Saturday, November 22, 2008

deep sigh.



(I got my new MacBook a couple of months ago, love PhotoBooth!! I told my Year 10's that I was going to join an online dating site and use this pic on my profile, I was sure to pick-up....)
ahhhhhhhhh......

Graduation/Presentation Night is over. Last night I actually slept without waking up (okay, the beers and the earplugs may have helped there), and didn't wake up at 2am worrying about missing something in the planning. It all went very smoothly, and I think that Parents were happy - I got some hugs from some Mums, so it must have been okay! I had help from some great people, and to them I owe a debt of gratitude....

Somehow, during all the frenetic organising and stressing and not sleeping, I managed to take a couple of pictures of Mums' new Peace Fleece shawl (she loves it, it's lovely and snuggly. I want to re-block it though, the points aren't defined enough for my liking!):

(The table seats 8, so you get some idea as to how big the shawl ended up!)

I'm off to watch tv in bed with my eyes shut now, but before I do, here's the parcel I recieved in the mail today:


Awesome, eh? I was in the Ravelry Chocolate group swap, and I'm in heaven....FIVE big Hershey bars, PREMIUM M&M's (shoot me now, I'll die happy), and hand-made truffles (they're gone now, I thought I should eat them in case they were off, because if I shared them with anyone, then they would get sick....I'm nothing if not considerate....ahem....), and three different yaaaaaaahns. I'm a very lucky girl!

xxxxxx

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

hahahahhaa - my two loves!

Just cleaning out my files etc on my computer, and found this:

Monday, November 10, 2008

Just pausing to scratch my left buttock....

Taking a minute or three out of what has got to be THE most stressful work situation of my entire working life (20 years in teaching this year), to post a few things that have taken place in the knitting world of Lisa (actually, am off work with a yukky cold, but I seem to have lost the blogging mojo, this is an effort to get some of it back!). This will probably be a brief post, mainly pictures....I'll do my best....

I took part in a few swaps lately - one the LSG Big Secret Swap (yep, Ravelry), a Soap and Washcloth swap from the Australian Knitters board on Ravelry, and the other the Australian Random Acts of Kindness (yep, you guessed it).
My LSG partner was Erin, from USA, and she sent some very cool stuff (the empty bottle is actually from the Prohibition Era, very interesting and cool! There is also some candles that have COLOURED FLAMES, beautiful yaaaaarn, GLOW-IN-THE-DARK yarn, groovy pencils and mini-sharpies, delicious body oil, a
nd a wicked t-shirt):

Just today I recieved my RAOK parcel (talk about great timing, was feeling like poo), from the very lovely
Jen from Victoria. She noted that I had said that I wanted to try needle-felting, and gave me a starter kit with everything I'd need - foam, needles, lots of colourful roving - and some awesomely bright cotton/bamboo
. I'm wrapt!

My Soap and Cl
oth Swap partner was Leah, and she made me TWO beautiful facecloths, lovely and soft, and put in a bar of delicious lemon myrtle soap. I love it! Swaps rock - except when you go to post two parcels and it comes to over $40, because apparently a space shuttle fuelled with diamonds is the only way to get something to USA....why so costly???? Mind you though, I love recieving parcels from O/S, so I should stop complaining....
You may recall that I told you about a shawl pin that Carmel made for me?? She works at my school, and we had our own mini-swap (I made her a pair of Dashings, she made me a shawl pin - and threw in a pair of earrings and a bangle as well!!!). Here's her beautiful work, with a couple of close-ups so that you can see that it's beaten copper, with a cool pin-type arrangement attached to the round bit, like a safety-pin before safety-pins were invented - you stick the pin through the shawl, then pop it through the two coils, then spin it around a bit and Bob's your Auntie's live-in lover!!! (I have yet to get a good picture of the bracelet and earrings, it's on my to-do list!):

(very dodgy picture of the Dashings in action....I was worried that the cabling would be lost in the patterning of the yarn (
Lorna's Laces Sportweight, can't remember the colourway...), but I think they tured out okay. Great pattern, will be making more of them - and this time, Carmel, I might actually follow the correct directions for the stitch count I use....nudge nudge wink wink...)

Did I mention that I was in Hat Attack?? Well, I was, and I actually managed to finish and send off my weapon before I was killed mercilessly by
Helen. The bullet that did me in was the lovely red/purple combo - can't wait for it to be cold again!!! My target never said anything to me about my weapon, I think that maybe had something to do with the clown-spew colours - I swear they appeared to be cool and bright and lovely to me when I ordered them..


What else...w
hat else....OH!!!! You may or not remember that ages and ages ago I posted a bit on the PIF thingy that was doing the rounds of Blogland:

“It’s the Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based on the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on. So here’s how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a promise! What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

I will now Pay It Forward to you THREE, I wonder who you will be?! Please, be a PIF! You will enjoy it just as much as we do!”

And, remember…you have 6 months to get your gifts done! Come on, you know you would love to be one of my angels. Then, one day, but you don’t know when….you will get a gift that I have made especially for YOU!"

I first read about this on Cheryls' blog, and thought it sounded like a very nice thing to do. So, I signed up and posted the plan on here. No response. So I'm posting it again - if you fancy a little something to mysteriously arrive in your letterbox, then just leave me a comment saying so.....and you might feel as surprised and happy as I did when I went to my letterbox a couple of weeks ago - an absolutely beautiful pair of hand-knitted socks from Cheryl (picture stolen from her blog, I hope that's okay - go visit, the woman's a sock-knitting machine, I'm in awe, such beautiful work!!!):

(I don't know how to un-italic this bit, I'm having a techno-fail moment....)


Every time I wear them, I get a lovely feeling, knowing that Cheryl made them for ME without even knowing me....I love them.

Knitting....I ripped out the Peace Fleece shawl I made for Mum, because I found the other skein, and re-knitted it into a Forest Canopy shawl - no pics yet though - very pleased with it, as was Mum. I've just started my Christmas knitting (yep, I love the sound deadlines make as they go whooshing by...) - Jaywalkers (Rav link) for Jules, a new school bag for Helen, fingerless mitts for Dave's Erin, a felted bag for Stevies' Erin, the Celtic Hearts shawl (in cashmere, no less) for Mum, and a pair of socks for Daddy-o. Brothers wil be getting felted stubby-holders.... Pics next post.

In my final piece of news, I got my transfer for next year (and Beyond!). I'll be going to a brand new school (has only been going for three years, next year is it's first year of Upper School students), only 10 minutes or so away from home, and the best bit - my baby brother works there too!!!! We worked together a few years ago, and I loved it - I think it's good for the kids, too, to see families that love each other et etc, assorted other mushy stuff about how proud I am of him. He runs a specialist AFL program at this school, and has earned quite a name for himself and the boys he works with, I'm a very proud big sister.

Okay, I'm knackered. I think I'd better take myself off to bed to watch tv with my eyes closed....I slept from 8am till 10.40am, then had a nap for a couple of hours this afternoon, and yet I'm tired again!! This cold (and the work shite) is really knocking me around!

Till next time, dear Reader,
xxxxxx