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)