Sunday, March 24, 2013

FO # 5 - Business Casual KAL, Cast On Seeds and Vines


Business Casual KAL are done!!!  They are FO # 5 for 2013.

Least the needles get lonely, I cast on for my first baby sweater -- Seeds and Vines


Thursday, March 21, 2013

Home Sick

Please excuse the horrible iPad picture.

Last week was spring break, Monday it seemed half the kiddos were sent to school coughing, sneezing, and had runny noses. It was a fast moving cold as I woke early Tuesday with that icky, "I think I am coming down with something" feeling in the back of my throat, and before I left for work, it had moved to a full fledged "I have a cold!"

Came home that night, had a bowl of soup, and headed off to bed. Couldn't speak in the morning, stayed home and slept most of the day.

This morning, although I was feeling much better, decided another day in bed would do me good.

Between napping today, I have been knitting.

Four more rows and I will begin the ribbing for the cuff!

Saturday, March 16, 2013

FO 2013 #4

 
The Friday before our spring break we had a PD (Professional Development) day, so I brought my mindless Dish Cloth yarn and cast on and completed FO #4 for 2013.  It is a stretch for FO, but I decided that if I my Every Way Wrap, which took me almost a year to complete, only counts as one FO, then something that takes me a couple hours can also count as a completed project!!!!

While posting it to my  FO 2013 page, I checked my goals for 2013 and updated them.  Things are going well.

I got over my temper-tantrum with Business Casual KAL.  I have one more pattern repeat, the cuff and they will be finished before the KAL deadline of March 25 (I hope).

I have taken a break from the knitting.  Friday, the sofa-sleeper for my office/craft/guest bedroom was delivered so I spent most of the day rearranging the room and going through boxes that had things just tossed in them from my move.

I was supposed to be reading for the Iditaread at school, so I just spent some lovely time on the new couch reading.  It is a paper book.  Written in British-English. Which is not the same as American-English.  I keep wishing the book was an eReader so I could touch the word and get its definition. 

Wednesday through Friday I did Dr. Oz's Three Day Detox Cleanse, so today I got to eat food that needs to be chewed!  More on that later, or not!  I lost 5 pounds in three days, so we will see.  I must get back to eating healthy and I though a detox would be a good way to start!

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Dreaming a Little Dream


I awoke early this morning, I have a ton to do, but here I sit, note pad and pen in hand, iPad on my lap.

I had a dream where I was wearing this beautiful sweater. Everyone gave me complements on it. In the dream the sweater was a purchased one, not one I had knit.

The sweater was very simple in structure, light, something you would wear over a light turtleneck.

The collar was simple, an open oval that might have been slightly felted -- it was of heavier construction than the rest of the sweater. The body of the sweater was simple stockinette stitch, with a seed stitch button band and short cap sleeves or three quarter length.

It was in a lovely soft ivory white.

I have spent the last hour searching Ravelry for a pattern like this. I have no clue how I would even go about designing this sweater for myself, but I know I must have it!

Back to searching patterns, I am on page 25 of 130+!!!!

Monday, March 11, 2013

Ready to be Finished with the Business Casual

I have turned the heels, picked up the gusset, decreased and now I have to do the pattern all the way around the socks.

I have reached the point where I really just want to be done with these business casual socks. I am sure I have reached this point before in other patterns, but I am at a loss to come up with another time.

Now that I am knitting the pattern around the entire sock I am tired of it. There is no rest. There are no more "just knit" rows. Every single row, I am counting stitches, have to wear my reading glasses so I see for the twisted stitches!

I have thought of putting them aside and cast on a pair of mindless, worsted weight socks for my Honey. Have contemplated starting the 2x2 rib for the leg. Frogging has crossed my mind more than a couple of times.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Just 10 Minutes a Day

One of the local Ravelry groups I belong to has a challenge for just 10 minutes a day.  Sometimes life is so busy that one doesn't have near the amount of time to knit as one would like.  Right now, I'm at the point in my life.  Spring break is next week -- but that means grades need to be completed and, as I am a Special Education teacher, I have to write a progress report for each of my students. 
 
We are in the "Spring Sped (short for Special Education) Rush" too -- the time of the year that teachers and parents panic because a child isn't making progress and begin pushing for Special Education assessment/evaluation.  The deadline for new evaluations was last week! I have lost count of the number on my caseload that are in the process of initial evaluation or re-evaluation.  They will get done as they get done!
 
My honey gets up very early; I sleep in an hour longer, but still am out of bed before 5 am.  I generally drink coffee, knit, chat with My Honey, while a load of laundry is washing or drying.  The past couple weeks, I have been on the computer, entering data, grading papers, writing reports, etc.  Also, checking on my Iditarod Musher.....
 
BUT, I have managed to knit for 10 minutes each morning.  Often while my car is warming up.
 
The progress has been slow, but the Business Casual Socks have continued to grow!
 
 

 
Okay, off to get ready for work!  Will have to log back in to enter links and labels, fix typos...I am late!!!  YIKES!

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

My Newest Obsession


I am hooked!  Our school has access to Iditarod Insider where we can log in and see exactly where the mushers are.  See their speed, when they take breaks, just about everything.

I tracked down our musher's web site and sent an email wishing the musher "good luck" and have received an email back from his partner (wife/girlfriend).

My 4th and 5th grade reading students check the progress first thing as they arrive, and again before they head back to class.


This musher, with bib number 8, is Newton Marshall from Jamaica.  How does one train for the Iditarod in Jamaica?  This is his 3rd go at the Iditarod, he completed his first year, and scratched his second year.

I have gotten no knitting completed as my "free time" has been spent on Iditarod.  Be careful you don't get bitten by the Iditarod bug!!!!

I still have yet to share with you pictures we took of the snow sculptures!

Sunday, March 3, 2013

FO #3 and WIP

 

I was hit by a migraine today, so it's been slow going for the last couple hours.  I completed my Dalekanium Socks.

Now I can get  back to my Business Casual KAL, which I recently divided for the heel flap and have been working on that, so I'm almost at the halfway point!!!!!!

Speaking of WIP, the Birch Leaf Shawl is sadly waiting for some attention and I've yet to cast on for the Seeds and Vine baby sweater.

Or be I can be lazy and kick back and try to recover from the migraine.

Lazy/recover is most likely to win!

Saturday, March 2, 2013

The Last Great Race on Earth

Early Morning at the the starting gate
The past two weeks have been hectic at work.  I am on the committee to oversee the "Idita-read" where kids and staff trade minutes read for miles on the trail, with the goal of "reading" from Anchorage to Nome, just like the mushers in the "Last Great Race on Earth", the Iditarod.  My Special Education students created musher mobiles, that we used in one of the two display cases we set up for the event that also included "real" dog mushing equipment.

Despite growing up in Alaska, I have never attended the ceremonial start of the Iditarod in Anchorage.  I don't recall attending the Fur Rondy either, which started last week.  After all that time spent on dog mushing, and the Idita-read, I really wanted to experience some of the events.

Very early this morning, we headed into Anchorage for breakfast and walked around, talking with dog handlers, and experiencing the pre-race excitement.



I wanted to find a team for my class to follow.


The dogs all seemed happy and much smaller than I ever imagined.




Then I noticed this team of handlers, laying down hay for the dogs.  Something I hadn't seen any other teams doing.

After explaining my mission to find a musher to follow, the dog handlers were very helpful and let me take pictures, spoke with me, and let me pet the dogs.








This little girl was not having anything to do with the pre-race excitement and refused to leave her box; the handler let her stay for the time being.


One of the lead dogs -- she was a sweetheart that loved the attention of anyone who would stop and pet her.


The sled waiting for the race to begin.

Harnesses hanging neatly on the fence.


"Kenneling up" under the truck.


A friend of mine was near where the day's ceremonial start finishes and snapped pictures of all teams as they came in, here is our musher and dog team.

Musher information:
The question for me....Iknitarod or Idita-read!?!?!?!?!??!