First of all let me start by saying HELLLLLLO!
I didn’t intend to take a hiatus that was this long but sometimes life just happens. A few updates of note:
- In December I passed my comprehensive exams with distinction! I’m happy to have classes over and the weight of comps off my shoulders but now I’ve got dissertation proposal writing to face and I already feel behind. BUT I will get there. My dissertation’s working title right now is “Double-Consciousness and Craft: How Black Women Make Space in a White Dominated Craft” but I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
- In terms of my health, I’ve made great progress! I’ve been working out and I don’t have that underlying fatigue that I lived with for an entire year. It’s nice to not just feel tired all the time. I’ve still got progress to make but I’m working on it.
- The biggest update of all…we adopted a puppy! Kiwi is a 3 month old chihuahua like Jellybean. She’s a little less than 3lbs, super energetic, very wiggly and very dainty. She has stolen our hearts and wakes us all up a little earlier but we love her so.
Jellybean is tolerating her, that puppy energy is a lot to handle LOL. But we are just a week in and learning what everyone needs.
She’s also super tiny but no sweaters yet. She likes to gnaw on my sweaters so we aren’t going to knit her one until she’s a little older and is used to wearing clothes. And speaking of knits…
Over the break I actually got to knit a lot that I will eventually photograph and share. I snapped a quick pick yesterday because I wore my Sheep Camp sweater. I knit it in seven days and immediately cast on another one to gift to Jessica. For my sweater I used yarns that were based on my favorite super heroes. The green is from Five Borough Yarns in I’m Always Angry – a green for the Incredible Hulk and the contrast color is from Queen’s Yarn Boutique in Vibranium from Black Panther. The complimented each other so well, I really love how it came out. I paired it with an eggplant linen skirt from Not Perfect Linen. I’m so happy my classrooms are boiling hot this semester so I can actually wear my knits. I also really loved this pattern, I just added a little length to the body but it was a simple and quick knit that is so pretty. Maybe I’ll knit as many Sheep Camps as I did Love Notes! We shall see.
Yards of Happiness 
This post put such a big smile on my Monday morning face ! Thanks for sharing your joy’s with us. I hardly know what to say I love the most. The triumph of hard work getting your degree✅ The cutest little addition to your family. ✅ the awesome sweater and perfect skirt- with pockets 💓✅ The health challenges, and being your own best advocate for I’m going to call it a disease care system because in America it’s still more about treating disease and not about health maintenance . (And that’s a whole other story).
May your 2022 be filled with all the joys that are your hearts desires 💓
Happy 2022 😊 you and your furry family are all looking well ♥️
Hurray for you, Dana—your beautiful smile and your very positive update is truly infectious!
Best wishes for a WONDERFUL year!
Congratulations!!! Getting through comprehensives is the worst part. Can’t wait to hear more about your dissertation.
I’ve been waiting for your finished sweater since first seeing it as a WIP on Ravelry. It’s super! And as always, I love your glasses, your shoes, your entire styling. Much love to Jellybean and little Kiwi (great name), I hope they’ll become best friends.
Please tell us more about the dissertation as it progresses – in your own good time, no added pressures. Congratulations on getting through comps!
It looks faboo!! I love that purple, that from your closeup shots on Rvlry is not JUST purple! And I am super glad I am not the only adult that still loves her super heroes like a little kid 😉 sooo glad you’re back in good health again, I know it’s still a WIP but it is good to see you smiling and hear such a great report (Oh and congratulations on the new edition to your family-hopefully no one (JB) will get jealous).
I am so happy to hear you are feeling better!
I love the sheep camp sweater, too! My family has a history with sheep like Jennifer Berg’s family does. We are not indigenous, but my ancestors began “running sheep” in Utah and Wyoming in the mid-19th century. I hope I can knit one while you are knitting a bunch of them.
Congratulations on your exams — your achievement is huge, but no surprise that you’d pass with distinction. You look gorgeous and healthy in that outfit. All in all, perfection.
Oh my goodness, her ears :)! And a beautiful sweater and much good news 🙂
Wonderful news, on all fronts! Congrats on passing the exams, especially. And lovely to hear you are feeling better ( and see your smiling face!). Lovely sweater, too.
First of all, that sweater is fabulous and the color combo is brilliant. Speaking of brilliant, so is that diss thesis. I’d love to see the works cited, not to mention read the whole thing. I’m reading very smart books on SF and Fanon and ….. And craft is my amateur love, so…..
Love that sweater and the new pup – look at those ears! I think we are all looking forward to reading your dissertation.
First of all you look,fabulous head to toe👏👏👏. Love that sweater and skirt combo. Congratulations on your exams. I can’t even imagine. Your new fur baby is THE cutest and lets talk about the ears. ❤️ Glad you are feeling so much better. You are a breath of fresh air. Happy 2022.
Absolutely am in love with that sweater and your combo with the skirt! But I am amazed beyond words by “knit it in seven days”! You will NEVER here those 5 words from me! Incredible!
Congratulations on all the happy things! I’ve had Sheep Camp in my queue for a while. Your styling reminds me that it doesn’t have to be just a jeans sweater (one of the reasons I’ve postponed it is because it feels like a Saturday sweater to me, and I’ve got plenty).
Happy to see you back and looking so radiant. Jellybean’s little face is a picture, but I suspect they’ll be fast friends in no time.
And that sweater. I love the colour combo. Glorious!
I love it,!!! WOW that’s an AWESOME feat a sweater with colorwork in 7 days.😍😍🤗 Kiwi is going to be such an incredible model, I love that she is Lucy size😆😆😆🤣🤣 I think her legs are longer than Lucy’s. Congrats on the comps🥂🍾you are going to do so well on your dissertation 💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽 Great job on your path to Health Recovery.🙏🏽I am happy for you. We are looking forward to seeing The sweater for Jessica too as well as all the others😍😍😍🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽
hi dana, good to hear from you and that you are doing well and congrats on the new family member! she is a cutie for sure.. i have missed seeing jellybean so glad she made an appearance.. lol love the sweater and the colors!!! i so admire all your knitting and it inspires me thru the down times
Dana, congrats on getting through comps! What a relief. As others have mentioned, would love to hear more about your dissertation as you go along.
Meanwhile hope Jellybean can find room to put up with Kiwi’s puppy energy (oi weh!) and they at least become friendly if not besties. So happy you are feeling better. Loved your interview in “This Long Thread”.
Hey Dana! Glad to hear you are doing well, love the seater and Kiwi is very cute! I literally went from reading this excellent post about structuring your day as a PhD student/academic to yours about getting started on your thesis and thought you might find it helpful: https://thesiswhisperer.com/2022/02/02/the-phd-supply-chain-problem/
Lots of useful stuff on this blog and others in the Whisper Collective (link included in the post above). While it relates to Australian PhDs, which are similar to the UK not US system, there is plenty of relevant ‘stuff’. This blog about academic writing is also very good and practically useful: https://explorationsofstyle.com/
Good luck and enjoy having a reason (thesis) to prioritise a deep dive into a topic that matters (and is fascinating!) and thanks for your consciousness raising work in this area, I am learning a lot from it.
I will definitely check these out! Thank you
So nice to see your blog again and to read that you’re feeling better, starting your dissertation, enjoying a new puppy and, of course, knitting! I’m going to check out that pattern. You were the one who got me knitting Love Notes (I’ve knit three of them) after I swore I’d never knit that pattern.
Joanna Koss
Woo-HOO! Chock full of great news! Congratulations on getting through your comps, fantastic that you’re feeling so much better, AWWWWWWWW Kiwi is so cute, and I absolutely love your sweater and in fact the whole outfit!
I am so glad things are going well. God Bless! You look fantastic in that sweater- what a great knit. Kiwi is adorable. She has a sweet little face. Have a good day and congrats on passing your comps!
I’ve knitted five Love Notes, think I will give Sheep Camp a try! Glad to hear that all aspects of your life are moving in a positive direction.
I love everything about that outfit!
Hey, I know this is an old post, but let me tell you how excited I am for your dissertation! It sounds like a wonderful topic and the more academic research into fiber arts, the better. What’s your degree going to be in? Your working title sounds like it could be a Sociological degree which is what my MA I just finished is in.