In which Kate becomes a Teen Services librarian

So in lieu of working in a school library, I've been working more hours at my public library job ... and I am now the teen librarian (yay!). Even though I was "flipped" to this portion of Youth Services earlier this month, I am still really really excited about it.

When my Teen Advisory Board meets for the first time in November, I want to see if any of the kids are interested in a knitting group. Oh yes. A knitting group. I have a lot of extra needles and scrap yarn to get us started, and since I've already taught Andrea how to knit (I need to ask her what poem I used. It was a little violent and involved a fox and a hen-house), I think I can handle teaching teenagers. That, and they won't wave the needles around.

So. Any suggestions for programs? Anyone?

How a yarn store in Spokane, WA helped a girl on Long Island

Important Knitting Tip: When working on something, like ... oh ... a never ending wedding afghan, make sure you have enough yarn.

Thanks to Paradise Fibers in Spokane, WA, I will be able to finish this darn present. They seem to be the ONLY shop left on the planet that still carries Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash in Light Iris ... and they not only shipped two skeins to me, they shipped it to me IMMEDIATELY. I placed my order on Friday, the yarn arrived in Monday. I love Paradise Fibers, Ravelry, and the United States Postal Service immensely.

Now I just need to knit ;)

Tinking Time

The worst thing to happen when you're on a knitting deadline, almost at the end of a very very very long section...

You discover you are somehow missing a stitch.

I made this discovery about two or three weeks ago whilst watching "Bride and Prejudice," and I have moped about it since. I've tinked back several rows (the agony! the utmost agony!), and tonight's goal is to get to the root of the problem, double-check to make sure I'm at the right point according to the pattern and my stitch counter, and start knitting again.

Watching Captain Jack Harkness whilst doing all of this should mitigate the pain, a bit.

The fact that this is the never ending wedding afghan, which I need need NEED to have finished, blocked, and mailed by September 5th is making this whole process even more aggravating. I expect to be knitting on my dinner break tomorrow evening.

Summer Reading

One of the beauties of summer vacation (to me, anyway) is that I can read. Read read read. During the school year I stick to doing crossword puzzles before bed, out of fear I'll stay up until 3 in the morning reading.

This is not exactly a problem during the summer. The only problem was that when I assembled my summer reading list, there were 99 books on the list. Yes. Ninety-nine. Oops.

So far, since school let out in June, I have read...

White Night by Jim Butcher (no. 9 in the Dresden Files series)
Priceless: how I went undercover and rescued the world's stolen treasures by Robert K. Wittman. Wittman used to the sole undercover FBI operative rescuing stolen art around the world. This is a fantastic true story, and one I highly recommend.
Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost! by Cornelia Funke. The first in Funke's Ghosthunters series. It's very cute, very silly, and the illustrations are hysterical.
Small Favor by Jim Butcher (no. 10 in the Dresden Files)
Keys to the Repository by Melissa de la Cruz (a companion novel to her Blue Bloods series)
Changes by Jim Butcher (no. 12 in the Dresden Files). OMG. My jaw dropped with this one. Just when I thought Butcher could not come up with any more twists, turns, and general mayhem ... he proved me wrong. Again. Wow. I'm still in shock. I can't wait until Ghost Story is released in March.

Derby Girl by Shauna Cross. SO AWESOME. Now I want to go to an actual roller derby. And see Whip It. Also - Derby Girl has been renamed Whip It. So you can search for this book under both titles.

Uncle Andy's Cats by James Warhola. Did you know that almost all of Andy Warhol's cats were named Sam? I didn't. This is yet another adorable cute picture book about James Warhola's famous uncle.
Remembering Crystal by Sebastian Loth. I'm surprised I wasn't bawling. This is a very gentle book explaining death. I would say it is appropriate for the toddler-set.
Broker, trader, lawyer, spy: the secret world of corporate espionage by Eamon Javers. Several years ago I read Confessions of an economic hitman, and since then, I've been interested in corporate espionage. Javers traces the history of corporate espionage from the Pinkwater agency to today, tracing ethics, legalities, and types of spy gadgetry.
It's raining cupcakes by Lisa Schroeder. My one problem with this is that I feel the ending was rather abrupt. Then again, I'm not the target age of reader (think 10 to 14 year old girls).
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor. This is the steampunk version of Alice in Wonderland --- or, the real story of Alyss Heart.
Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath. I finished this book in one day ... and squee! Loved, loved, loved this! Primrose has hair the colour of carrots in an apricot glaze. Every chapter ends with a recipe, and yay and happiness and squee and joy. This is the written example of what my students refer to as, "Miss F. is spazzing out." I call it the written version of the happy dance, usually performed when a book is super exciting and excellent.

for my middle schoolers

To my darling students:

I will not be with you in September, but I promise you this: I miss all of you. I will be updating this blog on a fairly regular basis again, and you can comment on here for communication purposes (it won't show up at first --- I get to moderate all comments ). Just let me know who is commenting!

Keep reading, keep being awesome, have a wonderful, fantastic, awesome summer.


- Miss F.

Movie stars and socks

I went on vacation to Berlin, Dresden, and Prague, and met this dude in the airport.

To quote one of my dearest friends, "You do realize this doesn't happen to other people, right?"

If I was an even better knitter (or a braver person), I would have asked Vin Diesel to hold my sock-in-progress for a picture. However, here's the sock (I was allowed to knit on the plane going to Germany, and the plane going home from the Czech Republic, phew), and the view from the Best Western am Spittelmarkt.

Snow day, with hardly any snow pictures

Used Judy's Magic Cast On and ... successfully cast on for toe-up socks. I also have some beautiful Ella Rae lace merino (from the last post), that I need to divide into two balls. If there is school tomorrow, I plan on asking around the science department, and see if anyone will let me borrow their scale for five minutes.

In which Kate is somewhat incapable of taking great photos of yarn with PhotoBooth

I just had a one skein of yarn photo shoot (yay PhotoBooth), and while I normally *love* what I take with PhotoBooth, tonight ... well ... the lighting is off. I tried taking pictures with one lamp on, then two, then three, and the pictures all came out awkward.

Here is a (poor image quality) picture of what I plan to knit into a pair of socks during vacation:

Yarn: Ella Rae Lace Merino. 412 yards.

...and I hear some little (hopefully little) creature in the attic above my room. Off to investigate!

Cross-stitch Endeavors

One of my co-workers from the public library recently gave me a cross-stitch kit. It's for a bookmark, based on a quilt pattern. It's very pretty, and slightly intimidating.

Why is a simple cross-stitch kit intimidating, you ask? Haven't you taught cross-stitch at historical day camp?

Well... I taught embroidery. I would sketch an outline on the fabric, follow the lines with my needle and thread, and mostly hoped for the best. This does not involve any lines on the fabric. This involves counting. Plus, there are holes in the fabric (it's an even-weave fabric. It's supposed to look like this).

Since I'm guilty of overthinking simple things ... the even-weave fabric threw me off. Where am I supposed to put the needle? Through the hole? Through the spot of fabric present? Thanks to a Google Image Search (query: "how to cross stitch") and the nice people at Needlework Tips & Techniques, I now know that I'm supposed to insert the needle in the space between the fabric.

Now I just need to conquer the counting stitches bit.

I'm excited for the project (plus, bookmark, yay), and I'm already trying to figure out Good Times To Cross Stitch. These times do not include subway rides or watching the X-Files (subways are for sock knitting and reading, TV time is for knitting the never ending afghan. I also need to figure out a time to work on Teddy's first toupee and baby biker sweater). I have some ideas on Good Cross-Stitch Times. These times include my lunch hour (small, portable), listening to NPR, and socializing with friends (yes, I am THAT girl).

The neverending project

Back to working on the Wedding Afghan. Remembered why I don't work on this during my lunch break: too difficult to read pattern, wield cable needle, and eat lunch at the same time.