FOs too!

Yesterday I talked about WIPs. Today I will talk about FOs. I'm in a happy place right now because I just got caught up with homework, submitting my reflections and field notes from my first service-learning stint at the Chula Vista Public Library. It was fun, if a little nervewracking, I hadn't felt that uneasy behind a reference desk in quite a long time. But reference work is pretty much the same wherever you go, for me it was harder to figure out the nuances of the copy machine!

This Saturday we're going up to Oxnard for a barbecue. Hubby and I are planning the whole thing after the fiasco last year when no one wanted to take responsibility, and therefore no one brought anything to barbecue. Hubby was so pissed, and I honestly don't think he's gotten over it. This time will be different, because I'm in charge. Steve and Anna are coming down from Santa Rosa, they're bringing our wine club shipment from the Robledo Family Winery. I'll finally get my Moscato! Since it's always so cold up in the Bay Area, I made Anna a really cute hat.This is Coronet from Knitty. I had some leftover purple from my Mom's scarf, which was barely enough to make the cabled band. I did 15 rows, and it's a little snug, but I think my head is bigger than hers so hopefully it'll be okay. If not, I guess it'll go to one of her daughters. I also started the crown part on the wrong side, so the band doesn't flip, which means I also had to shorten the actual hat part. I think I did about 5 and a half inches before starting the decreases. Aside from all that, I really like the pattern. It's girly without being too girly.

I also made a bunny, isn't he cute?
I was looking ahead in the Knitting-pattern-a-day calendar and found him on April 4. He's made out of leftover pink Jiffy. I'm going to give him to the Children's Librarian I'm working with for my service hours; I think he'll fit in quite nicely in her Easter display.

WIPs! Lots of 'em!

I seem to have found myself with an inordinate number of Works in Progress, and not all of them yarny. In fact, it's downright WORK.

It's scholarship-filling-out season, so I'm busy filling out forms. I just finished the ALA one, and up next is the PSLEP Grant funded by the California State Library. After that, there's the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association Scholarship and the Edna Yelland Scholarship. That means more forms, more personal statements and more letters of recommendation.

I'm way behind on reading for my class. I haven't even cracked the 50-book mark, and I'm pretty much out of picture books. There's a stack of YA books I need to get cracking on, but I must admit when it's a choice between reading and knitting, the knitting has been winning out lately.

I only have 4 squares completed for the Big Blanket. That's taken a back seat to the Chevron Scarf I'm making for my friend Christine's birthday. She's turning 40. Originally I thought about making her a cashmere scarf, but then someone turned me onto the Chevron Scarf Flickr group, and I was hooked. It took me about a month to decide on colors, since there's so many to choose from! A lot of the color combinations are a bit wild, and since my friend is a bit on the conservative side I went with one multicolor (Grandma's Flower Garden) and one watercolor (Rose Quartz). I think it's coming along nicely...It just looks like Spring.

Killed by the Blue-Bonic Plague

By Hat Attack Standards, I am dead. Killed by what was affectionately named the Blue-Bonic plague, fired by an assassin known as Kaleidokate. She even sent me a card: I'd have to say that the pretty stitch markers softened the blow just a bit.

February is Library Lovers Month!

Locked and Loaded!

I'm happy to report that The Burgunator is complete and on its way to its intended target. Hooray for Hat Attack!

I'm actually a little surprised I got it out in today's mail, the pattern was released on Saturday morning and I was only able to get a quick glimpse of it before leaving for work. After work, I went to a library fundraiser with lots of free wine, beer and food, which meant I didn't even get home until after 11:00. I didn't realize how much hubby had drank until I heard him snoring and found him passed out on the bed. So I cast on in peace.

This is what I managed to get done by midnight, and actually I had to rip it out and start all over again because I just wasn't feelin' the circular needle. So I started over with the DPNs. 24 hours (not continuous knitting!) and 2 war movies later I was done.
My own death is imminent though, I saw on Ravelry that my assassin has finished her hat and has also sent it out.

I am Rabbit!

Respectfully borrowed from Teabird's blog:

Rabbit You scored 21 Ego, 14 Anxiety, and 18 Agency!

IT was going to be one of Rabbit's busy days. As soon as he woke up he felt important, as if everything depended upon him. It was just the day for Organizing Something, or for Writing a Notice Signed Rabbit, or for Seeing What Everybody Else Thought About It. It was a perfect morning for hurrying round to Pooh, and saying, "Very well, then, I'll tell Piglet," and then going to Piglet, and saying, "Pooh thinks--but perhaps I'd better see Owl first." It was a Captainish sort of day, when everybody said, "Yes, Rabbit " and "No, Rabbit," and waited until he had told them. You scored as Rabbit! ABOUT RABBIT: Rabbit is generally considered Clever by his many friends and relations. He is actually a much better reader and writer than Owl, but he doesn't consider it worth mentioning. Instead, Rabbit's real talent lies in Organizing Plans. He organizes rescue parties, makes schemes to reduce Tigger's bounciness, and goes on missions to find out what Christopher Robin does when he's not at the Hundred Acre Woods. Sometimes, however, his Plans do not always go as Planned. WHAT THIS SAYS ABOUT YOU: You are smart, practical and you plan ahead. People sometimes think that you don't stress or worry, but this is not the case. You are the kind of person who worries in a practical way. You think a) What are my anxieties about and b)what can be done about them? No useless fretting for you. You don't see the point in sitting around and waiting for things to work out, when you could actually work them out today and save yourself a lot of time and worry. Your friends tend to rely on you, because they know that they can trust you help them work things out. You sometimes tend to be impatient with people who are less practical in their ways. You don't have much patience for idiots who moan about things but never actually DO anything about them. You have high expectations of everyone, including yourself. When you don't succeed at something, or when something goes wrong despite your best efforts to prevent it, you can get quite hard on yourself. You need to cut yourself some slack and accept that everyone has their faults, even you, and THAT IS OKAY. Let yourself be faulty, every now and then, for the sake of your own sanity.

This test tracked 3 variables. How the score compared to the other people's:

	Higher than 93% on Ego
	Higher than 56% on Anxiety
	Higher than 70% on Agency

Link: The Deep and Meaningful Winnie-The-Pooh Character Test written by wolfcaroling on Ok Cupid View My Profile(wolfcaroling)

I missed a day.

It took me until February 4 to miss a day taking a picture. I didn't realize it until I was in bed, around 11:30, and at that point I figured it was pointless. Oh well.
I figured I was recovering from my weekend in Tucson, not that it was hectic or anything, but just trying to get back into the swing of things.
I can't believe hubby and I missed the most.exciting.Super.Bowl.ever. We were driving away from the action, back to San Diego from Arizona.
On a more positive note, the face-to-face meeting went well, I really like my professor. She's very passionate about the subject of cultures and literacy and literature, and a paper she's written is currently undergoing peer review. I've spent the last couple of days reading lots of picture books, so my book total is a lot higher now. I also finished the 4th square for the big blanket, but really I'm just quietly preparing for Hat Attack which begins on Saturday. Why oh why did I commit to a wine and cheese tasting on Saturday evening?