potholders

I make quite a few potholders/mitts, though I never knit any.

My Grandma made some crocheted ones, which are gorgeous as decorations on my kitchen wall alongside copper jello molds and a couple pottery cookie molds, but totally useless for potholders since they aren't lined, and burn your hands every time. (aside - I guess that's why they have survived - no one could use them.)

But when I sew pot mitts, I have often used ironing board covers(silicone coated side toward the outside) to reflect the heat.Recently I have been making potholder squares and lining them with one or two layers of denim from old jeans (and batting also).They are wonderfully heat-resistant, but do take a little longer to dry.

For Thanksgiving, when we have about 20 family members over, I threw out all the old grease-stained, burn-holes on one side but still perfectly useable pot mitts. I hate to do that, since I am so cheap,er, I mean thrifty. But the fabric for the new potholders came from a discontinued fabric sample book. I consider it a gift to myself.

I also love knit dishcloths - especially seed stitch. Some pattern ask for cloths as large as 12 inches - but I like them just a little larger than palm size. Of course I have large hands, but not 12 inches!

But I am totally unable to knit the eyelet edge that I used to do. I can figure out logically that the yarnovers add a stitch to each end, so I need to decrease two stitches. And I want it to also decrease to form the other side of the square. But somewhere in the every-other row/every-row, how many decreases this time...

I get lost and end up with lozenge shapes. Hey ! There's an idea - I can turn them around and call them house-shaped. Yeah!

(The tiny sox are for CIC)

I have kept busy lately --
washcloths

after a long day

phone rings
caller id says "SuzieJones" **
I answer.
A young female voice calls out, "Suzie! Suzie!"
I say, "No, you have the wrong number." and hang up.

Sometimes I don't feel like chatting to strangers, even if it's Bill (Clinton) or Laura (Bush) - who called us several times the last couple of days before the election. Should I be hurt that they don't call any more? - No, I'm just relieved to hear real humans and not recordings - especially since we're on the Missouri no-call list... But that's a different post...

Anyway, 30 seconds later, the phone rings again.
It's her.
"Is this 123-4567?"
I answer yes.
silence
She hangs up.

Now, I AM on the no-call list, and I think she might have been a little more polite.

thirty seconds later, the phone rings.
I check the ID - yep, you guessed it.
I am not amused.
I answer the phone with, "Here is where you say, 'Sorry that I bothered you.'"
She said, "I'm not gonna say that!! I wanna know why you've got my phone?"
I look at the phone.
I hang up.

I don't make these things up...

**names have been changed to protect the drunk and/or stupid

sinus and trekking

I have a sinus infection now also - never know if it is a virus or just allergies -either way the pain is intense

And let me say that a sinus infection can actually split a perfectly healthy tooth in two. Don't ask how I know, but I have the xrays to prove it - taken only 3 days apart.

A while ago I knit a trekking sock - it had a lot of red n green, took forever, n I really thought I'd never knit its mate.

But I did. I just wanted that bright red to hit in the same spot on the leg.I started with a provisional cast on and plain knit. after a couple inches, I figured out where on the leg that bright red color hit. Then I added yarn to the provisional cast on and knit up the leg to the right length, and cast off. I continued knitting on down, but of course the colors weren't the same at all.

As I continued, a bright red stripe developed about an inch sooner. Each time I looked at the sox, I felt as though I'd tilt to one side when I wore them. It looked as though one of them had shrunk. But I kept knitting - stubborn, what can I say? It took FOREVER...

Now they are both done, and I LOVE them. I don't really know why, but the toe has a lot of dark colors, and a hint of a turquiose that is gorgeous.

So in a fit of I-don't-know-what, I bought another ball of trekking. "Now look here," I said, "I have lots of things I need to finish. I can't start another sock right now!" But it kept calling out to me. When I took off work Thursday because I had no voice and couldn't stop coughing, I started knitting. I already have one done and am doing the heel on the second. pictures soon.

Move over Spock

You Are Incredibly Logical

Move over Spock - you're the new master of logic You think rationally, clearly, and quickly. A seasoned problem solver, your mind is like a computer!

How Logical Are You?

Quiz time!

Your English Skills:

Grammar: 100% Punctuation: 100% Spelling: 100% Vocabulary: 100%

Does Your English Cut the Mustard?

Just Holes

Just Holes - and it makes a beautiful pattern - Flash wipes out the color though. 

Candleflame

The infamous Candleflame shawl - note how tiny the needles and yarn 

cashmere

Nothing is warmer or softer than cashmere -( except maybe alpaca - never worn vicuna or quiviut) 

Liberating tiny tiny yarns

I too like to 'liberate' yarn from sweaters that are damaged or unshapely. These two are wool and cashmere, and had holes. I got them for $1.49 each. Now I know that some people unknit this wool into skeins, and wash it and so on, but raveling such fine threads is nerve-wracking, and I must admit that when I tried it I developed such yarn knots that could NOT be untied, and had to be just cut away. I prefer to leave it in a format that doesn't tangle, and wash the finished product, which, by the way, is a much better color than either separately.

And, yes, I'm getting almost 8 st per inch using three strands (2 blue and one beige) 

I tried on these sox for my son - The crochet hook goes through the sock where my foot ends. He wears size 15-16 shoes, so these suckers took me forever! KnitPicks Essential 

CIC socks - soooo small, sooo fast 

closeup 

Diamond Patch
from Just One More Row
by Jill Vosburg 

feather and fan socks

better view of pattern - This one is closer to the true color.

Feather n fan/ wave pattern

KnitPicksDancing

On The Needles

I usually have many many things OTN..
Actively OTN right now:
1. Diamond Patch from Just One More Row - shades of blue cotton/nylon- about 20% done.size 7 Brittany dps. Last knitting activity 1 week ago

2. socks from reclaimed discount store sweaters of 100% merino in tan and dark blue (two strands held together)- down to heel on 2nd sock -size 1 bamboo dps - Last knitting activity yesterday

3. socks for Children-in-Common from Knit Picks Sock Garden in pinks and purples - half of first sock - size1 bamboo dps -Last knitting activity 1 week ago

4. very narrow scarf - My So-Called Scarf - in unnamed cone yarn (may have a large silk content) in taupes, beiges, with hints of berry blue and light peach - maybe 40 % done - old old plastic circs size 8 - Last knitting activity 2 week ago

5. Candle Flame Shawl from KnitPicks - in the same gorgeous turquoise alpaca/silk as on their pattern. This yarn is gloriuos, although a slight bit of color is rubbing off on my hands, and my needles will probalby always be slightly turquoise now. Addi Natura (bamboo)US size 2 (3 mm). Last knitting activity yesterday

I began following the word part of the pattern, then convinced myself that I would learn to read charts as soon as I could "read" my knitting. Somewhere in there I became religious about using my row counter, which is something I never do. After about four pattern repeats (36 rows each)I began to work from the chart. I love it !! It goes so much faster!! however, last night I spread out my work to admire it and pat myself on the back, and I noticed with horror that four repeats were right side up, and two repeats were right side down. It took me a while before I could breathe again, and my hubby wasn't home to hear me cussing. So I ripped out approximately 72 rows of complex knitting. I don't feel well.

crochet coaster

It's a Coaster!!

I don't often like to crochet, but for no known reason, I love this one pattern. I have made a couple dozen of these coasters. The people I have given them to may not appreciate them, but...

I told them they could also be hung on the Christmas tree - pretend they are snowflakes (Don't even START with that only six sides per snowflake. It's a homemeade ornament...)

If you want to hang them rather than use them to soak up icy condensation from your bev-of-choice, you might want to smear them with glue - good old white school glue, which is on sale right now at Kmart for 9 cents a bottle (20 cents ea at Wally World). Put some plastic wrap on the counter, wet the ornament or dilute the glue by about half water, smear glue on ornament, separate coaster from plastic, make sure glue is on the other side, blow on ornament to make sure the delicate holes aren't clogged with glue, let dry.

tiniest socks

Are these too small for Children in Common??

teeny sox

These were made from Knitpicks Parade yarn left over from fingerless mitts I made for my daughter-in-law... They are destined for an orphanage in Russia

http://www.childrenincommon.org/
http://www.knitpicks.com/yarns/itemid_5420135/yarn_display.aspx
(currently on sale)

belly laughs

For a real belly laugh, have you ever read the yarn harlot?
"meeting a million knitters all over the continent while you truck around a sock talking about knitting"... It includes pictures of women with knitting tattoos and someone whose significant other calls "dork vader" - not to mention a real photo of the cowboy bible (I don't make this stuff up.How could I?) http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/archives/2006/08/02/keepin_austin_weird.html

"BEDFORD, N.H. - Blistering heat was just what Sandi Fontaine needed to bake cookies for her co-workers — on the dash of her Toyota Rav4."

"CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Charlotte-Mecklenburg police supervisors offered prizes to officers who wrote the most traffic tickets during an eight-day period over the July Fourth holiday."

"Little Havana shopkeeper Maria Vazquez sells toilet paper imprinted with Castro's image"

"BEIJING (Reuters) - Two Chinese officials cut off power to a hotel after they were not invited to its opening party and forced managers to drink spirits before they would turn the electricity back on, a state newspaper said Friday."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060804/od_nm/china_blackmail_dc_1

Josh hauls a halibut for us
Posted by Picasa

looking down from Grande Denali Lodge, in Denali National Park
Posted by Picasa

grizzlies - mom and yearling cub in front of Denali - aka Mt McKinley
Posted by Picasa

Alaska -ten days

ten days -
catching halibut n ling cod,
photos of moose, grizzly, red foxes, caribou,
Mt McKinley in sunlight,
mountains over black sand in Seward

overpriced hotels, fine dining, fishing guides
I could tell you the cost

sharing these views with our son and daughter-in-law
priceless

missing

In an earlier post, I showed a picture of my orchid. The seven blossoms looked fresh, dewy, transparent for weeks. But then, one got somehow thinner and began to droop. It fell. The strange part is that all the other blossoms remained perfect for weeks more. It wasn't the first blossom to open, nor the last. It wasn't the biggest or the smallest. It just left a hole in the progression of things.

A friend of mine passed away April 3rd.

-on his 59th birthday

New Washington state exam reshapes instruction
The new, homegrown Washington Assessment of Student Learning has had a powerful impact on the state's education system. Teachers say the pressures of accountability are forcing them to expand their repertoire of instructional techniques and ensure students truly comprehend what they're studying. The Seattle Times (free registration) (3/12)



****Of course, teachers never wanted to ensure comprehension before...


Transformed vo-tech draws high-achievers
Today's vo-tech classes are attracting bright, college-bound kids who believe having a strong set of practical skills will enhance their future job and school prospects. One teacher at Maryland's Thomas Edison High School of Technology reports his students get excited when they discover what they study in class really matters. The Washington Post (free registration) (3/12)


*****As opposed to, say, Math or Reading or Writing, which don't really matter...



Teacher critical of Bush wins reinstatement
Colorado social studies teacher Jay Bennish returns to the classroom today, following a short suspension for telling his students that President George W. Bush's State of the Union address reminded him of Hitler's speeches. The district has admonished Bennish and advised him to follow its policies on the teaching of controversial subjects. Denver Rocky Mountain News (3/11)



****Because teachers do not now, nor have they ever, really had freedom of speech.

Twin Rib

twin rib
yarns liberated from two one-dollar sweaters. One says 100% lambswool, the other says pure merino. The rib is not nearly as stretchy as regular, but I am getting about 7-8 st per inch in the stockinette for these two combined wools.

freedom of speech attacked again

So it seems that there is no freedom of speech for public employees -
If you teach, and criticize the president, you'll get suspended from your job
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/07/politics/main1379331.shtml

So, if you mention an idea, are you "teaching" that viewpoint??

Also:
Police in Britain have been informed that " Disciplinary proceedings may be considered against posters of material that may be (among other things) defamatory, offensive or otherwise inappropriate."

World Weary Detective: "It is therefore with deep regret and great sadness that I must announce that I will no longer be submitting posts to this blog. I cannot challenge New Scotland Yard. I am weary indeed and cowardice is my bedmate. The protection of my family must take precedence.

To each and every one of you - take note of what has happened here and be afraid.

If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever. - George Orwell"

How drug field testing can go terribly wrong

How drug field testing can go terribly wrong
- an intelligent, well-reasoned comment on a recent poisoning of volunteers paid well to experience "field testing" of a new drug. It shouldn't have caused multiple system failures - but it did. This
article also links to several other reference sites.

"the IGN 1412 drug trial run by Parexel, where volunteers stood to earn up to £2,000 pounds for participation"
http://blacktriangle.org/blog/

orchid - 7 blossoms, over two weeks old, nearly translucent 

a nearly matching pair - ?Sockotta? with Fortissima Socka reinforcement in the heel 

Plassard - Tahiti

The best mirror is an old friend. 

Trekking - go ahead, I dare ya to find the dropped stitch! 

I have knit with Cherry Tree Hill, Sockotta, Regia, etc. and I get 7 st per inch on size 2 dps. In fact, a couple of months ago, I bought some birch #2s. Loved them so much I went back and got 4 other sizes.Then my son's Great Dane Puppy raided my knitting chair and ate most of my #2 birches.

Strangely, he didn't chew on the sock....I frogged a couple of rows, and the yarn was strong - slobbery, but no weakspots.(Yeah, I know Yecth!!)

The wooden ones were soooo nice, and the lys is an hour away, and I usually knit late at night when it's closed anyway, so I went to the kitchen and got out some bamboo skewers I had. I sanded them with emery boards, and they work beautifully!! They are somewhere between a size one and a two, and I love them! No more needles falling out of my sox in my purse.

At any rate, I had also started a sock with TrekkingXXL. Now, on this one I got 8 spi on size 00. IT MADE ME CRAZY!! The aluminum needles in that size are so slippery!! There are SO many MORE stitches!!Last night I finally finished one Trekking. I immediately fixed the ends and slipped it on my right foot. It is so warm. It fits beautifully.

But what's that??!!AAARRRGH!! A dropped stitch right near the join for the afterthought heel!! I took it off, unladdered back as far as I could, cut a three-four inch piece of yarn, and tied it down. (No it's not visible to anyone but me, and no, there is NO WAY I will frog and reknit these killers. As soon as the ends were woven in, I put on the sock.That is, I put on the sock ON MY LEFT FOOT. So beautiful, so warrrr...

BUT WHAT"S THAT??!!??!AAARRRGH!! A dropped stitch way up on the leg. You know how I fixed it. You know there is no way I am ever going to frog this stupid sock. It's warm. It's lovely, and no one is going to notice my undropped stitches. NO ONE, do you Hear!!! NO ONE...

Regia 60 st on size 2

very small very rural very middle

very small very rural very middle

reposted from Feb 15

I have almost always taught in small schools – VERY small schools – very small, very rural schools. Heartland. Bible Belt. God’s Country.

There are advantages – few (none?) of my students are in gangs, and few of them actually go to jail while enrolled in school (Of course, I teach 7th and 8th grades, so our high school mileage may vary).

We do have drugs in the community – ‘hemp’ grows wild around here – and once (long ago and far away – but still small and rural) a teacher that I worked with was indicted for raising the stuff. But we haven’t had any here at the middle school (that I know of). I heard teachers discussing one particular student using drugs, but I know the symptoms, and he sure wasn’t using at school.

Another advantage is that we rarely lock anything. In fact, I have nothing in my classroom that CAN be locked. (There is a lock on my desk, but the key disappeared many years before I inherited it.) I lock my purse in my car (Hey, I used to live in a city), but many teachers just leave their purses in an unlocked desk. In fact, I have passed empty classrooms where teachers’ purses are lying in full view. (Insert joke here about no one having any money because our salaries are so low.)

We leave gradebooks lying out in full view while everyone on the hallway mills around on their way to lunch. But I haven’t heard of a single instance of gradebooks vandalized, disappearing, or ‘being adjusted’ (Of course we are not still mired in the last century, and grades are entered into the computer, but we still must keep paper copies. Our principal looks forward to the time when the electronic version will be the final word, and we can save the trees.) I also keep candy in my desk ( rewards for winning Bingo or Concentration – I teach World Languages) and I can send students to get a pencil or scissors out of my desk, and know that they won’t take the candy.

(There’s one kid here who steals – I have caught him, other teachers have caught him, and other students have caught him. He has other behavior problems too. Needless to say, it’s a plaintive cry for attention and love, but he’s a hard kid to love. We live in hope.)

But the major DISadvantage is that we are complacent. We don’t realize what a great situation we have here. We get lost in the day-to-day scrabble, the paper/computer work, the phone calls home to parents. We get furious when we are told that Dallas can’t find teachers willing to work for a salary that’s TWICE our beginning pay scale (But then, we wouldn’t teach in Dallas either.)

bird in my hand - almost

reposted from Feb 20

I just heard a _huge_ thump - no surprise - birds fly into our windows all the time. Sometimes they die. Other times they just are knocked silly, and recover slowly.
When I checked, I saw a black and white striped back, and a striped wing sticking out at an angle. His back was maybe 4-5 inches, and his wingspan would have been about 12 inches. The rest of the bird was buried in the snow. He was not moving. I watched. He continued not moving. Surely his wing or neck was broken, and he was already dead. But if I left him, he might freeze before he came around. I debated for a minute or so.

Then I stepped out in the snow to pick him up. I gently slid my hand under him, but before I could even lift him, his whole body lurched, his wings flapped awkwardly, he looked me right in the eye, and flew drunkenly up to the nearest tree, where he hung upside down. A twin circled round him, berating him. They flew in circles arguing and fake fighting. Brothers? Mates? The top and back of his head were scarlet, and his beak was at least an inch and a half long. Bird book says a Ladderback Woodpecker.

Yep, I know I'm ascribing human ideas and feelings to a stupid bird. (Time to insert some sappy moral - a chance to make more of it than it was - a semi-conscious, not-dead, clumsy, feathered neighbor) But I smile every time I think of it.

intercom blues

reposted from mid-Feb

Yep – we STILL say the pledge of allegiance – not every day, but about once a week the nsfna (not so friendly not-my-boss administrator **see note below) gets on the intercom, announces the perfect attendance winners, the students of the week, any birthdays coming up, and a couple students’ favorite books ( I am not making this up) (How could I?) These are for grades k-4. NONE of these are in grades 5-8. Our principal doesn’t do that; he sends email for announcements. In fact, we have a place for announcements on our gradebook/attendance program every day. But she likes the intercom. Today she announced her son’s birthday. Which is nice – friendly – reminds us that we have a life outside of this building. But my students were having a QUIZ. Sheesh!!

Then she leads us in the pledge.

Yesterday the nsfna (not so friendly not-my-boss administrator **see note below) interrupted my lessons on the intercom to announce that someone had oranges and grapefruit for sale in the office. She interrupted three times. One of those was a message for a specific teacher. Yes, our intercom CAN be used to call a specific room. Yes, she interrupted EVERY class for that. SO there are disadvantages to small schools/small administrators.

But I’m not bitter. YMMV.

** See, our school is so small that we have elementary and middle school in the same building. We are in separate hallways and have separate Secretaries, Principals. But we share the cafeteria, gym, art teacher, etc. And when one principal is absent, the other is backup for behavior problems. So she’s not my boss. Really.

ed-oo ca shun wurks

How embarrassed should I be
when my State Department of Education
publishes a grammatical error on its website?


http://www.dese.mo.gov/divteachqual/teachcert/forms.html#Administrative_Forms

They write
"Application for Teacher's Certificate for Holder's of Doctorate Degree"

There should not be an apostrophe in a simple plural.
You may need an apostrophe to show ownership when the word is followed by a noun.
For example, "doctorate degree holder's interest in applying for a certificate".

But not when it is followed by a preposition.

In which grade is apostrophe use taught?

So, tell me, does this indicate anything about “No Child Left Behind?”



Or am I just being Ms Grundy?