Finals Week is OVER!

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod I can finally, finally slow down. I can't believe I survived writing that much in one week- 40 pages! It came as no surprise that the papers I actually wanted to write were the easiest and most fun, and the one I didn't care about was excruciating. Dan was my trusty proofreader, and everything got turned in on time, and to good reviews (at least so far). In fact, it looks like there is the possibility of a grant, some collaborative research with the head of my department, and a bitchin' MA thesis about the word fuck in my future (seriously. complete with brain scans and other science-y stuff).

Here's a recap, in pictures:

Here's the "before" picture- this is the paper I didn't enjoy, which is a shame, because I quite like Old English. I also wrote about what swearing says about the continuity between animal communication and human language. The last paper was about Eddie Izzard's bilingual stand-up comedy and its general awesomeness.

This (well, two of these) happened instead of writing on Saturday- this is my first pie crust, and it turned out great! Keep your Crisco in the fridge, folks. I gave this one to my dad for his birthday on Sunday. It was delicious with frogurt. Now that I know how to make a pie crust, my ass is in danger of never returning to my pre-pregnancy clothes.

Instead of writing on Sunday (I think?) I went shopping for fabric for the crib bumper. I intend to supplement with ultra-cute (and expensive) Japanese cotton prints and some broadcloth to match the nursery (which is painted!).

I also procrastinated by sewing a dress (it's not quite done), watching the Star Wars trilogy, throwing popcorn at the screen during American Idol, and knitting (only a little, though).

Somehow I made it through the week, and still managed to put in part-time hours at work. And clean the house yesterday (the laundry is another matter). I feel like superwoman. I think I'm going to go work on the ripple blanket that stalled out a couple months ago, now that I have a nursery to stash it in.

FO (times two): Baby Booties

Pattern: Becky's Baby Booties
Yarn: an endless supply of Microspun
Needles: US 4
first pair: January-April 19, 2008
second pair (stripes): April 10 (the knitting)-20 (the sewing)

So, they're baby booties. There isn't much to say, except I made the first one in January, and then sat on the project FOREVER. They're the larger of the two sizes, and really quick to knit flat. The tedium comes when you have to weave in a brazillian little ends and seam up the bottoms and sides (yeesh). At least I perfected my mattress stitch abilities- I can now seam stockinette, garter stitch, and I can graft two cast on/bound off edges to one another. Yeah!

This project finally spelled the end of the Microspun from Holly. I actually quite like the finished fabric, and would consider using it again- just not in these colors. They're a little early-nineties-friendship-bracelet for me.

This week shall surely blow. Hard.

Ugh. Three term papers due over the course of three days. And here I am, the weekend before the maelstrom, just getting started actually writing the damn things. I did most of the research, and have outlines prepared, but the process of really putting the words to paper (or keyboard/screen) is daunting and long overdue.

I've got about 35-40 pages to write. And I've only got about 3.5 done. Eeesh. I'm writing the one that's least interesting to me first, and I'm glad I'm doing it this way- I spent the entirety of yesterday evening slogging my way through quite a few moldy old papers before my eyelids got too heavy to hold open (I'm convinced it's the baby trying to get me to give up). Once this one is finished, though, I think the way will be a little clearer.

I hope.

I have to just keep telling myself that I've done well enough over the course of the semester that I can sandbag at least two of these papers (the one I'm currently writing included) and still walk away with a 4.0.

No matter what, by Thursday night, I will be done and watching Lost on the sofa... with the laptop- we finally installed a wireless router!

I'm here for the yarn program, 2008

For whatever reason, that's what the librarians at the Ann Arbor Public Library call Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's presentations/book lectures/motivational speeches? I suppose there isn't a better name. "Yarn Program" is good enough, I guess.

Anyway, I kept to myself, as usual- Holly and I spent some time catching up before the talk and after, which was great. I really, really don't like being so busy that I can't see my friends. There were a lot of pregnant women in the overflow room, and we all seemed to sit on one side. Weird. I actually kind of prefer it up there. I feel a lot of pressure when I'm an audience member, and for this kind of thing, I just want to sit and knit and laugh, you know? I don't want to stop counting in the middle of a row of lace to clap, as silly as that sounds. I'll surely lose count (for example, I reknit the same row three times while listening). Perhaps I should try tapping my needles together- they're aluminum, so they'll make some kind of sound.

We didn't stay for the book signing, because we were both too broke to get a book at the moment. I find myself more inspired by the Yarn Harlot's blog, anyway. There's something less rehearsed about it (obviously), and I think that's when she's at her absolute finest. Not that I would ever want there to be fewer knitting humor books out there, just that sometimes it's the things that she can't/won't say in a book that resonate most with me.

I managed to get two repeats done on the shawl while I was sitting there, which was nice. I am almost to the point where I won't need the chart for constant reassurance. I sense that this lace knitting attempt is going to go a lot quicker than previous ones. The larger needles are a start (lace is supposed to be full of holes, right?), and the purl-only wrongside rows are also helping.

A lot.

Ugh, it's dreary and I have to finish the taxes. Every time I sit down to do them, I realize I'm missing a crucial piece of information. Perhaps this time they'll get filed. At least we're getting a refund.

Tiny stitch obsession

the first repeat of the Adamas Shawl



a new obsession- cheaper than knitting

FO: Offset Baby Sweater

Pattern: Offset Wraplan
Yarn: Red Heart Sport, Baby Blue and Yellow, 1 skein apiece
Needles: US size 3
Size: 9-12 month?
March 20- April 6, 2008

The finished product is really cute, but the yarn is kind of scratchy (vintage Red Heart) and the collar instructions were just... wrong. I made that part up myself, but followed the rest of the pattern pretty closely. The buttons are from Joann's- they were having a 50% off sale, and I don't have a button stash, like most crafty people.

The fabric underneath is some yellow quilter's cotton and Alexander Henry's little dots print. They're for the nursery. Dan and I decided on a loosely-applied Katamari theme. The curtains and the cabinet pulls will be the only thing that get full Katamari treatment (and perhaps some toys). I intend to embroider a border of Katamari balls and cousins on the valance and cafe curtain.

Viking-dini

My dog somehow managed to slip her collar and make it disappear- I've been all over the back yard (it is finally SUNNY out!), and I just can't seem to find it. She is just dumb enough to eat the thing, but I can't even find the tags. She wouldn't eat those, too... would she?

The baby sweater I'm knitting is almost finished- I've got one more sleeve to go, and I think there's just enough yarn to do it. I really want to move on to the next project because stripes in the round are a recipe for tangles and ladders. Ugh.