and we're back!

Not that anyone was bothered by it except me... but the nets been down for two days. Some stuff up when we changed provider (ask Sherpa... i dont get it. My brain just isnt wired that way).

But now we (apparently) have very-fast internets. Which is a Good Thing TM for HappySpider yarns.
I have a tendency to get fed-up with Flickr because it seems to take SO LONG and then i dont even upload half the yarn i dye, so i dont put it on eBay and more often than not i end up passing it along. Which is great for my yarn karma but not so good for my wallet. SO keep an eye out (link in the side-bar) because there should be lots of new yarns going up in the next week or so.

I just got back from the Lyneham High production of West Side Story. Yeah, i know, you thought i was done there, right? But SO many of my students were in it... including the girl who played Anita who was a total bombshell by the way, i could have burst with pride! Sherpa was very tolerant and allowed himself to be dragged out into the weather in the middle of the week.
Thankfully with prac out of the way, and therefor i'm actually doing cooking and cleaning again, it's all quiet on the western front. 3 weeks ago i totally wouldnt have pushed the issue but i was NOT missing the opening night for anything :)

I've been doing a little on the wheel and a little more on the needles, and when i locate my camera (tomorrow) i'll get you up to speed. But right now i have a boy who's doing the morning shift tomorrow who needs to be shovelled into bed to avoid the grumpies tomorrow.

Peace out,
Ms Spider

PS. Heard about Knit 1 Blog 1? I'll be exhibiting a few items including the rogue hoodie and my peacock feather shawl if you want to see them up close and personal. I will also be (drumrolllll) teaching a couple of workshops! Huzzah! Jejune and I will be running a Knitting First Aid workshop together (which is exactly what it sounds like) and i will be running a beginning sock knitters workshop! So, if you're keen to get the word on socks or have a friendly hand help you tink, keep an eye out hear for further details. I'd love to see you there :)

follow up

So my application is in. ARG! it's very scary - it's the first non-retail job I've ever applied for... and it cost me my last $30! $20 for a new passport photo and $10 for my academic transcript. Here's hoping it pays off, but i think i'm going to have to get a lot of yarn dyed this weekend or i'll be eating textbooks by next week.

While writing the thing today and waiting for the right bus and such, i did some spinning. When i got home from a run around Uni and a visit to the recruitment unit i did some more. And here is the resulting yarn. It's a fairly fine silk 2-ply spun from silk handkerchiefs i bought at the wool celebration thing. It is veeerry lush and pretty and shiny and mmmmmm.
I include pics with and without flash... neither is really right or wrong. Silk is a very changeable medium, its all down to the lighting. Any suggestions on what it might like to be? It's about 100 metres, and probably about 30 grams or so. (i am too lazy to hunt for my scales).

Anyway, i still have an essay to write and my intern relief application to put in.. but the semester is almost over and i'm at a bit of a loss. always the way - you cant think because you have to so much to do but you cant relax when there's time off because you feel like you should be doing something!

the somewhat calmer
Ms Spider

and we're going to... live!

Wow.
Yes. Yes I'm still here.
Unbelieveable.

So.. hi! Thanks for all hanging in there with me. It's been a rocky ride.
Obviously i got through. I've finished prac. And i'm in the process of writing my application for the next round of teacher recruitment. which is very odd. i'm nearly a teacher. In fact, as of the 23rd July i could be teaching relief as an intern. which is SO awesome, i cant wait. I love teaching. I do, i really do. I was made for it, it just hums through me. Being at an awesome school in a really supportive faculty helped heaps.. but when I'm in the classroom with the kids... its just like i'm pure me. All the things that are quirky about me like my retention for weird facts and my quick reflexes and my empathy... they just make it perfect. I got work out of kids who hadnt done anything else all year. good work. i cant explain how good that feels.

So, in the last three weeks (yes I've been slack...but i did have 5 classes to run all by myself!) our new housemate Vic moved in. That was pretty awesome. She just left for Japan for 3 weeks... but before she left i taught her to knit. And she completed a pair of thrummed mittens in 3 days. (just discovered i deleted the photo). drat.

i of course got jealous of the thrumming so i spun some chunky grey yarn... and knit a thrummed slipper. now i have one warm foot. the second skein of handspun is drying ( i had to wash some grease out of it.. natural merino, mmmm)

I've also been spinning a lot. I'm striving for quite fine 2ply yarn for socks or scarves or whatever... basically i just think the yarn is prettiest at that guage. I include a pen to help you determine the fine-ness (totally a word) of the yarn.

What else? I finished the handspun sweater - no pic as yet. It's really very flattering, not at all itchy and the drape is wonderful. I got away without using shaping by using a stripe of slightly finer guage wool for the waist - it fits like a dream :)

Also, I will be participating in the Knit 1 Blog 1 exhibition and will be running a workshop on basic sock techniques. Jejune and i will also be running a workshop on fixing your knitting disasters. more information to come.

Ok, back to my application. I'll let you know how it all goes :)

the overworked and underpaid
Ms Spider

PS plenty of Spider Yarn on eBay at the moment :)