guarantee due to work schedule and getting ready for the trip. But have no fear when I return get ready for LOTS pictures and posts of the trip!

So excited... can you tell!?!?!

Wandering Wednesday: Some bacteria colonies for your soap!

2010-05-12T07:40:00.000-04:00

This is cool (as only a science-y person would think) - Petri dish culture soaps!

I kinda want one!

Five!

2010-05-08T09:27:00.001-04:00

Four!

2010-05-07T15:25:00.000-04:00

Three!

2010-05-06T15:25:00.002-04:00

Day Seven: What a Yarn!

2010-05-02T11:32:00.000-04:00

Day 7 of the week long Knit & Crochet Blog Week challenge, thought up and organized by Eskimimi Knits. Join me all week as I attempt to complete each day's post goals!

What a Yarn

There’s one love that we all share: yarn. Blog about a particular yarn you have used in the past or own in your stash, or perhaps one that you covet from afar. If it is a yarn you have used you could show the project that you used it for, perhaps writing a mini ‘review’. Perhaps, instead, you pine for the feel of the almost mythical qiviut? You could explore and research the raw material and manufacturing process if you were feeling investigative.

Many of you know I LOOOOOVE Lorna's Laces. I love the colorways and I love to make socks from the sock yarn.

However I am going to tell you about a lace yarn that I bought in Dec/Jan while in NH. This is Lace-a-licious, a J. Knits yarn.

This yarn is 100% Extra Superfine Alpaca. It is advertised as light and airy... let me tell you it really is. And the yardage is 1,200 yards! I bought it at The Yarn Basket, a small but cute yarn shop in Portsmouth, NH when I visited this past Christmas. I really wanted a yarn to remind me of the holiday with the family and peeps. And when I saw this yarn I just fell in love. It really is oh so soft and squishy. So fine, I am so afraid that it is too delicate for me! But best of all: the colorway. It is named, Boston. And the color is a bluish, periwinkle. Beautiful. Someday I will knit a shawl/shawlette from this beauty.

Well, thank you for joining me on my week-long quest! Many thanks to Eskimimi for the awesome idea for Knit & Crochet Blog week. It was a lot of fun for me... I hope you guys enjoyed it as well!

Day Six: Blast from the Past

2010-05-01T07:30:00.003-04:00

Day six of the week long Knit & Crochet Blog Week challenge, thought up and organized by Eskimimi Knits. Join me all week as I attempt to complete each day's post goals!

Revisit a past F/O

Bring the fortune and life of a past finished project up to the present. Document the current state and use of an object you have knitted or crocheted, whether it is the hat your sister wears to school almost every day, or a pair of socks you wore until they were full of hole. Or maybe that jumper that your did just didn’t like that much…

My past F/O that I want to blog about today is my Dream Swatch. It was one of those things that I just quickly knit from leftover yarn from my
Anastasia Sock - Singular Now Plural. I didn't know what to do with the yarn but I loooooved it! (The yarn is Claudia Hand Painted Yarns Fingering in Cherry Chocolate - LOVE!) Randomly, I found the Dream Swatch pattern and just did it. Well come to find out. I love this head wrap! I use it all the time. Possibly up to 1-2 times a week. I have found it ACTUALLY holds my hair back. And... it is a girlie alternative to my typical BoSox or Patriots hat (yes I wear caps on a couple times a week basis... I work in a lab remember, they don't care how I look as long as I can do science!). And I have found that if I am having a bad hair day, I can quickly use this and scrunch my hair with some hair gel and volia - instant "cool do."

Just to attest to how frequently I wear this check here, and here, here, (okay you really can't see it in those two, but it is on). And those are times that I had pics taken of me! I can assure you I wear this thing a lot. So something that seemed like such a little project has actually paid off in a multiple of ways, used up leftover yarn, at the time - gave me something to do, and has actually been a cute accessory addition to my wardrobe!

Day Five: Location, Location, Location

2010-04-30T08:28:00.002-04:00

Day five of the week long Knit & Crochet Blog Week challenge, thought up and organized by Eskimimi Knits. Join me all week as I attempt to complete each day's post goals!

Location, Location, Location
Where do you like to indulge in your craft? Is your favourite arm chair your little knitting cubby area, or do you prefer to ‘knit in public’? Do you liek to crochet in the great outdoors, perhaps, or knit in the bath, or at the pub?

I knit in basically two places... 1 - my couch or 2 - in the car (while the SO is driving... don't worry I don't Knit & Drive). :)

I have to tell you - my couch is perfect. The SO and I have had it since we moved in together and as a first couch... I have to admit is is really nice. It is a four piece sectional. It has huge, wide, deep seats. And it is oh so comfy. The couch has become worn over the years. The raised ribbings have started to fade and get worn and dull. All of the cushions have been flipped to hide spills (typically mine, but some from the SO). It is great for sleeping on as well as for lounging or chillin' with peeps. You can see a bit of the couch in the black and white photo above with Kyle thinking he is the king of the castle. But the best thing of all about this couch... it is great for watching movies and sports and knitting while cuddling with the SO. Most of my knitting occurs right here while doing other stuff, such as sports and movie watching.

Day Four: A New Skillz

2010-04-29T08:27:00.002-04:00

Day four of the week long Knit and Crochet Blog Week challenge, thought up and organized by Eskimimi Knits. Join me all week as I attempt to complete each day's post goals!

A New Skill

Is there a skill related to your hobby that you hope to learn one day? maybe you’re a crocheter who’d also like to knit? Maybe you’d like to learn to knit continental, knit backwards, try cables or attempt stranded colourwork.

Today's post is an easy one. I want to learn how to do colorwork. I am so intimidated by both Fair Isle and Intarsia knitting... it is beautiful and I am so envious of knitters who do these techniques with such ease! Also not too long ago I heard about mosaic, or slip-stitch knitting which also sounds so cool.

One of these days I will gather up the courage to try one, or all of these color-work techniques. Until then I will just dream and envy all of you brilliant people who can do it!

What technique/skillz are you hoping to try out someday?

Day Three: All Tooled Up

2010-04-28T08:26:00.001-04:00

Day 3 of the week long Knit and Crochet Blog Week challenge, thought up and organized by Eskimimi Knits. Join me all week as I attempt to complete each day's post goals!

All Tooled Up
Do you have a particular knitting/crochet tool or piece of equipment that you love to use? Maybe it is an old bent pair of needles that used to belong to someone special, or a gorgeous rosewood hand-turned crochet hook that you just love the feel of? Write about what you love it.

I took the alternate question for today mostly because I don't know what one person (or group) I could have picked as my knitting inspiration as I have so many (you all know who you are... my fellow bloggers whom I learn so much from!).

So today I was going to give my homage to my row counter.

Silly.

Yes.

But I love this little tool. Mine is on a ring so I can nicely place it into my knitting and use it as a marker as well as a counter per row. I use it for flat knitting as well as for circular. It is perfect because it is in my knitting so I never loose it. And this one does not randomly click -- I have another one that you must press/click it and if I throw it into a bag or purse I will ultimately lose my place as my wallet, phone, and lip gloss have all contributed to adding a few faux rows to the counter.

So nothing special. But that is my cool little tool that I use for every item I knit. What is your favorite knitting item/tool?

Day Two: An Inspirational Project

2010-04-27T09:00:00.004-04:00

Day 2 of the week long Knit and Crochet Blog Week challenge, thought up and organized by Eskimimi Knits. Join me all week as I attempt to complete each day's post goals!

An Inspirational Pattern

Blog about a pattern or project which you aspire to. Whether it happens to be because the skills needed are ones which you have not yet acquired, or just because it seems like a huge undertaking of time and dedication, most people feel they still have something to aspire to in their craft. If you don’t feel like you have any left of the mountain of learning yet to climb, say so!

There are two, yes two, projects that I have wanted to make for quite a while.

1 - Knitted Digestive System

Isn't it awesome?! The SO does research on vagus nerve innervation in the G.I. tract. I think his research is so cool (and I did some of this for a little while and actually kind of miss it). So this knit would be an ode to my ole physiology research days and for the SO. Maybe someday!

2 - Mr. Knitted Lab Rat

Again, isn't it awesome?!?! Again, I used to do perfusions to obtain brains from rats. And then I did some GI work... again needing to dissect. So this would be another science knit that I would enjoy....

Who knows years from now when I am in library land and I feel like I miss the old neuroscience, in-vivo research days I'll finally pick up these two projects just to reminisce!

What are your projects that you inspire to someday make?

Knit & Crochet Blog Week: Day 1

2010-04-26T08:03:00.000-04:00

Today's post starts the week long Knit & Crochet Blog Week challenge, thought up and organized by Eskimimi Knits. Join me all week as I attempt to complete each day's post goals!

Today's Topic:

Starting Out

How and when did you begin knitting/crocheting? Was it a skill passed down through generations of your family, or something you learned from Knitting For Dummies? What or who made you pick up the needles/hook for the first time? Was it the celebrity knitting ‘trend’ or your great aunt Hilda?

I started knitting out of pure dumb luck. A couple years ago (Spring/Summer of 2007) I found out a fellow co-worker had picked up knitting. As a bunch of scientists, I had to pick on her and poke fun at her new hobby because what female in science would knit?! I told the girls in the lab next door - only to find out one was also a knit-a-holic! And the other had been given knitting lessons as a Holiday gift. I found all of this odd -- because, well it's knitting. And who the hell knits?! Especially neuroscientists?!?

And then I tried it.

And that's all I can say. MM and MH you can now pick on me for picking on you. :)

And how did I actually learn? Well I couldn't go to these ladies, because that would show how lame I was for picking up knitting. So I did what any other Gen-X'er would do. I looked up on YouTube and the Internez. Yep. I learned how to knit from YouTube, the internet and from DVR'ing Knitty Gritty. Come to think of it, even now, if I have issues with a technique or stitch I use Google or YouTube. Can you tell I'm an informatician in training?! :)

So that's my story. How did you learn?

Happy 30th to me!

2010-04-25T08:30:00.000-04:00

Today is my 30th -- never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be in class on my 30th bday giving a presentation on journal citation analysis. Nor spending the night before - no, not partying, but writing a final project and the next day defending a proposal. Nor did I ever think I would be 30 and still IN SCHOOL! I have been in school since I was 3, well a year off between undergrad and the first masters, and a 1.5 years off between the phd program and the second masters program. But that is a long time! Never in my plans did I plan to have cancer - and squash it down - twice. I never thought I would be living in Indiana (after all, I am a girl who loves the ocean).

But then again, if you had asked the 8year old me what I was going to be at 30 I probably would have said a wife, with kids, probably a model or actress. And today I couldn't be any more further from that "goal", but I am glad. I am happy. I am healthy. I am working on a new career that I am super excited about. I have had some amazing times with friends and family. Flying around the US to party, and then the next night studying hard for an exam. Crazy times, hard times. Lots of things in-between.

Through all of this, I have a super supportive family that doesn't blink an eye when I say I want to do this, or try that. And I have an amazing fiance who loves me and supports me and our relationship. I think I have grown up to be a pretty cool, unique individual. Thanks Mum and Daddy (and to my Bro as well)! And thank you SO. You guys are the love of my life, and today, I thank you for the amazing life I've had thus far and I can't wait to see what happens next!

Two

2010-04-24T16:00:00.001-04:00

One

2010-04-23T16:40:00.000-04:00

Wandering Wednesday: Busy Busy Busy!

2010-04-21T07:48:00.003-04:00

It is almost the end of the semester and I'm wicked busy! I have 4 final projects, an OP and a final exam all in the next 1-1.5 weeks -- plus we have a couple grant supplements due at work! YIKES!

Having said that -- I don't have too much on the crafting front. So for today's Wandering Wednesday I'm going to be cheap and send a link to the current webpage I am making for class. No clue why I am passing it along other than I have nothing else to blog about. :-/ It's still not done (I have to validate the coding and post it to the prof) but I think I'm getting fast at making simple pages... I have worked on this page for a total of 3hrs and it's almost done! And if you are super bored I have the link to the pages I've been creating all semester for this class.

Just stopped by to let you know I will probably be MIA for the next 2 week -- ok gonna go start on the next final project!

Knit and Crochet week

2010-04-19T15:50:00.000-04:00

The Knitting and Crochet Blog Week will run from Monday 26th April – 2nd May 2010.

Check out Eskimimi Knits to learn more!

My Little Strawberry Pouch/Cozy

2010-04-16T19:39:00.000-04:00

The other week I really needed a quick little project to knit. We were on a drive to SO's family's church for Easter so I was antzy and knew I had to do something because an hour drive there, hour in church and another hour drive back would KILL me! So I made this little bundle of cuteness:

I had left over cotton yarn from various projects and I really needed a pouch for my Diva Cup. Yes, more info than you ever needed to know. But if you are all hippie and into saving the environment in various little ways (as I like to do) then the diva cup is a great way to go. It saves on tampons (or pads or whatever you happen to use) and it saves you money! It costs a little more to begin with, however after just a couple of months it has paid for itself.

Well anyways, I needed a new pouch for it. I had previously seen the Uterus Menstrual Cup Cozy (Ravelry Link here). Cute. A little odd. But you know me... I like odd. However I don't know how to crochet. I had also previously seen the Strawberry Menstrual Cup Pouch (Ravelry Link here). Again cute. Not as odd. But again, I don't know how to crochet.

So after finding the red and green scrap yarn I grabbed my dpn's and jumped in the car to go to Easter service. By the time we got home after church and work (yes I went in to work to transduce and split and plate cells for various experiments, I love torturing myself), I had a cute little pouch done. However the SO took one look at it and said it looked like a turnip! So I ended up going back and stitching little "seeds" with scrap brown yarn. And I think it turned out kinda cute!

Regular stockinette stitch in the round and when I thought it was a good time to start "leaves" I added green yarn to the mix. That's right, this was my first time using fair isle technique. Granted it was only with the two colors for the two rows, it was my first time taking two colors and carrying the yarn across the back while knitting. I kinda liked it. :) I may have to try a Fair Isle project in the near future!

I used a picot bind-off to simulate leaves for the top of the strawberry. And finally to close the pouch I braided a cord. In hindsight I should have made an I-cord to stick with the knitting style. But if I was really being picky I should have done intarsia when knitting the "seeds" as well.

Overall I thought it was a cute little project on the fly. I might make another one, just a regular pouch that won't hold scary womanly products. If I make one I'll try intarsia for the seeds and leafy top. And maybe I'll write it up.

I also was thinking this would be cute in a larger size, like a cute spring/summer bag for a little kid. Hmmm.....

Wandering Wednesday: Animator vs Animation

2010-04-14T07:45:00.016-04:00

Ira Flatow, host of Science Friday on NPR, directed me to this cute site and now I direct you there. It is the "story" of a small Flash animated stick figure as s/he shows the maker who is in charge. This Flash animated movie is created by Alan Becker. Just something a little random for your edification this Wednesday.

Animator vs Animation

Have a wicked Happy Day!

A little Rant

2010-04-11T12:30:00.001-04:00

This blog post from the New York Times is HILARIOUS!

While there are some who want the library to be more "social" for patrons, others want the strict quiet and serene library. From my experience, it seems that many libraries in the "now" are both. They have the social areas (such as group study rooms and young adult and/or children gaming and program areas) as well as designated Quiet Zones. I am not sure what library the author is visiting, but I think most libraries (academic, public or special) have these different areas. If Sung J. Woo is in the gaming room... well hmmm... I wonder why the kids are being loud?!? Hey at least the kids are at the library, participating in programs, hanging out with friends or (gasp!) reading and not out on the streets.

Yes libraries used to be quiet... where you could hear the shuffle of the papers from across the room or the gentle cough of a patron from somewhere in the stacks. But the library environment has changed with society. Innovation and community collaboration for these unique programs has brought about these changes and IMHO I think it is a great thing. The library is no longer just for those interested in picking up a book. It is a place for INTELLECTUAL growth whether that be from reading, or seminars, speakers or programs or for simply hanging out with a friend listening to music. Yes, there should be some accountability, and people need to have some common courtesy for others and not run around or yell. However, seeing people use a library for many purposes is a good thing! It shows the community is using it as a place for what it should be, a place for the community to grow and learn.

Others probably have a different opinion than I. I just hope Sung J. Woo never comes into my library because I will NOT be a "bespectacled, cardigan-wearing, shushing librarian."

**edited to add: Okay so I might actually wear the cardi... especially if it is one that I knit! ;)

Light Weight Pullover -- Finally Finished!

2010-04-09T08:35:00.001-04:00

Stop the Presses! I finally finished something! AND it is a sweater!

Yep, just in time for the 80F weather this week. :)

Pattern: Lightweight Pullover by Hannah Fettig

Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Fog

Needles: Size 7

Started: January 15, 2010 (First time) January 31, 2010 (second try)

Finished: April 2, 2010

I held the yarn double throughout and I tried the split-splice method. The SO was repulsed... but hey less ends to weave in! And as you can see from some of the pics, only had 3 ends to weave in and yet it still took me forever to get to that part.

All in all I like the sweater. I'm not IN love with it. But I really like it. The pattern is super easy AND cute. And I was just thinking... this is my first sweater! Yes I made the cropped cardi previously, but this is my first actual, pullover sweater. So yay me! It will be a good, kick around the house or working at the lab kind of sweater. Comfy, warm and perfect for the warm spring we are having in Indiana. Yeah... I'll work on making seasonal appropriate knits one of these years....

All I have left are those damn ends to weave in....

Guess who has a wish to be a librarian?

2010-04-08T11:15:00.000-04:00

Yep, Keith Richards. He describes how being a librarian would be his dream job in this article from Times Online. How cool is that?

This post from Information Spaces, a blog from SLIS at Syracuse compares Rock Stars and Librarians. My favorite comparison:

Rock star: Has great hair.
Librarian: Has great hair hidden in a bun, until she takes it down after ripping off her glasses and opening a button and kicking off her sensible shoes. At least, that’s what happens in the movies. Unless the librarian is a man, in which case they turn into a ninja or an adventurer or something when they get out of work. Or Batgirl. Which is JUST like a rock star.

See librarianship is a wicked cool career!

Wandering Wednesday: I wander to my campus!

2010-04-07T07:31:00.000-04:00

This is a picture of me in front the sign at my campus for the library. Yes someday I will be that uber dorky librarian... and I can't wait!

Happy Wednesday Folks!

Final Four Fun

2010-04-06T18:31:00.000-04:00

This past Friday I attended a really great workshop on Applying to Academic Librarianship positions. Little did I know that I will have to do as typical academic faculty do in the process, such as having a portfolio, CV, presentation and research. I'm very glad I attended!

After the workshop the SO and I met up and we walked over to Lucas Oil Stadium. The stadium is just a couple of blocks from my campus in Indy so we got to see this:

Final Four crowds! We missed the practices because they were earlier in the day. But we saw the start of the College All-Star game and saw a couple of famous coaches.

At one point I noticed they were throwing orange things into the crowds. I thought it was a t-shirt so I threw my purse and stuff on the SO and took off down the stadium seats and snagged one of these. A bright, orange Reese's drawstring bag. Hey now I have a bag to wear while running... makes for a great reflector!

Following the madness that was downtown we drove out to the IMAX to see Clash of the Titans. Okay, FYI: I am a HUGE fan of the original. It is the ultimate Craptacular film. Yes Craptacular. This new take on the movie though... not a fan. Not at all. The acting was bad, the special effects were bad and even the action fighting scenes were boring! The best part of the movie was when they paid homage to the original with BoBo the mechanical owl! So my advice is save your money, it is unfortunately a dud.

In a couple of days I'll have a post of my sweater... be on the lookout!! :)

Wandering Wednesday: BSoD!

2010-03-31T07:14:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the blurry photo -- the SO took this pic in the mall a couple weeks back.

That is a picture of a soda vending machine... yep with the Blue Screen of Death (BSoD)!

If you want a non-blurry image let me know and I can text message you the pic... that's why it's blurry the SO took a quick shot with his phone. We thought it was hilarious... I guess even coke machines can get the BSoD! I would advise you to NOT get a soda from that machine!

Success!

2010-03-27T10:16:00.000-04:00

A while back I complained about not being able to order the Knit Picks Options Interchangeable Needle Connectors.

All I can say is "SUCCESS!"

The other day I was having a busy day at work and quickly ran into the office to take a swig of water. I glanced at the email and hit refresh as I did so, the Knit Picks notification for the item showed up. I took the two minutes to click over to Knit Picks and hit order (because I already had my shopping cart ready - yes I have been waiting for almost 2 months, sad). And of course, as I am on the knitting website (for about 1 minute now) my boss walks in and see my screen. Yep. Of course. I had been running around for HOURS running an assay, an immuno and doing cell culture. But the two minutes to click and order my damn little connectors and my boss catches me in the act. Oi.

Well all in all... I think it's worth it. :) In a few days I will have my damn little connectors!

The Return of Wandering Wednesday!

2010-03-24T07:21:00.000-04:00

After a little break I am back with a new rejuvenation to continue with Wandering Wednesdays. No changes... just random things that I come across that I want to share with you!

Today I want to direct you to this:

These are cute little purses (and wallets) are made from actual books. The creator of these unique items is Caitlin Phillip. I found out about this from the New York Times books blog Paper Cuts (direct link to blog post). And here is link to Caitlin's website, Rebound Designs - go there she has some really cool stuff! And she can make custom purses if you have a favorite book that happens to be falling apart. Very cute, creative and I'm just having a hard time figuring out which one I want first! :)

On the Final Stretch

2010-03-19T11:49:00.000-04:00

On the final bit of my Lightweight Pullover (the one that got frogged after another body-size/image catastrophe). Here are some quick images and as you can see, this time it fits nicely! I am now working on the sleeves and it'll be done just in time for the 70 degree weather we'll have next week! :) Oi, someday I'll finish my knits during the appropriate season. Oh and sorry for the blurry pics... I took these yesterday in isolation, so the SO couldn't take pics and now you see why I have him do it as mine come out blurry.

Oh one last thing...

I have a number of peeps expecting (first and second) children in the next several months. A couple are really close friends and others are close family members (Kendell and Amy, just stop reading please). :) Any suggestions on what I should knit? I'm not very skilled at the baby knitting, but all know I am a knitter and I'm sure they would love to have something, even little. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!