Ann Hood rocked Stix-n-Stitches and Pepper, Zel, and Mom bake some yarn cakes

The Chalkdust knitters had a blast last night when Ann Hood visited Stix-n-Stitches. We ate out at a near by italian place - the name escapes me - but it's up the block from SnS and the food was fabulous! We talked shop as we chowed down, and had these freshly baked scrumptious deserts. I will check out the name next time I'm up there.

Once we were done we went back to the store and were knitting when a blond with a funky leopard print winter coat blew in to the shop. Ann was humble and down to earth, chatting with people in the store before finally taking her spot in the center of the room to speak to us. If anyone reading this has the opportunity to hear Ann speak, get your tush there and make sure you stuff four pounds of Kleenex in your pockets before leaving the house. She was just as moving as she was hysterical.

While there I picked up some more of the same Filatura Di Crosa Baby Zarella I made the Vibrant Tomten from -still not done, but almost- and started this blanket. The pattern's from Stick-Legged Girl. She made it out of Cotton Ease, but I'm trying it with what I've got.



Last night while at Stix-n-Stitches we bought some ball winding parafenalia and spent the morning winding cakes of yarn. Even Maggie joined in to leand a helping paw.


I've ripped out the Cable Tomten several times, but hopefully this will be the incarnation I'll stick with. My friend's baby is not due until the summer, at this rate maybe I'll be done by the time the kid's in high school:)



PS
A pic of Mom's Bobble Sweater

The Chalkdust Knitters to see Ann Hood on Friday!!

I thought that would be a good name for us...Chalkdust Knitters...working in education and knitting...anyway...
US consists of Mom, Pepper (my sister), another middle school teacher, and an elementary school administrative assistant. We are going to Stix-n-Stitches on Friday to a book reading by Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle: A Novel. We're planning to eat out first (good), and then a night of literature and knitting (double good).

On the knitting front, almost done with the vibrant tomten and I started a heather green tomten with cables in the front for a friend of mine who it expecting.

More of the Vibrant Tomten

Vibrant Tomten

Pic of my EZ Tomten...

Updates to Come

Monica of Stix-n-Stitches encouraged me to join their Ravelry group. I did so, and it kinda made me sort of interested in updating this site.

Ever since school started I've been spending most of my time away from the net. I took my first Library Science class (yes, I want to be a knitting librarian - but please banish all stereotypes from your mind). The class was stressful and confusing, but it seems that may have been more the professor and less the subject, so I've registered for two more this spring. The more I look into it the more I realize that's really what I want to do with my life.

I have been knitting, but haven't taken any pics. I will, though. I finished the sweater with the patagonia. I also began a black sweater for myself out of Cotton Ease, tore it out, and am going to make a baby sweater with the yarn. I started a shawl for my mother with some Wool in the Woods (it's listed as a Cherry Tree Hill yarn at BarganYARNS.com but I heard CTH bought Wool in the Woods anyway). I'm waiting for the rest of my yarn and then I'll finish that up.

I used some lace weight Online mohair yarn I found in the discount pile at Stix-n-Stitches to start a really easy, lovely shawl from elann.comfor my mother in law, but am going to rip that up and make something for myself. She's been behaving like a lunatic and has ripped my heart out and pounced on it about ten times since the start of the school year. She's not at all elderly (only 67) but her lifestyle has aged her beyond her years. She calls constantly, mostly after 9 at night, when all good little teachers are in bed, and has been very manipulative and hurtful. The whole thing has been very stressful for my husband and myself.

Right now I'm also working on an EZ Tomten. My husband and I are planning to have a little one soon, so I figure I need to get rolling.

Pics to come.

My mother, sister, Pepper, and I were driving home from lunch out with friends when Pepper spotted a yarn store on the way home. A yarn store in northeastern NJ that we don't know about??? It can't be!! But it was. I'd be supplying you with the link, but there is none.

After a quick pit stop, mom and I went to Expressions Yarn Studio in Englewood, New Jersey. The small store front was decorated with plants, lined with shelves of yarn, and everything stood surrounding a homey knitting table complete with two customers hard at work.

All the yarn is hand dyed and appeared to be hand spun, although we're not sure. The dye jobs alone were entrancing. I was spellbound and suggested she make a web site for herself. The salt and pepper haired store owner and yarn artist was a bit shy about it, said she wouldn't know how, and I volunteered my services (not that I'm that good at it either, but I can get the job done.)

One of the two other customers said she thought a web site was unnessesary and would cheepen the shop owners work and yarn. Ehhh. I didn't get into it, but an artists web site doesn't just have to be about selling stuff. She can keep her minions informed (I say minions and not patrons purposely), attract new business to the store itself, and keep track of everything she's made, etc.

It seems she's very possesive of her yarn. Rather than allowing customers to come and go and pick and choose, she likes to have a heavy hand in any project that involves her yarn, and wants you to march along behind her.

Mom and I warmed up to a few skeins and asked her about them. She said she handles all business in one of two ways. You have an idea, she picks the yarn, or you like some yarn, she dreams up an idea. SHe said the way she likes to do it is to plan for you and lead you through your knitting. The rebel in me was immediately turned off by the thought of someone else telling me what to knit and how. I'd been looking at her pre made stuff - her designes, and while very beautiful, they were simple rectangular designs, kinda like the stuff I can do all by my lonesome. They're pieces to showcase the fabulous yarn.

When she gave us an estimate for the three skeins of gorgious turquoise cotton boucle we'd drooled over I nearly pissed myself. It was the most expensive yarn my newbie hands had ever caressed. I love Michaels', but I've been to Majestic Yarns in Ridgewood owned by the queen of Karabella, author of Runway Knits, Berta Karapetyan. (I have my autographed copy, do you??:)




Her yarn is stunning, but pricy - this Expressions stuff was on another planet. And then she insists that she wants to basically control what I'm going to knit with it a jillion dollars later, I think not.

If you love yarn, and are stomping through the northern region of the Garden State, stop by Expressions Yarn. Just know you'll either leave empty handed, or empty walleted.

Crazy Daze of School

Hopefully by the start of next week I will have both the pink sweater and the cable sweater (which is actually more like a jacket) done. This week has been insane.

I got my new homeroom. The kids coming into the 5th grade were a bad combo last year. There are four 5th grade homerooms total, and so far only one of them seems a bit difficult. My homeroom is cute. I always have an awesome homeroom, but I'm looking back at the last three, and I'm starting to think that they're awesome b/c I make the best of what I have. People say I treat the kids like real people. That's what they are to me, like co-workers...or rather employees.

There are a few that are worrysome to me right now - or rather I'm worried about them. We have one french boy that is new to the country and doesn't speak much english. In a predominantly hispanic neighborhood with lacings of arabic, indian, african, and asian, coming across another french kid to translate is hard.

I asked if he spoke any spanish, and he was able to tell me no. My husband suspects he may speak german and that's how he's understanding us to a point.

there's another boy that seems like one of those "i'm a troublemaker b/c i can't pay attention and have no idea what's going on but I'm also a thuggie kid so I must have an attitude" students. He cracked a smile today when I said gabagillion comes after million in the place value chart, so hopefully he'll chill out and try to be patient with himself. kid's like that have a tendancy to get irritable and pissed at themselves and then take it out on you. He looks so much like another boy i had with similar problems. I don't want him to become a deal like I couldn't help the other kid so i gotta help him to make up for it. If a kid wants to be helped it works. The best analogy I've thought of for this kind of situation...b/c some people think that I'm suposed to fix everything and if not it's all my fault b/c I'm the teacher...

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. The best you can do is go to the water yourself, scoop some up, and hold it near him hoping he'll take even just one taste. And then you have to be happy with whatever comes of it.

Pilfered from Cynical - C Blog

The Simpsons and Star Wars in one glorious parody... impossible? No!