just maryse

Oh, hey there.

For months I've been thinking about downgrading my blog account because I just don't blog anymore. Typepad has been an awesome tool for me. I've been very happy with their service. But after months of no new posts, and then just a handful of posts in 2014, I decided it was time to let it go.

So you've got this.

No fancy domain name by the way. I'm back to my old typepad name. But that's ok. Will I post something new? Maybe, maybe not. We'll see.

Bye for now.

 

Holy Crap!

I was checking out kirsten kapur's most recent blog post where she is celebrating her 9th year of blogging and i thought to myself, "how many years ago did i start?"

PEOPLE! IT WAS 11 YEARS AGO!!! yep. April 16, 2004. don't go look. those first few years were crap. but wow. 11 years.

these days, i'm on instagram more than anything else. it's quick and easy and of the moment. i'm "of the moment" a lot which is really more of my temperment. and blogs require upkeep. redesign. flash. i want to change my banner and it's going to take at least an hour of searching for the photo i want, formatting it correctly and blah blah blah for me to change it, so i'm leaving it for now.

and since i'm still job hunting, i've stopped myself from posting, just in case future employers are looking at my online presence.  if you are a future potential employer and are looking at my online presense, HI! HIRE ME!! BY THE WAY!! LOOK AT HOW TALENTED I AM! heh.

yes. the job search continues. i'm getting so much better at it, i have to tell you. i've easily applied to over 60 jobs. i've stopped using my fancy spreadsheet to chart my progress so it's just an estimate. and i've had dozens of phone interviews and in person interviews. at times it's soul crushing but again, less so now than it was when i started. but anyway, i am moving forth. and the more interviews i have, the more i am figuring out what i really want and valuing more what it is i have to offer. so in that respect, that's good because if i had found something sooner, i might have made the wrong career move.

so that's it. i don't have any crafty stuff to show. my days are spent looking for work, following online tutorials to keep my programming skills up, sketching and doodling and doing a lousy job of keeping house. no wonder i was such a disappointment to my mother. ;)

ELEVEN YEARS! wow.

 

 

what i finished in 2014

in 2014 it became abundantly clear to me that my creative life is what makes my regular life worth living. oh that sounds so dramatic! gah!  but in a way it's true. i think i can put up with a lot as long as i know that at any time i can go hide somewhere and make something.

and in 2014 i think i made a lot of shit.

and a lot of different kind of shit.

1. i designed one cowl and it was published in knitty.com. my first knitty.com pattern!

2. i spun the wool for two of those cowls.

3. i knit Vertices Unite by Stephen West.

4. for a neighbor's baby i knit a hemlock ring blanket.

and 5.  after 3 years of having 20 log cabin squares sitting on my guest bedroom bed, i finally finished my version of the Fussy Cuts blanket published in the book Craft Activism.  For mine i used noro silk garden in shades mostly of teal, aqual, turquoise and Lambs Pride in Charcoal.

In spinning, I added to my handspun stash for a project that i hopes shows itself sometime in 2015.

I crocheted a bunch of potholders for the potholder swap 2014.

And I learned some new skills:

Chawne came to Gather Here and showed me how to make patchwork letters. And then made me promise i would finish them. And so I did. And made a pillow!  She is a monster of a task master.

And in November I took a weaving class at the Fiber Loft. My cricket loom had been sitting in it's box for a couple of years. It was time I take her out for a spin.  I tried my hand at houndstooth and it was really fun!

And when I wasn't doing all of these things, I was drawing. Last winter I took a Creativebug online class with Lisa Congdon and I spent the next few months doodling and drawing and I had a blast. I'm currently taking her sketchbook class.  Just a few of my doodles are included in the mosaic above.

So that's about it. I feel as if I was scattered. How can i become better at any one thing if I'm trying everything? But whatever. I'm having fun.

 

A 2014 Retrospective

i think these retrospective type posts are my favorites or are one of the reasons why i keep blogging even if it's a rare event nowadays.

i spent most of 2014 not working (jokingly refered to as my sabbatical) and i highly recommend it to anyone who can get away with it. it was a year of growth and introspection. and rest and trying new things. 

i learned how to weave!

and learned how to make patchwork letters.

i got a pattern published in knitty. that was cool.

i filled 4 sketch books with doodles and pictures. i had never had a sketchbook before.

i did some traveling and visited 2 cities i'd never been to. Austin was ok, but I loved Chicago.

AND WE ADOPTED KITTENS!

 

last year i didn't make any real resolutions and i don't think i will again this year.  except for the getting a new job.  that one i definitely have to because the alternative is living in squalor. heh.

what I do plan on doing is enjoying myself and trying my best.  i think that's good enough.

HAPPY 2015!

Christmas Eve

j and are lame this year. in a bit i'm heading out to my SIL's to hang out with the nieces and nephews but j insists on lounging on the couch at home. this year there won't be any presents under the tree. there's barely a tree. but that's ok. we have animals in the house again. heh.

 

anyway, i wish you all a merry christmas and a happy new year.

 

 

I Tag Myself

remember when we all did memes on our blogs? it was always fun finding out stuff about people that you didn't know, sometimes leading to real life relationships? remember when? they were also great for when you didn't have a clear cut topic that you wanted to write about. which is why today i tagged myself on this one that is being circulated among the quilters out there.  hi quilters!

1. What am I working on?

a lot of things and nothing at all. which is pretty much my MO. i currently have the following WIPs in the wings.

1. a crocheted blanket that needs finishing (i'm much further along than this)

 2. a knitted blanket that needs finishing (i've lost my mojo for this project, but i'm almost done and i really should just finish it).

3. a knitted headband type thing that i'm currently working on for keeping ears warm.

4. a sweater for me that i have yet to finish and yet i'm so so so damn close.

5. i just learned how to weave!

in addition, i have some handspun waiting for 2 other projects that are in my head. i have been spinning.

then i've been drawing and painting and coloring.

like i said, i'm all over the place these days.

 

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

this question really is specific to the quilters who are participating in this meme but i'm going to broaden a bit, "how does my work differ from others."

well i'm not exactly sure that my work is particularly unique, but i do see some recurring themes.

i'm all about color. almost everything i make at some point was because i was motivated by color. i make blankets because i would never wear multi-colored crazy assed sweaters. or prints for that matter. i rarely wear prints. but blankets and pillows are just asking for a cachophony of color and textures.

i like clean basic shapes and details. my favorite knitting stitch really is garter. i mean, look how pretty this is? i can knit cables and lace and fair isle, but when it comes down to it, i really prefer knitting in garter stitch (oh and i'm a sucker for a modular design).

garter stitch and stripes! 2 of my favorite things ever! also, i just discovered the icord bind off. pain in the ass of course but damn it's a good looking bind off. (pattern from stephen west).

and i'm a huge fan of the granny square. the traditional granny square.

(note: any old crocheted square is not a granny square in my book. don't make me have to correct you.)

 3. Why do I write/create what I do?

i create what i do because i love color. and i like to mix those colors up. my favorite toys as a child were creating toys - a tiny sewing machine, colored markers, paints and legos. i made clothes for my barbies, built houses out of cardboard, tried to create reactions by throwing lotions, powders, tooth paste etc. in the bathroom sink. SCIENCE! (the only thing i succeeded in creating was a mess). and now i create because it calms me and makes me happy. and yes, i majored in a science in college.

 

4. How does my writing/creating process work?

i very rarely plan on paper or sketch first. most of the time i just see a color grouping that i become obsessed with and i have to work in it. a bunch of yarn colorways that i see lying next to eachother in a store. or a photo or project in a book.  sometimes it's a technique that i want to learn. and sometimes it's for SCIENCE! for example over the past few years i've been knitting the same exact sock pattern in different sock yarns as an experiment to see how different yarns look.  i guess i could have knit just swatches, but what's the fun in that.

other than that, most of my ideas just sit in my head and sometimes they make it out, and sometimes they don't.

 and that's it! you can tag yourself. let me know if you do.

and have a happy turkey day!

 

 

 

 

 

Now A Proper Blog with Cats

still no job. in september/october i had 5 interviews all in a row. and several phone interviews. i was feeling good. and then nothing. i'm still in the running for one of those original interviews (second interviews haven't been scheduled but I've been told I'm going to get one), but it's been pretty quiet since then and it's making me kind of regret taking the summer off even if it was a really good thing to do.  but whatever. regrets, i have a few. and there's nothing i can do about that. in the meantime, i continue to apply to anything that isn't a million miles away and that will be challenging. i will persevere.

in the meantime, i've been keeping busy. mid-october was rhinebeck. this year was good. sometimes it's just too much. but this year i had a good time. didn't spend much money (no job) and took only instagram photos but whatever.

then about 10 days after coming back from rhinebeck, on a day i needed some cheering up ...

 

WE GOT KITTENS!!!

 

 

 

they are 4 months old and brother and sister.   he's the black and white tuxedo cat. she's all black (and really hard to photograph. ) with very faint tabby striping that you can only see under certain lighting conditions. after messing around with various name combos (ie.  ferris and jeannie bueller that just didn't feel right) i named them coco (as in chanel ) and lucas (pronounced the frenchie way "luka").  they'll probably only ever respond to "kitty" but whatever, at least the vet will be able to tell who is who.

we love them.

***************************

i adopted them from the Metrowest Humane Society in Ashland MA. 

 

Hi!

after 3 months of nothing from me, here i am again!

you would think that with all of the alledged time i had over the summer that i would be more likely to write, but you would be wrong. it's ironic. with all of the time off i've had, i've never been busier.

but today, an urge to write came over me and i figured why not. (i'm also supposed to be sending out resumes so there's that.) whatever. hi!

so still not working. but i had a good summer. at the end of June, I went to visit a friend from college in Austin. we lived in the Dallas area from the ages of 4-6, and i had been to Houston, but Austin was new to me. I had a good time, and I visited some of the local yarn shops which was neat especially since i dragged my non-knitting friend with me. but you know what? it was freakin' hot. and honestly, give me a blizzard over 90 degree heat any day.  i was definitely glad to come home. the highlight? seeing Eddie Izzard! so wonderfully hilarious, brilliant and handsome.  Check him out if you've never heard of him. he is a delight.

Then at the beginning of August, we headed off to France to visit my dad. my dad is 83 now and since my mother passed away 2 years ago, he's been a little off his game. it's age, yes, but my mother gave him a purpose, even if it was hiding from her (my mother was a bit high maintenance to say the least) and so it's a little sad to see him. but he's doing ok and his health is good. getting old sucks.

and then no sooner had we come back from France, i followed J on a work trip to Chicago. I'd never been so I was pretty excited. And I really loved it. living in Boston for as long as i have, i forget how puny it really is. so chicago's size was a bit of a surprise. 

 

and now it's september. and i'm on the job hunt. what a drag. but i feel good about the outcome. i've sent out several resumes. and i try to send out a couple at least every day. and then i wait. and wait. i mean, i'm awesome! CAN'T YOU TELL?

heh.

ok that's it for now.

 

K-K-K-Katie*

i'm a little behind posting about this, but i was away last week and i'm only now catching up. anyway, last week, Knitty released my latest pattern - A circular scarf/cowl thing that I named Katie. 

 

it's totally reversible , although i like the gray stripe-y side better, it's long enough to wrap around your neck twice without strangling you. the gray is a Lambs Pride worsted. the colored side is handspun. so if you are a spinner, this is a great pattern for using up your less than perfect handspun 2-ply yarns (like mine).

and it's knit in 2-color brioche. brioche is less a stitch than it is a knitting style that produces a wonderfully textured and squishy, stretchy fabric.  i love it.

 

i hope you like it and aren't afraid to try it out.  it's my first non-self published KNIT pattern so even if you don't want to knit it, just keep clicking on the link so that Knitty doesn't regret publishing it. HA!

i'm serious.  add it to your favorites and queues in ravelry too.  GO!

 *the title is from an old post WWI song which by 2014 standards is a bit cruel. google at your peril.

Not Ready Yet

oh hello there.

it's been awhile. what's going on?

for the past couple of weeks i've been thinking that i either have to start blogging again, or just close up shop. when you are "on sabbatical" you start thinking about where you could financially trim things and not that hosting this blog costs me a fortune or anything, but if i'm not using it, i have to lose it. know what i mean?

so i'm posting.

time off has been great. it took not working regularly to realize how stressful my job really was. and not stressful in a "omg so many deadlines" kind of way, but more in a quiet, aggravating, depressing, sort of way.  if i were a better writer i could describe this feeling of "don't wannas" that sat on my shoulder almost every friggin' day. don't get me wrong. my bosses and colleagues were great. but i had outstayed my welcome. getting laid off was the kick in the pants i needed.

since then i've been resting and also evaluating what my next thing will be. i've been taking advantage of our local work center (or state run employment agency, if you will) and have been pleasantly surprised. i thought it wasn't the type of place for me - well-educated and computer literate - but i was wrong.  the help and insight have been invaluable to me.  A career assessment test and the Myers Briggs have pretty much confirmed what i already knew - I just was not loving what i was doing because i wasn't suited for it. it doesn't mean that i have to totally change industries or careers, but it does mean that i have to pick and choose more carefully and maybe not jump at the first thing that is offered to me if it isn't totally "right."  so there's that.

if you follow me on instagram or tumblr you know i've been getting all artsy-fartsy (with an emphasis on fartsy) and having a great time. i have so much to learn of course. and when i think about how crappy i am i have to remember that i haven't been doing this forever and there's going to be tons of ugly before there's going to be any pretty. my knitting/crocheting and photography were pretty stinky when i first started too. and yes, i just said it. i'm pretty good at those things. no more self-deprecating bullshit.

ok enough with the navel gazing for today.

here's a mediocre photo of a sleeping squirrel.  I KNOW! SO DAMN CUTE!