Life on the edge of insanity

I am run ragged folks! I am absolutely beside myself! And then sometimes I actually find myself thinking "well, I had time enough to fit in that epidode of CSI this evening, so I mustn't be all *that* busy" but you know what, I AM! My brain is just gosh darn wrong when it thinks thoughts like that and it is very frustrating. One hour TV time, after a day of class, work, studio recording, phonecalls, homework, eating (somehow that always ends up quite far down the list) and maybe getting in the sun for a few minutes in order to retain sanity levels and do a little knitting...with all that considered I think that I am lucky to still be functioning. My mantra is '2 weeks to go and then I am free'...say it with me...'2 weeks to go and then I am free'...

On the plus side, sock one of baudelaire is officially finished and the heel has been turned on the second so it is straight sailing all the way home with them. Caught myself wishing for a cold night, just so I would have a legitimate excuse to wear them. No luck here though, the sun is absolutely splitting the pavements in Boston. The nights are a little hard to sleep through, but I am a sucker for the heat during the day...really enjoying it. Pity though all the rest of my knitting projects are not going as speedily as baudelaire. The shrug I had hoped to finish ages ago...actually I think I have run out of yarn, need to make a quick trip to the LYS and sort that out pronto, because it is so close to being done, would be a shame now to let it sit. I have also been having problems with the crocheted halter I made, don't feel very secure in it when it's on. Think I need to go back and put on more closures at the back, but I am not a very good sewer anymore. In fact I have 2 beautiful bags (the granny squares crocheted one and the unicorn knitted bag) which I would love to be using right now, but both need lining and I have no idea where to even begin to do that. Darn!

In other news, I went a bit nuts last week and ordered a pile of things from etsy for myself. I was lonely and I think I was trying to comfort myself with jewellery and one-of-a-kind things. When they arrive I will post pics. Can't wait really, girl needs some new earrings for the sun!!

Kiss this Day

A good friend of mine, Jillian, has just started her very own blog, based on the concept of daily gratitude. You can find a link for it here or on my side bar. Either way I really recommend having a read of the thought-provoking, spirit-warming thought Jillian has to share. Well done love, it is a wonderful thing you are doing :)

Happy Anniversary My Love

It is DBs and mine 5-year anniversary today. That's right, FIVE YEARS!! I can hardly believe it myself but it has been some truely interesting, magical, crazy, exciting, love-filled years and I look forward to all the others to come. Thank you Kolya, for being my best friend in the world and I hope you like your present.

For Kolya

I am but a splitting of the light
Prisms cannot hold me
But show me for the fragment that I am

Pretending to be sewn up just right
But thread cannot hold lightbeams
And I am but a splitting of the light

I am not a whole that can be palmed
Senses cannot fuse me
But show me for the fragment that I am

But you have sharper senses than touch or sight
That feel beyond this shard of glass
To the splitting of the light

You can fill the cracks that flaw my calm
Hold my broken sum
Hide within you the fragment that I am

Will you hold my secret safe, day and night?
Where prisms fail, I know you will do right
I am but a splitting of the light
But you can love the fragment that I am.

Finding the Groove...

Wow, not only have I *finally* found the time to write a blog, but I also have finished items to talk about in it...WooHOO!! This is the halter top from Stitch n' Bitch: The Happy Hooker. It still needs blocked and I think I will need a new bra..oh gravity and cotton tops, heehee!

Also on display this evening is the lovely 'Wisp' from Knitty. I actually got it finished in time for the wedding and it did wear it on the day, to lots of lovely compliments. The mohair needs a few more wears and washes before it is really soft and wearable but I really love it and the buttons are cool. I have a new thing about buttons...the latest Pari craze!

Here are the things I do when I do have free time...I know, I am nuts. I could be sleeping but no, I am putting gems on my nails. Girl needs help! Was fun tho.

Here are the latest buttons I have got my grubby little paws on. I ordered them from an ebay seller, Obsidian Kitten, who was an absolute pleasure to do business with and sent lovely little business cards and postcards with my little purchase. It is nice to feel pampered and looked after, even if you are only spending a few dollars at that store.

And lastly, my current project (though to be perfectly honest I have been doing very, very little knitting, crochet or anything) are the Baudelaire socks, also from Knitty. I made them a little too long for myself, but love them so much I really don't want to rip them out and start again. The pointy toe is pretty much empty, no toesin there at all. They were perfect however for the plane trip on the way home and helped keep my sanity while I dealt with the whirl wind of the wedding, being pretty sick myself and my mother being in hospital for an operation. All in all, it has been a really draining time of year and I am so looking forward to the end of the semester.

Only 3 weeks to go and then I am an actual, real, original college graduate. My apologies to everyone that I have been neglecting these last few weeks while I have been trying to kepp my everyday life together (my secret pal, I am going to do a special post just about you and your final parcel, as that is what it deserves, no less!). Lastly, I want to thank my lovely DB for encouraging me to blog again. I have nearly given up on the whole thing, but he gently pushed me back towards the things that make me happy and reminded me how wonderful it is to have this onlline community of friends who appreciate my post and who are eagar to share in my small success :) Thank you Kolya! There will be post just for you too, soon!

e. e. cummings

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

I have a wee problem

And that problem is a severe case of starter-itis. I started yet another project this weekend and I can feel the urge taking hold in my bones. I decided that I had to have a little crocheted halter top for heading home in a weeks time and decided to bust a little stash at the same time, by using the green cotton I had sitting there. It was originally for a little knitted top, but NO, I don't want to knit, I want instant, lacy, loopy gratification. And I know no better medium to satisfy that urge than crochet, and it can be done while sunbathing on the banks of the Charles River any Saturday :)



Well thank goodness for Stitch n' Bitch. I love this series and go back to these books regularly to find new ideas or patterns or just to feel part of something again, a sense of community in a book. And The Happy Hooker is my summer bible right now. There are so many things I want to make in it right now, I hardly know where to start...except that I have started the lace halter top, so there is a start. I finished about three-quarters of it in one day and learned two new crochet stitches to do it. Super productive day me thinks :)

WIPed

Yes, that is right. I am WIPed (whipped), heehee. And it is all down to the pattern 'Wisp' in the new issue of Knitty. I have to say that there isn't really anything else in the issue that I think I will make, but as soon as I saw 'Wisp' I fell in love with it and just *had* make it. Er, two days later and I have already completed half of it...



I don't know what has come over me, but a couple episodes of CSI: Las Vegas later and I realise I'm halfway finished. And the lacy is so pretty and open, I can't wait to block it. I don't think mine is as delicate as the ones in the pattern, however. I really want it to look as 'wispy' as possible but I think my mohair might be slightly thicker. I ever went up a needle size to keep the lace loose, even before blocking, but don't know how it will work out. Oh well, atleast a shawl is a shawl, no matter if it matches the pattern or not.



I really want to wear it to DBs cousins wedding in two weeks time. I have a silk print halter dress that is gorgeous but pretty thin for the changable Irish summer, so a little capelet or hood would be perfect for keeping me warm and still classy. Hood or capelet...hood or capelet...so hard to decide...

Summer Knitty

I am so excited! The summer issue of Knitty is just out and I am so happy. And it is a proper SUMMER issue, with lovely patterns for the warm weather. I am really in the mood for something summery on the needles too and I think I know just the project I want to start with. It is called Wisp and it is just gorgeous. A light, lacy shawl that can be used as a caplet, wrap or hood and is easy to knit. I think this is going to be my weekend project. I know I have a pile of unfinished things on the needles right now but I could do with some instant gratification right now, knitting-wise, and with a beach trip planned for this Saturday, it looks like the perfect travelling project...living ofcourse in the new knitting bag my SP sent me (see previous post...thanks SP!).




*Sigh* Isn't it dreamy? I think I want to make it as a hood, in a light, nearly mint green mohair that I have just one ball of and no ball-band to. Perfect! Just need to find some nice, light buttons...any suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)

Birthday Weekend!

The birthday kids at sunrise on Sunday morning...yup, we stayed up that late!



This weekend saw my 22nd birthday on Saturday and the DB's 24th birthday on Sunday, so we have been making a weekend of it and had a party on Saturday night - start the festivities on my bday and end it on his. We had a huge chocolate cake and I even got a hand knitted gift from my dear friend Adrian, who is another avid knitter/crafter and a great singer/songwriter. We had such a great time and now after our lovely weekend we are sitting here watching the basketball (the Spurs are cleanin' up) and I am about to bust out some knitting. It has been awhile since I posted any pictures of my knitting but I haven't really progressed as much as I had hoped recently. Lots of things going on in my life at the moment. Some good, some bad but either way it's nice to always have the knitting there somewhere to relax with.

I also want to say a huge thank you to my secret pal who sent me a lovely birthday parcel, including some KnitPicks Merino yarn in 'moss' (really nice vivid green colour), some lavender bath salts, a travel kit (perfect for when I fly home in a few weeks, hand lotion, eye mask, ears plugs), a copy of Rebecca knit magazine and some really cool stitch markers, all in the cutest brown bag with silver birds on it...perfect for my portable knitting projects. Thank you so much Secret Pal...you rule!

music blogggggginess

I have been slacking...hardcore. But I swear I have good reason. Life has been so so hectic. And now class has started again, well I am screwed, aren't I? I have however been revamping my myspace page and am really dedicated to keeping it up to date musically. And to help do this (and to add more things for me to screw up and slack off on) I have started blogging on my myspace page aswell, specifially about music. But don't worry, I won't be neglecting here. I have been knitting loads and spinning. Very exciting stuff!! So I put my first myspace blog up here too, just cuz :) oh and you can see my myspace here!! I put up new songs yesterday and I would love you feedback. It is always scary putting your creations up for scrutiny.


And so it begins...
Current mood: optimistic

Well, it is official. At the end of the summer I finish my time at Berklee, leaving with a BMus in Music Production and Engineering, and go out into the big, bad world with no plan whatsoever. All I want to do is make music and so I want to start now as I aim to continue. I want to make my final semester at Berklee one to remember.

I have a lot of plans for these next three months, including recording with producer and friend, Will Knox. I've been working on a lot of new material recently and am excited to put it out into the world and see what kind of response it gets. Gigs are being lined up at the moment, including what will be my last show at Berklee, and will be announced shortly. Rehearsals are being planned. Studio time is being book. I'm excited to say the least.

By putting my ideas and intentions out in the open, I hope to make them more solid than just passing thoughts and dreams. I hope you will check back to see what I have acccomplished since last we spoke and celebrate with me when I realise these plans.

It is going to be one of those summers!

Quickie!

I am so tired right now, completely wiped from finals and graduation. My Ma is also here all the way from sunny (haha) Ireland. So I am going to keep this short and sweet but i just wanted to post a few teaser pictures from graduation, just to get you in the mood for the biiiiiiiig post to come :) these are just of the entire hall and of 2 of the 3 honorary doctorate recipients, one of whom is the Edge from U2...nice! I have so much to tell you, knitting related, more projects, another book, SPINNING (oh, she's never mentioned that one before...) but right now I am braindead.

Sunset

The sun passes behind the buildings,
the shadows chasing us off our patch of grass.
'Off you go now, no more kissing for you.'
Now it is time for the tarmac to cool
and the bricks to get their fair share,

a light touch of
a tingle up their spines,
until finally it reaches the nape of their neck
and whispers shiver in their ear.

Off to rise up the body of somewhere else.

WooHOO!!

Never guess what I just found out?! Go on have a guess...

Nope! Well let me tell you...I just found out that world wide KIP (Knit in Public) Day is Saturday, 9th June....which is my 22nd BIRTHDAY!! What fun! To find out more information about where people are meeting, hopefully there is a gathering in your area, click here . I am hoping to organise a Boston one...more news on that as it happens :)

Happy Knitting Everyone!

FO!

The Unicorn Bag as modelled by my beautiful flatmate, whom I believe is plotting to steal it and take it around Europe with her this summer. Will have to watch it closely :) It still needs a button for a flap that secures the openning of the bag, but haven't seen any that I really like or think would suit the overall kitsch-ness of the bag. Great, fun project however and used up lots of mismatching yarns beautifully. I don't like to waste so it is great to have a useful final project out of them. And a good exercise in matching yarn weights to create the right the drape of material. A great article that discusses this is from this seasons issue of the e-zine Crochet Me It is the crochet equivalent to Knitty and is great. This edition is all about reusable, renewable projects and fibers, hence the great article on using up the odd balls in your stash. Check it out!

In other news, I received a lovely suprise in the post earlier in the week from the ever lovely Brooke in the form of a book she had picked up for me, thinking I would find it interesting. It is called 'A Cup of Tea' by Amy Ephron and is a quaint story of love, loyalties and turbulent time in NYC at the start of the American involvement in WW1. Such a darling read, I am nearly finished it already and am feeling sad about it too. I hate it when good books end. Thanks so much Brooke, it was exactly what I needed.

The Last Unicorn

...is my flatmates favourite film of all time. And I have decided, in order to curb my 'must-start-a-new-project-itis', to make a crochet bag with unicorns all over it with all the leftover yarn in my stash. This not only keeps me busy but empties my stash of half finished balls and is a project that is quickly finished (God Bless the speed of crochet!) thus giving my a nice FO in no time at all. And I am learning a new crochet technique called tapestry crochet, super cool! I also keep getting song ideas while working on the bag, and well that is just good no matter what! :) 3 songs and counting since the block lifted...


This being said my knitting has kind of ground to a halt. No more work on anything. And at a stage where I am pretty close to finishing a number of things. Oh well, it comes in waves and right now, with finals just over the horizon, the crochet project makes way more sense.

I also received another amazing parcel from my dear Secret Pal...I know, another one!! Enclosed was a lovely lipbalm, ylang-yland handcream (just want to sniff my hands all day, getting funny looks from DB!) and a pair of the most beautiful earrings you have ever seen!! Now let me tell you that my passion for earrings knows no bounds. This addiction was inherited from my mother and has lead to use both having pretty sizable collections that we sometimes swap between in order to make sure that every beautiful pair get a wear. However, these earrings will totally be off limits. They are just too beautiful. Little blue beads clusted around a bottle green, glass leaf with gold hook. Perfection! Thank you SP, so much. What an amazing gift.

Ramblings of a crazy woman

Even though it has been a short week, I am pooped. Really and truely I don't know where all the energy goes but by Friday evening I have none left for myself. I think DB not being here after me getting used to some company and help around the house, is really showing. I miss him really badly at the moment. The shorter periods of time apart are waaaay more difficult than the extended periods. For those you gear yourself up and know that the next visit is too far in the future to really grasp hold of. But less than a week away and I am a jibbering mess. Not cool Knatty, not cool!

And when I am tired and grumpy (that time of the month ladies) what do I want to do?!?! Start more freaking projects rather than finish the ones I have going on now. I am crazy! I have been doing some crochet swatches to try and take the edge off, and also be useful (I am planning to make the 'Violet Beaudegard' skirt from 'Happy Hooker'), but the knitting urge is hard to resist. I want to make little Spring tops and Summer dresses. I especially want to make socks. Socks on the brain. All I want to do right now, as I sit in work not completing the assignment *so* important to the running of my college (NOT!), is cast on some of my newly dyed yarn and knit in circles all afternoon long in the sunshine.

I am going to see my friends band tonight. They have come all the way from Ireland to play a few gigs in NY and Boston. They are called Fred and are just brilliant live. There album is even available on iTunes. Two of the guys from the band I have known since I was little, though they were in the older crowd from me, so I would tag along with them and generally be the annoying little person :) My mother knows all their parents from way back in the Irish Baha'i community. It is so nice to be seeing them here and that they made to effort to contact me and get me in the gigs. Sweet guys. Should be a fun night, though really all I want to do is curl up with my knitting, a good film and a piece of cake...I have some lemon and almond cake from Wholefoods, with a big mug of milky tea = HEAVEN!! You are all more than welcome to come round for a slice :)

p.s. Do you like all the new lists and links on the side bar or is it a little too much? I kind of went nuts the other night.

The rain washes me clean and suddenly I can!

Well, it was raining...all weekend long. The most rain Boston had seen in years, though for me it just felt like home. In fact it was quite nice and cosy to be inside, hearing the wind howl and the rain patter the window panes. And it made for a very creative and restful weekend. It started with a bath and an impromptu poem on the wall (see previous post) on Friday night. That evening I also started my dyeing experiment for the first time and these are the results. (I have really shaky hands and try as I might none of these photos would come out in focus, do I just want to apologise now for the rubbish shots!!)



I was so proud, bounding about the apartment like a school kid. The colours didn't come out as vivid as I had hoped but I think I put too much water in the dye, so that will be something to try differently next time. The first skein (I used KnitPicks superwash sock yarn) was dyed with a sky blue and bright yellow. The green formed from mixing in the pot. It really reminds me of the beach, which I haven't seen in an age, with the yellow sand, green/blue sea and seaweed...it feels lovely and fresh. Very springtime :) And the other colourway was for Project Spectrum, using the colours for this month; yellow, green, pink. I decided to go more 'citrus' and used a lime green and a more orangy pink. It kind of reminds me of a big beach ball, but again is really zingy and fresh. I took Brookes advice (thanks Brooke!!) and just followed my instincts with the colours. I had such a good time and can not wait to try some other methods of dyeing.



I think both of these are going to end up as socks, probably nice lacy ones that I can wear in the Spring and Summer. I have been really craving some summery projects recently and once my Clessidra socks are done I am going to start on some crochet halter tops and other things to get me in a sunny mood. Spring is in the air! And speaking of more projects, here is a photo (finally) of the gorgeous sock yarn my SP10 pal sent me and a little swatch. It has taken all more will power not to cast on another project with this, but patience is a virtue and it is for the best. I think it is destined to become a pair of Queen of Cups or Baudalaire socks from Knitty, though I am a little dubious about starting another chart based pattern after the Pomatomus affair.


The Clessidra are going great however and here are 2 finished legs...WooHOO!!! Just the feet to go and I am done. Brookes yarn is so so soft to work with and the way the colours are coming out, well, lets just say that the heels of these might need replacing annually :)


But of all the knitting, dyeing, poetry-writing and fun-having, the best part of the weekend was that I finally ended my year-long songwriting block. I was blocked BAAAAAAD, hadn't written any original songs in so long and was kind of starting to give up hope and then, BAM!! After a lovely, relaxed weekend I couldn't sleep on Sunday night and at 4am I got hit with a brainwave and by 5am I had a song (I have written most of my songs late at night/early in the morning...just seems to work for me). And then, after getting a few hours sleep and saying bye to the DB again (back off to Ireland to sort out visa stuff...America is great but the immigration stuff makes me want to scream) I was messing about on my guitar I got hit again, hard. This song basically came to me nearly fully formed and even the parts that weren't there immediately arrived after with little effort on my part. And this is the first song that I really wrote with my guitar, my playing has now got to the stage where I can play what I need to accompany myself. I am hoping to record them soon and then when I get them on my myspace page I will be sure to provide a link so you can all hear. I would love your feedback and criticisms.

I am so happy and relieved to know that I haven't 'lost it', and just buzzing with energy. All I want to do is CREATE...anything...just create!

Ingredients

I wrote this in the bathtub the other night, with a sheet of ingredients for a new aromatherapy soap I got and accidently dropped in the water. I ripped up the wet words and stuck them on the bathroom wall. So much fun to be had just bumbling about in the bathtub!

ingredients

pure and extra sweet hand of Thee
HANDMADE me
small batches of highest quality.
skin soft, deep well.
Original Natural willfully
carefully

I gotst tagged

Seven Things To Do Before I Die
1. Go on an Arts retreat and explore my creative with no restrictions or worries.
2. Travel around the world with Kolya.
3. Play at Glastonbury music festival, on the John Peel stage (my biggest musical wish was to be a guest on his radio show until he passed away...great man!)
4. Learn to speak Persian so I can talk to my family and one day visit Iran.
5. Have kids :)
6. Learn to relax and let go more...everything will be OK, I am OK, even when things aren't OK it doesn't as much as you think...because it's OK.
7. Make a living making music...bliss!

Seven Things I Cannot Do:
1. Touch the unglazed parts of pottery. I swear, it is the worst feeling in the world, turns my stomach.
2. Not procrastinate.
3. Not nap on that patch of sun on my bedcover. DB thinks I was a cat in a past life.
4. Keep my desk tidy.
5. Be OK with making phonecalls to people I don't know.
6. Hold a spider.
7. Not smile at someone I am passing on the street.

Seven Things That Attract Me to…...Knitting
1. Colour!!
2. The sense of power that comes from creating something out of nothing. Randomness to order.
3. Making things MY SIZE! Stupid national averages for women...I am not average, I am unique!
4. Being part of a shared history, present and future.
5. Relaxation.
6. The power to express my creativity via a different, more-unusual medium.
7. The sense of achievement and acceptance that knitting offers. My pattern might be wrong, my gauge might be off and I might have droppped 10 stitches but I made it, I still love it and noone tells me off for it. It is only wrong it I think it is wrong and that never happens :)

Seven Things I Say
1. What's the craic?
2. BRILLIANT!
3. Kolya, you Goonesbury!
4. Oopsy...
5. Feck off (er, Irish slang for 'F*#k off' but considered milder...my Ma wouldn't give me a slap for saying it to her)
6. Ah for feck sake (usually directed at knitting...or Kolya)
7. I'll watch the footy with you Kol, if I can knit through it?!

Seven Great Female Artists...
1. Joni Mitchell
2. Carole King
3. The Bangles
4. Norah Jones
5. Dolly Parton
6. Nina Simone
7. Cyndi Lauper

Seven Good Movies:
1. Chocolat
2. Sliding Doors
3. Mary Poppins
4. Shakespeare in Love
5. Love Actually
6. Clueless (will love it 'til my dying day!)
7. The Nightmare Before Christmas

OK, so I changed it slightly, but that was fun :) And now, because all the people I would have tagged on this Brooke already has, I invite anyone who reads this to take it as an official tag and to do this Meme too. Thanks Brooke for the fun. Photos of WIPs, dyeing and fun to come this weekend...TFI Friday is all I can say, this long weekend is needed after the week I have had! :)

Curl up and Dye!

Lol, there is a hairdressers in the town next to mine at home called 'Curl Up and Dye'...heehee!

I have had colour and dyeing on the brain recently, what with Easter and the riot of colour that it is, and also the article from Knitty that changed my perspective on dyeing yarn. I am so excited to try it. I just received a parcel of virgin yarn I purchased from KnitPicks (what a shop!) and have bought some food colouring and now I just have to go for it. So exciting! What wonderful colourways could I come up with? Or will I just make a big, muddy mess? Either way excites me, mess or no mess. I am also really intersted in incorporate the Project Spectrum colours in a colourway. The colours for the next 2 months are green, yellow and pink...such vibrant, Spring-time colours, and really interesting to work with since pink and green are contrast/clashing colours. I have been trying to find inspiration for colour schemes, and this is what I have come up with so far...

Sweet pastels...

Citrus brights...

Old school cool (who doesn't LOVE the Pink Panther?!)...

Street life...

And natures response (nature always wins in the colourful battle)...


Modern art...

A taste from home...

Kitch classic...

I interrupt this broadcast for a special news bulletin...

I have been lying low this week, concentrating on school and enjoying having my DB about. His job unfortunately didn't work out in NY (company were trying to screw him round) but all is not lost as he has contacted some of the other companies he had interviewed with and wanted to hire him, and with a bit of luck he will be employed elsewhere and not be deported! Phew! The stress of it all, but on the upside I have loved having him with me 24/7. I have missed him so much as part of my 'everyday' life.

The knitting has been going really well too. I have finished the first leg of Clessidra and am loving the pattern. I have decided to start the second leg instead of finishing the first sock completely, as I have a sneaky suspicion that I won't have enough yarn to finish both. Looking into purchasing more, silly me not to make sure before I started. I was also prompted to start the second leg after receiving ANOTHER parcel from my secret pal. I swear, she is spoiling me something rotten. She actually made me a 'magic loop' knitting kit, since I mentioned wanting to learn how to knit on 2 circular needles in my SP10 questionnaire. She recommended this as a great place to start and, well, I was powerless to stop myself casting on and trying it out.

The kit included Addi Turbo circular needle (I have never tried these before and really didn't understand what the fuss was about...I get it now!!), a skein of beauiful Lisa Souza purple SOCK! yarn, directions on how to knit socks the 'magic loop way, chocolate and hazelnut tea and a packet of Haribo gummy bears :) I was so happy I immediately knitted a gauge for the SOCK! yarn, just because I wanted to touch it and then, after scouring the net and not finding a pattern that really looked worthy of this gorgeous yarn, I had a brainwave...cast-on the second leg of Clessidra! Needless to say, I am a very happy girl and was all weekend. Thank you so much Pal...YOU ROCK!! Photos to come.

...And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming :)

FOs, UFOs, Flying Saucers and Little Men from Mars!

What a week!! I am so completely and utterly wiped it is not funny. School is stressing me out and I am not handling it well at all. I know I seem to complain about it a lot here, but I should say that I have been depressed for some time now and have been seeking help for it. Things, between here and home, have been pretty rough recently but I am working through it and, whether things change or not, I am determined that my state of mind will. So there! :) Thank God for KNITTING! And really supportive and understanding DBs! Don't know where I would be without that boy, he brightens my day no end.

I did have lots of lovely suprises waiting for me when I got back from Nashville. Firstly, I received my only Naw-Ruz card of the year from my amazing Secret Pal, who wasted no time in also sending me my first parcel. Such a thoughtful person. Enclosed was a bag of dark chocolates (no photo of them, sorry, but they vanished all of a sudden...fairies me thinks!) and some handmade, personalised cards and envelopes. How amazing is that? She designed and crafted the cards herself and then personalised the envelopes with my address as sender. Look she even made half of them with a fairy motif on them...how well does she know me :)


A few days later and what did I receive but an aaaaaaaamazing parcel from Brooke, for our washcloth swap. In it was herbal tea, chocolates (including a chocolate frog, didn't even know they made them...I got a Snape card in it), a knitting magazine, a ball of Sugar n' Cream cotton, a card from herself and a Harry Potter postcard from Eli. It even came in a box with sheep prints all over it, heehee!



AND, the best bit, my very own washcloth crafted by herself! So beautiful that it lives in my bathroom, I couldn't bring myself to use it as a dishcloth, it was too pretty. It deserves a life of bubble baths and facials.


On the FO front, I finally finished my wristwarmers I had been working on for ages. I love them so much already and they are so much fun to wear. I am also pretty proud of myself that the pattern was my own, nothing particularly crazy, but still my first creative venture in knitting.


I am still working on a slew of other things, including Clessidra socks that I started in Nashville. Also my little shrug, that I whip out when things get too much for me and I just need some stocking stitch pronto! My mothers socks have not progressed in the slightest. That woman is so patient with me. Another highly patient person is my dear Sockret Pal, Michelle, who's socks I am finishing right now and then posting tomorrow morning (you are so good to me, Michelle!) But I am happy and knitting is good!

Nashville '07...hold onto your hats!!

Nashville through pictures :)

The Bus Ride!


My dear friend, bus partner and fellow Euro (he's from London), Will Knox, finding himself very at home in TN!

Warner Brother Time, where we were based for the duration of the trip.

Sessions with Gillian Welsh and David Rawling (if you don't know them, they are amazing, look up their music!)...


...Janis Ian (while talking to her after the session, I poured a cup of cold coffee over my arm! I swear only I could do these things. "Hi, I love your music so much *pour*")

...Berklee does the Grand Ole Opry. We presented Loretta Lynn with an honourary Doctorate live on stage.

...Gretchen Wilson, who came to do a session later in the week

...Best live music ever...the guy in the front is a Berklee Alumni, Charlie Worsham, my friend, woohoo! The Station Inn is the place to go for live Bluegrass that just makes you want to get up and dance. It is the closest to 'home' I have felt since moving to America...suppose it's not that suprising considereing that Bluegrass is Irish trads. younger sibling :) yeay family!

So much fun, so much good music, lovely weather and a homely community, makes your heart feel light...




And lastly, but by no means least, the famous (or now maybe infamous) cowboy boot...(drumroll, please)...