ARDIRI

2012--Finally!

At long last, the year 2011 has finally ended!  Watch as I bow down, prostrate my self upon the ground, and thank all the gods! 

Last year was a doozie: the end of a long relationship that truly should have ended at least a couple of years earlier, my re-entry into the dating scene for real, a quick lesson in salary negotiations, my first Bikram Challenge completed*,  a quick weekend jaunt to Hawaii, and a re-realization that the world is damn awesome! (*OK, so I didn't fully complete the challenge, but I did do 27 classes in 30 days while working full-time; I think that is more than pretty good!) 

Now for the resolutions:

1) Complete my Master's thesis. I have no more excuses left and I have no one but myself holding me back.  I must see this as a series of papers and not some big monster lurking under the proverbial bed.  

2) Continue my Bikram practice.  It makes me happy and healthy.  Ideally, I would like to do 4 days a week, but 3 will suffice.  However, I need to be conscious of how my angry little right knee is feeling and back off when necessary.

3) Keep up with the blog. I know that there is a novel,  a non-fiction book, or a series of restaurant reviews hidden somewhere in me and writers only get better by actually writing.  Of course, writing the thesis will help, but I've got to have some fun writing to do as well.

4) Spend more time with my girlfriends. Friends rock and should be prioritized. We all have busy lives, but I know I can make room for them.

5) Start being crafty again.  I used to do a lot of creative things--sewing, knitting, glueing shit from magazines to anything that stood still for more than 5 seconds (decoupaging).  What happened that stopped me?  A lot and really very little.  This year I'd like to return to being a crafty chica and also dip my big toe into "urban art" (but legally, of course).

Alright, I think that is enough for today.  There may be more resolutions to come...

Happy New Year to All!  Hello 2012, you are looking fantastic already!

More Randomnalia--All Over the Place!

• Despite being car-free for a little less than ten years now, my slight-obsession with tiny cars continues.  Submitted as Evidence: Another picture of vintage Mini; this one in the Haight with a parking meter for perspective on size.

  

• The upside of high gas prices?  Shopping locally and supporting small-business owners!

• **Uh, hello, anybody there Reverend Jesse Jackson???**  Could you possibly be more of an ignoramus?  Really?!  I think not! 

Where the hell was your brain when you said (supposedly off-Mic) that Obama should be castrated? 

Why in the world would a black man suggest that another black man be castrated in light of the fact that black men were often castrated before they were lynched?

Ugh, and so much more that I dare not say here...Let me just say, that the Rev. Jesse Jackson made a fool of himself.

• In a related vein, I am nearly finished reading Toni Morrison's Beloved and am thinking that perhaps the Rev. Jesse Jackson might do well to (re?)read this novel as it provides a graphic, haunting, and all-together disturbing refresher course on the horrors of slavery.

• I am tired, oh-so-tired, sleepy-sleepy.  Teaching  English Literature and Language Arts to 33--yes, 33!--6th-8th graders can sometimes feel like taming lions after being dipped in vat of gazelle blood.

  On the other hand, today's sleepiness is a "rewarding tiredness" earned from getting those same kids to be really excited and engaged with what we're learning.

• The 1975 edition of the Vogue Sewing Book rocks!  So much information!  So concise! Such clear directions!

• I had lunch last weekend with a friend and her husband at Zazil Coastal Mexican Cuisine in the Nordstrom's shopping center and was pretty disappointed.  The food is so-so, but not worth the price, and the ambiance of the restaurant is more suited to a fast-food environment.  The three of us spent $158 dollars on lunch and dessert (luckily, we had $100 in gift certificates to spend there!).  I'm of the opinion that one should never feel as if they are eating in an upscale-cafeteria-like-environment when you're paying $50+ to eat lunch.  Give me a break!  Puh-lease!

• My Princeton Review Career Quiz results are:

My INTEREST color is BLUE:  People with blue Interests like job responsibilities and occupations that involve creative, humanistic, thoughtful, and quiet types of activities. Blue Interests include abstracting, theorizing, designing, writing, reflecting, and originating, which often lead to work in editing, teaching, composing, inventing, mediating, clergy, and writing.

My USUAL STYLE is YELLOW:  People with yellow styles perform their job responsibilities in a manner that is orderly and planned to meet a known schedule. They prefer to work where things get done with a minimum of interpretation and unexpected change. People with a yellow style tend to be orderly, cautious, structured, loyal, systematic, solitary, methodical, and organized, and usually thrive in a research-oriented, predictable, established, controlled, measurable, orderly environment.

So shocking!  Not! 

Some of the suggested careers are: philosopher (got that covered with my Bachelors degree) and teacher (been there, doing that), professor (perhaps someday?).  The quiz also suggested I look into working as a Media Planner, Web Editor, Book Publishing Professional--all of which I would find interesting.  I am definietely intrigued by the Media Planner career as I L-O-V-E to critically tear apart advertisements and their often inappropriate placement.  However, I do not see myself becoming an optometrist, a Rabbi or Imam, or an antiques dealer. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

I Fibbed!

So I fibbed...I said I don't like to quilt and yet here is some sort of evidence that perhaps proves otherwise:

A baby blanket for a newborn baby girl.  And, YES, I DID go the route of gender-stereotyping by making it pink*, but only because I was using recycled material and these patterns/colors happened to be plentiful and matchy-matchy-ish.  (*You must check out The Pink and Blue Project at the International Museum of Women site.*)

Clearly the blanket isn't perfect...it's not a true square and I think it is a bit short of the desired dimensions of 36X36 inches.  But I figure the parents will be happy to have a handmade gift that is pretty much practical.

Finally, here's a pic with the backside:

S.O.S. Quilt

Finally.  Finished.  Just some peeks at the quilt--a better picture with more sunshine will likely come Sunday evening after I spend Sunday in the Park with George (not really, but with the book club.  Gosh, I'm a nerd.)  I am not so happy with this quilt, thus the name "S.O.S. Quilt."  I see it as a ship at distress and even the morning weather agrees...

P.S. I've come to the conclusion that I don't really like to quilt.  I am now going to work on my version of this dress/top, for which I've had the damn pattern since August.  Mine will  be shorter, much shorter.

Totoro Tote

The final product--machine sewn and hand-embroidered--Totoro "drawing" (embroidery), super-close-up:

Sewn on to this super, handy-dandy Trader Joe's grocery tote:

And for the backside, some pretty fabric to cover the logo:

I have to admit, after watching My Neighbor Totoro three times this week (once for each grade I teach, as a treat for the students during the last week of school), I am totally sick of the movie.

Alternative Reali-Tee (Shirt)

I've been having a bit of fun sewing lately--it's a nice break from reality (i.e. job searching, grading papers, thesis procrastination).  I took a Threadless T-Shirt that John got as a gift (which is way too big for either of us) and chopped it up, sewed new side seams,  and added ribboned ruching at the shoulders...Ta-Daa!  Much cuter, don't you think?
 

Recyled & Reused! I made a skirt!

It's my "Get Lucky Skirt*" ('cause it's made from Lucky Brand Jeans)!

(Try not to be blinded by my Casper the Ghost white legs!  I refuse to do the fake tan bullshit and I refuse to risk skin cancer by getting a real tan.  I proudly proclaim, "Pale is the new tan!")

After buying some Lucky Brand Low Rider Jeans from Buffalo Exchange (for $9!!!) and finding they really just didn't fit right, I refashioned the following bit:

Into the base of the skirt; adding some darts to the rear end underneath the pockets to fit the skirt to my hips.  I then used strips from the legs to make the ruffle-ly part of the skirt and then...Shazam!  Ill-fitting jeans become a cute skirt perfect for gallivanting about in the sun!  (More pics of details to come later!)

*Inspired by the skirt in the book Sew Subversive.*

Cuteness Reigns Supreme!

After perusing this book multiple times at Japantown and in my very local bookstore, The Booksmith, I finally gave in and bought Aranzi Aronzo's Let's Make Cute Stuff! (click on the author's link--Aranzi Aronzo--too, as the site is way too well-done and cute!):

I mainly got it for the travel tissue holder instructions (which I know I could've figured out very easily myself); but if I am honest with myself, I guess I could say I just bought it because almost everything in it is so damn cute.  Here's the travel tissue holders:

Watch out world, I'll be toting around way too cute tissues!

Puff-Sleeved Cardi Update & a "New" Sewing Machine

After multiple knittings--first with seed stitch, then with Turkish stitch--and numerous ripping backs, I have finally finished the body of the Puff-Sleeved Cardi sans lace.  I substituted Turkish Stitch a la Barbara Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns (given to me by my dear B.):

Turkish Stitch Pattern in Peplum

I have also made much progress and then much frogging on the left sleeve.  Unfortunately, I have wide shoulders so the poufy-ness of the sleeve shoulders isn't so much so.

Puff-Sleeved Feminine Cardi Left Front (with 70's Linoleum background--groovy baby!)

Additionally, I do believe that I am going to have to cross my fingers and toes and hope that KnitPicks has more yarn in my dyelot as-- between my decision to make long sleeves and to increase the body length and despite considering such things when making the original order of yarn--it looks as if I am running out of yarn.  Aargh!  (Note to self: Yarn Colorway "Storm", dyelot 13940).

In the realm of super-exciting news, I decided to give in and buy a "new" sewing machine!  It is a Brother CS6000 Computerized Sewing Machine--factory refurbished from Overstock.com.  I've bought a refurbished vacuum from them and have been quite happy with it; it is as if it were brand new!  I am hoping to have the same luck/experience with this sewing machine as I am dying to bring my sewing skills up to snuff and beyond.  This city makes me want to have stylish clothes and not pay a fortune for them at one of the gazillion boutiques lining my street! 

Furthermore, I want to learn how to quilt after seeing such beauties as this, this, and this over at the Doll Quilt Swap!  I got a hold of Kaffe Fassett's Museum Quilts and Quilting for Dummies (I had to set my ego aside when selecting that one!) from the library and am off to Britex to choose fabric for the Floral Columns Quilt (Check out Ashley's at Dogged).

Also in the sewing queue is this purse (See & Sew B4271), which Mamoko is so considerately using his paw to point it out for you:

Which will be made in these fabrics (the green swirls will be the lining) and hopefully I shall find some extra-bitter dark chocolate colored corduroy or cotton duck to use for the strap and perhaps to go along the bottom of the purse as the city is a dirty place and I don't want to have to give the birds bi-weekly bird baths:

The Alexander Henry Fabrics Collection: "Bird Seed" and "Swirls" Fabrics

Now, the hard part: Waiting for my sewing machine to arrive in the post!

Secret Pal Questionnaire Updated

SP8 Secret Pal 11 Questionnaire Extraordinnaire

08/14/07 Updates/Edits in Blue Ink

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I love Rowan’s Calmer Not such a big fan of Rowan Calmer as it has limited uses. I still love soft, soft alpaca wools--I am developing an unhealthy liking towards Berroco Ultra Alpaca.  I love mohair, too.  Not big on acrylic or novelty yarn.  I have a fiendish obsession for Koigu KPPPM and I am quite interested in the Socks That Rock line of yarns (STR).  Alchemy Bamboo is lovely.  Actually, all of Alchemy yarns are splendid.  Malabrigo Worsted--Yum!  Habu--Brilliant!  Oh, and of course, Noro Silk Garden.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

When I am not being my typical lazy-self, I put my needles in some fabric cases I made myself (like the pattern in Stitch ‘n Bitch). Being the lag-wagon, lazy gal that I am, they usually end up in a pottery vase my mom made.

3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I’ve been knitting since spring of 2001 and consider myself almost-advanced. I haven’t figured out how to design my own patterns very well so I believe I can’t quantify my skills as advanced. Of course, my horrible math skills may have something to do with it.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Not yet. But I’ll try to get one on Amazon or elsewhere going.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

Cotton Candy, vanilla, musky smells, lavender.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

I am a sugar fiend. I love dark chocolate and all candy that has NO coconut in it.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

Besides knitting, I sew and am trying to learn to crochet. I am also becoming an addicted yarn-dyer. Not a spinner, yet.   I’d really like to learn how to spin. Also, I want to take a class on using Adobe Photoshop (and buy the damn program, too!).

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

Radiohead, Fiona Apple, Modest Mouse, John Coltrane, Lily Allen. I wouldn’t mind being introduced to new music ‘cause I don’t listen to much because I’m a humongous fan of National Public Radio (NPR).  Oh, yes, my stereo, computer, and MP3 player can all play MP3s.

9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

I love black, charcoal grey, turquoise, pinks, brown. I can’t think of any colors I really can’t stand.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I am currently living in a studio with my two fat cats. My partner, John, has moved back in with his parents while he finishes up some needed, post-bacc. classes for pharmacy school.

I am temporarily living with the parental unit in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (to save $, naturally) till August 1^st when I shall be moving in with John in San Francisco (near Golden Gate Park as he--YAY!--got into UCSF Pharmacy School!!).

I live on Haight Street in San Francisco with my Love-dove John and my two meowsers, Zoe and Mamoko.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I am an afficionada of scarves since I tend to get cold easily. I like hats and would love gloves or mittens. Please, please, please no ponchos.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Scarves. Although, I am starting to love sweaters, shrugs, etc. now that I’ve fallen in love with Stephanie Japel’s Fitted Knits.

13. What are you knitting right now?

I am currently working on what seems like miles and miles of stockinette for the Puff-Sleeved Feminine Cardigan from Fitted Knits.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Yes-sir-ree!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I tend to like bamboo circular needles (actually I’m not particular anymore about bamboo, metal needles are fine). I use circular needles a lot since I do a good amount of knitting on the train and I don’t want to poke anyone’s eyes out (still important!).

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yarn winder-yes. Swift-yes.

17. How did you learn to knit?

I taught myself from a booklet during finals week, spring 2001. I had studied as much as I possibly could, but couldn’t sleep so I taught myself to knit while being an insomniac.

18. How old is your oldest UFO?

Probably three years old.

19. What is your favorite holiday?

Halloween!

20. Is there anything that you collect?

I’ve ended up collecting books by virtue of studying literature and philosophy.

21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

Not that I can think of right now. Although anything that Stephanie Japel comes out with (post-Fitted Knits) would be good.

22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Spinning.

23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

Yes!  My foot is 9” long and the circumference at the ball of the foot is 7 ½ inches.

24. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

12/15