101 in 1001 days: learn to needle felt

number twelve.


originally, i was going to take a class, but after looking at workshops, i realized i couldn't afford to spend over hundred dollars to learn something i could teach myself for twenty. so i bought a couple of felting needles and a beginners book. i mean, i've never taken a knitting class either and i've become a decent knitter. following that logic, i can become a decent needle felter as well. 

i sat down on my bed and began to work on the first project in the book. it was really fun! a lot more work than i expected, but still really fun. however, when they say foam is essential, they mean it. i did it on my mattress and ended up breaking both my needles. i will have to buy more, since the next step is making beads and birds. yes, i can needle felt a stuffed bird. that is the ultimate goal. but i did start to make a flower today, which due to the breaking of my needles, became more of a dancer. 

the roving base, before i felted it.              the felted base. it certainly got smaller!

petals!!

 

 after the fourth petal, i broke the needle. i taped the needle bits together, and added the last petal quickly. 

then turned it upside down and realized it could also be an abstract pink person dancing! 

so there you have it! i learned the basic steps of needle felting! now to make a creature!

fireworks and coach tours: week seven

a person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free. [nikos kazantzakis]

seven weeks left...


daily updates:


3 november. for the past few weeks, one of my classes has been canceled. finally, the teacher got it together and we had our first real lecture. which was exciting, because the class is the making of britain and is actually quite interesting. that night, there was a football match so we headed to the drum and monkey. we tied 3-3, in one of the most exciting games i have seen yet.

4 november. i went to see a comedy show! john, craig, and i went. we showed up early, but it was still sold out. the comedian said he'd be holding an encore show afterward, so we should come back in two hours. we went to the pub, and when we came back, there was a huge line of people waiting to get in. they were all americans! so the comedian had to change his show and really think on his toes, because he usually just makes fun of english people. but he did pretty well, i laughed! after that, john decided he wanted to pick up chicks so we went to the new pub we had never been to before: the rocket at kings cross. it was quite good, but john didn't succeed.

5 november. guy fawkes day!

 during the day, i went to class and did homework. but at night, i celebrated guy fawkes day! we went to a park and watched fireworks. it was really fun! i love fireworks, they hold special meaning for me. after that, we went on a pub crawl in the angel/kings cross are. i love doing that, cause it means i can stay out however late i want and not worry about having to find my way home!

6 november. i woke up motivated. i looked online to try to find a needle felting class. they were all so expensive! i decided it would be better just to teach myself. so i created a list of shops most likely to have felting needles, and went out into the city. eventually i found one shop that did, but they didn't have any foam! so i decided to use a towel. long story short, i ended up breaking both my felting needles so i only partially learned how to needle felt. i'll blog about it later!

after the disaster that was needle felting, i met up with megan for two-for-one cocktails at our uni bar. but we got there five minutes after the promotion ended! so we just had ciders. it was just the two of us, rather than a group of twelve, so more people spoke to us. one boy decided he was absolutely in love with megan and wouldn't believe she has a boyfriend.


7 november. i went on a bus tour with my roommate. we went to stonehenge, bath and windsor castle. to my complete surprise, i wasn't hungover and actually enjoyed the tour! i loved being on the coach, and i really loved stonehenge. it was amazing to see such large stones, made so long ago. the tour started at nine, and we didn't get back until eight. here are pictures!

windsor:

stonehenge:

bath:

then i went to the hobgoblin with my roommate. to our surprise, boxing was on so we decided to stay and watch my first ever boxing match. it turned out to be quite a big deal. it was the match that decided the worlds heavyweight champion. it was between david haye and 'goliath' [nikolai something]. the nikolai guy was a beast, he was over seven feet tall and weighed at least 23 stone. david haye didn't even stand at his shoulder. but somehow he won, through points, not a knock out. it was really interesting to watch, but i'm not sure it's the sport for me. john came and my roommate left. we ended up closing the place down.


8 november. i slept until two, trying to recuperate some of my sleep losses. at three, megan, jessey, john and i headed to the drum and monkey to watch the united v chelsea match. it was a really big match, and the place was completely packed. there were mixed feelings in the air, because chelsea has had a much better season than we have. the moscow game on tuesday showed how horrible our defense is, so many thought we wouldn't be able to pull it off against chealsea. but we played superbly. our team was completely together, we had possession most of the game, and had many attempts at scoring. in a very disappointing blow, the ref made a horrible call and gave chelsea a free kick, resulting in the only goal of the game. so they won one to zero, but it should have been a draw. after the game, the owner gave me his season ticket to use for the everton game on the 21st!! so i'll get to see them play in person!

after the game, megan and i went to the hobgoblin. john met us there later. there was a christening party, so everyone was pissed and dancing. we stayed so much longer than we thought would. megan had said she wanted to be home by eleven, but before we knew it, it was half past one and the tubes were closed! when the pub closed, john walked her to the bus stop and i decided to stay and hang out with some of the bartenders. they all live above the bar, so we just walked up the stairs and talked and continued to drink for a couple more hours. it felt very authentic!


9 november. the weekend had taken all my energy and left me exhausted, so i took a much needed break. i didn't even go to pound beers. i spent monday inside my room, doing homework and planning trips. i also figured out my student oyster card, which involved being on the phone for literally an hour and a half. but for the remaining mondays, i think i should start going on day trips. otherwise, i wont end up seeing half of what i came here planning to see. i just had no idea i would prefer spending my weekends in the city, rather than traveling! 




weekly highlights.

dates: 3 november - 9 november [days 44-51]
sights seen: stonehenge, windsor and bath!

something new: needle felting!
someone new: countless still! 
somewhere new: windsor and bath

new pub/club/restaurant: leicester arms

what i love: needle felting. guy fawkes day. losing myself in the city.
what i miss: my mother. desperately.
what i'm not so sure about: i am quite unsure about converting pounds into dollars. it's really causing problems.


all in all, this was a really great week. last week i realized i was disappointingly settling into a routine. i think i broke that routine this week! this week was definitely one of the best i had. i feel like i say that every week though...

thankful for...

the unbelievable opportunities that i have been given.

healthy baby boys.

cider.

cold weather.

the arrival of something yearned for.

new friends and new adventures.

[week one]

additions and adjustments: week six

wherever you go, go with all your heart. [confucius.]

eight weeks left...

daily updates.
  
27 october. there was a manchester united match, so we went to the drum and monkey. my friends decided to pregame first, and against my better judgement, i decided to partake. of course, i did what i always do: i got really sleepy and fell asleep. only this time i was in the pub, during the match. but it was a great game, and we needed that after the huge disappointment that was the liverpool match last sunday. which i will not be discussing.

28 october. wednesday was 'strongbow halloween' at the rocket. i dressed up, and so did my roommate. john is the scrooge of halloween so he did not. it was fun at times, but also a little lame. not very many people dressed up, but the drinks were a pound. megan decided she was too tired to come, since she had been working. after that, john said he was hungry and wanted to go to the hob. we got there and it was closed, so john went back to nido and i met up with steve-not-simon.

29 october. megan and i decided to go out to dinner, and john came as well. we went to nandos, which is so cheap and so good!! i'm going to be eating there so much more often. basically, you order a chicken and they spice it to your liking. they also have a variety of sides. all for under ten pounds. after that, we went to the hobgoblin for a bit. then we met craig at waxy o'connors, the pub with a tree growing in it. we stayed there for a few hours, even though the drinks were a tad expensive. john is on the pull, so we were trying to help him find a girl. it didn't go too well...

in the biggest of news, my nephew was born that day!!

30 october. an amazing day!!! i went to thorpe park with megan. i spent the day queuing, and riding roller coasters. we ate and played games in the queues, so they weren't so bad. the best part of the day was after four o'clock, when fright night started. there were scary mazes, my favorite part of halloween. there were four in general, each progressively scarier. i absolutely loved them! the actors here were allowed to touch you! so they could jump out and grab you, pull you back, steal your shoes, and play with your hair. or even tickle you. it was so scary and so funny all at the same time. we stayed in the back of the line, because the actors mess with you more. we didn't think we'd have enough time, but we were able to see all four mazes and go on all the rides we wanted. we left london at nine in the morning, and didn't get back until eleven thirty at night. i went home and just fell asleep, i was so exhausted. but it was a good day!

31 october. i forgot it was halloween! because of thorpe park, it felt like halloween had been the day before. so i stayed in and knitted a sock. i started the first one on the trip to wales, and am already finished. i'm a bit worried i won't have enough yarn... that night, there was another manchester united match, so we went to the drum and monkey again. i stayed awake the whole game and we won 2-0. after the match, the owner invited john to a game of pool. john played well, but niall was so much better. he then played me! but he went easier on me, allowing me to move the balls to get a better shot and showing me how to hold my hands and make a 'bridge'. it was quite fun! he also gave us mancheter united memorabilia, a pin from the european world cup against chelsea. after the d&m, we went to to the hobgoblin. it was so busy! it wasn't until i got there that i remembered it was halloween. imagine my shcok when i walked in and everyone was in costume! we stayed there until we got hungry, got indian food, and went back to nido. i went back to my room and watched green street hooligans. i'm starting to think that by the time i'm done here, i'm going to be sick of football.

1 november. john and i started drinking early. we got a pizza, and watched futurama on his computer. then we met up with dylan and went to the hobgoblin again. we met some americans there, and went to the lexington with them. it turned out they were quite weird, so we left and went back to nido. i did some cleaning before my roommate returned from her trip, and then fell asleep.

2 november. during the day, i went grocery shopping and wrote my 101 in 1001 list. i have a feeling it might change... i know some of my goals are a little unrealistic and there is no way i can accomplish all those things in just under three years. the whole point is to try. i'll be ecstatic if i do half of them!

that night, it was back to the rocket for pound beers. i am settling into a routine. that thought is rather unsettling. i am going to have to push myself to start going new places and meeting new people again. i noticed the other that day that i've started staying in my little group. from now on, i am making more of an effort. at the same time, how lucky am i that i have a group in london??


 weekly highlights:

dates: 27 october - 2 november
sights seen: thorpe park!

somewhere new: thorpe park in staines
something new: british pool. [believe me, it's a totally different game.]
someone new: countless still! :)

what i love: roller coasters. pear cider. pound pizza.
what i miss: my nephew!
what i'm not so sure of: crossing the roads. it's hard to figure out which side the cars will come from!

101 in 1001 days.

as i have mentioned before, in 2007, i began the pursuit of my yellow bird. to organize this search, i made a list of goals and activities that i thought would help me find it. i was also diagnosed with gp in that time which, although now has settled down considerably, still scared me enough at the time into making my search a form of a bucket list as well.

this yellow bird/bucket list has been stored in my phone for two years now. i have barely accomplished any of it. a month ago, when i first decided to start blogging regularly, it occurred to me that i should post it online. i felt that saying them out loud might compel me to achieve them.

then, my sister posted her 101 in 1001 days list. the idea started brewing around in my head and i decided to turn my list into that. i started a draft, then promptly got distracted. yesterday, another blogger also posted her 101 in 1001 days list and i decided i needed to stop slacking and just finish it. so, i give you both the original, unedited version from 2007 and the revised one from 2009.

the 101 in 1001 days revised version.

i am not following very many guidelines or rules. my tasks are personal, some of them quite vague and abstract, but i feel they must be done and counted. the purpose of this list is to give me a deadline, and thus an incentive, to actually accomplish these things. i am starting this retroactively, on the day i left for europe. i will try to update this as frequently as possible, and to post for each individual task accomplished.

italics are for tasks currently in progress, and strikethrough is for completed tasks.

start: 21 september 2009 ........... end: 18 june 2012.

items completed: 10/101


PERSONAL. [25]

1. be free.
2. knit a pinata.
3. write a full story.
4. do something new, meet someone new, or go somewhere new every week for a year. (8/52)
5. take a drawing class.
6. take a cooking class.
7. take a baking class.
8. take all levels of wilton cake decorating classes. (1/3)
9. take a martial arts class.
10. learn drop spindle spinning.
11. learn how to weave on a loom.
12. learn how to needle felt.
13. learn how to blow glass.
14. learn how to drive comfortably.
15. conquer my fear of water. (see goals 26 through 32)
16. learn to read music and play piano comfortably.
17. become fluent in french.
18. learn guitar theory.
19. get le petit prince tattoo.
20. write a page every day for ninety days. (0/90)
21. take a picture every day for ninety days. (0/90)
22. finish one knitting project a month for a year. (6/12)
23. read the top hundred books. (0/100)
24. watch the top hundred movies. (0/100)
25. participate in operation beautiful thirty times. (0/30)


ADVENTURES. [15]
26. go snowboarding.
27.go surfing.
28. go snorkeling.
29. go scuba diving.
30. go water skiing.
31. go parasailing.
32. go jet skiing.
33.go cliff diving.
34. go sky diving.
35. go base jumping.
36. go bungee jumping.
37. go four wheeling on an atv.
38. go sandboarding.
39. ride a mechanical bull.
40. go punting.

BLOG. [3]
41. post details about every week for a year. (16/52)
42. post what i am thankful for every week for a year. (10/52)
43. post about every completed goal. (4/101)

EDUCATION. [7]
44. get my bachelors.
45. begin to get my masters.
46. study abroad in london.
47. study abroad in paris.
48. intern in an art museum.
49. intern in a history museum.
50. work or volunteer at an art gallery.

TRAVEL. [22]
51. see every state. (32/50)
52. visit canada.
53. visit mexico.
54. see all of western europe, excluding iceland. (1/15)
-countries included in western europe: austria, belgium, denmark, finland, france, germany, great britain, greece, italy, luxembourg, netherlands, norway, portugal, spain, and switzerland.
55. see all of the united kingdom. (3/4)
-countries included in great britain: england, wales, ireland, and scotland.
56. see russia.
57. see the czech republic.
58. see turkey.
59. see morrocco.
60. see egypt.
61. see australia.
62. see the northern lights
63. see one of the seven wonders of the new world.
64. see one of the seven wonders of the natural world, excluding the grand canyon.
65. visit every person dad has suggested i visit. (0/4)
66. visit a foreign country.
67. live in a foreign country.
68. study in a foreign country.
69. teach in a foreign country.
70. volunteer in a foreign country.
71. work in a foreign country.

FOOD & DRINK. [6]
72. empty my stomach once a month. (0/131)
73. try a new restaurant once a week for three months. (6/12)
74. try a new pub/bar/club once a week for a year. (6/52)
75. stomp grapes to make wine.
76. go wine tasting at ten different places. (0/10)
77. eat food or drink a beverage native to every country visited.

COMMUNICATION. [5]
78. email my parents once a week for a year. (8/52)
79. skype with my parents once a week for a year. (8/52)
80. keep in touch with friends in america once a month for a year (2/12).
81. create a facebook.
82. buy postcards from every country visited.


KNITTING. [16]
83. write up a pattern.
84. become published [in five steps]. (0/5)
one: design a sweater
two: knit my own sweater.
three: write up the pattern
four: get test knitters
five: submit finished pattern for publication.
85. start and finish five projects from my ravelry queue. (0/5)
86. knit a lace shawl.
87. have a project on ravelry rank in the top twenty projects.
88. have a project on ravelry reach 1000 favorites. (1000/1000)
89. work at a yarn store.
90. teach a knitting class.
91. knit something with my own hand-spun yarn.
92. learn a new technique every month for a year. (0/12)
93. attend a knitting club every week for three months. (0/12)
94. complete a sock swap.
95. design my own cable chart.
96. design my own colorwork/fair isle chart.
97. set up, and keep stocked, an etsy store and farmers market booth for one holiday season. (0/1)

OTHER. [4]
98. go home once a year. (0/3)
99. manage my gastroparesis and weight.
100. find my yellow bird.
101. learn to love again.


well, there it is. hopefully i'll achieve all these things by 2012. it consists mainly of travel and knitting, and i'm not really surprised.

.......


original.

find my yellow bird. throw a pot.paint a picture. write a full story. knit a pinata. be free.

EDUCATION.
go back to school.finish out my first semester back. finish out my first year back. earn straight a's. get my bachelors. get my masters. get my doctorates. study abroad in london. study abroad in paris. intern in an art gallery or museum. become fluent in a foreign language. take a martial arts class. take a digital photography class. take a manual photography class. take a ceramics class. take a drawing class. take a cooking class. take a baking class. finish wilton cake decorating school.


ACTIONS.
Do something new, go somewhere new, or meet someone new every week for a year. learn to drive. learn how to ride a bicycle. ride a tandem bicycle. ride a motorcycle. ride a mechanical bull. ride a jet ski. learn to ski. learn to snowboard. learn to swim. learn to surf. learn to scuba dive.learn to water ski. go snorkeling. learn to read music on the piano. learn guitar theory. go cliff diving. go sky diving. go base jumping. go dune surfing. go four wheeling. go parasailing. get a tattoo. read the top hundred books. watch the top hundred horror movies. watch the top hundred movies.


TRAVEL.
visit every state. visit mexico and canada.fly across an ocean. england. wales. ireland. scotland. france.amsterdam. brussels. germany. prague.italy. spain. greece. switzerland. austria. turkey. morrocco. egypt. visit a foreign country. study in a foreign country. live in a foreign country. teach in a foreign country. volunteer in a foreign country. volunteer in a russian orphanage.