A day in the life of me...

1. Yarn dyeing paraphanalia 2. Ivy dye bath with yarn 3. Yarn dyed with ivy, virginia creeper, virginia creeper with iron added, and red clover 4. Frazier! 5. Afternoon tea and knitting 6. Ivy & Virgina Creeper dyebaths 7. Bankhead crew 8. Albinistic hooded warbler we caught a couple days ago

Macrame, anyone?

Rachel and I tried out our first dyeing experiment... It was moderately successful. We decided on red clover for our first plant, it grows abundantly in a field near one of our study plots. It is also an exotic and slightly invasive plant, so no guilt in picking it! We used mostly the flowers and some leaves. In the book it said the color would turn out gold. I was thinking, like, a darkish gold. Well, you know those yellowish-gold macramed plant hangers from the '70s? Thats what color we got...

You can't really tell the color that well in the pictures, but its not exactly what I was hoping for. However, it was successful, in that it changed the color of the yarn. I think I will dye over it with something else, because I really don't think I will ever use this! Next up is... cherry bark (pink), bracken fern (tanish/yellow), virginia creeper (peach), ivy (green), and thistle (dark olive green). But not all at once!

UPDATE

Hi girls,

I (once again) don't have any pictures to share, but I'll give you an update of my trip to Nevada this weekend (I may have some pictures later this week). I interviewed in Reno on Friday, visited two knitting stores (and didn't buy much, yay for my restraint!), visited the Patagonia outlet store (awesome) and looked at some apartments/houses to rent.

The interview went well. I met with the 5 dietitians, it was real informal and converstational. I think I did a fine job. If I don't get it, that's ok, because I really felt like I did my best. There are 6 other applicants, so pretty tough competition. They said I should hear something this week. I'm trying not to think about it......

Saturday my mom and I looked at apartments. I think it was good for her to learn more about the area and to see that I won't be living in a crackhouse. We found two nice places, both reasonable distances from Kane's work (~25-30 minutes for him) and about 5 minutes from the job I interviewed for.

We spend the rest of our time exploring the area. We drove around Lake Tahoe, Carson, Minden and Reno. My Mom hated Reno proper, but I think that's mainly because it's a city undergoing a facelift. The city planners are in the process of turning downtown into a yuppie playground, complete with waterfront townhouses and a whitewater playpark VS. the old, nasty, trashy, casinos that populate the downtown presently. Let's just say that planners aren't there yet. The foot hills of Mt. Rose were very nice, which is where one of the apartments we looked at is located. She was happier about that.

I'll be sure to update more as I know more. I worked on my sock and a baby bootie (one of my good friends had her baby while we were gone). I'll hopefully finish both soon. I also brought my skirt along, but once again, forgot the pattern!
Keep you posted and happy knitting!
Jamie

Ok, ok, I'll fill you in!

Hey girls,

Sorry so long (again). Things have been so crazy since we've returned from Park City. I also was hoping to get some knitting done to post on the blog, so bear with me this post is pictureless.

Kane has been offered a full time position in Carson city, NV (30 minutes from Lake Tahoe). He's currently jumping through hoops to complete all of the licensure requirements and malpractice insurance applications, etc.

I've been offered 2 part time positions at two different facilities (one in Lake Tahoe proper and one in Carson City) and this weekend I'm off for an interview for a full-time position at Renown Medical Center (in Reno, about 35+ minutes from Carson City). This is the job that I'm really interested in because it would offer a ton of opportunities to work with a team of dietitians (who all seem really cool from what I can tell on the phone) and it would potentially allow me to become a certified nutrition support dietitian (sort of a "critical care" dietitian). Reno is really cool as is Carson, so I'm hoping to also learn more about both areas and look for an apartment or house to rent in the event we end up moving.

This is somthing that is extremely exciting for us. We love the mountains out there, so much to do with all the wide open space, tons of national and state parks. Our favorite ski area, Kirkwood is ~45 minutes from Carson City and they get a ton of snow 500+ inches and have ~300 days of sunshine....what's not to love! Kane's dream would be to join the ski patrol @ Kirkwood and get to do backcountry patrol, avalanche charges and work with the avalanche puppies (they are extremely cool and really cute too).

The quandry is about the parents, which is why I haven't posted much on the topic. They are bummed and sad and kind of pouty about the whole thing. Mom is trying to be supportive, but my Dad, not so much. I guess this has been my main sticking point, otherwise I'd be 200% excited. I know that it's difficult to change people, especially after so many years, it's just hard to feel good about something that you arent' receiving support on (the unreasonable guilt of the Suttons....I'm sure you've seen Bill act this way before).

So, that's pretty much where we're at. I'll have more info after this weekend (hopefully). Please, to both of you, COME VISIT! We can go down to Yosemite (or anywhere you all would want to go) and we can hike around and talk geology (I'm obsessed with Sierran geology), go for a cross country ski and tour the many knitting stores (there are 4, I've been to 3 and I'm going to the fourth hopefully this weekend: Jimmy Beans Wool in Reno).

About knitting, I've finished my first sock and I'm starting the second one on the flight out. I've finished all the lace on my first panel (I ripped so many times this weekend, but finally got it done) and I'm ready to start the eyelet row. I'll give you my stats when I finish with that so you can help me with finishing.

Wish me luck and happy knitting!
Jamie

...I don't even know where to start, its been so long! I have been done at the coffee shop for a week now (thank God!), but its still been busy around here - the field season has somehow snuck up on me - the birds are here and are getting ready to get busy. So, I've been out in the field a bunch last week to get prepared, not really fun stuff, but it has to get done. That means not much knitting (well, not as much as usual). It rained over the weekend, so no field work, but I got lots done... taxes (finally), cleaning, organizing, and knitting.
I had been on a knitting hiatus last week - however,

I did make these wee sockies for my friend's baby whose first birthday was a week ago.

I've lost all interest in the cardigan that I started... so I've put it aside for a while. Its not turning out the way I was imagening, so its hard to motivate myself to figure out how to shape the sleeves.

I did however manage to work on my skirt a little. The lace is going much quicker on the second side than the first side did. I did this lace in two nights - just a couple hours (...okay, well maybe 4 hours).


Rachel and I have big plans to do some natural dyeing using plants. So I went to the library tonight to see if they had any books on dyeing using plants. Well, let me tell you, ya'll should visit the library. They have an awesome selection of books!!!! Why hadn't I thought of this before? So this is what I came home with:

The book on the bottom is Killer Tea Cosies - very strange book with all sorts of patterns (knit, crochet, and sew) for tea cosies, the next one up is Sensational Knitted Socks, Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, and on top is Wild Color - an awesome book that explains all about plant dyeing and what plants yield what colors under what circumstance, what you can add to the dye baths to change the results, etc. I am really psyched about this - Rachel & I even stopped in Hartselle on our way back from Bankhead today to look in the thrift stores for big pots or kettles to use for our project. I can't wait!

In other exciting news, we are getting trailers to stay in out at Bankhead this year! Could not be happier. One word: air conditioning (I guess thats two words). We are going to be staying out there this weekend, and I can't wait for the laid-back feeling of being out in the woods for a week at a time. I should be able to get lots done...

And Jamie, we need a update on whats going on with you. I know you're busy, but your brother proves to be a dearth of information when it comes to your big move... fill us in!

No Promises, but....

Since my panels look just the same as they did the last time I was down in the dirty south, I haven't had much to post but I just figured out some exciting news that is worth even more than our three knit skirts if it is true....

I CAN GRADUATE in SPRING 2008! (probably)

under the following conditions that is:
*I don't fail to complete my classes this semester because of any measly blood clots
*I'm not being a moron and completely overlooking something important that would stop me from graduating.

All I have to do is take a May Term class that works really well with my summer schedule, called America's Diverse Cultures, then next semester take 17 credits of calculus plus Earth Systems, Glacial Geology, Geodynamics II, and Structural geology. And then, for my last semester I'll be busy with 18 credits of Chemistry II, Sedimentology & Stratigraphy, Geochronology & History of the Earth, and then a "cognate science" such as soils, limnology, or GIS, and a 4-credit elective, possibly Vertebrate Paleontology or some sort of independent research project with the lab I'm working in.

Whooohoo! That's so do-able, and then I can .... uh, who knows but I'll figure that out later.

Its refreshing since I've spent the last year thinking I would still be here until the cold and blustery winter of 2008. Just the motivation I need to get on top of all this missed work (that as you can see I am doing so faithfully at this moment) ... ok so now on to that...

First Panel, Ces't Fini!

Everyones Back!

I'm glad to have everyone back! Jamie - Utah looks beautiful, even if there wasn't a lot of snow. It sounds like you had fun despite the chaos! ... And those socks are beautiful! I love the colors - its kind of funny because I read your post yesterday right after I got home from Barnes and Noble where I bought Favorite Socks. In blogland it seems everyone is raving about this book, and when I saw it I decided I needed to start making more interesting socks. Its weird, because before I made any socks I thought, whats the big deal? They're socks, no one even sees them on your feet! But then I made a pair, and then another, and then another. Its addicting. And there is just something comforting about wearing socks you made. Its almost like having a secret or something. So I will make more! I do find it kind of ridiculous, though because sock yarn is SOOOO expenisive. I can go to the store and buy a pair of socks for $3, or I can spend $20 on yarn and two weeks making them.

So on to more exciting things... Here is the progress of my skirt. Slowly but surely, it is coming along. I think I finally have the pattern set & I think it will work. Molly, (and Jamie, too), if you want, I can figure out the pattern for you, it is actually pretty easy now that I have it figured out. When you are done with the lace & the eyelet part, stop knitting and give me this information:
1. The number of stitches on your needle when you are finished with the eyelet (I didn't have the number that it said I should have, but I didn't try to go back)
2. The length of what you have done (the lace and eyelet)
3. The total lenght you would like the skirt to be
4. The waist & hip you want
5. Your stitch gauge & your row gauge

I am also working on my first design project. Figuring out the skirt pattern made me decide that I could design something simple if I wanted. I saw this and had to have it, so I designed a pattern inspired by it. I am knitting on size 10s, so it is going fast. I am finished with one front side and just casted on for the other.

Well it has been a while since there's been any news on here from me, so here I am again... I haven't disappeared completely! I am in the hospital again, but I'm in a good mood (as long as I've got some vicadin in me for my leg.... it hurts a lot otherwise!) and since I slept all day long, it's 1022 and I'm wide awake. And since I've just got one IV which is rather painless, unlike before, I think I'm going to finally get back to knitting on this skirt. This skirt, which thanks to your horror stories, I'm a little worried about, but I'm still on the first lace squares still so I'll just plug on through until I find some problems of my own....

So, since I have no gorgeous pictures of Utah mountains or springtime in the South to share, and I'm pretty sure you don't want to see any pictures I might take of where I've been lately, that's about all I have to share. Hopefully I'll have more good news soon... from a more comfortable bed!

We're home from Park City....

The view from Snowbird, in Little Cottonwood Canyon, looking down into Salt Lake City.

Hi girls,
We had a wonderful week. It was relaxing/yet a little crazy. It's always difficult to coordinate 10 people. We thought that since everyone was an adult, that would cut down on how complicated the trip would be.....we were wrong.


A picture of the group....missing one, Joey (the picture-taker). I'm the lone snowboarder.

We couldn't decide what area to ski everyday, what day to take off, who was going to use what rental car, who was going out drinking (not us), people taking forever to get up and go due to hangovers,....etc. But, all in all we had a nice time. It was nice to be back in the mountains. Utah is a beautiful state with tons of natural history to enjoy (Molly, I wish you were with us to show me some geology). We spent all of our time in the Wasatch Mountains, which from what I understand are mainly a sandstone-based range. They are prone to erosion, and aren't very good for climbing. We got 5 days of skiing in, which was plenty for me....my legs are still sore. We were very concerned about the lack of snow (see the valley below in the group picture above....NO snow) in Park City, but when we got in the Cottonwood Canyons the snow was much better. This is the first year where the area has only gotten ~200 inches of snow. They usually get 500+ inches. Can you say global warming? On our 3rd day we got about a foot of powder, which was nice...I've never snowboarded in powder before and fell about a hundred times.



Here is a picture of that darn hat that drove me crazy. It fits it's new owner perfectly and he loves it. These folks (Jenna and Aaron) are some of our favorites, we tend to only see them on vacation. The picture is in a sports bar/"private" club (Utah has some DIFFERENT drinking laws) that we visited a few times to watch WVU basketball games. WVU won both games, which is awesome and they are this year's NIT champions. The state pride was really going strong out there in Utah.


Jill, I'm sorry that you have to be the person who discovers all the issues with the pattern, but I'm going to check my row gauge now. I don't know if Bill told you or not, but I forgot my pattern for the skirt at home. I had my yarn and all other implements, but no pattern!

So, because of this I mainly worked on a new pair of socks. It was my first patterned sock. I used a pattern called the "Cable twist ribbing". This is all I got done. I knitted on the plane ride out (a 5 hour ride), in the car en route to ski areas (30 min/day) and on the plane ride home (4 hours). But so far, it has been an enjoyable experience. I love the yarn, the varigated is Mountain Colors 4/8 wool hand dyes in Lost trail and the blue heel (and toe) is Cascade 220 in blue 8480. I think I'm going to put the stitches on a holder and then do the other sock, because in the past I've had SSS (second sock syndrome) pretty bad.

I'm going to finish up with a good picture of the snow on our first day of new snow. Molly, I hope you are doing better....



Love,
Jamie