I haven't been buried under a pile of research...yet! :)

I promise I am still around! I just haven't been blogging lately.  I'm so busy this fall with school stuff and trying to keep myself on track.  I will say that I've created 2 new patterns that I hope to have written up by the end of the year :).  I've also been knitting and crocheting during my commute to try and get all of my holiday gifts done! (They are coming along!) :).  I'll post some updated pictures soon and try and be more active in blog land.

I presented at a conference back in October and I've also had my first research report published with a second one on the way!  :)

In crafting news...I did come across this very cute pattern for little Christmas stockings!  I'm in love :).

LYS: The Yarn Company

About a week ago, my friend Michael and I took a visit to The Yarn Company, a local yarn store located on Broadway near 82nd street in NYC.  The store is located on the second floor of a building and, honestly, I don't think I would know it is there, unless I was looking for it.  After climbing up a SERIOUSLY steep set of stairs, you walk into the actual shop.  They have one main room of yarns and a back room where some FOs seemed to be, although I did not venture back there.

While the staff asked if I needed assistance just about as soon as I walked in, they were not all that helpful.  IMHO they seemed to just "sell yarn" and not love yarn or know much about it.  The Yarn Company did have lots of pretty yarn all over the store, but they didn't carry a lot of brands.  They had a whole bunch of madelinetosh yarns, which made me happy.  They also carry a lot of different Filatura Di Crosa yarns, some of which I have never seen (and I do love Italian yarns ::swoons::).

The purpose of this visit was two-fold.  First, we just wanted to check out the store.  Second, I wanted to get a few Koigu mini skeins either for a scarf that uses them or the beekeeper's quilt (from Tiny Owl Knits) and some tweed yarn for a Christmas gift.  The mini skeins were a success, but I only got 4 of them because they were REALLY expensive for such small amount of yarn ($2.50 for 11 yds...) and I'm sorry, but I have a grad student's budget and I just CANNOT spend so much.  Anywho, I was hoping to find some Rowan tweed something or some Cascade, but the store didn't carry either brand!  In fact, the woman helping me really had no idea what tweed was.  I was honestly disappointed.

AND, they had NO sale yarn at all.  NONE!  In fact, when I asked about sale yarn, the lady quickly hushed me with a "no, no, we have no sale yarn."

So, I left the store with 4 mini skeins and 2 balls of Filatura Di Crosa Nirvana (this yarn is a lace weight superwash merino and is OMG soooooo soft! I fell in love the moment I touched it).  Will I go back to The Yarn Company again? Maybe if I need some nice Filatura Di Crosa yarn or something higher end that I cannot find anywhere else.  Otherwise, I'll probably just head to Knitty City, a lovely, wonderful, and friendly LYS that is just about around the block (on 79th between Broadway and Amsterdam).

Drum roll please....here are the new additions to my stash :).

Significant Stitchers

Today was the first meeting of the knitting/crochet group that my friend Michael and I started at work. It was amazing to see so many colleagues interested in the crafts I love so dearly. Everyone was helping each other learn skills. It definitely was the perfect lunch. I think everyone is looking forward to our next meeting in 2 weeks!

Teddy bears, more than meets the eye!

A friend of mine showed me this print today:

It made my heart melt!  Teddy bears are VERY special to me.  Specifically, this one little bear.  Thanks for always keeping me safe from the monsters, Teddy! I <3 you!

Loooooong overdue update!

I'm alive!  Really! I'm here :).  I've been so busy the last few weeks, I just haven't had a moment to post at all!  So, what have I been up to in the past few weeks?  Well school started, so I'm working on my dissertation and I'm also TAing a class and I have a Graduate Assistantship...which is all quite time consuming. I've also been working a bit more, making up some days I missed during the summer. AND I've been knitting and crocheting :).

Yesterday was my mom's birthday.  I like to make her handmade items for gifts, because she has basically all the important things she needs.  She loves slippers, especially slippers that cover her ankles and go up nice and high.  So that's exactly what I made her!

I also made my mom a little robin, because we say that my dad visits us from Heaven as a robin.  So here is the little guy, with a heart for his red breast.  I did some stitching around the heart in red crochet thread to make it look a bit whimsical.

I've also completed a few baby blankets.  The cow blanket was a commissioned blanket that my friend Kerri wanted for one of her friends who was having a baby and LOOOOOVES cows. :).  The second, you might remember one just like it from a few months ago, was a blanket my mom asked me to make for someone she used to work with.  (Btw, I HATE the picture of the lavender blanket because I took it late at night and had to use a flash...and it reflected off the yarn...sheesh!)

I've also been working on Christmas gifts!  Here is the progress on my mom's blanket...which was started as a gift for Christmas 2010....it WILL be done this year! I think I have like half more to go...

 This is a vest that I'm making my mom for Christmas.  Funny story...the other day my mom said to me "Jess, you know what I want for Christmas? I'd like you to make me a vest!" Funny enough, I already had knit just about this  much of the vest!  I guess I *do* know my mom ;).  The pattern, the Loretto Vest, is really quick and easy and can be found in one of the issues of Knitscene!

I've also been on a hand warmer kick.  Here are avocado green hand warmers and a pair of oxford gray hand warmers.

Annnnnnd this pair of pink ones has a story behind them.  My good friend Steph LOVES pink and really liked the picture of the hand warmers I showed her.  So I decided to cast on and knit her a pair.  I started Thursday morning on my train ride to the city.  On that ride, I got an ENTIRE mitt knit and seamed.  Why you ask?  Well, my train was one of 4 trains that got stuck in one of the tubes of the Hudson river tunnel that runs under the Hudson river between NY and NJ.  The entire tube lost power. My train was second in line with a train before it and two behind it...stuck under the river for over 2 and a half hours, almost 3, until we were pulled out by a rescue diesel train.  You can read about the story here.  The train that they quote the conductor on, was mine ;).  I'm famous! HAHAHA.  So these are my "Trapped Under the Hudson" mitts :).

I will try and be better about posting in the future, but man a PhD keeps you REALLY busy!!

The Versatile Blogger!

Recently I received my first blog award!  Emma over at *winging it* nominated me for "The Versatile Blogger" award :).  I'm quite excited and I'm sending Emma a big thank you!!! :-D!

As part of the award, I have to share 7 interesting things about myself. So, here it goes!

1. I probably could recite every line from the movie Titanic.  When this movie came out, I went to see it 7 times in the theater.  I even still have all of my ticket stubs.  I guess this popped into my head first since the movie is currently on TV.  Seems like a good thing to be watching during/after a hurricane, right?  Lots of water? 

2. I'm obsessed with owls.  I really like owls...but the cute kind, not the creepy looking ones from the 70s.  Ok, I should rephrase that.  I prefer the more modern take on owls :).  I've decorated my living room with all different kinds of owls, including salt and pepper shakers and a hand sewn owl!  They are really a *hoot* to me ;).

3. I really love school supplies.  No really, I love school supplies.  I have a huge collection of various types of school supplies, including a large box full of unsharpened pencils...yes unsharpened ones :).  I used to always look forward to the Back to School stock up in September when I was younger.  Now a days, I don't really need any more...I probably have enough to last me for years and years to come!

4. I have been in school for 25+ years. I started school before I was 3 years old and I've been in school ever since.  From high school, I went to college, and then directly on to my masters.  After that I went directly into my PhD program.  So not only have I been in school for basically my entire life, I've also never had a full-time job :).  Hey, as they say, "Grad school, it beats getting a real job!"

5. My high school dream occupation was to be a medical examiner and work for the FBI. I still would love to do this one day.  I used to be and EMT and I love all things medical.  Somehow my life took a turn into education instead.  However, I hope that with my background in mathematics and statistics I might one day explore the medical field again!

6. I don't like peanuts or peanut butter.  Yep, that's right kids, I don't like peanut butter nor do I like peanuts!  I'm not allergic to them.  I just do not like them.  Luckily I love almond butter, so I can still have ab&j sandwiches!!!

 7. I have a multitude of hobbies. I hope this comes across in my blogging! I really love to try all different kinds of things.  I think that my top favorite hobbies are knitting/crocheting, photography, and gardening.  I'm trying to get more into sewing, but that's a work in progress!  I've always liked to do crafts and take photos and work in the garden.  Since I was a little girl I always liked to keep myself busy.  Maybe this is due to the fact that I grew up as an only child (technically I have a half brother and a half sister but I only met them a few times as a little girl).  I'm really good at entertaining myself and rarely feel bored just sitting home :).  

Chinese bamboo knitting needles

Yesterday I received the knitting needles I ordered off of eBay! For like $7 I got pairs sized 0 to 11 made of bamboo. They came from China :) so fun!

Kale Chips

So easy! So delicious! Take kale wash and dry it. Tear it into pieces. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 350 for about 15 min until crispy! Mmmmmm

FO: Project Bags

I've been needing some additional project bags to carry my knitting/crochet projects with me as I commute to the city for work and school.  Today I was bitten by the sewing bug and sewed up three different bags.  I had all the fabric already and the ties are made from shoelaces that I got from Michaels on clearance!  Two bags were made from the "Fabric Palette" fabric that you can buy from A.C. Moore that is approx 18" x 22", so they are a bit squatty.  The third I made from fabric that I got from Fancy Tiger Crafts while I was visiting Denver in April/May of 2010.  It was my first patchwork project and I really am happy with the way it came out! :) I think my sewing skills are improving, but I'm still a beginner!  Making these took mew a few hours all together (including clean up...and a few seams that I had to rip out...whoopsie!).

Here are both sides of the patchwork bag.  I used 18 squares and still have 8 leftover to make something else with!  It is the perfect size for me!!!  I'm most excited, proud, and happy of this bag!  I'm not sure which square I like the most!!

And here are the other two bags.  You can see that they are wider than taller, but that will work for my needs :). Since I'm still just a beginner sewer, with only a few projects under my belt, I didn't want to go fabric crazy.  Maybe in the future!

Blogging on the back burner...

I need to blog, really, I do.  It has been far to long since I last posted.  ESPECIALLY since I finished my Central Park Hoodie on 7/24/11! It took me just under two months to complete it! (Which is great to me since I didn't work on it alllllll the time because I work and have my dissertation to work on.)  I really wanted to have a big **ta-dah!!!** post about finishing it...but I just can't find the time to take proper photos of the finished project, so this one will have to do for now. BUT the proper **ta-dah!!!** post will come soon! Pinky swear! Oh, as well as a group photo when everyone is done!

Saturday, Alex and I spent some time knitting/crocheting by her pool.  I, of course, brought over my finished CPH to show her and her mom.  Well, what was the next obvious thing to do on a summer day?  Take a photo in our bathing suits and sweaters of course!

So here, for your viewing enjoyment, is our lovely summer sweaters and suits photo!