Decorations

After seeing this post on making cute little cork elves(?), I realized that I should put my knitting skills and free time to good use and decorate!  I'm not crazy enough to attempt making new things for this year, but maybe next year I'll introduce some of these to my home:

Let's start with the obvious!  Santa hats and candy canes :)

Source

Source

In The Next Year of Knitting, I Want To...

The very last assignment for my Masters is to develop a five year professional development plan.  We are to come up with goals we want to accomplish in the next five years, and the steps and supports we will need to accomplish our goals.  My plan mostly involves finding a full-time teaching job.  I thought it would be fun to come up with a plan for knitting!  Five years is probably a little too long to think about, so below I present my one year professional development plan for knitting (and other yarn crafts):

Alpaca Fever

It's no secret that one day, I would like to make my own yarn from scratch.  A friend in college used to make fun of me, and ask what the point of doing that would be.  I equated it to baking a cake from scratch: It's so satisfying to make a beautiful product on your own.  I took a short yarn-dying seminar in college, and the feeling that I could make any color I wanted was incredible.  I think that knitting something from yarn that I spun and dyed would be amazing!

So when I win the lottery, I want a beautiful stone farmhouse with enough land (and a barn) for either sheep or alpaca.  I just started a sweater from a merino/alpaca blend, and it's soooooo nice! Warm, soft, squishy yarn that I can't wait to wear.  In honor of my obsession, here are some alpaca products:

Knit Alpaca Scarf

Sneak Peek: Swatching

I have in my possession several skeins of 60% merino wool, 40% baby alpaca yarn. Sooo soft and squishy! I won't share what I'm making (yet), but here's a sneak peek!

Sneak Peek: On The Needles

For some reason, I have about 3 skeins of yarn left over from my yellow cardigan. Instead of being financially responsible and returning them, I decided to make the extra yarn into socks! I finished the first sock last night (see below).

I admit, I used to think knitting socks was sort of silly. They're so tiny compared to sweaters and the basic shape is always the same. But this is my second pair of socks, and I think I might be catching sock fever!

What I Learned Today

Today, I learned that I am still a novice when it comes to blocking large knit items. Yes, I made a sweet fisherman's sweater last year. I blocked it by hand, and I haven't actually washed it yet (but it's only been worn twice). I just finished a cute yellow cardigan, and was excited to block it. I used Cascade 220 Superwash yarn, so I could machine wash and dry my cardigan. However, I wasn't thinking, and put it in by itself. No nylon wash bag to keep it together, no towels or anything to take up space. As a result, my sweater is now sized for... A gorilla. It's giant.

After scouring the Internet, consulting a friend, and calling a yarn store, I had a plan of attack: I am supposed to fluff my sweater down to the size I want, and let it air dry. When it is almost completely dry, I should throw it in the dryer and pray for the best! The sweater is currently fluffed and drying in the dining room... I'll let you know how it turns out! And never will I ever throw a hand knit item in the washing machine by itself again.

Teacher Vs. Coach

This weekend, I spent 2 days going through the USA Rugby coaching workshop.  It means that I am a certified rugby coach (and that the other coaches will probably make me do more at practice now).  The whole weekend reminded me of my MAT program: It stressed discussion, practicums and reflection.  Umm, that's all I did between June 2010 and May 2011. Discussed what laws and definitions meant.  Put our thoughts into action by doing small sessions with classmates.  Reflecting on what went well, what went not so well, and how we could improve.  During the rugby program, our leader asked us what the difference between a teacher and a coach is.  To me, there is no difference.  Both positions involve teaching, motivating and using technique to optimize learning.

As a teacher, I want to motivate my students.  I want them to try, and I want them to want to learn.  I want to reach every student, and not shut down the students who don't succeed right away.  Motivating the students who struggle is most important.  I want to teach them that effort pays off.  I want to teach them that you don't always have to get the right answer right away.  I want to teach them that trying a problem you don't know can still yield success.  I want them to put effort into both my tests and the standardized tests that my school is judged on.  As a coach, I want to motivate my students.  I want them to try rugby, and I want them to learn the game.  I want to reach every player, and not shut down the players who don't succeed right away.  Motivating the players who don't excel right away is most important.  I want to teach them that effort pays off.  I want to teach them that practice makes perfect, but games won't always go perfectly. I want to teach them that going against a bigger, stronger, faster team can still yield success.  I want them to put effort into the games that their season and team are judged on.

As a teacher, I want my students to learn.  Yes, I want them to learn how to do math.  But more than that, I want them to learn how to approach problems, how to apply what they've learned to new problems, how to persist, how to work with others, and how to express their thoughts clearly through writing.  As a coach, I want my players to learn.  Yes, I want them to learn how to (safely) play the game.  But more than that, I want them to learn how to approach situations and make good, quick decisions.  How to persist.  How to work with others.  And how to express their plays and positioning on the field.

As a teacher, I spent a year (and still spend time) learning how to teach.  I learned that exploratory learning is better than lecturing.  Activities with meaning and purpose will create memorable learning experiences.  As a coach, I spent two days (and still spend time) learning how to coach.  I learning that incorporating games into practices will enhance learning.  Games involve making quick decisions in rugby-like situations.  They conceal conditioning, and make it fun.  Basically, games are better than drills that work the same skill.

As a teacher, I feel that I can translate many of my skills over to the rugby field.  I'm excited to see how my girls do in the spring.  There's a lot of skill in the vets, and potential in the rookies.  Let's ruck, maul, pillage and burn!

New Blog Design

I've been playing with a free version on photoshop, teaching myself some handy tricks and editing.  I've wanted to design my own logo for a while now, and I'm happy to introduce my new design!  It still needs some refining, but I couldn't wait any longer.  Keep an eye out for buttons soon.

Halloween Costumes

Confession: I didn't dress up for Halloween last year.  I started looking for costume ideas for this year, and found this super creative hamburger outfit.

(Source)

I'm lucky I didn't see this earlier, because I would have gone crazy trying to make it in time for Halloween! It's such a cute, out of the box idea.  I may have to start scheming for next year...

It turns out the Hamburger dress artist went to a college near me!  Please check out her website for more knit/crocheted creations, and her etsy shop.

Pop Culture: Iconic Sweaters

I snagged this link from one sheepish girl's facebook page.  It features founditemclothing.com's 9 iconic sweaters in American culture. How many do you recognize?

The original article can be found here.

Holding Out For Your Dream Job?

Story of my summer.

I've been bad about updating this blog lately, because I finally got a job!  After spending the entire summer filling out countless (and repetitive) applications, many phone calls, and a few interview offers, I was sick of the job hunt.  My whole life I've excelled at academics and extracurriculars.  It sounds bratty, but I'm used to getting the things I apply to: College, graduate school, study abroad program, summer jobs, etc.  So it was very frustrating to keep filling out applications and making phone calls when most of them were never returned.  I was job hunting for so long, that I was able to think about what I really wanted.


This past year, I earned my teaching certification in physics (grades 5-12) and mathematics (grades  5-12).  I really enjoyed student teaching both high school physics and middle school math, so I knew my last choice for a job would be high school math.  However, as the summer went on and I was still unemployed, I began to apply to everything.  Even high school math.  Even high school math long-term substitute positions.  I wasn't interested in these jobs; I just wanted A job.  I felt guilty because there was an abundance of jobs back in Indiana that I didn't apply to because I didn't want to live in Indiana.  Every job I was qualified for, but not interested in, I felt guilty for not applying.  So which is the "right" thing to do:  Getting a job you don't want (like high school math), or remaining unemployed and open to continue searching for the job you do want?  If you choose to do the latter, should you feel guilty like I did?  I was lucky in that my parents were (and are) willing to support me until I find a full-time job which will allow me to support myself.  In the end, I found a job that allows me to work with middle school math students.  However, it's not full-time, and I will be living at home the whole year.  No doubt if I were living on my own, I would have had to take a job I didn't want in order to sustain myself.

I love my job.  I love the school, the staff and the kids.  I'm happy that I got my foot in the door, and I'm hoping this will help me get a "real" teaching job in the future.  My coworkers have encouraged me to keep looking during the school year, but for now I want to take a break from the job hunt and just enjoy myself.

A Message From Teachers to Parents

Source: Cnn (article here)

My final class for my Masters degree is online, and strongly based on discussion.  One of my fellow cohort members posted a link to this article on Cnn.com, titled "What teachers really want to tell parents."  The article talks about a principal, voted state administrator of the year, who leaves her job because she cannot deal with parent any longer.

The article goes on to give a clear message: Making excuses and undermining teacher's authority need to stop.  Parents should trust that teachers are doing the best thing for each child.  I was recently in a discussion with a few teachers about parental involvement in student schedules.  In recent years, more and more parents are pushing their children into higher level courses.  Sometimes, the parents override teacher recommendations to do so.  Yes, some students can be challenged and succeed.  Other students do not have a strong enough grasp on the math skills needed to succeed in these classes.  Putting them in high level classes will put a strain on them.  Every parent wants their child to succeed in school, and exceed expectations.  However, parents need to be realistic.  Every child has strengths and weaknesses.  Refusing to acknowledge this will only hinder their learning.

My Knitting Bag: A New Cardigan

Yesterday, I received the best phone call: The yarn I ordered had arrived!  I immediately ran to the yarn store to pick it up and cast on my new sweater.

Words cannot express how glad I am to own a yarn swift/ball winder.  11 skeins that need to be transformed into center-pull balls!

I've only had the yarn for about a day, but I'm already a few inches into the body of my cardigan:

More pictures after the jump!

New Use for Wool: Insulation

Me, in the fisherman's sweater I knit.

Come winter, I'm looking forward to curling up in my warm, cozy (hand-knit by me), wool sweater.  This is because wool is an excellent insulator.  In elementary school, we all learn that conductors pass electricity along easily, while insulators do not allow electricity to pass easily.  The same rules apply for heat.  Conductors, such as metal, both pass electricity and heat.  Insulators, such as cork, do not.  Air is one of the best insulators.  Down blankets keep us warm, because the feathery fluff contains many small air pockets.  The air pockets do not conduct heat, so the heat from your body remains trapped under the blanket, keeping you warm.  Knit sweaters keep you warm the same way.  On a larger scale, we use insulation to keep the heat in our houses throughout the winter.  Commonly, we think of pink or yellow synthetic fluff when we think of house insulation.  Before the synthetic material, builders would use rags and even newspaper.

Recycled Knitting Needles (and other knit-inspired jewelry)

I love the idea of recycling old knitting needles into jewelry and cute accessories.  Now I just need an idea for my old bamboo needles...

So cute and colorful! (Source)

Baking: Not My Usual Craft

Sometimes I pretend to be domestic. This happens rarely. Sure, I enjoy cooking the occasional meal. But only if I'm cooking with someone else. I hate cooking by myself. And I quite often do not have the patience for baking. You have to mix the ingredients in the right order and pay attention to annoying little details. There is one obsession I have that overrides my baking aversion: Key Lime Pie Cheesecake. I first fell in love with it at the Cheesecake Factory. Then, I discovered a delightful French restaurant in my small, Indiana town with delicious Key Lime Pie Cheesecake. When I saw this recipe on a guest post by Sprinkle Bakes, I had to try it!

I follow Sprinkle Bakes mostly because her photographs of recipes are amazing.  Her cheesecake bars are delicious, and she recently put up a recipe for home made cow tails that I want to try!  Definitely check her out.  Meanwhile, here are some (not as good) pictures of my cheesecake:

Yummy yummy yummy in my tummy tummy tummy!

The recipe has you make enough lime curd for three batches of the cheesecake bars.  I already made a second batch to take to my boyfriend and his family.  The third batch will probably be baked this weekend for a friend's party.  Yes, it takes forever to make this from scratch, but it's totally worth it.

Blogs I follow: One Sheepish Girl

Meredith has an amazing blog that I love.  She's super creative, and you should definitely check her out.  My favorite is her Knitting for confidence series.  Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to do her challenges (red lipstick = eek!).  For her upcoming birthday, she's doing a giveaway!  Enter to win.

Transforming Teacher Education: Part II

In the next few weeks, I'll be reading Transforming Teacher Education: What Went Wrong With Teacher Training, and How We Can Fix It, edited by Valerie Hill-Jackson and Chance W. Lewis.  I'll summarize the books points, and give my opinion.  Having recently completed teacher education, I believe that I it will be interesting to see how my program aligns with the book.

In this section of the book, a writer comments on her view that teacher education is at a crossroads, and the importance of philosophy in teaching.  To be honest, it was hard for me to concentrate on this chapter.  Some of her ideas were a little too much for me.  The chapter began with stressing the fact that current philosiphies of teaching and learning influence teacher education. As mentioned in my last post, that was absent in the book's history of teacher education.  The chapter then gives a brief description on Dewey's beliefs, the definition of education reform, finally a suggested approach to the matter.  Read after the jump for more (it's short, I promise!).

Scott Brown: Knitting Model

I admit it.  I looked up Scott Brown's nude photo shoot from Cosmo.  I had never heard about his other photo shoots, including modeling Bernat Sweaters!

The official article is here, but I'll put the photos below.

If only he was actually a knitter...

Transforming Teacher Education: Part I

Today, I began reading Transforming Teacher Education: What Went Wrong With Teacher Training, and How We Can Fix It, edited by Valerie Hill-Jackson and Chance W. Lewis.  Since much of the blog has focused on my knitting recently, I thought I would swing things back to education for a while.

The book consists of four main parts: A brief history of teacher education, a reconceptualization of implementation, efforts towards teaching training reform, and the future of teacher education.  As I read the book, I will summarize its points here, along with my thoughts.

Tonight, I will talk about Part I: The History of Teacher Education.  The book begins by discussing how the standard student has changed since America began having schools; in the beginning students were primarily white, upper-class Protestant males.  School was intended to preen students into leaders for their communities.  Today, our schools are incredibly diverse in race, socioeconomic status and more.  Students our on their way to a myriad of careers.

Similarly, the environment of learning has changed.  At first, learning took place at home, or in the church.  As America became more developed, school buildings popped up.  With an increase in students, the demand for teachers increased.  However, the image of teachers did not change very much. Teaching was commonly a transition role; a few years between college and a "real" job for men.  It was considered lower than medicine, law, etc.  When more women entered the teaching world, that view did not change.

How did teacher training come about?  In the 1830s, as the demand for teachers continued to rise, it was decided that teacher training should last at least one year, and focus on knowledge acquisition, pedagogy, classroom management, and practice (sound familiar?  Hint: my teacher program in 2010-2011 focused on the same issues).  Taking an entire year was expensive and time-consuming.  Therefore, institutions began holding 4-6 week institutes throughout the year.  Teachers would continue attending them after gaining certification.  As time went on, training became integrated into high school.  Then, it progressed into college.  In other words, teacher training was now taking place for several years.  There was a general shortage of certified teachers because of this (and the many rural communities with lack of access to training).  By the 1960s, states had certification requirements, and it was difficult to teach without a college degree.

Alternative teaching programs first popped up in the post-Sputnik years.  For the first time, there was an option for those who had not studied education in college to receive the proper training in order to teach. However, the programs did not last very long and slowly fizzled out.  The book ends in the late 1980s, with an attempt at teacher education reform.  It included national standards, earning at Bachelor's degree, competitive salaries and performance-related incentives.

The book then suggests what should happen in the future: Raising the status of teachers, ensuring equality for all students (regardless or race, gender, etc.  This includes those students in dilapidated schools), and giving teachers a more powerful voice in the politics of schools.

I think its interesting that the book does not take the changing view of what learning is into consideration.  During America's history, learning theories have come and gone, each leaving its impact in the classroom.  Certainly teacher training would include the definition of learning and current theories.  I definitely agree that the status of teachers should be increased.  Until I stepped into the classroom last fall, I had no idea how much time and energy it take to be a good teacher.  Lately, teachers seem to get a lot of the blame and little support.  I was in a small, rural school with very few behavioral problems, and teaching was still a tremendous effort.  While not every teacher is a good teacher, all teachers deserve respect for their efforts.

Stay tuned for Part II!

Summer Distractions

Summer is going quickly (AHHH I need to find a job!), and there's a lot going on.  I've been negligent with my knitting.  But I have plenty of excuses!

I've been travelling to Washington DC frequently to visit my boyfriend.  He lives right in the city, and it's wonderful to explore by myself while he's at work.  Last visit, I went to the zoo.  My favorite animal, the red panda, was not out because she had just had twins!  I had to compensate by buying a stuffed red panda:

Definitely adorable.

I also saw a lot of real animals while there:

Passed out Giant Panda.

Asian Elephant.

SLOTH.  You can just see the side of him.  Ignore the monkey tail hanging down next to him...

Sleepy tiger.  I visited during prime nap time.

Last weekend, the boy came to visit me.  We went canoeing, and spent the afternoon at a local bluegrass festival.  Amazing and fun, but not really good for my knitting!

To top it off, I've become addicted to Steig Larsson's Millenium series.  I finished The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo last week, finished The Girl Who Played With Fire yesterday, and hope to finish The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Next tomorrow.  Yes, tomorrow.  I need to finish it so I can start the new George R.R. Martin Book!

For those of you who have not read the Song of Ice and Fire series, it's the best fantasy series I've read.  The first book, A Game of Thrones was just turned into a tv series on HBO.  They did an amazing job, and I can't wait for next year.  Meanwhile, fans have been waiting for this book (the 5th), for several years.

I also have a book on what went wrong with teacher education (and how we can fix it) that I keep meaning to read and blog about.

I haven't completely forgot about knitting though.  I'm chugging away on my socks, and I'm about 2/3 done with my second sock!

Detail of the ribbing.

Turning the heel is actually really fun :)

Hope your summers are just as busy/enjoyable!

Knitting as Art

It's sometimes hard for me to think of knitting objects that aren't clothing.  After visiting the Hyperbolic Coral Reef, I should know better.  This morning, I discovered the German artist Anette Streyl.  She plans detailed, scale models of well-known buildings in yarn.

There are two sides to her artwork:  First, the 1:100 scale knitted shells atop stone carvings of their buildings:

McDonald's Restaurant

Great Hall Berlin

Second, the skins on exhibit empty, hung like clothing on a line:

Great Hall Berlin

Ikea Store

There is something about seeing such large, sturdy buildings hanging limp and empty that interests me.  I wonder if the artist is trying to send a message about the importance of buildings, or what is inside of buildings.

I must note that the artist does not knit the buildings herself.  She carefully plans then in great detail, and then they are knit up by another woman with a knitting machine.  To learn more about Anette Streyl and her work, see this article on Twist Collective, or visit Streyl's website.

A Peek at My Ravelry Queue

I love browsing Ravelry for cute patterns and ideas, and I always end up adding something to my queue.  I seriously need to find a teaching job so I can buy more yarn and get started!  Enjoy:

Firefly bag.  The name caught my eye (I love Nathan Fillion and his tv shows), and then the pretty lace pattern pushed this guy to number one in my queue.

Abigail Cardi.  Knit in one piece (I despise sewing seams!), it looks light and cute.

Still Light Tunic.  I adore pockets.  Enough said.

Fiona, all grown up.  Yes, this is on tiny needles and would take forever to create.  But it's soooooooo cute.  And I have recently discovered that I actually like using tiny needles.  It's the perfect summertime top/project.

Looking Glass Socks.  I'm in the middle of my first pair of socks, and I love them! So fast and easy to knit up.  I have a feeling I'll be making a lot more in the future.

Quadrat.  Sideways cables!  This is such a cute look, I wonder if I can pull it off?

Snapdragon Flip-Top Mittens.  My first real knitting project was a pair of gloves (I'm a firm believer of learning while I go?), and these mittens would be a great addition to my collection.

Aubergine.  I'm very much in love with this yarn and how it knit up!

Finally, there are two knitted pairs of slippers that I can't make up my mind about!  What do you think?

French Press Felted Slippers.  The buttons are adorable!

Knotted Slipper.  The knot just looks so fun to do!

Believe it or not, this is only about half my queue!  I want to try so many different things, as well as continue making things I enjoy, like small projects and socks.  I introduced my sister to Ravelry last night, and she spent hours trying to find the perfect sweater pattern.  She did!

My first pair of socks!

A few weeks ago, I won a sock pattern from a fabulous blog I read, We Do Not  Have A Knitting Problem.  The blogger not only knits a ton of socks, but designs them as well.  I have never attempted socks, but with this Sweet Home pattern I knew the time had come.

I picked out a beautiful yarn yesterday, and was excited to get started!  I've been trying to avoid started new projects since I want to spend time on weaving.  Unfortunately the custom pieces I ordered for my loom were not quite right, and I'll have to send them back to be remade.  While I'm waiting, the socks should keep me busy.

Beautiful Madeline Tosh yarn.

I love these colors.

The yarn is hand-dyed Tosh Sock merino wool.  So soft!

The other exciting thing about this project is that I got to use my new swift and ball winder for the first time!  I got them for my birthday, and have been very happy that I'll never have to wind balls of yarn by hand again.

Lookin' good.

I may have gotten a little artsy with the camera.  Action shots!

I also may have made my sister sit on the floor to shoot this...

Close up of the final product.

Hooray!  A great ball ready to be turned into socks.

 I suppose the dark colors will make it a little more difficult to see the pattern, but once this yarn caught my eye I couldn't put it down.  Why did I agree to go tubing with my friends this afternoon when I could be home knitting!?