Doctor Colibridreams, I presume?

I wanted to blog about my graduation, and show you some pictures of the exam (and mostly, the graduation shawl I knitted). But. All the pics - except the above pic of the lovely roses he gave me - are in boyfriends computer and apparently it is very difficult to send them to me... Yes, I took the exam in the end of March and yes, I have been constantly reminding him of sending me the pics. So, if I waited to get the photos, this blog might be silent for a long, long time.

But - the good news is, I'm a doctor in Latin American studies! I was so happy to finish the studies. The last months before March I kind of hated my thesis, I was so tired of it already. Don't get me wrong - I still love my research subject and plan to write about it more and go on with the research at some point. I just had enough of the thesis and didn't want to work with it anymore, even though I knew it could have been better.

The exam went fine. Well, one of the Committee members was really hard on me. But I already had seen it coming, so it was no surprise. Besides, I know that she is kind of crazy and was pissed of with me for personal reasons. She bashed my work because I hadn't cited her enough (I don´t think there is much to cite, really). So when she tried to question and criticize me, I didn't feel nervious, because I could despise her. I can't really respect her as an academic because the reason she was so difficult with me before and during the exam, is mostly vanity on her part.

Well, the good thing I don't have to try to cope with her anymore. And if I ever have to work with her again, at least it will be on completely different basis, as iguals.

For now, I'm quite happy to work outside the University. It's good to see the "real life" too, although my plan is to go back at some moment. I might be giving some lectures next semester, but that will be something extra, in addition to my real life work.

Finally blogging again

My good intention to blog more often has been complicated by the fact that we still don’t have internet in our home. I hope there will be some kind of change in that in very near future; I’m tired of going to the University every day just to check my mails. But well, we’ll see.

Otherwise everything is going fine. I finally got a job last week. You can’t imagine ohw happy and relieved I am! Especially because my new job seems to be interesting and challenging. I can’t start until I get my working permission, but at least I don’t have to look other jobs anymore. It also seems that I might graduate some day! The tesis has been practically ready from the beginning of December, but due to the vacations, university bureaucracy and especially some problems with one of my Committee members, I haven’t been able to get through all the necessary procedures. But it seems that next week the biggest problem could be overcome and I could go on with the process. So, if I’m lucky, I might have my exam by the end of this month, or in the beginning of April at least. Wish my luck!

I have also been knitting quite a lot. Boyfriend got a new sweater as a Christmas present (yeah, in January ;-). I made it with Tuulia’s Tailored Sweater Method, but the spreadsheet gave me some pretty strange numbers, so I just made up the numbers. The yarn is an old yarn granny gave me last summer; it must be from the 50’s or something. I’m not completely happy with the sweater. Maybe it’s the neckline. (sorry about the bad picture, but it´s the only one I have!)

In January, I also finally finished my own Tangled Yoke Cardigan, started in February 2010. It became a UFO (unfinished object) when I had to think how to make the sleeves top down and not bottom up, as in the instructions. The yarn also seemed to pill a lot already while I was knitting, so this cardigan was left to wait for months. Finally I decided to give it a try in December.

Well, I’m happy I finished it, but I’m quite disappointed with the result. I love the colour, love the pattern, and the yarn is really soft and has a great stitch definition. But. It pills like hell. I have shaved it many, many times, and it seems that the moment you stop the shaving, it starts to pill again. I wanted this to be my “good cardigan”, something I could use in public, but it looks all worn out. That´s why the sleeves are short too - I didn´t want to buy any more yarn for them. Definitively will reclaim to the yarn company, because the yarn is not that cheap either.

Coming back

It´s been a long time since I´ve been here... Mainly because I haven´t had time to write, and when I had, I wanted to write about so manyt things it seemed a bit overwhelming. But my intention is statr writing more often again from now on.

These are some of the things I've been doing these months:

Travelling in Chiapas when my family came to visit in June...


Knitting...

But mostly I've been working with this:

My thesis. It's almost finished and I hope I can give it to my committee members by the end of the month. I just want to finish it!

And then there's also The House, that boyfriend and I bought and are renovating. But that's another story and I'll write about it more later.

Also, I'm going to open a new Etsy shop this week, so stay tuned!

Coming back

It's hard to start writing after a long pause. Actualy, I have been thinking about writing here for a long time. I just haven't done it. I partly blame writer's block and partly thesis...

I also wasn't sure if to start blogging again about a trip to a volcano or about knitting. Well, even though some of you might prefer the volcano, you'll get knitting pictures for now. There are less pictures of my projects than of the volcano, so it's simply easier. But I promise the volcano pics later!

Even though the thesis has kept me really busy, I have had time to knit too. Maybe it's more like I have taken my time to knit too, it helps me keep sane with all the stress with the thesis. Now more than ever it's really nice to see something concrete to get finished...

This stole I already finished on November to use it in a wedding.

Snowball

Pattern: Melon Stichs shawl/stole from Victorian Lace today
yarn: Lana Stop Reina, less than 50g
needles: 4 mm


I like it a lot, but unfortunately the blocking didn't make it as wide as I had hoped for, so it didn't cover me as much as it should have. This winter I have used it a lot as a scarf though - it's so lovely and light. It was the first time I knit mohair yarn, and I liked it.

Then there's of course the Great Christmas Present for boyfriend that I started in August and finished 24th of December (in the morning, may I say!). Yes, a crocheted blanket.


Otoño blanket
yarn: Novita Puro 2050g, Katia Azteca about 50g, and Ecologico Camel about 130g)
hook: 5mm

It's called "Otoño" or Autumn, because the colours remind me of, well, autumn. It was fun to make (but not to sew together). I just crocheted different sizes of granny squares and then in the end decided how to combine them. I hadn't crocheted in a loong time, but have to say it's quite addictive! I like the rythm of it.

I used mainly Puro yarn, but as my dear boyfriend demanded (as a joke, it results) that he wanted the blanket for his king size bed, I ran out of yarn. That's why I also used a bit of Katia Azteca for some squares and Ecologico Camel for the edge.

I love it and have to say that it was hard to part with, even though it went for boyfriend. I especially missed the blanket during the really cold days of late December and January. But well, when we'll move in together, it will be mine again! Eh, I mean... I can use it. ;-)

Updating...

On Firefox the images and everything seems to work, so here you, some updates...

I have spent the past months mainly with the thesis (vacations from the university are for thesis writing, right? At least my advisor thinks so...). But I also had a nice guide/interpreter job in June. A group of Finns came here for a wedding, and although I didn't know any of them before, it was a nice week, even with little sleep. Simultaneous interpreting wasn't as difficult as I thought (of course I didn't have to translate totally exactly, which helped a lot). I also got to travel a bit with them. Most of the places where we visited, I already knew, but I got to know some new places too. And I definitively learnt a lot, as I had to find and learn by heart lots of information that I then told to my group.

Here are some pictures:

The Xochicalco piramids near Cuernavaca were very impressive. I hadn't visited there before, so it was really nice to get there. Not only the pyramids are awesome, but also the view from the top of the hill is amazing.



Taxco, the silver city (there a lots of silver smiths in the city and you can get good deals on silver jewelry), was one of our stops. I have been there two or three times before, but it's always a nice place to go.



Even though the thesis is taking a lot of time now, I have also knitted something. My Wilhelmiina was ready already on the first of June and I'm very happy with it.

Pattern: Neja's Wilhelmiina

Yarn: Novita Bambu

Needles: 3,5mm

I used Neja's pattern, but did some modifications. I added a lot of purl stitchesto the underarms and made the cable part much longer than in the original pattern (it wasn't supposed to be as long as in the pictures though - the upper part stretched quite a lot).

I have also been knitting a wedding shawl for my friend, and started also a top down tunic, but you'll get pictures of those later.

I'm back!

I have been really busy lately with the thesis, which have kept me from writing... And right before Easter, my parents visited me and we traveled together to the beach. And then I was just very sick last week.

I'll be writing about my parents visit later, now I'll just want to show you my first swap package ever! In Ravelry, there's a group for grad school students. I love it and think it really helps me to stay motivated and achieve more, because the idea is to post about your progress with the studies every week. And to spoil ourselves little, we have also swaps! I have never participated in a swap before, but I'm glad I did now! Look at this lovely package Sobeknofret (ravelry-link) send me! So much delicious chocolate and good tea (both quite hard to get here) and other fun things! And lovely, soft yarn... That will become something nice and warm for me.

I haven't had time to knit too much, but here's a baby set I made for my friend's babyshower. I think she liked it! I haven't knitted baby stuff before, but I have to say it's very nice. Kind of instant gratification: you get cute things made in couple of hours. The instructions for the Baby Berry are here.

I have also been knitting Wilhelmiina with Neja's instructions. No photos yet...I started it already on March, but it's advancing very slowly, as the cable charts are quite complex and I can't knit it while I watch TV or am in the car, when I usually mostly get my knitting done. I'm also not very enthusiastic about Wilhelmiina right now. That's probably because being quite stressed with the thesis, I really don't want to knit anything complicated. Buuut... I also don't want to leave it now, because I know I wouldn't pick it any time soon, and I really want to use it. I'm actually waiting to get to the mindless stockinette part. I am!

Elfish sweater and other knits

EDIT: Love and peas is having a blog contest, be sure to check it!

Last weekend I finished my new favourite sweater, Arwen.

Pattern: Kate Gilbert's Cardigan for Arwen

Yarn: Berrocco Ultra Alpaca

Needles: 4 mm Knit Picks

I modified the pattern a lot. I don't really like seaming, so the original construction seemed to be unnecesarily complicated. So I knit the body in one piece until the armpits, finished the rest separately, knitted the sleeves in round and the hood in one piece. My Arwen is also a lot longer than the original one. Practically I only took the idea and the reversible cables from the pattern. I love the cables, by the way. They look much more complicated that they really are - the chart was really easy to memorize (after I found out how to read the chart - it's not done in the usual way).




When I got this ready, it was a hot day, and I thought I wouldn't be able to use the cardigan soon, as it's very warm. Well, no fear! I have already used it these days. It seems that febrero loco really is crazy, at least what comes to the weather. We had some very warm and sunny days last week, and the suddenly thunderstorms, strong winds and cold days again. I'd prefer the warm spring weather, but at the same time I'm also secretly happy that I have a good reason to use Arwen.



Oh, and I have to tell you that this sweater saved me even before it was ready! When I was coming back from Finland, the zipper of my hand luggage got broken in the plane. And I mean totally broken, there was no way to close the baggage again. I could never have got it out of the plane nicely if I hadn't decided to knit the cuffs of this sweater in the plane. That's why I could use my scarf and my lovely alpaca yarn to tie my hand baggage and could somehow carry it. (Yes, I did get some strange looks, but who cares!)

I also finally have some pics of the Christmas presents I made. Boyfriend's mom got a shawl.

Pattern: Nuolitanssi by Elina Urmas

Yarn: Bernat Satin

Needles 4 mm

The pattern was nice and clear. I definitively could use it again. The yarn was quite thick for a lace shawl, but the receiver chose it herself. Well, she didn't really know that I was going to make something for her with it, but once we were together in a shop and she really liked the colour and the yarn.

And last but not least, boyfriend's present. It's called Kivi, which is Finnish for stone.

Kivi Hoodie

Pattern: my own

Yarn: Nalle Colori and Novita Nalle

Needles: 3,5 mm

This is my own design. I'm happy with it, although I still have to do something to the hood - it's too large and seems strange if boyfriend puts it on. (When boyfriend saw my Arwen on Sunday, he said: "How come my hood is so strange and yours is perfect? You always make your own sweaters better than mine!" That's not true... I just learn new tricks always after finishing his sweaters... ;-)

This was a boring knit, as it has so much stockinette stitch. The garter stitch was even worse choice for the upper part, though, it was even more boring and if you make a mistake, correcting it is more difficult. Note to self: don't knit anything for boyfriend with thin yarn and 3,5 mm needles! Or at least no sweaters. This one took several months to make.

Random things

Some time ago, Jaana from Metsän takana challenged me to tell six random things about myself. Here you go!

1. I'm very curious. I'm not generally intersted in cars, for example, but start to fix a car in front of me, and you'll soon see me looking over your shoulder and asking questions.

2. I have studied several foreign languages. The strangest one is probably Northern Sami, spoken by the Sami, the indigenous people of Finland and other Nordic countries. No, I don't have any connection - more than mere interest - to the Sami, and I have only used the language on my University classes and reading some Sami poetry. I still think it hasn't been a waste of time at all. Some day I just might need it, who knows? Besides, the more languages you learn, the easier it gets... And it's wonderful to learn about new ways of thinking and seeing things, and a foreign language is a good way to open perspectives. And well, I said it already - I'm very curious.

3. Walking clears my head. If I'm stressed out, angry, sad or worried, I take a walk. Sometimes when I'm writing my research and feel that some idea is coming, but can't quite get it yet, I walk in my room.

4. Some day I want to travel to Siberia. By train, of course, and for several weeks, without mayor plans, so I could got off the train whenever I wanted and just stay in some village for a while. But before that I would have to study Russian again (I have forgotten almost everything) and learn to sleep in the train.

5. I love mangos. The mango season is about to begin, hurray!

6. I like to keep my curtains open to get as much sunlight as possible. And to see the sky.

I'm not going to challenge anyone else, but if you want to continue the meme, please tell me, so I can visit you!

And now some random stuff: pics of the yarns that I bought from Finland. I "only" brought 2,7 kg... I normally don't buy so much yarn at once, as I prefer to finish one project before starting a new one, but it's easiest for me to bring yarn from Finland. And I have a plan for almost everything.

The red ones are going to be Sylvi, the white Merinosilk is for my friend's wedding shawl, the blue bambu yarn will become Wilhelmiina (as soon as I finish my current project) and Pirkkalanka on the left side will be some kind of multicoloured sweater that I haven't designed yet.

Mom gave me the lovely Sivilla yarns. I'll make two shawls with them, I think.

The Fox hoodie is ready...

Actually it has been ready for couple of weeks already, but my official photographer - known also as my boyfriend - couldn't help me to take the pictures until now. But here are finally some:

Yarn: La Cusqueñita ( 45% acryllic, 40% alpaca, 15 % wool)

Needles: 4 mm
Pattern: mine

I'm quite happy with the result, even though I should have made the hoodie longer and the sleeves shorter. I shouldn't have taken the measures from existing hoodie. Well, you always learn something, don't you? Next time I'll just measure myself.

The yarn is a bit itchy (the blue Cusqueñita that I used for boyfriends hoodie for some reason tickles less). It helped a bit to wash it with softener, but that also made the sleeves even longer (and no, I didn't hang it). But I think I will use it a lot any way, because I just love the colour.

Oh, and I just had to start a new project, too. I think I'm getting really addicted to knitting (boyfriend thinks that too: "You just can't put your needles down, can you?"). I wanted to make a tunic, but as the yarn I bought (Emilia, Mexican yarn that is 100% cotton) seems to be quite heavy and not very nice to knit, I'll make just a top. It will probably stretch a bit anyway... The flower pattern is from Garnstudio's dress.

But these coming weeks I'll probably be concentrating more on yarn paintings (and studies, of course...) than on knitting. I finally got some chipboard and showed yesterday to boyfriend that I can actually use a saw without problems. Today I also got a custom order for totem animal yarn painting in Etsy. I so excited! I'm sure it will be just so much fun to make!

Some progress with the fox hoodie

I have now almost finished the front parts of my red and white fox hoodie. It's lovely to knit something so fast! Boyfriend's hoodie took a lot more time to knit, as he's tall and wanted it to be quite loose-fitting. I'm still not sure about the fox though, it might be a bit too big. Any comments?

And now that I remember, I have joined Ravelry too, and you can find me also there with the name "colibridreams".

Knitting, knitting... and some film making

I've been knitting like crazy these last weeks. Yes, I started a Christmas present too late again. This time it's a sweater for my boyfriend. I never learn to start any time consuming Christmas gift projects already in the summer. Well, this time I have a good excuse - it was surprisingly difficult to find woollen yarn. Mexicans just looove acrylic yarns, it seems...

In the picture you can see a lonely little moose that decorates the front of the sweater. Simple is beautiful... especially when you have a deadline coming!

Did you know you can knit and study at the same time? I noticed it last week as I had to finish some last essays for the University, and had to read some electronic texts, too. Knitting when you read an electronic book actually helps you to concentrate (not always on the book, though... ;-)

My knitting project has also accompanied me to a film making scene. On Saturday I worked as an extra in "Dragon Ball". Actually I worked (read: walked in the backround of some scenes) about 2 hours of all the 13 hours we had to be in there. The rest of the time we extras were just sitting or hanging around bored. But it's okay, as you get paid quite well. Besides, I could also knit...

Well, gotta go now - I have some serious knitting to do!