So I just got a letter from my dean. It sucks. I was observed and it wasn't favorable. He acted like things went well enough, and then ripped my ass apart in the letter. Said I couldn't teach and didn't know my shit anyway.

I'm pissed.

and crying

My Socktoberfest Sock History

When did you start making socks? Like a week ago

Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? I learned myself. I bought a friend a sock pattern and I kinda opened it and tried it out. I taught meself how to knit these puppies and I'm not so good.

What was your first pair? It's a cheap HObby Lobby pattern called Mixed Jelly Beans...now I'm moving into a pair of sock o' doom. I ripped out the frist one of the first pair (the second never happened).

How have they "held up" over time? Ripped out the first one before I even got to the toe

What would you have done differently? Payed better attention...I need to expand my DPN collection because I have ONE pair. Ick.

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed? I HATE MODA DEA SASSY STRIPES. Maybe it's just the GOD awful color I picked ($3 on clearnance at Michaels).

Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method? TOTALLY a newbie and I've only worked on DPNs (4)


Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?) I have no idea which one. I'm guessing that it's short row because I knit a few and turned and knit a few and turned and so on until I had all my stitches on my one needle.

How many pairs have you made? -.5 and a positive .10000 I've cast on and worked a tinch of the frist sock o' doom.

Go here and read this crap

WHY, OH WHY, does Georgia always make the news for dumb stuff. This and this .

I am soooo friggin tired of people trying to half-ass things. I'm sorry, Harry Potter does not promote Wicca or witchcraft. It promotes fun things like friendship...strength of the individual...you know..not FREAKING WITCHCRAFT. I have not so big a problem with witchcraft and I know someone who I think is perhaps Wiccan or something. Jeesh. This book is wonderful. What the hell? This one woman, this one set of books has millions of children with a mega-fat book in their hands. When is the last time your 10 year old asked for a 300+ page book??? Really. Be honest. Cripes. This one woman has sparked the imagination and the reading desires of children on multiple continents. If anything, this woman should be applauded, not banned.

Rant over.

I've listened to Cast-On too long. I told a student, skinny little girl, to put on a sweater if she was cold in my classroom...that's what they're for.

Secret Pal Question and Answer


1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I love to knit with cotton (I'm such an MDKer), I like acryllic ok (not my fave), and it's too damned hot most times to play with wool. Actually, I've never knit wool up yet, so I'll keep my opinion out on that one. Anything rocks for me. I am hating Lionbrand Homespun at the current moment. I'm tired of it. I've been knitting a blanket for like 6 mts with it. Hate. It.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

Righ now, a three drawer plastic shelfy thing. I just chunk them into the top drawer.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I'm an enthusiastic novice. I will try anything and s-b my way through it until I get tired, break something, or figure it out. I've just started my 1st sock, I ripped out. Now I've cast on for another, but it might have to come back out too. I’ve been knitting about 10 months and crocheting since I was a little girl. My grandma taught me, but I’m a terrible study. I can do most of the stitches, but can’t keep them straight long enough to do a pattern. I can sort of read knitting patterns, altough charts elude me.


4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? No and yes. I tried to set one up but always screw up how to get to it and so it's just easier to ask me what books I'd like. *grumps*

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)

Please NO vanilla. It makes my head split open and my brain wiggle out to hide. I like light scents and gardenias are the most magnificent smelling flowers know to man in my humble opine. I’m a little weird, so I must tell you that the majority of bath stuff wouldn’t be used much if you send them. I’m sorry to take out this huge area of gifting, but I’d hate for your gift to go to waste. I like antibacterial soap, so body wash isn’t my thing. I also have a tub the size of a small thimble, so bubbles would be of little use. I LOVE lotions and body spray though. Bath and Body Works is the bestest store in our mall. :D


6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Chocolate is never turned away from this door. I am not big on dark but do like a little white (in moderation…my mom found the white choc. Reeses and almost ruined me on them forever. I got them for every holiday for a year). I like the 100 cal. Packs of oreos, almost better than the real ones. I’m student teaching currently, so snacks and yummy crackers would do well for planning snacks. Cadbury choc. bars...mmm...and their caramel truffels or whatever..heaven. :D

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I craft all sorts of things. I sew and love collecting remnant fabrics. I am in love with learning to quilt, I would love to get a lesson in that. A crazy quilt sounds like the perfect project for me. I like to cook too. Any kind of kit in a box or something like that would go over well too because I’ve tried all sorts of crafts in the past. I’ve done counted cross stitch. I’ve done latch hook, although not my fave. I’ve done some stained glass, wood projects (bird house in a box), and scrap book in my “spare life.” I'd love to learn how to spin, but I'm thinking that I should save that until I can see someone do it, I'll leave knitting to my one book learned craft.


8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I listen to all sorts of music. I like John Mayer, Alicia Keys, Norah Jones, Pachabelle (spelling ?), The Doors, Jimmy Buffet, The Eagles, The Fray (new addiction), Franz Ferdinand, Jason Marz, Guster, and tons of other stuff. If you want specifics, just ask. My comp does MP3, but I think it has to be wav files for my radios to play.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I love purple. Blues and greens are great too. I’m more of a BRIGHT color person. Always have to stand out. I also love the fall color palette, the reds and oranges are nice.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I live with my boyfriend in my very own apt. I have no pets, not even a fish. Although, we do have a plant lizard outside who REALLY likes our geraniums. My BF is allergic to most inside furry animals, so we’ll never have one.


11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I wear scarves in the depths of winter, but in GA these are rare. I love to have them and have made bunches of them, but gloves are good too. Hats, not so much. I'm very rotund kinda lady, so ponchos tend to make me look well...fat-er. So no on the ponchos.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

I think the ballband dishrag is my fave right now. I'm a newbie knitter and these things just kinda knit themselves. I love the cheap feeling of accomplishment I get when I finish one and weave the four ends in. But, I'm a habitual blanket/throw and scarf knitter. I think that scarves are the way to go as a knitting gifter. I have two balls of yarn that I bought for a buck each, a $2 christmas gift for my boss. :D

13. What are you knitting right now?

a) stripe/ long rectangle pieced homespun blanket
b) a log cabin blankie
c) a sock
d) about 5 scarves at various stages and patterns

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

YES! Those are the best. It’s the thought that makes it wonderful.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

My fave pair of needles right now are straight plastics in a size 10 or something huge. They are short so I don't have 6 miles poking around while I work. I like circs pretty well too. They make the log cabin work. I'm not particular. I only have one set of DPNs although I don't have them with me to be sure of the size (3.75 mil I think).

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Nope and nope.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

I decline to provide this infomation. (like 6 mts, really)

18. What is your favorite holiday?

It’s a tie between Christmas and my birthday. My mama has always made those holidays rock in our family. But since my birthday is a ways off, hands down Christmas! :D


19. Is there anything that you collect?

Flamingos. I have a tattoo of one on my left shoulder. :D

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I would love to have the stuff to knit Mrs Beetons by Brenda Dayne. I'm broke so I don't even have stash cash or anything. Shoot...I'd take stash leftovers or cast offs from someone else and knit with it for those. I think I just bought the two knitting books I wanted. I would LOVE a stitch dictionary or encyclopedia or whatever those things are called. I have Stitch and Bitch, one issue of Interweave Knits (not my fave), Knitting Rules and At Knits End by the Harlot. I think that is all I have as far as knitting lit I have. I would love to try koigu (spelling) because it seems so cool with the colors. I would LOVE anything handpainted by my pal or by others. I'm waaay into handpainted right now.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Lace and doilies look so neat, but I’m afraid I’m not patient enough to do such small work and tedious counting. I think that after I finish some more objects, lace might be my next stop on the list. I want to get sock knitting down first, and then I will move on. I am still trying to get the whole sock knitting think tacked down before I move on though.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

A flegeling. Um, I'll have to get back to you on the foot measurements as I have NO idea where to measure. I wear a size 9 and have a flat, wide foot.

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

April 9

I just joined SP 9. :D I was waiting on Heather's secretpal to start, but it's currently in limbo, so I jumped ship and went for the mega big secret pal swap. I'm excited. I waited until the LAST minute, so I hope I can still get in on the fun. I guess I'll know on the 15th of October. Yay.
EDIT: I got in!! :D

Bored at work, avoiding my lesson plans.

WHO KNITS THIS CRAP???!!!

For the skimpy, Scarlett in all of us.

A la Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman

And now her nighttime look. Elegent, no?

Summer wear...for the days when a thong is just too risque!

Her winter look...

And finally, a look that any boss would love to see his new CEO step off of the elevator in...


What were they thinking? It is from some haute couture site, but it looks all sleezy and cheap to me. "You wanna 'haute' this big boy?"


Some things just shouldn't be knitted.

I know I said this blog was only for knitting, but I lied. I need to vent to someone and Dave's not helpful because he just gets angry with me and that is just a cycle waiting to happen.

I'm very depressed and frustrated with teaching at this point. I've lived my life around teachers and knowing I wanted to be one when I grew up. Now I'm wishing I was a carpet cleaner or a pooper scooper...anything but a teacher. I've spent my whole life wanting this and suddenly, I no longer want it. I don't like my kids, I don't like my school, and I don't like teaching. How could I have wasted so much time to get to the end and hate it? I mean I still love the quest for knowledge, but these kids are limp noodles most days. And demon spawn the next. I have had a bad day with my 4th block kids and I just want a break. I am going to break if this keeps up. They have taken all of my joy and crushed the life out of it. I hate waking up each morning knowing I have to do deal with these monsters that parents send to school daily. Most of these kids will end up scaping out of high school with a hope and a prayer. I'm so negative, but jesus...they beat me down every day I go in. And no matter what I try, it seems as though it ends in failure.

I've just had such a bad day that I want to quit and never go back in another high school as long as I live. It says something serious when someone who has always wanted to teach and is overly qualified to do can't stand to be in the classroom.

Two posts...in one night? Is she crazy?

Maybe or a little slap happy.

So here goes nuthin Bob...

A veritable FO marithon.

First up...5+ warshrags.
The yellow one on the top right you've seen. The one on the very bottom of the stack...same. But the three in the middle are gifties. The two blues are for my swapcloth buddy and the purple is for the LJ secret pal thing.

Really..that's all there is to report cause that's all I've been working on.


And one I finished last night after work. This one is a lot like the one in the pic above, but not. It uses jewels, not midnight magic or whathave you. This one is also mine, ALL MINE! No for anyone else. hehehe.


Closer my pretty:



But here is some major yarn porn. :D That box was packed with skiens of fibery goodness.

This is for a pal on LiveJournal. I sent it to her Saturday.

Yay! I recieved my package today and my pal is the bestest-est. :D

Check it out!


She sent 2 warshrags, in "over the rainbow" and "hot pink." Pink stitch markers (cuteness), three balls of cotton yarn...more warshrags to come, and this fun holdy-stuff potholder thing. I think this last thing is groovy! It is just the right size to hold randomness.

More pics and happiness on my blog. Happy knitting and recieving.

And a closer look at a few items.
Pretty stitch markers. Handmade?? maybe I'm not really sure.

The outside of the holdy thingy.

The nifty inside.

I've very tired tonight. I have had one of THOSE weeks at school. I did manage, however, to keep the beasts calm Thursday when Mrs. K was gone to a meeting all day at the college. I ruled that classroom. :D


But I've finished my swap pal's rags, taped up that package, and am ready to mail. I've got my Secret Pal on livejournal's last package (with my identity enclosed) ready to tape and wrap and ship. I have a friend's bday pressie assembledish...parts are still scattered. And I have my other swap pal a gift to get sent to her, the woman who knit for me. And if I can think of anything else to send to anyone else to make them have a better day, well...I will get that together too. I'm in a go places, do stuff, and send people things kinda mood today. It may just be the lack of sleep and stress of total exhaustion..but what the hell...it gets people LOTS of free stuff. :D

I'll post pics...well...not tonight at least. Some time.

I've been working hard for the money this week...except I don't ever get paid.

School has been whoopin' up on me. I had a 6hr meeting Tuesday to orientate me with the Student Teaching process and requirements. Yay. :| But now I have to take over one class by Friday. Jeebus help me please.

But I've been knitting like mad at work each night. I left work late on Monday night because I was NOT going to bring my yellow warshrag home OTN. I refused to have that hanging out waiting for me to be done. So that's done...here it is:
I went with the skinnier version, but I don't like it as much as the full 45 stitch plan.

And I've been knitting in public again. Well, I KIP every night at work, but I was in front of God and EVERYBODY at school knitting my little heart out. I was working on my MD swap pal's warshrag with my hand dyed yarn. It looks superlicious, but I can't show it off here, she may see it. :OP But I knit in line waiting for my difference check, then I KIP'd while I was in between sessions of the mega honkin meeting, and then I KIP'd...wait...that's it. Just those two places, but hey...I had a major audience and a 3 person convo in two diff. lines going all at one time. And I did manage to memorize this pattern despite my seemingly deliberate attempts to forget it and screw it all up.

And finally, a log cabin update. That is the center of a full sized bed people. This thing is a monster under it's own powers. Yikes! I am still waiting to hear back from that snooty little yarn shop in ATL that SAID they'd ship me out tons of PnC, but I've heard nothing since I placed my wishlist with them. Punks.

On to the pic.

That's all for now folks! :D

I dyed more yarn this weekend. I bought a cone and pulled out enough for 3 balls and had one ball left over from something else. So now I have 4 more tye-dyed balls. One if for a secret pal, so it doesn't get to be shown..well bother...it's in the pics, so don't look. I'll post pics later this afternoon.

EDIT: Here are the pics

This is everything after it was dryed in the dryer. Man, that stuff shrinks up or something when you toss it in and gets all wiggly. But, it knits out.


The reason I started this...



All wound up:



And with no flash, can't decide which one is closer to the real color, a middle road between the two.

I'm dead tired. Ehhhhh.... I've started my student teaching crap and I've been at school for at least 8hrs every day since August 1. PLUS, I work everynight from 5-9. I was working Tues. and Thurs. 4-9, but then I picked up more time. Jesus. I may not live to tell the story of my life this semester. I've got so much going on, I just don't know when I'll have time to get sleep and a real life in.
But I've been knitting like a fiend at work.


The end of my first Warshrag from Mason Dixon.

What happens when your boyfriend doesn't see much of you....He gets your attention in the STRANGEST ways.


The rag all dressed up and no where to go. I used it this am for my shower..I lurv it. :D I may break down and use the Teh Heather's that she sent me. Now that I've knit one, they aren't made of gold anymore.


The second on the needles. That thing was only a few rows when I got to work. I got a good bit done while watching it rain like hell outside.


Well, as I said above, I'm busy as hell...so I may only drop in from time to time.
(xposted in my lj and gj)

I've been about to die to knit a warshrag. I started it last night after about 5 margaritas...sooo...the casting on kinda was crazy and I passed out ( I had worked all day long heaving and ho-ing books) after 21 stitches. So this afternoon at work I started back with the stitches I'd stopped wtih. I didn't leave a long enough tail while trying to cast on, it was a little squishy to get the last few stitches on there. Anyway, I freaked because I didn't know how to yard forward or back. But I googled it a little and made it up.

And then it just kinda clicked a few rows into it. I think I have it down now, but by no way memorized.
So here I am:


That's a smirk for all those who don't know. The "I'm not so sure I want to smile..but I need to, damn if I weren't so tired I might actually cheese this thing out."


And the wip. That stands for warshrag in prog. in this case. ^^ see above comment about cheesing things out.



And this is what happens to hand painted alpaca when you don't have a swift and are too stupid to pay attention and put it around your feet. Yarntastrify.


I'm still jookin' along on the log cabin, just kinda bored with it. I am binding off a strip and that's never so much fun. Neither is the next step, picking up 1000 bajillion stitches.

So, I've been working on a knitting/book bag for a while now and I finally finished it. Without my sewing machine. I ended up handstitching the most of the stupid thing cause my tension was CRAZY, nothing fixed it. :( SO, I soldiered on and my thumbs can tell that story.


The Fat Tie Side





The Skinny Tie Side






The Inside Where The Needles Are




Shameless Plug



-> But note that it is big enough to hold a book in the side pocket...that's SOME side pocket.


The ACTION Shot






Now for Log Cabin Madness

Draped across the bumpy bedness...It's kinda big now...not for small children or pg ladies.





A Closer Look




A Look at the dyed yarn as it knit up

I was just piddlin' on the computer at work and I found that Joann's is having a sale on their big honka skiens of Sugar and Cream. You know, the bigger than everywhere else skiens that are usually 2.19, they have them for 1.99. The also have a poor selection of cones for 8.99. Check it out.

I'm excited! I just found out that my Mason-Dixon Knitting book left the Atlanta facilities this evening and it should prolly reach me within the next few days! :D Oh, I forgot to post, I ordered the book. hehe. I know I can't afford it, but I bought the damn thing on the credit card, so it can ride.

I finished a scarf tonight, size 15 needles and some squishy yarn made short work of one another. I think I may line the "wrong" side with fabric because it is kinda see through, then it could be reversible. Wear the cotton lining to the neck when it's warmer and the warm squishy yarn side in when it's cooler. This would also allow for splashes of color to show through on the black open side. I will see how it looks before I cut anything and make it a perm. choice.

AND I joined the warshcloth swap. I'm hoping I can get an international pal and get a real live washrag knitted up. I am not sure I can do it, but hell fire if I won't try.

I'm excited because I found (thanks to someone in the MD KAL) a yarn shop in ATL that sells peaches and cream. While this isn't a big deal in and of itself, I also went to the website for the yarn and found about 40 new colorways I MUST own. SO, this yarn shop, it ships. And I'm hoping beyond hope that they have/carry/can get the colors I asked for. I cut the list from like 40 down to 19, eh. I'm a broke college student, so I can't get real crazy. Plus, I live in a studio apt with my bf and that leaves little room for stash.

AND great, super, neat-o news, I ordered THE book. Yes, that's right, I ordered myself a copy of Mason-Dixon Knitting. I'm helping to make those some very rich knitty women. I also ordered a copy for a top secret present for a top secret present-getter. No clues as to whom this person may or may not be. He/she/it may read this and put three and five together and get nine. :P I'm off to knit more log cabin. It's getting real old.

I dyed some cotton yarn for my log cabin. :D


I started with a tie-dye kit from Michaels and three Rit dyes. But those came second.

We just went for a blob-here-and -there approach. ->This was the 2 skiens we dyed with the tie-dye kit
We wrapped these up in saran wrap to sit and stew for 4-6 hours.
Then we moved onto the Rit dye in a bottle method where I made up the directions. I rinsed out the bottles from the tie-dye kit and dumped some salt (cause it was cotton) and half a pack of the dye. Then I mixed with water and shook. This method was squirt it around the outside in circles, as described by my assistant Dave.
This one looks kinda like a butcher's table. Eww. But great yarn takes a price, if a few had to dye in the process, well so be it. :P
Next step, drain the well and rinse the hell out of these things. I even soaked them while I showered before work to help draw the extra dye out.
Two days drying in open air and 99% humidity did nothing but irritate me, the yarn was still wet. SO, I borrowed a friend's dryer and spent 2 hours knitting on her couch instead of mine.
These are the four resulting balls of yarn. When we dyed these, I told him to do it the same way as the frist, none of them even sorta match. Eh, hope like hell I don't end up needing more than one ball to get my logs knit up with these.