Contemplating

There are so many options for one's blog that it's hard to decide. I have an option to start another one with the purlbeehive, but this is where my first handful of posts are archived.

I started this one as part of an assignment for school and didn't put a lot of effort into keeping it. As I now actually read blogs regularly, I have a great sense of what I would like to write about. Or at least what would keep Miss Sarah content.

This is a new project started at her behest. I made a scarf for myself between spring and winter of 2008, so a proper sweater is long overdue. The finished product is on the cover of Interweave Knits Spring 2009. March has brought ideal knitting weather to Toronto - perfect for an extended hibernation and project completion.

New Beginning Sampler

Any quilter under the tutelage of Helen Plaucshin will start with a Sampler. All of the blocks are different, fairly simple and mercifully large. My first Sampler probably took me just over a year. In the end, I gave it to someone that I loved and they still have it. In fact I don't even have a picture of it, but I'll try and dig up some of the fabric scraps to post. When fabric shopping with the always delightful Tasha, I found Anna Griffin's Blythe line at the Workroom. The owner Karyn had combined them with other fabrics to make a Sampler and it was so inspiring. So we begin again and I think it's perfect. I returned to my first set of notes from Helen and resolved to pick different blocks for my New Beginning Sampler. This is a Jacob's Ladder with a little peice of the British Isles snuck in.

A worthwhile purge

In a former life knitting, and sometimes quilting, was considered competition for my attention. I was persuaded to put knitting aside for years because it was deemed self indulgent. Spending so much time on Ravelry reminded me of the sense of accomplishment a finshed object gives you, as well as the happiness that comes from wrapping it around someone you love. I've made two pairs of socks since January and now and then I'm gripped with conflict because the happiness of picking up a project is complicated by guilt. I'm confident it will pass ;)

The photo attached is the trim on a hat which is an exercise in closure. I found some yarn that I bought to make someone special a scarf and I couldn't bring myself to just give it away. I want the alternate destiny for the yarn to be just as meaningful as the original plan. So, I emailed my friend Naomi in Jo'burg to ask about sending hats and sweaters to the daycare where she volunteers. The facility is subsidized for families living with HIV/AIDS who spend a lot of their income on treatment. I have enough to make several little sweaters and hats, though I am avoiding the green scarf yarn right now. I have six assignments due before the end of school and I don't know how using it will affect me. There's plenty of time for bawling after I hand in my last assignment.

Rationalizing with academia

Well then... another class with a blog component. It's my last semester of "Information School" and it will be all done but the crying in 6 weeks. I ordered my graduation dress from Anthropologie in January just to get stoked about it.

To get me a little bit closer to the end, I have to evaluate a Service System (as Jim Spohrer et al. sees it) and their use of social networking tools. It is taken from the article The Service System is the Basic Abstraction of Service Science presented at the 41st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - 2008.

Tasha got me hooked on a site called Ravelry.com in the fall. It's an online community for knitters, crocheters, designers, spinners and dyers. It is the best Web 2.0 site I've ever seen and I am determined to work it into my assignment. I spend a lot of time on Ravelry, a bit unusual for me, so I figure there must be an academic reason that I am compelled to procrastinate in this way. What we have here is a pair of socks for Stephanie who was the other FIS intern in South Africa this summer. They are propped up against my "study sweater", found in a used clothing shop in London for 7 £.

I sent an email to the developers of the site to see if they ever had an commercial aspirations in mind for Ravelry. It is primarily social networking but I need to define who the customer or beneficiary of the service would be. I'll get Kelly's opinion as well. To think... I may be able to actually have a perfectly good rationale for all of the slacking I had planned for this weekend.

Not a rhetorical question...

This is the orchard-to-be in Alto de los Mores and some of Margie's students. Observe my red bandana. It has been part of my life for 14 years and I do my best work when I wear it. I pulled it out of retirement for my Peru trip. I think if I bring it with me to South Africa I will find the perfect adventure.

When I conspire about what I will do with my life, I try to think of the last job I had where I was really happy and proud of myself. If I find a job with similar characteristics I think I can be be very happy. So the answer is easily, cooking in a treeplanting camp in university. Treeplanting is considered an extremely difficult job and anyone who has spent a season in Kappuskasing will agree. I planted for 3 years and then became a cook. Anyone who planted will also tell you that anything other than planting is a huge reward -earned with blood.

My ideal job will include:

1. Being dirty
2. Tents
3. Community
4. Physical demands
5. Infrastructure challenges

So this there a way to be a dirty information scientist?

corner-piece

Rob Brezsney from freewillastrology.com had this to say to me last month...

"To create a pearl, an oyster needs an aggravating parasite inside its shell. It builds layers of calcium carbonate around the invader, gradually fabricating the treasure. How long does it take from the initial provocation to the finished product? Five years for a pearl of average size, and as many as ten years for a big one. I hope that puts into perspective the tenacious work you're doing on your own master project, Libra. It may seem sometimes as if you've been striving to transform your irritant for an eternity, but you're actually right on schedule."

Pearls are a little extravagant for this 'shwa girl; I see the life I have plan for myself as a little puzzle and I got a sweet corner-piece on Monday. I am going to South Africa this summer to work as an intern at the Nelson Mandela Foundation. I thought I was going to need my inhaler when I read the email. I have to work really hard at concentrating on the rest of my semester. I goal is to budget an hour or two every day to planning and the rest is school and work. My dearest Sarah who has 2 very small boys and a full-time job said - "I don't think I do either particularly well". I found that very reassuring. I suppose I'm going to have archive my Martha Stewart Living for good - put them in a box and seal them with duct tape. That chapter is on hold for now.

My dearest Sarah told me that she checks my blog nearly every day and I'm now feeling very negligent. When classes aren't in session, I've so little to confess. I suppose when I see blogs like Baghdad Burning it's hard to think that "intersession" minutia will suffice. I did attach a recent photo of my lovely lady friends (left to right) Karen, Me & Shelley. This is the balcony of the Cosmopolitan Hotel where my darling Shelley stayed during a hard core capitalist upload for BMO. She's a financial goddess afterall. We were celebrating Karen's recent engagement over Thai food and wine. I promised Sarah that I will post a picture of my Christmas tree with the pipe cleaner angel before New Years. I'm not done with Christmas, I've decided to evaluate the whole Christmas season before I answer the "how was your Christmas?" question. If I based it on 36 hours in the 'shwa, I may not reflect favourably. I have a few more objectives that I will list:

1. Yoga class every day.
2. Matinee movie with Gaby & Livy.
3. Wine and a fire at Ali's.
4. Movies with Sophie, Zoe & Jess.
5. Dim Sum with Johnny.
6. High Tea with Geoffrey.
7. Paint my desk.
8. Visit with Sarah... updates to follow.