Friday, February 27, 2015

TGIF -Winging Along


YAY!  It is Friday!

Another week will come to a close and I will get to spend some quality time with Wingspan!

Well, Wingspan and my husband.

It is Fur Rondy time up here in Alaska and we might go to Anchorage and check things out.

Or not!

Thursday, February 26, 2015

UFO's

I am not one to have a lot of UFO's hanging around.
I guess I see them as another item on my to do list.
Another item that I can't check off.
An item that symbolizes my procrastination.
One of my character flaws.
So, most projects are knit to completion. 
These two UFO's, or resting WIP's, often mock me:

Started July 10, 2012
I began it after finishing my Helix Scarf.
The Helix was knit from my own hand spun yarn.
The yarn was knit into many things before being allowed to become Helix.
Before becoming Helix, it was a Birch Leaf Shawl, but too small.
I didn't even frog Birch Leaf Shawl, but knit Helix directly from the unraveling Birch Leaf.  
Birch Leaf Shawl will have to sit.  It is a simple pattern, but right how requires far too much concentration for my current knitting needs.
I am not sure why I am knitting a shawl as I never wear shawls.

Started May 19, 2013
Awaiting sleeves. 
I attempted to knit the sleeves like two-at-at-time socks.
I ended with a major tangled mess and, she sits in a basket, waiting for sleeves!

So, just two, that's all I have.  One day, I'll finish them.
Maybe not anytime too soon as I am craving mindless knitting.

Birch Leaf Shawl's pattern, though simple, is not mindless.

Knitting sleeves that match on Lucy -- too much stress.



Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Weekend Rewind


After completing my Seedling hat, I dug into my stash and pulled out two skeins of Jojoland Melody Superwash I had purchased many years ago.

A search on Ravelry led me to Wingspan.  I love that, in addition to the pattern, there are several pages on how to modify and change the original pattern: larger/smaller triangles, adding fringe, etc. Definitely worth the $6!  Right now I am going for mindless knitting, so I stuck with the basic pattern.

The yarn has such a gradual color change that, while knitting on this project Saturday, I became concerned about how my project would look when I completed my first skein and switched to my second.  Each triangle has you CO more stitches, and wanting the original CO to match the CO of each new triangle.  I started with a Long Tail CO, and it looked different to the Cable CO I did with each new triangle.  I didn't like it.

So, Sunday, I frogged all I had knit the day before, did a Cable CO, and away I went. I decided that for each triangle, I'd switch to the other ball of Melody.  I am liking my Melody Wingspan so far.


Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Seedling is Grown


Seedling is done!  Upon weaving in the ends, I placed it on my head, asked my husband what he thought, and although he said, "it's nice" the look on his face said, "not so much."

I knit it for a friend, bright green is not a good color for me.  He looked relieved when I told him whom I knit it for!

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Seedling is growning.


Just completed row 20, which finishes the first leaf and brings me more than half way through the pattern part of my Green Seedling Hat.  Only 9 more rows!

With a pattern area of only 33 stitches, this hat is the perfect combination of pattern and mindless knitting.  Keeps me on my toes for those 33 stitches, and the rest is mindless purl stitch!

In Alaska, daylight is very limited in the winter, so most of my pictures are taken with the help of a full-spectrum bulb on my desk lamp.  The bright green, which my camera is picking up pretty true, is helping the mid-winter blahs that is so common in February up here.  Despite longer and longer days, it is still winter here.  I continue to drive to work in the dark, I drive home shortly before sunset.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Quick Update


I finished up my second FO of 2015, which is also my second Rodelay.  I love the close up and the color plays.  

This is a hard project to photograph.  I am planning to gift her to my lovely friend and coworker, so quick pics this morning before I begin my day and take this to my friend.


I started a second Seedling Hat, this time in green!




Maybe 2015 will be my year of doing projects multiple times.  With my dyslexia, I often misread patterns.  Both of these have given me the opportunity to fix the errors on my second attempts!

And on the work front?

Our principal has continued to micro-manage and attempt to make changes to my Behavior Support Program (BSP) classroom and caseload that would have a negative impact on my students.  He has made comments to me about my anxiety that aren't appropriate as well as give recommendations on how to manage my BSP classroom. 

As it stands, he's been given notice by union and others to stop micro-managing me, to not make comments about the anxiety issue.  He is also not to give me suggestions on how to manage my BSP classroom as he doesn't have a background in Emotional/Behavioral Disorders.  The district's Behavior Health Professional has visited my classroom and I'm doing everything according to district guidelines for a BSP classroom.

If he continues, I have been told I may take FMLA (with a doctor's note) for the remainder of the year, and, despite my limited number of sick days left, it would be paid, "there is the sick-bank, and another option" (I didn't ask the union rep what that meant).  I do not want to do this as this too would have a negative impact on my students.

I sent in a request for a Leave of Absence for 2015/16 school year; it has been approved by HR, and just needs to go before the board.  

Things continue to look positive for my new position working at the equine assisted therapy center!

And the stress has pushed me to find relief in knitting!