a whale of a post!

i’ve been a bad blogger and haven’t updated in a while. so, to make up for it here is (insert your choice of theme music here) super-post

first, new knits- my love affair with peace fleece finally culminated with me buying some and casting on for the central park hoodie. of course everyone else finished it last year, but the sheep in me wants to follow season’s be damned. my goal is to finish it before i leave for camp on the 29th, it looks like its going to happen! this knits up FAST. even though i realized just before i started the armholes that i was four stitches short and had to rip out 14 inches of knitting (there were tears, as well musings on why the gods were displeased with me) i’m almost done with the hood and i re-started on memorial weekend. the pattern itself is really good. there is only one bit of errata, which i didn’t fix, and it still came out fine. i knit the body all in one piece, and didn’t have any problems altering it. my issue lies in the sizing, specifically the arm sizing. the arms are tiny! i have pretty sticklike arms but i still ended up having to add 8 stitches to the initial cast on and then increase every 20 rows. And even with that alteration thee sleeves are a bit more snug than i would like. but arms aside i’m really happy with it. the yarn is super warm and cozy and the color is to die for, a really vibrant grassy green with flecks of blue and red.

i had a mini photoshoot last week where i took the above picture as well as these

new hobbies- i told you guys before that i had learned how to spin, and my interest how now grown into obsession. to further enable my obsession, i bought a spinning wheel!!!! its a baynes. i unfortuantely wasn’t able to try any wheels before i purchased one so i based my decision on:

• cost (preferably very very cheap)
• look (i wanted a wheel that was pretty, why would i want to spend hours in front of something ugly?)
• easy to use and easy to learn on (i’m going to be teaching my self so ease of use is essentia)

the baynes is all of those things. i got the clear finished double treadle which was within my price limit. the wheel looks classic but still very polished and modern. and, from the people i’ve talked to it is really easy to operate and learn on. plus, the customer service from susan’s spinning bunny was great! she and her husband walked me through the process and answered all of my questions. now all i have to do is wait stalk the mailperson and hope that customs doesn’t suspect that there is dynamite hidden in the bobbins.

new knitters- i’m working as a counselor at a pre-school summer camp (the same one i attended. i like to wear my shirt that i made there when i was three) and i mentioned that i like to knit. it turns out that another counselor and one of the grown-ups knit to! we ended up excitedly discussing sock and maryland sheep and wool as the muggle counselor looked on in amazement. this is the first time that i’ve really discovered knitters in the wild and i’m really excited

yes we can

and we did!

Obama for President 2008!

10 ways the world has changed since you were in school

well, this one presents some problems as i still am in school, so lets pretend that i ended my education in th fifth grade

1. we didn’t have heely’s back then, we had to sprain our ankles more creative
2. recess was a right, equal to that of free speech, not the hot-button issue it is today.
3. and during our taken-for-granted recess we were allowed to play dodgeball. (honestly, i don’t see what the fuss is about, i think people get hurt more often playing soccer and football in p.e.)
4. cupcakes for birthdays were encouraged, even the teacher needs a little sugar jolt to keep going. (as a late june birthday i’m still bitter about having to bring in end of school Popsicles instead)
5. the standardized tests have come. ( at middles schools they even come with bonus pep rallies)
6. bribery is now an accepted form of motivation ( as seen in the mcdonalds report card snafu. not only is it unethical its packed chock full of trans fats)
7. homeschoolers are seen as (relatively) more normal than they were when i first homeschooled in kindergarten
8. facebook is the new neopets
9. kids weren’t reading, they were watching tv instead, so the tv got brought to the library. the latest trend in children’s publishing is tv show spin off books. of course to really get the story you need to watch the show
10. the world may be 70% water, but its working towards being totally green. almost every school now has an environmental club, and middle schoolers will energetically explain he effects of greenhouse gases to you.