young heart

there are many ways to stay young at heart...

going without an umbrella in pouring rain, walking barefoot,

drawing smiley faces on everything... :)

these are just some of the things that popped into my head

but those pictures are not in my camera (right now)

here then are some photos that are,

things to keep young at heart...





nature

flowers

 birds

everyday miracles

a supply list to give to the students that i hope to have someday...all this planning must be keeping me young at heart   :)

 a new vintage yellow stool, found at saturdays flea market,  for my someday students to sit at (reminder to self, make a soft seat cushion)...

 cake

birthdays are still fun

when your young at heart
today i'm fifty five

*

heehee
how do you stay young at heart?

lesson plans

it has been all things knit around here. going over my notes from class (do i know enough?), finding and making up patterns for the beginning knitter. designing flyers, 'learn to knit'  (i've never been on word before!) distributing them, and now waiting...

here is a hat that i learned about at FIT. it's a good learning one for many reasons. it's knit on two needles (as opposed to circulars and double points)  along with using the knit and pearl stitch, there is also a chance to teach a simple ssk decrease, and then it's seamed at the end. it's also nice because the widest part of the band can be personalized with any stitch you can think of. for my knitting friends here is the non pattern pattern:

make a swatch with desired yarn, get gauge. measure head and minus one inch. multiply this number by the gauge to get the number of stitches to cast on. example: head 22 inches, gauge 4 sts to the inch = 22 x 4 = 88 stitches to cast on. at the bottom any combination of knit pearl or garter is worked for one inch. knit any pattern for 5 inches (i used the seed stitch). then one inch in garter. for the top, the number of stitches in your hat is divided by the number of wedges you want. decrease (ssk or knit 2 together) and place markers. don't decrease on the edge and decrease every other row.

i used a gorgeously soft wool, alpaca and silk blend by Araucania, which makes even a funny pointed hat nice.

visual aids that we made for class, different stitches,  increases and decreases, now i can use them in my own classes!

 here's a very simple beginner pattern we had to write and make, this wool is from the lovely talented genevieve at Sweet Basil Fibre Works, visit her here and her etsy shop here, she hand dyes beautiful wool using only eco friendly dyes. today is her birthday and she's offering a special discount! happy birthday genevieve!

not quite on the newsstand (next week), Santa Barbara Seasons magazine, with chuck's photo of our last paddle trip . see how glassy the water is? that was before the lake turned into an ocean. and last, the above left photo is of the house we were married at. seeing it unexpectedly in this magazine made me feel really really happy.
i hope your having a great weekend!

happy to report

how does the saying go? begin where you are?

i wanted to try to catch up on this blog~journal of mine (good times, good times!), but the thought of that was too daunting...

i did go to FIT, fashion institute of technology in nyc, and received a teachers certificate for knitting. i learned so much, met lovely new friends and best, gained a bit more confidence (maybe being on my own in the city helped with that!)

oh, i wasn't completely alone...there was time with my girl hannah (who lives there) and a blogging friend who took the train in from connecticut to meet for dinner one night, and wee olive...

preparing for class

dear student  :)

7th avenue, manhattan

 east village

happy hour chocolate covered potato chips

a vintage desk for hannah, found at vortex in williamsburg

street art

 MoMA art

hotel pennsylvania

kiehl's soho

walking home from class

hannah's origami tips (left by a clever customer)



dear blogging friend kj, bryant park and wee....

olive

olive accompanied me in taxi's

and subway's

and nearly everywhere we went

she made friends

 she spent nearly as much time in the dressing room as hannah...

:)

 she waited patiently for elevators

and she hardly cried when it was time to say goodbye

i love new york and i miss my girl. but i'm happy to be home (hello sky) and i really am very excited to see where my new teaching certificate leads me. this weekend i got a brand new computer (thank you dear husband) so i will be able to resume proper blog visits. see you soon!