I'm Back!!!

You may (or not) have noticed that it went a bit quiet there for a bit! 
Even I was surprised to see I haven't blogged since before the summer entertainment started.

The blogger in me switches off during summer break....but the knitter and the spinner keeps on going .... so I won't waffle on ....here's the pics...

 

 

 

The Big Weave Finished

and here it is at night..

4 skeins of beautifully soft Pistachio Ice cream which is already well on its way to becoming my (potentially) favourite jumper :0)

Aquamarine Kina - finished, blocked and worn on my FIRST EVER supply teaching posting!!

 

 

 

 

 

and I've even cracked on with The Goddess Dress - it's not speaking Goddess to me at the mo but I think I will try and finish it and maybe wear it to my sisters wedding.

.... and the summer? the long absence? does it need to be explained?

Maybe not :0)

Busy, busy, busy....

If the Pistachio Ice cream really had been ice cream it would have well and truely melted by now :0(

Luckily it's not!! (yea!)

It spins up a dream and beautifully fine, but for now its very much on the back burner.  I've got some big events coming up and that require rather a lot of planning and preparation...things I'm very good at but only when the moon is in a certain position (touch wood that is were it appears to be right now!).

On Thursday we're off for our yearly trip to The Larmer Tree Festival  where we shall be doing a big weaving on this loom I made from hazel and dishcloth yarn.  After much trial, error and snapping (myself and the thread) this was the best stuff to use ...

 I think it looks rather good in my garden....I might have to make another one to keep.

Then two days after we get back from there I'm doing an African Day at the local school. This involves trips to the scrapstore, pound shops and rummaging in school resource cupboards.  All of which I do enjoy but it does require a certain amount mental discipline and focus.  I'm easily distracted by resources, its what drew me into teaching, that and stapling things on walls ;0)

But even with all that lot going on I couldn't resist casting on my lovely Aquamarine wool...

I'm making another Lady Kina. It's lovely to knit with, which is what I'm off to do now. Hopefully in a weeks time I shall have some photo's of how the loom filled up :0)

TTFN x x x

How to make Pistachio Icecream

Ingredients

100g of Pistachio Merino
1 bag of Pure Mulberry silk (white)
1 bag of raw Alpaca (white)

Method

First wash some white alpaca fleece and leave to dry.  The drying process can be aided by gentle teasing and fluffing especially during times of irritability, stress or absent-mindedness.

Next, on a drum carder, add a layer pistachio merino wool, followed by a layer of pure mulberry silk and finally the teased and fluffed alpaca.  Don't scrimp now, we want generous portions especially of the silk.  When you think you've added enough.....add a little more.
 
And finally, blend to a smooth consistency, about three times through the carder should do it.

Leave somewhere cool until ready to serve....

...with a glass of chilled white wine and a good dollop of sunshine.....Enjoy :0)

Yummy!

 

I'm also rather pleased to be able to add a picture of something finished and blocked.

Annis 

I'm quite pleased with it but the point is off-centre so it is a little botched but I still like it.  I'm pleased with the fine spinning and I love the colour.

 

 

It looks rather like the beginnings of a Cheshire Cat blocking on my living room wall. I may just have to leave it there.

Happy crafting ... X x X

Dual purpose spinning.....

There has been a dual purpose to my yarn making these days.

As I go about the mundane business of filling in forms, writing letters, tidying up, preparing food etc etc just spying a bag of beautiful and luxurious fibres inspires me to keep going....delayed gratification....10 mins spinning is my reward for my dedication to job hunting and housewifely duties.

The trouble is as soon as I sit down at the wheel and start drawing out the fibres the ideas start coming!

Things I must mention in my application forms and letters, craft ideas for the PTA's Africa Day, lesson ideas and workshop plans.  So as soon as I start I have to stop....find a pen...make a note....add a word or two to the latest letter or personal statement.

Nevermind though, I managed to create this....

I want to call this Aquamarine as that's the youngest favourite film and it's the same colour as the mermaids hair.

Next to go through the carder will be some newly washed and wonderfully soft white alpaca, Pistachio Merino from Wingham Wool and more silk....yummy!  I can barely wait.  I do sometimes wonder just how I coped with life before I could spin :0)

I must find some knitters soon as I am soon going to have more yarn than I'll know what to do with! 

TTFN x x x

Getting me through the Job Hunting Blues...

This whole job hunting thing is really getting me down.

If it was a platform game I can't even get past Level 1 :0(

Luckily I have a soothing craft to aid me during this frustrating time.......

Layers of Wingham Wool Merino in Jade, Petrol and Peacock and Mulberry silk are put through the carder once

...

...twice...

and three times for luck

...

to make

...

Something Very Beautiful...

Ahhhhhh......thats better :0)

Waiting... waiting... what to do when waiting

So life's not that fantastic at the moment. The job hunting is time consuming and often demoralising.  My health is not too great either.  Nothing major but the odd little niggly thing that tells me I'm not at my best.  I'm even falling out with my Girls :0(


So when the youngest headed off to town with Dad, probably to give poor beleaugered Mum (that's me!) a bit of Alone Time, I decided to get on with carding up the last bit of Shetland I've been blending for the Brown Man Jumper I'm knitting as a commission.


Whilst listening to some soothing music with ipod set on shuffle and feeding fibres into my trusty Drum Carder I had a lightbulb moment.  

I haven't been making enough Yarn!!

If that's not the cause of my recent malaise, then it will certainly help the symptoms, especially when considering the bag of lushious Mullberry Silk I got for christmas, patiently waiting for the return of the creative juices.  It seems so obvious now.  Instead of fretting about not getting a job RIGHT NOW.....I shall start visualing blends of jade, petrol and peacock blue with ripples of silk running through.   I have placed an order with Wingham Wool Works which will make the postman even more eagerly anticipated when he comes!

Hopefully some lovely pics to follow :0)

TTFN x x

Summer Flu and Job Hunting...

I've been ill....

I thought it was the type of 'ill' where I diligently listen to my body, take to my bed and sleep it off.  I knew it was this type of 'ill' as I wasn't even able to watch tele with my knitting and a sniffle  :0(

Of course, I fully expected to bounce back in about 2 days but no a week and a half later and its lingering....
.... on the up side I can knit and read, but I'm still croaky, snotty and lethargic.....none of which is particularly assisting me in my Hunt for a Job (who wants to employ someone with a snotty nose?).  In fact the stress and worry is probably making it worse!

The competion for teaching jobs is very high at the moment, almost to the point that visits to prospective schools (to see how we might fit into the school's family) are becoming like reunions with often the same faces popping up.  With about 100 people applying for one teaching post I can sometimes get a little panicky.  My skills at filling out application forms and writing personal statements, my key to getting a look-in, are woefully poor, how will I ever stand out!?

But then last night I had a realisation. I am a square peg that isn't going to fit in a round hole!!  There is no point getting stressed and upset at NOT getting a job in a school that I don't fit into and don't really want to work in.  So, I just need to chill out a bit, enjoy the sun and remember there is definately a Clare shaped job out there in a school that's right for me, I'll know it when I see it.

I did rally enough over the weekend to thoroughly enjoy a lovely Hen Day with my mum and sisters. I was even able to fit in a bit of knitting for the Bride to be.....

 TTFN X X X

Reading Lists....

One of the things I struggle with when studying is the dreaded Reading List.  I don't often manage to complete a whole book, and tend to just dip in and out, a chapter here and there, and generally only when needing to write assignments. I have, in effect,  forbidden myself from reading a novel or even something unrelated to the area of study for the last year and a half.

So now I would like to present my Post Study Reading List.....

1).  The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pulman.
I picked this up with the intention of reading it to my youngest.   She wasn't that taken with it and I soon realised some of the themes were a bit beyound an 8yr old but by then I was hooked.  And so began the reading marathon!

2). Love, Aubry by Suzanne LaFleur
I saw my middle daughter reading this and the blurb intrigued me.  It is quite possibly the saddest, most heart rending book I have ever read and totally captivating, I could not put it down, and had to read most of it through rather blurry eyes!!

3, 4 & 5). His Dark Materials by Philip Pulman (trilogy)
I just love these books and consider them my all time favourite read.  This is the third time I've read these now and it was just as exciting as the first (it first came to my attention during my counselling training).  I love thinking about the theme of Demons, or the external soul, and think about what my Demon might look like.  In comparison I watched the film version of the first book The Golden Compass and found it very disappointing indeed.  The main character Lyra was just not how I had imagined her, and I certainly wasn't picturing Nicole Kidman when reading about Mrs Coulter.  It was definately a case of the written word being more powerful than a film. 


6).  The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M Auel
(Part of the Earth's Children Series)
This book was recommended during two separate conversations about what to read next so it seemed to me that I would have to read it, although I wasn't too sure of it at first.  It didn't take long to get completely hooked so when that was finished...

...7).  The Valley of the Horses by Jean M Auel.
The second book of five.  Again I was totally hooked but was very surprised to find this one rather racey!!  a bit Mills and Boon in animal skins!!  I totally rushed the ending and probably ruined it for me, grabbing any opportunity to read when I should have been packing and getting ready for a couple of days away staying with friends (and when I should have been communicating with the very friends we were visiting!!). 

8).  The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
This is just a fill in until I see my friend to get the rest of the Earth's Children books.  The first time I read this book was when I was living on my narrowboat.  I was hanging out with some wierd and wonderful crop-circle and crystal healing enthusiasts and its really interesting revisiting it again, asking myself have I learnt much since the first time?  Have I changed much?  Am I any more insightful!!?  I kinda think I am  :0)

So, with all that reading there hasn't been much time for crafting.  I am still plodding on with the Goddess Gown but that can't really be photographed and my other project is a rather uninspiring Brown Man's Jumper!  Instead I shall leave you with a pic of one other little project, something I'm working on for this years Larmer Tree Festival.  It's going to be called The Big Weave.

Happy Easter All :0)

The End of a Chapter.....

It is with the very greatest of pleasure that I can announce that my PGCE that started here is now 

well and truely, 

completely and utterly 

COMPLETED!!!!

There have been highs and lows and it has been a slog, but above all it has been another great journey of discovery.  I have grown into a Teacher and it feels like a pretty good fit right now.  

But of course the last 18 months wouldn't have been possible without the support of my family.  Thanks Girls for not going completely off the rails, and Thanks 'Man of the House' for the cups of tea and cooking my dinner.  I really wouldn't have managed with out it ..... I am blessed x x :0)

During the last 18 months of study there have been a number of things that I felt I couldn't really do without a tinge on guilt.  Much as I (appear!) to enjoy studying it will be quite a little while before I contemplate the Masters!!  In the meantime, as I slowly adjust to not having to plan things and write stuff I can now turn my attention to the things I put off .....

Reading Novels...

Having lunch with friends...

Gardening...

Working the allotment...

...and many other things...

....as we await the start of the Next Chapter.

The one where I enter into the world of work.....there will probably be some knitting too :0)

With much love and relief........TTFN x 

Down Time....

After 4 weeks of teaching practice half term was a very welcome prospect.  The first couple of days were set aside for catching up on sleep and spinning silk.

What I noticed during those weeks was that all my woolly creativity just dried up.  With little time to spin or knit I plodded along with the leftovers blanket. Knitting a little square here and there was quite comforting, it even accompanied me on a school trip to the Zoo, much to the amusement of the children "Whatcha doin' Miss Browwwwn?".

I noticed that my brain did a nifty re-networking, instead of thinking and planning the creation of knitted lovelies, it was coming up with interesting and exciting ways to learn the difference between 'th' and 'f' (its the only time you can stick your tongue out at a teacher).  Or ingenious ways to rein in 26 children that haven't been out to play all day because its been raining (I'm wanting to say 'put the tele on' but a teacher would never do that...). 


So, half way through half term, with a bit of down time my brain has re-adjusted itself.  And with a good pile of spun silk ready to be knitted thoughts finally turned to the Silk Project that started here. 

The Details:
Some time back I started thinking about a project that would honour myself, something special, and so I decided to start making my Wedding Dress.  The followup to this statement tends to be "Oh when are you getting married?" and I guess the answer will have to be for now "When I've made 'The (My) Dress'.

So, after much thought and pouring over patterns I've gone for a simple top-down seamless design that I know and love.  Pics of works in progress rarely do it justice so for now all I'll say is it starts with this....

I'm back to school next week and three weeks after that I would have made it through my PGCE.  I can't tell you how much of a relief it will be.  There have been some ups and downs, some highs and some lows but I'm ending with the knowledge it was the right thing to do at the perfect time for me.  I think I was 12 when I decided I wanted to be teacher, who'd have thought it would take 38 years to get there!

TTFN X

Onwards and Upwards

As a general rule I try to resist the urge to cheer myself up by buying stuff*.  This is partly down to practicalities (we just don't have much money) and partly down to an unwillingness to accept that the worlds economic problems can be cured if we just spend, spend, spend.

But, I must admit, I have strayed from my path of righteousness and got myself a NEW PHONE.  My last one was over 2 yrs old (which in phone years makes it ancient) and I also wanted something that took good photos.  And yes I admit it,  I was totally seduced by the touch screen. Once it was in my sweaty little palm I wasn't going to leave the shop without it!  And of course, what's the first thing any like-minded person would do on purchasing a new phone......

Yep, knit it a little bag!!

The Annis Shawl is now at a more manageable stage as I'm onto good ol' stocking stitch...

I really struggled with the lace pattern at the beginning of this, it was relatively simple but I often thought I was decreasing in the wrong direction and that it would end up looking a mess.  Time will tell, I'll see how it blocks.

And finally, here is a bit more of the silk...

All these pics were taken with my new phone and I have to say, I do love it.

I shan't mention the assignment resubmission.  I haven't had a chance to meet with my tutor so for now its (hovering) on the back burner.  I have had a good attempt at getting my files in order though.  Today is my last full day to myself before my last placement beginnings.  As from Monday I shall be a Reception class full time for 7 weeks (just writing that makes me feel like I need a lie down!).  It remains to be seen whether I get any crafting in let alone the chance to blog about it.

So for now I shall just enjoy the peace and freedom and maybe get out into the sunshine.

TTFN X



* The obviously doesn't include wool, fibres, needles, spinning accessories etc which are just the necessities of life!

On Learning Life's Lessons

1). Its not easy....
2). It often hurts...
3). Its the only way to avoid more of the same!!

I'm gradually coming through the disappointment of failing my assignment and all that remains is the odd prick of embarrassment and shame when I remember it could have been avoided.

To set the scene....when submitting our final assignments for the course we could chose which level we wanted to submit at...Masters or Honours (to put it simply that's Brilliant or Good) and me in my vanity submitted at Masters.  With the benefit of hindsight I can see now that my effort was no way near Masters standard and was quite rightly a fail.  My vanity was in thinking I could go about my usual way (taking on too much, coping with girls, getting distracted by Facebook, Ravelry or wool on the web!!) and be able to bash out an essay at Masters level in between hanging out the washing and making the tea.  Maybe it was more naivety than vanity.

So the question I need to ask myself is Do I want a Masters? and if so how much?  Do I want to give up my crafting/knitting/spinning time to books, research, rewriting? Or do I accept that its not for me, I only need to re-submit at Honours (with a bit of tweaking) to pass?

And here's the learning bit....part of that decision could lie in me recognising I already have many other talents to value and celebrate, do I really need to go chasing after ones I don't?

Maybe if I had submitted at Honours in the first place I could have avoided the disappointment and the shame and all those other 'orrible feelings I like to avoid.....but where's the fun in that eh?

But this is primarily a knitting/crafting blog so here is the crafty content.  Ironically,  I've been having similar problems in the yarn world.  The Annis Shawl is being a bit of a beast, not least as it required casting on 300+ stitches!  I have frequently felt confused and lost with it and considered ripping it all out and starting again.  Then, when I take a bit of time to focus and concentrate I find that I was doing it right all along....Knitting imitating Life maybe?

If you got this far....thank you.  Hopefully, my next instalment shall be easier on the eye with some pictures of my latest projects.

TTFN x x



TTFN x x

Dealing with a Disappointment....

Well, the assignment that got knitted into Geraldine's Thank you Citron didn't impress - yep....I failed it :0(

I'm sure its not the knitting (that was possibly the most impressive part) I think it was the words that let me down.

I don't know at this stage by how much I failed it, it may be a simple case of resubmitting at a lower grade. Its not the first time I failed something first time round, during my Counselling Training I was the ONLY ONE of the group to fail the exam!   The wise part of me is telling myself its ok, no-one learns much from things they get right first time round .....but in the meantime I still have to feel the pain of disappointment.

So, thank goodness for my spinning wheel.....

This is the beginnings of that Special Project I mentioned in an earlier post.

I'm soothing that pain with some beautiful Tussah silk, and reminding myself of everything I've learnt so far because if failure is an opportunity to learn then I am pretty bloody clever.....*little sigh*

TTFN x

ETA: Anyhow, who ever's been inspired by someone that finds things easy....eh?

Blog Hop

I've just been doing checking out some of the blogs I follow and came across a Blog Hop over on The Narrowboat's Wife's Blog .  Well being rather impulsive I joined 'The Hop' without thinking.  Then on actually checking out the other blogs found them to be a list of Resolutions.

Well now I'm in a quandary......I don't really do Resolutions, not only that but its rather late and I really should be in bed, sending a list of Resolutions out into the blog-o-sphere at this time of night would not be wise

But, I don't want to be the one who brings it all to a grinding halt!

So, here I am adding myself to the hop, feel free to hop on round and check out the other blogs or maybe add your own.  I particularly like the Narrowboat's Wife's blog as it reminds me of my own time on a boat.

Enjoy x x

The Other Side of Christmas...

Well the madness of Christmas has well and truly passed.  I know this by the layer of pine needles that is covering the living floor from removing a now naked tree (note to self - try putting the tree a little closer to the exit next year!).


With all the excitement of preparing for Christmas and then the actual 'doing' of Christmas (which in our house involves eating and drinking far more than is good for you) I haven't had the chance to share some finished projects.

First up is the first bit of knitting I did with my new Knit Pro's ....

Next is Geraldine's Thankyou Citron....

Geraldine very kindly gave me a super Winter Coat and a rather lovely Jacket so this is my thankyou gift, I hope she likes it, made with some lovely blended fibres from Picperfic .

And I even managed to bang out another Cloud Bolero....

I also completed a big fluffy jumper for a friend but I don't have a decent pic of that.  With all these big projects on the needles I decided to end 2010 and start 2011 with an old friend....

The Leftover's Blanket!  It might be finished by the time I reach my 90's!

I do have an exciting project on the boil for this year, which involves rather a lot of silk, but I shall leave that for another post.

So, I shall end by wishing you all the very best for 2011, lets hope its a Crafty One :-)