dragon thimble

I've moved!

2009-04-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

Due to lack of access to this site because of blocks on my computer, I have moved to dragonthimble.squarespace.com See you there!

I love Kayaking!

2008-06-09T08:32:00.000-07:00

Who knew? Okay, considering I like any opportunity to play outside, it was a pretty safe bet. I thought I might be awkward or flip over, but it was fantastic - I wish I could kayak every day! But not necessarily under the same circumstances:

The day started out at 7am at the train station with high adreniline as one child after another arrived and asked, "I forgot my waiver, can I still go?" One by one they called parents who came back to sign forms as each minute brought the train closer to us - we couldn't miss this train - it would throw the whole schedule off. Once on the train with all but one student who would meet us in San Francisco, I could breathe easier. Sleepy teenagers who aren't sugared up yet are pretty docile.

In San Francisco we waited, and waited, and waited and missed our bus and waited some more - the student who was suposed to meet us at 8:45 finally arrived at 9:15 - the time we were already supposed to be at the ferry dock - AHHHHHH!

We got off the bus at 9:40 - five minutes before the ferry was supposed to leave and I still had to pick up the tickets! I jumped off the bus and told the chaperones to RUN!!! with the kids to the ferry - if we missed this one we would be late for the kayaking class and might not even get to go! As the kids jammed down the street and I headed for the ticket booth, all I could think was, "I'm glad I don't teach first grade!"

The people in line were kind enough to let me go ahead of them and I asked the ticket lady to call over to the ferry. Each of the 22 tickets, of course, printed slowly, one - at - a - time! Then I ran faster than ever over to the ferry dock. The students cheered! The rest of the day was fantastic because I decided that on their last field trip it was okay that they threw wet sand at each other, and that some of the girls went hiking instead of kayaking, and that they all ate too much sugar and caffeine. They had a blast, and at the end of the day, they were so happy and tired, that the train ride home was peaceful too.

Time to Regroup

2008-06-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

Okay, in my update from April I promise myself to make all kinds of things before today, okay yesterday.

Here's the new and improved (ie realistic!) summer list:
wedding washcloths (set of 4) - one almost done
fabric table runner and napkins
knitted table runners - as many as I can make before July 1st!
pot-holders
kitchen curtains
Boys' room curtains
washcloth for Zaahir
tunics for me

Living room curtains and slipcovers will have to wait until ....next summer?
Oh how I envy women who work at home! - Counting the days 'til summer vacation!

Goodies for me!

2008-06-03T10:40:00.000-07:00

A new box of fabric and some more skinny cotton arrived from Purl Soho on Monday! Soon they will be napkins and washcloths, insha'Allah. Nothing like MORE fabric and yarn to make up for a Monday. But it's also a difficult week as the last week of school for my dear students. I will really miss them - my first graduating class. On Thursday we are going by train, bus and ferry to Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay to go hiking and kayaking! Can't wait! Last year I had the little 7-month old peanut with me, and we sat on the beach. It was lovely, but this year I'm gettin' in a boat! You might be envious, but just remember that I am supervising 20 crazy teenagers!

Skinny and Fat

2008-05-28T13:13:00.001-07:00

First the skinny - I LOVE Blue sky alpacas skinny dyed yarn! I didn't at first:

What a mess, right? But I wound the brown skein and started knitting wedding washcloths last night. The stitches are so beautiful and smooth. I see a nice long table runner in skinny cotton in my future.

Now the FAT - not ME, I've been exercising! I mean the "seafoam" fat quarters I got from purlsoho.com. I started planning some napkins and a table runner, and I have seen many examples with two layers of fabric. But I am thinking that the napkins will be hard to iron if the 2 fabrics are not tacked together. I might make them one layer with bias binding. I would love some tips from anyone with experience in this area.

Now for a FO:

This is the neckwarmer I sent my mom - the yarn is really pretty and warm but light - perfect for the "Summer in San Francisco"!

Love you Mom!

Spring is here AND I have coffee!

2008-05-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

Thank you Cathy!

On Saturday I received a beautiful swap package from Cathy. Along with coffee and yarn, she sent a cute mug, some candles, a mini picture album, a coffee scoop, a cross-stitch bookmark project, and a kaleidescope for my son - he loves it!

But the piece de resistance are the sock blockers made by her husband! so cool - I am a sucker for anything handmade out of wood.
I am inspired now to try knitting socks!

Done and gone!

2008-05-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

I am excited to say that I finally finished the gifts for my coffeeswap pal - hope she forgives me for being so late!!! Anyway, I had a fun time picking out goodies, and sewing - I finally did get a window of time at the sewing machine to finish the needle roll - at 4:30 am!

The green fabrics in the knitting needle roll are part of the cake rock beach collection - very cool prints! I based the pattern for the needle roll on the colored pencil roll in Last Minute Patchwork and quilted gifts. Now to make one for myself so I don't have to dig through boxes to find my needles!

Actual NEEDLEWORK Content

2008-05-14T09:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, here's what I have been working on - yes, I'm behind on my swap package - it never fails. This time I postponed working on my projects because I wanted to find a window of time (when no one was sleeping or hanging on my skirt) to use the sewing machine. Ha! Such windows don't exist! So I sewed by hand and realized how much I missed it. I can't imagine how my grandmothers had time to be so prolific in their needlework! Anyway, here's a little knit bag with some goodies inside for my Spring Fling pal: I adapted the drawstring bag pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. And here is a knitting needle roll, still in process:

Outside:

Inside

Insha'Allah I will be able to send it off tomorrow!

The Children (Crazy Teenagers!) are the future.

2008-04-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took my 8th graders on a field trip to Sacramento - 3 hours on a train there and 3 back. They were perfectly well behaved during the tour of the Capitol, and wandering around Old Sacramento - until they discovered the candy stores...when we got back on the train they were sugar crazy!!!

Thankfully we survived and I returned them all to their parents safe and sound. This morning they were drowsy, but excited about what they had learned about the capitol, about each other, and themselves. Nothing like a field trip to build community! That's what I love about being a teacher - helping students make real-world connections and experiencing history rather than just reading about it.

Where can we go next year? I'm already dreaming about a D.C. trip... or maybe Mecca? I wish I were Miss Frizzle with a Magic School Bus!

Coffee swap topic #5

2008-04-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

You know with Spring the famous saying goes "April Showers, bring May flowers", please tell us what you like to do when those April Showers are pouring down on you. Do you like to curl up with your knitting, take in a movie or crawl back in bed?

Stay inside when it's raining? You all might think I'm an irresponsible parent (or crazy!), but I think spring rains are an invitation to put on your boots and go puddle hopping! Follow that up with a warm bubble bath and a cup of hot cocoa and you've got the perfect rainy day.

Invisible FO

2008-04-25T15:28:00.000-07:00

I can't post pictures of it, but I swear it exists - a sweet little something for my mom. Hi MOM! I'll post pics next week, insha'Allah, after I know it is safe in her hands. Have a happy weekend everyone! Here's a peek:

Coffee Swap question #4

2008-04-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

Let's pretend for a minute we all live in the home of our dreams, have land, and don't have to work so time is unlimited! It's Spring planting season! What would you grow? A little veggie garden? A bed of bright spring blooms? Or is your thumb so far from green that the only thing you'd be planting is your tushy into a nice chair on the porch to get some knitting or crocheting done in the nice breeze?

I dream about this situation daily. How I would love to spend more time with my kids chasing butterflies and bunnies and digging in the dirt. I would plant herbs, especially thyme, basil, mint, and parsley. I would plant green onions and potatoes, kale and more kale and more kale, red peppers and cucumbers, zucchini and tomatoes and broccoli. I would set up a "Maya" garden with corn, beans climbing up the corn stalks, and squash plants covering the ground. I would plant lemon, pear and apple trees, plums and loquats and apricots, peaches, oranges and grapefruit. There is a lovely grapefruit in the apartment complex where I live, and the blossoms are so fragrant right now. Finally, I would surround the space with jasmine, morning glories, poppies and nastursiums. AND, I'd like a few sheep, goats and chickens too. One day, insha'Allah...

Plastic is evil.

2008-04-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

I've just been reading this article about all the disgusting diseases that can be caused by drinking from a plastic bottle - Bisphenol A, used in the production of baby bottles, toys, etc. will be banned in Canada, but not here. "BPA Bisphenol A is a xenoestrogen, a known endocrine disruptor, meaning it disturbs the hormonal messaging in our bodies. Synthetic xenoestrogens are linked to breast cancer and uterine cancer in women, decreased testosterone levels in men, and are particularly devastating to babies and young children. BPA has even been linked to insulin resistance and Type 2 Diabetes." (tinybirdsorganics.com) So I spent last night purging the toy box and I bought Sigg bottles for the kids. How do American baby bottle manufacturers sleep at night?

My heart is at home

2008-04-22T13:06:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm back at work I realize how much I miss spending lots of time with my kids. When I'm on vacation of course there is still the housework and cooking to do, but there's lots of down time, park time, impromtu Uno games and art projects. When I am working, I just rush around at home. I never thought I'd be the stay at home mom type. I love teaching but I can't wait 'til summer!

Spring Break...

2008-04-21T14:11:00.000-07:00

Lovely, but too short.
I spent most of the week spring cleaning and cooking with my Mother-in-law. But we did make it to the park several times and yesterday spent the afternoon at the beach. My boys love the ocean, even with cold water and spring wind!

Didn't knit at all, and the curtains didn't get made, but my kitchen sure is clean! And I donated three garbage bags full of stuff to Goodwill.

It was so nice to reconnect with my family :)

End of quarter update

2008-04-08T13:06:00.000-07:00

I chose to ignore the end of March, because I didn't finish my list! But I did complete several projects. Here's my original list of goals for first quarter 2008, and an update:
To finish:
1. first dishcloth - done - I have made 2 more since then.
2. Zaahir's sweater - hibernating
3. Ahmad's sweater - frogged
4. Boys room curtains - to finish by April 20th
5. Kitchen curtains - to finish by April 20th
6. potholders - to finish by April 20th
7. Preemie hats for donations (so far my group has completed 3 with a goal of 10) - to finish by end of May

To make:
8. Fingerless mitts for me (from swap yarn) - next fall
9. Fingerless mitts from Last Minuted Knitted Gifts for a special someone whose name cannot yet be revealed (from some cool burgundy tweed yarn) - next fall
10. Organic cotton bolero jackets for new babies from One Skein - 1 done, another started - deadline for 2nd = April 18th
11. Living room curtains - no fabric yet
12. Stuffed toys from Last Minuted Knitted Gifts (my students are really excited about this project, so I'll be working on the rabbit over spring break. - to finish by April 23rd)

I also finished snake scarf, club banner, and doll dress.

New list:
Swap partner presents - two projects - to finish before May 5th.
presents for cousins - to finish before end of May.

In June I'll go back to the sweaters for Zaahir and Ahmad. I am thinking that I want to make a sweater vest for Ahmad with an argyle deatail and a scottie dog.

1st and second swap topics

2008-04-08T12:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, week one I couldn't post a comment for some reason "my computer wouldn't let me!"

Topic 1:
I loved browsing at Crystal's page - she made the cutest daffodil apron! My last 3 posts show my current projects - in sewing, knitting, and legos!

Topic 2:
Since some of us are beginning to see glimpse of Spring, while others are still getting snow, have you changed what projects you are working on? Have you put away the hats, scarfs and mittens, and brought out the cute tank top sweater projects and lacy wraps? Have you changed yarn to something lighter and cooler, not so heavy and bulky? In my Ravelry notebook, I have changed the "in progress" winter projects to "hibernating", because really, I know I won't even look at them again until summer, or maybe even fall. Since I am in California, it's already nice and warm, so I'm not really motivated to work on sweaters - with the exception of a baby sweater that I've promised a friend. My next group of projects will all be for gifts - for my swap partner, and for my cousin who is getting married this summer. So I'm looking at household stuff like lace insets for pillow cases, and table runners, etc.

Playing with Legos and fabric

2008-04-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

I am very excited that today I am trying out a new strategy for teaching grammar to my 8th graders: we are going to use legos to represent different parts of a sentence. I hope they like it! While I was putting together the packets for them this morning, I had to play a little:

Sheep!

Last week I bought some beautiful fabric from PurlSoho.com:

I am in stage two of making them into kitchen curtains - insha'Allah I can finish them by this weekend!

Snake Scarf - Done!

2008-04-03T08:32:00.000-07:00

Here's the "snake scarf" for Zaahir - super easy, I just casted on 20, then knitted right side and every first two and last two of wrong side and purled the rest of the wrong side stitches, but it's the yarn that really makes it. Zaahir loves it!

He has a beautiful smile on his face, but I have this thing about putting my kids pics on the net - it gives me the heebie-jeebies. By the way, the yarn is Moda Dea Sassy Stripes in "crayon".

Almost done with the "alternating rainbows" dishcloth - I used the simple garter lace pattern, by Nanette Blanchard and alternated every two rows using two coloways of ombre dishcloth cotton - one in purples, greens and blues and one in lavender, yellow, and white. I have about 5 rows left - hope to finish tonight so I can send it off to a secret pal tomorrow!

Knitting Club banner

2008-04-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

Done! Our GIS KNITS banner! GIS stands for Granada Islamic School.

Each girl and each teacher made a square, then I knitted the GIS KNITS square and put them all together.

New Books

2008-03-25T08:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I bought this adorable book . I can't wait to make some of this cute dolls for my special secret pals - yes, I have many 'cause sending fun stuff to people who don't expect it is one of my favorite things to do!

I also made laundry soap and dishwasher soap from this book which has all knids of goodies in it! I hope they work because I would really like to stop polluting the environment with chemical cleaners! Besides, I worked out the prices and it would be so much cheaper to make these myself, and they only took minutes! The book also has cool recipes for craft materials and for yummy baked goods. I'll post a complete review next week insha'Allah.

Abou's box+Project update

2008-03-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

I have a special place in my heart for one of my students. She is in my 8th grade class and in my afterschool knitting club. I taught her how to knit a scarf and how to sew up seams and she took these skills and ran! So far she has made a purse, a cell phone holder, a bracelet, an eraser bag, and this morning she presented this little box to me as a gift.
Perfect for paper clips!

Project update:
By the end of March (yikes!) I will try to finish:
Knitting Club flag
Baby bolero #2
Dishcloth for a special secret pal
Snake scarf
Zaahir's sweater
Fingerless mitts for another special secret pal

I've got until next Monday because then I will have to start on the coffee swap goodies!

Coffee Swap Questions

2008-03-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

I have so many ideas for my swap project - very exciting!!!

Coffee
1. What is your preference? ground - no grinder
2. What kind of coffees do you enjoy? A rich, bold roast - caffeinated-PLEASE!
3. If you were headed out right now to buy some coffee for the house, what would you be picking up? Arabic coffee - I am the only one in the house who drinks "American" coffee on a daily basis, in which case I'd buy a pound of organic fair trade from my local coffee house, Dana Street Roasting Company - or Peet's.
4. Do you drink for caffeine, pleasure, or both? Both
5. Do you enjoy flavored coffees? No.
6. A large, lovely mug or a small, dainty cup? Mug.
7. Describe your perfect cup - an americano with a touch of cream, homemade muffin in the other hand - with family, early morning, on the beach.
8. You're sitting down to enjoy a nice cup in the local coffee shop, knitting bag in hand, iPod all tuned up - or maybe you're there with a few friends for knit night! What treat do you pick up to enjoy with your coffee? A sweet, rich brownie, or something more healthy? I could go either way - I love chocolate with coffee, but my favorite local coffee shop makes a great spinach quiche that is yummy with a strong Americano.

Yarn
1. Do you knit or crochet? Knit
2. What are your favorite types of yarns to work with? Organic cotton.
3. What do you have on the needles (or hook!) right now? A scarf, two kid sweaters, dishcloth, some fingerless mitts and a doll sweater.
4. What are your favorite colors in yarns? Blues and greens. What about those that you'd never find in your stash? Acrylic orange.
5. What sort of needles or hooks do you enjoy using? Bamboo circulars or DPN's
Any you just detest? Plastic
6. Are there any particular notions you absolute do NOT need? No.
Some of us swap a lot - are you sure that you have enough tape measures to last your lifetime? Enough stitch markers to mark every stitch of a 10 foot wide afghan? I would love stitch markers!
7. You walk into the yarn shop and have exactly and only enough money to purchase 2 skeins of yarn in their 2 for 20 special they have going..The choices are a soft, thick cotton/viscose blend in your favorite colors, slightly variegated..a beautiful sock yarn that's just squishy and sproingy in your hands.. a soft, worsted weight wool like malabrigo.. and a lovely bamboo blend with colors to just die for. Which do you walk out the door with? Bamboo - no doubt.

Spring
1. We're starting sign-ups on the first day of Spring - is it already truly Spring-like where you are? Yes.
2. What's your favorite spring flower? Jasmine.
3. What do you most look forward to about springtime? Plum trees in bloom, fresh, clean salty breezes, going to the beach.
4. They've predicted a gorgeous day tomorrow - Sunny and about 65 with a nice breeze - how do you spend your day? Take the family to the beach!
5. The day after, it's going to be cooler and pouring down rain - does that impact your mood? Not at all - rain is my favorite!
How do you spend that day? Take the kids to the museum or make cookies at home.

Odds n Ends
1. Do you collect anything BESIDES yarn and needles? fabric
2. Are you allergic to anything? No.
3. Do you have pets? hermit crab - he's pretty hard to knit for!
4. Is this your first swap, or are you an old pro? This is my third swap.
What are the last 2 swaps you participated in? Winter Wonderland Coffee; Defeat the Doldrums Dishcloth
5. List 3 of your favorite blogs - craft related or not - and tell us why you love them.
http://barakahlifehandmade.typepad.com./ - cool homeade stuff but very professional. Also, she does charity work.
http://www.makingbookswithchildren.blogspot.com/ - I teach language arts and have kids, so we make books all the time.
http://www.purlbee.com/ - I think we all know this one! Can't get enough of Purl Soho - makes me wish I lived in N.Y.
One more - when I am feeling down, I go make snow: http://www.popularfront.com/snowdays

Pizza!

2008-03-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

I have no knitting content today, but I do have pizza! My dear friend Sarah grinds her own flour and makes her own pepperoni! So last week I made one with straight pepperoni and one with fennel, mushrooms and goat cheese. Yummy!

The next day I made a chocolate cake with crazy chocolate frosting. I used a half/half combo of whole wheat flour and sweet rice flour and I really liked the texture - sort of a cross between cake and brownie. No pictures - it went too fast!

Another bolero

2008-03-12T08:49:00.001-07:00

I loved the baby bolero pattern so much and know so many new babies - I think I might just keep making them! On Monday I started another one in the same yarn - but with a few changes: to make it a bit bigger I am only using #9 needles; to make it longer I did a couple extra rows at the beginning and then again before dividing for the fronts and back. I'll post pictures when they're interesting.

This pattern really boosted my knitting confidence. I think I'm ready now to get back to Zaahir's sweater. Now that it's almost summer in California! I hope it will be big enough for him to wear it next year!

Snake scarf is almost done!

New Knitty!

2008-03-12T08:27:00.000-07:00

I'm not much for knitting socks - I knitted a sock once - now it's half way between a slipper and a puppet!

But when I saw this pattern I felt dizzy.

I just might be converted.

Somehow, that page led me to this one, and I really felt faint.

Time to buy some yarn!

Zaahir is 6!

2008-03-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my big little one turned 6. We met his best friend at the park and they thoroughly thrashed their skateboards! But they really had a good time. I am so privileged to be his mom. He is very strong and smart, masha'Allah, and a real trooper. I learn from him every day, and every day I am reminded of how much I need to be a good example for him. He is a true gift from Allah.

Baby Bolero #1 is my first sweater FO!

2008-03-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

Alahumdulillah I finished the sweater this weekend - here it is:

I love the pattern, but will lengthen it next time - everyone I show it to says, "isn't it supposed to be longer?" But I like it - it reminds me of a bunad jacket. Here's the back:

WIP: Baby Bolero

2008-03-06T07:49:00.000-08:00

This is a great, quick project so far. I finished the body section in less than two hours - and I'm not the fastest knitter! It looks a little small - even for a newborn - it's hard to believe that my sons were ever that little!

Here's what it looks like closed - I tried to match the colors and almost got a perfect match. If I make this again I will do the body in a solid and maybe the ribbing in a varigated accent color. On to the sleeves!

Spring Fling Coffee and Yarn Swap

2008-03-05T13:36:00.000-08:00

Spring Fling Coffee and Yarn Swap

Hurray! Another swap - such a cool way to get knitters together and motivate us to try new projects! So I got the link up - if anyone knows how to post one of those cool buttons I'd love the tech help!

Casting on and on...

2008-03-05T10:53:00.000-08:00

I have about ten projects going right now - can't seem to keep my attention on any one piece. But deadlines motivate me, so I casted on for the baby bolero from One Skein for a baby shower that I just heard about...it's on Saturday, but I think I can swing it. Here's the beginning:

The red on the bottom is waste yarn. The lovely green and blue yarn is Universal Yarn - Acrylic/wool in Prairie Fields. I want to buy a whole slough of this stuff because it is so soft and it's machine washable - a plus for moms! And it makes really cool patterns - more later when there is more of it to show.

Snake Scarf

2008-03-04T10:49:00.000-08:00

One day I was shopping with my kids and Zaahir spotted a multi-colored color block scarf that we thought looked like a snake. I found some cool self-striping yarn and am making him a snake of his own:

Doesn't it look like a snake? I casted 18 stitches onto size nine needles and did basic stockinette so the edges would curl and make the scarf more snake-like. The yarn is "Moda Dea Sassy Stripes" and the color is "Crayon".

Here's a fun piece of knitting trivia - I was teaching a Pakistani kid in my 8th grade class how to knit, and he says that his mother calls casted-on stitches "houses".

Doldrums Defeated!

2008-03-04T09:48:00.000-08:00

Well it's gettin' pretty warm out hear in Cali, but nothing warms the heart like a lovely, thoughtful swap package! Alissa sent me the most beautiful, yummy package ever! Everything was wrapped in sweet little gift bags and tagged with cute notes. Take a look:

First up, the eatables: TWO dark chocolate bars, some raspberry tea (DE-licious!), and a packet of minestrone soup which I will save for a day when the boys and I are alone because I know they will love it. (I am selfishly saving the chocolate for a day when I'M alone - it's okay, kids don't like dark chocolate).

Next, the toys: My son LOVES playdo, so it was fun to discover two containers of playdo in a cute little bag. For me she sent Loopy Ewe Needle inventories and some yarn samples, plus some olive oil soap and some SOAK!

The Yarn: 4, yes FOUR skeins of yarn -

3 skeins of cotton - one organic (hurray!), and one skein of a cotton blend in my favorite color green .

Finally, the piece de resistance - a beautiful flower-shaped cloth which I do not intend to use for dishes! Too pretty - I'll be using it on my face with the olive oil soap!

Thank you, Alissa, Thank you!

Fo's - mine and others

2008-02-29T10:51:00.000-08:00

I am so excited that yesterday in my knitting class, two of the girls came with finished baby hats for our preemie hat donation project. I will post pics next week. My FO's for the month are the dishcloths for my pal - that was all I had time for. I loved working on them because I learned a couple of new stitches and because I love to make gifts. I accidently erased the pic of the butterfly dishcloth that I made for my pal, so I'll have to pick it up when she posts it on her site. Here's a pic of the simple dishcloth I made for her in blues and purples:
In March I hope to finish:
A preemie hat
Zaahir's sweater
a sweater for Molly
Potholders
Zaahir's curtain
Zaahir's snake scarf
improv mitts - These might get put off til later since the weather is already getting warmer!

Happy (almost) spring!

Itty Bitty FO (a balerina dress for Molly the Dolly)

2008-02-11T14:51:00.000-08:00

Okay - I finished something! I wanted to practice using #0 double pointed needles, which I bought in bamboo for making baby socks. But guess what? I snapped one of them in two while doing increases for the ruffle. I had to switch to #3's. In the future, any needle under #3 will be metal. So here's Molly sporting her tutu:

I think she needs a crown next so she can play Sugar Plum Fairy!

Last night I was working on this:

I know, it looks like a mess. But don't be fooled - it's actually the One Skein petal bib in progress! I have five friends who just had babies, so I'm a knittin fool right about now.

2008-02-11T14:42:00.000-08:00

No. I have no FO’s. I have several AFO’s (almost finished objects), however. Don't we all!!?
Take a look:

This is the progress on the top down sweater for Zaahir. I love this pattern!

And this is the first almost finished Improvised Mitt:

I wanted to make some fingerless mitts, and to play around with color work before committing to a big project. So I just used what I had around. But now I have to get some more yarn before I can do the second one because my students absconded the rest of the teal wool!
So I can’t check anything off my list yet. Arghhhh! But I’m having fun.

Dishcloth Swap

2008-01-11T08:56:00.000-08:00

Hurray!
There are three reasons why I NEED a dishcloth swap.
#1 to motivate me to finish the dishcloths I've started.
#2 I would really like to have a dishcloth made by someone else to brighten up dishwashing sessions.
#3 Because I need some content for my post since I have no other knitting content this week!

So here's my questionaire:
1. Do you knit, crochet, or do both? Knit
2. What types of needles do you enjoy using for making dishcloths? Straight or circular bamboo
3. What types of cotton do you enjoy using for making dishcloths? Peaches and Cream
Is there any that you've been wanting to try? Organic
4. What color(s) are your kitchen and bath decorated in (if any)? coral and blue green and white respectively.
5. What are your favorite colors for yarns? I like em all!
Do you like Winter, or do you count the days until it ends? Winter is my favorite season!
7. What's your favorite way to brighten your day when you're down in the dumps? Take my sons to the park
8. What is your favorite treat to indulge in when you're down in the dumps? Hot Chocolate
9. Do you drink coffee? Tea? Cocoa? All
10. If you could take a vacation starting tomorrow and go anywhere for one week and money were no object, where would you go and what would you do? I would go on a Scandinavian Knitting Adventure
11. Do you have any allergies or aversions your pal should be aware of? Nope.

Onward and upward! needle goals for first quarter of 2008!

2008-01-07T13:17:00.000-08:00

Okay, here goes:
To finish:
1. first dishcloth (almost argyle)
2. Zaahir's sweater
3. Ahmad's sweater
4. Boys room curtains
5. Kitchen curtains
6. potholders
7. Preemie hats for donations

To make:
8. Fingerless mitts for me (from swap yarn)
9. Fingerless mitts from Last Minuted Knitted Gifts for a special someone whose name cannot yet be revealed (from some cool burgundy tweed yarn)
10. Organic cotton bolero jackets for new babies from One Skein
11. Living room curtains
12. Stuffed toys from Last Minuted Knitted Gifts (Yes, I am a Purl.Soho groupie)

Lest I get too lofty, I am going to stop there. We'll see where I am by the end of January.

Current projects and a kickin' swap package!

2008-01-07T12:47:00.001-08:00

Well I'm back - to work, to a schedule (Thank God) and to a computer. Women who work at home know that it is so much MORE work to stay at home than to go to work! I for one am relieved to be back to teaching.

Current projects: I am excited to be working on some much needed potholders (okay, excited might be a stretch, but the fabric IS really cool!); and I have also cut curtains for the boys' bedroom from some purl.soho fabric. I also ordered some more, plus the winter issue of Selvedge with a Scandinavian theme - can't wait! Finally, Zaahir's sweater is still on the needles, as are the preemie hats that my knitting club is working on.

This weekend I got an inspiration for my knitting club - they are a wiggly bunch of 6th-9th graders who can barely focus for demos. So I thought we could start a sampler scarf and do a few rows of a new stitch every week for the first half hour, then work on our current projects for the next half hour - we'll see how it goes!

Speaking of current projects, My Winter wonderland coffee swap partner (femiknits.wordpress.com)sent some awesome yarn which I can't wait to transform into fingerless mitts! Here are some pics of what she sent:

Yummy biscotti (good thing I took the picture before opening the bag!) Hot chocolate with amaretto (Super yum!) and 2 pounds of coffee!!!

Plus a lovely snowflake mug...

and saving the yummiest for last

100% merino yarn in pretty blues and greens! Thank you, Thank you for making my first swap super cool!

Enter the Dragon Thimble

2007-12-03T15:05:00.000-08:00

(For older posts, please visit http://knitkats.blogspot.com)

Norway in the year 1893. My Great Grandmother, Anna Neurlie was confirmed as a Lutheran - a big event for Christian youth. As a gift, she was given a silver and carnelian thimble engraved with a two-headed dragon.

The thimble was passed to my grandmother Agnes who doubtless, used it often in creating her amazing lacework and embroidery as a girl in Madagascar. Then it was given to my mother, who was more interested in poetry and big interior decorating projects.
As a young girl, I used to sneak into my mother's dresser and take it out of it's velvet lined cardboard box to play with. Imagine my surprise when she presented it to me, soldered to a silver chain, upon my high school graduation. My mother thought that gifts of labor shouldn't be given to women, so she turned it into a necklace.
I wore the dragon often, until the chain broke - now I use it as a thimble.