Still thinking about Julie

And her pretty, pretty clothes. While this is not really even close to anything that she wore in the movie, I do like it all, especially the brooches!

Julie by kateastrophe featuring 1928 jewelry

p.s. I really love polyvore!

Julie, Julia and Me

Last night I went to see Julie and Julia on a whim, and I think it might just be the most perfect movie that I’ve seen in a long time. It had everything I love, all rolled into one very pretty package: France, food, lovely vintage clothes and accessories, cluttered apartments, blogging, sweet romance, cute kitchens.
Amy Adams as Julie Powell had such a gorgeous style of vintage and modern all rolled into one, and wore so many pretty brooches and aprons that I wanted to take home all for myself.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, as I’ve been told that people are wont to do when a major life change is right around the corner. So much of Julie’s life spoke to me like nothing else has lately.. I’ve certain friends who use their life’s successes to make me feel like a failure because I don’t have a six figure salary and diamond on my finger. I’m not a published author and I’m not singlehandedly working to end African poverty. The path that I’m currently on can only really end in a bureaucratic job that I will abhor, and I’ve really no idea what I’m going to do about it.
Watching this movie made me feel good. It made me think that things are possible and that all it takes is one step in a different direction to completely change life’s course. Kind of like what Robert Frost said in (possibly my favorite poem of all time) ‘The Road Less Travelled’. It’s making one irregular or uncommon decision that can make all the difference.

I’m not going to try and cook five-hundred-and-something French recipes in one year, partly because the French are overly fond of meat, and partly because I just have to look at creme patisserie and I put on five pounds. I am going to start working towards doing things that I’ve always wanted to do. Things that make me happy and that I actually enjoy, and could maybe one day turn into some kind of brilliant career.

But for now, I’m going to bake Chocolate Cream Pie, study for my third day of Spanish exams in a row and revel in the knowledge that, come Monday night, my university career will be over.

Take care, lovelies, whoever you are : )

A cautious return

I’m back from a 6 month unintended blog break to say a quick ‘hi’. I’ll be back tomorrow to talk about things that happened, some delightful and some less so.

Hopefully my return is permanent

Where does all the time go?

Most of my essays are written, my house has been cleaned, my friends have been visited. Now I have a second to blog!
Here’s just a quick sample of what has been going on around here. Will be back soon with details, hopefully!

FO: Northern Lights Shawl

Stupid college education getting in the way of knitting and blogging! But here’s an FO!

Pattern: Northern Lights Shawl|
Yarn: Rowan Tapestry, 3 Skeins
Needles: 4.5 Knitpicks Harmony Circs

There’s not a whole lot to say about this one. The pattern is wonderful, the yarn is perfect for it. This is one of the favorite things that i’ve ever knit. It’s both stylish and functional, and the grey palette works so well with my wardrobe.

I think this shawl looks so pretty in my fall backyard. April is my favorite month of all. The first crisp morning when my shoes crunch through icy grass on my way to school, the first pretty falling leaves. My favorite cafe turns on its outdoor heating, making it even more cozy and welcoming. With the end of the month comes my one day of national pride (more on that later this week) and my birthday. There’s just so much to love about April!

The approach of my birthday always makes me think about me. In a “who am I and where am I going” kind of way. This year I’m trying to focus more on what I have achieved over the past twenty two years, rather than what the coming year might bring.

Thank you for the lovely comments on my last post. It’s kind of comforting to know that wonderful people could be interested in my little life. I appreciate it more that you will ever know

Blogging Life

Six weeks ago I met someone. Our first conversation was on the floor outside our Advanced Spanish classroom. We covered the basics: Name, major, when we will graduate. I thought nothing more of him, other than how nice it was to have a friendly face in a class that scares the pants off of me.

Over the past month, we have grown incredibly close, spending time together each day, getting to know each other. I have never before met another person who has had such a profound effect on my life.

I need to back up a little here in order to give the full picture. In eight short months, I will graduate from my cozy little university. I am scared and excited all at once. The past three years have been a blur and I’m not really sure how I got here. I really want to slow down this year, and enjoy being a student. I am so incredibly privileged to be able to study what I love. I don’t want to take such a luxury for granted.

At the same time, I am preoccupied with making the major life decisions that come with being a graduating senior. Where do I want to life when it’s all over? Here, but in a new apartment Where do I want to work? Department of Defence, maybe? Department of Immigration? Still working on this one What do I want to do? Make a difference in the world

All these things have made me sit down and think about who I am, and who I want to be. I’m not too sure on the first one, but, because of my new friend, I think I am fairly close to knowing who I want to be.

We have spent many hours sitting together, quietly sipping coffee, casually doing the crossword together. Its the questions that he asks me, and that he thinks so differently to me, that make me think. He’s not a jaded politics major, like so many of my friends. He doesn’t worry for hours over the big picture. I truly admire his ability to live day by day, to enjoy the little things and feel lucky for what he has.

I find myself looking at the world differently. It’s been weeks since I haven’t slept through the night. While I am still concerned with the state of the world, I am learning to appreciate, rather than feel guilty over, how lucky I am.

All of this was kind of a long, round about way of saying that I want to start talking about other things on this blog, rather than just reserving it for whenever I have time to take some pictures of what I am knitting.

I hope you will still read along with me. Tomorrow I have pictures. Of knitting

A Tale of Two Skeins

Dear Homework,

I’m not avoiding you, I promise. I really had to skein up these two balls of Kureyon. I couldn’t put it off. I’m sorry.

I really do want to write that three thousand word paper on justifiable international conflict. And that Advanced Spanish Literature presentation? I’m just dying to get started on it, I really am.

And I do know that I have an interview for Spanish Theatre class next week, and I promise you, I am prepared. Totally prepared.

And that sociolinguistics paper is so easy that it’ll practically write itself.

So really, I don’t even have that much homework to do! I totally had the time to spend pointlessly winding yarn! I am so going to graduate this spring. I have no idea what you are so worried about.

Yours lovingly,

Kate

FO: o w l s !

“Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn’t he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. He didn’t see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime…”
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
J.K. Rowling (1997)

HOOT!!

Pattern: O W L S, by Kate Davies (Rav Link)
Yarn: Sirdar Eco Wool DK, 13 skeins ‘Flint’, held double throughout
Needles: Knitpicks Harmony Options, 6mm, 6mm DPNS
Started: February 18th
Finished: February 28th

There isn’t too much to say about this one. It’s perfect and I love it. The pattern is wonderfully written and designed, and is the perfect mix of whimsy and classic, I think. For me, owls rank along side squirrels, bunnies and hedgehogs as the darlings of the animal world, and I will wear these beauties with pride.

My only modification was forced, because I couldn’t get gauge with my yarn and needles. I knit the size m (for a 38″ bust), and it fits my 33″ bust in a perfectly snug way. Sigh.

For me, Sirdar Eco Wool is what knitting is all about. It’s soft, with still a small amount of the delicious ’scratch value’ that assures you that you are wearing wool.
It’s organically grown and processed, undyed and undeniably sheepy. It’s construction is a loosely spun single ply, and while I am worried about pilling, there is no other yarn that I would rather have used for this project. It’s a success on all fronts.

p.s. Thank you for all the Cabled Pullover praise. It’s truly been a labour of love for me, and I’m glad you like it too. I might just write up the ‘pattern’ for it, since you seem to be keen to maybe make something like it.. Thank you again for stopping by. Your comments really do make my day

FO: Cabled Pullover

Once upon a time, there was a girl who lived in a pretty little house in a quiet little street. In her house, she had a large collection of vintage knitting patterns, which she liked to look at. There was one in particular that caught her attention. It was a pullover with pretty cables running up the front and back, and also along the sleeves. She made a sketch of this sweater, altering it slightly to suit her preferences. She would rather have a crew neck than a turtle neck, she thought. She tucked this little sketch into her knitting notebook and thought no more of it.
Six months later, after moving houses three different times, she same across the sketch again. “I think it is time to knit this”, she said, to nobody in particular. She went to her box of vintage patterns, and no matter how hard she searched, she could not find the Patons book where the original pattern had come from. Not one to be vexed by the lack of a written pattern, the girl began to knit swatches, and crunch numbers, and knit, knit, knit. She grew bored of the knitting after a while, and stuffed it under her bed, with all the other forgotten projects once started and quickly abandoned.
A year later, she decided that enough was enough. Her underbed was too crowded and this must be remedied. She pulled out boxed and bags and tupperware containers, all filled with half finished knitting projects. Many she frogged, some she pit aside to finish. When she came to the final bag, she found the cabled pullover, front and back completed, just waiting for sleeves.
“Why did I stop knitting this?” she wondered, and tossed it onto the top of her project basket.
Two weeks later, the girl had a lovely new cabled pullover, that was admired wherever she went.
The End

Cabled Pullover
Pattern: Improvised, based on my sketches from a long lost vintage Patons pattern
Needles: 3.25mm for the ribbing, 4mm for everything else
Yarn: Cleckheaton Country Naturals, 16 skeins.

Once I got going on this again, it was a dream. This was both my first improvised sweater, and my first raglan in general, so I really had no idea what I was doing. I am so pleased with the way it turned out. I ended up with about three inches of negative ease at the bust, which is just perfect. The waffle rib stitch is super stretchy, so it doesn’t feel tight at all.

The yarn is something that I had in my stash that I bought on sale four or five years ago.. I have worked with it before, and it’s fine. In this case, it was the color that drew me to it, rather than the hand, which I think can be a little on the scratchy side.

I owe EZ a great amount of credit for this working out. Without her knowledge and guidance, I would have given up at the raglan shaping.
Even though I’m calling this one a success, it really does highlight my beginner designer status. I knit the whole thing the hard way, piece by piece, and sewed it up. This would have been much easier done in the round, but at the time I started it, I didn’t have the right size circs, so I just grabbed some straights and went to town.

I’ve been thinking about turning my anal notes into something like a pattern, but I’m not too sure. I’d be happy to do it if other people were wanting to knit it. However, I take no credit. There is a pattern for something very similar to this out there somewhere. I just don’t know where. I’d be kind of interested to see how similar mine looks to the original, if anyone turns it up!

Waiting

Still no news on the flickr front, but I’ve worked out how to post my photos other than using my flickr account. Tonight I’ve got a hot date with my best guy (there will be bean burritos AND Bill Murray.. I am the luckiest girl alive), but tomorrow there will be a post with knitting content. The FO’s are starting to back up (I just finished my first PS North project) and I can’t wait for you to see them in all their lovely detail.
I hope you all have equally wonderful Sunday nights planned.