Got a great package from my coffee swap partner

I got a wonderful box from Liz full of Texas treats. She sent French Roast Sunset Blend from Mozart's in Austin, a taste of Austin from Central Market, and two samplers of South Texas Pecan and Texas Velvet Hammer. I can't wait to try them. And to drink all that coffee in she sent a cup from Luckenbach. I also got a Kona Buzz Brownie which was delicious and it is certainly gone!


The yarn she sent was just as yummy. A skein of yarn from Brooks Farm a luscious blend of blues this yarn is a blend of wool,silk and vicose. AND a Knitclinic Yarn Buttercups on the Breeze which I believe she did the dye work. I also have a new pattern for a lace scarf.

Thanks Liz everything in the box was just wonderful.

My favorite place for a cup of coffee

What is the ideal setting for enjoying the perfect cup of coffee? Who would be there - or would you be alone? Inside or out? Morning or night? With food or just the steaming cup of joe?

My family has a house at the beach. We are ten houses from the ocean. I get up early year round (sad consequence of a long commute). I love to slip out of the house and bring a cup of coffee, a book or some mindless knitting and just sit and relax in the gazebo. It's so quiet and peaceful. I watch surfers, people fishing, grandmas walking with wide awake babies to keep them from waking up a whole house!

In the summer I love to go out in my backyard and read the paper and have my coffee before the rest of the neighborhood is up.

A Change of Plans

I had this Thanksgiving week all planned out. I was going to catch up with all the work that has piled up at school while I was out sick for just about 2 weeks. I was going to do some baking and my two children and I were going to join my family at my sister's house for Thanksgiving AND Friday and Sat. I was going to clean and decorate for Christmas AND I was going to finish the vest I've been working on.

Man plans and God laughs. Here's what is really happening. I made a tiny dent in what I have to do to catch up at work and went home Monday night with a nagging back ache and very tired feeling. I woke up 3:30 Tuesday morning in terrible pain took a warm shower, tylenol,walked around and though I was a bit better but really I wasn't SO I wound up in the ER and was scanned,IV'd etc. Sent home with a handful of scripts and told I can't return to work until next Nov.26 and not to travel for Thanksgiving.

I think it is going to turn out fine. My daughter,who has trouble making a grilled cheese sandwich is going to cook, my son is coming and I am feeling a bit better. Still to groggy to knit but I'm sure I will by Thursday. Maybe this is the Thanksgiving that my kids and I need.

Fiber Ornaments

I spent this afternoon doing a fun little project. I needed a holiday craft to sent away in a swap and I need some handmade things to use as parts of little gifts, so I made these scrap ball ornaments. I really like the way they came out and I was able to use stuff that was mostly in the house. All I did was cut scrap fabrics into strips and wrap them around the styrofoam balls then wrap some red silk yarn aroundthe ball and made a place to hang with a bead and a pin. I'm thinking of these as Christmas ornaments but I think they would also look great in a bowl on a table.

What I'm Thankful For

The Thursday upcoming is Thanksgiving in the U.S., so let's all - American and not alike! - just share a post with what it is we're thankful for. A wonderful thing to do any time of year, I thought it'd be a nice thing to share for this week with the group!


This is the topic of the week for th Winter Wonderland Coffee Swap and it really has me thinking. The first thought that comes to mind is that I am thankful for my children. I have two wonderful young adults as my son and daughter and I am always grateful to be a part of their lives. I'm thankful for the rest of my large extended family, especially at still having a mother and grandmother alive at my age!
I am thankful that I had the support of family, friends and hospice services to make my husband's passing peaceful.

I am very thankful to have a job which I love and which pays me well enough to support myself comfortably. I'm thankful to have work that I love and to have been able to be an important part of a school community for over twenty years in the same place.

I am thankful to have friends who make my life so much richer and enjoy my company and after my scare with being hospitalized I'm VERY thankful that I am really still healthy and getting better each day and STILL ABLE TO DRINK COFFEE!!!!!!

Thanks to my Secret Pal 11

On Sat. I received a Knitpicks box from my Secret Pal 11. What a treat ~~~~two skeins of lace weight alpaca yarn in tidepool colorway. I'm just itching to work with them, a great book,

The Well Knit Home

and a bottle of Kookaburra Delicate liquid soap which I've never tried.

I've been leafing though the book and there are some really great patterns in it. I've done lots of knitting but very little of this type of knitting. One baby blanket has the cutest little cable owls knit into it. I did those owls on mittens years ago and a baby sweater. I know there are a few things I will make from this book. Thanks!

Baby Surprise Sweater

This first picture is the Baby Surprise Sweater when you are finished knitting it in ONE piece. It is a pretty fun knit and just what I love --- garter stitch!
I've made a few of these and I still almost can't believe that it will fold into the sweater! All I have to do now is sew two small seams across the sholders and sleeve tops. Elizabeth Zimmerman "unvented" this years ago. While I'm supposed to be home off my feet for a few days I think I'll make another one. Someday I'm going to make an adult one for me!

Got some unexpected KNITTING in

This weekend I was feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work I needed to do at my school and I was thinking that my knitting would be only in short spurts for a while. Well, you just never know!


I went to a party Sat night and indulged in non WW treats so when I woke up with the worst pains of my life and spent the rest of the weekend running to the bathroom I thought it was the revenge of real fat in my diet. By Monday morning I decided to get a Doctor's note because I just could not get into work. One thing lead to another and by the evening I was admitted to a local hospital. After much poking and prodding and some testing which was quite gross I received a diagnosis of Acute Ischemic Colitis which of all the things they were suspecting was by far the best! I'm out of the hospital and feeling much better.


I DID GET LOTS of knitting done. I knit a really cute hoodie for my niece's expected baby and a EZ Baby Surprise Sweater in three shades of Knitpicks Palette. This was great hospital knitting basically easy but kind of a puzzle to work out.

So what have I learned from this?
1. No matter how important you think you are at work a whole school will not dissolve into thin air if someone else does your Election Day Staff Development
2. A well developed supply of yarn is very important. It would not have been good for me to postpone hospitalization while I purchase a few days worth of projects
3. Never go see a doctor without your emergency knitting sock right next to the insurance ID!

A FO finally!

I finished my Seamingly Simple Vest yesterday and wore it to school today. I still don't have a working camera but my vest is exactly like the one on the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Site. I even did it in the sample color, Lagoon. How unoriginal-- but I'm very pleased with it and it felt so cozy. A few people told me it should have pockets and one 5th grade boy explained exactly how I could have done it and he was very accurate!
I was doing a demo lesson today and several kids in that room told me that they like my vest but were disappointed with my socks. We got into a brief discussion about my too plain for them socks (Lisa Souza oil slick colorway, black with small drifts of green). It's funny how many kids in my school associate knitting and Math!
I want to make a few more vests for the winter. I think I get more use from a wool vest then a wool sweater. Today it was fun to wear my own hand knit socks, vest and sweater.

WinterCoffee Swap (YES, I'm joining another swap)

Coffee

What are your favorite kinds of coffee? (Brands, Roasts, anything at all you'd like to share!)
I like a rich dark coffee. Usually I'm not too fond of flavored coffee. I do like a good french vanilla but I never drink fruit or complicated flavor blends. I cannot even imagine a blueberry coffee.
Do you prefer whole bean or ground coffee?
whole beans

This time of year, there are often Holiday Blends available, and many flavored coffees - do you drink flavored coffee? Do you enjoy special blends?
I love to try holiday blends, except for french vanilla I'm not a flavored coffee person
How do you take your coffee? Cream and Sugar? Straight up? Decaf?
Black no sugar NO DECAF please
Do you prefer drinking from a nice thick mug, or a matched cup and saucer?
usually I love mugs
Winter and Holidays - PLEASE be descriptive! Your pal will need this information to be sure to put together a package you will enjoy!

What is your favorite part of Winter?
I hate the cold weather but I do enjoy the social aspects of the holiday season and the occasional snow day!
Do you celebrate a holiday in December, and if so, which holiday?
I celebrate Christmas in a non religious way.

If you celebrate Christmas, do you put up a tree?
Yes I do.

Would you enjoy items related to the holiday, or would you prefer a Winter themed package?
either is OK

Do you collect anything? Are there any holiday or winter-themed items (Snowmen, Angels, Snowflakes, Santas, etc) that you collect?
Snowmen
Do you wear scarves? Mittens? Hats?
yes, yes no!
What is your favorite holiday or winter treat?
I love cookies and other sugary treats BUT I am changing my food habits and trying to follow Weight Watchers so treats in portion sizes and low in sugar and fat are best for me right now.
Please share a favorite Winter or Holiday memory.
I have always celebrated Christmas Eve at my home, first at my apartment now the house we've been in since my kids were in 1st and 2nd grades. My mother, grandmother and great uncle would all sleep here. The next morning after all the opening of presents I would make a huge holiday breakfast with waffles, fresh strawberries, real whip cream, bacon, pancakes, muffins, scones, etc. For a few years when my husband was sick and not comfortable with people around too much we did the brunch at my sisters house. The first Christmas after my husband passed away both of my kids asked me to start doing the Christmas morning breakfast again, except they want a brunch.(they don't want to hop out of bed too quick) This was always a relaxing time with just the people closest to me.
Yarn and Crafting

Do you Knit or Crochet? For how long?
I've been knitting since I was 5 and I'm 56 now!Do you like wooden, metal, or plastic needles\hooks? Circular or straight?
I like any well make needle that suits the project I using it for.
What sort of projects do you enjoy making?
I was addicted to socks for a while but now I'm making sweaters, vests and so on. I usually try to have a mindless project or five going and then something a bit more challenging.

What are your favorite types of yarn to work with?
I love to work with natural blends, especially wool, silk, mohair and angora.

Do you spin or dye?
I know how to do both but right now I don't have a working wheel and I'm in a mess free mindset these days so I am not doing much with dying!
Do you do other crafts such as scrapbooking or needlepoint or anything else?
I do quilting and redwork.
General

When is your birthday?
August 5th
Do you have any children? (Furry kind count!)
A son 24, a daughter 23 both finished with school and WORKING!!!!!! I inherited my husband's dog so I am trying to be a dog person, two cats of mine and my daughter's crazy cat/kitten.
What are your favorite colors?
I love blues, greens, purples and other rich jewel colors. I also love natural colors or blends free of dye.Do you have any allergies?
just iodine which usually is not a problem knitting!!!

What a weekend then WHAT A WEEK!!!!

I spent last weekend at Stitches East. We went to Baltimore early Friday morning and got back to NJ after 9:00PM Sunday night. We had a class packed, shopping, walking fest. I took three classes, Engineering with Entrelac, Russian Continental and A Taste of Bead Knitting. Each class was very useful in a different way. The entrelac class had a very patient teacher( Joan Schroeder SP?) who discussed working without patterns and ways to design your own sweater or vest. Just the thing I like to do. I would take another class with her in a heartbeat. The second three hour class was with a Russian women named Galina, (can't remember her last name) A very different class, an interesting teacher, very opinionated but not the most patient of people. She did deliver what she promised and I think I finally have found a purl that I LIKE to do. The bead class was one of the hour market classes and it just was fun.

I bought enough yarn to enjoy but not too much. I picked up some black angora merino to make another shawl for myself, some great Merino twist from Blue Moon Yarns in Lagoon, luscious greens and blues to make a vest for myself, a lace book, a few patterns and a beautiful oak swift. It is one that sits on a table not an umbrella one, now that I don't have an extra set of arms around often a swift is very useful! I got some other yarns but they are earmarked for my swap pals so I'm keeping them secret.

We enjoyed walking around, tried to enjoy eating out, and just had a good time visiting and soaking up all the great knitting vibes.


I came back to the week from Hell at school. NYC is rolling out more computer based programs to track, measure and monitor each and every blip that any poor kid in our schools does. All of this nonsense requires HOURS of training and work and they are FULL of errors and never up when you need them. Right now I'm wishing for the days of chalk, pencils and teaching!!!!

On top of all this I am doing two major projects (at least pretty major for my time and energy) one for principals and another for about 30 or more teachers from several schools. I don't like working with groups of principals and big groups of teachers in these one shot deals. What I love about my job is working with the same teachers for months and years and really seeing the growth and development they make. For me it's like knitting. I love the process not just the product. I've done these things before and usually all they really want it the "packet of papers" to use as a short cut. They want to skip the process and work and then never understand why it just does not work for them! Well enough whining!!!


I've been practicing my new continental stitch on my new Blue Moon vest but I've been so tired this week I have done very little. Sat., we are having a family party for my Grandmother's 96Th birthday. Sunday, I want to clean up quick then just sit in my backyard and knit all day!

And I'm Off

It's rainy, dark and 6:00AM and I feel free as a bird and almost giddy. WHY? Because I'm off to a weekend at Stitches. I took a personal day from work so we will be there all day Friday, Sat and Sunday. My daughter gave me a CD for the car ride, the Simon and Garfinkle 1981 Central Park Concert. I have goodies packed and now I'm ready to go off to a weekend of no work just wooly fun!
See you Sunday!

Coffee Swap Three

Here are the questions:
QUESTIONS
1. Whole bean or ground? Whole beans
2. Fully-loaded or decaf? FULLY loaded!
3. Regular or flavored? I like regular coffee but will drink French Vanilla
4. How do you drink your coffee? Black with no sugar
5. Favorite coffee ever? I really don't have a favorite coffee, I love dark rich coffee.
6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do? I'm fussy when I can be but in a pinch I'll drink anything except instant or sanka!
7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee? I used to love scones and cookies but now I'm doing Weight Watchers SO I am trying to be more careful.
8. Anything else about your coffee preferences? I love to try new coffees and coffee that has some type of a local connection.
9. Yarn/fiber you love? I'm a wool or natural blend type of person.
10. Yarn/fiber you hate? Crackly plasticy yarns
11. What's on your needles? Kauni sweater, STR flower power sock
12. Favorite colors? blues, greens, cranberry
13. Allergies? iodine
14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest?

I'm an easy person to please. I enjoy these swaps and plan to have a good time!

A Hot Day to Go to Out Walking

This is October. I'm in New Jersey. We should be having fall like weather. the air should be crisp and you should be able to wear the shawls and sweaters you've worked on all summer. Well, we are still having roastingly hot weather.

Today, I went to an Antique and Craft show in the Asbury Park Convention Hall. It was so hot inside I could not get out of there fast enough. All I bought there was a $2 drawn work place mat. I hate these beautifully handmade things selling for almost nothing. I try to give as many as I can a home! I also got two 50 year old postcards from the beach town where my family has a house.

Then we went to a street fair in Belmar. I was very glad to be only a visitor. I remember days of roasting in a tent while people bought socks and crap from the "crafters" around me! I met a few old buddies from when I was doing shows and they were upset at the level of vendors allowed in the show so they will not be back and it will be the loss of that show!

After the HOT street fair we went for a cool lunch in a local pub then went to walk around the antique and fun shops in downtown Asbury Park. Cookman Street is really starting to be a fun place to shop and hang around.

I'm in three swaps right now, Tea, Coffee and Secret Pal! I was able to buy fun local things to add to their boxes. Now I'm going to go blast my AC, frog out all the Kauni sweater work I did in the car and watch TV until I go to sleep. An exciting life isn't it. No school Monday---NYC still celebrated Columbus Day so I get to sleep late again.

Sat. October 6th

Today was a day of errands and house chores. I did get up late for me -- 8:30. Skipped Weight Watchers for not good reason other then I am not loosing as fast as I want to. ( so I'll show them by not showing up-----yes, I agree it makes no sense!) I visited a friend at her craft show, went a got LCN done to my nails, now I can knit without wearing off my french manicure by mid week! Did grocery shopping and freezer cooking for the week, laundry and some cleaning. Now, I want to knit but I'm afraid to stay still for too long or I'll fall asleep. I WISH I WAS A STITCHES!!!!!!!!! and I hope I can find a way to go to Rhinbeck also. Yes, I know a bit greedy but so what.

Thanks Secret Pal 11

I still don't have my camera cord at my finger tips SO take a deep breath, close your eyes and just imagine the wonderful box my secret pal sent me!

Everything was nicely wrapped in hot pink tissue paper with a few items in cool pink and orange tissue. The first thing I opened was a pack of Trader Joe's Pretzel Slims. Very WW friendly, then a box of Nestle Sugar Free Cocoa. A great treat to look forward to when the weather finally gets chilly. Then SEVEN fat quarters in great shades of green, I can't wait to get working on these. AND a little stork scissor just like one I lost and have been wanting replaced for years AND a really fun, colorful box shaped tape measure. Now a skein Schaffer Yarn , a blend of merino and mohair with a touch of nylon. Just so soft and in a wonderful colorway called Edith Piaf, soft shades of gray, cream and tan. I think I'll make a lacy scarf from this. It's so soft that I keep going back to it to pet AND the 25Th Anniversary Edition Of Vogue Knitting which I am taking into my room with a cup of tea to read and relax for the night.

This generous and thoughtful gift was topped off by a funny vintage snapshot card.

SO thanks for so many treats!!!!!!!

September 30

I can't believe that September is already gone. I've been back to work for just over a month and it seems like both forever and like I just got back. Work is severely cutting into my knitting time!

I was invited last week into a third grade class to talk to the students about my life as a reader. The teacher was looking for an adult to model to the students how reading is a important part of his/her life. I had such a great time with this. I organized my talk into three parts, my childhood and teen age reading, how reading helped me with an interest- knitting (no surprise here!) and what I read as an adult. This is a inclusion class where one third of the students have a form of autism called Aspergerger's Syndrome. The rest of the students are mostly minority students, many new comers to the US and struggling with English.

I showed the kids my knitting books and explained how my grandmother taught me to knit but that she never had the opportunity growing up in Italy to go to school so she was totally illiterate. They were fascinated looking at pattern books and seeing that the socks and sweaters came from them! I was able to explain how I could expand what my grandmother taught me by reading and sharing with other people by writing what I know.

We had such fun especially when I told them stories about how I got into trouble sneaking to read books in school when boring lessons were going on! One little boy who really has trouble with conversations responded more then his teachers have ever seen him do before. He wanted to know if my mother is still telling me to stop reading and go outside and play in the fresh air!

I went on a kitchen and catering house tour in Bayhead, NJ yesterday with my mother and two of my sisters. The homes were beautiful but some were so perfect and decorated that they seemed so cold. One house really seemed like a home and appealed to me because the owner was obviously into crafts and had some beautiful needle points and quilts around. There were also pictures of young children in beautiful knit items so I wondered if she also knit. None of these home looked like anyone actually lived in them or that they grew with the families!

Kauni Addicted

I can't believe how long it is since I last posted! I am back at work AND I started the Kauni rainbow colored sweater that Stephanie from the Yarn Harlot did a while ago. Yesterday I finished the body and this morning I got up early and sewed and CUT all the steeks. Now I've got he first sleeve started so I have hours more of mindless knitting ahead of me. I love to knit but for some reason this sweater has the ability to just suck me in for HOURS of knitting time. I expect to do one row and hours later I'm in a panic because it is so late and I need to do stuff before I start the commute-work-commute cycle again! I love my job but I resent the amount of knitting time it eats up.

I still can't find the cord to attach my camera to the computer and my home phone charger. I'm sure they are resting in some obvious spot and will only resurface when new ones are purchased and the packaging is tossed. I may have to humble myself again and ask my daughter to show me how to email a picture from my phone! (after I take a car ride to recharge the cell phone!)

Well, I off to a birthday party and I hope I get a few hours of knitting in there!

Just checking after a week back to work

I would gladly give my fantasy lottery winnings to the person who could make the months of January and March pass by as quickly as July and August! I don't mind Feb. -- that cold month goes by quickly!
After the shortest summer vacation know to man (or at least me!) I'm back to work. This first week is hectic, pressurizing, HOT, exciting, fun and very exhausting. I love seeing teachers who were scared first year teachers last year come back as confident and SO experienced this year. I look at the new batch of young people I'm working with this year and I get excited to start again. I just wish I could teach elementary night school. I have to get up at 4:45 in the AM to get to my job by 7 or 7:15. I always try to be one of the first people in the building so that I can be available to anyone who needs help in the morning. The older I get, the harder it is to yank my body out of bed at that hour. My dog is having a fit at me for disturbing him so early and he is very indignant that I expect him to do his business so early . He keeps looking at me as if to say I thought we had these early hours settled!
I treated myself to a manicure on the way home on Friday and I am going to the beach this weekend with a teacher friend and a student I taught in 1st grade. She is in her second year of college and has kept in touch all these years. She came in on Thursday and helped me to put up my new bulletin boards. This is one of the things that makes teaching the best job in the world.
I'm bringing my new Kauni wool with me and I'm celebrating surviving two days of NONSTOP meetings by starting my new sweater!

Secret Pal 11

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

I hate knitting with anything that feels plasticy, acrylicish or crummy wool.I'm currently knitting with a yarn that is a blend of mohair, nylon and acrylic and it is soft and great. I thought it was mohair and silk. I've also done my life's share of most novelty yarns!:)

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

I have a very nice needle case from a previous swap but I still mostly keep my needles in mugs, baskets and ufos.

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

I learned to knit when I was 5 and I'm 56 now so I've been knitting for a while. I can do very complicated and difficult knitting but I pretty much don't right now.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Nope

5. What's your favorite scent?
I make soaps, creams and lotions as a small business now pretty much just as a hobby. My favorite scent Patchouli.

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

I'm doing the Weight Watchers plan right now BUT I do have a major sweet tooth. I love chocolate, the darker the better.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I quilt, do Red Work, make natural soaps, creams, scrubs and lip balms. I've played around with some jewelry making, beading and used to do stained glass. I HATE counted cross stitch. I used to do it but I did my life's share. I know how to spin but right now I don't have a wheel. Since my husband passed I'm also getting pretty good at doing "day labor" at my house.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I love classical music, Paul Simon, that type of music. I have an i pod but MP3 is beyond me. I do listen to CDs in the car

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? I love greens, blues, reds. I'm not so fond of orange, and yellow or pastel colors although I love the quilting fabrics from the 20's and 30's.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? My husband passed away in the summer of 2006, I have a son 24 and a 23 year old daughter. One dog and three cats live with me. Only one cat is mine. The dog and one cat originally were my husband and sons. One cat is my daughter's. Somehow I wound up taking care of all of them!

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I wear scarves and mittens. I think I wear hats but really never do. When you are my size a poncho is a knitted crime.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I was on a sock jag for a long time but now I'm also doing sweaters. I love to knit socks on 2 circs.

13. What are you knitting right now? Right now I'm working on a sweater in Lily Chin Greenwich Village from her signature line.( got it half price when a yarn store closed) and STR socks.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes I certainly do!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I have knit with all the mentioned needles and what I really do is match the project and yarn to the needle. I don't like working with very large needles but I just finished a sweater on size 15! The needles I reach for are my Knitpick options and bryspun needles. I love the thin flexible points.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? I own a winder, I used to be married to the swift. I'd like to own a swift if it was in my budget!

17. How old is your oldest UFO? Every time I think I've found the oldest another older thing pops up.

18. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas and Thanksgiving

19. Is there anything that you collect? I collect Polish pottery, (Boleslawiec), blue wedgewood, quilting fabric, redwork patterns and yarn!

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 let all my subscriptions go. I would like Cat Bordhi(SP?) new book.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I would like to learn to knit or purl backwards.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? I am an recovering obsessed sock knitter. My foot is 9 1/2 inches long and about 9 inches wide at the ball of my foot.

23. When is your birthday? My birthday is August 5th

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID? I got on Ravelry and never did anything with it so not really!