Yesterday when I was in the full grip of madness, I decided to cast on a lace project.


It's a pretty simple zig-zag pattern (spotting a theme?) that I downloaded for free from here. I recommend clicking around the knitting pattern galleries on that site because there's quite a few cute little patterns from Rowan and Debbie Bliss to be had for free. The yarn is somewhere between lace and fingering weight and I think I have 600 yards. I say think becuase the person I bought it from on Ebay has since changed the specs on their yarn. Whatever, I'm going to knit until I run out anyway so it might end up 100 yards worth of yarn shorter than anticipated. whatever.

Procrastination in Blog Land

It's freakin' beautiful outside and I'm stuck in lab keeping my computer company. Gah. The good news is that I'm on target to have my pretty much final (or I'll cry) draft to my boss by tomorrow night. So hey, I thought I'd procrastinate for a bit before treating myself to a trip to CVS. Oh yeah, I know how to show myself a good time ;0)

MEME!!!

The Rules:
Rules are posted at the beginning. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names. Then the player goes to the “named” people’s blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. If you’ve been tagged, you do the same, letting the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer. Your answer of course, is the answer to the following questions.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
That would be the end of May 1998 if my addled brain has got the Math and the current year correct. It's constant struggle I tell ya! I was in my first year of A-levels (Biology, Chemistry and Math, plus Art if anyone wants to know) in my home town of Manchester (UK), was probably still learning to drive and working in a crappy store as a Saturday Girl. Yes, that was my official job title.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today?
Finish Specific Aims.
Finish Western blot, scan it, make a new figure and tidy up a few of the ones I've already made.
Preliminary Data polish up.
Finish Research Plan.
Go to CVS to buy toothpaste.

3. Snacks I enjoy:
Recently I've been ignoring the urge to fall face first into a giant bowl of cheese puffs. I love salt and vinegar crisps and masterpiece BBQ chips, so much so that I often burn my tongue on their acidy goodness by eating an entire 30-something serving pack in one sitting.

4. Places I’ve lived:
Manchester, UK
Norwich, UK
Portland, OR
Hoboken, NJ
Jersey City, NJ
Astoria, NY
New York, NY
Told you I've moved a lot in the past few years.

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Pay someone to write my proposal. I'd dictate the general ideas, they'd make it pretty while I sat outside in the sun. Pay off my sister's mortgage and buy my Dad a BMW. He may have a Merc but I know in his heart of hearts he really wants a beemer. Then I'd buy my apartment so I don't have to move :( I'd set up academic scholarships in the sciences. I don't know what else, billions is a bit outside of my reality! But I'd probably buy you all a bit o' cashmere or something, I'm nice like that.

OK, YOU. You reading this. You're tagged. GO!

A Better Version of Me?

Oh Fiona Apple, I think not.

The current version of me is stressed out. I found my first white hair in my bangs this morning. Honest to blog it was white all the way down to it's little sticky follicle end. And the corner of my mouth has split. Maybe it's scurvy, I've eaten chips and beer for dinner on at least five occasions in the last two weeks. Vegetables? What are they? I'm going to sleep thinking science, dreaming of science and waking up to science. My world has shrunk to the size of my computer screen. Unfortunately Ravelry also lives in my computer screen and I am the queen of procrastination.

I've been to two knitting groups where I. Have. Not. Knit. At the first I threw my socks across the table in disgust when the stitch count conspired against me. Then I drank whiskey and was given mad props for it by the barkeep. The second meeting was a little more impromptu so I hadn't even brought knitting with me. Instead I hyper-caffeinated and ate brownies while reading a baby book to Cashew. Personally the shiny goldfish was my favourite. I tied a piece of Peneolpe's yarn around my wrist, so now we are BFF-A.

Hopefully the madness will be over soon, my thesis proposal is due in a week. Then it's just the proposal defense and the actual thesis to go. Woo. Hoo.

Cerebral Knitting

Look at what happens when you don't even think about! Ugly blocking pictures!


This week I have mostly been going through the five (six? seven?) stages of grief over losing my apartment. And I've been spending a whole heap of time just thinking thinking thinking about my thesis proposal. This meant my hands were in need of distraction while I lived in my head for a while. Hence, sweater back.

Incidentally, on Friday night after drinks in the bar and a rather large lychee martini at a Thai place, a few of my friends came back to my apartment for, um more drinks. I've made myself a nice little nest in the living room with my blankies on one side and my knitting junk on the coffee table on the other. Anyway one of my males friends picked up my latest swatch, put it on his knee and left it there for the entire two hours we were hanging out, idly petting it every now and again. All without saying a word. I almost asked him if he wanted to take it home. It was a little odd to see someone interact with my knitting that way, I can't say it's ever happened before!

It's Official

We are being moved out. We are not happy. There will still be discussions as to where exactly we are to be moved out to, but at the moment it's not looking pretty. Le sigh.

In better news I got an unexpected tax rebate! Not a lot but enough for a couple of treats, some new clothes, maybe a nice dinner out with some friends tomorrow, and a little bit of France.


I've been seeing lots of cute designs from Phildar on Ravelry, so when I got an email telling me that some of the back issues were on sale, I thought, why not? The shipping wasn't so bad and the two magazines only cost $20 total with shipping. I think there are about three things per magazine I want to knit so t'was a good investment. (I flicked around the site and they are back to full price, bummer...)

Maybe less of a good investment is the yarn I've been swatching around with. Don't get me wrong, I actually really like it. It's soft and green and even the texture is interesting, but it just wont tell me what it wants to be! I can't get gauge for any of the projects in my new books and I can't think of another pattern to use it for. Any ideas before it goes back into the stash?!

Not a good Saturday

The housing drama? Just got worse. We're going to be kicked out of our apartment to make room for a new professor. I know we were very lucky to have this apartment in the first place, but obviously the promises we were made by the Housing Department mean nothing. The apartment we were assigned isn't going to be ours until we graduate.

In 2003 I moved from the UK to Hoboken, in 2004 I moved to Jersey City. In 2005 I moved to Queens and two years ago I moved here. I don't want to move again. Excuse me while I go cry into my coffee...

I love Dolly Parton

The woman is phenomenal!

My sock, however, is a little less spectacular. This yarn is a little louder/more involved than I would normally choose for myself, but it does have a lovely drape and sheen. I'm not sure the garter rib is the way to go, maybe plain stockinette would have been better but I'm turning the heel and will soon be done with the first sock. Tastefullness be damned ;)

Life is stressful right now, what with the thesis proposal and some major, major drama in the housing situation. But at least I'm not throwing babies off the roof. I'll save that for next week.