Time Warp Fiber - update

The New Year's Post

Cass — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 14:59:45 -0700

I know, I'm an erratic blogger. There are worse things. I haven't written up the fingerless mitts pattern yet, but I may some time in the future. In case you were wondering, the knitting gods laughed at my self satisfied sock knitting. Those pink socks? Hate them. The cotton yarn feels like rope compared to lovely squishable wool. So, those socks have been sent to my wool-allergic MIL, where they will get the love and attention they deserve.

Mostly I'm here to do the New Year's post. The one you'll see almost everywhere, but which I feel compelled to write anyway.

Looking forward, well, I don't like the word resolution. It reeks of miserable people hurting their bodies and souls trying desperately to morph themselves into an unattainable ideal physical form. Not my scene. Let us say I have goals for the changes I'm hoping to make. I would like to get into graduate school for the fall. Hopefully, this will be a path to an actual career. While I would like to think that the top-tier degree which has put me in unspeakable debt will be sufficient to get my foot in the door, I know better. Mostly I'm nervous about recommendations. I've never been one to attach myself too much to a professor, I prefer to go my own way. Add to that to time gap, and you get major anxiety. But I'm trying not to focus on that and instead putting my effort into the things I can control.

The next set of goals has to do with my art. During my endless months of relentless job hunting, I felt guilty about any time spent on art. I was so busy deriding myself that any moment not spent searching a huge number of job sites, sending emails and editing resumes was spent largely moping. Unemployed, I felt like I had no right to pursue my interests. I'm trying to get away from that, it's poisonous. Moreover, if I can manage to get into grad school, my fun time will be severely truncated.

So, more art. I'm working on branching out in my spinning. More fibers, different weights and methods. To that end, I bought handcards with birthday money back in the summer. I hit a roadblock in that my wheel, a Louet S17, while good for the very low price, is completely unwilling to spin anything less than sport weight. The take-up is too forceful, no matter what I do, and the ratios are too slow. I have dreams of getting a Matchless someday to remedy this and all other spinning woes, but right now that isn't on the table. So I turned back to my spindle, which I abandoned largely after getting a wheel. It's slower, but there's something satisfying in an act that hasn't changed in thousands of years. So, with my christmas money, I ordered a Cascade tiger, a tiny little thing which will hopefully spin lace more effectively than the .8 oz one I have now. A good deal cheaper than the Matchless, too. I'd like to add a larger 1.5 ish oz spindle to round out my collection, too, for plying, mostly. I'm eyeing the Greensleeves Lionheart. All the beautiful wood and artistry make me melt. I also got a merino cotton blend to round out the giftcard, fulfilling the other ends of spinning goals. I'd like to be able to incorporate more plant fibers and silk, to better suit the climate, and to eventually be able to spin something for MIL.

On other fronts, well, a lot of those goals, like weaving more and having art framed and hung, take significant capital investment, which just isn't an option these days. But all the things I'm aiming for boil down to the same thing, move forward, focus on the positive, find new paths, keep growing. And maybe blog a little more, to document all this. :)

In other News

Cass — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:37:56 -0700

Disclaimer: I've been fighting a wicked cold for the past few days. I'm still too fuzzy to do anything productive, like grade essays, and too drained to actually move around. I took a nap to recover from showering. Can't quite follow my book, so I thought I'd blog. Hope it's decipherable.

A few people, I'm looking in your direction Cailey, read my blog because they actually wonder what I'm up to. I admit, I seldom post about that sort of thing. Truth be told, it's mostly because I'm boring. My chief pleasures tend to be quiet, like tea, yarn things of all sorts, books and movies. However, for those of you who might be interested, here goes. (and for the others, I'll post about some new design projects and wips sometime next week.)

Our baby, Pandora, is growing a the speed of light, at least. She's very curious and clever, which means she gets into everything. Sometimes I feel like I spend my whole day taking things away from her. She is particularly fond of pens and receipts. She's very affectionate and will sleep on one of us by preference. We got her a bed, but I've never seen her sleep in it. Rather, she chomps down on the rim with her teeth, and systematically kneads the center with her claws. It's quite an amusing ritual. She also like to hide in our recliner couch. Her newest trait is a passionate love for the faucet in the guest bathroom. She will howl like her heart is breaking to get you to turn it on. Then she will try to bat at the water, and be shocked when her paw is wet. After the water is of, she very carefully investigates the drain and faucet. I'm waiting for her to figure out how to turn it on herself.

Job-wise, I'm still teaching part-time, and planning to go back to school in the fall. A year later than I had hoped, but the delay was necessary to secure resident-tuition, which is infinitely lower. Job-hunting during an economic crisis has been a sobering experience. I'm very lucky to have the part-time gig I have, and to have a partner very skilled in an in-demand field.

Speaking of, I have an anniversary this Saturday. Four years together, and two since he said yes. We even still like each other. As ironic as I find the fact that I married young and followed my partner across the states and back, I feel truly blessed to have found my partner and to have so much time ahead of us.

Upcoming events, well, none particularly that I know of. We intend to visit Ohio around the holidays, as I haven't been back in a while. I must say, being the only member of I family living outside a 50 mile radius is challenging. Not one among them seems to recognize the expense of travel, particularly these days. It costs more than double my monthly pay to get out there for just a few days. You can imagine that is difficult to achieve at the best of times. And visiting my in-laws is high-priority too, owing to MIL's recent illness. So we'll see how well the gift stuff goes this year. At the very least, I intend to get back to sending Yule/Solstice/Festivus cards.

That's about it chez TimeWarp. Now I'm going to take vast quantities of cold medicine, brew some tea, and try that book again.

Mind the Gap

Cass — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:02:40 -0700

...between blog posts. (ps everyone should read Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman) I'm sure you can relate, o hypothetical reader; life gets in the way. I'm mostly healed up from the wisdom teeth. There are still weird holes. It's amazing how long it's taken, actually, mouth injuries usually heal so rapidly. But I lived to tell the tale, and that's enough for me.

In other news, I have made it through two weeks of the new job. It has its ups and downs, like any job, but I would say it's been mostly on the up side. I have enjoyed the teaching. It gets challenging at times, but I haven't dreaded it. I have a fear of hating my job. I've worked a lot of jobs that fit that bill, and most of the adults I grew up with were in the same boat. Americans devote such an obscene percentage of their lives working that it seems to me imperative to find some kind joy in what you do. I'm still not totally sold on teaching high school, but I've really enjoyed the lit, much to my shock. The blogging will taper off slightly though, with the nine hour days plus three hour commute, I don't get much free time. I have been knitting a little, I'll take some photos tomorrow to share. I leave you with a priceless quote from a student.

Me: Define prophylactic

Student: Something...condom...sticky?

Home

Cass — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:25:58 -0700

First off, has the blog been slow for you? It's been taking ages to load on my end. Would you drop a line if it's not just me? I'll put Butthead on the case.

Secondly, apologies for the lack of photos. I left the wire that lets my camera talk to the 'puter in Butthead's computer bag, so it's at the Googleplex with him, no doubt getting high minded ideas from all the swankified wires that frequent that place. However, in the next few days I'll have pictures of spinning. That's right, I've dusted of the wheel and am making yarn again. And after that, maybe a few wedding photos.

Last weekend, Butthead and I took a bus, three trains, two planes and a van to get to Chattanooga, where his sister was getting married. We had a blast. The groomsmen were hysterical, a ton of fun to be around. There was lots of wine, laughing, dark chocolate, and everything went generally well. I had a kind of awkward place as (more-or-less) sister-in-law to the bride, but it was gracefully handled and I felt very included. I think the in-laws are finally catching on to the idea that Butthead and I are no less in a marriage for the lack of papers. Rather than 'girlfriend' or significant other', they've switched to 'partner' and 'wife', which pleases me to no end. I met many of Butthead's big clan of a family, who are somewhat intimidating and all look alike. But it went fairly well. I think the wine had something to do with that. We finally had a chance to use some of that deteriorating ballroom dancing skill. It was a beautiful wedding with very few hitches. Kudos to MIL and SIL for doing a bang-up job.

On another note, it was a little strange to go back to the South. I think we've established that I was never really at home there, despite having lived in NC for five years. The culture was just so alien to me, I always felt like I was just learning the language and blundering every third word. Our fall return to Winston, all of four months, was not without its high points (I'm looking in your direction, Kim) but it was never a place I could imagine staying. Going back to the southeast put into perspective how comfortable Silicon valley has become. I'm clearly still a newbie, with a lot to learn, but there's something about the easy-going attitude that feels right to me. Business formal means actually putting on socks, and I hear more languages in the grocery store than I did in the airport in NC. I don't have to hesitate to out myself or bash on the neocon regime, although those are hards habits to break after years of toeing the line. While it's certainly not perfect (i could do without the train station crazies), it's home. That is something I wish for you, o hypothetical reader, that you find someplace that feels like home, on your own terms.

A trip up the Peninsula

Cass — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:22:51 -0700

For those whose geography of NorCal is a little foggy, San Francisco is located on the point of the peninsula that defines the bay. Where I live, in San Jose, is in Silicon Valley, a bit south of the bay. The drive is about an hour, not prohibitive, but not quick either. It took us more than a month of living here to finally get up to the city. You may have noticed the background on my sweater shot below. My first trip to one of the coolest cities in the world seemed a good occasion to debut a sweater. Our first stop was the Golden Gate Bridge. Even in March, off season, the place was filled with tourists. I'm sure it's worse in summer. The crowds thinned as we went down into the gardens and onto the trails for a bit of a photo shoot. It was a lovely day, sunny and probably about 60, with a cool wind coming off the bay. I was surprised by how much cooler it was in the city than it's been at home. I handed the camera to Butthead and took in the sights. The bay is so blue. I grew up on one of the Great Lakes, which is a murky green/brown most of the time. We puttered around and climbed about a hundred trail steps, and headed off to the city proper to visit ImagiKnit. I heard about this shop via The Panopticon back when butthead was first applying to jobs out west. I saw the photo of a yarn shop with a rainbow flag located adjacent to Castro and figured if the bay contained such a place, it was a good place to live. I mentioned this to Kim at the shop or Knit Night sometime, and right before we left, she presented me with a card saying there was a gc waiting there for me. Yup, she's awesome. So, we searched for parking for about 2 years and parked approximately 80 miles away. Ok, slight exaggeration, but it was uphill both ways, something I am convinced occurs only in San Francisco. We got there in the end, walking through a park with this view. Pretty impressive huh?

On to the yarn. Imagiknit is a gem. They have two large rooms packed floor to ceiling with an excellent and vast selection of yarn. There's a lot to sink in. Having worked in a shop the past three months, it was strange to be in another shop and to be a customer. I found myself wondering when as the last time I just looked through yarn for the joy of it. I've never been a real frequenter of shops, and when I do go I must make owners crazy, puttering around for a hour and finally purchasing a carefully-chosen few skeins. Minimal disposable income does not an avid shopper make. And working at a shop, I had to exercise tremendous restrain to stave off the yarn fumes that assailed me every day. But on this occasion, I had the opportunity to take it all in and relax. The staff were courteous ad not pushy. There were enough of them that I didn't have to hunt for one or wait a long time. The selection was tremendous, as I've said, and I had a hard time choosing. Butthead was very patient and entertain himself, petting a variety of cotton yarns in elephant colors. (you can tell what he's angling for in my next project.) With some help from the generous Miss Kim, here were my selections. First, a skein of Claudia Handpainted Silk lace yarn. It really looks like silver, with that soft mellow glow. And heaven to touch. I don't have much silk in my stash, but this was a treasure to good to pass up. I'll have to be a much better lace knitter before I work with this. Yarn this good demands a great deal of skill and an exceptional shawl pattern. My second purchase, egged on by one Butthead, was this gorgeous sock yarn. Panda Silk is a brand new line; I hadn't even heard of it yet. I'm working with some panda wool now (more on that later) and I have some panda cotton in the stash, earmarked for the MIL. The silk is good to round out the collection, and the color totally seduced me. Who doesn't need socks that are on fire?

Also, I wanted to thank everyone who's left comments in the past month or so. I was woefully unresponsive, due to my computer issues. But I very much appreciate your kind thoughts, and miss you all very much.

You'll have to use your imagination...

Cass — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:36:41 -0700

Because I have no photos to share with you just yet. My Wake Forest-issued thinkpad, sensing its distance from its place of birth, promptly gave me the technological equivalent of the finger. About an hour after my last post, to be precise. So, I'm using Butthead's (you know it must be love) and he has promised to negotiate with the thinkpad on my behalf. (oddly, he seemed to think my threats of flushing and dishwasher would be ineffective. ) This means, sadly, that there are no photos. So, let's pretend you're reading a book, and that I have authorial skills, while we're at it. Try to picture downtown San Jose, electric train and bike lanes join forces to make new and exciting traffic patterns. People actually walk places. There are lots of places to walk to. Literal dozens of restaurants, bars, shops, parks. And all smoke-free, in case you didn't know. I couldn't express to the state of California how much I appreciate that little gift, particularly after my extended time in Winston-Salem. Butthead and I have signed a lease and are beginning to move into our new place, in a brand new building downtown. We have top-of-the-line appliances, an extra bed/bath, and excellent security. Sadly, what we do not have yet is our earthly possessions. Apparently, there is an event this sunday involving obscene amounts of money and comparable amounts of repressed homoeroticism that constitutes some sort of national holiday. Our moving company was unable to locate a driver willing to travel during said event. Blar. I was unaware of our transition to an official state religion of pigskin, much to my dismay. Anyway, it's difficult to be properly grouchy around here. I promise that I have indeed been knitting. I have several finished (single) socks to show you, and a sweater that only lacks sleeves. Also, I have begun my job hunt anew on the left coast, so if you have any leads do let me know.

PRIDE!

Cass — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 13:21:06 -0700

Hello again. No, I have not been keeping up as much as I should. And today will be a day without knitting on the blog, tune in next week for the wool. I'm hoping that some semblance of normalcy will return after I have successfully acquired a real job. No, I haven't yet. In fact, I've only just sent out resumes. It has been more work than I had ever imagined just to put together a suitable resume and cover letter. And Winston-Salem, the town I'm living in now, is rather small, thus few job openings, even fewer in my limited skill set. With Butthead and I sharing one car, I can't commute out either. So hold out hope for me, I'll need it. The financial and emotional pressure has been very rough on me, making it harder to blog. That and I've been working a lot on shop related samples, and not my own art. However, this past weekend had occasion to let me step outside my day-to-day stress, if only a little.

NC Pride is held every year in early fall in Durham, about two hours east of here. This was my fourth year going. The first year, I had only barely come out, and was bursting at the seams with enthusiasm and spent the day wide-eyed and enraptured by everything around me. So enraptured, in fact, that I took little notice of Butthead always ending up very near me. He tells me he decided to go after me that day, although for a week or two he did it by ending up always on the other side of the room from me, never speaking. But I digress, the point is that PRIDE is always a very special and important day for me. It's a day of remembering that not everything is hateful and oppressive. Recently returning from LA, the feeling of oppressive has weighed even more heavily upon me. I worry about what I can put on my resume. Will my involvement with the GSSA lose me the job? I worry about what to write here. What if a customer where I work takes exception to who I am outside the shop and affects my position there? But at PRIDE, I remember why I came out in the first place. I see all these brave people around me, freely and wildly proclaiming who they are, unafraid, at least for that day. I see people I've never met, who may not even be gay, putting themselves out there to support us. These days, over my wide-eyed infatuation, I mostly hang back and observe the people and the parade, moved so deeply by the warmth of support that I often have occasion to be glad of the sunglasses that hide the extra moisture in my eyes. That yearly outpouring of love and support, the communion with strangers on common ground, recharges me. It gives me the strength to stand my ground, and never look back at that closet. I'm not saying it isn't one of the hardest things I do, especially here in the southeast, but it is worth it. I can't be whole if I'm hiding, no one can. So thanks be to the organizers and brave participants in PRIDE, I needed that.

Oh, and this year, there were knitters. I saw them, in a little booth with rainbow colored baby hats and silk needle cases. I hope they made a fortune.

Back in NC

Cass — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 10:43:41 -0700

We got in very late last night, after six days on the road. Quite a drive, but we saw some amazing things. Over the next few days, amidst the unpacking, I'll be setting up a flickr account (finally) to share all the photos, and I'll write a nice big blog entry to tell you about it.

I'm a liar

Cass — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 23:20:08 -0700

Apologies. The sweater photo did not get taken today. And tomorrow, I'm headed back to the east coast for a wedding. So, I'll be out of touch until tuesday, but I'll have lots to tell you and many pictures. And I'm taking the finished sweater on the plane, so I'll be able to report how it wears. I certainly won't want it in NC, cesspit of heat and humidity that it is, but planes are always chilly. Moreover, I'm hoping it will be a comfort to me. I'm not terribly keen on air travel, less so of changeovers. Our flight out involve two lengthy layovers and take place overnight. Hence the cuddly sweater. Wish me luck.

Birthday, 22

Cass — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 13:42:40 -0700

For those who don't know, yesterday was my birthday. I'm 22. People asked me all day what I was doing for my birthday, and I thought I'd share with you, hypothetical reader. Butthead is at work every day until 7, and I haven't found summer work yet, so I'm mostly on my own and without a car. Kind of limited in choices of birthday celebrations. However, what I did do was walk to the market across the street and pick up the ingredients for scones. I baked some wonderful blackcurrant scones, fixed a cup of Twinings English Breakfast and settled in for some yarn time. Not thrilling, but very nice all the same. I got to watch a movie and work on a new sweater.Yes, I know the end table is a cooler, and that Poang is just about the only chair in the place. I'm sure this sounds pretty boring to many, and I understand. But after the year that was thrown at me, I'm really glad of the quiet. Without troubling you with the details, this year was very hard. I've spent a lot of time facing old demons and having my butt kicked by new ones. I don't think I knit a stitch for four weeks toward the end of the semester, and knitting is my main vehicle of relaxation. My spinning wheel is woefully neglected. After the whirlwind of finishing school, moving house, having family in for graduation, and driving across the country, I was at the end of my rope. The first day alone in the apartment I was miserable. I rattled around against the walls, sure that there were a million things I should be doing. But then, I started to relax. I'm sleeping eight hours every night. I'm cooking my own food again, and not rushing so much. I've read four books in two weeks. And yes, I'm knitting. When the worries bear down on me, and yes there are still plenty of worries, I take a moment to breathe the sea air and be grateful for the time I have now. Time to think, time to heal, and time to create. That is worth everything, and I couldn't ask for more on my birthday.

Now, let's have a closer look at that knitting, shall we? You just hush about the fact that I already have a green cotton sweater on the needles, this one's totally different. I ordered some Blue Sky organic colored cotton from kpixie . They got it to me with characteristic promptness. I immediately forgot about the thrumpety-thrump number of projects I already have going and swatched with my new yarn. If you haven't worked with this stuff, try it sometime. It's very fuzzy and soft. Not the sturdiest of yarn, it pills rather easily, but a dream on the skin. And I love the idea of completely undyed organic cotton, in that fresh springtime green. My mission with the yarn is to make a cardi to throw over what I'm wearing for a little protection from that ocean breeze. I love it, but this time of year it's still a little chilly in the nights. (Yes, I'm aware it will probably be fall by the time I'm done, but fall's chilly too) It's being worked on KP options, about which I have already waxed poetic, but I will add that the slick needles and smooth joins are very good for keeping a very fuzzy (and thus clingy) yarn moving along. And it's a relief to be working on number 7 needles, feels like it's zipping right along. I'm calling it the Marina sweater, for the city of Marina del Rey, which I get to call home for the brief space of the summer. Already I'm dreading going back to NC. Living in a blue state will be hard to give up.

In other news, I have my gifts for my KTS3 pal all boxed up and ready to go. I've had lots of fun shopping for her, and got to include local goodies from NC and CA both. I hope she likes all the treats I chose.