This is what I made today:

wheat bread!!!





it's crusty, thick, and delicious. We're going to have grilled cheese and tomato soup!

ayep.

Your result for Reincarnation Placement Exam...

Reclusive Artist

We think we've found a place for you.

Your answers indicate that you're very fond of the fruits of civilization... for example, education and technology. But, in some twist of irony, you're not too fond of the pressures of civilization... you know, human beings and crowds and working together. We found you a place where you could enjoy an erudite existence, live a life that's intriguing and not entirely secure -- but far from the madding crowd.

Removed from civilization and humanity, yet educated and sophisticated, you'll make the perfect reclusive artist... An eccentric that produces irresistibly attractive masterpieces. Your art will make people swoon, and yet you will despise your audience. Your audience will probably dislike you as well, though they will go on admiring your work. So it all balances out, and your patrons will leave you alone to shape beauty in the wild, dangerous parts of the world where people won't pester you so much. Probably, you will write under a pseudonym, and mutter a lot when a rare admirer comes calling. If you feel really adventurous, you can pursue the role of a political dissident.

As you age, you will grow into the role of an incorrigible curmudgeon.

You artists, you're all the same.

Take Reincarnation Placement Exam at HelloQuizzy

This probably would've been a lot funnier if I hadn't seen it coming.

here's my yarns

Hey blog, it's been a minute. I'll probably write a lot more when NaNoWriMo starts up. I'm doing that this year, and I can't wait. I've been busy working on my portfolio. Check out what I was able to photograph before it started raining. They're messy because they're mock-ups. I just took some snapshots with the digital camera to get an idea of what the pictures I took with my Nikkormat would look like. The film pictures are much cleaner.



I dyed and spun this yarn. I started making Garter Stitch Mitts for Ali and then I lost the other ball of yarn. I don't think this will be enough, but we'll see.



That's some Bonkers tencel and merino I spun up and Navajo plied.



Here's some generic gray wool, my very first singles yarn!



Berroco Ultra Alpaca I dyed.



I dyed and spun this. It'll self stripe. I'm thinking a headband would be nice.

HHHH questionaire

1. How long have you been spinning? What skill level do you consider yourself?

about a year and a half; beginner

2. What kinds of yarn do you create (singles/2-ply/3-ply/art yarn)?

two-ply yarn between fingering and DK or worsted weight 3-ply
3. What do you spin with (spindle/wheel/both)?

spindle

4. What are your favorite fibers to spin with? Anything you don't like?

My favorite is wool. I don't really like plant fibers.

5. Who are your favorite crack dealers fiber sources (etsy or otherwise)?

I don't have any preference.
6. What kind of fiber do you want to try?

I like sampling different breeds of sheep.

7. Is there any techniques you would like to learn?

No.

8. Do you dye fiber? If not, would you like to learn?

I dye fiber.

9. Do you have fiber prep tools (and like to use them) or would you prefer ready to spin fiber?

No.

10. What do you do with your handspun? What projects have you completed?

I knit with it. I have completed one sock and one garter stitch mitt.

11. Are you in need of any spinning gadgets (WPI Gauge, threading hook, etc)?

a WPI gauge would be nice.
12. What colors "fall into your shopping basket"? Any colors you just can't stand?

Look outside. If it's alive, I love it. I don't like neon colors or pastels.

13. What is on your wheel/spindle right now?

Shetland wool! I just finished a 2 oz skein and it is a 3-ply worsted weight yarn coming in at 50 yds.

14. What other crafts/hobbies do you have?

none.
15. Other than crafts, what are you passionate about?

I like records and books.

16. Do you have an online wishlist?

no

17. Is there anything that you collect?

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

Nope. I don't have any magazine subscriptions, either.
19. When is your birthday?

April 13

20. What book or movie character do you most resemble in personality?

none really come to mind...

21. What is the climate like where you live around this time (need to know for careful shipments of anything meltable)?

Summer time. It will be hot and humid.

22. Tell us one weird fact about yourself!

I've never seen Star Wars and I have no real desire to remedy this.

Favorites
favorite painting/picture(link):




Candy: chocolate

Food: pasta

Drink: coffee

Movie(s): The Harder They Come

TV Show(s): I don't have a TV.

Book(s): The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

Guilty Pleasure(s): celebrity gossip.

yaaaaaay knitting.

I can't really listen to music lately, so I've been listening to the noise the construction workers are making and traffic outside instead. It's too uncomfortable to try and use headphones with the computer because the headphone cord isn't long enough, and we need a new needle for our record player. I don't feel like listening to any of my CDs, either. Last night I was walking through Westport and I heckled a band playing at some bar. They started playing a honky tonk version of "Under The Bridge" by Red Hot Chili Peppers. I yelled "WRONG!" and kept walking. I did it again a few hours later when we were watching people sing karaoke. Some guy dedicated his song to "the working class people in the crowd toNIGHT!" and I said, "THIS BETTER BE SPRINGSTEEN!" I wasn't even drunk. It was Dolly Parton.

Fiber work is going along swimmingly. Take a look:



I got that at Misknits last Saturday. She was having a drawing for her WWKIP party and I won! It's Trekking Handpaint and I'm going to make some socks for my dad.



I bought this that day, too. It's Plymouth Happy Feet. I'm making these socks.



There's one of those Garter Stitch Mitts out of my handspun. It's knitting up so nicely, I have to say.



I've been working on this one sock for the past year, probably. I just got so bored with it. I started the other one immediately, and then got drunk and lost my fourth needle. cool, huh.



From top to bottom: two-ply, traditional three-ply, and Navajo-plied yarns. This is from that pink and brown roving I dyed a few weeks ago. I was plying on my spindle, and it was such a pain to keep the plies straight. On top of that, Puck, my kitten, thought I needed help. Finally I decided to make three baby skeins, and since these are for show and not for knitting anyway, it doesn't matter.

I'm so nervous about applying to KU. What if I don't get in? What will I do then? I hate Lawrence. I don't want to live there. I don't want Larry to have to live there for no reason. He hates it more than I do. It's started creeping into my dreams. Oh well. Only one more month and a half in Kansas City, and then we move. Better not let that sneak up on me.

and the poets don't write nothing at all, they just stand back and let it all be

Jungleland : Bruce Springsteen

have you heard that sax solo?



That was about as far as I got before I realized I can't knit for a while. I must have strained a muscle in my wrist while plying handspun. I keep trying to sneak a few rounds in here or there and it's only making it worse. oh well, I guess. I have a new book to read anyway:

I'd rather be a free man in my grave than living as a puppet or a slave

The Harder They Come - Jimmy Cliff

If only I could find that on vinyl. I would be incredibly happy. Right now I'm listening to The Best of Tommy James and the Shondells. I'm really into 60s and 70s pop right now. I don't really get it, but I'm not exactly making an effort to fight it, either.

This semester in school kicked my ass. I had Foundations of Philosophy, second semester Elementary German, Nazi Occupied Europe and the Holocaust, and printmaking. It was rough and made me realize that I don't want to do anything that doesn't have something to do with fiber. I confused liking the people in the printmaking program with liking the process itself. I did that in high school when I did forensics. Here's the pretty sweet thing though: I need a 3.0 to transfer to KU's School of Design for their Textile Design program. I thought my GPA would take a hit after this semester and I'd have to play catch up real quick...Nuh uh! My cumulative GPA is 3.004. I WIN.

Ooh, and now that I don't have to spend all of my waking hours homeworking, working, in class, eating, or showering, I actually had time to get all my projects together, photograph them, and upload them.



Is that a picture of a Wavy Feathers Wimple or a picture of my dog?



Clapotis for a friend. Brown Sheep Serendipity Tweed, 60/40 wool/cotton blend. I'm pleasantly surprised with this since I usually hate knitting with cotton.



Pomatomus. Brown Sheep Wildfoote, size 0 needles. I'm further along now, and I like how the yarn compliments the pattern.



I can't stop wearing this hat. Or that sweater. The hat is Felicity. My best friend got me those pins, aren't they great? The sweater is that Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I used Rowan Felted Tweed, and sometimes when I think about the terrible job I had when I bought that yarn, I like to remind myself that the sweater is completely worth it.



Those are my Jaywalkers. I used Sundara sock yarn for them and size 0 needles. They're really comfy, but they're getting beat up on the underside of the foot and heel. I like to wear them with my cardigan even though they don't really match.



Merino handspun. I dyed the wool with Jacquard dyes and spun it on my drop spindle. There are about 200 yards of light worsted there. It's slowly becoming a pair of Garter Stitch Mitts for Ali.



That's a sock for Larry chillin' with the Big Man. Do I really need to say more?

Tomorrow is Saturday. I love Saturdays. I get up whenever I feel like it, turn on a Motown record, and sing along as loudly as I can, all the while changing the words in the songs so they are about my dog. He gets a kick out of it.