Connected to the Outside World!

Got hooked up to Internet in our new apartment yesterday, so I can finally write (pretty sure that adding to my personal blog at a new job would be a stupid move, so I've been noticeably silent). Anyway, we've gotten moved in and the shipment came and we're slowly getting settled.

The school's welcoming committee has been great about setting up little excursions for all the new faculty. They took us to the London Eye, which I'd already been on, but much nicer when its free! Also took us to Kenilworth Castle and Stratford with other new faculty. Very beautiful and nice to get out the city for the day. Years ago I spent a lot of time in Stratford, which I love. Quite a bit of construction going on at the moment, but still beautiful. Tried to find this little fish 'n chips shop that I went to years ago. There was a bit of a big deal surrounding the shop at that time because they were still using real newsprint to wrap the food in. It was a health concern, but even so, people were reluctant to give up that tradition. Couldn't remember the location, so I went into a shop and asked the sales people if they knew of it. I think I described it as "a local favorite" and "small hole-in-the wall that's been around forever." Sure enough, they immediately came up with the name--Kingfisher. The young woman said that it's her family's favorite and the only place they get their fish 'n chips. It's away from all the tourist shops so the prices are much better. The only trouble... they're closed on Sundays. We'll just have to go back when it's open. Walked along the river in Stratford and took the foot ferry (the girls are on it in the picture to the left) and on to Trinity Church to see Shakespeare's tomb. I've seen all the other Shakespeare properties and would love for my family to see them too, but it's an all-day thing and cheaper to do when you can buy the combo ticket (at least if it's the same as in the past). We'll definitely need to go back.

On to knitting news... all that yarn that I boxed up and shipped has been unpacked but is still a big mess. Have too many projects going at the moment and nothing close to being finished... to the point where I've been frogging and re-knitting pieces, which is never fun so those things have been set aside for a little while. You can see the vest that I've been working on (Leftovers). Have the next done now, but will probably frog it as I think the stitches need to be closer together. Also have the arm trim started, but I'm stalled. I do this every time with things. I just can't finish. Did finish a tunic top for my daughter. That thing had been sitting around for six months or more, but now it's finally done. I'll get her to pose soon so I can post a picture.

Right now I'm in the middle knitting a birthday gift for a friend's daughter. Her birthday was yesterday and I'm probably at least a week away from finishing even in a perfect world, so I need to put other things aside for the moment. I'm making her a pillow for her room. Felted blue and white with flowers sewed on (at least that's what it looks like in my head). Wish me luck.

Moving Day... Sort of

We took possession of the keys today for our London flat (have to get the lingo right!) We moved a few bags over today, but will stay in the hotel one more night so we can sleep on real beds. Our shipment won't arrive for another week, so we bought a couple of air beds to avoid the hard floor. Decided that with guests and sleepovers we'll need them anyway. We'll take the bins over tomorrow and I'll finally get some wash done... four people x one week = a lot of wash.

When people leave the school, many donate items to the incoming teachers. Someone left some yarn. Didn't take too much, although I did grab some went to a friend of mine. I did take some nice 100% merino wool. There wasn't a lot, but I'm making two cases--one for an iPod and one for my husband's reading glasses. I'll try to felt it. Doesn't always work well in the front loading machine, but then again, my former cleaning lady did shrink my daughter's expensive Norwegian sweater without too much trouble. Once again, I'll have photos shortly.

I'm also still working on my leftover vest, but it's gotten too big to walk around with in my knitting bag so that's why I started the smaller projects mentioned above. I'm making it up the back of the vest at this point. It's going fine. Just hope it looks good when it's finished... a little rough at the moment. One of the yarns isn't the same quality as the others and it shows (puckers, not laying as nicely as the rest). Just hoping I'm not disappointed.

Last of the Bubble

We've made it to London and found a flat. If all goes well, we'll have the keys Friday or Saturday... just in time (we're only in the hotel until Sunday). Now if the shipment comes, we'll be set to start the year.
I wanted to get the last pictures of the Bubbly Curtain up since the project is now finished. You can see the beaver sticks and the two panels. Also given a close up of how I've attached the sections (Martha Stewart ribbon). I used little sticks to keep the curtains from folding in.
Had planned to next start chair socks, but the flat that we've just taken has a carpet in the part of the house that will house the dining table. So much for that idea. Some day I WILL make chair socks. I guess I could still make them if I wanted and might, but will wait to see.
Currently knitting the Leftover sweater and about 13 inches done so far. I'll start the arm holes in about two inches. It's been a good project for this stressful time of hunting for apartments... doesn't take much thought. I'll get pictures up soon.
My friend who lives here has been learning to knit. She just finished a scarf for a friend and now I'm helping her knit something in the round for the first time. It may turn into an infant sweater for her brother's new baby or a purse for her daughter or a pillow cover for her son's bed. The beauty of knitting something in the round... it can turn into so many different things.
Not sure when we're get our own Internet connection so postings may be more sporadic, but I'll try.

Bubble Curtain

I have a few more rows of knitting to do on the last panel of the Bubble Curtain, but I thought I'd include pictures of the side that I have hanging. I noticed it doesn't look great in the pictures, but you get the idea. I used medium starch on these, but think that with the length I should have used a heavier starch (which I have on the other side).
You can see that the curtains want to curl in on the sides. I have remedied this by threading some little sticks and twigs in the holes--looks like I need another stick on the purple panel.
The sun comes through this nicely in the morning. There's enough shade to keep from getting the direct sunlight, but it doesn't make the room dark. You can see the lake out the window in one of the pictures. I didn't want to totally give up that view, but I wanted something to give a little protection from the sun.
In this last picture, you see the infamous beaver stick. That guy swam by our dock last night and I was ready to wrestle a stick away from him, but he wasn't carrying anything... just heading home from work, I guess.

Chair Sox

I'm thinking, depending on the apartment we find in London and the type of flooring it has, that I may make chair socks next. I first saw chair socks at the house of some friends--they had gotten them in Japan where they are common. I've been looking for a pattern, but I guess that isn't really necessary. A small tube sock would do. I've been looking for ideas and found a place that sells them here and some free patterns here and here.

I love the colorful sock yarn that's out there... something brown with a splash of color. Before we left Prague, a friend gave us a table that she had made when she lived in China. There are eight chairs (32 socks) so that's another never-ending project, but might be worth it. Will see what yarn I have in my stash that was sent in our shipment. I don't want to buy anything new unless I really need it.

Anyone out there have a nice chair sock pattern that they've seen?

Knitting Lowers Blood Pressure

So I read this once and heard that doctors were prescribing knitting to patients with high blood pressure; however, I had never actually met anyone who was knitting on a doctor's recommendation... until last week. I was buying a knitting magazine and the man behind the counter, probably in his 60s, told me that he was knitting his first sweater. I said something about how it was supposed to lower blood pressure and he said that's why he was doing it. He'd had five heart attacks, something about losing an artery (is that possible?) and blood pressure that was difficult to treat with medication. His doctor was at a loss, so told him to knit. He said so far so good. My blood pressure is so low I'm barely alive, but I don't know if it has anything to do with knitting. Hope the doctor doesn't tell me to quit knitting :)

M.I.A.

It's been weeks since I had time to write. We've had lots of visitors, I went to a conference in Memphis and then more visitors, so I haven't written and haven't even knitted much.

The first group of visitors were families that we knew from when we taught in Brazil. We've gotten together every year or two since the first of us left Brazil. It's so fun to get together with all of them, see how much the kids have grown and pick up where we left off like no time has passed at all. Here are the kids at the local ice cream store. We had ten kids and eight adults and lots of fun in the lake.

I then went to Oxford, Mississippi for a couple of days to visit a friend whom I've taught with in Prague. Visited Rowan Oak (Faulkner's home) and Ole Miss, saw where the first presidential debates will take place between Obama and McCain, attended a reading at a local bookstore by John Grisham's Writer in Residence for 2007-2008, Jack Pendarvis, met an actress who doesn't seem to remember many of the locals' names despite having lived there two years, saw the movie, "We are Wizards," which desperately needed to be edited more, and ate some great Southern cooking. Attended the Laptop Institute in Memphis, Tennessee where I heard lots of great speakers and did a little hour-long presentation on research and laptops. My friend always calls it the "Lap-dance Institute," but I won't go into the one wild night we had at the end of the conference.

Got home and then had my husband's family up at the lake the next day. They stayed several days and we enjoyed tubing, skiing, fishing, and toasting marshmallows. My in-laws even took the kids one night and the three couples got to go out to eat and have normal conversation, although even that is getting easier now that the kids are older and better able to entertain themselves. Everyone gives my mother-in-law a hard time about her family photos, which she insists on each year. There's only one photogenic family in the bunch (and we're not the one), so the rest of us sort of suffer through and end up looking like the poor relations when the Christmas card comes out, but it is fun to have the photos in the end. Here is the annual "self-timer" photo so everyone is there.

Knitting note: I'm on my last little panel for the curtain (at least with the yarn I have). I think I will need to buy more. Not sure I'll have this done before we leave as that is less than two weeks away. My husband was relaxing out at the dock last night when the beaver cruised by. He said that that brazen beaver came within feet of him, sort of gave him the triple stink eye and kept going. Asked if he was carrying a beaver stick for my second curtain rod, but hubby said no. Thought maybe hubby could have wrestled the beaver for it.
At the laptop institute I didn't knit. Saw two knitters, though. One woman was knitting a blue baby something but didn't have time to ask about it as my friend, who was presenting next, couldn't find the right sized dongle for her computer and needed my help. There was also a man knitting. My friend remembers him from when she attended two years ago.