Moving & Job Interviews & Boxes, Oh My!

So I have now officially moved to Lynchburg! My clothes and bathroom things were brought up last Wednesday, so I guess that means I am based here instead of in Virginia Beach. Not everything has been moved, but we only have a small apartment, so we need to find a place for what we have already up here before I can bring more up. I feel that John's prepared to see the amount of stuff I have: since we started talking about me moving to Lynchburg, I have been interjecting "I come with a lot of stuff" into the conversation as often as I can. This way, he cannot say that he was unaware. (Other friends I know that have moved recently did not do this, and their other halves are shocked at the amount of books/ sewing accessories / knitting/ garb/movies they own. I feel that I have circumvented this issue quite nicely.)

So carload #2 (last week, carload #1 was mostly books) and I arrived on Wednesday, and on Thursday at lunch, I get a call for a job interview! Woo hoo! Jobs are always nice to have; paychecks for the bills and all that. But my delight at the interview is mitigated by their desire for me to come with three letters of recommendation AND three more references that they can call! Within less than a week, I am supposed to just pull this out of my pocket? Goodness! So, that is what I have been doing this weekend: begging people for letters of recommendation.

And as a final thought, please let me choose a job that I can live with for a few years. I don't have many choices now, but I would like to pick a good one all the same.

Q is for...

Q is for Quiltie! John has two quilts from his childhood that he loves to death ... literally. One of them had ripped so badly that he kept sticking his feet inside the quilt against the batting (think of a quilt as a sandwich in three layers: a backing usually of muslin or cotton, fluffy batting, then the decorative top layer). Quiltie had degraded so badly that the batting was not attached to anything inside the quilt, so it was very clumpy and tattered. But because Quiltie was almost as old as he was, John had gotten it broken in and perfectly snuggly... needless to say, he refused to stop using it. I finally got sick of him ripping Quiltie, so I stole it and took it home to fix it up.

All in all, my first foray into quilting wasn't too bad, and I had lots of advisory help from Grandma Nancy who can make heirloom quilts in her sleep. Quiltie was just a tie quilt, so it was quite easy to take apart. First, I turned my attention to the top layer. I had to snip all the dangling strings and frayed edges on the inside that were tangling with each other into big knots. Then, I had to fix all the rips. Thankfully, most were along the seam edges, so they were easy to repair. There were only three rips in the actual fabric, so there was little need for much Frankenstein stitching. A little zigzag stitching and some fusible interfacing fixed everything. It won't be entered in any quilt shows anytime soon, but for a snuggle blanket, I think it does quite nicely. :)

The problems came in the next phase of reconstruction: Putting the layers back together. The batting was so damaged, it got thrown out. The new batting wasn't a problem; I tacked it down to the old muslin so it wouldn't slip around. The issues arose with the new muslin I got to make a new backing (I was upgrading Quiltie to a four-layer sandwich for extra durability). I had gotten only a little more muslin than exactly as much as I needed... problem #1 in sewing. Always, ALWAYS get more than you think you need. Even when you have already gotten a little more, get a little more!

So, my muslin, when washed, was about 4-6 inches shorter than the length of the quilt and I nearly flipped out. Mom sent me out of the house to cool off (I sometimes get angry when sewing, and then the project somehow gets out in the road... lit on fire... I don't know how that happens), and she washed the top layer, seeing if she could get it all to work together. When I came back, we were determined to get everything to fit together. After many repetitions of "no, it goes this way" (it's hard to arrange four layers of a quilt that is almost a square), we finally got everything close enough to call good.


With a judicious amount of pins (we were NOT going to let the quilt slip apart), Mom and I got everything secured. I decided to actually quilt it, instead of tying it again, just to make it extra secure. Quilting the layers gives less room for the layers to shift against each other, and thus there will be less wear and tear on the fabric. (In case, you hadn't noticed, the main reasoning behind everything I did to Quiltie was "Make it extra-strong so it won't break again!") So I was quilting, and Mom ran out to get some bias tape to use as blanket binding to make a clean edge around the quilt. That was quick and easy, since I had made a fleece blanket in the past with blanket binding edging. Then, voila! Quiltie had been turned into Super Quiltie!

I brought Super Quiltie back to John, and he was thoroughly impressed. He had been living with only one snuggle quilt to split between the bed and the couch, and he was very happy to have Quiltie back, especially in its new and improved state. I felt good that it all worked out, and Quiltie felt much better too. A successful project, indeed. :D

Saltwater Purls' Elephant Tea Cozy

Knit Wits is having a Tea Cozies for a Cure Auction this Saturday the 16th. We have asked the community to donate tea cozies they have made, and we are auctioning them off on Saturday and giving the proceeds to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer Research. Pretty cool, huh? I think it is much fun. So much so, actually, that I have joined in and knit a few cozies myself. The first one was a quickie, based off of Knitty's Baby Tart Hat, which turned out to be super easy... and super cute if I do say so myself. :)

At first, I had grand designs for a Pink Elephant Cozy (Saltwater Purls' design), but the pattern made me mad and I put it down for a few weeks. Mom finally harassed me into finishing it, so Friday night during the Olympics I knit up an elephant. I was surprised that it only took me a few hours to do the whole body; I finished him Saturday by making his ears and giving him some cute button eyes. :D He is totally cute! Now, I have to admit, I did not technically follow the pattern below... it was more of a "guide" than it was a pattern. But you know me, I like to do it my way. My little guy still looks like the original pictured with the pattern, I just went about it a different way.

ANYhoo, as I have disappeared into the void of job applications and moving, I thought this would be a good quick post for me, just to prove I am still here. Try knitting up your own cute elephant! (yes, pictures of mine will soon be posted. camera is still dead, and all that jazz)






Elephant Tea Cozy Pattern
by Jill Mongato, 2007

Licensed under Creative Commons

This pattern is licensed under Creative Commons. This means that you are allowed to use the pattern for whatever you like, as long as you give Jill credit. For example, if you like the pattern and want to post it on your website, feel free to do so as long as you include her name and a link to http://www.saltwaterpurls.blogspot.com, and notify her via e-mail. You may also print out and make copies to give to friends, use in a class, or swap/trade. Items you make using this pattern are YOUR property, meaning you can do whatever you like with them, even sell them if you want (which is not the case with most knitting patterns).

This pattern fits a teapot with a 19” circumference at the widest point. If your teapot is larger or smaller, adjust your gauge or change the number of stitches/rows. It might take a little bit of adjustment to get it right.

Yarn
MC: Caron’s Simply Soft in #9717 Orchid. You’ll use less than half a skein.
CC: Red Heart Super Saver #0382 Country Blue. You only need a few yards for trim.

Needles
Sz. 8 DPNs (4)

Misc. Supplies
Size 8/H crochet hook
Yarn needle
Stitch holder/spare needle
Spare circular needle (any size)
2 small buttons
Sewing needle and thread

Gauge
15 stitches/20 rows = 4” in Stockinette stitch (CC gauge will be slightly larger.)

Pattern Notes
READ BEFORE STARTING!
The finished cozy has a slit in the back for the handle to fit through. The pattern starts in the round. After a few rows, you’ll split for the opening by turning your work and purling the next row. Continue in Stockinette until the slit is the length of the handle, then re-join and finish the cozy in the round. The pattern will refer to “Rounds” or “Rows” when appropriate.

Body
CO 56 stitches, using long-tail cast on, or substitute any cast-on that is easy to pick up and crochet into.
Divide stitches onto DPNs, being careful not to twist, and join.
Round 1: K all sts
Round 2: K to last stitch. K into front and back of st.
Round 3: K into front and back of st, K around (58 sts)
Round 4: K1, K f+b, K 27, turn work to divide for handle (You will now be working flat. See Pattern Notes).
Row 5: Purl 31, P front and back, P 27, turn work (60 sts)
Row 6: K 32, K f+b, K 27, turn
Row 7: P 33, P f+b, P 27, turn (62 sts)
Row 8: K 20, K f+b, K 20, K f+b, K 20, turn
Row 9: P 20, P f+b, P 22, P f+b, P 20, turn (66 sts)
Row 10: K 14, K f+b, K 22, K f+b, K 13, K f+b, K 8, K f+b, turn
Row 11: P 39, P f+b, P 29, turn (70 sts)
Row 12: K 20, K f+b, K 19, K f+b, K 8, K f+b, turn
Row 13-15 (or number of rows required to reach correct handle slit length):
Work in Stockinette across
Row 16: K to end of row, re-join across slit
Round 17: Knit around
Round 18: K 10, K 2 together, K4, K 2 tog, K 4, K 2 tog, K5

Divide for Spout:

Slip the 14 spout stitches onto a spare needle or stitch holder to pick up and knit later.

Continue knitting next stitch after spout sts:
K 5, K 2 tog, K 4, K 2 tog, K 4, K 2 tog, K 10
Rounds 19 and up:
*K 2, K 2 tog* across each round until 10 stitches remain.
Break yarn. Draw yarn through remaining stitches, pull tight and secure.

FOR THE NEXT PART OF THE PATTERN, YOU WILL BE WORKING WITH THE COZY WHILE IT IS ON THE TEAPOT.

Transfer the spout stitches from the stitch holder onto a circular needle, so they can wrap around the spout.
Fit the cozy over the teapot.
Note adjustments you need to make and correct them before proceeding!

Work bottom of teapot

You will probably have a gap between the bottom of the cozy and the bottom of the teapot. You will now crochet a band to cover this gap.Using crochet hook, Single crochet into each cast-on stitch. Continue in SC until you reach the bottom of the teapot, decreasing as necessary to follow the shape of the pot.

Work Spout
Measure the length of the spout that is sticking out of the cozy. You’ll want to leave a little space (about ½ to ¾ inch) uncovered; subtract this from the measurement.
Multiply the length you need to knit by your number of rows per inch to determine the number of rounds you need to knit. Write this down!

NOW, TAKE THE COZY BACK OFF THE TEAPOT.

Transfer the stitches onto DPNs.
Pick up 6 sts from above the spout stitches (where you re-joined the body after transferring the spout sts to the holder). Join and knit stitches in the round until you reach the correct number of rounds. Bind off loosely and break yarn.

Ears
Make 2 MC and 2 CC:
Cast on 10 sts
Row 1: P all sts
Row 2: K f+b into all sts (20 sts)
Row 3-7: Work in Stockinette
Row 8 and up: Work in stockinette, decreasing 1 stitch at the beginning of each row until
12 stitches remain.
Next Row: *K 2 together* to end. (6 sts)
Break yarn and pull through remaining stitches; secure end.
Sew MC ears to CC ears right-side out.

Finishing
Handle: Crochet with CC around slit.
Tail: Sew or twist a few strands of yarn together. Thread through yarn needle and
secure to back of body below handle.
Ears: Sew flat sides of ears onto body using scraps and yarn needle.
Eyes: Using sewing needle and thread, sew buttons to face.
Hair: Make a pompom from yarn scraps and sew to top of head.

Weave in all ends and you’re done!

P is for ...

P is for Programme, Cambridge College! ... okay, so maybe I fudged with this one a bit. But I have too many C's and I wanted to include Cambridge, too. So the Cambridge College Programme (yes, the British spelling is correct) became Programme, Cambridge College.

So, sometime in my 11th grade year, I got this random mailing (I still don't know how they got my name) about a high school-level study abroad summer program in Cambridge. I thought it sounded like a lot of fun, so I begged and pleaded Mom to let me go. It was for just a few weeks, and we'd be taking three classes as well as chaperoned trips around to the sights. Kind of like college with training wheels, because we were responsible for getting to class and meetings on time, and we could roam Cambridge fairly freely, but we were chaperoned with an iron fist whenever we left the city.

The Mathematical Bridge (in the back, not the one I'm standing on) over the River Cam (get it? Cam-bridge? The British were very original in naming their cities).

I like the Mathematical Bridge for a few reasons: first, it looks unique and different without being "arty" and ugly. Second, there's a legend that the bridge was built by the engineering department of the college, using no bolts, with the weight of the wood holding it all together. A hundred or so years later, people wanted to know how it was done, so the bridge was taken apart; but they couldn't figure out how it went back together, so bolts were needed, thus ruining the original design. (In truth, the bridge was built in 1749 by James Essex the Younger, using an innovative design that needed fewer, smaller pins to hold it together. Subsequent renovations have used big ugly bolts that are very visible, and thus people thought it had been messed up.)

Me in the Newnham College Gardens. Nothing in life is comparable to the serenity of a English garden... Japanese gardens come quite close, though.

My room! (second story) English don't have dorms -- you apply to a certain college of the University and they will house you and feed you. That's how you get "Queen's College, Cambridge" and "King's College, Oxford."

Lara later went to a W&M study abroad program in Cambridge, and we have both fallen in love with the city. It's got that nice "small town" feel, but it's only a few hours by train outside of London if you want the big city. When we helped Mom with the Girl Scout trip to London, we reserved a day for just the two of us to go back to Cambridge and enjoy it together. Odd, how we had both found the Fudge Shop (yummmy handmade fudge!) and the open market (fresh cherries!) and the English Teddy bear Co. (cute bears!). :)




And for those of you who are upset at my ABC fudge-along, P is also for pencil skirt (so attractive) and the puppy highway (the puppies don't like walking on the gravel driveway, so they use the logs that edge the garden).

where did i go?

I promise I haven't died... I'm just doing more JOB SEARCHING on the internet than I am blogging or playing games or neopet-ing... or doing anything else, really.

As of now, I am at 10 applications sent out (well, 9 really, the 10th is going out in the mail tomorrow morning) and I have another 5 or so on the waiting list, as well as about a half-dozen places I am just emailing my resume to. And darnit, if that doesn't get me JUST ONE job interview, I am going to be highly put out!

More on this later, when it is not midnight.