chitown2beantown

Organized for summer crafting

One of my summer goals is to plow through several patterns and projects I have laying around. Am I the only one who picks up sewing patterns and fabric, or knitting patterns and yarn, and then let's them sit around for a couple years?

I know I'm not. It's a time honored family tradition that runs deep down my maternal line.

As I was thinking about why I don't get as many projects I want done, I realized that one of my biggest hurdles is that when I had the urge to work on a project, I couldn't easily find the pattern. The digging through piles and web pages to find the patterns cut into my crafting drive.

Decorated binders with clear sleeves inside have helped.

I grabbed a run-of-the-mill one inch binder, little scrapbooking paper, some letter stickers, buttons, embroidery floss, two strips of ribbon, and some clear vinyl sleeves.

If you're more organizationally minded than me, you could put in dividers for different types of patterns - knitting versus sewing, or pants vs. skirts, etc. I didn't bother.

It's progress enough that my patterns are in one place now. A box would work too but I like flipping through and it works well since so many of my patterns are printed from the internet now.

Will that Barcelona skirt make it's way to the top of the list now? We will see. It's in line behind the Hourglass Sweater I started a couple years ago (sleeves attached, yoke to finish), the Juliet sweater that's almost done, the Debbie Bliss baby shrug for my niece Ella that I started this week, and a Heather Ross Medocino sundress for Ella and hopefully me too.

Time to get back to work!

Thankful

We haven't gone home for Thanksgiving for several years, because the drive back to Massachusetts was so horrendous the first year we lived here. This year, we were able to travel on Tuesday and Saturday, so we sailed home in record time with little traffic. For that we were thankful.

Matt's aunt traditionally hosts Thanksgiving on Matt's side of the family, so we decided to keep it simple and stay there for the four nights we were home. It was a good decision. There was very good food and drink, including freshly baked pies and cookies, fresh cranberry and champaign cocktails, Mexican beer, Italian sausages, turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and all that good stuff. His aunt and uncle were wonderful hosts, and everybody was able to relax in each other's company. There were babies to ogle over. Games to play. Music to enjoy. For all of this, we were very thankful.

I found a little time to knit, which fascinates our nieces. A few hours to knit helped shed some stress before heading into my two final weeks of this semester.

We enjoyed time outside. Our puppy played in snow for the first time in Ontario, burying her nose in snow piles. Matt played disc golf at a local park with his cousin and brother-in-law. I took a long walk down muddy dirt roads with my oldest niece, talking about our camping adventures along the way.

We also spent a few hours with my mom's family. My grandma, despite her advanced memory loss, still lights up when I tell her again that Matt is my husband. She said, "Oh, you married him? I always thought he was..." and then after watching his face for a minute, "...so calm and kind". For him, his family, and my family, I am very very thankful.

Unfortunately, our adolescent pooch did not relax as we'd hoped. Long days in the car, food laid out, little dogs to harass, and little girls who wanted to play with our "bad puppy" was a bit too much for her right now. She spent most of her time outside, which she enjoys, or inside on a leash learning to be a good girl. During her time outside, we discovered that when rabbits and dogs were nearby, she was strong and crafty enough to break free from backyard fences and outdoor leads that have easily contained other dogs. In all instances, she returned very quickly. For her return to us time and again, we are very thankful.

 

After another long day of travel yesterday, she, like us, is thankful to be out of the car and home safe again. There is a lot of post-Thanksgiving relaxing going on over here today. Hope you are relaxing too.

socks and salsa

This week I finished a knitted object! This is monumental. Hasn't happened in a long time.

These spa socks were a gift to Matt's mom last Christmas. I had one sock almost done as gifts were exchanged last December. It took me the last 8 months to finish the pair. I also gifted a pair to my sister-in-law in the form of a skein of purple Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton. Maybe I have a shot at getting that skein knitted up to so I can gift them in the form of socks this Christmas.

Another accomplishment for the week -- Last night, a full week after buying 5 lbs. of tomatillos I finally hunkered down for a few hours to can some salsa. Consider this a pictorial, not a tutorial. I'm a novice at canning and strongly suggest you read up about it before trying as there is a risk of food borne illness.

I didn't discover tomatillos until I started going the farmer's market route more often. Salsa made with them is my favorite. Last year I made tomatillo salsa with grilled pineapple. Yum.

This recipe came from the New Mexico State University agriculture and home ec department. I figured the southwest source was my best bet for a salsa recipe.

I felt like a witch stirring this pot, what with our recent trip to Salem and with Halloween coming up...bubble, bubble, toil and trouble.

My in-laws picked me up some canning salt as I wasn't sure I could find any here. Always can find the canning supplies in the Midwest.

I strongly recommend not doing what I did above - which is to put an old (clean) t-shirt in the bottom of the canning pot. I don't have a canning rack. I've bought two when I've run across them at home stores and both times they were too big. I seem to have a small canning pot. And I keep forgetting to order a rack online. Last year I used cheesecloth on the bottom of the pot to stabilize the jars. It sort so worked but was less than ideal. The t-shirt didn't work. Eventually I took it out when the boiling water dislodged the t-shirt and knocked over two jars.

But, in the end, I think I succeeded. There is too much head space in a couple of the jars. Does anyone know if this poses a problem?

I was hoping for 5 pints but ended up with 4. Was it worth the effort? Well, I don't think I'll eat more salsa than this over the winter so the amount is probably spot on. It is a lot of effort. Freezing is easier, but it's nice to be able to put these on the shelf.

Oh, and as a side note, I whipped up some fresh tomatillo salsa as well. Just before I started canning, I checked out Smitten Kitchen, and what do you know, she had a recipe for acorn squash quesadillas and tomatillo salsa. Last night my friend came over for a little scrapbooking and we swooned over this. SO good. I made the salsa with cilantro and lime instead of all spice, and left out the poblanos because I didn't have any. I'm sure it would be great either way. But seriously, roast up some acorn squash, mix with onions, jalapeno and garlic, and stick it in your quesadillas. Again, so good.

I've got a head cold and was thinking chicken soup for dinner, but now I think I have to have these quesadillas again. :) 

We went to the Museum of Science today

And this knitted brain made my day.

Credit goes to Dr. Karen Norberg, a child psychiatrist who knitted this brain in 1982 over the course of a year. She didn't make a pattern. I'm sure if she did many ambitious knitters would be duplicating her efforts. I, on the other hand, have had trouble finishing a sweater over the course of two years.

A quick google search uncovered two more knitted brain specimans. This fuzzy one and this fashionista one. I relate to the fuzzy brain.

Here are a few other creative brains and craniums on display in other areas of the museum...

Even though I really like the graphic design in the above image, a depiction of my brain filled with men at board meetings and lonely women at switchboards makes me shutter. I'd prefer a handcrafted brain to an industrialized brain anyday.

Balancing an Unbalanced Life

I'm trying to find small ways to bring balance to my otherwise unbalanced life. For instance, Friday night I finally decided at 10:00pm that I wasn't going to be able to finish my overdue paper, so I gave up, did the dishes, and made a quick scrapbooking page before bed. My scrapbooks were missing a page about this sweet addition to our family. Her first birthday is coming up next month so I figured it was about time. This page was inspired by the latest scrapjack, but I didn't get around to finding the camera, taking a picture, and getting it on the web before the deadline. Those days are behind me for a awhile.

I've also been trying to find ways to squeeze in some knitting time. It's good for my mental health. So, I've started knitting two rows before bed. It's not much but it's better than nothing. Today I tried to take it a step further by knitting while reading an abstruse article about causality. It worked for a couple rows, but once I got to the lace section of the Juliet pattern, I couldn't make it work anymore. I probably would have been better off by just reading the article as quickly as possible, then knitting a few rows. Actually, that's a good idea. I think I'll start doing that as a motivational tool.

Another way we've been trying to achieve a little balance is by mixing up the household chores a bit. Matt's starting making us frittatas with spinach, peppers and ham. I didn't even know he knew what a frittata was, let alone how to make one so I've been very pleased. We've also been eating more mac'n'cheese (the real stuff, not the blue box stuff) since that's also his specialty. In return, I've been doing my share of the laundry lately.

This weekend I went to a SOLO wilderness first aid workshop that I signed up for a couple months ago, even though I really should have stayed home to finish that darn paper. Aftering backpacking in Yosemite this summer, I decided it was time to have more than a basic understanding of how to deal with an emergency. The workshop took place in the North End, and we got to role play emergency situations out in a plaza in front of Paul Revere's House. It was pretty fun to watch the tourists with cameras stop and stare while we were laying on the ground faking injuries. Nothing like disaster scenarios to clear your mind of deadlines, both missed and impending. 

Then, last night Matt slipped me a copy of The Onion to read before bed to distract me from reading chapters in the Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs textbook I've barely had time to crack this semester. Nothing like some shared laughs about fall being canceled after 3 billion seasons and a study showing that working at work increases productivity to lighten the load.

quick knitting update

Last week I finished Center Square Hat take two. I knit it up for a friend, in colors she selected. Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted in Black and Bev's Brown. The colors match a new winter coat she bought. I actually never would have thought of this combo but I like it a lot. And they're our college school colors (go Broncos), so even better. This time I knit the hat in one of the recommended yarns so it has a much better fit than the first one I knit in Lamb's Pride.

I wasn't sure my friend wants to be an internet model, not that I've asked, so Matt went ahead and took a picture for me while we were out taking a quick walk by the marshes in Quincy on Sunday. In the picture, I'm actually looking across the street at the ocean. Hard to believe. I still forget we live in a "beach town" because, well, the beach isn't that beachy. I mean there is a beach, but it's more of a city beach, if you know what I mean. Still not a bad place for a walk from time to time though. Last year we crossed the street and explored a little park near some marshes. It's a nice spot too, maybe even nicer than the beach.

And to finish up my knitting update, tonight I pulled out some yarn I bought a couple months ago, with a certain project in mind. Actually I didn't have a specific project in mind, but I knew I wanted to knit something for someone and I liked this color combo a lot. I'm keeping the project a secret, since it's a gift, but I'll share a sneak peak. I like knitting with two strands of yarn together--I've known this for awhile, but I know it even more now. I guess because it goes faster, a squishier fabric is knit up, and there can be some fun results when the two colors switch back and forth. Here's a sneak peak.

Jonesing for a break

Okay, I lied. New camera=better crafting pictures. After reading half of the article from the book "White Collar Sweatshop" I assigned to my Social Problems students for next week, I decided to force myself to take the evening off today. I've been taking one day a week off from my day job, so I can get stuff done for my early morning job. But it's also just a day to spend a few hours not working. After getting tests, surveys, and consent forms off to the copy center for Friday's classes, I called it a day.

I remembered I said I'd cast on for the Hourglass Sweater by the end of the month, and today is February 28th, so I spent an hour or two swatching and casting on. Yeah, I've got a hat to finish for a friend, but I decided to at least start a new project. Starting is my favorite part. So much potential.

I also banged out a 2-page scrapbook layout in like 45 minutes. Sometimes they turn out better when you go fast. I tend to stick to straight lines but I went crazy this time and arranged the pictures all crooked. Craziness, I know. They called for it. I like this "all black and white except one color photo" idea. Not sure where I picked that trick up from.

This is the second layout I've done from my Austin pictures. I can't wait to go again. I'm jonesing for the whole thing--wedding, seeing Tim & Liz and my family, warm weather, change of scenery. All wrapped up with two weeks of spring break. It's a beautiful thing.

I'm still shaking my head about that elk running towards us while we were on the golf cart down on the ranch. I was facing backwards staring the giant-racked thing down. Obviously, what was running through my mind was, "Holy crap, there is an elk charging towards me." Super laid back Tim and Liz were like, "It's fine, it's fine. It thinks we're going to feed it."

"And what happens when it realizes there isn't any food?"

Elk (even fenced in)=wild animal not to be toyed with. At least as far as I'm concerned.

Checking the list

Just a few crafty pics to share. As expected, my free time has dwindled considerably since the semester started, but it actually hasn't been that awful. This year I decided that since I have such lofty goals for myself all the time (like working a full time job, teaching two college classes and maintaining my sanity), I might as well record them in a planner on a monthly basis. This way I can appreciate what I did accomplish, and let go of the stuff I didn't. And yeah, this planner list idea was inspired by none other than The Weepies--my current muse. [Although the new Indigo Girls is darn good.]

The list of desires for the month approach seems to be working. I actually accomplished more than half of what was on my January list.

Knitting myself a hat was one of the goals. So here it is...my version of the Center Square hat from Knitty. I used Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted instead of the Paton's or Nature Spun, it's a bit poofier than the original. But I like it. I'm calling it my Powerpuff Girl hat--since it's girlie and called for a giant puff on top. It feels a little silly, but Matt definitely thought it need a puff ball. Hopefully he's not just messing with me. ;) I liked knitting this so much, I'm going to knit one for my friend Lori, for her birthday. It was a pretty quick knit so my goal is two weeks. Most knitters could probably whip it up in a day or two, but I don't have that kind of uninterrupted free time.

I also managed to whip up a couple scrapbooking pages. I've been meaning to scrapbook these pictures for oh, about 4 1/2 years. Glad I waited though. I like results, even if I just realized I put the pictures out of chronological order. Oh well! Seems I'm going through a girlie streak because I generally don't scrapbook with purple paper and big pink flowers and hearts.

On my February to do list is to cast on for the Hourglass sweater. I'm going to knit it in Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed--which I got online at a good discount. Half the price of the Cash Iroha the pattern calls for, so hopefully it will make a decent substitute. Finishing the sweater won't make it to my list until maybe May at this point, but you never know.

There's a rumor that Matt is going to start his own photoblog with pics from the road...It's in the works. Turns out he's quite talented at taking pictures of airports and other architectural features only a road warrior would notice. This week he's in Kansas City. It took him, all told, 10 long hours to get there. Wish him luck.

Why am I doing this?

I saw this quote today and thought, maybe just wanting to leave our mark is the source of any creative endeavor--music, writing, photography, art, crafts, blogging, whatever it is we do to pass the time...

"Why is it we want so badly to memorialize ourselves? Even while we're still alive. We wish to assert our existence, like dogs peeing on fire hydrants. We put on display our framed photographs, our parchment diplomas, our silver-plated cups; we monogram our linen, we carve our names on trees, we scrawl them on washroom walls. It's all the same impluse. What do we hope from it? Applause, envy, respect? Or simply, attention, of any kind we can get? At the very least we want a witness. We can't stand the idea of our voices falling silent finally, like a radio running down." -- Margaret Atwood

Maybe the other reason is just needing something to do.

I've been thinking about why I've been blogging and scrapbooking so much more the last few weeks, and I keep remembering this other quote. It's funny how you read one line in a book and then it comes back to you years later...

"Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, writers will go to stupefying lengths to get the infernal roar of words out of their skulls and onto paper."--Barbara Kingsolver, "Knowing Our Place" in Small Wonders

Now I have to go read someone else's roar of words in order to prep for my classes!

Oh, and it's going to snow tonight!! [edited: all I hear is more rain...damn.]

What to do...

Matt was home more than usual during the months surrounding the holidays. In the past month, he’s been making up for it. He’s back in Maryland this week, and weekend, for a sales event. A couple weekends ago it was Pittsburgh…or was it Philadelphia. It’s awful, but after two years, I lose track of where he’s been and where he’s going next.

I know people wonder how we do this…and why. The how part I can answer. For me, it’s having lots of hobbies. This week I was telling my friend Steve that Matt was gone for 7 days. He said, “What’s new?” Trying to help me out, he suggested I needed a hobby. I said, “I have lots of hobbies. I have lots of time to fill up!” My other friend Stephanie told me today, “You have more hobbies than anyone I know.” That may be true. So to illustrate how I manage being the wife of a traveling salesman, I decided to catalogue my list of hobbies.

At this point, I’ve sort of gotten used to Matt being gone during the week. Sort of. It’s not fun, but I manage. The weekends drive me nuts though, particularly when preceded by a week or two on the road. That’s when I have to pull out my mental list of “things to do” (and sometimes actually write them down). In the mental health world, this is called "utilizing coping strategies". Otherwise, I’m just tempted to do lots of shopping which isn’t a good idea. Some day we’ll have kids and a list of things to fill my time up will be a relic of the past. I think that’ll be a good thing, but we’ll see.

THE LIST

1. Reading--A stack of books and magazines to read. All sorts, in case one fails to engage me. This hobby involves regular trips to the library.

                                                    

2. Knitting--My urge to knit comes and goes but I have lots of projects on standby just in case. This week was a knitting week.

                                                    

3. Hiking--Thank goodness for the AMC. Since the creepy dudes hanging out at the forest preserve prevent me from hiking by myself, AMC trips have kept me sane. I need to be outside! And it's fun to meet the locals and the transplants like me. This week I got out for the first night of a summer-long series covering every mile (all 145) of the Blue Hills Reservation which is south of Boston near us. This will keep me busy on Thursday nights.

                                                      

4. Classes--Lori was adventurous and took a pottery class with me a couple months back. It was lots of fun. I should probably take one again, but now I'm thinking about a Spanish class in June. We'll see. Now Lori and I eat dinner together once every week or two instead which is just as fun.

                                                      

5. Scrapbooking--My urge to scrapbook is on and off too, but lately this is my #1 hobby. Finally got pictures printed, two years after getting a digital camera.

                                                      

6. Cooking and making a mess in the kitchen. Then grudgingly cleaning it up.

                                                      

7. Sewing isn't really my favorite hobby, but my mom made sure I knew how. I have a baby quilt waiting in the closet that needs to be put together, and I actually thought about pulling it out this weekend. And I hemmed Matt's pants this week. So domestic of me.

                                                      

8. Mountain biking--I'm so glad it's almost biking season again. I do bike by myself (even in the woods sometimes). I figure I can always run over a creepy dude if it comes to that.

                                                      

9. Yoga--That's a back up hobby too, but something I've done a half dozen times in the past few months to keep busy and unwind. I keep the yoga mat out just in case.

                                                      

10. And I'd be lying if I didn't say #10 is the internet. I definitely use it more than TV when Matt's gone. I'm such an information junkie. Think about BF Skinner's rat experiment if you want to know why people are so addicted to the internet. A couple weeks ago I was online a lot planning our big 5 year anniversary vacation. That's done, so I've cut back. But still, there are knitting blogs and scrapbooking websites. So much to see.

Now that I'm tallying this list, I remember a few hobbies I once had, but have let go by the wayside. Guitar playing. Watercolor painting. Rollerblading. Hmm...

And three things I should be doing with my time, but haven't gotten around to yet...

1. Re-writing my master's thesis so I can present and maybe, doubtfully, publish it.
2. Our taxes (yeah, I know, April 15th is next Friday)
3. The laundry. Usually I overlook that one until Matt gets home and does it all!

What to do next?