Tony Papper, 04/06/1936 - 19/01/2004
Still miss you, Dad.
Stash Builder Box
10 years ago
Monday, January 19, 2009
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Slowly getting back on top of it all...
Wow, I'd forgotton what hard work this teaching lark is. Not just over xmas: I've been on supply since September (harder behaviour management, but no planning and marking), and before that it was summer, so I've not been really teaching since last July. It's hard. Especiallyat the beginning. I'm three days in to a new school, new system, new classes, new colleagues, new buildings, new commute, and I feel like I know nothing - nobody's name, where anything is, where I'm going - it's really tough. I know that I will get there and it will all get easier soon if I just hang on in there and tough it out, but I'm shattered. The last three days I've been out of the house for 12 hours every day, with staff meetings and NQT meetings after school, in minus several degrees, (and my heating in my classroom is woefully inadequate!), the come home (each day to a lovely hot meal cooked for me by my wonderful hubby), and started right back in on the next 4 or 5 or 6 hours of work that need doing before the next day. And hubby's been right alongside me, doing all of the admin tasks he can to help out, anything that doesn't require a knowledge of languages! I would have collapsed by now if he hadn't been helping me out, and I still feel like I'm close. My foot is still really painful after my boxing day fall, and I'm having to just ignore it and limp around school as fast as I can because there's nothing I can do - but I had to move out of my classroom and traipse all round the school today because there are exams in there, and tomorrow will be worse - more classes, more room changes, spread out further across the school, in more rooms and buildings I don't know. I carried 5 huge bags all over the school all day today. I am knackered and not at all sure I can make it to the end of the week. And I have another 4 lessons to plan and resource (with no books or photocopying) by tomorrow.
Sorry for the lack of knitting content - don't have time to do any!
Sorry for the lack of knitting content - don't have time to do any!
Monday, January 05, 2009
I have my own classroom!
I do!! See? Proof! And now I'm so tired that I can hardly breathe, so despite it not even being 9pm and my not having knit a single stitch today (or tomorrow most likely - out from 7am till 10pm - ouch!), I'm going to bed. Night night.Sunday, January 04, 2009
Oh dear... I've become an enabler!
Yes, I must own up to it. I'm a pusher. A corrupter of innocents... I have dedicated my life to the cause of corrupting as many innocent people as possible into the devilish..... delights..... of............ sock knitting!!
Why, what did you think I was talking about?
This xmas I gave 3 people sock knitting kits - some gorgeous yarn, a set of beautiful knitpicks multicoloured wooden DPNs, and my basic sock knitting instructions. I thought three people was probably enough to infect with this mania at one time, and they seemed really pleased (well, two of them... one hasn't had her present yet as I haven't seen her). Then, yesterday, we went all couple-y and grown-up (yeah, right) and had a dinner party (soooooo not posh. Is it posh to make your guests cook their own food? No!) and, at about midnight, one friend got her sock kit out of her handbag and starting asking questions.... (she's a new knitter and has just done her first two scarves, so she's being very brave) Why should she knit two rows of rib before joining in the round? Won't there be a slit at the top of the sock? Why should she slip the first stitch of each row on the heel flap? How does one 'pick up' the gusset stitches? *
...And in answering these and the other thirty-three questions (trying to think straight in my wine-soaked state and having picked up hubby's latest stripy sock to demonstrate) I realised two things. One: my other friend (who has always professed to be more interested in cross-stitch) was looking at us with a wistful sock-knitting kind of gleam in her eye, and Two: I need to write a photo-heavy tutorial for very basic sock-knitting to help me corrupt people. (Yes, I know there are probably millions out there already, but I have my own quirky style - I want to write my own!)
Oh, and friend #2 went home with some funky sock wool, some DPNs and some sock-knitting instructions. And a big smile on her face. I've corrupted another one!! Yay!!
*Answers, in order: 1. Because then it's almost impossible to accidentally twist when you join in the round (good thing, especially for beginners). 2. Yes, but it'll be tiny and you just sew it up when you're weaving in the end - you have to weave it in anyway! 3. To make larger loops down the side of the heel flap, making it much easier to pick up the gusset stitches. 4. Put the needle through these larger loops one at a time, collecting them all, then knit them as stitches on the next row.
Why, what did you think I was talking about?
This xmas I gave 3 people sock knitting kits - some gorgeous yarn, a set of beautiful knitpicks multicoloured wooden DPNs, and my basic sock knitting instructions. I thought three people was probably enough to infect with this mania at one time, and they seemed really pleased (well, two of them... one hasn't had her present yet as I haven't seen her). Then, yesterday, we went all couple-y and grown-up (yeah, right) and had a dinner party (soooooo not posh. Is it posh to make your guests cook their own food? No!) and, at about midnight, one friend got her sock kit out of her handbag and starting asking questions.... (she's a new knitter and has just done her first two scarves, so she's being very brave) Why should she knit two rows of rib before joining in the round? Won't there be a slit at the top of the sock? Why should she slip the first stitch of each row on the heel flap? How does one 'pick up' the gusset stitches? *
...And in answering these and the other thirty-three questions (trying to think straight in my wine-soaked state and having picked up hubby's latest stripy sock to demonstrate) I realised two things. One: my other friend (who has always professed to be more interested in cross-stitch) was looking at us with a wistful sock-knitting kind of gleam in her eye, and Two: I need to write a photo-heavy tutorial for very basic sock-knitting to help me corrupt people. (Yes, I know there are probably millions out there already, but I have my own quirky style - I want to write my own!)
Oh, and friend #2 went home with some funky sock wool, some DPNs and some sock-knitting instructions. And a big smile on her face. I've corrupted another one!! Yay!!
*Answers, in order: 1. Because then it's almost impossible to accidentally twist when you join in the round (good thing, especially for beginners). 2. Yes, but it'll be tiny and you just sew it up when you're weaving in the end - you have to weave it in anyway! 3. To make larger loops down the side of the heel flap, making it much easier to pick up the gusset stitches. 4. Put the needle through these larger loops one at a time, collecting them all, then knit them as stitches on the next row.
Friday, January 02, 2009
A lot of good intentions...
Our resolutions for this new year are mainly common sense, given the financial situation - reduce, re-use, be thrifty, and no shopping! I also have a lot of good intentions regarding my new job, which I will start on Monday. It's a chance for me to finish my induction year and get fully qualified, and to work in a really nice school - after 2 terms of supply, and 2 terms in a distinctly average school, it will be a treat just to go to work every day without the expectation of abuse from ill-mannered teenagers. Today's good intentions to get prepared and organised for Monday, however, did not materialise. (Nor did yesterday's. Tomorrow I will have no choice!)
Instead of being good and doing my homework, as it were, I have been tidying up after xmas and fiddling about with this and that... That travel knitting I cast on on Wednesday has already become one finished sock, for a start! Stripey funky sock!
I also, yesterday, finally finished addressing the issue of storing all my knitting needles: The straight ones live mostly in two whisky tins on the windowsill:
...along with a few hand spindles, and other bits and bobs, and I'm relatively happy with this. It sometimes takes me a minute or two to find a pair in the same size, but that's not too big a problem, as I don't need to do it that often. Last year sometime, inspired by the pencil roll in last-minute patchwork and quilted gifts, I made an organiser for my DPNs (bottom one in picture below), and then a second one a few months ago for circular needles . Unfortunately it didn't comfortably hold the bigger ones, and wasn't quite big enough - I miscounted the pockets. So yesterday I made this extra one to hold the rest (top one in picture below):
I didn't realise I'd got the rainbow the other way until afetrwards! But I like the effect... :-D
Do you think maybe that I like rainbows?
Not as much, however, as chickens love corn. They will do anything for corn - and it's probably a good job they had a treat yesterday, as they had to be doused with red mite powder today. Poor dusty chickens - now they're all sitting about looking grumpy and trying to clean their feathers.
Instead of being good and doing my homework, as it were, I have been tidying up after xmas and fiddling about with this and that... That travel knitting I cast on on Wednesday has already become one finished sock, for a start! Stripey funky sock!
I also, yesterday, finally finished addressing the issue of storing all my knitting needles: The straight ones live mostly in two whisky tins on the windowsill:
...along with a few hand spindles, and other bits and bobs, and I'm relatively happy with this. It sometimes takes me a minute or two to find a pair in the same size, but that's not too big a problem, as I don't need to do it that often. Last year sometime, inspired by the pencil roll in last-minute patchwork and quilted gifts, I made an organiser for my DPNs (bottom one in picture below), and then a second one a few months ago for circular needles . Unfortunately it didn't comfortably hold the bigger ones, and wasn't quite big enough - I miscounted the pockets. So yesterday I made this extra one to hold the rest (top one in picture below):
I didn't realise I'd got the rainbow the other way until afetrwards! But I like the effect... :-D
Do you think maybe that I like rainbows?
Not as much, however, as chickens love corn. They will do anything for corn - and it's probably a good job they had a treat yesterday, as they had to be doused with red mite powder today. Poor dusty chickens - now they're all sitting about looking grumpy and trying to clean their feathers.
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