These pictures are incredible! They make we long for something so much nicer than what we have here for a library. Of course, atmosphere isn't everything.
Classes are still going well. Exams will be over on the 22nd of April. Then I have 4 months off before starting 2nd year. I may actually get some knitting done then.
| You Are: 30% Dog, 70% Cat |
 You're both smart and in charge - with a good amount of attitude. However, you do have a very playful side that occasionally comes out! |
A bit of oddness:
I found this on Mona's blog.
I have one more exam to write and then three weeks off! I plan to knit up a storm, but suspect I won't even be doing much of that. School is going well.
In the past few years several people suggested I return to school and go for my library techician diploma. I wish I had listened to them a lot earlier. This is so much fun! Not the getting up early part, or the homework part, but the whole which includes early classes, homework, written assignments, and exams. I am loving the whole thing in a way I didn't love it 20 odd years ago.
Not only has my attitude changed, but there have been amny other changes since I last venured into the halls of post secondary education. The first thing I noticed was that more of the students are returning "mature" students. That is, many of them are not right out of high school. In my program, which is really small, there is only one person who is straight out of grade 12. The other 29 or so of us have a few years of work experience, and maybe a degree or two under our belts. I am also not the oldest student in the class, which was a fear.
Another change is student transportation. I used the bus system before, but this time, a pass is included in our tuiton cost, so there is an incentive to use the bus system. Since I live outside Edmonton, I drive into West Edmonton Mall, park, and hop one of three buses and there I am. It saves me $70.00 a month in parking fees, and it makes me feel that I am doing my small bit to help the environment. Plus it gives me a chance to listen to podcasts, and people watch. The bus is usually too crowded to knit, plus the ride is fairly short, and my bag is really heavy, so I am trying to cut out all the non-essential items. (knitting has become non-essential?) I do have time to knit, but it is shared with homework, and "make work" projects for school.
People watching on the bus is different too. In Edmonton, most of the public schools use the transit system instead of the school bus, so there are lots of people of all ages on the bus. Most of them are sporting earbuds and have an MP3 player going. The few who don't have that, have a cell phone to their ears while they are carrying on a conversation. Occasionally there is a person without any of those devices, but I have noticed that fewer people strike up conversations. Weird.
Anyway, I have a class in 5 minutes. I'll get this finished later.
I don't know if you read Jared's blog, but I do suggest taking a look at it and scrolling down to the Hemlock Ring Blanket. I'll wait. Isn't that lovely? And it could be expanded, so you could surround someone you love (?) with a little hemlock! <grin> It is a great example of taking a doily pattern and expanding it to make a blanket.
Not only is his knitting top-notch, his photography is fantastic too. I wonder if my digital camera could even come close to producing pictures that look that good. I suspect the ditz behind the camera is part of the problem.
MS3 or The Arrogant Swan is finally finished and blocked. It truly is a lovely stole and perhaps needs a nicer name. While I reblock it to get rid of a few blocking flaws, I shall have to think upon a more elegant name for this baby.
I am not even in school yet, and my memory is already shot. When I was listing my projects, I forgot my Bee Fields Shawl which is sitting nicely and waiting so patiently for me to finish the Arrogant Swan. And then there are Anne's Sexy Orchid Mitts!
My Mystery Stole 3 is almost finished. I decided to knit the wing, but had to think about it for quite a while. I ended up looking at pictures of other completed stoles, and then frogging the wing portion that I had started. I added about half of the lengthening repeat that Melanie suggested, and a couple of plain knitting rows, and then started knitting the wing. Ripping it out made me realize how much I liked the fabric the wing pattern created. I also decided to bead the wing. I didn't use beads in the rest of the stole, but I felt that I could get away with using them here. I am using some clear #8 triangle beads with an AB coating. This gives the wing some sparkle, and a little bit of weight for the drape. I just have the last chart to knit now.
My other current project is a plain sock using Opal Dreamcatcher. I like to have a plain sock on the needles just to give me a no-brainer project for TV watching or other times when I don't want to think too much.
My current race is to finish these two projects before school starts on Sept. 4. I really don't know how much time I am going to have to knit, especially once I need to be studying instead of knitting. I have a couple of other lace projects on the back burner, and I am knitting a scarf for the Ravelry Scarf Exchange. Other than that I doubt I will get much done until April. Well, I believe that I will not use knitting for procrastination relaxation purposes.
My summer of socks has died. I just haven't been able to complete one sock, nevermind a pair. I do have one almost finished (just at the toe decreases) and while I had that on hold and started the first sock (I always knit the second socks first, to avoid second sock syndrome), my kittens discovered my needles. Needless to say, my Brittany Birches 2.00mm needles need some sanding and reshaping. That brought me to a halt, and I just haven't started going again. I know I will be finishing these socks, and I will be knitting many more, but for the moment, it is a sockless summer.
I did get some good news yesterday. I have been accepted by the local college into the Library Technician program there. It is a two year day program, and I will get some credit for the course I have finished as well as the one I am currently taking. This is a really good thing. I needed the boost in my moral, which has been flagging. I also need the training to get a position so that I can be the major bread winner in my family. I want to be able to support my youngest daughter and myself, should anything happen to my husband, and I want to build a life for myself. Who knows what will really happen, but I am not looking at the darker side of things today, and that is a really good thing!
Now, I am off to finish clue 6 of MS3, and start the Bee Fields Shawl. The kit (check the kits in the online store section) arrived yesterday, and I am itching to knit it.
I found this on Adventures in Sock Knitting and thought I would give it a try.
The deal is that you go to Wikipedia, look up your birth day, and then post 3 events, 2 births, and a holiday.
14 December
Events
1542 - Princess Mary Stuart becomes Queen Mary I of Scotland.
1782 - Montgolfier brothers first balloon lifted on its very first test flight.
2006 - An enquiry into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales concludes that she was not murdered.
Births
1503 - Nostradamus, French astrologer (d. 1566)
1895 - King George VI of the United Kingdom (d. 1952)
Holiday
R.C. Saints - Memorial of Saint - John of the Cross
Not many holidays happen on the 14th of December.
I planned to go to town knitting socks this summer, but have been off to a very slow start. I have tennis elbow in my right arm which seems to be getting worse with the way I hold the needles to knit. The monkey sock that I am working on is not turning out all that well. I blame the ancient superwash Trekking for that. (It can't be me!) SO I think I might just leave it at the moment. I cast on some Tofutsies for the Mountain Peek [sic] Socks in color 726 (One Foot in Front of the Other). I can only knit a few rows at a time, but I am hoping that I can keep my arms from bothering me too much by knitting in short stints during the day.
The Mystery Stole has been progressing nicely. (New clue today!) I am knitting it on straight needles so it hasn't been as much of a strain on me, but I am beginning to wonder if this project isn't what has made my elbow worse. I know I knit most of the last clue in one sitting, pushing on through pain. I am doing this in Ebony Zephyr with no beads, and it is looking fantastic. Melanie has once again creted a beautiful pattern. This is the third stole of hers that I have knit. Although I didn't finish the first one (I am about halfway through), it is one I do plan to finish. I highly recommend her patterns. If you weren't able to jump onto the bandwagon, the pattern will be available for purchase in the fall.
Our household has become home to 3 kittens (6 weeks old today!) These 3 little boys think that I am their adoptive mom, and spend a lot of time trying sleep on me or play with my knitting. They are terribly cute.
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
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| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
