new year, new knitting.

Posted on January 5, 2016 by barefootrooster

I’ve finally begun a wedding present for dear friends who’ve been married…for two years. (In my defense, we’ve been communicating about colors and pattern for awhile now.) I love the yarn I’ve got — a lovely pile of Cascade 220 in a range of neutrals and warm tones that I’m sure you’ll see before long. This is the beginning.

Boh enjoys one of his Christmas presents. (Not from me.)

This is what happens when you start a knitting project while rewatching The Office…

This guy, making faces.

You can’t hear him sighing on that rug, but he was.

And here’s an awkward picture I snapped before heading out for a good long walk. My new vest matches my running shoes! Okay, back to course prep, which is pretty much all I’ve been doing. It just doesn’t photograph half as well as Boh does…

2 0 1 6.

Posted on January 1, 2016 by barefootrooster

Thanks for continuing to stop by, friends. Things have been busy, but very good. Instead of wasting time reading my apologies for not posting, want to see A LOT of pictures from November and December of 2015? Here you go — and here’s to 2016.

Soup, chicken salad, and iced tea at my favorite lunch spot.

More soup, more iced tea. (And prepping for class, which is a pretty accurate reflection of my life most days.)

Fall leaves on my driveway sometime in November.

This dog, being ridiculous.

Course prep outside at my favorite coffee shop.

Documenting a Friday professor costume. (I didn’t start off the semester wearing jeans, but by November, it was necessary. At least on Fridays…)

More soup, but this came from my kitchen. Sweet potato miso soup, I think.

Soup prep. Around mid-November, I started making a big pot of something on Saturday afternoons. Adjusting to professor-life has meant re-learning how to feed myself; sometimes there’s just not enough time in the day. (I’ve eaten more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches this fall than I think I have since kindergarten…)

An afternoon walk with my favorite dog.

Holiday treats from a new and already dear friend.

Sweet, sweet dog.

Pesto pasta salad in my car — on the holiday road trip I took to my parents’ house.

An old and very warm blanket that was my grandmother’s. Check out that tag!

Southwestern butternut squash soup, simmering.

Late-night self portrait. Mid-December, maybe? (WordPress scrambled the order of these photos when I batch uploaded them, and I’m too lazy to put them back into chronological order.)

At least one of us is doing yoga…hoping to return to my practice in 2016.

Cozy.

Took a road trip to participate in an event organized by grad students on the other side of the state; saw this gorgeous heron on a walk through a beautiful garden.

Evening sky.

Those wrinkles!

Celebrating the end of the semester with another new faculty member: fancy lunch and cocktails in the middle of the day!

Oh, and look! I did do some knitting this fall. I made two of these eternity scarves out of some luxurious Lorna’s Laces (maybe it’s called Lion and Lamb?) silk/merino blend. One for a dear friend’s birthday, and another as a holiday present for my amazing faculty mentor. I love this pattern; knits up beautifully no matter the yarn, and it is so, so wearable. I’m already behind on some wedding blanket knitting; maybe I can get some of that on the needles before the semester starts up — in less than 2 weeks! Better get back to course prep and syllabus-writing. Happy New Year, friends. And happy knitting.

november?

Posted on November 1, 2015 by barefootrooster

Hello, friends! Thanks for the kind notes and comments you’ve left here over the last few months. Boh and I are doing well; just busy and tired from all that new professor life requires. I’m not totally ready to give up on this space — it has been so important to me for so long! (Really. I think I missed my 9th blogiversary — it would’ve been sometime in October.)

But I’m here, right now, to tell you that last night I felt the pull of my stash, and even though it was way too late at night, I found myself digging through bins and shelves of yarn to find something to knit with. I love that feeling, and I wanted to share it. I was too sleepy to wind any yarn or to get to the point where I’ve settled on a pattern, but YAY! My fingers want to knit something. (Maybe a Rikke hat out of bright variegated sock yarn? Maybe another eternity scarf in cozy, subtly kettle-dyed grey?)

Anyway, that feeling of needing to knit something is so great. And honestly, I haven’t had the feeling in awhile. I’m glad it’s back. Happy November, readers (if you’re still here!), from me and of course, from Boh.

second repeat complete.

Posted on June 3, 2015 by barefootrooster

I’m realizing that maybe the reason I’ve been returning to blogging more regularly has something to do with the fact that I’m not writing anything in my work life right now. (I mean, I’m deep into course prep and syllabus development, but I’m no longer writing a dissertation.) I’m sure I’ll be back into working through other research materials and beginning an article before too long, but right now, my writing is mostly blogging! (Another reason might be that there is way more daylight and sunlight, and lots more pictures of me and Boh frolicking outside…) So, here are today’s pictures (though we haven’t yet completed today’s frolic):

Coffee with my canine companion.

Reading what might be the final book for the seminar I’m teaching this fall. (With Boh’s help, obviously.)

Yesterday’s post-gym mimosa. Or, my attempt to solve the problem of how to finish an open bottle of champagne while living alone (and not all in one sitting). My argument is that when combined with orange juice, champagne can be a recovery beverage… And I’m sticking to it.

I finished the second repeat of the diamond stitch pattern, and the more I knit, the more I love this cowl.

Obligatory outfit mirror shot — temperatures are back up to springtime levels, though I did need a coat for the trip to the coffee shop.

I’ve mostly been working at home these last few months, but today, after a sort of slow start to the week, I decided to get out of the house, at least for the morning. It was a great idea. I read A LOT of pages, plus there is a heart in my latte! I appreciated this small affirmation of my plan for the day. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Boh and I have a date with the park!

settling into summer.

Posted on June 2, 2015 by barefootrooster

A day on the porch. Here, with coffee:

A picture to indicate that the coffee, for whatever reason, was just not working.

More porch work. This time with a huge salad.

Afternoon light. Porch work with a glass of water. (Flowers from my yard!)

Morning granola. (Boh supervising.)

Wide-eyed Boh — a face I love. (He usually makes this face when he is getting belly rubs, but sometimes also when I scratch him behind the ears.)

And then we went for a morning walk around a reservoir on campus, in an attempt to tire ourselves out before it got too hot.

On a bridge!

View from the bridge:

Happy dog.

Slow, steady progress on my Avery cowl.

Chocolate chip walnut cookies. I put most of them in the freezer so I wouldn’t just eat them all, and then remembered how good cookies taste when you eat them right out of the freezer. Good thing this recipe only makes a couple dozen. (Boh and I had a dog/friend playdate this week, and I took a bunch over there.)

Morning nap.

Morning…work? We’ve had much cooler temps the last few days, so in this picture, Boh is actually doing the very important work of keeping my toes warm.

A walk on the bike path during a break in the rain.

Silliness.

Mid-yawn.

We’re trying to settle into a summer routine over here. Hoping it will include lots of good walks, plenty of course prep, some knitting, and maybe a few more batches of cookies. (Where summer means the next few weeks of June! My summer teaching begins at the end of this month…)

graduation weekend (and week), part 2.

Posted on May 27, 2015 by barefootrooster

Alright. You asked for regalia pictures, so here are a few:

Fancy robes, poofy hat.

And here’s a picture of my doctoral hood. (My parents were really into the hood; I had to stand with my back to them for several pictures.)

And here’s how I continued celebrating after they headed home: with champagne from my dissertation defense and a new nameplate, courtesy of a dear friend. (“Professor Rooster,” it says.)

Here’s my sweet dog being sort of silly — stretching out his back leg for a scratch.

And here’s my Avery cowl. I’ve knit a few rows on it–the counting makes it a bit more involved than most of what I’ve been knitting more recently, but I do think it will be squishy and lovely.

Course prep with a furry footrest.

More pesto and a sleepy dog.

Phlox along the path we walked on Tuesday.

Boh does a little light reading.

Here he is, in his first ever ride in my new-to-me car. Also his first ride in his dog hammock (that thing that goes between the front and back seats to protect the cushions and keep an animal from leaping into the front, not that Boh ever really does that). I was so sad to say goodbye to my 03 CRV, but it has needed a lot of work lately. So, new wheels, thanks to Mom and Dad Rooster. They’ve been planning to get a new car, and as a graduation present, they offered to trade in mine, which was considerably older than theirs. So Boh and I are getting used to our new ride. I know he looks nervous, but he really did settle right in once we got moving.

And this picture is in the running for what may be the greatest selfie I’ve managed to take of the two of us, mostly because of his goofy face! (We’re at our favorite spot by the creek here.)

Out cold, and using his bone for a pillow.

A strawberry buttermilk cake. Just because.

More napping.

Avocado, sriracha, and cheddar on toast, all put under the broiler. A favorite snack. I made some an hour ago, so you are all caught up on things here in Roosterland. More of an indoor day today because it is hot and humid, but Boh and I are planning a really nice walk for tomorrow.

graduation weekend, part 1.

Posted on May 26, 2015 by barefootrooster

So, it’s as official as it can be. Thought you might to see how we celebrated. Part 1 was quiet; instead of going to the big institutional stuff, Boh and I celebrated with good walks, knitting, and playing in the kitchen. (Part 2, which I’ll share once my dad sends me some pictures of me in my regalia, as requested, involved fancy robes, a poofy hat, and plenty of pomp and circumstance.) But first, Part 1:

Couch lounging with this guy.

And some working. This dog always lets me tuck my toes underneath him. I love that.

He also sneaks over to the side of the couch he isn’t supposed to be on. (His blanket is on the right. He knows the rules, but still breaks them. Sometimes.)

A little bit of knitting! Remember this? It’s Avery, a squishy, textured cowl. I’m knitting it in Malabrigo, and I hope it gets cold enough in my next home for me to wear it…

Awkward before-the-gym picture — my bird tattoo is healing nicely. It’s been a month, and I’m finally getting used to it being there. (And I love it.)

After a good run, and instead of attending convocation and the PhD hooding ceremony, I took Boh to a favorite spot of ours.

I always admire this tree.

We took the path down to the edge of the lake, and I think we both enjoyed the view.

Boh wanted to play with this snail.

This looks like a pretty good aisle for a graduation procession, doesn’t it?

First basil harvest from the potted herbs I planted earlier this spring.

I made a big batch of pesto, and also some pesto pasta salad. Leftovers are on today’s menu…

FO: another colorblock bias blanket.

Posted on May 22, 2015 by barefootrooster

Turns out that actually knitting produces actual finished objects! Even though we’re solidly into warmer temperatures, I’m excited to get this in the mail and to its intended owners, dear friends who had a second baby boy a handful of months ago.

I know they don’t exactly need warmth right now, but I’m hoping this will be useful down the road.

It’s actually a little chilly here right now, and I didn’t mind at all having this blanket on my lap as I wove in all the ends last night!

A classic academic’s dinner. (Black bean soup atop a pile of books.)

This guy, not at all interested in whatever I was doing yesterday.

Life is so hard for this dog.

And eek! I picked up my regalia yesterday for this weekend’s graduation. I’m not doing the whole big procession-thing, or even the hooding (the PhD ceremony where the dean puts the fancy hood–the thing on the right in this picture, with the blue velvet signaling the doctorate–on you), but I am going to attend my department’s graduation ceremony on Sunday, and for that, I need the fancy robes. I sort of think it isn’t going to feel real until sometime in the middle of the fall semester, when I’ve gotten used to being called Dr. Rooster or Professor Rooster by my students, but I will say that trying on this stuff yesterday helped a little bit…

actual knitting content.

Posted on May 21, 2015 by barefootrooster

The large milk bottle sculpture near the ice cream spot on campus.

An enormous salad of arugula, avocado, hummus, goat cheese, tomatoes, and kalamata olives.

A self-portrait (do I only snap these when I am wearing a chambray shirt?) intended to demonstrate how much I love the non-lipstick lipstick I bought recently through Mick‘s side project as a Beauty Counter rep. (Full transparency when it comes to ingredients in the stuff we put on our faces? Yes, please.) I never really learned how to wear makeup, but I can appreciate that sometimes it matters to look/feel a little more put-together, and this lipstick does that for me. Maybe you can’t tell that I’m wearing it, but I can tell. Granted, this picture is most likely from a day spent sitting on the couch and/or porch wrapping up my semester.

I am out of the frame here, grading. Boh is chomping on a tennis ball in my face, trying to distract me.

Oh, look! Knitting! (Somehow when I imported these pictures to wordpress, it mixed up the order. But I’m drinking my first cup of coffee after a late-ish evening drinking beer with a friend, so I’m not re-ordering them.)

A lovely walk in the woods with a dear friend who was back in town last weekend.

Silly, sweet, completely tuckered-out dog. I snap these morning pictures of him on days when he isn’t waiting at the front door to go outside after I put the water for coffee on. Sometimes the weather is lousy, sometimes he’s still sleepy from a big day of adventuring, and sometimes, as in this next picture, he’s waiting in order to ask for a belly rub before we start the day.

This animal is just too much.

New bright shirt for summer.

New favorite book. (I came home from a panel-thing on campus and didn’t even change out of my pretty dress. Just sat down and kept reading. I’ve been reading some post-apocalyptic stuff lately to find something to fit into a particular slot in one of my fall syllabi, and oh my goodness, Station Eleven is incredible and you will not be disappointed. Hard, hopeful, brilliantly structured, grand, and deeply human.)

Boh, being sweet.

A walk to our local waterfall. Creek level is high right now.

Knitting! I’m working on another bias stripe blanket for friends who had their second baby MONTHS ago. (Oops.)

Happy dog.

Homemade peanut butter cookies for a going away party.

The falls at night. I’ve never walked to see them at this time of day (8 pm? 8:30 pm?) and the light on the water was just breathtaking. I’ll be taking more evening walks this summer for sure.

FO: ANOTHER colorblock bias blanket.

Posted on June 12, 2014 by barefootrooster

Hi, friends. Haven’t been blogging, but clearly, I have been knitting. (And writing, and even running/working out.) Not quite settled into a summer routine, but closer than I was a few weeks ago. And I’m pretty sure this blanket pattern is helping. I’ve got such a backlog of wedding gifts to knit, and this pattern is perfect: easy enough to knit after a long day, fun for playing with color and yarns in my stash, and really, really lovely when it’s all done. Here’s my latest:

The colors are more accurate above, but here’s one shot with the flash on:

It’s a bit grey and rainy, so there isn’t as much natural light for picture-taking as I’d like, but you get the idea. With this one, I worried less about the amount of yarn I had for each color, and just picked colors I thought might be nice. I really like the mint green Malabrigo stripe in there, and with the switch to some darker greens and blues near the end, I think I’ve changed who this is for! (Not to worry, though. I’ve already started a third…)

Other stuff happening around here?

Morning “helping.”

Our first of many weekly walks en route to picking up the farm share. (Paws/toes in the water.)

Lots of water and mist after some steady rain.

Boh, mid-yawn. Love this dog.

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30

barefoot rooster

cockadoodle-doo: one rooster's ramblings

Tag Archives: knitting