Moved to an apartment that is a short bike ride from work so that I can come home during the day to walk my dog… that is, when I get a dog.  To be honest, I don’t love my apartment.  On the good side, the building is small and nice, and the unit has hardwood floors and a gas stove.  But there’s semigloss paint everywhere — I may repaint if I stay — with not enough light.  The surprise was the procession of grocery store delivery trucks past my bedroom window at 6am (curse them!).  Some things you don’t find out until you move in.  But it will do for a short while, considering how hard to get an apartment that allows dogs, especially if you don’t already have a dog to present to the landlord.   (See?  He’s no  Kujo.)

The last week has been an emotional wringer, not least because of frantic work demands, and I am so glad to feel somewhat clearheaded at last.   Don’t know if this is going to be a long separation or a short stop on the way to the big D, but I feel almost ready to live alone.

Tomorrow I fly to Seattle.  I’m taking my sister to Olympic National Park for fantastic hikes and then Vancouver for fantastic food.  It could be a blast, as long as we don’t annoy each other to death, and I look forward to the distance.

for the fact that I’ve been absent for a whole month is…  (TMI alert!)

…that my husband and I are separating from each other.  Our 5 year anniversary is in late July; by then, I’ll have moved out.

I am hunting for a dog-friendly apartment in a neighborhood not too far from work and safe enough to wander afar during walks with my (as yet nonexistent) dog.  Wish me good luck!

A lot of this may require intense editing in the morning.  I’m hovering  in between the caffeine of some chai I had after dinner, and an Ambien I popped two hours ago.

So:  we both love each other and care about each other, like living together even, but we are deeply unhappy nonetheless.  Way TMI to explain what that’s about. In case anyone wonders.  we did try.  With all the money thrown at therapists (his, mine, and ours), we could have padded a down payment for a house in this outrageously expensive region.  And we did grow.  But I’m looking forward to setting into a place of my own, nesting a bit (always avoided doing that), bonding with a dog, and re-booting many of the aspects of my life that deteriorated during my sojourn through grad school

Feeling a bit of dread about winding up single on the cusp of 38, I picked up a book on being alone.  I always found the solitude literature fascinating, but I find myself having to dig past the second wave feminist depiction of girlhood as tragedy and womanhood as victimhood, in order to get to the core idea that drew me to the book:  The value of learning how to be with oneself, without the distraction and external validation of a sexual relationship, at least for a time.

In between mourning and feeling abandoned, I look forward to being with myself (and a pooch, of course).  And setting up a crafting corner in a new apartment, painting the walls in bright, happy colors.

The Knit and Crochet Show is in Portland this fall. Last year it was in Oakland, and I had a blast with my mom. Since it’s one of my favorite cities, I’m tempted to take a trip to this one. I’m practically drooling at the incredible list of classes, taught by knit and crochet design luminaries like Lily Chin. Didn’t count, but it looks as if there are as many crochet classes as knit classes (yay!).

Since it has been so slow to warm up this spring, I want to crochet a short, simple swing jacket with 3/4 sleeves, which seems to be all the rage these days. Now, I have yet to make anything with set in sleeves, but I’m determined! Here are some inspirations:

I’m not crazy about the Peter Pan collars, will have to figure out how to make small lapels. The illustrations in the Vogue Knitting Bible should tell me what the basic collar shape is, at least. But those skinny sleeves ending in puffy cuffs (cream Kensie Lace Swing Jacket) are so darling!

Ordering yarn online is tricky business. As often as not I wind up with yarn that is inappropriate for the pattern I had in mind. That’s how I wound up with 8 balls of Peruvian Pure Alpaca Fina from Elann.com. So I was glad to discover that Robyn Chachula of crochetbyfaye–who is quickly becoming one of my favorite crochet designers–had worked up a short sleeve version of her Comfy Cardi (pattern published in Crochet Me) in the very same yarn. Best of all, it’s crocheted mostly in one piece. I started with the back and am working my way through the sleeve.

I always have a terrible time getting gauge. I think I just crochet more loosely than most people. But I can’t stand to use hooks smaller than 4mm, so I got as close as I could and modified the pattern a bit to account for the looser gauge.

It has a soft hand but is too prickly for my sensitive skin, so I’ll probably have to layer this over a shirt.  I find this yarn a bit difficult to work with, but the pattern works up quickly.  If this one works out, I’ll try another version with a nice periwinkle Patons Grace from my stash.

From the pattern from Berroco. The pattern is easy to follow. I’m actually quite happy that I managed to knit something like this! The pattern calls for double stranded alpaca yarn but I opted for a sheeny and sturdy acrylic (Vanna’s Choice). I figure there’s less chance of pilling, and the color choices aren’t bad.

Desert photography is tricky! The light is so harsh, what little color there is washes out. Here are my best attempts:

After a while I realized that black and white works better given the lighting conditions.

My partner and I just returned from Joshua Tree National Park.  We camped two nights at Jumbo Rocks campground, book-ended by one night each at a hotel and a B&B. All the joshua trees and flowers were in bloom, and we had a great time hiking through desert canyons and scrabbling over boulders.  The B&B, Roughley Manor, was a pleasant alternative to a hotel and served a delicious breakfast.

Now I’m totally itchy from sunburn and the dry weather.  I used SPF 70!!  but alas did not re-apply often enough on our 6 hour hike from Cottonwood Oasis to Lost Palms Oasis and back.

On the craft front, I got kind of bored again with Babette but will probably pick it up again soon.  Meanwhile I have plans to knit Berrocco’s Brea Bag.  I have a hankering for bags. Recently I bought this bag by Angry Little Girls (formerly Angry Little Asian Girls) from a local store.   My partner is not so crazy about that one, but I love it and carry it with me all the time.

Many (belated) thanks to Yarnnut at gailknits who gave me a “You Make My Day” award. Here’s how it works in her words: “Give the award to up to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel so happy about Blogland! Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so that they can pass it on. Beware! You may get the award several times!”

So it’s my turn! I enjoy reading many, many blogs, most of them craft related. Here are ten nine that I take particular inspiration or pleasure from, in no particular order.

• Geckogrrl of All in a Day’s…. I always feel privileged to read her crafty and emotionally honest posts, and genuinely look up to her. Thanks again for all the encouraging posts through my dissertation and career decisions!
• Robyn of crochetbyfaye is an amazing design talent. I always look forward to seeing what she comes up with next. Her pattern sneak previews are tantalizing and leave me impatient for the day they get published.
• Futuregirl has got talent and dedication to craft. Kudos to someone who tries to make a living out of doing what they love.
• Lily of LilyGo designs and knits perfectly tailored, fine-gauge garments with a demure feminine sensibility.
• Hannah of Bittersweet maintains a fabulous blog on craft and vegan desserts chock full of beautiful ly composed photos and witty amigurumi stories. She is only 19 years old. And has already published a dessert cookbook.
• Mariannealice of Applehead specializes in collages and cartoons as well as crochets and knits. She has a distinct soft, charming aesthetic. I also love the photos of her two beautiful daughters because they remind me of me and my sis growing up.
• Milobo of Without Seams is another fellow ambicrafter (that is, she both crochets and knits). I identify with her because of her affinity for the technical aspects of yarncraft design and for seamless garments. Wish I could finish projects as consistently!
• Yarn Abuse is a hapa Korean gal (or so I assume based on her kimchi tchigae post) with fierce knitting skills, legions of regular readers and the self-deprecating wit of a Jewish comedian. Since so much of that wit is directed at her (imagined fat) ass, the feminist in me shrinks a little but she is still fun to read.
• Last but not least, my friend Dotorious Judy of Otherwise is a fellow foodie and 1.5 generation Korean American leftist. I highly recommend checking out her “Missionary” comics based on her dissertation project.

Snow and Sky, originally uploaded by Rina7.

Taken at Royal Gorge cross country ski resort on Monday, the morning after the snow storm. It grew so warm that all the snow on the trees melted off.

View of sunrise over a frozen lake from our room at Ice Lakes Lodge. I wouldn’t recommend the lodge–or at least, the lodge restaurant, where the bussing staff’s hygiene practices were suspect. Lots of families, not for a romantic getaway. But the view from the rooms was amazing when it wasn’t storming outside.

Whew, up to panel 7 now. This is taking a while, mostly because I keep second-guessing the color sequences, the woeful decision to dye some of my own colors, and my recent knitting binge. You may notice that I swapped out some of the colors in the earlier panels–mostly removed some oranges and browns to keep things a little fresher. As I was ripping out the sewing, I thought to myself “I gotta get checked out for OCD.”

Three posts in one night. I never have time to post anymore, it seems. Among other things I’m working on a confidential project (not craft related), will post more when it goes public.