BeatleWear

knitting and the life I almost have around it

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

so chumpy you can carve it

Well... where to start?

Obviously i have been a very slack blogger of late. Stupid life getting in the way of recreation again.

Firstly - Prac was good. My report was good, my classes went well and i learnt heaps. On the other hand I am still completely exhausted from the whole shemozzle and now Uni starts again (did i mention that prac was during the Uni 'study break'? nice one, eh?). So I'm not dead, I just look like i recently was.

Uni is... Uni. sitting in the corner whispering "shouldn't you be reading something more boring than Agatha Christie?".

Yesterday was Sherpa's birthday (and Nisi's!). All tres exciting. He's 21 too now, so I don't have to feel so old. I had sort of decided a few years ago that i was through with dating younger guys... but at least til february i can pretend he isn't, right?

Haven't moved in yet which is a pain. Have been playing in the garden alot, planted my corn and some dill yesterday, and my peas are about to flower. the roses both have leaves galore and the blueberry is budding nicely. We need to buy some rope so we can hang the hammock - then just try to remove me from the house! the creepy alien housemate is moving out a month early so we can start to move the house around a bit... maybe a lick of paint (or at least a hefty drenching in some sort of anti-fungal spray). I really like the house, and am in a happy situation of being able to sew... so the truly dry-retch-inducing curtains wont be too much of an issue to remove. Go the tab-top i say!

And as i trickle down... knitting. knitting and spinning. hmmm.

Finished my shawl. Foot is for scale. I like it alot. Very soft, warm and.. well i know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's me.

Finished Sherpa's birthday socks. (no pic)

Knit a sock out of my own handspun. It is so soft and warm and lovely and i think i may be converted. And i chose fibre with lurid yellow in it so my mother won't be overly tempted to steal it. Taph, I know i said it was too fine - i got around this by navajo plying it - and that meant i got lovely soft transition of colour.
However, the second sock looks like this so far:I purchased the pattern and the yarn for the Apricot jacket from rebecca 27 : this is the back piece. I LOVE THIS!

Oh and a few mitred squares from various handspuns. I have decided that i am knitting a throw... yes i know, this way lies madness... but dyed fibre makes such pretty yarn and the squares. just... anyway. its nice therapy.

Have also been very naughty and distracting myself online too much with something called stumble (i dont know, sherpa put it in for me). It just finds me silly sites to look at. This one is delightful.. and disturbing. Please don't click this if you have an easily upset tummy. Steve! don't eat it!

As for my health.. I'm... ok. i don't really know. I think physically I'm ok, just coping with being very physically and emotionally exhausted from prac, a big side-effect being depression (Ha! remember when i used to try and not put personal stuff up here? how the mighty have fallen). I'm not "oh-lord-i-want-to-die" depressed... more "i-dont-want-to-move" depressed. It'll pass, and its not worth anyone else worrying about it.. but it isnt very fun.

Anyway, I will try to be a more faithful blogger from now on. if i dont leave it so long it doesnt feel like such a chore... right?

the morose
Ms Spider xo

Labels: , , , ,

Saturday, September 02, 2006

catch me if you can

Ahoy!
No, I have not fallen from the face of the earth. I am however, out on teaching prac :p

I'm at the same high school I went to! It's a bit strange, I'm aware that i changed a fair bit after i graduated and that the perceptions my old teachers have of me may be a little too generous. But I'm pretty stressed at the moment so maybe I'm being too hard on myself. I certainly tried alot harder in high school than i do at uni...
I've been observing this week and then getting home and collapsing! I've been questioning whether this is what i want to do a bit. I'm not unhappy in the classes - I'm learning names and feeling more comfortable in an assertive role - It's more the social side of the faculty that's making life a bit challenging.
My mentor is lovely - very organised, which is a wonderful relief! And she's very helpful and wants the best for me. On the other hand getting alot of feedback right at the start when I've only just started to feel what my role is... well it's a little intimidating. She's been giving me excellent advice on getting a job in the future - apparently it means sucking up big time while on prac so that people remember me when i'm making my applications next year! This is making me panic a little - what if I can't sell myself to a school? I'm not really the type to blow my own horn (those of you who see me gloat about knitting on a regular basis - that is entirely different!). And the uni tells us that prac is about making mistakes and learning from them but I feel like I can't breathe without worrying someone will take it the wrong way!

In knitting news:
My shawl is nearly finished! I only have to put on a moss stitch border (I've even woven in the ends already!). Unfortunatly, I have to spin the yarn for the border first. Its some lovely black alpaca carded with white silk that I bought from this eBay seller. It's divine but somewhat messy - and i find myself eating bits of sdilk for huors after i finish spinning. Because I've used so much colour i feel i need something black to anchor it all a bit.

My current stress levels have induced a little startitis, but I've found a nice remedy (for a while anyway). I have rather a glut of 50g and 100g bags of dyed fibre and skeins that have recently been dyed fibre. It's all lovely (and very enjoyable to spin) but hard to find things to do with it all - they are very small amounts. So in a fit of nesting I've started knitting some mitred squares! They show off the colour changes nicely. Unfortunately garter stitch is fairly inevitable, but at least they are quick little things and i get to wallow in feeling clever while i knit my own yarn! And I can dream of draping the final throw (yes taph, I'm probably hallucinating) over the lounge, or draping it over me when I knit or read in cold weather in the new house.
I suspect I will have a few problems when i sew it all up as i have quite a range of colours - from brights to pastels. I think it will be ok if i group similar colours together - so I end up with a blended change across the throw. I might also do a black border and weave black satin ribbons through the increase eyelets to get a sort of chequered appearance. I am dealing with several different guages, which I know I should avoid... we'll see. Maybe finer guage ones will be cushions..?

Sherpa's green socks are coming along slowly. I only get a little car knitting done in the mornings, I hope to finish them before prac ends - he needs new socks!

I have more knitting news but I'm fading a bit. Woke up this morning, the long-awaited weekend! And I have a cold. Sigh.

The run-down
Ms Spider xo

PS. I really want to come to thrusday SnB but it's the same night as the social at my prac school... and i should offer to go along. ugh. We'll see, I might plead mental health... I NEED MY KNIT SIBS!

PPS. I might add some photos after I've had a nap..

Labels: