This is a test. I am just experimenting with posting a picture. Actual content to follow.

The picture is a bad sketch that was done as an experiment with the drawing tablet we have.

Chill dude

Thank goodness, it's finally getting chilly here. I even got to wear wool out of the house today.

Everyone I know will think that I've lost it. I generally hate the cold and prefer things on the 90 degrees and humid side of life.

But, we've just moved back "north" to VA. After a year and a half in Florida I have been really missing the seasons. We sort of had a fall down there. Three days before Christmas the leaves fell off the trees, and then by New Year's Day they were growing back again. Not much foliage to enjoy.

So the leaves have been great. I do not even mind the raking. In honor of all this chill I have tried to wear something hand knit to work everyday last week. I think I made it, but I did cheat a bit on Tues...the long wool scarf I was wearing kept getting snagged on the remote tablet thing I use to do class notes. Not effective teaching strategy. It did amuse though, let me tell you.

What a work week too...the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is always hectic, but for kids with rough home situations it can be total chaos. And for the record, yes, I was the idiot teacher telling the kid to hand over the cell phone that kept ringing, only to find out it was a house arrest ankle bracelet going off. Embarrassing!

I do not want to send the wrong idea. I teach at a great school, with really wonderful kids. But any school, public or private, is ultimately a human endeavor, and we are not collectively speaking, perfect.

In knitting news, I finished the World's Worst Hat for my brother. Seriously. Ugly.

It started off fine, but somewhere towards the end I stopped counting right or something, because it puckers something awful. I am almost tempted to write up the pattern as a cautionary tale...the hat not to knit. It is disappointing too because I managed to do a two-needle tubular cast on in the round...no small feat let me tell you. I will eventually frog and try again, but I cannot face it yet.

So that's been pretty much the week. Choked myself on a scarf. Shocked by teenagers, and knitted a record-breakingly bad hat.

None of it perfect, but pretty good nonetheless.

Sewing here

OK...I AM knitting these days, but right now I am in the middle of my third ball of patton's wool for a felted bag. The bag should be great, but right now it is just a huge heap of knitting, nothing interesting.

So today I'll post some sewing updates:

This is the coat I just finished this weekend for little sis. The lining is a sage fleece. It matched the pink better than the pics show. The outer fabric is actually some upholstery fabric I found. I had visions of some wide wale corduroy, but they had none when I went looking last week. I wandered into the home decor section and there it was.

I had some difficulty getting pics, she was not having a photographic moment. I'll try to get a better lit shot soon.

It still needs buttons, and I haven't decided how to do those yet. It's just starting to get chilly, so those can wait till this weekend.

Oh, and unlike the photo the pattern does line up. That was the hardest part...cutting it out. I love knitting, but sewing is done so quickly, there is a lot of satisfaction in that. The funny thing is I am so much more likely to goof it up, since I get impatient and don't think things out. Knitting gives me time to catch up with my thinking.

I am the queen!

So the other day at dinner, our resident three year old announced that she is "the queen of cheese".

We are not sure why, but she's "creative" and we try not to stifle. I think the husband congratulated her, and we all moved on.

But really I don't think I did. Deep down I want to be the queen of something. Something substantial.

At work I am often called the queen of the nerds, which is nice, but not quite lofty enough.

So today, I am declaring myself "queen of the world's most neglected knitting blog".

I have actually been knitting, but blogging has been nigh on impossible here recently. All "personal" pages are blocked at work. I have managed a work around that lets me read a lot of my usual blogs, but I cannot comment, or see pictures. This is all a bit of a killjoy.

So, actual knitting news:

I came very close to getting a visit from the Fiber Protective Services(FPS) folks this week. I have this grand alpaca I got to make a holiday present for someone TBA (translation: they might read this) I tried about 7 different patterns with this poor stuff...and frogged, and frogged, and frogged...

Then it dawned on me that I was abusing the yarn. It didn't want to be a scarf. It wanted to be a hat. So in about 6 hours it turned into the Shedir hat by Jenna Wilson from the Knitty special issue on breast cancer. I loved this hat until I blocked it, and then the entire family avoided the kitchen for a day and a half while it was blocked.

Note: Wet Alpaca Stinks!

But totally worth it. It is a great pattern that I will probably do again. I did 7 repeats instead of 8, which worked out fine. I have visions of adapting it into all kinds of snappy snowflake-like patterns.

More news...I will have a pattern published soon. Details to follow.

I am in progress on a felted tote for fall, that will probably be ready right in time for spring, the way things are going. I just finished a pair of baby pants in pink Wildfoote sock yarn. I love this stuff.

I have a pile of gift ideas for Christmas, but none can be serviced by my immediate stash, so they are on hold. The sump pump died this week, so no new yarn for a while.

I my defense I did protest spending my hard earned yarn-money on a new pump, but when the husband suggested sopping up some of the eight inches of rain we've had this week with woolen items I came to my senses. My poor stash has been in enough danger what with the FPS folks looking into the alpaca situation.

The queen has responsibilities after all. It's not all merino and bon-bons.

Boo!

So it is time to catch up a bit. Again, I cannot post or read blogs at work, and what with the kids at home and all it is hard to get this done. The husband is now back in town (permanantly...no more trips!), so things are easing up a bit.

This is big-sis' school spirit/halloween vest. The bobble up the front are ment to represent tiger paws. She has been very kind and supportive of this..."Sure mom, just like paw prints". She said this without rolling her eyes, which takes real self control.

As for the Homecoming outfit...I wore a cammo t-shirt with a green knitted vest. This vest:
And a parting shot of the orange vest:

(Hmmmm...she's lost it this time!)

In other knitting news I just finished a pair of pants for a baby shower. It was one of those showers where as soon as you walk in in a ponytail you feel as if homemade was not, possibly, the way to go. I included gas drops, which every mother ought to have, just in case, so perhaps that rounded it out. I am almost done with socktoberfest. Still no word on my pattern submission, so either a good sign, or I cannot properly e-mail. I'll fill y'all in later.

Oh, and a bit of crochet to round things out...an old hat worn by little sis:

What I do to educate the youth of America

OK, so teaching. You know…must be nice with all this time off we get, right??

I really do like it, but this is Homecoming week. Which means spirit garb. I am just faking jersey day, and twin day I have all worked out. Then there’s Thursday…cammo day.

Yes, I teach in the sticks. Actual cows roam in the field across the street from our high school.

Under normal circumstances I would also skip cammo day, but what with the kids I have this year, and being newly returned at all, I think I need to make a good show.

So my three options are:

1) Do the easy thing and buy a cammo bandana and wear it like a festive scarf

2) Borrow some of my dad’s old airborne ranger gear

3) Make a pink/green camo skirt (and yes, I can get the fabric for like $2 a yard)

I was leaning towards three until I remembered my doctor’s appt that afternoon. Thoughts? Opinions?

Anyhoo, knitting at school has been a kick. We have a pretty active knitting club. My computer guys are fascinated by the socks/vests/sweaters I leave on my desk. Frankly I’ve had almost no time to knit this week, what with the husband out of town and all, but it is amazing. The kids that are the most reluctant to talk or do anything all have some story about their Mumma (translation: mom) or Memaw (grandma) and the blanket/sweater/scarf they knit for them.

It may be the sticks, but handcrafting is a big part of life out here, which I love.

Girls and I are about to head out to the yarn store. I need some red sock yarn for spirit Fridays.

Go team!!

October, Argh!

So here we are October. I promised myself last year that I would not do it. Nope, not I. I would plan small reasonable gifts for people. No need to knit for everyone. My mental health is a valuable thing.

And we all know where that kind of thinking goes once fall hits. One chilly evening and all I can think is "who needs socks?"

Last year I did BIG projects. This year I am at least trying to think small.

So in the spirit of small, here's a wee pattern for Halloween. It would make a good stocking stuffer too, if you know any pirates. I also like these since the girls LOVE piraes right now, and I love their eyeballs, so the soft hook is a win-win scenario.

Materials: One ball chunky, cheap black yarn
One hank of plastic canvas thread in silver (the fat kind)
Optional: chunky yarn in a contrasting color. Use what you have...you could even double up some worsted stuff.

One set METAL DPN’s in a size 8. Seriously, the silver stuff is scratchy, and I do not want to be responsible for messing up your best pair of bamboo needles.

This is all based on i-chord. So simple it hurts.

Start with the black yarn and work in a 5 stitch i-chord for about 2-3 inches. Depends on your pirate's hand. Switch to the silver. Work another inch or so. Then, every other row, slip the first three stitches and knit the other two. This will cause the hook to curve. When you think it is long enough taper the end by doing 1 row k2tog, across, then next row knit the remaining 3 stitches together. Pull the tail through and work in the end.

Now you need a cuff. Pick up about 10 stitches around the edge where the silver and black meet. Distribute the stitches evenly over 3 DPN’s.

K 1 row.

K1M1 for next row.

Repeat these two rows until the circle is wide enough to cover the pirate’s hand. Then knit straight until the cuff measures abut 4 inches. If you like knit the last two rows in the contrasting yarn. Bind off, weave in loose ends, then shiver me timbers! You’re a pirate.

If I can find my notes I’ll try to also post the eye patch and hat patterns. Again, super simple.

Enjoy!

This weekend’s theme:

This weekend’s theme:

Obnoxious orange.

I mean the almost fluorescent kind.

Posting has been difficult. All personal pages are blocked from work. I can READ blogs, but I cannot comment or post. We’re trying the e-mail post today. I’ll add (orange!) photos later.

My students are testing today, so it is a lot of time to walk around and knit while I make sure each student is doing his/her own work with no undue assistance.

And what I am knitting? An orange vest!

Big-sis is a tiger cub this year at school, so I am making a vest out of kitchen cotton. Under the fluorescent here it GLOWS, let me tell you.

The vest has simple cables and bobbles to form tiger paws going up the front. The plan is to do a v-neck and have the paws continue up each side. We’ll see how that looks.

And other orange?

Two pumpkin t-shirts. We tried the freezer paper stencil thing and it worked out quite well. T Shirts were on sale at Michaels for $2, so we stocked up. This could get quite addictive. I have visions of a Spock shirt for the husband’s birthday.

And last? Ginger Carrot Soup. Very orange and very tasty!

Carrot and Ginger Soup

1 medium yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

2 Tbsp fresh ginger, diced

2 stalks celery diced

1 medium bag whole carrots, sliced

2 medium potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces

Vegetable stock

Optional: Sour Cream or heavy cream

Cook the onion and celery with a pinch of salt in olive oil over medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and ginger ands sauté for a minute. Add the carrots and sauté for another minute. Add the potatoes and enough stock and water to cover all the vegetables. Simmer for about 30 min until all the veggies are tender. Puree using a blender until smooth.

Add the sour cream or cream if desired. My girls like it with skim milk.

Hmmmm...

I am actually out of things to knit.

I know! Can you believe it? Even the spare project is done. I do have a sock I need to finish for my dad, but I can't find the second ball of yarn, so I might need to buy a new ball to finish.

So it is time to turn to holiday knitting. This year I start early. I plan simple short projects.

Right.

So we were at the mall a few weeks back and the Muz (the girls grandmother) let it be known that she could use a lace shawl. After some not-so-subtle questioning on my part I surmised:

1. She prefers rectangles
2. She prefers cotton (hot flashes and wool do not mix)

So I am thinking of starting a Print O' the Wave stole by Euny. I did a medium sized patch of it a few months back to experiment with lace, and I really like the way the pattern works. I have some Valley Cotton from Webs. (As I have mentioned I LOVE this stuff). Once the girls are in bed I think I will give it a try.

Really...who needs lesson plans? I'm sure my students will understand.

I should be writing lesson plans

Seriously…but I’m not. So there!

I got my fabulous hurricane sock in the mail over the weekend from Laura (but I do not know the address of her blog…will post it once I know!). Just look:

Isn’t it pretty? I have to say I am rather nervous about finishing the other. Just look at her stitches:

Aren’t they perfect? What if I can’t match it?

Oh, and the yarn. It is Sockotta, by Plymoth. I love that it is a cotton wool blend. I can totally see using it for Christmas gifts this year. Great stuff. Plus the name sounds like SOC CAH TOA, which makes my inner math teacher happy (it’s a memory aid for trig, sin, cosine, in case you're curious)

Plus she sent some fun spa stuff that I am just waiting to try out. It needs free time, which I could use, soon.

I had a moment at work today where the line for the copier dies down, and suddenly I was ALONE in the teacher’s lounge. I realized I hadn’t been alone in like 5 days.

Our building is super full of students this year, so I am roaming during my planning periods. Supplies are a mess…I was given 3 dry erase markers for the year. I have a friend that was given three strips of staples and tools to “make it work!” Despite this all in high spirits and the school year is getting off to a good start. Teenagers are teenagers, but mine generally behave, so I can’t complain.

So for personal knitting, I finished my hurricane sock and mailed it out. I am hoping she doesn’t hate me forever. The yarn was a tad on the *bright* side. I think it turned out well, but I hope she doesn’t need to stare at her feet…it could cause vision loss.

I am almost done with a baby blanket. We have like 5 impending babies, between family and friends, so I am cranking them out. I’ll post a picture and hopefully a pattern. I have an easy formula that is quick, cheap, and works for boys or girls. We’ll see what you all think once it is blocked.

A few folks asked about the raglan sweater from the last post. I really isn’t have a pattern…just used the basic raglan formula and did a picot edge. I meant it to be for little sis, but it grew, if you get my meaning. I tend to be loose on gauge, so when it is something I plan to knit for both I start by making one for little sis, so in a worse case scenario I end up with the bigger one done first.

In the next few days I have a pattern submission to send off. We’ll see how that goes.

OH!! I totally forgot! The pattern I sold to Elann is up. They used different colors than I did, and I really like the way it turned out. Go see!!