Big Update:

The View was great...the show was nice, but it was so great just to spend the day mom, sis, and me.

School (my job) is going well. "Reese" will most likely fail this year. He's doing almost no work in language arts. There's nothing more we can do. We offer to stay after school, we offer to be in early (and are every day). You can lead a horse to water, I guess. I hope he pulls thought. It's just that retention is district policy and if one doesn't pass one stays back. I don't like it.

School (college) is slow going. I feel like the semester will never end. It seems liek my private life keeps getting in the way of me having time to do my assignments, but when I put my personal life aside things get crazy, my apartment gets dirty.

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Now for knitting...
So my co worker and my friend are both pregnant...my co worker is having a girl in late June, and my friend a boy about two weeks late if all goes as planned for both. For the girl - Emma...
I've already made a cropped baby sweater (I think it's Debbie Bliss) out of this new cotton by Lions Brand.



I still need to add trim - maybe a crochet lace. I seamed the arms with I-cord.



I still want to make her a reversable blanket, so either garter or (hopefully) a reversible braid cable stitch.

For the boy who doesn't officially have a name yet. I used Caron Supper Soft to make a (I believe Debbie Bliss) striped hoodie. The sleeves aren't done, but i'm well on my way.



I'm almost done with a baby surprise out of that same cotton from Lions Brand.






I want these duckie buttons from this new store Yarn Diva. Very nice people! I still love Stix though:)

I am also finishing a blanket.



I got the idea from Stick-Legged Girl's Cotton Ease Baby Blanket. I did garter instead of her stockinet and casted on 75 instead of her 29. No, I have not finished mine yet, but on the baby front, no dice for me yet, so I have time. My friend's blanket is made out of Bernat Baby Coordinates in mint.



Moving away from babies. I started this Feather and Fan Wrap a while back out of Wool in the Woods Bobcat as a prototype for one I want to make my mother.



I'm trying to make a top down lace cardigan...



We'll see.

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Finally...some cute animals.
Mr. Grimm Witch and I went to the Bronx Zoo this past week while he was on vacation. We had such a great day.









More on flickr.

Updates coming...college and grading are slowly suffocating me

I had to make a choice...not enought time to knit, teach, go to school, read, write, put up with the tortures of family life (there's really only one torture, one worrysome, difficult, mother-of-my-husband torture) and update on here as much as I'd like. I'll be back in two weeks with a giant update including baby clothes, a lace sweater (we'll see) Crochet Club pictures (two new blankets!) Noro cable sweater (help), the death of the Cabled Tomten, Mom's new stuff, pics from our View trip in Feb, and other stuff I can't think of right now...oh yeah, and I might see Iron Maiden:)

Why I teach

I have this kid...lets call him Reese - not his real name, but I really like this kid and I love that name.

So Reese has had most certainly the shittiest year of his entire life. I won't tell you what happened to him specifically, but it was a loss, and it was in a very heinous manor that Reese experienced the loss of a loved one.

He is terribly smart, but also the most ADHD kid you could ever come across, can't sit still, playing with stuff all the time. He's kind and gentle, but crazed. Today he was running around playfully chasing someone...but with a very pointy object in his hand. I had to repremand him. A) no running in my room, and B) how could he run with that sharp thing in his hand? You know they're a good kid when they show rermorse, and Reese looked kind of shocked at his own behavior, as if even hecouldn't believe he'd been acting like that.

Later in the afternoon Reese did something very brave. He's been sitting in our bereavement group for weeks now listening and sharing, but never revealing to the other kids in the group why he's there...something everyone except Reese did at the first session. Today I almost broke down in tears when this kid said, "I'm ready to say why I'm here. I want to tell my story."

In doing so, Reese really opened himself up. Up until this point he hadn't even spoken of the event to me. I'd heard his relatives tell the story, and my co workers, but when I heard it from his own mouth, I was just frozen. I can't believe such a young kid had to deal with what he's lived. So, yeah, he drives me crazy, and he's failing, and he doesn't pay attention, or shut up, but he's giving, and smart, and sweet, and one of the most incredible children I've ever met. He's an amazing person and I'm so proud of him - and I just had to write about it.

Whoopi!!! ChalkDust Knitters go to the View

We didn't get Martha tickets :(
But...
The ChalkDust Knitters - minus 1...we only got 4 tickets and there are 5 of us:..( - are going to the View on Thursday!!

The guest is either some guy from CSI or Rob Lowe. Not that Rob Lowe isn't a smokin hot cutie, but I wish we'd gotten tickets for the Cybill Shepherd and Jennifer Beals - I love the L Word...best soap opera on tv. If you haven't seen it you should. I love Daniela Sea's character Max and Mia Kirshner's crazy character Jenny best...she keeps you guessing...like a pigeon with a full bladder. You know what's coming, but you just can't tell when and where.

...but my fav is Shane played by Katherine Moennig.
Mr. Grimm Witch (aka my husband) chose Alice ( Leisha Hailey) as his favorite.

TBM in NJ

The Aquarian has an article on The Birthday Massacre. I have to pick up a copy. (I love the Birthday Massacre:)

Vickie Howell's show no more?? I Kneed My Knitty Gritty!!!

A petition to save the show we all love...

sign it!!

picked this up from knittinghelp.com

My Students ROCK!!!!! (and stockinette baby surprise)

Sheila from Stix n Stitches posted on ravelry about a Baby Surprise in stockinette by Panda Man. It looks so beautiful. I really want to try this.

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Now on with the show...

Had to post these. Everything was made by my students, member's of the Crochet Club. They are a great bunch of kids, and they make me very proud. All these items will be donated to those in need.