We all scream for ICE CREAM… It’s free/cheap ice cream week again!
Today (April 29) Ben and Jerry’s Free cone day
Tomorrow (April 30) Baskin-Robbins 31cent scoop 5 – 10pm
Bonus… knitting photos!
Anouk for Hanna’s first Birthday and a Thorpe for Dad.
As in, “What do you knit for someone moving to Lima Peru?”
Bunny’s teacher this year has admired his mittens so I figured I would knit her a pair for an end-of-year gift. Come to find out, she’s moving to Lima over the summer. From what I can gather, it seems mittens would not be very useful there… So, I need ideas? What to knit (pretty fast) for someone moving to a warm climate? Maybe I’ll knit the mittens for the assistant teacher, she’s staying here!
The photo is Bunny in National Airport waiting to leave on Spring Break. He’s watching They Might Be Giants Friday Night Family Podcast on my iPod (you have to look, just to see the knit Giants). On this trip we discovered the joy of iPod for child entertainment. Not only did he enjoy TMBG, but we checked a number of book/CD combos out from the library, put the audio on the iPod and he listened and “read” on the plane.
Of course the iPod was also loaded up with many knitting podcasts!
I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Not why I knit at Bunny’s Tae Kwon Do class or on airplanes, that’s for sanity preservation. That’s not that sort of knitting in public I’m thinking about. I have been thinking about why I blog about my knitting and why I post my projects on Ravelry.
I have come to the decision that it’s all about the praise.
Teaching, my chosen career, is by it’s nature pretty solitay. Those who don’t teach may not think so, but figure I spend most of my day trapped in a room with a group of narcissists. They are 11, they are supposed to care about themselves, that’s their job. While I think that if I suddenly passed out in class they would notice and try to do something, for the most part their concern for me rests on how much homework I will assign and when the next quiz will be. I have great colleagues, people to talk to about life and about teaching, but by and large I am the only adult in my vicinity for most of the day.
Teaching is also a profession with very little praise. There are no bonuses and in my school the evaluations have been few and far between. Parents are quick to let me know when I have done something wrong, much slower to do so when I’m doing something well. Sure there are parents who thank me, and those who write nice notes, but it’s usually at the end of the year.
So, why all this about teaching? I guess it’s to say that I don’t get much adult interaction or positive feedback on my teaching, so I put my knitting out into the world (blog, ravelry) in hopes of interaction and possibly positive feedback. You have no idea how my heart leaps when a new little heart appears on one of my projects in Ravelry or when I get a comment on my blog.
What got me thinking about all this? Well, Ravelraiser of course. If you are on Ravelry I hope you have heard of the Ravelraiser by now. If not, stop reading and go here. I’m getting ready to make my donation, but part of making the donation is posting why you gave. That got me thinking. What is it that I like (and am willing to pay for) about Ravelry. Sure the advice is great, the ability to get ideas and see finished objects, the chance to check out Julia’s stash when I think I might need something… but in the end, I think it’s all about the favorites for me. I love when people favorite my projects. It makes me feel like Sally Field.
That said, I have been terrible about choosing favorites of my own. Whenever I think about it I am filled with angst. How do I choose my favorite? I really have to get better about it, favorite projects when I see things I like or admire. Perhaps I have caught the narcissism from my students… Guess I better go mark some favorites, right after I make my donation!
(vacation photos provided to break up all these words)
We have been back almost exactly a week and in 10 hours our luggage will have been back a week as well… It was a nice cruise, with a number of new ports of call for us. Photos and details on that in another post, for now, how did I do on my knitting list?
A little more on the one thing I actually completed. The Turkish-Patterned Cap for B. The last thing I knit for him was a Dr. Who scarf in the late ’80s. This has a similar scale problem, but is out of much nicer yarn and shows a higher level of craftsmanship.
As I wrote on Ravelry, I am inordinately proud of this. The color work came out just right, the tension is perfect. This has made me consider other fair-isle projects! Unfortunately, it came out too long so B can wear it with the slightly puffed top look… ah well. Full details can be found here and on the Rav.
Numerical Knitting 