mayflower

This blog was starting to depress even me....so....A  good things LIST!

* Moving into a one bedroom apartment at the end of May that is just be for ME is a very good thing! It's over 700 square feet with a huge living room that will be part painting studio part living room. SUPER EXCITED! The best part? The rent is only $375 (this is even low for Lubbock!) I've moved all the yarn I've found into my painting studio and have started cataloging them...it's been crazy...

This is only part of it!

* Yarn, of course. My most recent addition from WEBS' Anniversary sale (beware...it's dangerous!) 10 luscious skeins of a beautiful pink Elsebeth Lavold Silky wool

Nothing like gorgeous yarn to cheer a gal up!

* Managing to get some knitting time amid all the craziness is a very good thing!

mmm, dreamy, soft Plymouth DreamBaby

It's going to be a tank with a cool fair-ilse boob-band with a square neck-line. But I'm still not sure since I'm just making it up as I go. Did I really need ANOTHER ufo? Probably not...but inspiration struck, so I went with it!  Plus, most of my other ufos have already been packed up.

* DOGGIES! I'm dog/cat sitting Ranger and Ms. Alice this week. Ranger is a crazy joy-machine with boundless energy, and is positively ADDICTED to playing fetch!

eww, VERY slobbery ball

* And the #1 reason I'm absolutely jumpy and giddy? I've been accepted into SNAG's national slide show AND student show. SNAG (Society of North American Goldsmiths) is  THE society of metalsmithing in the US. This is BIG!! I'll be in Chicago next week at their big BIG conference and I'll get to attend the opening at the Mars Gallery! Hearing the stats made me EVEN giddier!!

Thoughts Materialized- student exhibition at Mars Gallery in Chicago

My piece "Roulette:HBV" was one of of 98 works  chosen from a field of 664!
(Side note: Texas Tech's Jewelry/Metals program is in a 4 way tie with San Diego State University, University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign and University of Wisconsin- Madison. Each school had 6 works accepted into the exhibition. These are some of the TOP programs in the country!)

InFlux -Slide show presented at the conference, images will be housed in SNAG's permanent collection

The slide of my piece "Bound"  and the process slide from my sketchbook was one of 87 works  accepted from a field of 360. 14 of the 87 works came from Texas Tech.

Yippeee! I'll probably share these images next week.

Many things to get done (gosh, and many blogs to catch up on!)

Happy knitting!

Whoa, I'm making all sorts of progress on the knitting front! It may seem like I either 1. knit allll the time or 2. knit really really fast, but in reality I don't post all that often, and I got a lot done in the few weeks before studios started getting hectic :)

whew, someone needs a good blocking! Since this is my first fair-isle project, my tension is pretty darn wacko...In the same panel, I've erred on BOTH too tight and too loose :( It started out tight, I realized this and of course over compensated. I'm not super-anal at all with knitting, so it's all good :D I'm using Paton's Classic Wool and i LOVE it! It's a soft and earthy wool that's wonderful to knit with. I think I love the way it's smells the most..nice and woolly without being too sheepy! BUT since I seem to be a little sensitive to wool, I know it'll be a little scratchy as a sweater :( JoAnn.com is having this stuff on sale at 4.49 a ball (over 200 yards!) Sometimes they have this special with FREE SHIPPING! It's a great deal! (I just found a free shipping code valid until the 28th! Here it is:GREETING020625 It's a great time to buy yourself some! )

Even Bonnie, the whippet princess loves this stuff! At 14, she's all (very spoiled) princess. Only a princess would have a pretty sweater, a soft leopard print blankie, and a pillow of merino wool! And of course there's Flame, a very sweet greyhound (i love this goofy pic of him!). I spent the past week dog-sitting these babes! When my crazy life settles down, I'm definitely getting a whippet or a greyhound (maybe both, like Wendy!)

         

Taking four studios while battling waves of senioritis and dry creative juices has been tough, especially with the pressure of GRAD SCHOOL looming ahead (eeee!). My professors have told me to "just paint!" "just play!" "don't be so serious about your work!" but the little voice in my head says "nooo! your work must be stellar! you need a fab portfolio to get into a good grad program! no playing for you!" *sigh*  I may be loosey-goosey with my knitting, but school is definitely another story. BUT I feel like I'm on the verge of a nice sprinkling of creative juices, so I'm optimistic :D The coming year scares me...graduation/grad school?/move?/boyfriend?....eep! But eventually everything will fall into place, right? I guess you'll all just have to stay tuned :D

Happy Knitting!