Overdue update

So this appears to be a quarterly posting; I just have not gotten into blog writing, though blog reading, I love!

I will try again to update my blog more frequently; Ravelry is certainly a good motivator. That website is a huge collective database linking people, projects, patterns, and yarn with forums and groups to boot. I enjoy looking at other people’s blogs so much, I feel a little guilty remaining anonymous.

So, since last I posted…

• We have successfully moved to Highland Park, NJ and Scott is working hard on his new subject: modeling of piezoelectric materials at Rutgers with Dr. Vanderbilt in Condensed Matter Physics.

• I have been looking for work that might use my background, but the options seem to be few and far between.  I will have to start looking outside of MatSci soon, since there seem to be plenty of jobs in other disciplines.

• Rather than obsess about finding a job, I’ve been getting crafty! Between knitting, crochet, papercraft and now sewing, I have found plenty of ways to distract myself. Here are pictures of a few of my projects.

Tank Top with Tahki Amigo yarn
Like the yarn, not sure I love the pattern. Sewing on the straps before sewing the side seam meant that I have too much strap material under the arm. Not sure how to deal with that, so it’s just a UFO for now.

Thank you note
Mixed media card with crocheted violets sewn to a leaf-stamped 2″ x 2″ square. Curtains are paper tied on with ribbon.

Coasters

A “try out your sewing machine project”. Found at Allsorts.

Wrist Rest

A simple sewing project- Wrist rest filled with poly pellets and covered with a washable pillowcase.
Some fabric I picked up cheap in Texas to practice with.

Monster Can

Of course you have to be silly when using a glue gun!
My paperclip pocket looked too much like a lower jaw to let it pass without eyes.
Craftleftovers was the inspiration.

Alpaca Glove/Mittens
(from MAGknits- urban necessity pattern)

Glove part is done , but I am having trouble with the mitten cap part. Check out my dpn holder, another easy sewing project.

There’s more, but I am starting to get posting fatique. Check out my flickr photos if you want to see more. I finally set up a craft area for myself, which means I spend less time hunting for supplies and more time making things. I am also switching between crafts much more often, since it is all on hand. I’m not sure if this helps productivity, but I am certainly not bored.

In other news, I finally met some local knitters and crocheters last night! After all this virtual community lurking I have been doing, I actually got together with real knitters and crocheters! I went to the Twisted Stitchers meetup group bi-monthly meeting at a cafe in Metuchen, NJ. I met a lot of great people and had a lot of fun talking with people. My knitting was a bust (the mitten caps were just too big and I had to rip it out -I will work on it when I am less distracted) but hanging out with people was great. It has been a long time since I have hung out with people that aren’t physicists, and though those people are great, the diversity was appreciated.

Whew, I should do this more often so it doesn’t take so much time and I can cover more. There was a trip with my parents in July to Lake Placid, NY to watch my Brazilian exchange student brother compete in an IronMan too, but I don’t have the motivation to post about it right now.

Maybe later…Ciao.