Knitting Friends & FO #2

Happy Sunday!! Last Friday was the 1st meeting of the East High Knitwits for 2008. There are several teachers at East who knit, so we've decided to get together on a regular basis to knit & unwind after a week of teaching teenagers. The East High diehards were there - WinstonsMom, ravelry's Iknitforella, and blogless, Angie. I do need to clarify that Angie does have a blog, it's just not about knitting & pertains to the classes she teaches. So - if you'd like to know more about the foreign language program at East High, go here. An all-call was also put out on Ravelry, hoping to encourage other local knitters to join us. What fun when HollyJo and LisaW joined us! It's fun to meet in person folks you've only known via their blogs. HollyJo has encouraged me to plug away on my minimalist cardigan & Lisa has inspired me to perhaps try the Tilted Duster. She knit it up using Noro & it turned out ab-fab. So... we'll see what happens in 2008.

While hanging out w/my knitting and teaching friends, I finished these:

Child's French Sock

Details:

Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug in Marble Colorway. **Everything you read about yard shortage w/this yarn is true!! I had to frantically order a 2nd ball to finish sock #2. So - the feet don't exactly match, but I'm hoping that subtle difference won't show since the recipient will be wearing shoes.

Needles: My trusty Addi-Turbo US #2 - Magic Loop, of course.

Pattern: Child's French Sock from Nancy Bush's book, "Knitting Vintage Socks"

Size: Knit over 72 stitches for a size 10 foot.

Modifications: I went up a needle size to accommodate the recipient's foot.

Recipient: My secret pal in the Vintage Socks Swap. I'm terribly late mailing these - they should have been sent last Monday. Hopefully she'll forgive me with the other goodies in the package.

Here are the socks outside at -3°F. (Yup - the (-) sign is not a typo - it's darned cold outside!!

So far so good with my 2008 knit-o-lutions. I've finished sock #1 for SAM5 & have cast-on for February's sock & have almost completed the back of two sweaters. Yeah me!!

Also - Yay Chargers!! - They squeeked out a win over the Colts to move on in the playoffs. I don't normally watch American football, but since Wade & I attended college in San Diego, if the Chargers are heading toward the Superbowl, we've got to do what we can to support them. Too bad the Seahawks didn't pull through against the Packers.

HaZaa!

I'm in! I finally received my invitation to Ravelry. Oh - what more can be said about Ravelry? It is soooooo cool! I've been 'stalking' the site to see where I was on the list. One day I was at 333, and then boom! my invitation arrived! Man, it's like being the nerdiest kid in school and being asked to the Prom by the cutest, smartest, and nicest boy in town. Very cool. My name on Ravelry is "Arctic Knitter" (duh) - hope to see you around! If you haven't received your invite, yet - be patient (like I'm one to give that advice) - it'll arrive soon...

As you can see from the photo above, fall is in the air around here. For us that means - cooler evenings, shorter days, and school is in full swing. I'm blaming my lack of posting on school - even though I reduced my teaching schedule to 80% to accommodate taking my sons to school, my work load certainly hasn't seemed to decrease. 100% means teaching 5 different classes - right now I'm teaching 4. Last year, one of my classes was math - this year, all 4 are lab-based science classes. Prep work for Alg. II was much less rigorous than prepping for chemistry or anatomy. Oh well... the kids are great - certainly keeps me entertained. :0)

Returning to school also means returning to the "germ factory". Let's face it, schools are full of all sorts of wonderful germs. I keep soap and Germ-X available in my classroom, and am almost OCD regarding hand washing. Still - I can't hover over every student who enters my room & inspect their hands. Needless to say - it's bound to happen that teachers catch 'something' during the year. I usually have a pretty strong immune system, but this year the 'bug' seems stronger than usual. Couple that with the fact I was exhausted after spending a night w/200 high school students during our annual retreat, and you have the perfect recipe for getting sick. Fortunately I didn't have to take a day off from work (which is more work than actually being there) - but I did have to alter plans so that I could rest my voice. By the end of the day my voice was practically gone - not so good when you're in the teaching profession. Some of my colleagues & friends called it my "sexy, sultry" voice; my students said I sounded like a man - not very sexy, or sultry at all when your all of 5 foot 2. (Unless that man happens to be Brad Pitt, Michael Ballack, or John Taylor (of Duran Duran).

OTN:

My Monkey Socks for my Monkey Sock Swap pal. I'd post a photo, but DH as absconded with the camera on his afternoon bike ride. I've worked through the 4th repeat on the leg (requires 6) and am working them via the Magic Loop Method (surprise, surprise) - 2 at a time. No Second Sock Syndrome for me! My pal lives down south, so I'm using Sockotta - a cotton, wool, nylon blend. Not my choice of yarn, but it is knitting up softly & should be comfortable in the warm environs of the south.

I've cast on for my Minimalist Cardigan. The pattern can be found in the 2007 Interweave Knits issue. I'm using Cascade 220 Superwash - quite the workhorse for knits, and a favorite of my dear friend Margaret. Although, I have to agree with Holly Jo in that the pattern is pretty mind-numbing (LOTS of moss stitch) and it takes work just to keep plugging away. I keep telling myself the sweater will be beautiful when it's done, and it'll be a good knit for in front of the telly.

Speaking of good TV - The Women's World Cup is currently underway. The US is doing well with a relatively new/young team. Abby Wambach is still playing - pretty amazing since at 27 she's considered an 'old' soccer player. For the record, let's all agree that 27 is NOT old by any stretch of the imagination. However, good ol' Abby is just amazing - during their game against Sweden, she scored one PK, and one very incredible half-volley goal from an over the head pass from Kristine Lilly (36 years old!). Just makes me want to be back on the pitch. Next match is against Nigeria, which should be an easy one for them & assure the US a #1 ranking in their group & a spot in the quarter finals.

Also - Survivor season premiere is this week (good knitting time) don't know about the return of The Amazing Race - another fave. Grey's Anatomy starts soon too. AND - big news - the new Duran Duran album, Red Carpet Massacre, will be released in the U.S. Nov. 13th - let the countdown begin! :0)

More pics next time... off to knit...