Fun with Knitting (and Quilting)

A little tip for your Saturday

So don't you just hate it when you are working with a knitting book or some other book that is soft cover and keeps flopping shut on you and you lose your page, or worse break the binding on it?

Well here's my tip for the day...get them spiral bound! For a few bucks you can go to Kinkos, or better still (or should I say cheaper) OfficeMax or any place like that..they will do it for you! It's so nice! Makes leaving a page out and open for you while you work a short row heel or even for when I try to copy a pattern for myself(I like to write all over them but not in my books). I am slowly getting my most used knitting  books done! It's great...Now that I'm thinking of it...I should get some of my cookbooks done too!

Here's my 3 latest editions:  
Nice neat and so much easier to deal with!  
 I will say that getting these three books done cost me $14 at Office Max. I had 2 done awhile back at Kinko's and paid about that much for two so OM seems a bit more economical...I'll be going there from now on!

Enjoy!

Bittersweet Summer

Or Maybe just bitter....

Well you know how happy I was  just a couple of weeks ago about summer vacation?  Well I was still happy about but on Wed. we got word that our district was going to be laying off teachers....a lot of them.  I was upset but thought well I have 9 years(in that district) plus tenure and my masters..so I had a bit of hope...but NO...they made us hang around on Thurs. for the pink slips to come.  They cut 246 teachers!!!!!!!!! Almost all elementary & ALL our Gym, music, and Art teachers!  And I was one of them.  What  a crappy way to start vacation! There are only 4 teachers left in my entire building.  We have 13 families that husband and wife were both cut! We are frustrated because our union leadership seems to be avoiding us.  And out superintendent is making it sound like we agreed to this!!!! What a mess.  I'm hoping that I'll be called back (I'm in the top 20 or so to be called back) but still what a way to ruin the summer.  I've had a couple of major breakdowns of tears.  Education is one of those fields where having experience hurts instead of helps most of the time...at least here in Ohio. Plus several other districts in the area have already cut teachers also. 

I swear I am going to try to stay positive, and enjoy my summer!  But right now I'm feeling a lot stressed and upset.

I guess perhaps this will get me to actually use some of my stash!  LOL

But in knitting news I am almost done with the body of the Bluebell Top from Fitted knits.  Just 3 more rounds of ribbing so that should be done soon. OH It's Cotton Ease in Lake.  I really like this yarn

I'm plugging along on Rusted Root, almost ready to separate off the sleeves. Done in Cotton Fleece in Sedona Red.  I really like this yarn too. 

I also got the books I ordered for myself that I didn't get for my birthday. I really want to make Tomato from No Sheep.(I may join this KAL once I get yarn)  I do have a coupon for 20% off at a local shop..so I will probably go buy the Blue Sky for that with my coupon.

Here's some other great yarn I got a couple of weeks ago for a Clapotis....I know I started one with Noro Silk Garden.  But it's sticky...and I'm having trouble dropping the stitches.I'm debating whether  to leave it for now, or frog it and use the yarn for something else. This yarn is Four Play from Brooks Farm...in wine blues...sooo soft.

I guess I will have more time than I thought to knit, since I really shouldn't be out spending my $$ until I know something.

BTW I am really loving my RAVI4. It's a GREAT little SUV and MUCH better gas mileage! Hubby and I even got the  garage cleaned out enough so that it fits in there!