First outfit post

Since I signed on to do the 30 for 30 challenge at Kendi Everyday, I thought I'd better put up the outfit I wore when I gave my lecture on Shakespeare in performance at the university of Bergen today. That's right, I gave a lecture - my first one ever. I was nervous, of course, but it went really well! The professor said he'd never seen his students this engaged before (I made some of them read exerpts and do acting exercises, and I made everyone learn a song), and wants me to do this again next year - when he will try to arrange for me to get paid as, get this, a guest lecturer! Am I excited? You bet! I just wish my feet weren't still sore from standing up in heels for two hours - next year, I'll be doing the lecture in plimsolls! (Uh, well, probably not.)


I've got to say, posting this picture has given me a renewed respect for style bloggers, because posting a photo of myself messing about with a spatula is one thing, but lowly little me attempting to show off something I wore just makes me  think that anyone who sees this pic will think I'm fat/ugly/have no taste/have stupid hair... but hey, 2011 is all about confidence and self-esteem, so up the picture goes anyway. I'd post a picture of beautiful freezing Norway (that's me in shirtsleeves in -1C, people), but this horrible old laptop that I'm using would have an aneurism if I tried to add a second picture.

I knit, therefore I am. (Running out of yarn, that is.)

So yeah, back in December when I said I got sick, I wasn't kidding. Winter is not a season I seem to thrive in, in spite of my mum buying me fleece-lined tights. It's not like I haven't done anything, my brain's just been too deeply steeped in snot to write very much. Mostly, I've been knitting in my free time. It's Battle Of The Scarves time! Which is a bit like Battle of the Bands except much, much slower.


The Sutra scarf is still in the lead, with the Nori scarf chugging sadly along at a much more pathetic pace. The Nori scarf is easier and more relaxing to knit, but the Sutra scarf fires me up with fangirl fervour, and then I can't decide which one I'd rather be working on. And then my head explodes. Then Victor has to gather up all the little bits of skull and brain and stick them back together with the Epoxy glue that may or may not cause cancer in the State of California. Hey, I wiped his vomit up that time he puked in the lift, so it's the least he can do! But wait, I did do some other stuff as well - I spent a day making comics with Angela and Kaz - mostly lettering and toning pages, drinking green tea and eating lovely home-cooked veggie food. And I made ninja-bread cookies with Angela and Poli. Awesomest Christmas presents ever = ninjabread cookie cutters and asshole and douchebag plates. You girls know me well...


Then yesterday, I had a day off, and told myself I wasn't allowed to leave the flat until I'd finished a bunch of clothes repairs - so I sewed new buttons on tops, altered shirt-sleeves, put elastic in a skirt that used to be a dress, and got one step further to completing my very first Cath Kidston project. In the book, this project - pimping an old jumper so it looks like something your more adventurous breed of professor or proofreader would wear - as a single star difficulty rating. This galls me, because it's taken me absolutely forever to do this - and I'm not done yet!
   
With Cath, it's all in the Bondaweb, which is something you iron onto the back of applique patterns so they'll stick to your clothes. I'm not sure Cath and I could be friends - I mean, at the back of the book, she confesses that she didn't even make ONE of the projects featured. What sort of message does that send to your fans, Cath? Anyway, I have to do a blanket stitch around the edges of the patches and my initials on the breast there (and do you recognise the jumper, Polina?) and I'm trying to decide if I should go buy some dark blue embroidery thread, instead of this turquoise stuff that I got on sale. Any opinions?


I'll need to broaden my horizons a bit anyway, when it comes to haberdashery shops, because John Lewis sold out of the blue thread I use for the writing in the Sutra! I explained to them that I was in mid-scarf, and was there nowhere they could search, no secret stash of fluffy navy blue yarn... but alas, they told me to go try Liberty's. I thought they only sold upmarket preppy clothes, but no, turns out they carry yarn and all sorts of crafty stuff. So I'd better get my butt over there, before they also decide to remainder the last fluffy blue balls of Gedifra yarn in all of London town. I will bring a stout stick, in case there are Sloanies on the premises.