Tuesday, May 27, 2003
once again, live from la casa de la madre- it's rachel! (insert cheers and jeers here)
using a fancy system involving a floppy disk, i've figured out how to put new photos here on the webbysite. it's been nearly two weeks since i moved into mom's house, i'm getting used to the routine and the lack of privacy, but i do miss home. i have completed one hat (photo on gallery page, since hat is a present for my friend melanie who reads this), and a pair of cotton fixation socks for mom.
and lastly- my kitty as she lives now, hiding under a blanket so the big bad dogs can't get her.
see you next time from the nuthouse. xoxo.
2:28 PM /
Tuesday, May 20, 2003
hello hello. i've been here at my mom's for nearly a week, and i have very little to show for it (save for a permanant sniffle/sneeze/cough issue, itchy skin and a severe lack of sleep). i've finished one sock, i'm about three inches from turning the heel on sock #2. i've spent the first half of this week attempting to reclaim some skill with seed beads, but so far, no luck, i just can't get my fingers and brain to follow any of the tutorials i can find. all those years of camp, wasted. a shame, really. i started going to work with mom, since she can't type or open the mail or do anything, really. the good news is that her boss is paying me (!!!), and during down time? i get to read. i'm reading michael chabon's the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay, which is excellent so far, if not slightly verbose. m. chabon likes his words, he does. i've read his young adult novel summerland (for the lit for young adults course), and while it is a novel about a boy and baseball- it was also about magical worlds and beings and saving the environment and family etc. so i'm enjoying kavalier and clay, that's my point. so anyway, again, no photos. i'll bring the software up next weekend so i can upload off of this computer, not that i'm doing anything exciting right now. anyway, that's all for now. happy tuesday.
8:32 PM /
Saturday, May 17, 2003
i am still alive, though so very tired. mom is in pretty much constant pain, which sucks. i wish i could make her better, but there is nothing i can do but serve her like the loving daughter i am. so serve i do. however, since it is a weekend, my brother can help out for a few hours so i can go home and get some more clothes and stuff. i'd only packed to really last through the weekend, but i could use some comforts of home since i'll be here close to a month. i'm nearly done with the first of the fixation socks, which were for mom anyway. she loves them, and they are so incredibly soft. after i finish those, i'm doing another toe of crusoe pair in pinks for jessi, and my lace scarf- and i also started staceyjoy's bobble hat in a dark purple lamb's pride. someday there will be photos, but that day is not today. hope everyone is well out in knit land.
9:33 AM /
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
hi folks. i'm up at my mom's house for an unspecified amount of time. she fell and broke her shoulder today, and i'm on mom duty until, well, whenever! so i brought my laptop, but it currently has no internet access- which may limit any photos from being posted while i'm here. i'm sure i'll figure it out, though. i'd hate to be letting my public down ;)
so yeah, that is my story, and i'm sticking too it. happy wednesday.
9:15 PM /
Monday, May 12, 2003
i'm returned from canada, though i can't say i'm overly thrilled about it. i had a lovely lovely weekend, beginning with yarn shopping with my megs at the wool bin in oakville. they had a wide selection of novelty yarns- and a lot of collinette stuff which is just waaaaay too costly for me. meg purchased some yarn for a lace baby blanket, a gift scarf, and her first pair of socks. i purchased some sock yarn (i'm hopelessly addicted and my supply is nearly bottomed out)
the two regia yarns came from the wool bin and the patons was purchased at lewiscraft at the mall.
i had sushi for dinner two nights in a row, which was a supreme treat. i saw 'a mighty wind' which was fantastic (we also watched 'best in show' for kicks). before i left, i found out that i'd received an 'a' in the british/irish lit course. i wonder if the mittens helped? i also received a 'b' in my lit for young adults class, which is pretty decent, considering the temperament of the professor. i also knit a hat for my friend lauren's cat, mabel. i modeled it on the knitty nosewarmer pattern, after i was inspired by the photos from sarah's website. i had a few failed attempts to photograph jezzebelle wearing said hat (poor mabel wasn't very thrilled herself), before i broke down and put the hat on valentine kitty, who lives perched on my monitor. i leave you with a photo of the toy wearing hat and the attempts at a real live cat wearing the hat. click thumbnail for full image.
9:54 PM /
Wednesday, May 07, 2003
i only managed to knit a few rows today, but i did put together a compilation of photos from my friend chris's birthday party. i also had lunch with my jessi, turned in a final, and baked cookies to take to adam.
i also had the best mail day ever.
my friend jennie sent me a present in honour of her birthday, along with the sweetest letter i've ever recieved.
the sock yarn i'd ordered for mom's new socks and my first set of pony pearl needles. i like the flexibility of them more than a bamboo or wood needle, so i'm very happy to have them now. so that was good.
one more final tomorrow, and then home for laundry, etc, and early friday i'm out of here, so there might be no updates until monday night, for i'll be up in canada- where the dollar is getting stronger everday, meaning it isn't cheaper to buy my yarn up north anymore. but, a weekend with my friends is just what this girl needs. see you soon. xoxo.
9:57 PM /
Tuesday, May 06, 2003
i woke up today in the grumpiest of grump moods. then i got my take home exam written and i watched amelie and my mood got a lot better. besides, it's idol night! who could be sad when they get to watch clay sing? not this knit-blogger, no ma'am. i used my boundless energy (err.. something like that) to finally put together a gallery of my finished works, its over there on the side going by the name 'the knits', if you'd like to have a look.
the big news is, i worked a lot on my lace today, and managed to skew the photo so the colour is almost exactly true. i was right, it is harrisville shetland 2ply, it knits up into a delicious fabric and my hands have that wonderful woolly smell that i miss from my days as a textiles student (you can see my progress by clicking the photo above, or with the link on the works in progress menu thingie over on the side).
tomorrow i turn in my lit for young adults final, thursday i take the lingustics final and then i'm freeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. for a little while, anyway. i have a date on friday afternoon with my beautiful and now gainfully employed megs, for a little cafe eating and yarn shopping up there in the great white north. i can't wait. i also can't wait for sleep. goodnight all you out there in internet land.
9:21 PM /
Monday, May 05, 2003
alright folks, my darling adam figured out how to make a pop up code do the things i want, and the work in progress side bar is now updated with all current projects.
i began a lace project tonight, just to see if i could (though i made a mistake somewhere and i lost a stitch and i'm losing my mind ripping back to find the missing stitch) and so far it looks pretty lovely. if you'd like, you can see for yourself by clicking this little link! it's really a rich purple colour, quite bright. i believe it's a harrisville 2ply, that i got free with the purchase of my loom a few years back.
my irish/british lit final went very very well. it was certainly a lot easier than i'd imagined, though i am grateful that i have that exam out of the way. and my professor liked her mittens.
the end of the semester is a one step closer, and i think that the lack of planning with my dad has led me to stay home this summer. i think i'll try to take a few courses, to lighten my load in the fall. that way i'm home to help mom repaint the house- and i'm thinking of applying for a job as a tour-guide of campus. it'd be good exercise and i'm just the right kind of friendly face. so yeah. that could be a good thing for me to do, and a fate much better than another summer of retail. anyway, i'm off to fix the problem with the lace. night all!
9:05 PM /
Sunday, May 04, 2003
a quick study break to show that i took a lot of study breaks yesterday to finish the mitts for my irish/brit lit professor. i also finished reading an excellent novel, lamb by christopher moore.
ahead of me lies massive study, some icky tests, and a short vacation to toronto area. i'm so so so looking forward to spending the weekend with my friends, that i'll get through these finals as fast as i can. so now, i make chili, and then: STUDY! happy work week.
11:55 AM /
Friday, May 02, 2003
classes are officially over, and all i have left are some yucky finals. i have no idea what i'm doing this summer, and it is making me insane. i had made some incredibly vague plans to live and work in my dad's neck of the woods (westchester county, ny), but i have made no preparations, no idea what is going on with that- my dad got really busy and things sorta fell by the wayside. so i feel lost and aimless and blah blah blah. oh well.
this afternoon, i'm supposed to be teaching my friend ari to crochet. he has a long plane ride (to ireland, the lucky shit) ahead of him and wants to be able to crochet on the flight. he had been bugging me to teach him all semester. i told him he must bring me wool from ireland in return. did i mention he's going to ireland? and that he's lucky? sometime within the next year, i will go to ireland. i just have to. i'm very strangely drawn to that country, to the literature and art and culture and history. it's amazing, i'm bordering on obsessed.
and lastly, i finally picked up some needles again. i'm making a pair of mitts for my british/irish lit professor, in a greenish homespun. i'm a little more than half done with the first of two and it seems to be a warm cuddly mitt.
and i started a pair of socks for jessi, my dearest ohio friend. she requested the crusoe patterning, and i obliged.
so that's that, i better straighten up my place a bit, put a package together to be mailed, and then i get to read. happy weekend to all.
12:21 PM /
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i'm rachel m, i'm 26 and i live in cleveland, ohio. i knit, spin, and read. i have a steady sweetie, two chubby cats, a full time job
and a messy apartment.
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