about

 

 

 

Name: Stephania
Occupation: Varied
State of Residence: Minnesota, soon to be Oregon
Contact me at moirae knitting at gmail dot com

100 Things.

  1. I’m not allergic to, but really shouldn’t have: heavy egg dishes (i.e. scrambled, poached, fried, boiled, egg salad or quiche), milk, lemonade, peanuts, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol tomatoes, hot sauce, peppermint and cheese.
  2. I love peanuts, tomatoes, hot sauce peppermint, lemonade, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol and cheese, but not necessarily at the same time.
  3. Cheap red wine gives me headaches.
  4. I have two cats.
  5. I’ve been married for six years and with my husband for 14 years.
  6. I’ve been to Canada, Iceland, England, Italy, France, China, Hong Kong, Korea and Russia.
  7. I didn’t go to Europe until I was 14.
  8. I was born in Korea, theoretically.
  9. I’m adopted.
  10. I’ve got more spare relatives than I can count. Long story.
  11. I have a younger sister that I grew up with. Also adopted.
  12. My family is based in Boston and New York.
  13. I bought my first car in 2001. It’s a Honda Civic Hatchback and covered with hail damage.
  14. I like hot sauce and blue cheese with my french fries.
  15. I’m a big fan of the food network.
  16. I knit American style, but I’m learning continental (i.e. I throw).
  17. I hate crochet.
  18. I hate sewing, but I know how in theory. I made some clothes when I was much younger.
  19. The cat’s names are Spartacus and Elmo. Spartacus is a female tabby. Elmo is a male tiger.
  20. My shoe size is about 4.5 - 5.
  21. I ran cross-country until I found out my knees didn’t like it.
  22. Sometimes I write.
  23. I went to Oberlin.
  24. One time at Oberlin I got locked in the art museum courtyard and had to hang suspended from a pipe in order to get out. The pipe was 15 feet in the air. It would have been less of a big deal if I were taller. I didn’t break anything.
  25. I like dark beer.
  26. I read very quickly. Last night I read The Secret of Lost Things in about 2 hours and 45 minutes. I know because I was waiting for someone.
  27. I’m a technology junkie.
  28. I’m an environmentalist by culture.
  29. I’m an environmental policy analyst and sustainability planner by training and experience. Sometimes I even get paid to do this.
  30. I’m not much of a hiker, but it’s great to get out now and then.
  31. I used to be into photography.
  32. I know enough about mathematics to fake it until someone asks where I teach and what I research.
  33. I can juggle a little.
  34. I had horseback riding lessons and square dancing lessons as a kid.
  35. I love the Red Sox.
  36. I’m a romantic.
  37. I think polar bears rock.
  38. I hate global warming. It’s killing a lot of what I love.
  39. I love Coral Reefs too.
  40. Sometimes I unnecessarily capitalize words.
  41. And all kinds of marine life.
  42. I went to Oberlin.
  43. I procrastinate.
  44. I have ADHD. Really. I’m not just saying it.
  45. My favorite movies right now are Howl’s Flying Castle, Pride and Prejudice, Notting Hill, A Lot Like Love, 16 Blocks and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
  46. I listen to Modest Mouse, Liz Phair, Beth Orton, The Flaming Lips, No Doubt, Iron & Wine and the Violent Femmes. I’ve also been known to like Mr. Scruff and the Streets.
  47. I was afraid of bicycles between the ages of 13 and 19. I still don’t like riding in the city.
  48. I want to go to India, Thailand, Ireland, Iceland (I mean really go not just for a day), Hawaii, Peru and Egypt before I die. I will probably get to see Slovenia and Budapest.
  49. I want to see the polar bears before I die.
  50. My first schools had were largely filled with minorities. That stopped when I headed to private school in 3rd grade. It took me a long time to realize I had had cultural adjustment issues.
  51. I’m intuitive.
  52. I like Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl.
  53. I don’t believe in having favorite books or authors. On the other hand, I will buy anything by Michael Chabon, Jonathan Safran Foer, Dave Eggers, Marilynne Robinson, and John McPhee.
  54. I liked Water for Elephants a lot.
  55. I’m currently reading Brief Encounters with Che Guevara by Ben Fountain. It’s an amazing collection of short stories, although so far I’ve only read the first one.
  56. I enjoy fantasy novels.
  57. I used to play Magic the Gathering. A former housemate was a pro.
  58. I prefer tea.
  59. I have trouble sleeping.
  60. I went to high school in Cambridge, MA and Vershire, VT.
  61. The year I was 2, I got my picture in the paper, learned to read, got to sing in the church choir, got my first stage credit (for helping my dad paint a set) my ears pierced and a little sister. My parents also ended up having to hire a nurse for a month because they caught some kind of cholera from my sister. The two of us just had colds.
  62. I have a great long term memory and a really poor short term memory.
  63. I have a ‘little’ yarn problem.
  64. I went away to a farm school in Vermont for a semester in high school. When I came back, half my class was surprised to see me.
  65. I have a close-up picture of the Reverend Jesse Jackson, because I took it by kneeling under all the professional photographers and reporters he was surrounded by.
  66. Down with George.
  67. I quit eating beef in 1995. Now it’s easier to say that I’m allergic than to explain about the amount of energy that goes into beef production and that you didn’t used to be able to buy free range organic beef. I may start eating it again before I have children.
  68. I plan to have two kids.
  69. I love it when my friends decide to adopt.
  70. It creeps me out a little at family reunions when I see resemblances between people.
  71. I thought I looked like my parents when I was a kid because I have brown eyes, dark hair and wore glasses.
  72. My mother wrote and illustrated at least 11 children’s books before giving it up. You can look her up under Sungrumble.
  73. My father is a graphic artist who did a lot of work in college theaters as well as a lot of free-lance work.
  74. My mother-in-law and father-in-law are mathematicians. My mother-in-law is a painter.
  75. My husband is a mathematics professor.
  76. I like green. I look best in dark maroon.
  77. The States I haven’t been to are: North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Hawaii, Alaska, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Montana, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Idaho.
  78. We’ll be traveling through North Dakota, Montana and Idaho at least to get to Oregon when we move this summer.
  79. In Canada, I’ve been to British Columbia, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
  80. The only bone I’ve broken has been my jaw, largely due to tooth removal.
  81. I have one fake tooth. Both my cats are now missing one tooth also. Is it my husband’s turn next?
  82. Some day soon, I’m going to have to have glasses again. (I don’t wear contacts or glasses at the moment.)
  83. I want a sewing machine and a laptop.
  84. I took tap when I was very very little, but not for very long.
  85. I learned how to read so I could sing in the church choir.
  86. I no longer go to church.
  87. We celebrate Christmas. My husband is comes from a family of atheist Jews.
  88. He’s agnostic, I’m atheist.
  89. Being an atheist does not mean I am devoid of spirituality.
  90. There is magic in the universe. Having understandable rules does not make it less magical or miraculous.
  91. To quote Oscar Wilde, “To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.” I don’t know where my birth parents are.
  92. At my mom’s house, we used to keep doves. And grackels. And some cats. And one dog. And a rabbit.
  93. The rabbit’s name was Carla and was given up so she could have more space where there weren’t any electrical wires to chew on.
  94. The dog took a chunk out of my kid sister and that was the end of it.
  95. Too bad we didn’t know the dog whisperer.
  96. My husband’s dog was named Snoopy. He was a wonderful, but overweight beagle.
  97. I like office supplies.
  98. I collect boxes. My mother sent me a pack of letters I wrote to her as a child. One of these letters included a Christmas letter to Santa in which I requested “a box large enough for me to fit in.” I believe I got my wish.
  99. I’m klutzy and absent minded. Recall what I said about my short-term memory. In the past year, I had to go to the hospital because I banged up my nose on a jar of face cream that was sitting on the bathroom sink and I spilled a hot cup of tea on my stomach. A few years ago, I temporarily had no fingerprints because I forgot to use potholders when removing a cobbler from the oven. I had no idea I’d done this for a while and was confused about why my fingers were so screwed up. That was the week I had to have a background check done, which included sending my finger prints to the FBI.

I’ll finish this later. Did I mention, I procrastinate?

What or who are the Moraie? The Moraie is another name for the three fates.

Moraie knitting or the Morariery or something like that is what I would call my yarn shop if I were ever to open one. This is highly unlikely since a) I’m married to a visiting mathematics professor, so we have been moving a lot and b) he’s allergic to wool. While I shop for yarn, he hovers in front of the shop, even if it’s 10 below zero.

Moraie knitting is the place where I conduct my virtual adventures in knitting. On one hand knitting for me is a place where I’m the one firmly in control of my destiny. On the other, I need to loosen up and be less of a slave to the pattern.

I learned how to knit when I was eight years old. I would knit entire skeins of yarn with garter and then later stockinette stitch. My first sweater was a sleeveless lacy pattern from Vogue at around age 13, although I barely remember that one. I made a few things in high school including several sweaters from the Green Mountain Spinnery. I think the addiction kicked into high gear during the last five years of my life, when yarn became readily accessible. Before that, I had mail ordered almost everything.

Strangely enough, this means I’ve been knitting off and on for more than 20 years. For me this translates to a willingness to tackle the Potamatomus socks from Knitty while simultaneously having a fear of designing my own patterns, and cutting steek. I barely even modify patterns. I do change the yarn 80% of the time.

I’ve tried Fair Isle on US size 7 or 8 and a few lace patterns. I’ve made baby clothes, sweaters, lacy scarves, hats, mittens and a few pairs of socks. I have a pair of gloves in the works. I hope some day to finish up a blanket or a lace shawl. I was inspired by the introduction to Folk Socks in which Nancy Bush discusses historical knitting guild requirements and I hope some day to complete a similar, although more modern list of items.

I have had one spinning course, but I still don’t own a wheel. Feel free to send me $ via Paypal so I can buy one. Also, I’ve yet to dye my own yarn. In the mean time I will knit on.