Emptyknitster

Today a package arrived for Cameron from Gramma.  He approached the package with a mix of anticipation and apprehension.  He knew that Gramma had heard of his desire for a sweater "zactly" the same as his old one, and he expected that the arrival of this package was a fulfillment of this request.  But the bar had been set high, for Cameron thinks that "zactly" is a term to be treated with mathematical precision. Like a dog approaching a stranger, he began by sniffing the sweater.  Luckily he that is where his animal instinct stopped, falling short of licking it or otherwise marking his territory.  Having passed the smell test ("This one smells like Gramma too."), he moved on to more empirical tests. The white pirate skulls were the same size, but the new one, lacking one year of non-stop wear, was at least five shades lighter. He checked the sleeve length next - the sleeves were not the same length due to a quick-fix to the old one during...

I've only had my third graders for a week and a half but I've fallen in love! It's been a few years since I've had little third graders. For the last several years they have been 8 years old going on 16! Last week I wore a dress three times and Friday when I wore pants one of the little darling girls told me, "You didn't wear a dress today. You look like a princess when you do." I'm wearing a dress tomorrow!

I finished this sweater Friday night. He had asked for it to be EXACTLY like the original...I hope the Pirate likes it because the new sweater isn't stretched out like the old one so it just isn't what he's used to. Pattern: Wonderful Wallaby by Carol A. Anderson Yarn: Plymouth Encore Colorway: Hunter Tweed, Taupe Amount: 4 skeins Hunter and a bit of Taupe Needles: US 7 and 5 I started another Christmas sweater, this time for Sam. Only one more after that!

This is my twenty third year of teaching and each of the twenty three years has started out mind bogglingly busy. This is the only thing about the beginning of the school year I can count on. There are different rules, schedules, technology, expectations of what is to be taught, and students. It's a great job for a person who struggles with ADD like tendencies, forcing a complete and final finish in June and a bright and shiny future in the fall. But I'm not ADD.  I like having control, starting and completing everything in sequential order! So in the middle of all the hoo-hah I turned to what gives me total inner peace, you know... knitting! I started and finished several projects: Scott's Socks Pattern:Donna's  Easy Socks Yarn: Austermann Step Colorway: Black/brown self striping Amount:one skein Needle size: US 2 School Shawl Pattern: Sort of Silk Kerchief pattern but not really. I used the instructions from the Milk Run Shawl to get started then looked at ...

Another summer comes to a close and...  tomorrow morning school begins.

Open letter to eldest daughter: Dear Purl Gurl, I know I promised you Great Grandmother's Pearl's Chokecherry Syrup recipe but I just can't find it. The paper I thought was the recipe turned out to be your GGGAunt Mae's pickle recipe but the amounts are torn off. So I offer you the following recipes: Great-grandmother Pearl's Ginger Cream Cookies, Mrs Stapleton's Hamburger Relish and Green Tomato Jelly, Marj's Bread and Butter Pickle Recipe. Please don't be mad because you can't make your 100 things in a 1000 days all because of my poor memory..... Ginger Creams - Great Grandmother Pearl 1 c sugar 1/2 c molasses 1/2 c dark Karo 1c butter 1c sour milk 2 eggs 1t soda 1/2 t cinnamon 1/2 t ginger 1/2 t nutmeg 1/2 baking powder 1/2 t salt 3 1/2 cups flour Chill dough 1 hour. Spread on cookie sheet cut in square of oblongs or add more flour and cut with cutter.  Bake 10 to 15 minutes. (There was no temperature given - I'm sure that...

The end of summer is crashing down around me I had planned one last Wednesday visit to the yarn shop for charity knitting. This summer I have been spending most Wednesday afternoons with a group of ladies that I have become very attached to, The Charity Knitting Group. On Monday night I realized that I had a committee meeting at school and will me unable to attend, a sure sign that summer is at an end....... Since Christmas, I spent most of my lunches at school knitting this charity blanket. When summer came I decided to carry it over into Charity Knitting Group. Only allowing myself to knit it on Wednesdays. I would prefer to knit a project and get it over with so this proved to be a good lesson for me, patience! It is finally done as is the summer. This coming year I'm going to knit baby booties! Pattern: Modern Baby Blanket Yarn: Red Heart Acrylic Colorway: Pink, bisque, eggshell, rose brown Needle size: US 8