Stash enhancement and what's on the needles.

Many of you know that Tangled Skeins had their Boxing Day Sale these last few days. Several of you went and spent a little, some of you spent a lot. I don't blame you. It's yarn (enough said really)...and it was ON SALE. I would have been more shocked if you had NOT gone.

I went too.

I was very well behaved (of course, a modest budget tends to keep one in check even when there are 50% off signs) and only bought 2 yarns.

(ok, so yeah, there are 3 skeins there. But 2 of them are the same yarn, so it counts as one purchase)

On right is a ball of Fiddlesticks wool/silk in "Blueberry", which is going to become something beaded. I am eager to try the crochet hook beading technique in this article. I have a few ideas for what to make. Whatever it will be in the end, it will be pretty.

The other yarn is Artyarns Supermerino, and it's already been cast on as Branching Out

This one is for me.

Over at her blog, The Ninja Knitter held this amazing advent contest, where she gave away yarn every single day. The deal was, you got your prize but you had to pay it forward by doing something charitable yourself. I won this:

(I gave to various charities through december...although now that I won I feel compelled to stroll up and down spring garden road and give coffee to panhandlers)

This is Knit Picks Memories in the Red Hat colourway. I mentioned in my Christmas post that my Nan is a Red Hatter, and she is going to love her socks! Thanks Deb!

I've cast on Tussie Mussie for my mom

The bobbles are not as hard as I thought they would be. But trying to keep track of where I am in the nosegay pattern...and trying to remember where I am for the waist shaping...this project is going to require lots of stickynotes!

I've finished one of the sample socks for Unique Sheep

I cannot wait to get my reward for making this...this yarn is just gorgeous to knit with!

While taking these pics I realized that I had not blogged about the project bags I made:

They have clips on them so you can attach to your belt loops or other bags, backs of chairs, or whatever. I used the small one attached to my purse while Christmas shopping...I knit socks while in line. Very handy. (Devon, yours will be similar, only blue). They were so simple to make too. I bought quilting squares at Fabricville, the elastic and toggles at Wal-Mart and I found the clips at the dollar store. Easy peasy. Of course...I've only managed to make these two and I made one for the angel package I did up for someone whose partner disappeared in Secret Pal 11. My children only co-operate for short bursts of sewing. When I have a house I'll be able to sew after bedtime, but for now I'd rather not have the neighbours complain about the noise.

And for last, I give you these snapshots of my little George meeting Henry



We had a holiday meeting of the knitters since some Out-Of-Towners were here. There was a shopfest at TS, and then we met up at the Monk. After Steph's comment my last post I thought I'd give Henry a chance to show off what a cool guy he can be.

They got along great



Well, I'm off to pull out my Mystic Waters Shawl, which has been hibernating since I started Christmas knitting. All 8 clues are out, and I only managed to get to the end of clue #2. Hopefully I'll get it done before I stumble across anyone else's finished one, since I still want to be suprised by what it looks like.

From fluff to finished object

My first attempt at handspinning with a drop spindle did not go well. I had a really hard time coordinating the drafting and the spinning and what resulted was a tangled, slubby mess and a really p*ssed off fibre lover. The bag of roving and the drop spindle I brought home from Pacafiesta were banished to the bottom of the stash bin, wedged between some truly hideous novelty yarn and old scratchy acyrlic. Every now and then, while I hunted up something to work with for some project, I would come across the drop spindle and its pathetic remnant of fibre, and sigh (or growl, depending on my mood) at it and move on. I resigned myself to the fact that I was not a spinner, no matter how badly I wanted to be. And I certainly could not justify the cost of a spinning wheel if I could not master this.

When my first Secret Pal 11 package arrived, I found some beautiful blue merino roving and an Ashford drop spindle. The spindle is beautiful, and it felt much more sturdy and solid than the one I bought before. I decided to give it another shot. I played around with it a bit, but still it was not clicking.

Then I got inspired to let my knitting leak into my education. I got very excited about the prospect of a spinning demonstration as part of the presentation. It hit me about 2 days before the due date.

I needed to figure out this drop spindle thing before I could show others how to do it.

So, one night while Phil was at work, my kiddies were all snug in their beds...I sat down with the fibre and the drop spindle...my "Spin It" book and the information sheets that my SP11 partner sent to me.

This time...it clicked. Suddenly, it all came together and holy crap I was actually making yarn! Not just yarn...but usable yarn!

It's far from perfect, but there it is:


The pretty blue merino did not spin up a whole lot (probably would have been more had I not used up some in false starts and the inconsistencies in the yarn)


I wanted to make something with this that I could keep for a while. I thought about using it to edge a hat or a scarf, but that did not really appeal to me. Then one day I stumbled upon this pattern here. And I immediately knew what my wee skein of handspun would be.

I am pleased to introduce....



George.

He now lives on my pile of knitting books; He is the Pattern Keeper.

(Before anyone asks, no I don't think I'll bring him to KOL...he's quite little and I'm not so sure he'd do well if there were to be another incident like this one. Especially because, well...he does not have any arms)

Christmas Crash

December 26th...and I don't think I've ever been this freakin tired in my entire life. We've been on the go non-stop since last Thursday and I have not had a good night's sleep in about 2 weeks. Last night I was tucked into bed about 2 minutes after I got my munchkins down for the night, and my husband graciously let me doze until nearly noon today. I could still use about another week or two of sleep, but I'm functional for the moment.

Uh...this is a long post. Grab a coffee before you start.

We started our Christmas festivities at my mom's place, and like every year we discovered that Santa had secretly dropped off an early present for each of us...



Grace received a giant stuffed dog, which she named "Sam" after one of my parents' dogs, and a little make-up kit. Cameron got two dig a dino excavation kits (a block of sand that you chip away at to find the dino bones hidden inside) and Gabriel received a big soft truck. My gift was a mug that read "Goddess: A woman whose great charm or beauty arouses adoration" (lol!) and some fancy hair clips. Phil's was a car organizer kit (but we'll see who gets their cd's in the visor clip first, mwahaha!).

Christmas morning our children were woke at the perfectly reasonable hour of 8am (although, we had to persuade Grace to get out of bed, she would have been content to roll back over until we told her that Santa had brought her presents...Gabriel we had to wake up altogether and he was not impressed by the presents at all)



This is our tree, loaded with presents from friends and family


And this is the Santa haul


Gabriel quickly got to work dissolving the wrapping paper


Grace was pretty excited about her kitchen


While Cam was most excited about his jersey


And Gabriel enjoyed some more paper


All in all, we did very well. Phil got me tickets to see "White Christmas" at Neptune (and I secured a babysitter so he can even come with me), and my mom bought me some much needed winter boots (they are a very pretty blue colour).


This took me a little while to get tidied up. But I had the best motivation to clean ever...Phil was making a tasty breakfast with bacon, eggs and pancakes, so I got an awesome reward once I was done. Mmmmm..Christmas bacon...

Before I go slink off to grab a nap (lol) I'll show you the items I knit as Christmas presents. Now, it's not a lot, certainly not as much as some people knit, but as I started way late (beginning of December), I think I did very well for finishing on time. I had no intentions of making any knitted gifts this year, but some stuff happened that made me want to...anyway, here they are:

For my Nanny, who is a Red Hatter I knit an Odessa

She had asked if I could knit her a simple red hat to wear out to coffee with her group, and my original thought was to do a red hat with purple beads, but then she told me that you can only wear purple during your birthday month, so I went with these really pretty red beads.
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, dk
Beads: Blue Moon seed beads (bought at Micheal's)
Pattern: Odessa by Grumperina
Modifications: Only one, I made it a bit longer so it will go over the ears. It's my ears that get cold, and I figure Nan's get cold too (that's why you wear a hat, right?)
BTW...did you check out the Red Hatter site? I totally cannot wait to join. I'm considering going in as a Pink Hatter (you can join and wear a pink hat and a lavendar outfit if you are under 50), but I might be pushing it at 29. I'll wait a few more years. But if you've seen these ladies out and about...my gosh they are having so much fun and I wanna play too!

Next up, socks for my aunt and uncle. If anyone deserves some handknit socks, it's these kind and generous people!

For Aunt Booboo (aka "Helen")

She told me over the summer she likes ankle socks and that she prefers cotton...these are perfect for her! Now, the pattern does not show up as well on me since my feet are slightly smaller than her's, but it's quite cool when it's stretched a bit.
Yarn: Opal cotton in "Denim"
Pattern: Breeze by Jennifer L. Appleby
Modifications: By the toe,I was a bit tired of fussing with it, so I just did a standard toe instead. I like how it looks though. If I were to make these again I'd follow the pattern for the toe, but I might not bother with a cabled heel, and I would extend the pattern up the leg a bit too.

And Andrew's socks:

This was a very close finish. I still had most of the foot to go when we got in the van to do the 2hour drive to Booboo and Andrew's house to deliver their presents. But Andrew is a trucker and he was away, so I figured if I ended up finishing this one while we visited, no big deal. We arrive and I ask Booboo to confirm Andrew was away, and was told "Oh no, he's almost home. He'll be here in a hour!" I was almost to the toe, so I immediately passed off the baby and knit like a crazy woman. I was just about to graft the toe when a familiar face walked by the kitchen window. I snatched up my gear and ran into the dining room, shouting "Hi! Don't come in here!" I've never kitchener'd that fast in my life! I then wrapped it up in tissue with the little handmade tag sticking out and put it into the bag with Booboo's wrapped socks (the tags had fibre content and washing instructions on them). I got a call with big thank yous and yes-they-fit-greats on Christmas morning, that made it all worth it.
Yarn: Paton's Kroy in "Flax"
Pattern: Treads by Kimberly Fairchild (Son of Stitch 'n Bitch)
Modifications: Whoo, boy. I kept the cable pattern, but only did 2 repeats of it instead of 8. I used a heavier yarn, so I went up to a 3mm needle instead of 2mm. I had to make big mods to the cast on number to accommodate the needle change, and continued the ribbing down the foot. I did a sl1,k1 standard heel, instead of a short row (I don't care for short row heels myself, I know lots of people love them, but they are not for me...might be because my first experience with them was the hated Falling in Love socks) and I did my regular toe instead of the short row toe (which I don't mind, I just did not want to do the math). These look more like Tread's cousin rather than the pattern itself...same family tree, different branch.

The last thing off my needles was my dad's thrummed mittens:

I initially wanted to make Dad some socks, but he said "no socks, but I'd love some mittens." I thought at first that I would make him Dashing, but continue up to make full mitts, then I saw the thrummed ones and asked mom what she thought about mini furnaces for my dad's hands. She thought they'd be great for snow shovelling, so I went in search of a kit. The lovely ladies at LK totally hooked me up. Once they were finished I tea-dyed them (my kitchen smelled like a barn) to minimize the little hearts that the thrumms make. I also included a note explaining the mitts and washing instructions which included the line "call your daughter and she'll bring over some wool wash and wash them properly for you" (I have nightmares of these mitts going in the washing machine and the dryer and being rendered a felted, useless mess).
And now...I'm also going to make a pair of very warm booties for Gabriel, Cam wants a pair of thrummed mitts and I think Phil needs a pair too. And I might make a pair of thrummed socks for Cam, since his feet get so cold when we go out in winter. And I would like a pair, but black with pink roving. Thrumming is going to be all the rage over at the Neily house.
Yarn: Briggs and Little Heritage, in grey colour
Pattern: Family Thrummed Mittens by Catherine Vardy
Modifications: Just one. I did not care for how the decreases were going, it was messing up the thrumming pattern. So I did it similar to a sock toe decrease and felt much happier.

I also made another Jayne Cobb hat for Cate (this one destined to warm the noggin of a friend of Mr No Sheep). Mr No Sheep was brave enough to enter the Knitter's Den at the Wired Monk on a KOL night to pick it up. Poor man made the tactical error of carrying in cookies...he's lucky he escaped with his life (knitters, feeling the Christmas crunch, hopped up on caffeine...scented the cookies and attacked).

And now on my needles is Tussie Mussie for my mom. She asked for a sweater, and we looked at some patterns and she chose this one, and chose the yarn (Knitpicks Cotlin in Key Lime) For Christmas I wrapped up one of the balls and the pattern, and gave her some really luscious chocolates to eat in the meantime. She knew when she first requested a sweater that she was not getting for Christmas, so it was not a suprise that she got some of the yarn...but my Dad and my brothers had a really good laugh at the "in progress" gift!

So...that was our Christmas. Hope yours was great too!

Your Attention Please!

Ahem.

I've finished my Christmas knitting.

That will be all.

That clunk you heard was my jaw hitting the floor.

Ok, this has nothing to do with knitting, but I saw it over on The Lactivist's blog and had to share. I've only just now picked up my jaw.

A mother in Italy was told she could not name her child "Friday" by the courts, and the courts have decided that "Gregory" was a more appropriate name, and changed all her paperwork. She appealed the decision and lost.

The whole story is here.

Apparently there is a system in place in Italy that regulates what parents can name their children to prevent them from giving their child names that might be considered "ridiculous or shameful".

Really.

All I could think while reading this story is that this tribunal would COMPLETELY LOSE ITS MIND over some of the names I've come across in my years as a daycare teacher. I've heard names that I'm pretty sure the parents just randomly pulled syllables out of a hat and stuck them together.

And while I might have thought to myself "why don't you like your child?" when I've heard some names...I just don't think any government has a right to decide for you what you name your child.

Thoughts?

For me? Oh Thank you thank you!!

Yesterday evening the Mail Carrier brought me some yarny goodness


Two skeins of Knit Picks Gloss and the Holiday Lace sock pattern...from my upstream pal in the WWCS, Becky! Thank you so much Becky, it's gorgeous.

(My fingers are positively ITCHING to cast on something for me!)

Speaking of WWCS, here is this week's topic

Last weeks topic, we wanted to know what is your favorite activity during the "Wintery" months. Please post what would be the perfect vacation during the Winter Season? Would rather you head to the beach, to escape all the cold weather or want to pack your ski's and head to the mountains. You tell us what vacation you prefer during the Winter Season.

Hmmm...ooh boy that's really tough. It sounds lovely to have a vacation of hitting the slopes by day and curling up in front of a fire by night...and I do love to ski...except, since both my ankles are pretty much ruined skiing hurts like a SOB after a while and last time I went I could not walk properly for a week afterwards.

I'm gonna say escaping to heat and sunshine would be better. Somewhere with a swim-up bar and someone else making dinner. Ahhhhh....

Whoot!

My WWCS package arrived today:


Thank you thank you Becky! It's awesome, and my kids have been having a blast with the bubble wrap, lol!

These are my goodies:


She sent colouring books for my kids (Grace has tried to claim them all, lol!), a magnetic photo frame and bookmark from the place she works, a keychain that says "Where are my keys?" that she made herself, a catnip toy, a chocolate bar with Lavendar that she claims is "Heaven in chocolate bar form" (I can't wait to try it!).

She made these stitch markers for me

I can't decide which I like better, the cute little cherries or the clever fortune cookies!

This is a Peppermint Pig

According to her letter, this is a tradition that her family follows (click the link for an explanation) and I think it sounds great! I am going to try this on Christmas Eve!

Also:

That mug is too cute! The yummy hot chocolate is going to be our afternoon snack when Cam gets home from school and she also included the Page-A-Day Stitch in Bitch calendar (I'm trying so hard to be good and not read it all at once!)

And of course, coffee:

The bag on the right is from a local shop (she's in Seattle) and she says it's very good stuff (it smells lovely) and the stuff on the left is from the Asian Supermarket. It's hazelnut and smells so good!!

She had e-mailed me when she sent it off and mentioned again in her letter that a parcel from Knitpicks is on it's way to be too, so I get to look forward to something else! Whoot!

Thank you so much Becky, it's a wonderful package!

Yep, two posts in one day, and none of them all that relevant to knitting...

I read this over at Alison's blog and got tagged so I bring MEME as I procrastinate the tidying I really should be doing

Do you have any pets?
I have Molly and Ginny, cats who are 10 years old and 4 months old respectively, a bunch of fish, 3 kids and a husband.

What color shirt are you wearing?
I'm wearing my pink "Bride" tank top, from my staggette. It's a very comfy jammie shirt now.

Name three things that are physically close to you
My cell phone, my tinkerbelle mug (half full with coffee) and the TV remote.

What is the last book you read?
Um...I can't remember what the last book was, but my current book is "Bastard Out of Carolina"

Are you or were you a good student?
I am. I'm told it's because I've gone back as a adult and I take the classes more seriously now than I would have as a teen. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm a perfectionistic control freak.

What's your favorite sport?
Uh...I only like to watch sports live. I used to be my brothers' biggest fan, but they don't play anymore. I am totally stoked for Cam to join soccer this summer though.

Do you enjoy sleeping late?
I enjoy sleeping period.

What's the weather like right now?
The sun is shining, but it's cold.

Who tells the best jokes?
My favourite comedians right now are John Wing and Debra DiGiovanni. I would totally have them over for dinner.

What was the last thing you dreamed about?
I'd rather not discuss it, it was pretty upsetting.

Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?
I do drive. I got my license just over a week ago. No, I've not crashed. But I have been bumping the same damn snowbank everytime I park the van in our parking lot.

Do you believe in karma?
Yes

Do you believe in luck?
Yes

Do you like your eggs scrambled or sunny side up?
Scrambled

Do you collect anything? If so, what?
Oooh, boy. Yep, I do. I collect Willow Tree Ornaments, that's my official collection, but I tend to be drawn to shiny things.

Are you proud of yourself?
Most of the time

Are you reliable?
Very.

Have you ever given money to a bum?
No. I offered a bus ticket to someone bumming for change "to get on the bus"...and he refused. I always give some money to that guy on Spring Garden Rd who is playing the violin.

What's your favorite food?
food I don't have to cook myself, unless there are mushrooms in it

Have you ever had a secret admirer?
I have. It's always disappointing, because it's never who you hope it will be.

Do you like the smell of gasoline?
Not so much, no.

Do you like to draw?
I doodle.

What's your favorite invention?
Right now...the slow cooker. I love that I can make dinner when I have the energy and my kids are happy(morning) instead of having to try and make dinner when I'm all tired out and my kids are fussy.

Is your room messy?
Yes. All my rooms are messy right now.

What do you like better: oranges or apples?
Well, that depends. Are we talking big naval oranges? Because I love those. Unless they are up against grannysmith apples. That's a tough question....

Do you give in easily?
Not a chance

Are you a good guesser?
I'm pretty good.

Can you read other people's expressions?
Most of the time. I do tend to second guess my first instinct though and sometimes I read more than what's actually there.

Are you a bully?
I can be, if the situation requires me to be.

Do you have a job?
Yes, I am a mother. It's a 24/7 job, damn hard work, but with many many benefits.

What time did you wake up this morning?
about 7:30 am

What did you eat for breakfast this morning?
I actually had breakfast this morning...I ate Honey Bunches of Oat with Real Peaches and the second half of Grace's banana

When was the last time you showered?
Yesterday noonish.

What do you plan on doing tomorrow?
Finish the Big Clean and getting the Christmas decor out.

What's your favorite day of the week and why?
It will be Tuesday again once I get to go to KOL. But I'm partial to Wednesday because it's a kick-ass TV night.

Do you have any nicknames?
Plenty, and most of them are nice.

Have you ever been scuba diving?
No, but I'd love to try it

What's your least favorite color?
I'm not a fan of orange.

Is there someone you have been constantly thinking about? If yes, who?
Yeah, but I'm not going to talk about that either.

Would you ever go skydiving?
No, I like life.

What toothpaste do you use?
Crest Pro-Health. (Is it sad that I had to go and check? It's not something I really think about until I'm out and have to go buy more...)

Do you enjoy challenges?
I do.

What's the worst injury you have had?
I strained a muscle in my neck when I was pregnant with Gabriel, causing it to spasm. I couldn't move for the pain and couldn't take anything because I was pregnant. I was taking tylenol, but for all the good it did I might as well have been taking M&M's.

What's the last movie you saw?
Pirates of the Caribean At World's End.

What do you want to know about the future?
I just want to know my kids will be ok.

What does your last text message say?
I didn't save it, but it was probably something dorky from my husband who recently discovered texting and has been having fun with it.

Who was the last person you spoke over the phone to?
Dr's office.

What's your favorite school subject?
English

What's your least favorite school subject?
Math

Would you rather have money or love?
Love, of course.

What is your dream vacation?
One that involves all the packing done for me, nothing is forgotten, unlimited budget for shopping, enough time to do the relaxing things and the fun exciting things, time with my kids and time with just my husband. Oh, and it's free. Ahhhh...

What is your favorite animal?
Ok, thing is...I like cats, but prefer my own cats (and even then, really just Molly since Ginny is a pyscho...she'll calm down as she ages I'm sure), I like dogs...but really just my parents' two incredibly sweet and well-behaved golden retreivers. Let's say I like penguins and leave it at that.

Do you miss anyone right now?
I miss my husband when he's at work. I miss my cousin and her family so far away. I miss my friends who live away. I miss those who have passed on, especially this time of year. I miss lots of people.

What's the last sporting event you watched?
I was forced to watch a hockey game. In french.

Do you need to do laundry?
I'm doing laundry right now.

Do you listen to the radio?
Occasionally

Where were you when 9/11 happened?
I was at work. I found out when I was refilling my giant coffee mug in the kitchen, one the other teachers had just come in and she had heard about it on the radio. I remember looking at her thinking "You're joking, or someone is playing a joke on you. This can't be happening" It seemed like a bad movie. We had a small tv and at naptime we watched news footage (away from the children of course) for two days until our director put a ban on TV and Radio in the centre, since staff were getting too upset.

What do you do when vending machines steal your money?
I swear at it and bang on it ineffectively. Doesn't everyone?

Have you ever caught a butterfly?
Yes. I put it in a jar. And it died right after. I never did it again.

What color are your bed sheets?
Blue plaid

What's your ringtone?
Sexyback

Who was the last person to make you laugh?
My daughter. She asked me if she could squirt me with the spray bottle we use on the cats when they get into stuff they aren't supposed to. I said no, and she said "Yes mommy, I squirt you" and I said "You squirt me and you'll be in big trouble. You'll have to go to your room." She said "I squirt you and YOU go to your room for big trouble." Saucy little pup. Wonder where she gets that from?

Do you have any obsessions right now?
Have you been paying attention? I KNIT!

Do you like things that glow in the dark?
I do.

What's your favorite fruity scent?
Peach. As long as it's not too fake smelling.

Do you watch cartoons?
Every single freakin day

Have you ever sat on a roof?
Yes. My window opens up onto the roof. When I lived with a roommate in the building next door I used to go out onto the roof to smoke. Back when I didn't care what I did to my body. I know better now.

Have you ever been to a different country?
Just the US

Name three things in the world you dislike
Willful Ignorance, People doing bad things to children, mushrooms.

Name three people in the world you dislike
Bush, Harper, and Tom Cruise (he broke Katie Holmes and did something to Will Smith)

Has a rumor even been spread about you?
Several in fact.

Do you like sushi?
I have come to appreciate it

Do you believe in magic?
Of course!

Do you hold grudges?
I can grudge like nobody's business. I try not to though, it's not healthy to hang on to negative energy like that.

There ya go. Tag, you're it!

Knitting can leak.

In lieu of actual knitting content, since all my projects are presents right now, I give you this litte essay on how knitting can leak into other aspects of your life.

From what I have been able to discover, knitters fall into two basic categories (within which there are a lot of sub-categories, but these are the first two):
1) Those who occasionally knit.

2) Those who have turned Knitting into a Lifestyle.

Obviously, I'm in category 2. And chances are, if you're a knitter reading this, you are too...since, uh...you're reading about someone else's knitting. Some might even call us "Obsessed" or "Crazy". (Yeah...call me crazy again and see if you get any warm mitts for Christmas!)

Some of you may already know this, but in my pre-baby life I was a daycare teacher. It's how I met my husband and my older son. I taught for 6 years, mainly with toddlers and I loved it. I basically fell into it, my cousin was working at a centre that was short-staffed, so I came in for a day and the next thing I knew I had a job...which turned into my career. I got credited with "equivalent to trained" (and knowing what I know now, I almost wish I hadn't done that...it's a politics things that I wish I could get rid of altogther...but that's a story for another time), and several years ago Phil and I decided that now was the time for me to go back to school part-time, and get my Early Childhood Education, before we have more kids (I got pregnant after my first semester with Grace. But the college has been so accomadating and wonderful). I'm now close to being done, only a couple courses and my practicums to go.

Now, to be 100% honest, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my ECE once I have it. I do know that I have no desire whatsoever to go work at a centre in a classroom. My main issue with the field is the nonsense going on between staff. Gossip, backstabbing and generally acting highly unprofessional is keeping us way below our potential. If we are ever going to be taken seriously as a profession, then we need to start taking ourselves a bit more seriously. I would love to direct a centre, get it to meet it's full potential, but on the other hand that seems like a lot of stress, and not nearly enough pay. My other options are to work with resource centres or open my own pre-school program where everything is on my terms (guess which one appeals to me more, lol).

I have a lot of other issues with the field as well; such as public perception of our job, the number of untrained people getting jobs and then being pushed into their equivalency (yes, I'm aware that that's exactly how I got my start, but that still makes it wrong), the high number of unregulated in-home childcare spots (80% of Canadian children are being cared for in private homes...how many of those care providers have any training in early education? How many of them have basic CPR and First Aid? It's scary out there...) Harper breaking the deals that were already made, Harper's "Universal Childcare Benefit" which is a joke. Sure, give parents $100 a month per child under age 6, that'll cover two and a half days of childcare a month in a quality centre, maybe three, but it's of no use since you did not give centres any money to open up MORE SPOTS (can't pay for childcare that doesn't exist). Oh, and don't worry about the 7 year olds. They don't need after school care, everyone knows that 7 year olds are totally mature enough to take care of themselves...

Hey, where did this soapbox come from and what the heck am I doing up on it? Sorry about that...let me just put this away...I had a point around here somewhere...

Ah!

One of my classes this semester was Emergent Literacy. It was a great course, taught with enthusiasm by a great instructor. I enjoyed it quite a lot. Our major assignment was to create a "Story Sack", which is a teaching tool based on one particular book. Essentially, one chooses a book, brainstorms all the things that you could do to enhance children's learning by using the story as a jumping point. Then present to the class.

I chose "Farmer Brown Shears His Sheep; A Yarn About Wool."

In brief, Farmer Brown shears his sheep, who are then freezing. We follow Farmer Brown as he takes the wool to various people to be washed, spun, then dyed. He noticed his poor cold sheep, then sits down with the yarn and knits each sheep a lovely warm cardigan (lovely Fair Isle creations, by the way).

So...from this I wrote up my "Web"...citing things like "spinning demo", "trip to farm to see sheep", "spinner's guild rep", "dyeing experiment", and on and on. I then created 3 activities for 3 differen age groups, including Kool-Aid dyeing for the older pre-schoolers. I wrote my own version of "Baa Baa Black Sheep", using the primary colours (and green) and talking about different projects you can make with wool.

For my presentation I read the story, I sang my song (using colourful sheep props). Then I pulled out my drop spindle and spun up some yarn, while handing around a piece of roving. I then pulled out some chunky yarn and big needles and demonstrated actual knitting, and passed that around. I showed off a knitted toys pattern book, a baby clothing book, offered up an old knitting magazine for collage purposes. I spoke of how knitting has become a hobby, where it used to be extremely important for the livelihood of the family, how young children used to be responsible for so much of it (and in some countries still are), the role men have played in the history of knitting, how we are losing this art as it falls out of the mainstream.

Then I handed it all over to my teacher and waited two weeks for her verdict.

Her comments to me included how my obvious passion would make this project so engaging for the children, how important it is to get back fading arts, and how I made the concepts Real with my hands-on demonstrations.

My mark?

100%

That's just one way my knitting has leaked. Does your knitting leak?

SPOILED!!!!!

Today I picked up my SP11 package from the post office (I'm almost always home...but never, it seems, when a package arrives), and OMG! Spoiled but good!

This was the big reveal package, so I can say Thank YOU Krista!

Here's the aerial shot of my goodies


She sent me:
A Snowman bell ornament, a plushy star ornament and special ornaments for the kids:

Cam was really impressed by this, he was quite touched actually. She also sent stickers (Spiderman and My Little Pony) for them.
A scarf and a sweater pattern, 3 (!) Cookie A patterns (Thelonius, Gothic Spire and Flicker), a card making kit and scrapbooking stickers, Penguin-shaped shower gels, Vanilla & Pomegranate lotion (smells yummy!), Almay "Relax" body mist, A notebook from the "The Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper" (hehe..poo), a bookmark, goat milk soap, chocolate and of course yarn and fibre!

This is an assortment of fibres she sent for me to play with

(Cam's eyeballin the curly mohair...I had given him a bit of some blue stuff I got at Pacafiesta last year, lol!)

Pretty pretty Regia Galaxy sock yarn...it's so cool!


And Araucania sock yarn...this is "Ranco Multy:


And this pretty little number...Sirdar "Spree" cotton


Awesome package, Krista, thank you so much. I wonder if revealing that you're planning to join our cocoa swap will boost up the numbers as people hope to get you as an upstream ;)

As for my swappy packages, I am sending out 3 this week; my last SP11, the WWCS and I've agreed to be an angel in SP11 (paying it forward...I know how much I appreciated Devin stepping up, and it certainly does not hurt to send out the good karma)

Christmas gifts: Finished another...I did not have to rip it all the way back as I feared, yay! About to start another, but as it stands it's 2 down, 3 to go...although I did have a really great idea for something for another person on my list...sheesh, so much for no knitting Christmas presents this year.

(That popping sound you just heard was a section of my brain giving way as I just mentally tallied my sock yarn...and the patterns I have on my must-knit list...and tried to figure out which I'm going to knit first. I need to go lay down now)

Oooh, I'll knit that...and that...OH! And THAT!

Winter Knitty is "live" as they say (although personally I believe there is a glaring omission of a terribly clever knitted gift, not designed by me but by a very talented friend) and oh there are so many things I want to knit up!

For example, this would look yummy in that alpaca I've got hanging around...

Grace clearly needs one of these and one of these, while Gabriel would enjoy this and wouldn't Cam look smart in this?

Meanwhile I know someone who would make good use out of one of those, and I think Precious needs one of these.

And Ms Barnhill? You need to knock it off. Because now I have to make these, and probably with my birthday sock yarn. Stop being so freakin clever, because other designers deserve a shot at my sock yarn too.

I was thisclose last night to being done another Christmas present and then I realized I'd screwed up a bit and I think I'm going to have to rip all the way back to the start to fix it. Good thing it's a small project!

In swappy news, I'm about to send off my last secret pal project, just need to pick up one last part before posting it, then I get to reveal who I am. And I'm about ready to send off for the Winter Wonderland Coffee Swap, and I'm sending it sooner so that she'll be able to enjoy the Christmas related items I tucked in there. And I just looked over the Cocoa swap and the comments have exploded for the contest! I'm so excited! It should be a great swap, so if you have not already get over there and join the contest!

I've seen a lot of contests and celebrations for milestones hit with other people's blogs, and I thought, that looks like fun I should do that. I thought I'd do something for my 200th post...then looked it up and realized I hit 200 about 5 or 6 posts ago! So I decided I'd see how my posting went and I would either do something for my 2 year blogaversary (in May) or my 300th post (which, looking at my post record, won't take long to get to!). Maybe both, who knows! Stay tuned!

One more thing before you go...I'm knitting up a pair of sample socks for Unique Sheep, and wow! I love it! The colour is gorgeous and the yarn delightfully smooshy (I'm knitting up some Footprints yarn). She's also got a Doctors Without Borders colourway, and she's donating 50% of the yarn sale to that organization if you order it, which is quite a big donation! I highly recommend her shop, and I think I'll be doing some stash enhancement with her in the new year!

Ok, I've procrastinated enough, back to the books for me! Final assignment due tomorrow, then all done for this year, whoot!

Hi Everybody!

(if you internally said "Hi Dr Nick!", Welcome my fellow Simpson-a-holic!)

First, I need to apologize to Michelle. She tagged me in a "Gross Meme", and I was supposed to list 8 gross things about me. Sorry, hon, I just can't do it. I can't list the less pleasant things about myself. Because some of them are doozies. The only thing I feel comfortable posting is that "back in the day" I used to hit the Palace (a bar) (oh wait, can hitting the Palace count as one all by itself?) for the dollar drinks, drink myself stupid....and usually I'd be out on the dancefloor when it would all hit me. Then I'd be taking off for the nearest ladies to puke. Afterwards, I'd pop a piece of gum, re-apply my lipstick, and then stop by the bar before getting back up on that dancefloor. Ugh...my poor poor liver. (Sorry Mom)

Next up, for this week's WWCS weekly topic we were supposed to engage in "Coffee Talk". So I'm hoping I am doing this right...but I saw over at Suzanne's blog that she has wonderful taste in sock yarn! Eek, yarn envy!

I finished a Christmas gift, but I can't blog that since it's recipient reads here. And the next gift is also unbloggable because that one reads it too. Thank goodness for Ravelry, I'd have no where to show these off otherwise! I will try to remember this year to do a post after Christmas with the gifts, but I will likely forget as I did last year.

I can however, show off my latest stash enhancements!

First, my experiment with Kool-Aid dyeing. I bought 2 packs of cherry and 2 packs of blue in order to make a skein of sock yarn that was red on one end, blue on the other and purple in the middle where they bled together. I also thought it would look neat to have white bits, so I put elastics on the yarn, sort of a tie-dye kind of idea.

I open up my kool-aid, only to discover that tropical punch is red kool-aid masquerading in a blue packet. No worries, I would do a gradated dyeing experiment.

So off I went:


But I was not really pleased with the results


So I overdyed with 2 packs of Strawberry Kiwi and on Cherry and got this:


Which I like a lot. Oh, the yarn is Knitpicks bare, superwash.

And I mentioned in my last post that my loving husband let me get some reward yarn at Have a Yarn for passing my road test:

Fleece Artist merino


And some Fleece Artist Merino Silver


Mmmm....

(I just did a quick tally in my head...I have a lot of sock yarn. A lot. No, I'm not telling you how much, just more than I probably need but less than some others I know.) (No, I'm not giving away any or selling any. It's all mine, back off!)(And yes, I still want more for Christmas)

This post went on longer than I meant it to. You all have a great day!

Good Day to be Me!

This morning I head off to the dr's office and four out of five of us got our flu shots (Cam got his a few weeks ago at check-up). What's good about that? Nobody got too upset, only a few tears, and it was over quickly.

Next...I did my road test.

Aced it! Look out world, I'm on the road!

(I solemnly swear not to become the kind of driver I always complained about as a pedestrian)

Drove out to Bridgewater via the scenic route, and stopped in at Have A Yarn in Mahone Bay. Phil had given me some money to pick up a little treat as a reward for passing my test...got some pretty purple sock yarn and some really pretty roving (Fleece Artist, pics to follow tomorrow). Yay!

Got home from visiting my Grampy and was checking over my blogroll...the Cocoa Swap is getting lots of notice, which feels good because I've always been the type to fret that I'll organize something and no one will show up.

And

When I cruised over to the Winter Wonderland Coffee Swap I found out that I won the last contest. Boo-ya!

Yep...good day to be me:)

Oh, Michelle, my charming co-hostess, tagged me in a "gross" meme...Michelle, I will post it, just been busy. But I will do it, and I apologize in advance to all of you.

Swappy Swappy!

OK, so there is about to open up with a contest this really super cool and awesomely fun knitter swap. It involves yarn (of course) hot chocolate and other really cool things and you should totally check it out and sign up.

And it's going to be run by some really awesome knit chicks.

Go check it out, it's call the Mmmm...Hot Cocoa Swap* (*A Swap For Knitters to Beat Away the Winter Blahs) (yeah it's a long title, you can really just call it a "Hot Cocoa Swap" or "Winter Blah Swap")


Alright...yeah I'm co-hosting it with Michelle, but she really rocks! And I like to think I do too ;)

Spread the Word contest opens up on Saturday December 1st and will run until the 15th.

What are you still doing here? Go check it out!

Reaching New Heights of Obsession

Last night I silently suffered through the Montreal Vs Toronto game (I say suffered because my husband really gets into the game, with his little cheers and air punching...well, it makes it hard to knit beside him. At one point, after my 7th or 8th attempt to get the baby to sleep I explained that while I understand it's an exciting and intense shoot-out if he woke the baby again he'd pay for it with his life), which I actually got into in the end (Phil's excitement was contagious), but it going into overtime meant I had to wait until midnight to watch the latest episode of Law & Order Special Victims Unit. It was totally worth it.

Oh, if you have not seen the episode but are planning to, stop now. Because there is a good chance I'm about to give away some stuff.

Once the murder was solved, drama with the victims all over, and Elliot (Det. Stabler) was off being a hero, Olivia (Det. Benson) was driving Elliot's very pregnant wife to her OB's appointment. They are struck passenger side on by a drunk driver. Elliot's wife is pinned, her water breaks, she's all in distress and going into labour.

Just before the accident happened I thought "Gee, that's a nice sweater she's wearing. That looks like a feather and fan sort of pattern on the sleeve, are those cables going down the belly? That's sort of looks like the maternity sweater in that Interweave Knits magazine...what issue was that again? I know I have it...HOLY CRAP!" (That's when the accident happened)

So, it's all very emotional, because all I can think is how freakin scary that would be to be labouring while firefighters are trying to cut you out of the car and your husband's partner is trying to put in your IV and your bleeding into your eye from a big 'ol cut on your forehead. She delivers the baby in the ambulance and then nearly DIES as her blood pressure dropped way low. The final scenes involve her (she's ok, baby's ok) introducing the baby to his Daddy and it's still very emotional and these are the thoughts that run through my head:

"Wow, that was intense"

"Geez, a scary birth experience like that can affect how she bonds to that baby. I hope she sorts that out."

"Hmm...breastfeeding would help with the bonding experience. Hey what a great opportunity for this show to support breastfeeding by having a character breastfeed! Sigh, probably won't happen though..."

"I wonder if there is a pattern for that sweater she was wearing? I bet someone will have figured it out..."

"Hey, I wonder if I could figure it out..."

So...I'm off to try and find the episode online, because I bet I could totally make that sweater...

Yup, we're reaching new heights of obsession here. I saw a guy the other day with a really cool hat on and I actually thought "I wonder if that complete stranger would hand over his hat so I could take a look at how it's made..."

Knitting is taking over my brain.

Good lookin bunch

It's that time of year again...time to bring out the camera, hang a sheet, clean up the kids and do my very best to capture images that will adorn our walls and head out in stamped envelopes to family members.

So, Grace if you'll just have a seat...



No honey...sorry. Mommy meant to say can you sit on the stool....um...



Hey turkey, turn around!

No! No! Get back here!



Ok, good. You're on the stool. Ok, smile for Mommy!

Hey! Keep still!



Sigh.

We did eventually get the shots we wanted:

Grace


Cameron

(Although we have not printed these since we're using his school photo. If we run out of those it's good to have a back-up)

Gabriel


The kids together


Family shot


Just Phil and I (we have not had a really good pic of just us since the wedding, I am really pleased with this shot)


And like last year when I put myself through this...I mean engaged in this fun activity...afterwards we ventured to the mall to see the man in the red suit

(Much better than last year's shot, don't ya think?)

Note; I just looked at last year's post about portraits and Santa...two things 1) Grace looks so much older now! and 2) I swore in that post I was never taking the kids to the mall on a Saturday during the Christmas rush again. Guess when I went this year? Haha!

Knitting news: I think I've about mastered the drop spindle. Look for a post in the near future featuring a little project that I made out of my own yarn! I got some bare yarn the other day and borrowed my mom's canning pot to try my hand at hand-dyeing, and I've also started my first adult-sized sweater. It's for my mom and while technically it's her Christmas present, we both know it won't be done by Christmas. The other things I have on my needles can't be discussed, but I should be loading them to Ravelry soon so if you have access you can see them there.

Driving news: Some of you may have been aware that I was to do my roadtest yesterday. Well, I don't have my full license. Not because I failed...but there was a miscommunication. Apparently when the guy I booked the test with said "Ok, your test is scheduled for Monday, November 26th at 9:00am" what he really meant to say was "Thursday, November 22nd at 9:00am." At first they tried to tell me that it was considered a "missed appointment" and that my road test receipt was no longer valid and I would have to buy another and re-book (another $50). Uh, no. Long story short, I had some words for the receptionist, the booking people on the phone and then the manager, who was understanding (her exact words "I understand your frustration, I'd be mad as hell") and got me booked in for Friday and approved my receipt to be "re-used". It doesn't change that Phil had to take the day off work for this, or give us back the crazy morning we had trying to organize everything so we could get my aunt's car (she had to work over in Halifax and Phil had to get her to work, get the car to the DMV) and all of us down to the DMV...but what can ya do? I hope this means that the stressful part is over and my test will be ever-so-smooth.
The irony is that had I taken the test on Thursday morning...both Phil and my aunt were not working and it would have been so easy to get it done. Grrr.