At long last, you are probably thinking, she has finally gotten round to posting something fresh! I have never intended to be one of those people who leave the same post up for ten days, with nothing new to entice you to stay in touch.... but somehow in 2008, time is moving much faster than my ability to keep up! I know that a big part of it is that I am taking six college units this semester, not really willingly, and certainly not easily. I will be upgrading my Early Childhood Credential to a Program Director Permit at the end of all of this study. I have always been a topnotch student, expecting myself to be close to perfect since I was a child, and even allowing myself to slip a notch this semester and aim for "B's" instead of "A's" has still meant that there is a lot of reading and writing to be done each week. Luckily, one unit will be finished this week (which means I still have my final to type up on today's holiday off from work rather than getting to spin or dye yarn). The 3-unit class, titled 'Creative Process in Children', is actually very enjoyable and I love the text as it is full of wonderful, process-based art activities I can do with my students... however, I still need to read, attend, make art, and that all pulls me away from my own creative pursuits. Which means I also have little to blog about in the tiny amount of time left TO blog! I have tended to use that precious computer time to read my email, look up things from the list in my head, and read my favorite blogs, so at least I can live vicariously. Oh, and did I mention, I am still working 45 hours a week?!
The thing that I have missed the most as the semester unfolds and gobbles up my life has been the connection with all of you. It is a chatty conversation when I hold up my end of the deal, but a hollow, large, empty room when I don't.... and no big surprise to me, either. I am really out of the loop! Sharing my passion for fiber has become a really large part of my life; in fact, that is what I miss the most by trading away so much time for more college credit!
I did make it to the tail end of our guild's Spinning Saturday, since business was not so brisk at the yarn shop (quite a few people, only small purchases, and Allison let me go home early on the first bright and sunny day we have had in a long while). Stephanie and her neighbor Rhodie had finally been able to get Steph out of her snowed-in driveway the day before; Steph lives down at the bottom, with a steep hill to climb back up to where Rhodie's driveway branches off. Glenn and I had taken Stephanie some chicken feed we picked up for her while getting hay the day after all that snowing finally stopped, and I was excited to see she was mobile once again. We have missed Knit Night two weeks in a row because of the snow (my driveway was inaccessible to people this past week), and now our Thursday night coming up will be occupied with Valentine's Day events, so Rhodie offered to host next week so that we can get back on track.
I also received a very special package from one of my best 'virtual' friends, proving she really IS real and not imaginary:) Back in December, when I hosted my Blogaversary Giveaway, one item was not up for bids... I had decided in advance that I was going to surprise Sallee and send her my Ruana. She had loved it from the very beginning, and shared in the process with me throughout my steps of collecting the yarns, altering the pattern for someone our height (though we have never met in person, we do know we are within an inch of the same height), and working it up. I loved the process, but it turned out that many of the colors weren't the right ones for my complexion. They were for her, though, and I sent it off to her... taking her by surprise and delight. She was just on the verge of annoucing a new Nana Sadie Rose bag, the Grace, and wanted to make one for me as a thank-you gift. I got to select the fabric and picked a lovely Art Deco print in browns and pinks, but told her I wanted her to wait and not get more stressed out with completing holiday orders, holiday gifts and then stock for the big annual cat show she does every year (which just finished up!) - that's what friends are for, trying to help you keep your stress level down, right?
So, I was both surprised and excited when Sallee emailed me a week ago to tell me my Grace was on its way....
Here she is.. my lovely, new little project bag!
She is already filled with a ball of Mountain Colors Alpaca blend, that I had reclaimed a year ago as my first UFO Resurrection project. I have cast on for the New Vintage Capelet, with help from my new Ravelry friends who have already had the kinds of gauge issues with the pattern that would have caused me to give up and make something different if I had come upon them on my own. Aren't friends wonderful?