Life and Such

I'm pleased to announce that tonight, after nearly 2 weeks of revisions I finally turned in a paper for class that I think my professor will not send back to me with a notation that reads something like, "You are full of fail. Try again." (Ok, that might be over doing it a tad but you get the drift...) The joys of grad school...

I'm also happy to report that I got final confirmation that I was accepted to an internship site. All the professors I have emailed have said this sounds like a place where I can get good experience.

I leave for Romania in 3 weeks as of tomorrow.

That last sentence does not convey my actual excitement in any way.

Neither did that one.

I started and finished a scarf:

It's called the Heart to Heart scarf and I got the pattern free from the yarn shop in Cherry Grove, South Carolina when I bought some Gedifra Airmix there.

(Hopefully you can kind of see the heart pattern) The organization that I go to Romania with is called Heart to Heart International. It was like this pattern was meant to be.

I started a skinny tie for my brother that was supposed to be his Christmas present last year.

It's coming along nicely. I got the yarn from Whorled Peace on Etsy. Perfect shades of variegated black and grey.

I'm in the middle of moving all my belongings to my parent's house. I'm trying to purge as I go. I'm ready to be done with it.

For some reason this blog post was rather draining. And now for a head count...

Project count up:
Charity: 7 completed
Self: 0
Family and friends: 2 on the needles, 4 completed (probably more with all the washcloths I made my mom)

Knitting and Reading

I so love these breaks from school. They give me time to relax and enjoy some almost forgotten pastimes. Reading and knitting have been the order of the day. Of course there are still "work" type things to take care of. I ordered a book on how to form a non-profit so I can (finally) submit paperwork for the Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project. And I'm still working on lining up/finalizing an internship for the fall. Side note: If you are the praying sort might I ask that you remember me? I spoke with an internship site that sounds very promising but I'm waiting on final confirmation that they can give me a large enough case load. I have been disappointed in the past (several times) by sites that have seemed like a good match but have fallen through. I'm trying not to vomit in my mouth when I think about it but instead to lift up prayers. Your spiritual contribution would be much appreciated as well :) And of course I'm working at my full time nanny job every day (which I'm very thankful to have right now). So, there is still work going on. But also some relaxing. Here's a glimpse of what that looks like:

The Poppy Hat

Part of the EEROP Yearlong KAL/CAL. A March pattern. This worked up quick in some Dark Horse Fantasy (an acrylic yarn that I love). A note: The entire pattern is worked flat/back and forth. I did not realize this on the brim so mine does not have the cute fold over that the ones in the picture do but I think it still turned out ok. I (very poorly) crocheted something that looks like a flower and stuck it on the side. Very 1920s.

ScWiNoNa

Finished this multicolored, simple scarf finally. It's even been washed and blocked! I like how the colors came out. Nice and manly but not too plain. This was a February KAL pattern for the EEROP Yearlong KAL.
Reading has been another relaxing activity for me and I'm almost done with the first book in the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. I actually read the first four books in this series about 6 years ago but life took over and I lost steam on finishing out the 15 book series (13 books plus a prequel have been published. The 14th and final book is expected to come out next January. Oh, and there is also a companion book available.). I really like the books so I decided to re-read the first four and finish out the series.

The books are really richly written and not for the fantasy faint of heart. There is a lot of mythological stuff that comes into play and it can be hard keeping all the characters straight (which is why I'm re-reading and not just picking up where I left off). While the rest of the world is reading the Hunger Games I'll be picking my way through these.

There is more about what's been going on but I feel this post is getting longer than I intended (further proof I should update regularly). I didn't even get to tell you about the progress on the wedding blanket, my SIL's socks, or my new language books but I'll save that for next time...

Project count up:
Charity: 6 completed
 Self: 0
Family and friends: 2 on the needles

Preparation

This week is a big exercise in mental, physical, and emotional preparation for change. I just completed my final residency program for graduate school. I have 3 weeks left of my current classes then I'll have two more classes to complete before I start my six month internship. During my internship I'll finish up two final classes and then graduate in December. I know that sounds like a lot but the end is finally in sight (at least for my masters anyways, still debating going for my doctorate...). So, I'm preparing to move from class taking mode into internship mode in just a few months. I'm also preparing to take on a new, full-time nanny job next week. That means that the time I've had during the day for the last 8 months to do laundry, schoolwork, pay bills, grocery shop, and keep up the charity is about to be gone. But I need the money and I'll be helping a friend out so I can make it work for a few months. I'm also preparing to go back to Romania. I've set a little reminder using the iPhone app "Commit" to help me stick to my language studies for the next few months. My friend Connie who lives in California and runs Project Hope is moving overseas and has very generously gifted me with some of her Romania language learning materials. I'd love to be fluent one day but for now I'll just be looking forward to understanding a little better and being able to ask something more than, "Where is the petrol station?" Another aspect of my nanny job is that it's an hour drive to and from my house each day. In order to save my sanity (and on gas and wear and tear on my car) I'll probably be staying 2-3 nights each week with my parents (who only live 30 minutes away from my new job). This may actually be good in preparing for a possible, more permanent move, to their home. It depends on if I have a roommate by May or not. Or I could be moving to my grandparent's house, depending on my internship. Either way, I'm preparing for a possible move. So, yeah, lots of preparing going on around here.

This morning I was able to open up a Cafe Press shop to help fund raise for my trip. I've had some friends and family who have graciously agreed to create some designs for me free of charge and the ones I have so far look awesome! All the proceeds from the shop will go towards my trip which is currently sitting at a $3000 price tag. Go check it out and buy some stuff :)

My favorite design (so far) that's up in the shop.

I've also been slowly working on some knitting projects. Sadly the wedding blanket has not been touched in a few weeks. I left it at home when I went to my residency program because it's getting to big to transport so I haven't done any new work on it. I completed the 5th block which means I'm officially half way done with the thing.

My sister in law's socks have been growing a bit too. I wanted these done by the end of the month but I'm thinking that might not happen now :(

I have about 2 inches to go before I can start the heels. I'm shooting for 2" of work on these each night. That should make fairly short order of these. If I can stay focused.

I finished the Citron shawl and washed and photographed it.

I love the white and dark purple at the bottom. The shawl ended up turning out really nice and not too terribly big at all.

I also washed, blocked, and photographed the Mossy Ridge socks (finally).

But they have been finished for awhile.

And then I did a bad thing. A very bad thing. I started another charity project. I wanted something portable that wasn't worked on size 2 needles (like my SIL's socks are). So I started an EEROP Year Long KAL project: the ScWiNoNa scarf.

It's made up of left over worsted weight yarn I had lying around, mostly Cascade 220 (or so it feels). The orange bit is Malabrigo and will be the last section. I've just joined and knit the new color until it runs out. I had two more partial skeins I could add but it's almost the end of the month and it will be plenty long as it is.

I hope you're preparing for March too!

Project count up:
Charity: 4 completed, 1 on the needles
Self: 0
Family and friends: 2 on the needles

Post Holiday Mash Up

I hope that your holiday season went off with a bang this year. Or maybe I don't, bangs might be bad things like a blown circuit or the tree catching on fire. Whether it went off with a bang or not I hope it was spectacular nonetheless!

I was rather glad to see Christmas day. That meant I had survived the holiday stress. I got a lot of really nice Christmas presents: new pots and pan set (since my old ones were flaking their non-stick coating into all my food, yay for chemical aftertaste!), clothes, Amazon gift cards, a skein of yarn I forgot I'd picked out for myself 2 months earlier (my mom gifted it to me), and plenty more. Festivities with the family were wonderful as always and I didn't come in last place in the Christmas Day game-a-thon.

The day after Christmas I boarded a plane and spent the next 2 weeks in Romania. I had an awesome time. The best part was getting to connect more deeply with some of the kids I met during the summer (I was also in Romania in July, remember?) and making new connections with some of the kids. I think there's something in their hearts that draws them to people who they have seen before, even if their brains don't remember you. One of the things we got to do was deliver Christmas presents. There were some handmade items from EEROP in there :)

New Years was a crazy celebration where the whole city shut down and everyone sets off fireworks. Nothing says, "Let's start the year off right!" like lighting questionable explosives in the middle of a street! This is one of the biggest events of the year for Romanians so it was really cool to get to experience that.

After arriving home I have been slowly recovering from jet lag (my sleeping and eating schedule is completely erratic) and trying to get motivated to do more than just sit on my couch in my pajamas all day. I do have grad school work that needs to be done but this does not require clothes or (much) movement so that doesn't really help things. The only thing I have been really motivated to do it knit. There's something about this time of year that's really inspiring: the holiday knitting is done so there's no deadlines to meet, the air is cold (and there might be snow), the slate is wiped clean from last year, and there's the feeling of hope for a better year than last. Anyways, all that sappy stuff to say that I've cast on at at least 3 projects in the last few days.

Item 1:
Scrunchable Scarf

This was actually started in the Atlanta airport the day that I left for Romania. I knit on it some while I was there and finished it up shortly after getting home. I used a bulky wool (Cascade 128, one of my favorite bulky wools) and a size 10.5 needle. I cast on less stitches (somewhere in the range of 25 or 28, can't remember). The pattern was easy to memorize and this was a great take along project (it's also part of EEROP's year of KALs). I used two full skeins and the finished (washed and blocked) scarf ended up about 6 feet long.

Item B:
Antonia's Fighter Bomber Helmet (a.k.a. the Thorpe Hat)

I started this Tuesday evening and finished it by Wednesday afternoon. Used a little over 1 ball of Revolution from Bollicine for the actual hat and some hand-dyed for the contrasting crochet trim and braids. US size 9 needles and crochet hook as recommended. Just a word of caution, this is the small size and it almost fits my huge noggin; the sizing runs big. To me this looks a little like a helmet and I immediately thought of a little girl who I met in Romania who would look perfect in this. She's a beautiful little girl of about four but there's a strength in her eyes that says, "I can conquer the world!" So this is named after her. Also an EEROP Year of the KAL pattern.

Item the third:
SIL's Christmas Socks (Show off Stranded Socks)

Hazel Knits sock yarn in Camo Chic. US size 1 needles. Two at a time using magic loop. Cuff down. Finally started these the other day. I read a good review of the pattern and it was one I was considering so I decided to go for it.

Item Lastly:
Mossy Ridge (Not So) Toddler Socks

Yet another EEROP Year of the KAL pattern (if I'm hosting can I still win something?). I'm really into this charity knitting thing...Making these in a not so toddler size by doubling the worsted weight yarn (Paton's classic wool, another good go-to yarn) and knitting on size 10 needles (or maybe they're 10.5, I didn't really check). Everything else is just as the pattern notes. I like how these are turning out but they do require me to read my knitting pretty closely which means I can't space out and read blog posts or watch new movies and tv shows that require me to actually follow the dialogue. Should be a quick knit though.

Also still on the needles is the wedding blanket that will never end. I did finish the fourth square and started the fifth so that's positive.

Totals for the year:
Charity: 2 completed, 1 OTN (on the needles)
Self: 0 and 0
Family and Friends: 2 OTN

The Best Kind of Day

Today is my favorite kind of day. Not just because I have the windows open and the central heating and air conditioning off but because today is a 100% bona fide Work From Home Day! That means sweatpants and no make up, computer on the couch, and snacks at the ready. And, if I'm good, I might allow myself to watch some Jerry Springer in the afternoon. Somehow this makes even the mundane tasks of filling out job applications, doing the laundry, and cleaning the trash can seem so much more pleasant. Of course this does increase the chance that the cute guy who works in the apartment office will come by to discuss something totally random with me. Lucky for him I did brush my teeth. The gleam off my incisors should distract him from my Capella University t-shirt and non-matching yoga pants.

I also love Work From Home Days because I get to work on my charity (my passion), update my blog (usually a long overdue activity), and knit (my other passion). Thankfully all those things are somewhat connected which makes me very happy indeed. Take for instance a New Project:

Piles o' squares.

These are squares that have been donated to make blankets for orphans in Russia and Ukraine. Last night I started stitching (or rather crocheting) them together. Now I have this:

Patchwork Blanket

As you can see I didn't really get the hang of it until the second/third columns but now that I have a better idea of what's going on I can keep trucking along. I also started my second knitted Christmas gift. Thankfully all my gifts this year are fairly small (no sweaters or blankets for family) so once this is finished I will be 2/5 of the way done! The most daunting gift will be a pair of socks but I'm thinking that if I start those in November and work on the washcloths I need to make sporadically throughout October and finish the felted wine cozy order and finish up that Log Cabin blanket for my friends who got married in June and then start on the final Christmas gift in December that I should have plenty of time to get everything done! In fact I will even have time to start another charity blanket! This one:

Not that I've been thinking about starting this or anything like that...

I even have the yarn picked out.

Hard to see the brown, sorry.

I'm thinking of calling it Mint Chocolate Chip Ripples or something like that. Or I might snap out of it and realize that I'm delusional and will be working until Christmas Eve to finish everything but that's doubtful. I did finish my mom's scarf for SAFF and washed and blocked it to boot.

Shiny and silky

Now I just need to add a little bit of ruching to the ends and we're set to go! Something easily accomplished on a Work From Home Day.

Matchy Hat

If I did everything correctly then this post should be showing up on Saturday, after I've already gotten to Romania. If not, well, then enjoy the extra post but be sure to read the one below this one for an extra crazy pants story about my life.

As I mentioned in the previous post I managed to finish a matchy-ish hat for the wavy scarf. I used the Noro Spiral One-Skein Hat pattern. I thought it was a little bit wavy and a good showcase for the yarn.

The spirals at the top are definitely the coolest part.

I didn't block the hat but I think that it will be ok. It worked up very quickly. I started it on Tuesday and worked on it when I took my baby sitting charges to the pool on Wednesday. Yes, I said the pool. And it was hot. And this is a wool blend yarn. But I'm hard core like that. Finished it up on Thursday night and packed it up to take with me to Romania.

Here the hat rests on my computer on Thursday afternoon while I read the Redshirt Knitting Blog.

Also, just for fun, I did a little photo shoot with the finished scarf before I packed it up.

Here it is drying on my bedroom floor. It was quite long.

I modeled it in my closet with the full length mirror trying to get the total effect. Things about this picture that I have noted: 1. My closet looked super stuffed in this picture so I cropped most of it out. 2. I look kind of inflated in this picture. Like I'm wearing three shirts. 3. This scarf is of Dr. Who proportions. Or maybe it's just because I'm super short and this is a loooong scarf.

Ohhhh! I made a pretty thing! So, there it is. My wavy scarf and matchy hat.

What to make next...

Moment of Panic

I got a package today full of crocheted toys for the Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project. We're doing a toy collection for the orphans for Christmas so some very on the ball people are already sending in donations which is awesome! Well, I took the bag full of toys out on the deck for a moment to try and get a picture in some decent lighting.

Toys in bag waiting for good light.
However, my friend Megan was over so I just figured I'd leave the toys out until later and come back. I went inside and Megan and I watched some t.v. and chatted and what not. After an hour or so I remembered the toys and went outside to get them. That's when I noticed that the bag, which had been sitting on the metal patio chair had sort of fallen over and a couple of the toys had fallen over onto the patio. Unharmed of course but they were dangerously close to the edge of the balcony. Danger Will Robinson... Cautiously I peeked over the edge.... Is that....

Do you see the blue speck down there?

Could that be one of the toy balls? In front of my neighbors porch? Crap it. I couldn't leave it down there. But what if my neighbors were out there or worse, what if I go poking around in their bushes/monkey grass and they come out (as they often do) to hang out on their porch. I thought about all these things while trying to calculate the time of day and wondering if my neighbors worked and what time they might come home from said jobs as I snuck around the side of the building and tried to causally see where my neighbors were and what they were doing. P.S. This is totally different from stalking. Please no one call the police. Thankfully they weren't out there and the blue thing turned out to be a piece of plastic or something. It looked way bigger from my porch (I should have known, I have a problem with depth perception).

Oh, and I finished a hat to go with the wavy scarf. More on that later.

Wavy Scarf

The scarf is finally finished! I'd hoped to have it done over the weekend but Tuesday works too. Now let's hope I can knock out a hat in a day...

Here's the scarf pre-blocking and almost finished.

And here it is soaking in the sink of the guest bathroom. It has since been spun out in the washer and is blocking on the floor in my room but I forgot to take pictures. It turned out to be quite a long scarf (probably about 6 feet long) and I like how the colors blended together. The hat has been started but not much work was done on it because...

I came home today and found 4(!) more packages waiting for the Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project. So I spent today photographing and packing those items away. I was hoping to use a medium sized suitcase but I ended up pulling out the biggest one I had just to fit the donations inside.

That's all my towels, undergarments, socks, a raincoat, and half my shirts plus two large space bags filled to the brim with donated items. Oh, and a roll of toilet paper. Because that's a commodity in Eastern Europe. Seriously. I still have a few things to pack but most everything else I'm going to try and fit into my carry on. Which includes a travel sized hair dryer and all my toiletries. I'm nothing if not adventurous.

Deadlines and Adjustments

This working from home thing is going to take some getting used to. I'm used to having my store and charity be side projects so I'm having to train myself to actually block out the majority of my day to work on these things and not other stuff. It's a slow process. Especially since I took on a baby-sitting/nanny job that will run until the end of June. I did manage to spend a day working on updating the shop. I finally have all my products listed.

Including new beauties like Oriental Lilly.

I also photographed over 40 donated pieces of clothing that came for the Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project. I'll be taking them with me to Romania next week.

 Some super cute crocheted hats.

 A warm hat and neck warmer.

Cute baby sweater and hat combo.

 Two more boxes to unpack!

And speaking of Romania...I still haven't received my final information packet yet. The one with my plane tickets and packing list. Yeah, that one (I will not freak out...I will not freak out...). I'm praying that everything will work out.

The scarf I have been working on as my contribution to take with me to Romania is also not being as cooperative as I would like.

It's getting to just about the right size but my stitch count is forever off on the first 40 or so rows of the pattern. Right now I'm 4 stitches short. Which is more than slightly maddening. But I'm pressing on. And hoping to have this done by the end of the weekend so I can start working on a matchy-ish hat (it won't have the wavy multi-directional pattern but it will use the same yarn). I think I have a little over half a skein to go until the scarf is finished. Do-able? Yes. Probable? Hmmm....Knitting for tomorrow is mostly out as I will be helping my mom prep for my b-day celebration with family that evening and Saturday is somewhat out with a tubing trip and missions ministry meeting. I can probably manage to squeeze some time in there somewhere for knitting so it just might get done. That is, as long as I can get the right stitch count.

In other news, Penelope got her summer hair cut.

And I need to repaint my nails.

Weekend

I've had a very busy weekend and it's not even Sunday yet! My grandmother moved from Arkansas to Georgia early, early, early this morning (I think they got in around midnight) so I went to her new house yesterday to help my mom put the finishing touches on things. Of course, I was late getting there because I was waiting on a parent to pick up a student until 4:20 at the school (lesson here: do not try and drive anywhere in or around Atlanta at 3:00 on a Friday). I stayed until a little after 11:00 at my grandmother's place sweeping, attempting to put magnetic closers on cabinet doors, putting together a bed, blowing up an air mattress, and cleaning. This morning I woke up earlier than I would have normally for a Saturday and drove to north Georgia. I have a friend who works at a boarding school/farm on the weekends and I went to help and meet some of the kids. I'm thinking about volunteering up there some so I wanted to get a feel for the place. I had the random chance to ride a plow horse backwards while I was up there! Bareback too nonetheless. Which is just as weird as it sounds. After getting home this evening I took a shower and put on my pajamas. All before 6:00 p.m. I sat down for a few minutes and finished sewing the edging on the prairie hat.

I think it turned out more Little House than I had originally thought. I think the original color of grey that they used in the book was what actually made it more sophisticated. Oh well, it's still cute. Just need to add the pompoms.

I'm still cranking away on the wave scarf.

I get a some time in every morning to do a few rows. I'm thinking 6 repeats of the 80+ row pattern should make it long enough.


Tonight I'm going to cast on for another hat so I can help Teanne when she goes on her trip to Romania in December. I'm thinking this one:

This hat is also from 60 Quick Knits. Speaking of charity knitting... I received some cute little socks from knitwitchery for Socktober! Can't wait to see what else starts coming in.

Coming Up Next

The next few months have some big knitting related things happening. First it's time to start thinking about Christmas knitting. Actually, I should have started my Christmas knitting 2 months ago but I prefer the pressure of a deadline. Especially a fast looming, completely set in stone deadline. Who said I don't like to live dangerously?

The next big thing is another Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project drive. This is collection is to help a member of our Ravelry group, Teanne. She is going to Romania in December on a mission trip and will have the opportunity to distribute hats to gypsy children and orphans. Every member of the EEROP Ravelry group is encouraged to knit just 3 hats. So simple and quick but if everyone donates just 3 hats we could collect over 300 for Teanne to distribute! I'm calling it the "Hat Trick" for Romania campaign because in hockey a hat trick is when a player scores 3 goals in a single game. Clever, huh? I'm going to cast on tonight for this hat:

I think it's cute and yet isn't too "Little House on the Prairie." The pattern is from this book:

I picked this up using my birthday gift certificate from Rare Purls. I'm already in love with this book. I started a scarf from the book just the other day.

P.S. This yarn is too cool. It looks like Noro but is softer than Noro. It's Classic Shades by Universal Yarn. My only complaint is that it's a bit splitty but I can deal for those lovely color changes.

The final big thing is that EEROP is also starting a month of sock knitting called Socktober Madness! We're collecting socks in all sizes for distribution with various organizations that EEROP supports. The person who knits the most socks will win some prize goodies :) There are more details about all the campaigns on the EEROP web page. I kind of got a jump on things and started (and finished) a little pair of socks.

Going to get started on that hat now. Have the window open, listening to the end of a thunderstorm and enjoying the cooler (finally) fall weather we are having this evening. Perfect knitting weather!