New Stashalong?

A bad time to decide to embark on a new stashalong? The beginning of the new Winter yarn season! Yarns and shades discontinued and on sale at ridiculous prices, new and exciting pattern books and yarns being launched by large spinning companies, and the lure of cool Autumn and Winter months just around the corner of Summer.

Newly Qualified

I never thought that Friday 4th July 2008 would ever come. The hard work, the challenges, the lack of sleep and the adrenaline seemed to take over at times. But time moves on its own mysterious way and I found myself sitting in the Fraser Noble Hall in the School of Education at Leicester University, with the other students who were about to become newly qualified teachers, about to receive notification that we had indeed got to the end of our journey in becoming newly qualified teachers.

I was so relieved to have passed that I actually went to the Summer Ball on Friday night. I hadn't bought a ticket thinking that if I failed I wouldn't be going. And I couldn't trust myself to buy a ticket in case I tempted fate and failed as a result. I had to rush out on Thursday evening to buy an outfit! It all came good in the end though and I thoroughly enjoyed the ball. It was a fitting end to the long year and rounded off our incredible journey nicely.

I woke up this morning feeling like I should get up early to do some planning or paperwork and it was quite unsettling to realise that THERE ISN'T ANY TO DO! At the moment anyway.

We at last found time to visit my parents yesterday, who I haven't seen for nearly four months. It's too long isn't it? And as went on Saturday I just HAD to pop into K2tog in Wolstanton. The nice lady in the shop even kept the shop open for me whilst I ran from one shop to the other down the road (the shop now has two premises, about 200 yards apart). Oh how the people of Wolstanton laughed as a yarn mad woman careered down the road demanding Summer Tweed.

I made the decision to visit mum and dad every month now that the PGCE is over. If only to visit K2tog on Saturday once again ;)

Stash Acquisiton Time

Blogger has at last decided to play so here is all my newly acquired yarn for your delectation.....

Bargainous Lana grossa sock yarns from Get Knitted

Kid Silk Haze in Vino to knit Tender from the Kim Hargreaves Nectar book

Who can resist temptation from Jannette's Rare Yarns?

Bargainous Sirdar Blur

Bargainous Sirdar Yoyo, Country Style DK and Silky Look DK - all for school stuff

Almost There

And you would never believe how exhausted I am. It seems a lifetime ago that I started my PGCE but this coming week will be my final week at University as a student and then it's out into the big, wide world as a year 1 class teacher.

I finished my third teaching placement on Friday and came out with an overall grade of Good in my final report; I was observed by an external examiner last Monday despite the fact that I couldn't swallow and could hardly speak to my class as I had raging tonsillitis!

My Professional Development Portfolio is up-to-date and completed for the final hand-in on Tuesday.... what am I to do with myself in the evenings now?? LOL!

I have piccies of new yarns but Blogger is being extremely silly and won't let me upload photies. No fair :(

Another Post Without Piccies

Shame on me.

I put my latest yarn acquisitions away this afternoon and realised that my stash is getting out of hand again. There is just too much in the wardrobe in the guest room and on shelves in my workroom. But if it's there it's not up in the loft where only Mr Melody dare venture to retrieve it.

But I have made a some progress with Blaze and am almost up to the shoulder shaping on that and I re-wrote the instructions for Candy from a previous Rowan magazine (35 or 37? I'm not sure) to knit on the knitting machine. That should use up 500g of cotton yarn nicely :)

Blogger Tip :-/

A tip on logging into blogger - if you appear to have forgotten your password, just make sure that you've typed your login name correctly..... seems to work..... *cough, cough*

Now, where were we? Ah yes. TE. It's going really well for me. Only three more weeks to go and the end of TE3, the days of being a student teacher coming to an end. I haven't had time for much else other than planning and preparing lessons; last night saw me printing, cutting out and laminating number dinosaurs from Sparkle Box (which is now, incidentally, 100% FREE) for a whole day lesson of maths. The children are carouselled around activities and lessons in the reception base of my TE3 school and I was teaching maths all day today to three different groups. Tomorrow I am teaching literacy all day, although the way I've just spelled (and edited that!) leaves a lot to be desired. Nevermind eh....

Yesterday turned out to be quite a strange day in more ways than one with lots of memories being brought back to the surface; if you were part of that you'll know what I'm talking about.

Whilst back to the real world, one of the problem I've noticed with the lappie on my knee is that I do get extremely hot whilst working. A small price to pay for being able to watch rubbish TV though. Ho hum... heh heh.

Getting Used to the Lappie

I'm slowly getting used to the laptop and although the screen is a lot smaller and seems m-i-l-e-s away from me the slimlines of the laptop have left plenty of free space on what was a very cluttered desk.

I have had plenty of luscious yarns arriving over the past few weeks and have actually got around to loading them onto the laptop today. How easy to upload photos with a little slot in the front of the little darling machine! But I did notice that my previous photos were not taken across to the laptop with the backup data that was transferred :( ho hum. But I'm sure that they can be retrieved somehow, someday.

Photos!! Here goes ;)

Jaeger Merino Chunky in Auburn and Extra Fine Merino DK in Coaldust both from Cucumberpatch

Jaeger Siena in Black and Ocean from Celticove

Jaeger Aqua DK in Blue Agate and Tide from Celticove

Pack of Patons Cotton DK in Rust and a ball of 4 ply in Rosewood from one of my favourite eBay sellers

Violet kit in Soft Cotton 4ply from Kim Hargreaves - wonderful!

And Hush in Denim DK again from Kim Hargreaves - well worth the wait!

I really love all the yarns that I've received over the past few weeks and can't wait to start knitting it up.... but there's always a catch. I have, in fact, ordered more yarns this week from EKemps and from New Lanark Mills and to be truthful.... I've ordered enough this year and feel that I must stop buying yarns. The yarn has often been an incentive or reward for something to do with the course whether it be an assignment handed in, a teaching placement successfully completed and let's face it, I don't drink, smoke or go out clubbing! But enough really IS enough.... :-/

Changing Over the Computer

The desktop PC died this weekend :( It's been a faithful piece of equipment since the start of the new millenium and I'm sorry to see it banished into the wide blue yonder (alternatively known as the cupboard over the stairs, affectionately known in our house as 'the priest hole' and no that's not an innuendo ;)) but the deskie was becoming far too unreliable and began to lock at the most inopportune moments.

I'm writing this blog entry on my laptop which will replace the old deskie in the study. There will certainly be more room on the desk thanks to the lappie's slimline figure..... lol!

I will be taking photos of my new yarn acquisitions tomorrow and trying to upload with lappie so I'm sorta crossing my fingers that it will work.

One thing's for certain -my typing hasn't improved by switching computers!

Interview!

Well it happened.... I got a job!!!

I obviously can't go into details about where my new school will be but I went for an interview on Monday and was offered the job on the day *big grin* I can't believe that I've been so lucky to get a job on the first interview; it's quite a surreal experience.

I have to spend the next few months knitting like mad and making myself a wardrobe of teacherly knitteds. And reward myself with a mountain of luscious fibre of course!

Half term next week and I can't wait to have a few days off. The Little Melodies are off on half term break as well and it will be lovely to spend some 'proper'time with them. Although I spent a bit too much time with them last weekend when Mr Melody went off on his annual golfing weekend and left me with the two hoodlums. Usually I enjoy being on my own with my boys but the pressure of preparing for the interview, preparing lessons and taking the lads to three parties between them over the weekend was a bit too much on my ownsome. I obviously came out at the other end of the weekend unscathed, the boys and I did have fun together, but the washing basket is still overflowing and the house is still a mess {:-(

That's why kids have lots of holiday from school - to give teachers well earned break! LOL!

Another FO

Which would be cool except that it's hideous on me. I started this cardigan jacket back in October 2007 so it's taken over six months to knit and stitch together, then when it's finished it doesn't suit me at all. The collar is too low, the body is too tight and the sleeves are too long. Added to that the body is too short. Pictish is right when she says that we can't try out knitteds on before we cast on :( Boo hoo. The offending article has been washed and is currently drying flat upstairs in an effort to make it feel better. I have very little hope.....

Melody's 'Lupin' Jacket

Knitted in Patons Diploma Gold DK in shade Lupin - 8 balls used

Pattern no: Patons 3324

Knitted using 3.25m and 4mm Pony Pearls needles


No news really this week except that Danny has had a nasty bout of tonsillitis but is now fully recovered. And I find this morning that one side of my throat is sore. Very sore. Down by where my tonsils used to be. This is a bad sign. A very bad sign. My throat must be better by tomorrow as I start seven weeks of TE3 and I can't afford to miss time with pharyngitis.

Another Assignment Bites the Dust!

Yay!! My 5,000 word assignment on children's errors when counting in tens to one hundred is printing off as we speak (or I type). I deserve a Kim Hargreaves kit as a reward for all my hard work, but which one to choose??

Hip, Hip - Oh No.....

I've had a really, really bad week this week and it all started to go wrong last Friday on the way home from lectures. I saw the train in the station and I ran to get on it before the doors closed which has happened to me in the past - you're left standing on the platform with your train moving out and you not on it. I wasn't running that quickly or wearing high heels or anything daft, but my right hip exploded in a red hot shooting pain. How I got onto the train and sat down, then managed to get off the train and get to the car and drive home, is a mystery in itself. I ended up at the walk-in medical centre and then in major injuries in the hospital's casualty department, crying with pain and the doctors thinking that I'd fractured my pelvis :(
I have evidently sprained my hip though - I've torn either a muscle or ligament and it's not been fun at all.

The pain has been almost unbearable this week - walking has been nigh on impossible and the codeine prescribed by the hospital has left me dazed and sick. I did make an improvement, or so I thought, towards the end of the week when I was able to walk round the house without wincing with every step - my own GP changed my painkillers to diclofenac when I went to visit her yesterday and they've worked much better than the codeine so I haven't been feeling so sick and knocked out as I did.

I've been told to rest my hip and not to do anything too energetic. But feeling slightly better this afternoon I popped into my local mini-Tesco to pick up some food for dinner with the boys on the way home from school. Bad decision! I parked on the car park and walked into the supermarket and picked up a few bits and pieces. The pain walking out to the car was unbearable once again. I shouldn't be too surprised though - the doctor did mention that she expected it to be a good four to six weeks for the sprain to heal completely.

So - no disco dancing moves for me for a while eh? You just can't watch Hannah Montana without wanting to get up and dayance! *sigh*

The Pendulum Swings in the Other Direction

No yarn has arrived Chez Melody since my last post, I have made headway into several projects and finished a couple as well; I've also been destashing yarns on Crafty Threads 'n' Yarns and have several listed on eBay. Not bad eh?

I often see patterns that are advertised as 'knit in a weekend!' but just what is the definition of a weekend? Is it an actual two days or is it 48 hours worth of knitting? I gave myself a challenge over the Easter break to knit a cardigan in 48 hours. Okay, I did cheat a bit and used the knitting machine to knit the stocking stitch bits but it was justified I think as the usual 'weekend' patterns are often sleeveless numbers or scarves, so I didn't think that cheating was necessarily a bad thing in this case!

Well - after almost nine hours of actual knitting, this is what I have to show for it and I'm really rather pleased:

I've also managed to finish my first ever crochet-project-with-a-purpose - a new washcloth for myself. Worked in pink Patons Supersoft cotton DK with a 4.5mm crochet hook, I made the pattern up myself to a certain extent: it's a plain old granny square with two rows of double crochet around the outside *grin* I even managed to crochet a little loop so that I can hang it up in the shower to dry when I've finished washing with it!

Seaton continues to make good progress too. I'm nearly to the shoulders on the back piece. Maybe the colours are a little patchier than I would have liked, but I really don't want to frog and knit two row stripes *shrugs*

Confessions
All this time at home on Easter holiday hasn't done my purse any favours! I showed you some of the stash that Mr Postie had delivered, so here's the next part....

Yarny stuff:
Eight balls of scrumptious Twilleys Spirit DK yarn to knit a scoop necked sweater for next Autumn, a couple of balls of cotton sock yarn from one of my friends over on eBay, ten balls of Tess Dawson merino DK bought as part of Terri's destash and fifteen balls of New Lanark silk and wool mix DK in cobalt. Yummy!

And I bought some Jane Ellison books - the two Mirasol collection books and the two Arauncania books along with the Noro summer leaflet and Rowan Studio nine - I need patterns to go with the yarn! That ball of Opal is the same one as above - it sneaked into the photos twice!

What the Blazes....

I’ve been eyeing up both Peace and Hush from the Kim Hargreaves Collection for a few weeks now and even though I have destashed and sold several lots of unwanted yarn on the Crafty Threads forum, I still didn’t feel comfortable buying two knitting kits because of the price of each kit. Then Pictish pointed out that Blaze is almost the same style as Peace and I was converted!

I cast on for Blaze yesterday evening, albeit a little late at about 10.30pm, but half the moss stitch border is already done. I'm knitting using Patons 100% Cotton DK in shade Pomegranate with 4mm Brittany Birch needles, my weapons of choice at the moment. It would appear that Patons Cotton DK and Cotton 4 ply are underestimated yarns and I’ve found them mainly being used for dishcloths and washcloths on Ravelry, which is a real shame as the yarn knits, washes and wears wonderfully as proven by my Tide cardigan that I made last year. Tide has been in and out of the washing machine and is still soft and easy to wear, with the added bonus that it can be steam pressed to perfection.


Blaze has appeared twice in Rowan publications but under different name: once as 'Cheer' in Rowan magazine 32, the second time as 'Blaze' in Rowan's 'The Pure Wool Collection' as shown in the photo above, but they are both the same Kim Hargreaves design. Which of course leaves me free to buy Hush with a clear conscience *big grin*

I had cast on the stitches for, and knitted two rows of rib for, a CPH in Stylecraft Harvest aran but decided that I really don’t want to knit it at the moment, so it came off the needles just as quickly.

More things have been arriving at the Melody House this week, but I’ll wait until my next post to tell you about those *wink*

Happy Birthday, Little Melody!

Six years ago the Littlest Little Melody was three and a half hours old and we were exceptionally pleased and very relieved that he'd turned up in one piece. Today he has demanded baked beans on toast for his lunch, ripped open his birthday cards with a vengeance and made an array of unique robots with Lego. Oh how the times change!

The Postman Came Again
Yes, he did! Lookie:










Three lots of Garnstudio Safran cotton in superb, citrus-y, spring colours to knit two ribbed tops and a fitted jacket, two lots of RYC Cashcotton DK (in the pool and geranium colourway) from Celticove as it was on sale and at a bargainous price *wink* and ten skeins of Colinette wigwam from Aknita on the Crafty Threads forum cos I want to knit Sam from the now discontinued Portmanteau booklet.


But now the talk on the Crafty Threads forum has turned to New Lanark Mill yarns and I'm STILL tempted by Kim Hargreaves kits. It never ends does it?

A Week of Deliveries

This week the postman has worked hard to deliver lots of goodies Chez Melody and here is what he brought:

A lovely selection of goodies from Hanne in the Round Robin Bag Exchange - the sheep tape measure is just too cute for words!







Some glorious lime green Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk double knitting yarn which I was going to whizz up into a classroom cardi but I think it's just too special to use in the classroom







And a whole bagful of cottons from Get Knitted - two lots of 4 ply cotton in pink and blue and one lot of it in the DK weight in grape. All for summer stuff for me :-)















And the postman will be working hard this week too let me tell you *wink*

I did get Mr Melody's Rigger Boot socks finished and the ends darned in this month - knitted in King Cole Merino DK in shade graphite, they are lovely, thick and cosy for wearing inside his safety boots when he's out on site. He seemed pleased when I handed them over anyway....

Paris Jacket Finished


Hooray! I sewed on the buttons and finished my Paris jacket this morning:

I'm really quite pleased with this jacket considering that I had trouble with decreasing 2sts at the neck edge for the neck shaping and that it was knitted in one piece to the armholes which made it knitting it seem like an eternity. The sewing up was quicker though!

I made a couple of modifications - the sleeves are shorter and I used snap fastener at the top of the buttonband to ensure that the neck stays closed rather than gaping. There's a distinct lack of buttonole at the neckband in the pattern and it looked a bit odd with the neckband flapping open.

The jacket is knitted in Garnstudio Paris cotton aran, in shade 07 Heather which is real life in dark cerise colour, and it took just 9 balls to knit on a 5mm circular needle. I knitted the sleeves back and forth on Brittany birch needles and used little silver shank buttons that I had in my button stash. The ribbing at the waist gives the jacket a little shaping which I like. The yarn is deliciously chunky and cottony and I'll certainly be using it again in the future - even Matthew likes the feel of it against his senstivie skin!

My next project is yet another cotton cardigan for the warmer months (hopefully) ahead - I cast on the stitches to knit Seaton from RYC's Classic Coast last night, but I'm using the bargain Colorado cotton aran weight yarn that I got for a bargain price from Lidl last year. I'm going to knit it all in one colour though, without the striping and possibly without the ribbon tie at the waist:

Poor Neglected blog?

Well not really, I've been very busy doing other things and not much time to post anything that you might want to read.

The fifth week of TE2 is completed and it's my final week at my placement school next week. I can't begin to tell you just how much fun this placement has been and I know that I shall be full of sadness when I leave next Friday. I've already threatened to go back in on my days off!!

And I've just been a very naughty Melody and ordered some scrummy 4 ply and double knitting cottons from Get Knitted.... well, a girl needs her yarn fix occasionally!