Knitting Changed my Life

I taught myself to knit in 1996.  I accompanied a friend to a yarn store, then a new mom to a 1 yo, and saw all the cute baby sweaters.  Muggle that I was I asked if she would knit a sweater for my daughter to which she replied, "Sure, but you could, too."  She bought the supplies for a cute dino sweater (which I gave back to her when her son was born).  Anyways, I must have thought about it for a bit, but eventually bought a book or two, some yarn (red heart variegated) and needles -- US size 6 straights, Inox, I believe.  I knew how to cast on (long tail), knit and purl (or I thought I did) from childhood and proceeded  to knit this:

I went to my first Stitches in 1997 (and have gone every year since), joined a knitting guild (to which I still belong -- hello SBKnitters!) and took spinning lessons at the shop the guild met.  I joined a spinning guild and in 1998 I joined a weaving guild and taught myself to weave, this is also the year I started taking lessons in bobbin lace.  All throughout, I knit, took more classes, bought yarn (lots of yarn), books, patterns, needles, spinning wheels, sock machines, looms, learned inkle and card weaving, ... Prior to all this I was quilting and did some embroidery, and as a child I learned to sew, crochet and tat.  But nothing really took off like knitting.  And definitely, nothing stuck like knitting.

Here it is 17 years later and while I've done a little weaving, some spinning, a little more sewing (not so much quilting, just garments), and more bobbin lacing, I've done a lot more knitting.  I even started designing hand knit patterns.  And I don't see an end to it.  I can't even imagine my life without it.  There isn't a week that goes by that I'm not knitting.  I always take knitting when I travel.  Always -- it's the first thing I pack!

I know it's WiP Wednesday and while I've got a ton of things on the needles, looms, wheels,...I think the biggest WiP I've got going is me.  Knitting brings me joy, a sense of accomplishment when I'm done and inspiration for all the wonderful projects to come.  It's made me more patient, it's kept me sane but most of all it's just made me better.

Bagged by Vivian

Vivian wants to know:

What was I doing 10 years ago? Hmm, that would be June 1998, that would make L almost 4 mos and K 3yo. I was knee deep in diapers? Just returning to work with 2 small kids. It was a circus act I tell ya. And later that year I joined a startup. I guess I thought I could do it all. It was tough, but it was from this point on that things started to get easier. DH just got his MBA and a job that didn't require a 2 hour commute. Definitely better.

What are 5 things on my TO-DO list for today? Wait for the A/C guy to come in and fix a wire -- very important wire connecting the switch to the relay that turned the fan 0n, $100. Take the girls to see Indiana Jones. Make dinner -- DH's favorite. The dishes. Blog.

Snacks I enjoy: Today? Ice Cream and cookies. Other days? Chocolate and cheese, but not together.

Things I would do if I were a billionaire: I'd retire to this house.

Places I have lived: California, that's pretty much it, first Southern, then Northern.

Jobs I have had: If I count the last five they would be programmer, programmer, programmer, programmer, and programmer. Oh and before that, programmer.

4 Things...

I was tagged by Vivian:

4 Jobs I Have Had
JC Penney's in the Candy Dept. ask me anything about any candy
Intern at Grumman, maker of the F-14 Tomcat
Sold Jafra and Avon (but not at the same time)
Lab Tech in college

4 Movies Watched Over and Over
Ever After
French Kiss
All Nighter
Moulin Rouge


4 Books Read Over and Over
Mists of Avalon
Outlander
Pillars of the Earth
Into the Wilderness

4 Places I Have Lived
Oxnard, CA
Santa Barbara, CA
Sunnyvale, CA
Santa Clara, CA

4 Shows I Watch
(I don't watch TV regularly)
editied later (9/11);  at least then I didn't, now?
Glee
SYTYCD
True Blood
Thrones

4 Places I Have Been
Longaberger, OH
Hawaii
Carribean
Seattle, WA

4 People Who E-mail Me
Cris
Dana
Vivian
Gail (my Longaberger rep)

4 Favorite Things To Eat
Chocolate
Sushi
Cheesecake
French Fries w/ Ranch Dressing

4 Places I Would Rather Be
Longaberger
Hawaii
On a cruise
Home

4 Things I Look Forward To This Year
Stitches West
Summer Longaberger at Jelly Belly
15 year anniversary
Rhinebeck


4 People To Tag
(I don't tag)

10 things

About a year ago I posted 20 Random Things which was to be the first of 5 installments. It was followed by 20 More Things and ended there. I was recently tagged by Vivian along with Cris to do 5 things, but since Cris isn't gonna -- I'll do 10 which will bring me to and even 50.

41. I learned to swim the summer I graduated from highschool. I was going to college in the fall and moving into an apt with a pool. Another classmate learned with me -- he was going to the Naval Academy to become a Navy Seal.

42. I hang with a group of women who are in tech pubs. I am an engineer, but there are mostly men in my profession so I tend to gravitate to where the women are. I can code but I can't write.

43. I collect Longaberger baskets.

44. ...their pottery.

45. ...and wrought iron.

The next 5 are holiday related:

46. I roasted my first turkey when I was 38 (not too long ago).

47. I can my own whole berry cranberry sauce the weekend before Thanksgiving. 5 jars. I open 2 the day of, pawn off 2 to relatives, save the last for me.

48. I don't like to think about any particular holiday before the most immediate one is over. I don't think about Thanksgiving until after Halloween and I don't think about Christmas until after Thanksgiving -- all the other holidays are far enough apart not to require any resistance on my part.

49. I don't shop the day after Thanksgiving, not even for yarn.

50. In fact, I try to avoid the mall between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve...unfortunately, this being "shopping" season, it can't be helped.

20 More Things

It's Random Wednesday, thus the 2nd installment of 100 things:

21. My oldest UFO is sampler (embroidery) I started just before I got married (1993).

22. My second oldest UFO is a quilt started just before my 2nd child was born (1998).

23. I have 5 spinning wheels and over 100 spindles.

24. My mother and father are still married.

25. I have one brother and no sisters.

26. I grew up close to several of my first cousins. Two of my mom's sisters, her parents, her uncle and his family lived within a 1/2 mi radius.

27. If I got into trouble *everybody* knew about it.

28. I rarely got in trouble caught.

29. My favorite color is pink.

30. I was a Navy brat.

31. So were half my cousins.

32. I'm a first generation (born here) Filipino.

33. I don't speak Tagalog.

34. I'm a native Californian.

35. I can speak "valley girl".

36. I like tall men with big hands.

37. My husband is 6'3" and wears a size 13 shoe (this should give you an idea of how big his hands are -- since feet and hands are proportional.

38. I like to cook -- although not everything always turns out.

39. I love to bake -- experimentation here seems less risky.

40. My favorite holiday is Easter.

20 Random Things

I'm taking up mamacate's invitation to do 1/5 of my 100 things, randomly, since I have nothing, and have always wanted to do the 100 things...

1. I'll start with the meaning of FiberDev -- I am a computer programmer by profession, also known as a developer. A developer takes one thing and turns it into another -- as a programmer I take code and turn it into a program. As a fiber developer...well you get the picture.

2. I'm a mother of 2 lovely daughters.

3. I've been married for 12 years.

4. I was born and raised in California. I grew up in Southern California and now live in Northern California.

5. I went to school at UCSB, go Gauchos!

6. I love to read historical fiction and chick lit. I read 1.5 books a month, 1/3 of which are audio books.

7. One of my favorite movies is French Kiss.

8. I don't like to travel. To clarify, I like visiting different places, but I don't like getting there. Plus, I get homesick -- even over the weekend.

9. I drink Peet's coffee. If I find myself in a Starbucks I will have a peppermint mocha latte -- I don't consider this coffee.

10. I love chocolate. 2 weeks before my 1st daughter was due I walked into a See's Candies and bought their 4 lb box. I was hungry. She was born 4 days later.

11. I had gestational diabetes during my second pregnancy so I waited until after she was born to eat a (very small) box of Godivas, but before the nurse came to checked my blood sugar.

12. Later, I developed Type II diabetes but I still have chocolate -- just not as much or as often as I'd like.

13. I love cheese, all kinds but mostly soft cheeses like cambazola.

14. I'm Catholic, but not a very good one.

15. I'm Republican, also not a very good one.

16. I'm pro-choice, see?

17. I like having a garden, but I don't like gardening. My idea of gardening is pointing at the things I don't like in the garden and asking my husband to remove them.

18. I love fruit -- all kinds, no exceptions.

19. One of my favorite books is The Mists of Avalon.

20. I love anything Brighton.