it's like rain

Some friends of ours are getting hitched today, which is kind of exciting. We haven't seen them in forever and i think this is going to be the first wedding I've been to where someone my own age is getting hitched.
Unfortunately, my energy levels are still in the crapper, so instead of being thrilled that I'm going to see them and that the day they've waited for is finally here... I'm sitting here like an angry little toad thinking "I have nothing to wear" and "there goes my Sunday". And I have SO MUCH marking to do and I'll get through about 4 books and then my brain freezes.
I washed up this morning... and then I had to have a nap! Honestly, it's embarrassing.

Anyway, what can I tell you about this week?
One of my students 'finished' (with help) her first project - a jumper of 'her' own design. I am so proud of her :) ! I made the front piece with the intarsia (I'm not that cruel) and i still have to sew on the duplicate stitch smiley face. (Yes, she is TINY).
I am reminded that when I was ten I wrote a list of things I wanted to do before I died and knitting a jumper/sweater was one of those things.

I also have a student who is nicking off for 2 years and is in my SOSE class. This chap has been wistfully mentioning how awesome a beanie that looks like a helmet would be... and I am obviously a total sucker (Hey, at least it's a going away gift, not a 'hi I am your servant' type thing). This is the Dwarven Battle Bonnet by Sally Pointer, first hair option. It's pretty close to being finished, but before the wedding I need the gentle therapy of lace.

This is lace shrug I am knitting for Taph. The pattern is... (desperate scrabble with desk) Diamond Lace Shrug by Gitta Schrade from Yarn Magazine Issue 3. I am using 2ply Cashmere Cave cashmere in black. It is lovely yarn, and I am enjoying making this but it's slow going because the increases aren't charted, so I do have to concentrate. I usually find lace with a complex chart relatively mindless because it's just a case of 'move the post-it' most of the time. It's not a massive pain but it is irritating.

My Sayuri continues to grow but is not yet worth a new photo.

Also, i should point out that a change is as good as a holiday (Excuse lack of make-up and general dagginess). Monkey approves. (For those who are now staring trying to work out what has changed, I died my hair Dark Copper Golden Blond. Really needed a change. Apparently red hair makes blue eyes very blue and scary. BOO!)

Still spinning the laceweight merino/silk. nearly halfway.

Also, I took my camera with me on the way to work because EVERY morning I see something that makes me giggle like a loon and I needed to share. Apologies to anyone I offend... I didn't do anything to stage this, it just grew this way (and if you don't know why I am giggling then you are a far far better person than I)Lawn Fail.

Ok, better go wrestle with the clothes I am slightly too curvy for now... sigh.

Peace out,
Ms Spider xo

named!

Well, it really was no contest. The new wheel is henceforth to be known as Crispin. Thanks Twitchy Fingers! Keep an eye out for the postie.
nothing to add to this post except a sock. Knit the last round of the cuff on the bus and cast off when I got to work (you can't tell me you wouldn't have done the same... it was minutes away from being finished!). I did mod it a bit, but it's bed-time so I'll explain later. Still not sold on the afterthought/forethought heel.

the school knitting group raffle gets drawn tomorrow... and so I feel the need to cleanse my soul. The raffle was my idea and I made a lot of stuff for it... but i think my idea was driven more by a desire to cover the kids i treasure with knitwear than earn us any money. Is that a little sad or what? Forget my mother, I'm turning into my grandmother. I'll know the transition is complete when I can't go into class without a few trays of biscuits and loud complaints that they are all "so skeeeny darlink".

Peace,
Ms Spider xo

almost back to the salt-mines

Well, for three days anyway. That headache that was threatening turned into a full blown migraine on Monday evening and by Wednesday afternoon I was past denial so I left lesson plans for today. I'm still pretty rough, but it's amazing how much easier it is to cope without dealing with loud kids, bells, builders (there's a new disabled access lift being put in) and general mayhem.

Knitting!

I finished the back piece of my little cotton cardi. I didnt notice until near cast-off, but this yarn has a definite bias. I know most cotton yarns do, but this is quite pronounced. I think it will be ok after blocking and seaming.Back piece blocking with wall'o'yarn backdrop.
Also cast on a BSG for Georgie. This is my 4ply sock yarn in Pansies, and I'm having fun. I've knit it enough that it's pretty mindless migraine knitting so it's my partner today (don't worry George, migraines are not contageous as far as i know).
And... I have a little news for you all. Still ironing out the bugs and in no mental place to deal with coding right now but... well, click here. :)

Peace out
Ms Spider xo

ETA - rant removed. didnt need to be reminded of all my bile. hello, gremlin?

I'm a good girl, I am. No, really.

So after several painful days, I've finished writing my reports. blech.

Report writing is a strange art. It's all about saying a lot without saying what you really mean, in a way that kind of gives away what you're really thinking anyway. I bet John Howard would be really great at it.

Quick Report Comments Translations

X is a vocal student who is always prepared to engage in class discussion = X is a mouth on legs and makes me mental.

Y is a very social student = If Y doesnt stop flirting with the guy behind her i may throw up on her shoes.

Unfortunately Z failed to submit any assessment pieces and this is reflected in his grade = Z is a lazy little shit who spends his afternoons smoking questionable substances and watching Futurama.

...needs to remember to be respectful to all teachers in the school = It's very sweet that you behave like an angel for me, but it's a real pain in the arse when you're a bastard to a relief teacher and i have to pick up all the pieces and soothe troubled egos.


Anyway.

There has been knitting (of course). I finished Jacqui's birthday mitts in time and she adores them. I felt a bit of a pang handing them over... I'd make myself a pair but they're the sort of WIP that all the muggles fuss over and I'd have them promised to someone else before the first thumb gusset.

I've also picked up my Seashell Shrug again. It really is a lovely yarn, vintage Country Collection 8 ply crepe. I've finished the shaping on the mid-back of the sleeves and am back to knitting 2x2 rib forever. It's pretty mindless, and oddly therapeutic at the moment, so we'll see. I do intend to finish it, really.

I also realised this week that i never blogged about my self-spoiling a while ago. After the obdm wool day, after i had weighed my profits and thought... i bought myself an ashford fine cloth drum carder.She is soooooooo pretty. Next to her you will notice two clip-lock baggies. These are works in progress. The bag on the far left contains pure angora fluff straight from the bunny's indignant little back, and the other bag contains said angora carded into lush and fluffy batts with the softest, whitest optim wool. I dont know what it will be yet... other than gorgeous. mmmmm.
oh and i have a confused little hyacinth in a vase. I can't work out if it's shy or cold or what. Constipated?
Sorry, I never said this would be a classy blog.

I also did a little dyeing this week because i needed the colour therapy. This is some Moda vera Sentiments Sparkle i confiscated from Taph at the TASDA meeting on Monday night. It's not the nicest yarn in the world but I'm having fun.. and it would make a pretty funky scarf i think.

Oh, and Satan's bunny not like cold. No sir.

Ok, I'm going to go knit 18 and a half inches of maroon rib and watch Law and Order. In case anyone was wondering.

Peace out,
Ms Spider xo

PS. Why you should not leave your computer unattended while working on a comment for a student with an amusing name: Axel is capable of working effectively as part of a larger machine. He constantly greases the wheels of academic progress and contributes to the educational revolution. Without him we would still be riding horses.

Thanks Monkey. Very helpful. :s

again with the 'flu??

So it would appear. At least i caught it on Sunday before it had really knocked me over and started taking cold and flu tablets then. Went to work this morning to take my classes and leave lessons for tomorrow... and teaching was a struggle. Lots of kids away on a camp though so at least i didnt have to shout.
Even though this was the only way Monkey would let me go to work today i still feel quite pleased with myself for recognising my limitations. Shame to lose a day's pay though. Hope i won't need to take Wednesday too :p and i need to go to a damn SnB soon... so i hope i'm ok Thursday.

Had a massive freak-out at the end of last week: got a letter from the uni saying i didnt have enough points to graduate. This totally floored me since i thought i had sorted it. Of course, by the time i got the letter, everyone at the UC who is anywhere near useful had gone home so i didnt get to sort it out 'til today.
When i started my degree it was a split/double degree: BA/BEd. Then they re-me-jiggered (technical term) it about a year in so that all courses were now worth three points instead of four and unless you had already started it the degree didnt exist. This has made for a very awkward four years. And there was a great deal of confusion in regards to which units anyone should be doing... since the degree didnt exist. AND all the education units are so shambolic that they get re-written basically every semester... so i did end up taking the same units (badly reworked) once or twice.
To cut a long story short, I have enough points to get my BEd this year. This means i CAN take my permanency next year, get a real income and start doing what i want to do officially. I can also take ONE more unit (because i need ONE measly point), wherever i like on whatever i like next semester and be awarded my BA next July. This seems smart in theory but i might wait and see if I get a placement at Lyneham next year: i know the school and the staff and the students and reckon i could cope with a little extra work if i was there. If i get somewhere random like Calwell.. maybe not so much.

Those of you scanning my jibberish looking for something interesting, the breakdown of the above paragraph is 1. Uni is stupid, 2. Spidey is stupid and 3. Spidey is graduating this year.

I have been knittin but i need to be sleeping now. Might update tomorrow.

Peace out,
Ms Spider xo

twelve-year-olds are crazy

just sayin', they might be making me a bit more that way too.
of course, the unseasonable warmth isnt helping my sanity along any. there is a small range of temperatures within which i remain composed and happy. sadly this range is between about 18 degrees celsius and... about 22. this 31 business, right in the middle of october? just plain rude.
add to that the care of 80 or so insane 12yos, buses that consider themselves on time if they arrive 7 minutes either side of their scheduled arrival time, uni work that is making my brain bleed and a Monkey who is taking to sleepwalking on a regular basis (not that he does anything particularly worrying.. he just walks into everything and wakes me up. and tackles me.).. it's fair to say i am a little stressed. and tired. i feel like i havent slept in a week.

My classes are.. interesting. There's a certain amount of power struggle whenever there's a new teacher.. always. even if you know 'em. i expected that. what i am constantly surprised with is their incredible range of bizarre behaviours designed to drive me out of my skull. half of one of my french classes launched into an extremely loud and proud rendition of the school song the other day, halfway through an explanation of verbs and why you need to say them right. top points for creativity really. then there are the two girls who ask to go to the bathroom together.. every lesson. straight away. and they ask and ask and ask until i decide that whatever they are going to do has got to be better than them annoying me and interupting my lesson. and sometimes, when they get back after 15 minutes or so, they'll say they forgot to go get a drink. They certainly found my achilles heel quickly - i take issue with this whole 'dont let them leave, they need to learn to pee/drink/get belongings at lunch/recess' thing. because, basically, stopping someone from going to the bathroom when they need to is a violation of basic human rights... and i stand by that.
i cant explain these girls in any more detail, they are nice and they like me... they just frustrate the hell out of me and clearly dont think they need to be doing any work at all.

In knitting: went to snb for a while today :) was a good turn out, lots of newbies! left sort of early with monkey to help him get some new work clothes (and because of the reasons i listed above, i'm tired and stressed and reached my fun quota for the weekend). saw three kids i've taught and they saw me. kids seem highly diverted when they discover that their teachers actually have lives outside of school, there was much pointing and whispering. If that's the reaction from a SnB sighting, i am very tempted to plop myself down outside Kingo's after school one day and have a few bevvies! maybe even bring some clubbing clothes with me and change... yeah. i know. it's sick. i just find it sooooo funny.
Finished monkey's Opal socks today too. He loves them, and is SO excited they are finished. Of course.. the heat-wave thing. oh well. (this photo brought to you by the miracle that is air-con... and he's doing a crazy foot pose. don't ask me why).
and my new Pomatomus sock is chugging along. I like the way the stitches pop out - it's a very pretty pattern indeed. I'm just not enjoying knitting it that much. I'm not sure if this is because the sock yarn i'm using is scratchy and bleeding blue dye onto my fingertips.. or the pattern itself. i find all those twisted stitches slow me down and as a rule.. i dont like being slowed down. But really.. i think it's the yarn.

Wish me luck for tomorrow. i have all three classes on!

Peace out,
Ms Spider

teaching and the like

So this week i started my semi-part-time un-official-better-not-call-it-a-contract contract teaching.
i have three year 7 classes (that means i am teaching about 80 12 to 13 year olds). My english class is extended academically (a good thing) but was unfortunately also extended numerically. It was supposed to have 27 students.. now i have 31. As a result there are not enough copies of the class novel returned to the library so i have been READING to them. insert croaky voice here. (well i was buggered if i was going to let them drag out the 'but we cant do anything Miss...' thing. This way we can do vocab and all sorts of stuff). They are a good bunch of kids and i'm pretty happy with this class... though i may need to get a nice loud whistle. classy eh?

I also have two french classes but have only had the opportunity to teach one of them so far. It's.. an ok group. there are a few students who are in serious need of extension while they are still interested.. and then there are the ones who hate french, hate reading, hate school.. and would basically rather be anywhere else. So far i don't seem to have any kids who actively hate me but i suspect that will change when i get to my other french class tomorrow. I'm struggling with this group a fair bit.. mostly because they are all at different levels. I cant spend the time with the advanced kids that they want.. because i'm too busy confiscating phones, cards, game-boy thingies, make-up, permanent markers and handcuffs (yes, really. Handcuffed his friend to the desk. That was exactly as funny as it sounds.. but i wasnt really supposed to laugh. i did anyway). I'm sure i'll figure out a balance sooner or later.

the other french class is.. well. we call them les garcons horribles. this is basically all the really really really out there boys i had for english during my internship... they struggled with english. picture me trying to get them to give a damn about another language that they dont even want to learn. There's only so far they'll go with a bribe of learning some obscenities (hey, it's still learning!!).

I'm nearing the second toe of my cashmere socks. so yummy :)

and today i finally bought some velvet ribbon so i could finish my cambio. I'm currently sewing it on by hand, and hope to have it done tonight. stay alert - there may be pictures tonight!

Thanks again for all the kind words. Working is helping, i can focus on the kids needs and my work and.. well. we all know i love it.

Peace out,
Ms Spider xo

PS. may have let a class run away with me a little the other day... someone up the back started singing 'Baby got back".... until i took over. do you think singing "that butt you got make me so horny" is covered by the teacher's professional guide of practice?

swamped!

Bounjour mes amies!
it's been a while, eh? sorry about that.
Since we last spoke, i've cast on a few things (Deepest apologies to those of you with broadband...)
started designing a new sock, using the honeybee lace pattern (because that's what my monkey calls me sometimes...)I am enjoying them, but these are a 'when i feel like it' knit. I'm not going to kill myself to finish them because i find the honeybees a little slow-going... you have to keep casting on more stitches every 6 rows. it is VERY pretty though!
finished my keyhole top. I'm not about to wear it for you because i need to develop a waist or a better self image - whichever comes first. but it's a nice pattern, if a bit of a pain to pick up all those waistband stitches and get the pattern stitches to line up in the middle.I found knitting with the 8ply bendigo cotton so pleasant that i bought some more and cast on for Cambio (finally! I've had the beads for 2 years!). It really does have lovely drape, i recommend it to anyone. its not a shiny cotton, its soft, drapey and seems to wear well. Quite sensual to touch when its knit up.
I dont know if i mentioned it, but i offered to knit some lace for Helen Rippen of Waratah Fibres (my favouritist fibre-dyer there is!). the yarn she wanted knit up arrived on monday and i've been designing a stole in traveling vine lace.It feels like it is growing slowly, but i think its just because i'm used to knitting top-down shawls and they grow very swiftly to start with. It's lovely yarn, very subtle colours and i'm happy with how the pattern is working out. I'll probably make the pattern available through her at a later date (but i'm sure interested parties can tease it out of me ;p its not a hard one). The best thing about this? I get someone to gush over my lace knitting (even though it's nothing special) AND i get paid my comission in fibre!!! you cant tell me you wouldnt jump at that!

And do not let it be said that lovely housemate Vic is resting on her laurels. This is her first sock, in a large man's size no less (tis now completed, contrast toe and all and she's on the second one) and this is her second project ever! She also cast on for a Debbie Bliss girls cardi this week, in some Bendigo 5ply we dyed together. She's one to watch, this girl! I think maybe is was the fumes my stash was putting out!

and on the work-force front - i'm teaching! i did three days relief this week and i have my department interview next tuesday. EEeeeep!! It's extremely nice to be back at Lyneham.. i know the kids and they LIKE me. I havent had any behaviour problems in three days (well nothing that made me uncomfortable). its a lovely school with wonderful staff and gorgeous kids. I caught the bus home two days and not one kid gave me crap about it. OOh and i had fun at the end of a yr 7 english class - i swiped a joke from the simpsons and stuck a post-it that read 'TEACH ME' on the back of one of the cheekier boys. It was a class i had last semester for SOSE, so i knew i could get away with it. I love teaching, i love being around the kids and seeing them emerge into the world. And i have to say, despite what anyone says, kids are more tolerant than they used to be. They speak their mind, they swear right through classes and are surprised if you complain, they joke and bounce around, lie on the floor and through soccer balls (in class) but if someone says (to just about anyone!!) "Err what are you, a fag?" 90% will turn around, give that withering glare that teenagers manage so effortlessly and say "what kind of insult is that? grow up."
I know this probably sounds like i'm full of myself but i am really enjoying what i'm doing at the moment. i dont think you have to be a hard-arse to teach. i really dont. and honestly, who has the energy to yell about stuff that is, really, quite petty. like wearing hats in class. It never occurs to me, and particularly when its cold i dont see the problem. and it may come back to bite me, but i think the respect i get from my students from treating them like rational human beings who are capable of making decisions for themselves serves me much better than screaming at them like a banshee and threatening them with detentions i dont want to give. i'm just not that girl, and when it comes down to it they can tell.

Ok, i'll sign off (who's kidding, everyone stopped reading after the pics)
I've been gardening, dyeing and spinning too, so i might have some more pics over the weekend.

Peace out and happy friday to you all!
The finally paid educator
Ms Spider

workshop fun

Please excuse the less-than-thrilling post title - i've been self-medicating with pink champagne. To catch you all up on my tooth situation - i went to the dentist again last week, got nicely sedated and had my tooth investigated. Apparently i have two choices - $500 to have my tooth out (its the last molar in the row and i probably wont miss it), or have $2-3000 root canal. wooooh.


anyway . No more complaining. Most of the pain is gone and , apart from a wall-climbingly annoying case of what often happens when one takes anti-biotics, i'm feeling heaps better.

The sock workshop went brilliantly. Many lovely ladies attended and i was thrilled to infect so many newbies with the sock virus. here are a few snaps of the lovely group, carefully knitting away at their heels.
We skipped through most of the basic knitting-in-the-round stuff and jumped through to the heel stuff - i gave every one a teensy mini-skein of hand-dyed yarn and we just knit a heel! it worked really well and i'm confident that everyone left knowing they could deal with the teensy weensy needles and their respective patterns. it was a very enjoyable experience for me and (i hope) for everyone else.

My lovely housemate Vic (who is rapidly attaining sister status) is knitting her first pair of socks. I am SO proud. she went to cassidy's and bought several balls and lovely plain bottle green sock yarn but as it was for her first pair i made her take some self-striping patonyle. seriously, without the stripes i dont think anyone can be expected to get very far on their first pair.
She is suitably pleased with herself. She just got past the gusset decreases and 'only' has 18cm of plain foot to knit before the toe. We'll see about the second sock. There may need to be a brief sabatical between the socks. understandably.

Here is my monkey being scary.
Peace Out
Ms Spider