A Wedding and a Thesis

I am more than happy to report that my Master's thesis was completed, defended, turned in, and approved last week, and now I am 100% done with school! I guess I have technically graduated as well, although I didn't attend the ceremony. I am anxiously awaiting my diploma though. :)

You may wonder what I have been doing since then, and the answer is studying. This may seem odd, as I just said that I was 100% done with school, which I am. What you probably don't know is that I have chosen a career path that largely consists of studying (at least for the foreseeable future). All of which is to say, I have a job! A real one! Where the word "intern" isn't part of my job title! And that job is as an entry-level actuary for a local company. 

If you are reading this and you are not my family, then there is a 97.4% chance that you are about to google "actuary". Let me save you time. In a nutshell, an actuary is someone who analyzes risk (usually related to insurance or finance) and uses mathematics and statistics to do so. Also, you have to pass a bunch of exams and other education requirements to become an accredited actuary. Which is now what I am on my way to do (hopefully). I have passed two exams already, while I was working on my degree. I will take the third in November. While the exams aren't much fun (in fact, they are quite challenging, even for someone like me who has never had test-taking issues), by working as an actuary, I now have paid study time and the company takes care of all of exam expences  (exam fees, cost of study materials, etc). So yay!

Alright, now that all of the boring stuff is out of the way, let's get to the stitching (more importantly, finished stitching)!

This is the wedding sampler I have been working on for my cousin Jennifer, who got married yesterday. I started this at the beginning of July, fully confident that I would have plenty of time to finish it before the wedding. I was able to do so, but not with plenty of time. Mostly, my thesis got in the way, so I spent the last week rushing to finish it up. 

On Friday night, I finished the last of the stitching around midnight and then spent the next 3 1/2 to 4 hours beading. And there's not even that many beads! Let's just say that I will not be beading anything anytime soon. Although I was sick of working on it by the time it was finished (all that white was starting to drive me crazy), I actually really enjoyed this project. I got to use silks for the first time, do specialty stitches for the first time, do beading for the first time, and frame something for the first time. Basically, a lot of stitching firsts. The frame is a temporary frame, until I can have it custom framed for her. My mom helped me stretch and pin it to some foam board. It would have been a mess without her help!

My slightly wonky beading

I was really pleased with how it turned out, and more importantly, so was my cousin. I stopped by while she was getting ready so I could give it to her in person. It was so sweet to see her reaction when she pulled the frame out of the bag. She really liked the vintage style. And miraculously, it turned out to be in her wedding colors! Her entire color scheme was based around cream and a sort of burlap color. Everything about her wedding had a vintage feel to it, so the sampler went perfectly with everything. She even asked me to display it on her gift table at the reception, which basically made my day. :)

This project was such a great experience. I don't know if I'll ever get the same amount of satisfaction stitching something for myself as I have doing things for other people. 

A WIP of sorts

I apologize for the lack of posts over the last week or so. I have been stitching and reading, but I haven't had the time or energy to write about either due to this bastardly thing.

 

 

This past weekend I finally got past what I feel to be the worst of it. I now have a complete(ish) draft, which has been sent off to my committee members for review. I have two weeks for edits before the final draft is due and two and a half weeks before my defense. There is still work to do, but it is pretty straightforward work and not the gaping abyss that is an unwritten chapter.

 

Soon (after July 31st), I hope I will be able to expect people to address me as "O Master of Applied Mathematics".

Escape

I can remember a time when I didn't identify as a reader, but it was a very long time ago. Plus, I wasn't that good at reading yet anyway.

Ever since I became a voracious reader, reading has always been a way for me to forget about my own problems and world for a while and read about lives that were more interesting than my own. This is in part because I worry far too much and need ways to get away from that. My worrying manifests itself physically as well, so I've always been grateful to have a way to relieve that stress.

As I've gotten older, reading has been able to soothe my soul less and less, unfortunately. I still get lost in good books, and books and reading are still one of my biggest comforts. But I find that the more challenges I face (especially those pesky "adult" problems), the harder it is for me to completely let them go, even if only for half an hour.

When I rediscovered cross stitch a few months ago, I had only planned on doing one project as a gift. However, I sort of fell into a mild (ok, maybe not mild) obsession with cross stitch and other needle crafts. Some of this is due to finally having a creative outlet (something I've been searching for awhile now), but I think a good chunk of that obsession came from the complete and utter relaxation/calmness I usually experience when stitching. This particular time in my life is very hectic. Everything is up in the air and big changes are coming. All of that is great, but a bit trying on my poor nerves (I'm definitely channeling Mrs. Bennet here).

Basically, all I want to do right now is stitch 24/7. It is just like me to find a new, time-consuming hobby right when my thesis is due.

Happy Father's Day! (And a Finished Finish)

I gave away my first stitched gift tonight, to my dad. I found a pattern collection of Celtic knot bookmarks not too long ago and thought this one would be perfect for my dad as his favorite color is green, just like me. :)

It was really fast to stitch; I did it in one Saturday. But of course I left the finishing until the eleventh hour, which probably wasn't a good idea since I had never done it before. But it actually turned out pretty well, I think. I had to sew the folds together on the back, which wasn't much fun. It was hard to get the tension right so the design stayed centered on the front. I also bent a couple needles.

This was just part of his Father's Day gift. I also gave him a Nike t-shirt, which sports (pun intended) a twist on a classic workout phrase. And since he previously inquired if he would be able to eat any of his presents, I thought I had better make him some cookies, which are the size of personal pan pizzas.

All in all, it was a great Father's day, especially when you take into account that I got to have ahi tuna nachos!