Life has been whizzing by me! I'm back from NYC and the students' convention (we won the gold!!). Here are some happy happy campers near the Low Library at Columbia. That hefty plaque says we are the CSPA middle school Gold Crown winners for our 2007 enlight'ning magazine. We are the only middle school to win the gold in TWO YEARS! Needless to say, my staff was hysterical with glee, and we had been greeted earlier that day by one of the main judges after his presentation on "what makes a crown nominee," a very polite and kind exchange of handshakes but all conducted with an air toward us of "also ran." Or maybe I'm just over sensitive (never been accused of that!). So when we were called up and our award was announced, we were pretty much in disbelief. A great moment, and one I know my students will not forget. In related news:
* Waldorf-Astoria, A+
* subway tripping it, A
* New Yawkahs and their friendliness, A (totally helpful and kind)
* weather, D- first day (rain, rain, rain, and more rain), B+ after that (cold and windy but so clear)
* Spamalot, totally an A+
* star sightings, C (the kids would say "A" because they got to see someone from Gossip Girls when we were at the Met, but I'm an old fuddy-duddy, never heard of Blake Lively)
* Max Brenner's chocolate heaven at Union Square, A- (great, but left me practically in a diabetic coma)
* walking "ten blocks" to get to a destination, C- (ever heard the term "longer than a New York block"?)
* and lastly, the car service drivers wending their way through midtown traffic--A+++++. They are fearless, deft, and good with the horn.
[Karen, thanks for the invite--I missed seeing your note before I left, but as it was, I was totally swamped being the "mother" for six MS students (four of whom were rother moody), but sometime, when I return to the Big Apple . . . I'd love to meet up at your favorite knitting shop, knit a few rows, and make a few purchases. 8^)]
Speaking of knitting, this past week I have been on spring break, but alas, it is nearing its end, which motivates me to catch up on the blog.
The guest blogger I recently alluded to (DD#1) backed out on me, but here is her "fried eggs hat," all finished. MAYBE I'll try two-color knitting so I can keep up with her adventurousness. Maybe.
I have finished the light blue hat for a child also, and though it seems a little strange laid flat, it looks quite nice when worn, actually.
I am working on a top-down poncho for Leonie (no, didn't finish the double knit slippers yet, but I will, I will) in some sumptuous SWTC Inspiration (alpaca and soysilk) that I got for a song last fall at Full Thread Ahead ("I guess that was its price point," said Hollis resignedly, when I bought it up for $3/skein, full price more like $13). The color I chose, this lilac shade, is called "Relaxation." It's knitting up great but sheds a bit. It is soft enough for a child, that's for sure.And here's a fun delivery I received a week or two back.
I had been following Knitting Alone's blog entries about choosing her knitting gift tags from her DD2 (I think!) who has a great website and does crafty things of the paper variety (although, to Susan's dismay, her daughters are not so much into knitting--their loss!!). 8^)So I asked her if her daughter might be interested in making them for the rest of the knitting public, and she sent me right on to Courtney at Pretty Little Scraps. And within about a week, we had the design all sorted out, the $$ PayPal'ed (quite reasonable!) and now I am the proud owner of the cutest tags with both a ribbon bow AND a tiny safety pin.
Now, ain't they purty? 
Here's one on a new FO I made recently, an almost mindless scarf I used Midnightsky Fiber's great chunky yarn for. Midnightsky was having a fire sale before a big move and had a lot of about eight skeins for sale with my favorite colors at a ridiculously wonderful price, so I helped make her move a little easier. 
And since some of the yarn matched other yarn I had recently bought (woo-hoo!) I had enough to make the scarf with two strands of the same (essentially) yarn, just one of them with intervals of this great, loopy, twisted, corkscrewy stuff. (I am a writer and English teacher--is this really the best I can do???)
And this, well, this is a pixie I knitted in the 90s when the DDs were little girls, and I got into knitting for the first real time (after learning as a kid and then dropping it). I started making toys from Waldorf pattern books, and this little family of pixies were a huge hit with the girlies. There were parents, children, and a baby in a little backpack that fit on the adults' backs. DD#1, home for spring break (and while knitting her fried eggs hat), found this in a box in her closet and brought it to me to reminisce. How sweet! I see that my stuffing skills were not the best, as this troll is floppy! But when grandchildren enter the picture, I can easily imagine myself heading right back to the Waldorf books and knitting up all sorts of new pixies and horses, sheep and dogs. Very easy knits, and quite gratifying in the "ooh-ahh" quotient from recipients.Lastly (admit it, you thought it would never end!), I have been sent a few photos of babies in hats I knitted for them, now that they are post-wombing it. (Their mothers are really happy about that!) Here is Asher with his mama.
Really, there is a baby under that blanket! Daddy Scott and Mama Tamara must be knee deep in baby love (not to mention sleep deprivation, etc.). Stay tuned for pictures of Ryder, Solomon, and ?? Williams (due any day now) in my knitted "finery."Happy knitting, all!
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