Friday, July 17, 2009

Hello? Hello!

Well, I vowed to myself that I wouldn't blog until I'd finished my thesis proposal. I didn't think it was going to take four months, but it did, and it's done. I have to do a little tweaking before formally submitting next week, but it's close enough to finished that I can relax. Hallelujah!

So it's been exactly four months since my last post. Mostly I've been working on my proposal, which included a couple of Toronto library trips and a longer road trip to Bloomington, Indiana, to do research at the Kinsey Institute. I've also done a lot of knitting -- I'll put up a few photos soon. In the spring I was on a bit of a book jag, so for now I'll leave you with a pile of inspiration:


From top to bottom:

- Whimsical Little Knits by Ysolda Teague (so charming!)

- Material Obsession by Aussie quilt-shop owners Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke (beautiful photos of fabulous quilts) (I see there is now Material Obsession Two, Lord help me...)

- Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy Johnson (patterns + general how-to)

- Ontario's Heritage Quilts by Marilyn I. Walker (wonderful historical quilts -- so glad I found this in the clearance section at a Chapters store)

- Country Weekend Knits by Madeline Weston (one of those books, like A Fine Fleece that I want to step into and live in)

- Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby (old news, I know -- I finally bought this book not so much for the patterns as for the historical info on lace knitting)

- Stitched in Time by Alicia Paulson (pretty pictures of pretty projects)

- Chatelaine's Gardening Book (published 1976 -- a nice thrift-store find)

- Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts (need I say more?)

- Retro Knits by Kari Cornell and Jean Lampe (great reproductions of vintage patterns and images)

Whew! Blogging takes a long time. That's why I'm not going to be blogging all the time anymore, but I don't think I'll disappear completely, either...

30 comments:

Linda S. said...

Glad to see that you're back. I've checked your blog from time to time and today, there you are.

I'm glad your thesis is going well.

Looking forward to seeing your knitting projects.

Anonymous said...

It's so good to hear from you. How's Mookey?

I'm so proud of you for hanging in there and meeting this thesis milestone!

Gudrun Johnston said...

Hello! Welcome back to blogland! Congrats on just about being done with the thesis! Looking forward to seeing what you've been up to knitting-wise!

Karen Wong said...

Congrats on getting the proposal done!

Looking at your Ishbel exery time I checked your blog inspired me to knit a couple fo them. your photo highlights the lace so well that I could easily spot mistakes. Thanks.

Chris said...

Good luck with the thesis! I've done one as well and I know what it's like to feel guilty doing anything other than working on it for months and months.

Great summer reading stack, there! Hope you can get some knitting time in!

Tinker said...

Missed you. Please don't stop blogging. You are still on my favs and I really got tired of Ishbel.
Good luck on your thesis.
Pat

Katie M. said...

Welcome back! Congratulations on finishing the prospectus ... looking forward to seeing your new knits!

Stacey said...

Yes, blogging takes time...which I don't have much of these days either. I sure hope you don't cut back too much though...yours is one of my faves :)

lori said...

Congratulations on wrapping up your thesis proposal! And welcome back. Just last night I was thinking of dropping you a line.

I can totally relate about having to retreat to get the dissertation work done. My blog is woefully neglected, but to trying to complete two years of work within less than a year. Luckily my dissertation is written and all I have to do is defend, 10 days from now!!! Once we move back to Ontario in the fall I look forward to re-balancing my life a little and hopefully getting back into blogging.

Have a great summer and good luck with your work!

Chris said...

Welcome back! And congrats on meeting your goal . . . grad school is hard!

Meg said...

i love Martha's craft book! it is SO inspirational! good pics on all your choices!

Jessica said...

I've never commented but have followed your saga for almost a year now. I'm happy you've completed your thesis proposal but sad because I live in Bloomington and we have a rockin' knitting scene here. We would have wined and dined you had we only known you were coming -- grad students deserve downtime too! If you ever head back down our way, look up our group on Ravelry!

Congrats again and enjoy the new books :)

Unknown said...

Yay, you are back! I've missed you.

Eileen said...

Congratulations on finishing up your thesis proposal. I visit often to check your blog and glad to see you back. Please keep on blogging.

Susan said...

Glad to see you back. You've been missed!

Lisa R-R said...

Welcome back!
I concur, we missed you.
Can hardly wait to see what you were knitting ...
Lisa in Toronto

Kelita said...

Glad to see you back - missed your cheery blogs and great projects that were an inspiration to me. And congratulations on getting your thesis proposal all worked out.

emilyoboe said...

whooo! you rock. welcome back.

Montreal Mama said...

Good luck with your thesis. Must be a huge relief it's almost done!

tadlewog said...

Congratulations! i'm super glad to hear that you're doing well. :)

Seanna Lea said...

Congrats on your thesis. It must be a relief to have the bulk of the work done!

Anonymous said...

So nice to see you again; it's always good to get inspired by your knitting.

Congratulations on finishing that thesis, too!

ellen said...

So glad to see that you have accomplished your first milestone and lived to blog the tale! The books look like an inspiration, too; I can't wait to see what you've been knitting.

Anonymous said...

Good luck with the thesis! Kinsey Institute, eh? Sounds like it will be interesting.

Common Threads said...

Well done! I have missed your entries and congrats on such a huge milestone!

Robin said...

Nice to hear from you, and that your proposal is (almost?) complete! I too cannot resist the books and have a few of the ones you picked up.I especially like Country Knits and Socks from the Toe Up. Hope to see those projects you have been working on soon!

Allison said...

Congratulations on finishing the proposal. That's quite an accomplishment! Thanks for sharing some good-looking books :)

Annie said...

Welcome back from the brink! Here's hoping that your committee approves it with no changes. Glad to see you're sending up a flag to let us know you're doing OK. Good luck with (gasp) the writing of the thesis!

Anonymous said...

Welcome back! Glad to hear your thesis is (almost) done. Good luck!

Unknown said...

I hear ya! Blogging just seems to time consuming lately. But it is nice to see you!