Procrastinating hardcore!! (dodging the homework/write a proper blog bullet)

What Color is Your Brain?

BLUE:

At work or in school: I like to be with people, sharing with them, inspiring them, and helping them. I work and learn best when I can take into consideration people and the human element. I flourish in an atmosphere of cooperation.
With friends: I always look for perfect love. I am very romantic, and I enjoy doing thoughtful things for others. I am affectionate, supportive and a good listener.
With family: I like to be happy and loving. I am very sensitive to rejection from my family and to family conflicts. I really like to be well thought of and need frequent reassurance. I love intimate talks and warm feelings.
Take this quiz!








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SP9 competition questions

1. Where is your favorite knitting spot?
I love knitting in my bed, while watching 'Sex and the City' or 'Grey's Anatomy'. I knit everywhere though, and its more who than where that makes me happy when I knit. I love knitting when my boyfriend is chilling out with me, I know it sounds odd, but I think I like the companionship and being so comfortable with someone that you don't have to be doing something together to just be together.

2. If you suddenly could never knit again (shudder) - what would you do instead?
Well I already crotchet and love it (my Ma is the real crotcher and I'm the knitter, but we both do both, if that makes sense!) I love beading so maybe I"m do more of that. Suppose could catch up on my reading, but it would be a sad day!!

3. If you could travel anywhere in the world - where would you go and why?
Right now it would be back home to Ireland, into my beloved's arms and to the wide open spaces, beautiful mountains and stormy sea that I love. I really want to see Australia too and I miss India (spent my gap year there, doing voluntary work)

4. When you were little - What did you want to do "when you grew up?" Are you doing it?
I wanted to sing and preform on stage but that was my secret. And now I'm at music school and hopefully working towards that dream.

5. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Haagen Daaz's Belgian Chocolate is really good. Also Phish Food by Ben and Jerry's, and ofcourse the classic double cream vanilla ice cream from Devon...sinful!!

Check in...

Just a quick post while I'm sitting at work, just to let everyone know that I havent dropped off the face of the earth and that I'm really sorry for not blogging sooner. It has been a busy week and I have lots to tell and loads of photos to put up but I need half an hour of minutes all in a row with no interuptions or homework needing finished, THEN I can blog....oh YEAY! On the up side I didnt go to any of my classes today 'cause I couldnt fall asleep until 4.30 am (was feeling very anxious, don't know why) and when I went to check my post I had a mysterious parcel...wonder what that could be!!

Life is good, Tiger Duck!!

:(

I've had a bit of a down day today. First one since I got back to Boston for school and Kolya left. I don't even know whats wrong entirely. I think I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with the amount of school work I have on a the moment. I spend all my time running betwen classes, work and the studios, and any free time is meant to be spent on homework but when I get home I'm often so tired I fall asleep without dinner. Even if I dont do that and manage to get food, I really don't feel able for the homework I have. My brain stops functioning, but then I stay up late doing stupid time wasting things or, even worse, I worry about the amount of work I have to do but can't get done because I am so tired!! It's a bad cycle and I don't know how to get some perspective on it at the moment.

I was also sick today which didn't help, and I'm really missing Kolya too. Also, and this really bugs me, is that I'm not entirely unpacked into my new bedroom yet. My suitcase is half unpacked and my desk is covered in all sorts of rubbish so I can't work on it. It's really annoying me that I don't have a beautiful, tidy, organised place to come home to. Kol and I promised that we'd get it done before he left but with his time here limited we always let slide...'We'll do it tomorrow!'

I shouldn't be moaning too much though, because today I received my parcel from Rachel, the sockret pal hostess, sending me my winnings from the online competition. I never win anything so it was really exciting and I never get an real post to my school postbox so it was a really lovely thing to find there and did help to brighten my day. I got Lion Brand self-striping wool in denim shades and the Yarn Girls knitting book, hardcover(!!). I can't believe how generous she was to me. It's really touching finding thias knitting community that I never really knew existed. I was considered the nerd at school for knitting and now I'm part of a friendly, energetic, giving community of truly amazing knitters!! LUCKY!!!!

In other knitting news, while queuing for THREE HOURS at school to book studio time for our next round of homework project (yes, that is standard practice, I wasn't alone) I made great progress on a pair of bright orange and blue socks I'm making for my flatmate. I'm using the flat knit pattern that is in the current knitty mag, just to see what I thought of the change. It's a nice way to knit socks but I think I prefer my double points best. Also I'm going hunting this weekend for my sockret pal, to find the perfect wool to grace her worthy feet. Any idea or tips would be greatly appreciated :)


And lastly alittle something I found online this evening to salivate over!! Isn't it gorgeous. Maybe this is shameful but I just found it on the Lisa Souza website, it's her handpainted sock wool and it's called 'Emerald City' and, I swear to God, just looking at it reminds me of home!! The colours and how they mingle, merge into each other. It's like someone photographed the Mourne Mountains (the mountains surrounding my village) and transfered the photo straight to wool! So if anyone *eh hem* (I'm talking to you Mothers, Boyfriends, Secret Pals,...) have any doubts about what to get me ever, this would be a fine place to start...wow, this probably is pretty cheeky of me. Well, either way I will own a skein of this come hell or high water, I'm going to start saving from now...hopefully I'll be able to afford it by my next birthday, LOL!!! I'm off the treat myself to a cup of tea the size of my head and an episode of Sex and the City before bed. Promise to be in better form tomorrow, nighty nighty all!

Buttons Baby!!

So proud of myself, I've *finally* worked out how to get freakin' buttons on my page!!! Looks all nice and lived in now, with a few buttons and some more blogs :)

Annoyed though, because I found this amazing Stitch n Bitch button that flicked between the words 'Stitch' 'Bitch'...was well clever and now I cant remember where I found the darn thing!! Trust me to forget!

*Secret Pal 9 Questionnarie*

Welcome to SP9!

Below is the questionnaire for this round. Please post your answers to your blog before October 15th. Be sure you post the questionnaire where your pal can easily find it. :-)

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Like most knitters I dont like scratchy, itchy yarns and a definite natural nut!! Natural fibers are my fav but blends are cool too. I love stuff thats been hand dyed or spun, it has character :)

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
Unfortunately all my knitting stuff is sitting in an old Urban Outfitters plastic bag, all jumbled up together. I would kill for one of those gorgeous needle holders, that are made with all the pretty material and then roll up all neat and tidy *sigh*

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've been knitting since I was 3-4 years old, but have been doing it pretty hardcore for the last 2 years. I would say that I am an intermediate knitter. I like more challenging projects as well as easy ones, and feel that with jumper/sweater knitting im pretty advanced. working on the sock knitting tho, working on my second pair EVER right now!

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
I dont but feel free to bombard me with questions if you need to know more. I have a wishlist in my head, just not online :)

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)
i love natural scents...lavender, rose, jasmine...fruity smells are lovely too. I've been wearing really feminie stuff recently, lots of ylang-ylang and jamine in it so make me feel like superwoman. Basically the only stuff I dont like are synthetic scents that are really obviously fake and musks, they give me a headache.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I do have a sweet tooth. I LOVE dark chocolate, like the real deal high cocoa%. I'm european so good chocolate is the holy grail while im here in the States...still havent found a brand that i really love. I also love fruity sweets, like Fruit Pastelles (theyre a sweety from home!) and Tweezlers and just anything is cool. Candy is just cool!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I am the daughter of a crotcheting fiend so I'm not too bad with the ole hook. I also love jewellery making, sewing, would love to learn about spinning and dyeing, as I know very little about it but am very interested. Basically anything crafty, I'm there!

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
Oh boy, what a question! I'm a music student s othe list is never ending. At the moment, I'm getting into Fiona Apple, Artic Monkeys, Snowpatrol (theyre from N. Ireland too, YEAY), Lily Allen, Corrine Bailey Rae, The Killers...anything good and interesting...generic boring pop not so much, but not to say no pop. i just like music that is individual...i can hear the song and go 'Well thats definitely so-and-so".... stuff with a bit of substance :)

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I'm not a pastel girl at all, looks awful on me, makes me look sick and washed out. I love bright colours, rich colours...aubergine (eggplant), deep scarlet, teal, yellows, greens are my thing...love green to wear, my bedroom is green, such a good colour...but basically anything thats not a wimpy colour, must have some strength to it!

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I dont have any pets, but my boyfriends family have cats that I love and consider part mine :) I'm the eldest of 4 children and the first to fly the coop to university, which is where I am now. I am in a long distance relationship with my boyfriend of 4 years in Ireland.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I do, I do indeed!

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I love knitting jumpers (sweaters) for myself, booties for all my new little cousins, newsboy caps for friends and family and am currently working on socks 'cause I will get good at them if its the last thing I do!!

13. What are you knitting right now?
flat knit socks (trying out the pattern to see what I think...think I like in the round better tho), crotchet boho bag - not technically knitting but still a WIP.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yes, please.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Circular, dble points or straight is all fine with me, I like all. I mainly have metal needles. I love funky plastic ones and bamboo ones as a treat but at the mo my student budget cant stretch to accommadate them :(

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
No I dont. I assume these are the things for winding your skeins into balls...if so I'd love one, handiest inventions EVER!

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
A friend of mine asked me to knit him a hat when I first got to college, so 2 years ago, but I never finished it for him. However, at the moment my policy is to frog anything older than 6 months thats still on needles with no progress. I figure that after that amount of time if I dont finish it, I never will!!

18. What is your favorite holiday?
At the moment, its going back home to Ireland to see my family, especially my crazy siblings, and my beautiful boyfriend. I come for one of the most beautiful places in the world and everytime I go home, I fall in love with it all over again! I love visiting Europe and last year spent my second ever Thanksgiving in Disneyland, CA...freakin' brilliant!!!

19. Is there anything that you collect?
I love old things, antique nick-nacks from junk shops...like old jewellery, boxes to keep treasures in, letter writing things. I also love little perfume bottles and fairy related things. Anything unusual I love.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I'm not subscribed to any magazine. i have been looking at Lisa Souza yarn recently and it looks gorgeous...ive been wanting to treat myself to some really nice hand-dyed stuff recently. Basically anything would be appreciated now however, as i couldnt bring most of my knitting bag back with me to Boston for the new school year because of reduced luggage weight, so I have very little to work with. I have always wanted a pattern for a deep-v sweater/jumper/hoodie...something that is sexy and flattering and shows alittle cleavage :) looked everywhere for one but they are usually only little v-necks, not particularly deep.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I would love to learn Fair Isle, it scares me alittle. I know how to do the stitches individually for Aran sweaters but havent plucked up the courage to actually do them all at once in a sweater. Also I hate finishing, and hiding away all the loose ends, so anythign that makes that easier would be greatly appreciated!

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I have knitted socks before and am working on improving myself in that area. My feet are UK size 5/6, European 38, US 7/8.

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
9th June

**Below is a questionnaire I filled out for the Sockret pal swap that I'm involved with at the moment and might be useful for you to read, particularly near the bottom, which is just me introducing myself a bit better.**