History Repeating Itself?

Thank you all for your comments on my last post! It is so nice to see that so many of you faithfully kept me in your blog readers where I just popped up. I will admit to going through my Google reader once a year or so and clearing out any blogs that haven't posted in a year so I am happy to see that most of you are not as anal as I am about clutter (virtual or otherwise). Remember, you still have until Friday to comment on that post for a chance to win some yarn.

I also have to add that I tried to reply to all of the comments, so if you did not receive an email reply it's because Blogger does not collect email addresses and I have no way to reach you back if you don't list your email address on your blog or web page. I went searching for each and every one. I apologize if I was not able to get to everyone, but thank you for saying hello anyway.

In my last post I mentioned that I had no idea why Berroco named their Flicker colorway 'Siegfried'. Commenter WillyG said that it reminded him of a character from Wagner's Ring Cycle, so I looked it up along with other Flicker colorway names. Alas, it was not Wagner. But, a quick search of some of the more unusual names directed me straight to the character list from Swan Lake, which is apparently where all the Flicker colorway names are pulled from. Thank you, WillyG, for pointing me in the right direction while simultaneously allowing me to reveal my ignorance of famous ballet character names.

Before I re-started this blog, I made a joke that as soon as I started blogging again I would magically get hired for a great job and be too busy to keep it up. As fate would have it, the very next morning I woke up to find an email(!) inviting me to an interview for a job to which I applied ages ago. The interview is not until early July and the HR rep I spoke with was very unhelpful so I don't have many details, but if anything comes out of it I will be sure to let you know. It is only a part time job, but it is in an area of interest for me so I will keep you posted.

In the meantime, I am going out of town for a week to visit my family in MN. I haven't been back for a year and a half so I'm looking forward to seeing everyone. I am also looking forward to some thunderstorms. It's been several years since I've been able to enjoy a good thunder and lightning display. Two days after I return home, The Brain and I are moving to a new apartment. I'll be sure to keep you posted as I try to cram 1400sf worth of stuff into 1000sf with no storage. Word of the month: PURGE!!!

Once again, this post has been brought to you by random FO shots.

Knock, Knock! Anyone There?

Yup, it's been a while. It's been a looooong while. I really kinda left this blog hanging, didn't I? A few of you were even nice enough to email me to ask if everything was OK because I hadn't been around for a while. That was very sweet of you, so thank you for checking in.

Yes, everything has been fine. I just got overwhelmingly busy in a short span of time and several things had to go by the wayside, this blog being one of them. I'll give you a (very) brief overview of my life this past year. There are prizes involved if you read to the end!!!

I'm starting the blog back up because I never really intended to let it slide. It just sort of...happened. And then Kristen was having a blogiversary giveaway on her blog, and I realized that we started blogging within a couple weeks of each other. We found each other's blogs way back in the beginning and I've been following her story for years. I also realized that my blogiversary would be the perfect opportunity to restart things. My brother was also very enthusiastic about the idea because he says he never knows what's going on with me otherwise. That was a good enough excuse for me, so here we are on my 4th Blogiversary.

So when last I left you a year ago, I had just been hired on to a new part-time job. Here is my life in a nutshell since then (complete with random FO shots):

1) Part-time job became full-time. Woohoo!

2) I earned three degrees to make copies and travel plans for other people full-time? Boo! :(

3) Quit job (sort of) to go back to school. Agreed to work part-time until replacement found.

4) Last fall semester: Worked 20 hours a week, volunteered 10 hours a week in psychology lab, took 6 classes, studied for GRE, applied to grad programs, managed to survive. Woohoo!

5) Didn't get in to grad school (shortage of research experience). Boo! :(

6) Spring semester: Volunteered in research lab, took 4 classes. Much easier to manage. Woohoo!

7) Still can't find a job. Boo! :(

8) Started working at my favorite LYS on Saturdays. Woohoo!

It is now summer and I am still getting research experience in a different psychology lab on campus. The flexible schedule allows me to pick up random shifts at the LYS during the week and get to the gym more often. (Yes, I joined a gym. I'm super excited! It is brand new and it opened in April. It is women-only and has a spa and you can go to as many classes as you want. Woohoo! Unfortunately, my overzealous running habit caused me to come down with a nagging case of plantar fasciitis nearly three months ago. Still can't walk without limping. In fact, I just got a night splint and casts for custom orthotics today. Boo!)

I am back to my old problem of trying to find a job and weighing the pros and cons of going back to grad school. If I can get a decent job in my line of interest without more schooling I would be thrilled. I'm trying to break into market research analysis. You know, running focus groups and doing the statistics and all that fun stuff. We'll see where I end up.

Now that I have updated you on all the pertinent information, it's time for the fun stuff! I picked up some fun blog prizes at my LYS this week for three lucky commenters. All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment to let me know that I still have some readers. And hey, if my brother and my mother are the only ones who comment, then I guess we're keeping the yarn in the family. ;-)

First up I have two lovely skeins of Berroco's new Flicker yarn in the Siegfried colorway. (No, I have no idea about the name either.) It is a gorgeous, light gray with subtle glints of silver. I love this yarn. Get this: it's a worsted weight and comes in 189 yds/skein, but each skein is only 50g! This yarn is so light and lofty it's unreal. It has a unique chainette construction a lot like my beloved Rowan Lima and it is super soft and squooshy. Berroco has just released photos for their dedicated Flicker pattern book in time for TNNA, so they should be hitting stores soon I hope. In the meantime, you can download a free Flicker ebook from the Berroco website. Two skeins are enough to make several of the patterns in that book.
















Next I have two skeins of Universal Yarns Classic Shades in the Harvest colorway. I love this yarn, and I don't normally say that about mostly-acrylic blends. It is a 70/30 acrylic/wool machine washable yarn with amazing color changes. I would definitely opt for this over Noro any day. It is super soft to the touch and each colorway is very pretty--none of those "ugh" colors like you find in Noro. Two skeins will give you 394 yds of fall-colored glory. This is plenty of yarn for a couple of Noro Hats or a Noro Striped Scarf, without the scruffiness and veg matter from Noro.
















And finally, lest you think I don't like Noro, I have a skein of their laceweight Kirameki. The color I have for you is a mix of pinks and purples which I think is just lovely. I got a skein for myself and made Grumperina's Volna scarf and I LOVE IT. I loaned it to the shop I work at to be used as a model so I'm looking forward to getting it back so I can wear it. ;-)









If you are interested in winning any of this yarn, or even if you aren't, please pop up and say hello. I will accept comments until this Friday, June 17. I would love it if you can let me know if there is anyone out there still reading this. LOL In the meantime, thank you for reading!