Here is this weeks “Sunday” Sevens post, linking up to Natalie to give a snap shot view of how the last week has gone.
Well it’s been a very busy couple of weeks since we last managed a Monday sevens post and lots has been going on with some pretty major milestones passed! So this might be a bit of a long post, but there’s lots of exciting stuff in it!
Whilst I was still waiting for my PhD viva, we did a bit of organising of the sewing room, including a clearout of some of the fabrics and a switch over of the desk. Lots of stuff to try and organise, including all of my trimmings… Who says I have a crafting stash problem…
Now it’s definitely a lot neater 🙂
And this picture makes me very happy, lots of nicely coloured threads.
I also started making my ginger jeans, cutting out all the pieces and getting them basted together for the fit. Need to take in a fair amount at the back of the jeans.
And I made another swing vest from my self-drafted pattern. A nice bit of mustard crepe. It’s not quite perfect but definitely will work nicely in my wardrobe.
During that week Pippa made lots of brownies in preparation for a week of sailing.
Then she was off sailing, for fun, to make a change! She was at the europeans competing but the weather was a little bit rubbish so unfortunately they didn’t get the results that they had hoped for.
At first there was no wind at all, and then there was too much wind
But there was lots of fun had all around.
Then I had my PhD viva, which is an examination of my PhD thesis, all the work I have done over the last 4 years! The viva itself lasted about 2 1/4 hours! But I actually enjoyed myself a surprising amount. =)
And I passed my viva with minor corrections!! 🙂
This just means I have a list of corrections to make (and get signed off) before I am done with my PhD hopefully! Okay so that’s still a fair bit of work, but so nearly done!!!
After that I had a few bits of celebration, including drinks with my colleagues, dinner and drinks with some friends, and as I have seen other friends I have got more congratulations presents and cards etc. It was so lovely to be supported by my friends. 🙂
Then I had a few days of slightly more relaxing, visiting a few friends as I really haven’t done much socialising recently! I went to stay with a friend and have a belated birthday dinner for her. We went to a lebanese restaurant and had their feast menu… it did not lie, we were so stuffed after!
Unfortunately I only have a photo of the main, but this came after a starter course which I’m pretty sure had about 10 dishes in it! It was also followed by dessert, baklava and tea!
I also had a last minute invite to go see Ed Sheeran when a friend dropped out, and since I was already in the area I adjusted my plans slightly to be able to go to that.
It was super amazing!! We had standing tickets so we got there early to get good positions. I wasn’t sure if I would know many of the support acts’ songs, they were Jamie Lawson and Anne Marie. Turns out I’ve actually listened to quite a lot of Jamie Lawson on my Spotify radio and I’ve heard some of Anne Marie on the radio whilst driving.
And Ed Sheeran himself, well that was awesome. It was so impressive just watching the diversity of his songs, and he has such a good stage presence! Oh, and the visualisations that went along with each song were fascinating!
After that I headed over to Bristol for the weekend to see some other friends who have unfortunately moved out of Southampton 🙁
It was wonderful to see them, and they showed me some of the wonderful things in Bristol. It’s so full of independent shops and cafes etc, it’s wonderful! (I am trying at the moment to have a break from big chain stores and restaurants etc. I will be making a post about that soon, if I lived in Bristol that would definitely be so much easier!)
We went round lots of different shops, visited the suspension bridge, and had lovely food, including these gorgeous cakes!
We also had a bit of a craftathon when back at their flat. I helped K to make a little zip wallet for her mother which looks super cute, and I helped F redo a mistake in his knitting where a cable had been forgotten. I had to do similar with my blanket I while before so I could just take back the 6 stitches of the cable.
Might have also pursuaded them to buy a new sewing machine to get into sewing a little more. =) Another full convert to the craft hopefully!!
Once that mini break was over it was back to Southampton and lots of work to try and get my corrections done in time to graduate this summer.
Pippa was back on some catering duties and made a lovely salad for lunch one day which we enjoyed out in the garden.
And then she was off again! This time to an exhibition in a quarry, to talk about filling equipment for a few days.
This does give her the opportunity to get in a bit more car-knitting though, and she has cast on a new jumper (or maybe cardigan) project in more summery colours. She also managed to sneak in a bit of time in the hot-tub so hopefully that will help relax the muscles before standing up for hours on end each day, especially with the weather being as hot as it is!
Whilst she was away I was back to completing corrections, racing against the clock a little as the corrections still have to be signed off, the thesis reprinted and bound as a paper and then submitted. All before the deadline.
It was definitely quite a busy/ stressful time but I’m not sure it was quite as bad as getting the copy in for examination… mind you I did still stay up until 3am on the Friday morning… (I’m definitely a night owl)
But… Massive massive milestone passed. I got all of my corrections signed off on Friday morning and after a rather quick rush around to do printing and a very quick turn around from the binders I submitted my Final Thesis on Friday afternoon! Here I am with my shiny bound thesis! Only 10 days between having my viva and putting in my final thesis! Definitely a quick turnaround!!
I still have to wait to hear if I get my award in time to graduate this Summer, I do hope so!! I still can’t quite believe that it is pretty much over and I don’t have anything else to do for my Thesis. That was such a big weight on my shoulders for such a long time, and now it’s over…
I guess it’s the end of an era of sorts. Now time to try and get all of the things done on my to-do list that I have been postponing due to my Thesis. But first a little time to let it settle in as it has been a very full on few weeks…
I hope you all have been having a wonderful few weeks and I will try to get posting a little bit more now.
Wow! So much going on with you.
Firstly, I must express my extreme jealousy that you got to see Ed Sheeran – there’s barely anything that boy sings that I don’t like (I can only think of one and half tracks on all three albums that I think are a bit meh).
Secondly – should have been firstly but I had to get that jealousy out – many congratulations on submitting your final thesis. You’ve been working so hard and now you can really start to enjoy the summer.
Thirdly – what can I say about the Ginger Jeans. Mine are coming along nicely but – my own fault – the fabric I used has barely any stretch in it and, when I try them on, it’s like going back in time when it used to be ‘the thing’ to lie down on the floor in your new jeans while a shop assistant zipped you in and then helped your plank like body (no bending possible) into an upright position. Despite me widening the legs just a bit, it’s like putting on tights and my legs are skinnier than most people I know. I know it’s been said you should make them tighter as they will give but that might be a vain hope in this instance. However, I will finish them and consider it a good learning curve and, next time, I’ll buy some denim with more than 0.5% stretch.
Lastly – how many brownies are needed for a week of sailing – did they need any other food?
It was super last minute but I’m so glad I decided to go, it was a really great gig!
Thank you, I don’t think it has sunk in yet that I am done. I guess now I need to sort out my life some what and get myself sorted for a job…
Ah that’s not so fun with the Jeans, I hope they maybe will stretch out a little over time? I think I’ve almost got the other way and I worry that mine might stretch out too much possibly. Although I’ve decided to interface the waistband so it shouldn’t stretch out. I’ve just done a post about how mine are coming along. I am super super pleased with how they are going. Just a shame the weather is way to warm to even consider wearing them when they are done.
Haha. There were 10 people or so I think and one of the batches was kindly made for me to take to university. I think they went down a storm at the sailing event though, there were very tasty!
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An amazingly busy but seriously wonderful time for you both. It would be fabulous to be able to graduate this year – what next?
The craft room tidy is making me very guilty. I really need to do my supplies….
Thanks! I’ve heard that I will be able to graduate this summer. =) Hopefully next I’ll be moving on to do some research, but we need to secure some funding for that first.
Well I wouldn’t exactly say that all my supplies are organised…One end got tidied, and rearranged but I’ve actually set up a temporary sewing area downstairs as it’s just too hot in the craft room. I still haven’t sorted through the rest of my fabrics either.