The Good, The Better, and the Bleh

The Good:

I finished walkcloth #2 this week, and I'm halfway through my third walkcloth. I figure that by the time I lose ten pounds I will have knit enough dishcloth's for Becca's new apartment.

I almost finished the first scarf for the 2012 Special Olympics. The knitting is done. I just have to finish weaving in all the ends.

The Better:

I gave my speech (for class) today in front of some of the Fiberistas. I'm not sure how well it really went. My friends told me it was good, but then they're my friends so what else would they say. I'll watch the videotape tomorrow and see what I think before I send it to the professor. I would feel a whole lot better if I hadn't had to cut half the speech out at the last minute. Somehow when I was practicing I timed myself for the five minutes, but really talked for ten. The time limit allowed is only five minutes, with a penalty for every minute you're under or over the limit. On the way to knitting, I ran through the speech one last practice and realized that I had gotten the timing wrong. Hence, the need for the last minute change.

That, however, was not "The Better." The Better was teaching a 13-year-old boy (the grandson of one of our knitters) how to spin. He had volunteered to be my camera man and videotaped my speech for me. Since he was busy during the speech, I took some time afterward to give him a private spinning lesson. I have to say that he was a joy to work with. He was very polite, smart, and eager to learn. I caught him trying to knit earlier in the evening, and later on he came back to ask me more questions about spinning and knitting. I sense a future Jared Flood (well-known knit designer).

The Bleh:

I was wounded in the call of knitting. While I was waiting for my daughter to finish up at work, I reached into my pocketbook for my socks to work on. Somehow, one of the bamboo needles punctured my palm. Bamboo dpns are not very sharp. And they have a tendency to break when put under pressure. (I've broken a number of my bamboos.) So how in the heck did I manage to poke myself hard enough to draw blood? Ouch!

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Blanket Update:

191 squares in 214 days

(Status: I didn't catch up. But I didn't fall any further behind, either.)

How I spent a sunny afternoon:

Listening to a class lecture on my computer.

(The good thing is that nobody noticed I was knitting the whole time.)

Why you shouldn't trust your computer to proofread for you:

(click photo to enlarge)

An Excited Wednesday

I feel like all I've been doing this past week is cleaning, knitting, and reading. But if that were true, my house would already be company ready and I would have a bunch of finished projects to show off. Instead, I'm starting to panic because I'm not willing to even let the bug man in tomorrow, much less actual company. And I only have a picture of almost-but-not-quite-finished socks for today's post.

I do have a big announcement, though. As of today, I am a full-time (12 credits/semester) college student! I've been saying for years that I wanted to go back to school, and I finally did it. I signed my pell grant and student loan this afternoon. I will pick up my schedule next Wednesday, and classes start May 31st. Since I'll be doing my classes online, it won't interfere when I finally find a job. Then in three years, I'll have a bachelors in accounting to add to my resume. (I'm thinking that by the time I'm 55, I'll have both a masters and a CPA license.)

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Blanket Update:

121 squares in 137 days

(Status: I've fallen behind and I can't catch up!)