Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Speed Humps

Ok, obviously I have failed at Wordless Wednesday. I just don't know what to take pictures of... so that will be on the back burner for now.

They put up signs on our street that inform drivers that there will be "Speed Humps" ahead. (Speed humps are like speed bumps but they are wider so that you can still go a reasonable speed over them) However, there are no speed humps. I'm wondering if these are a scare tactic to try and slow down drivers. Really, they should just put an "S" on the sign in front of my house because you will only speed in front of my house once. I typically drive on the wrong side of the road in front of my house because to drive on the right side you have to go about 2mph. It is SOO bumpy and messed up that you will destroy your car or give yourself a concussion going the speed limit.

Basically, all this boils down to is that I will be upset if they put a speed hump in front of my house as then I will have no safe way to get to my house.... it will all be so bumpy.

On a random knitting note, I am knitting a pair of baby socks with the leftover yarn from my baby hats. I have turned the heel on one and will hopefully have the pair done by Sat.

Monday, September 28, 2009

What a Weekend!


I had such a fun weekend. Saturday my mom and I went to a fabric sale at a church up the road from my house. A few of the ladies from the shop and some of their friends were selling off some of their stash, and I scored big time! I will have to take pictures to show you, but for now you will have to take my word that I got some awesome deals (like 6.5 yds for a quilt back for $28!). I have already used some of the fabric to make a present for a young one that I know who is turning one in two days! I'm really happy with the way it turned out.


Saturday afternoon I taught another beginning knitting class.  This was a smaller group, but they are still just as fun.  Somehow, the hardest part is the darn slip knot. I need to figure out a better way to explain it, because it seems everyone has a very hard time with that first step.

Sunday I had breakfast with some of the ladies at the shop, as one of them is moving to Washington next week. Then that night I played Settlers of Catan with some friends (lost poorly... lame) and enjoyed corn beef that W had cooked in the crock pot. Overall, a wonderful weekend.  And now I have to get ready to go to work.... I hope everyone has a good week!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Knitting Class

Yesterday was a long day.  I worked all morning, got off in time to come home and make dinner (homemade pizza... it was seriously delicious), walk the dogs, and then head back to work to teach knitting. This was compounded by the fact that when I was home I started to get a killer headache. In fact, when I was on my way back to work I thought I was going to throw up it was getting so bad... then I got over it about as quickly as it came.... weird.

Even though it was a long day, it was a good day.  Knitting class was so fun!! The ladies in this class are pretty advanced for beginners (most already knew how to knit) so I asked them to bring a project to try and we would get started.  Two of them chose a hat from Charlene Schurch's book, Hats On! (which I had peddled the last time we had class. I love the book. Almost everyone bought it. Guess I'm a good salesperson...) It was the hat with the cabled brim.  They were nervous... and I don't blame them, cables look very hard.  Then I showed them how to cable and they were off!! They kept squealing about how amazing it was that their knitting looked like the picture and they thought they could never do that! It was very fun. I love seeing people getting excited about learning, especially learning something that I love   (like knitting). And the fact that I taught them made me really proud.  Another knitter chose a jumper (like overall pants) for her young child.  So I showed her how to knit in the round and read patterns. And she was off. Until she dropped a stitch on the first round... which meant her cast on stitch disappeared. I studied it for a while, and thought back to the article I had just read on Ravelry about dropping stitches to the cast on edge... and I was able to fix it!! I handed her back her work, explained what I did, and told her she made me feel very smart. I was able to solve another knitting puzzle!! I love that feeling...

I have today off... which is another good feeling. I took the dogs running on Tuesday, so I may do that again. Although, with the cold weather I get really stuffed up when I run. It is quicker than walking them... decisions, decisions...

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Spin Your Stash!

I just joined a new group on Ravelry dedicated to spinning your stash. Since this is one of my goals, I decided joining this group would help keep me motivated. And since joining the group, I have begun to feel much better about the size of my stash. This morning has been dedicated to trying to actually stash all of my fiber on Ravelry.  It is taking a bit of time, and I'm already bored of it. I think I may have to finish on another day... but until then, here are some (not so great) pictures of my fiber stash. Think of all the beautiful yarn I am going to have!! :)

Monday, September 21, 2009

I was doing so well....

I hadn't bought fabric (that wasn't a necessity, meaning to finish a project that was already started) in a long time. Seriously. But then a line came to the shop on Friday that I couldn't pass up. I waited until Sunday, but I bought a bit of all of it. I'm going to use the panel pieces to make a small kids quilt.  I'm going to add sashing around the squares and maybe make some nine patches with the square dog pictures.


Then, since I was already breaking the rules and buying fabric, I decided to buy the fabric for the border of this quilt. I love the border fabric and we had just enough left. I can make the rest of the quilt from scraps, so that will be good. I think it will be very cute.








Oh, well.  I guess I can't behave all of the time. Plus, these are going to be beautiful quilts. No one says anything to the chef who buys more food, even when they don't have an empty cupboard....

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Wedding Bonanza

So, W finally comes home today. He has been gone since Monday, which has been pretty tough. The dogs have been pretty ok with it... normally they are very pouty when he is not home. I have been walking them every day and playing with them, so I think they are pretty happy about that.  And they get to sleep in the bed all night, so it must be a good trade off.

It is really weird having W be gone for so long. I didn't realize how much I rely on him to keep conversations going.  I have gone to a few events with people that I don't see very often, and it was a bit awkward. He is a very good conversationalist, and apparently I am not. I guess I am just very accustomed to having him there to keep things going. Plus, it is weird to not have him around the house. I haven't been able to talk to him very much while he is gone either, which makes it hard. So needless to say, I am very excited that he will be home.

J leaves for Colorado in two weeks.  He got a job driving a ski bus or something. It sounds pretty awesome for him. I just wish I didn't have to decide between him living in my living room and living in a different state. He is going to be gone for 6 months, which is FOREVER. I'm pretty bummed about that.

Nothing else too exciting going on here in Casa de Bennett. I work today, which is weird... I never work on Sundays. So this will be interesting. Luckily, I have tomorrow off to recover. :P I have a few quilts that just need the binding, so maybe I will work on that tomorrow. One of them is a fall quilt, so I probably should get it done... I'm in love with it.... pictures soon.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Crappy Camera Wordless Wednesday

Weston took our nice camera to Vegas. The other two are dead. So this is with my iPhone. Sorry.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Monday, Monday

I finally turned on the heat this morning. It was 61*F in the house when I got up. That is a bit too chilly for me. I bumped it up to 66*F and then I will turn in back off.  I'm not ready to have to have the heat on yet!!

Over the weekend I went to the Alaska Log Cabin Quilters Quilt Show.  It was pretty amazing.  There was one quilt there that was SO big, I don't even know what you would do with it. Seriously. It would probably cover the roof of my house. It was pretty though...

Nothing else too exciting this weekend. I'm pretty bummed because W is leaving tonight for a wedding a bachelor party (obviously in the opposite order) and won't be back until Sunday. The dogs are always so pouty when he is gone... and that is a long time. Hopefully I will be able to bribe them into cheering up a little bit. :)

Alright, off to get some spinning done before work.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Week in Review

So I have had a pretty busy week... I have been working a lot, which is good. And not too many crazy things have happened at work this week, which is also good. I'm not a fan of eventful days at work. I don't mind it being busy, but eventful is not my thing.

I had my second knitting class on Wednesday.  That went well.  Two people didn't come back... which I'm hoping is because they were too busy and not because they are done with knitting. We have a week off next week and so the next class I told them all to bring a pattern that they want to knit and we will get started on that.

I did a lot of sewing this week.  I made a schelp bag for a shop display (it is the back to school one in the kids section if you stop by). I also sewed my puzzler top together! I just have to put on the 3" border on the outside and that baby is done! I will post pictures as soon as it is all together... which may be today as I don't work until 3. I am so happy with the quilt... it is amazing. I'm also very proud of myself for finishing it. The blocks have been sitting in my closet for probably 3 years now begging to be put together.

I haven't done much knitting, or spinning. I am almost done with my current spinning project. Just a little bit left and then it will be ready to ply.  I am spinning 8 oz from my good buddy, Northern Lights Fiber Co, in her "Breaking Clouds" colorway.  It is white, grey, and blue.  I'm pretty excited to see it plied as I think it will be a very neat yarn... it has long stripes of white and grey with bits of blue splashed in.  We will see how it turns out.  Pictures to come on that as well.

Last night we had a sausage party and bonfire at the house. We had 15 lbs of moose meat turned into 20 lbs of cheddar brautwarst (sp?!).  They have to add pig fat as moose is a very lean meat. The sausage is amazing. Everyone had a good time and no one got on the roof, so I would say the party was a success! Plus, it was on Thursday, which is my FAVORITE day of the week, and there are only 6 more days until the premiere of The Office, so that was another reason to celebrate! I can not wait until next Thursday.

Alright, well I think that sums up what I have been up to while I have been missing on my blog... I'm going to go try and finish that quilt top before work and maybe even squeeze some spinning in. Have a great weekend!!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Oh, I just can't WAIT!

To be king....

The Lion King was AMAZING. Seriously. Every moment I was watching, I was so enthralled and impressed with everything. I kept thinking, "how will they do that?!?" and then they did it and it was spectacular.  If you don't have tickets to see Lion King, go buy them now. It is worth it. We spent a lot of money on ours, and I really feel like I got my money's worth out of it. If I could go again, I would in a heartbeat. I just can't explain how amazing it was....

Quick goal update... still trying to exercise. I walked to a friend's house and back yesterday with Snickers, so that is about 2 miles. My sewing room is still clean! I am going to be sewing today though, so I will have to see what happens... :)

Also, I am watching the US Open right now (not having cable restricts what I can watch... which is good, because it means I typically just watch DVDs or nothing) and tennis players are so impressive. I tried to play tennis and I'm pretty sure people who are good at it are more than human. It is very amazing to watch.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Pig Race!

I went to the fair yesterday... it was BEAUTIFUL out!! Of course, that meant everyone in the state was there... it was a ton of fun though. Here is a halfway decent video of the Kenai Racing Pigs (the one thing I NEEDED to see while I was there. They did not disappoint.). There were 6 pigs racing and 5 of us there. We each picked a pig to bet on, and wouldn't you know it, the 6th pig that no one picked won.... LAME!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Memories of Summer

I went to school today... you know, the school I used to work at in my other life. I brought lunch to the team of teachers I used to work with. I missed hanging out with them and wanted to stop by. The math teacher kindly opened the door for me so I didn't have to sign it at the office. Unfourntanely, that didn't stop everyone from finding out I was there. In the middle of lunch, the Admin Assistant came down to let me know that the Assistant Principal wanted to see me before I left. Great. Then not 5 minutes later, the AP showed up. I guess I wasn't quick enough. She wanted to see if I would be interested in my old job... but at sub pay. Hmm.... let me think about it. No. Luckily, I have another job, so it was an easy out.
I'm really sorry, but I work at the quilt shop a lot now. Plus, I teach knitting at night, so I just don't feel I will have the time to be teaching again.

Whew! Even though I missed seeing my teacher buddies, I didn't miss it enough to start getting up early every day and seeing students again. I love what I do now. Plus, if you ask anyone, I am much more fun to be around.

A few other quick things. The science teacher I worked with told me he went and read my blog (which cracked me up... I still find it amusing people read my blog...) but couldn't find a way to get in contact with me. I just changed my profile so you can e-mail me from there. If you click on "profile" there will be some fun info about me (and a funny picture of Snickers) along with an "e-mail me" link. Also, I am getting ready to go see Lion King!!! I'm very excited. This is our anniversary present to ourselves this year. I bet it is going to be wonderful, but I will give you a play by play later.

PS My sewing room is still clean!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

First Day of Teaching... V.2

So a little over a year ago, I had my first day as a middle school teacher. That life didn't agree with me, so now I work at Quilt Tree and teach knitting. Today is my FIRST day teaching knitting!! Ahhh... I'm excited and nervous, but mostly excited. I have some stuff ready to go for my class... some things I'm hoping to get done in my hour between work and teaching. Like usual, I haven't finished my homework. :)

Anyway, just wanted to check in and let you know that today is an exciting day.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Late Night News

So I have decided that it is not a good idea for me to watch the 10 o'clock news before I go to bed. I just get too riled up. For example, yesterday they did a story on Eagle River High School. Apparently, after 5 years the roof is failing. And they aren't kidding, they showed pictures. It looks pretty messed up. What did the school district have to say about it?? Well... I guess we have to buy a new one... this one was supposed to last 20-25 years, but at least we got 5 years out of it.... what's another few MILLION dollars.

WHAT?!? It was supposed to last twenty years and lasted five.... and your response is, at least we got some use out of it!?! REALLY?!?! This is probably one of the reasons our city is in debt.

Don't worry, I'm sure Dan Sullivan will lay off some more firefighters to pay for the new roof of the school.

ANYWAY. Enough ranting. Just a quick update about my goals. I've been doing my best to workout every day. Yesterday I did my exercise while I was on hold on the phone. I also have kept my sewing room clean. That was a bit hard... yesterday I did some sewing and I cleaned up after myself. It was tough to do, as I really just wanted to walk out of the room... but I did it, and now I'm glad I did. Now I have to get ready to head to work for a while. Have a great first day of September!!!