I smell an epic weekend approaching.

Thursday: Work all day, then give yarn spinning demo in New Bedford. You should totally come. To New Bedford. Not to work with me. That’d be weird. The demo will be at TL6 The Gallery (100 William Street, New Bedford, MA).

Immediately after the demo, I drive (all night) down to Maryland. Hopefully reaching my parents’ house without incident. Take a nap. Then later Friday morning I head to a funeral for a woman who I knew when we were teens. We sang together in church choir. She was pretty much the sweetest person ever, and it’s really, really sad.

Friday: After the funeral, I head immediately out to Philly to watch the WFTDA roller derby national championships. It’s going to be so great. I’m going to be exhausted. I might miss a bit of opening ceremonies, but hopefully I’ll get there in time to see a bout or two Friday evening.

The tournament goes all weekend, with parties going all night, I expect. Then on Sunday I head back and resume my regularly scheduled programming, returning to work on Monday morning.

Yikes. Pretty sure I’m going to be running on adrenaline, caffeine, and enthusiasm in order to get through all that.

That’s the plan, anyway. I’ll let you know how it goes. Expect internet silence from me until I return to life on Monday. As usual, I’ll be permenantly attached to my phone, so you know, you can text me and stuff.

Wish me luck!

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Life reboot.

Summer has ended. Fall is nearly over. Winter will be upon us shortly.

My brain is permanently wired to the academic calendar. I was a student until I was 30 and now I work at an academic institution, so September always feels more like the start of a new year than January ever does.

Every fall I get a burst of energy and I have to constantly carry around a note pad because I can’t turn off my brain. (Alas, this renewed zest does nothing for the powers of my memory, hence the note pad.) The cooler temperatures allow my brain to actually engage in thought other than “Dear God, could it get any hotter and could I feel any more disgusting?” I’m finally able to accomplish things that had previously only been vague plans. The summer is always so busy what with parties and derby business and such, that I never get the time to work on any of my other fun projects.

The fall is actually even busier for me, but somehow everything seems easier than it does any other time of year. Fresh perspective, ideas, adventures, parties… it all seems to fit together so much better than in the spring or summer. I usually just feel overwhelmed with all of my obligations, but during the fall, I feel like I can accomplish it all and still maintain my sanity.

I have a zillion and one things going on as per usual, but I think it can still be managed. All it takes is planning. And stamina.

The last year has been very busy and still managed to have a flavor of stagnation about it. It’s been a very disorganized year, to the point where I have felt disconcertingly out of control at times – as if I were treading mud – wearing myself out and not really getting anywhere. It’s been an especially non-crafty year, too. I’ve had the odd project here and there, but I haven’t spent this long away from craftiness… ever, I think. I’m finally getting my crafty mojo back, about which I’m very happy, indeed. The same with reading.

Actually, it’s been more than just this past year. Maybe the last two years. I’ve been out of grad school, and playing roller derby. Two major events (one ending, and one starting), never mind the grueling (and seemingly never-ending) job search, so it’s no wonder it’s taken me a long while to figure out a good rhythm for my life. I use my commuting time to catch up on sleep, instead of reading and crafting as I had done before. Oh, and the place is a wreck, so nothing I need for various projects is within easy grasp. My default is to just zone out on the computer rather than to actually accomplish anything useful at home.

But I’m beginning to (slowly) get my life resembling some sort of slightly organized mess. Anyway, here’s a list of what’s been going on in the recent past, and what’s planned for the near future:

1. Rollah Derby, Hey! It was a great season. The Old Money Honeys made it to the home championship, but lost to the Rats. No worries, though, because I won MVP for my team. It was a pretty sweet moment. I wasn’t able to play in the last two Bees bouts (against Rochester and Pioneer Valley), so my season ended a wee bit earlier than everyone else. We’re in the off season now, tidying up the loose ends for this season and planning for the next. We’re in the height of recruiting at the moment, and I’m on the recruiting committee. It’s been crazy. I’m answering derby-related emails at least two or more hours each day. We’ve got over 100 people on our recruiting list, and at least 40 of them have been coming to our recruiting events, and will most likely stick around for tryouts in January. Yes, we’re having tryouts this year! We’ve got so may people interested that we can’t possibly take everyone. That means that only the most motivated will stick around, which is pretty sweet. I’m definitely looking forward to the 2010 season. I’m also going to Philadelphia for the National Championships. It’s going to be so much fun!

2. Work – MIT has hired me nearly full-time (still a no-benefits part-timer, but it’s WAY better than before and I’m breathing a little easier for having the extra hours). I’m now doing more collections-type work, in addition to the reference assisting (which consists mostly of photocopying for researchers). I get to help with new accessions and some processing. So far the learning curve hasn’t been that steep, but it’s been a little wonky due to shifting work-flows and what not. The short version is that I’m really enjoying it and get to use my brain. I’m also there five days a week, and I’ve got my own desk in a cube with a big window. In other work-related news, I survived my first SeptOber working King Richard’s Faire. It was tremendously fun. I met some really great people and made a few new friends. I’ve even been invited to work at a few Cons next year (steampunk and sci-fi), which is probably one of the coolest and geekiest things ever. I plan on documenting those adventures in a photoblog of sorts.

3. Craftiness – After ages and ages of non-knitting, I’ve finally got projects on the needles (on which I’m actively working) and I’m finally back at the wheel. I ordered a bunch of fiber from Cranberry Moon Farm (a few different wools as well as a wool/alpaca blend) and have been getting back into the groove. I’ve been invited to do a spinning demo at AHA Night next week. On Thursday, November 12, from 6-9pm I’ll be at TL6 The Gallery (100 William Street, New Bedford, MA). If I get enough spun I’ll have a few skeins to sell (though I doubt I will). Maybe I’ll have some other things done up to sell (gnomes and mushrooms, perhaps?) The details are still loose at this time, but I’ve been invited to sell my stuff there, and I’ve got to put myself on a production schedule, because I’m absolutely useless without deadlines. I also borrowed a sewing machine and can therefore get caught up on some of the derby-related clothes I’ve been trying to make these last few months. I still haven’t gotten my screen printing stuff together, though, so they won’t be ready for sale until I get that all set up. Soon, though, especially now that I’m getting my work space a bit more useable. I sense an intense house-purge very soon. We have too much crap. We also have a ton of awesome stuff, which tends to get lost among the clutter. And Christmas will be upon us very soon. Luckily I’m only knitting for a few people, so it shouldn’t be too terribly taxing (she says with much trepidation).

4. Currently reading – Andromeda Klein (Frank Portman), Juliet, Naked (Nick Hornby), as well as a few others that I’ve picked up and put down in recent weeks. The first two, though, are ones that I’m actively reading. So far I love both. Portman is responsible for one of the best books about high school kids ever, King Dork. While KD was told from a teen boy’s perspective, AK has a girl protagonist, and I love her. It’s also got tarot cards, ghosts, and other spooky things. Plus it’s wicked funny. Juliet is great, too. Hornby does what he does very well, with the music and the characters and what not. I just have to remember to actually one of them on the train with me so I can actually finish reading them. I’m also starting a book club with a friend, so that’ll keep me reading. The first pick is Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles. It looks like an interesting read. And if I hate it, at least I’ll have something to talk about at book club. (We’re also most likely going to be a rather boosey club, seeing as how the members thus far are fellow derby gals. Perhaps I should use one of the clever names I had on reserve for my non-existent booze blog? How about the Literale Society?)

5. Socialite – I have no unplanned weekends from here until after the New Year. It’s been that way since Labor Day. It’s insane. But I love it. I am much better about keeping my calendar and planner up to date these days to keep up with all the parties and stuff. Halloween was a blast! I’m so glad so many people made it to our party. I didn’t really know how many to expect, since there were birthday parties and other Halloween parties going on the same night. The next event Chez Nous will be a game night. I want to play Arkham Horror, but if there are more people coming than can play that game, we have a bunch of other games to have several going on at once. Plus, we have darts, too. Mark your calendars for Friday, November 20, 7:30 pm. Potluck. I’ll make a Facebook event invite thingie. I also have plans to travel to Maryland for both Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. I was terribly homesick last year on my birthday and Christmas, so I’m planning ahead this year.

Whew. That’s the news for now. As usual, I have a bunch of pictures from this Fall but have not uploaded any of them to any sort of photo sharing site. I’m lame. I might get to it. Maybe. Pretty sure I need a functioning Time Turner to get all this done, but we’ll see how I do. Oh, and I could use an airship. Some jerk stole mine, and I haven’t gotten it back yet.

Chrononauts AWAY!

Le Tour de Fleece: Day 6

This is the first ball of two-ply that I’ve finished in the TDF. I bought the roving from a woman at the Apple and Peach Festival in Acushnet last September. If I could remember the name of her business, I’d post that, but alas, I lost the receipt ages ago. I have a hank of handspun that I bought from her, too… if I can find that in my stash and if the tag is still attached, I may update with her info. Because really, her color sense is really great.

This yarn has way more yellow in it than you can tell here. because I wound into a ball instead of a hank. I need a niddy-noddy at some point, and soon. The next batch of yarn I’m spinning has way more lanolin in it than I expected, and I’d like to try to wash some of that out before I knit with it. It’s still coming out pretty good, though, despite my inexperience with sticky wool. It, too, is a two-ply. Behold:

The grey wool came from Rhinebeck last October, and again, I can’t remember the name of the seller. They’re the ones who sold their roving in cute nesty-like balls. I’m sure I have their name somewhere. You know, it probably wouldn’t take too much time to look all this stuff up, but if I put it off, I’m never going to update on the progress of this project.

I’ve decided that “spinning every day” means spinning for at least fifteen minutes. It’s a short enough time to commit to, and long enough to get a nice amount spun. Granted the two balls shown here were spun and plied on Sunday, when I spun all day, but still. The bit I have going on the bobbin right now gets added to each day, and I’ll have longer time on the weekends to get more done. Thus far I’m happy with my progress.

None of the channels we get show any coverage of the cyclists, but I check in each day to look at the standings of each stage of the race and what not. It’s the first year that I’ve actually paid attention and sought out information on the race as it progresses, so that’s a novelty. I’m not much of a cycling enthusiast, but it’s actually quite entertaining.

Le Tour de Fleece: day 1

I fixed my bobbin problems and began spinning today to kick off le Tour de Fleece challenge.

I bought my wheel in October at Rhinebeck, and I spun one bobbin full of yarn, and then abandoned the wheel for months. The main problem was that I couldn’t remove the bobbin. I know. Lame. But in my defense, I didn’t know upon which bit to apply the brute force necessary to remove the bobbin from the flyer assembly, and I didn’t want to break the thing. I could take the flyer/bobbin thing off, but couldn’t figure out how to free the full bobbin and replace it with an empty one.

A few posts back and forth on the Ravelry spinning forum and I had the necessary information to get the bobbin off. It took me months to ask for help, while the wheel lay dormant, and then another few months before I actually put their advice into practice. I just have had so much going on this year that I never got around to it. Well the Tour challenge lit a fire under my bum and I had to fix the bobbin situation in order to participate.

A few tugs here and there and the thing came apart and I was able to change the bobbin. But then the yarn wouldn’t wind onto the bobbin, argh. Another round of Q and A on the forum, and I was good to go. It was a lubrication problem this time.

So, after my newbie setbacks, I’m ready to spin. I did a little bit this morning and was reminded of how much I love spinning. I can tell this is going to be a big thing for me. And with an outlet for to sell all of the delicious yarn I’m going to make, I won’t even have a stash problem (theoretically).

Happy Spinning!

You spin me right ’round

I have taken up the Tour de Fleece spinning challenge! The idea is that you set a goal for yourself, start on the 5th and finish on the 27th, spinning along as the cyclists do their thing. My goal is a two-parter:

1. Spin a little each day, using up my meagre stash and buying locally for the duration of the tour. There are some wool producing farms in Middleboro, I think, and will get my wooly fix from them.
2. At the end of the tour I want to have a few nice hanks to send to a shop for sale. I have an opportunity to sell some of my wares in a brick and mortar shop, and I don’t want that chance to pass me by.

Everything is miscellaneous

(No, I haven’t read that book, yet. It’s on my “to read” list, though.) Here’s a list of what’s up:

• Four weeks until the end of the semester. Word. Things are a bit crazy. By things, I mean, of course, yours truly. I’ve got myself set up to finish just fine, though. I’ve been having a bit of trouble with migraines of late, however. (I was forced to come home early on Tuesday, spent the whole day yesterday in a state of migraine hangover, and today I couldn’t do anything until about 1 pm, when I should have been at class.) They’re really throwing me off my pace. It’s maddening, really.
• Please help me with the following: I have created a few sample banner/header/graphic thingies for our class digital Library. The woman whose scrapbook we’re digitizing was Olive Ruby Henty, and the images used in the banners are from her scrapbook. If any of you have any helpful comments regarding its overall design or whatever, please feel free to comment here. I’d really appreciate any feedback from outside the class. (I have, of course, solicited comments from my classmates, but it’s good to have outside perspective, too.) Here’s the link to the sample page: Olive Ruby Henty digital library.
• The Revs take on the Huston Dynamo this weekend for the MLS Cup title. Woo! The game’s on Sunday, so I’ll be blah-blah-blahgging it, of course.
• The spinning wheel looks great in her new home. (I haven’t come up with a name for her yet, but she’s definitely a she.) I’ve been spinning some lovely green/yellow/blue yarn from roving I picked up at the Apple Peach Festival this September. I think I’m getting the hang of it, and my yarn is way more consistent than I would have expected for my first time at the wheel. Photos forthcoming. Eventually.
• Birthiversary party is coming up this Saturday. That should be wicked fun. Bookmark this link for more information and updates as they arise. I still don’t have a dress. I’ll pop over to the (shudder) mall on Friday night and Saturday morning to see what I can find. I’m not really stressed about it. I can always throw something together if I can’t find anything at the mall. “Fancy Schmancy” is a state of mind, yes? I’ll figure something out.