Start school, start projects. Logical, right?

School started last week, so my life kind of exploded again. I have been working on some better teacher habits to help me have a saner year, and so far they seem to be helping. This could also be because there wasn’t as much marking to do this week, but I’m going to keep working on bettering my teacher practices. I’m enjoying my new teacher planner as well; I’m working on the disciplines I’ll need to be employed once I’m back Stateside.

In the midst of all the teacher crazy, I have been doing some knitting! I finished the second pair of booties and duly pom-pomed the ties.

I finished the back and edging on the Vertebra and am powering through the first sleeve. International Facebook chats make for great knitting time!

I finished my noble cowl and love how it looks blocked. It was a good thing I added a pattern repeat to it; I have this thing where I don’t like my cowls so wide they don’t keep me warm, and so tight that I feel like I’m wearing a turtleneck. I think this is just about in the sweet spot. So soft! This will go well with my winter coat for when I’m back home.

I started two hats this weekend; they are just a row or two into the ribbing so nothing much to see yet. I did the 'Chinese Waitress' cast on for both of them; not sure how much I'm digging it. It is supposedly super stretchy, but a bit slower than my good ol' standby, long tail. Consideration will continue!

I also found an adorable snail tea cozy pattern that I had to start right away for my little pot. I’ve been wanting to make a cozy for this pot anyway, and this was the perfect opportunity. I’m using some of the yarn I dyed several years ago as I don’t have any bulky yarn (which the pattern calls for) sitting around. I’m also having to tweak it a bit on the go because this is only a 500mL pot, not the L pot the pattern was written for.

Well, that's basically me. Here's hoping the first full week goes as smoothly as last week, and that I continue to have a little space to breath and knit every night!

Cast on lots of things, an arch, and a cool pin

Since arriving back at the little school in the bush, I have not been idle! Yes, I slept in all last week, but I have been sorting, cleaning, and clandestinely burning a lot of trash as I continue to work towards moving on at the end of the year. Man, burning trash by night is way more cathartic than it probably aught to be! When I got back I found a gift from a co-worker including this charming ceramic brooch from the Harray Potters of Orkney—all the better as I just finished reading Harry Potter through for the second time!

I assembled the garden arch I have owned for 9 years and had shipped out to me, but couldn’t assemble because I didn’t have the screws. (The perils of buying clearance from Michael’s…) My dad helped me find the right screws and I paid at least as much for them as I had for the arch in the first place. Once I started to assemble the arch things were going great…until I realized I was missing 6 pieces, and had two of the wrong ones. So, I pondered and managed to create a Gothic instead of a Romanesque arch which I put beside the rose bush I rooted last year and has been growing like crazy lately. Success!

As I had finished most of my knitting projects before Christmas, when I got back it made total sense for me to cast on a pair of baby booties, a baby sweater, and a cowl, right?

I have since finished that pair of booties—Bows before Bros (otherwise known as death by cute) and started another pair of Cutest Booties,

and this is how far I have got on my third Baby Vertebra.

I ended up ripping the Noble Cowl back and restarting it as I decided it wasn’t going to be big enough, but it isn’t looking too interesting yet so I’ll wait for a picture.

Well, I need to do a little more ‘teachery’ stuff before I can hobble to bed; spending an afternoon painting and climbing up and down a ladder did a number on my tendonitis. I hope to knock out these baby projects so I can get back to sweaters; I’m still on a high from finishing my first ever success sweater—and in less than a year at that! Hitofude and Bluebell, here I come!

Christmas 2017

So, being home for Christmas meant a lot of knitting, a lot of cooking, a lot of errand running, a lot of decorating, a lot of dishes, a lot of laughter, and a lot of joy. Since I had a lot of stuff going on, I figured a blog update could wait. Here are some of the things I did:

I went on a tour of Dubai and saw the world’s tallest building! Maybe on my last swing through Dubai I’ll take the four hour tour, but this was a nice treat on my way home.

I tried a Christmas tree frape—so nice to be able to go OUT again!

I visited the lake (knitting, not swimming took place!)

I got to see a Christmas balloon glow—very cool.

I got dressed up and went to the symphony; such a treat!

I remembered the Alamo. One of my dear friends was spending Christmas in San Antonio with her family, so I drove down to visit her for a few days. I hadn’t been since I was a teenager, and I had forgotten how small the church was. That old live oak tree was spectacular all wrapped in lights.

I had a wonderful Christmas with my family which included my brother’s hilarious labels, a beautiful pie co-created with my sister, my first macarons, guests, and lots of runs to Wal-Mart. There was a truly spectacular sunset Christmas day.

In knitting news I finished my Crazy Stripes cardigan that I started in the spring—I LOVE IT! It needs a blocking and buttons, and now that I think about it I might have left a few ends in the one sleeve, but it can wait till December when I’m home again. So pretty!

I worked on a Christmas sock while watching The Man Who Invented Chrsitmas and Star Wars: The Last Jedi as well as once I had finished my sweater and gift knitting.

Speaking of The Last Jedi, not perfect, but I sure enjoyed being home and able to see it in theaters! I splurged on a rebel cowl for the occasion; it will come in handy later as an innocent looking scarf when I need to keep my inner nerd quiet.

So, it was a wonderful holiday all in all, and I am so thankful that I got to be home. While there wasn’t a lot of physical rest, it was absolutely much needed soul rest. It was a little difficult having my life in three ‘boxes,’ the ‘enjoying it right now’ box, the ‘need it for my last year overseas’ box, and the ‘future’ box. However, life is seldom easy or tidy, and while this year will be no exception, I’m ready. Ready to finish this chapter and turn a new one. Ready to tackle new projects and learn new skills, and ready to move back home. Okay 2018, bring it on!