Bron's Blog II

I Know You All Will Feel My Pain

When I tell you I've been forced to buy more yarn.

Yep - it's a sad situation but it couldn't be helped.

While I was working on CeCe yesterday I had to face the truth. No matter the light in which she was viewed, the marled yarn made the lace pattern disappear into a tangled mess:

I love the yarn - just not for this pattern! CeCe's charm lies in it's lace pattern - it's readily discernable lace pattern. :::grin::: All was not lost, however - a side benefit of pulling this off the needles was discovering it was going to be way too big. Whew! I'm really glad I stopped when I did. :)

Since I have absolutely nothing in my stash that would work for CeCe (I swear it on a stack of knitting books!), I simply had to go shopping. If you didn't know, Elann has it's Endless Summer Sonata Cotton back in. Even though the gauge is probably a wee bit on the light side for CeCe, I ordered 8 balls of "Charcoal" just in case I could make it work. Then, because for some reason I've been dreaming of green and I was concerned the Sonata would be too thin for CeCe, I also ordered 8 skeins of Endless Summer Connemara in "Cedar." I've been wanting to try the Connemara, I'm just sorry it took me so long since the color selection is limited now. However, "Cedar" is really what I wanted so I'm a happy yarn-buyer. :) At $1.98/skein, I'm really tempted to stash a couple more colors of Sonata since, in my opinion, it's almost the perfect crochet weight yarn. But I resisted the siren call...'cause there are other sale yarns coming down the pipeline at Elann that have caught my eye. :::wink::: Can't spend all my money on one yarn, now can I? hehehe (Yeah, yeah - let's not mention the Cotton Ease, ok? hehe)

So - with absolutely nothing else to work on yesterday, I made great progress with "Red":

I'm past the point of starting the armholes according to the pattern but I'm adding a couple of inches to the length, since I learned from my past experience with purple/green ribby sweater that when ribbing stretches out it also pulls up. (A real no-brainer, huh?:::Grin:::) So I'm making sure that when stretched out, this sweater's length will still measures 14" - better safe than sorry!

I'm dying to crochet something, but I'm just not sure what. I looked through Cool Crochet last night but nothing struck me. Guess today I'll be looking through Fabulous & Flirty and So Simple Crochet and Family Circle Easy Crochet and Crochet With Style and Interweave's Crochet Mag....and.....and...

There's gotta be something cool to crochet out there!

I'll let you know next time. :::wink:::

By George, It Worked!

Sometimes I have so little faith .... I need to believe a bit more in a designer's vision & stress a little less about how it's going to come out:

The stats:

• Pattern - "Marta" by White Lies Designs.
• Yarn - about 5 skeins of Cotton Ease in "Sugar Plum."
• Needles - size 8 in my inevitable Denises.
• Changes - Knit as written for a size 46 (!) and you can see it's quite fitted on my 41" chest. I've often said I "don't do gauge" but I do know that when using a worsted weight yarn with size 8 needles, I need to cast on 85 to 90 stitches for a front & back in order to fit my chest. So, I went by the # of stitches to cast on, rather than what the pattern gauge stated. I even went "large" because I wanted this to be a loose, tunic fit and obviously that didn't happen. Soooo...my advice to those wanting to try this: be careful of the sizing! I knit dead on "average"  - not too loose, not too tight - so I think my experience is a good benchmark. Change your needles/gauge accordingly.
• I also changed the lace insert in the front. I didn't like the chevron look of the lace as written in the pattern, so I just made something up to match the slant in the lace edging.

Which brings me to the lace edging and how I used the "wrong" side. Here is the technical "right" side of the garter lace:

For some reason, I just didn't like it. Perhaps because I'm using a yarn that has more stitch definition than the yarn used in her example (click on the sample swatch to see a close up) but it really wasn't doing it for me. I really liked the "wrong" side better:

This side was more subdued, less "ridgie" (yep - that's a word. :::wink:::) than the right side. And I liked the bottom edges better than the cast off side on the right side (first picture, right side of point...now see how the bottom edges match better in the 2nd pic?) There - are you totally confused now? hehehe Honestly, those who aren't knitters would never notice the lace is wrong side out & hopefully knitters who do know would be polite & not comment. :::wink:::

Gotta run - DH & I are hoisting a new swamp cooler on the roof of our rental house so it's no rest for the weary today!

Have a great weekend!

Ahead Of Schedule

I'll be finished this morning instead of this weekend. But.......

Will the narrowest sleeve caps in history (outside of raglans) fit?

I'll be back in a couple of hours to let you know.....

Thanks To All Who Weighed In

I truly appreciate everyone who takes the time to comment every day and especially those who leave thoughts & opinions on the big issues in my life. You all are great!

First off - yes, it's a done deal. I accepted the job yesterday when I picked up the kids from school. Not to put too fine a point on it, but I believe Patti was truly excited & happy that I accepted. (She clapped. In the office. Honest!) Not only that, but she said again that I had no idea how many times I was requested and it was because I "try to help the kids, not just complain about their behavior." She also said, "The teachers will be thrilled."

Who knew? Seriously - you go in there once or twice a week, see the kids in the classroom, do your job, and go home. I had no idea I was being discussed or requested (apart from a couple of Dylan's teachers) and that finding a good substitute was so hard. And heck - it feels great to be needed & appreciated - don't we all want that?

Because I didn't reply to everyone individually, I do want to talk about some of the thoughts left in my comments yesterday, in no particular order:

1.  June - don't ever think you were a "downer", leaving a "negative" opinion in the midst of positives. The points you raised were exactly what was making me hesitate. Doing without my couple of days per week to catch up on housework, re-charge, take a nap, will be a real loss for me. But your comment about spending more time with the kids actually speaks to a big reason why I decided to accept. Middle school is a dangerous time for children and I've seen what can happen to kids whose parents decide they need less guidance now that they are older. I'm very lucky to have two almost problem-free children and I'd like them to stay that way. By working at their school, I know all the players - teachers & kids, and I know what the big issues are every day. It gives me a window into their world that few are able to have and I'm counting on that edge to help keep the lines of communication open and keep them headed in the right direction.

2.   If this had been a normal 9 to 5 job, I wouldn't have accepted. The kids would've become latchkey kids, I wouldn't be home until late, and I truly wouldn't have had the energy or time to do any chores or spend time with them. (Dh's hours vary - he opens some days, closes come - has some weekends off, not others - it's a crap shoot as to when he's able to be around.) As it is, my hours are their hours and leaving at 3 every day does leave room for something other than work during the day. I don't have to worry about what to do with them during school breaks either. At this age lots of kids are left home alone and that can be a recipe for disaster.

3.   All this talk about time leads me to knitting time. To be honest, 90% of the time I do my main knitting in front of the TV in the evenings. Most of the days when I'm home alone I try to do household chores or else I read (or nap! yikes!) This job may slow down my blogging a bit (I might skip a couple of days per week) but I don't think it will be a big blow to my knitting/crocheting output. Leisel, you're right - I'm probably fast enough that I can compensate for any time away from my projects.

4.   I was probably being a little facetious about the $$ being used for more yarn. :) I doubt I'll suddenly start paying full (and in some cases outrageous!) prices for yarn just 'cause I can. I'll still get my thrills from Elann, eBay & other discount options. The difference is that any last wee vestige of guilt over spending $100/month on yarn will be gone. :::Grin:::: (Hell - you're right - I might spend $200 on yarn one month - just 'cause I can! hehehe)

5.   As both Wendy & Jillian pointed out, I can try it for a year (which, of course, is just 9 months!) and if I don't like it I can go back to what I'm doing now. I really don't have any big career plans - perhaps a vague notion of being a full time teacher someday - so this kind of job may be my ultimate goal. We'll see. And it does look good on a resume. :)

6.  Awhile back I went to a psychic with my Bio-Mom for kicks. He mentioned that I might be able to make a difference in some children's lives by being a teacher and to just think about it. Well, the other day one of Dylan's long-time friends told me she's seeing a psychiatrist because she has thoughts of suicide. She "hates" her mother so much she's depressed constantly. I was shocked, of course, but so glad she's getting the help she needs. Then it occurred to me that if another kid ever felt comfortable enough with me to confide something like that and I could get them help, it  would be a very, very good reason to be working full time in a school.

7.  Last, but certainly not least, I'm a firm believer that things happen in life for a reason. Opportunities like this don't just drop into your lap out of the blue for the heck of it. I certainly didn't ask for or pursue this job. For someone like me, who was home raising kids for 11 years and very much out of the job-force-loop, to be in this position in just two years is surprising. Especially in the state of NM - not known for high-paying jobs of any sort outside the high-tech industries. I truly feel like the universe is giving me a big nudge in this direction - if nothing else, it will help me decide if I every would enjoy teaching full time.

Now - I promised you some knitting content & it's high-time I gave it to you! Not much, mind you, but something. :::wink:::

I did pick up a new ink cartridge for my printer & got my copy of CeCe printed out. I wound a couple of balls of Flash & cast on too. ::grin:: Then I decided I really should work on Marta's sleeves because I'm really getting close to completion:

Just 3 more inches & then the sleeve caps. I should be finished with this sometime this weekend, gods willin' & the crick don't rise.

And then I'll let you all in on the reasons I had to put the lace on Marta....backwards. :::Grin:::

Prophetic Words...

...both in yesterday's post title & the quip, "earning some $$ with which to buy yarn."

It all happened innocently enough. I'm finished with the subbing day & head back the office to turn in my badge/key/sub notebook. I feel really bad about forgetting to write down the absent kids 1st period, so I ask where to find the class roster so I can copy it & put the info in the teacher's box.

Patti, the school's sub coordinator/Principal's secretary/general office "It" girl, has me sit down in her office & asks me:

"Do you want a full time job next year? Or do you want to continue picking & choosing when you work?"

Brilliantly, I respond, "Um...why?" (Hey - I'm a with it chick!)

Turns out, they need to fill their 3rd automatic substitute slot and they're offering me the job. An Auto Sub is one that is assigned to one school, 5 days a week. You're there every day and the 3 Auto Subs are assigned before any other "regular" subs get a shot at the jobs. It's lots more money - about 10 bucks a day more plus I'm working every day so that would be a huge jump in our income. This is the boy's school, so we'd all go to school together every day & come home together. Plus, it's only 5 minutes from our house.

Aside from the $$ and convenience, it's obviously a big ego boost for me. Patti said the "teachers are requesting you like crazy." For a substitute who's just finishing up her second year, that's very flattering. (Auto Subs are the "elite" of the substitute world - closer to being a "real" teacher than anyone. There are special educational requirements, etc. that must be met.) Of course, the school would also be getting someone who knows how the school "works" - what's expected, what the rules are, how things are done. I could certainly hit the ground running next year.

I'm not bragging when I say that I do have a really good rapport with the kids and that's pretty rare. I can't tell you how many subs I've talked to that say they never set foot in a 6th grade & up classroom. Too much stress, too many discipline problems. Middle school is the hardest to teach, I think most teachers agree with that. But I genuinely like the age group (that might have something to do with the fact I have a 6th & 7th grader of my own) and that seems to be the key to acceptance with them.

Another huge plus: When I walk out of the door at 3, I'm done. No tests to grade, no lesson plans to write, no parents to call, no school functions to attend. I get the fun - teaching - with none of the hassles.

Very tempting indeed.

I think I should probably take the job. It would be a big change for me - I haven't worked daily since I was pregnant with Dylan. However, I realize those of you who work 40 hours per week, 52 weeks a year won't feel too sorry for me. After all, I get all the school holidays & summers off!

As regular readers of this blog know - I love my alone time. :) That's what I'd be giving up & that's what I'd miss the most. But hubbie's offered to take the kids out for a few hours on the occasional weekend, just to give me a bit of peace & quiet. It wouldn't be the same as my "incandescently perfect days" but it would help.

Oh - and my kids are thrilled that I'd be there with them every day. They started telling me to "take it!" before we walked out the front door of the building yesterday! Bless 'em - most kids would be saying "Ewwwww...Mom! No way! It's too embarrassing...." hehe

Any & all comments welcome - would you take the job?

Because no post is complete without a picture, here's Colin & Arnold:

Believe it or not, the cat stayed that way for about 5 minutes before he decided he'd had enough.

Back to knitting tomorrow! Promise!

Hi-ho, Hi-ho, It's Off To Work I Go

Finally!

Now that my cold/infection is almost gone - you gotta love modern medicine! - I'm back to earning some $$ with which to buy yarn! :::wink:::

As promised yesterday, I picked up Bonne Marie's new pattern, CeCe. I'd like to whip it out for our Boston trip, so I immediately started pulling yarn from the stash that might work:

I quickly realized, however, that CeCe really needed to be Flashy:

I should have plenty for the sweater and it's even the right gauge. :) I'm a happy camper. I think the marled yarn will give the pattern a little kick & the color will look good with a jean skirt on the trip. But lest I jump the gun & start knitting last night (as the knitting gods knew I wanted to do), when I tried to print the pattern I realized I'm almost out of black ink. Grrrr.  Since it's hard to start a pattern you can't really read, (double grrrr!) I contented myself with sleevage:

Just another 9" until the sleeve caps - can you stand the suspense?

Lavender's Blue, dilly, dilly, Lavender's Green

When you are King, dilly, dilly, I shall be Queen.

This spring it's all about the colors of lavender and lilac. Outside we have lilac:

And inside lavender:

I didn't quite get the sleeves on the needles yesterday, but at least the lace is finished. Here's more outside:

If you stand along that pathway the lilac scent is amazing.

I realize the sleeve edgings look to be different sizes but it's all about perspective too. :::grin::::

I have one more day home before it's back to the grind tomorrow. I've been taking leftover antibiotics (left over from an abscessed tooth that wasn't really abscessed so I had almost a full prescription and yes, I know I'm not supposed to self-medicate but...it works) and that seems to have done the trick. I have a feeling I had a touch of bronchitis because I just wasn't getting better on my own. At least I'll have one day to myself that I'm able to enjoy without coughing & blowing my nose every two minutes!

Have you seen Bonne Marie's newest, CeCe? I have a feeling that pattern will be on my hard drive before the day is done. Just the kind of thing I like to knit & another "little something" that I can take with me on my vacation. :) Beautiful!

Happy Monday!

Just More Marta

I finished the front yesterday:

And I've cast on for the first sleeve edging. I hope to get both sleeves' lacey bits complete today & have them both on the needles by this evening. Hopefully this will be smooth sailing 'til the end. :)

I did the lace insert a bit differently than was intended:

But I think it goes well enough with the garter lace:

You can't really see it on the website, but the lace insert as written makes what looks like garter chevrons lying on their sides - kind of like arrows pointing one direction. I realize it's meant to match the bottom lace but I just didn't like the way it looked. My insert doesn't match exactly, but it's close and, more importantly, it's symmetrical. I like! :)

This is really zipping along but it's a shame I won't be wearing it until next fall. It won't be long until we're in the 80's, then 90's, every day.

After Marta is complete, it shouldn't take me long to finish up "Red." Then, I'm not sure what will happen. I'm still not feeling the love with my Somewhat Cowl - even my beloved CE can't rescue it for me. I'm thinking it's because deep down I know I'm going to lose more weight & if I complete Somewhat to fit me now, it won't a year from now. Soooo...I think another frogging might be in order.

There are a couple of projects in the new summer IK that I'd like to try (if their up-close pics live up to the teasers on the website) but that won't be out until Mid-May. There's a lot of knitting time between now & then! I might crochet a little something, but I'm not sure what that little something might be. Believe it or not, I'm just not getting much inspiration from my stash!

Gee - does this mean I need to buy more yarn??? hehehehe

Please Come To Boston For The Springtime

"I'm staying here with some friends
And they've got lots of room
You can sell your paintings on the sidewalk
By a cafe where I hope to be working soon..."

Well - I won't be in Boston for the springtime, but I'll be there for the first days of summer. :::grin:::

Since we've purchased the tickets & the vacation time has been approved, I think it's safe to discuss our summer vacation - Boston, Salem & Cape Cod. Woohoo!

We're leaving on the 21st of June and coming back on the 27th. Which leaves us 5 days of seaside fun. The first full day we'll be sight-seeing in Boston, then drive to Salem to spend the night. The next day I'll have my fill of all things Witchy (love it!!!!) and then we'll drive down to Cape Cod for a couple of days. Then it's back to Boston & home!

While there, we'll meet up with old friends of Doug's and a new friend of mine - Robbyn! One way or another, we've decided we must at least do lunch & a few rows of knitting. ::Grin:: Would anyone like to join us?

So - in honor of the upcoming trip, I've been thinking of quick little knits that would travel well, be comfortable and look good. I think my recently completed Rebecca Off-The-Shoulder Top would qualify and a couple of days ago I thought of this:

The pattern is in the Better Homes & Garden compilation pattern book, Knitted Sweaters For Her. It's been in the back of my mind for awhile...except done in cotton, of course! Sidenote: This pattern calls for Muench's "Touch Me" - 13 skeins for the 39" chest...let's see...at $15.00/skein...could it be....yes....I believe it's $195.00 for this sleeveless top! Excuse the bold, but really! Add another 30 bucks if your chest dares to inch toward 43"!! To me, that's insane. Yeah - I know the yarn is soft but not $195.00 worth of soft! You know what? For $195.00 I'd want sleeves. Two of them. Hell - maybe three, just to have one extra. Just sayin'.

Ok - Ahem...I'm back now. :::wink:::

On this blog I've learned that the most successful sweaters for me are ones that are form fitting with bright colors. Enter "Painting Boston Red":

(Ok - I'll just call it "Red" for short. :::wink:::) This is Cotton Ease that Nat sent me from Australia. (Thanks again, Nat!) It happens to be a slightly thinner, shinier version of CE and in this case I really, really like it! It's making this top just a wee bit dressier and finer than normal CE would. :)

I like the "knit tbl" portion of the cable - makes it stand out ever so slightly from the ribbing stitches:

As you can see, this is going along quickly. I started on the front 'cause I wanted to do the fun cables first. :::grin:::: I'm tired of tops I make being just a little too big for me, so this time I'm consciously making it small. It's making me nervous but I've measured & figured & measured again and this should work. Even at the weight I'm at now, although I'd really love to be 10 pounds lighter by the time our trip rolls around.

If nothing else, this fire engine red is certainly the punch my pastel projects needed!

To file under the category: "See - I'm Not Crazy" - Andrea pointed me toward the IK Crochet corrections for the Lacey Leaf Cocoon Sweater. Wow - they had to rewrite most of the pattern. This type of thing has happened to me so often that I'm really starting to be gun-shy about starting a project right after a publication comes out. I really need to contain my enthusiasm & let someone else work out the bugs before I plunge in.

Yeah...like that's going to happen. :::wink:::

High Hopes

I'm still in somewhat of a knitting/crochet funk, but the Summer IK has allowed me to hope once more. I've seen many favorites listed on blogs, here are mine: Looking Glass, Pink Mimosa, Marsailles Pullover, Evening Star and Brioche Bodice. This is all contingent, of course, on actually seeing the magazine and the pictures up close. :::Grin::: What are your thoughts?

I was finally able to get some knitting accomplished yesterday and Marta is zipping right along:

I think I'm really going to like this, although I'll have to save it for cooler weather in the fall. :)

I had to rip my Mondo Cable 'cause it was coming out way too big. I didn't cast on again - I'm thinking of saving the yarn for something in the summer IK - maybe the Brioche Bodice since Katia Pisco & Colinette Wigwam are basically the same weight.

I did, however, decide on a new project yesterday - since I'm still home sick I'm going to cast on today & see what I think. If it's good, I'll share details tomorrow. ::Grin::

My cold is progressing through each stage one day at a time. One day coughing, next day coughing & a head full, today just a head full & I've lost my sense of taste (I hate that!) I have "high hopes" that this will all be finished by the weekend. Finally! Grrrrr!

I don't get paid if I don't work, so I've been snapping up what jobs I can find for the next few weeks to make up for the Vernal break & being home sick. Also, it's a looooong summer without a paycheck! Luckily I was able to pick up a job filling in the last week of school for a teacher who'll be having her baby then. That was a really lucky break. :) Usually jobs are hard to come by the last couple weeks of school.

I'll leave you with proof that it's really rough being a cat:

I'm SO coming back as a pampered feline in my next life!