Winterhaven is the place to go in Tucson in December. One may think that Tucson is the worst place to celebrate Christmas, but, if you celebrate a religious Christmas, Jesus probably experienced similar weather and environmental conditions. Although snow romanticizes the holiday, we have a pretty sweet set up in the Ol' West.

Winterhaven is a great neighborhood where every house sets up lights and decorations. It does get chilly at night--believe it or not--and people set kettle corn and hot cocoa in the middle of the neighborhood.

My mom's and my tradition is to go to Pastiche. They stay open late, are nearby, but not too close to Winterhaven. They have a great coffee keoke, along with desserts. Check it out if you get a chance!

Hi there!

Well, as you can see from my absence, graduate school has really affected my ability to write posts and to knit. I normally bring my knitting to my choir practice, but I haven't for a while. My fellow singers started to ask, "Where's your knitting? Are you still knitting?" They seemed to be really concerned and worried about me. Instead I had forgone the yarn for books, since I've had to read two per week (it's not that bad actually). So when I finally brought my knitting this past week, a few of them breathed a sigh of relief, almost as if to say, "Good, she's okay. She's going to make it." Somehow in my life, or knitting career, taking around my projects and knitting during every free second has come to symbolize that I am well-balanced, happy, and sane. I must admit that knitting does relieve stress and it does make me happy, so perhaps bringing my needles around does demonstrate that I'm doing fine. I wonder if everyone has physical symbols to show the world their psyche. I'm sure psychologists would love that. Knitting needles equal sanity, crochet hooks mean low-stress, knives mean...paranoia, violent disposition? Perhaps knitting needles are a more aggressive symbol than I think...I'll have to work on the connections.

Anyhow, here is what I have been working on:

So far graduate school is going really well. I only teach one class this semester, so it is much easier than I am used to! My students were shy today and not too inclined to speak. If they are anything like my former students, that will change quickly. They did not seem enthusiastic to be there, but I know that not everyone loves English or composition. Hopefully I can at least teach them how important it is in any career field. It will also be interesting to see how Arizona students stack up against students from other states. I know the Arizona rating for education is low, but I think we should be higher than we are.

I have only attended one class so far, and we just went over the syllabus. My next class is in two hours. It is reminiscent of undergrad, which is comforting, but there is a considerable amount of work! One of my friends said that I will always have some form of homework, and I am beginning to see that now. However, it does not seem too different from being a teacher. I always had to plan, grade, and create materials. The only difference here is that I will also have to read, write, and research. While that sounds overwhelming, I have much more time at home than I did as a teacher. While working full time, I was out of the house--strictly for work purposes--for nine hours a day, 45 hours per week. This semester I will be out of the house twelve hours per week. That does not include the commute time, which is about 20 minutes per day, round trip, which is an additional hour and 20 minutes. If I continue to have good work ethic, which I will, it shouldn't be too much more work than a regular, full-time job. I wonder if two months from now I will laugh at myself for writing that...we shall see!

It has been a while since my last post because I have been really busy! I decided that I wanted to go back to school for a PhD in English Literature. I have been experiencing a lot of change: moving to a one-bedroom apartment, ending my career as a middle school teacher, and starting a graduate program. Unfortunately, due to all of those changes, I have not had very much time to knit. Hopefully I will be able to make time for it soon. Getting back to graduate school...

I have been in orientation the last few days and I have learned a lot about myself and my new colleagues. The first few days I was timid and did not want to participate in discussions or talk much to people; I was reserved. I was nervous for a few reasons. I haven't been in school for three years. As such, I'm worried that I'm rusty on my essay writing and critical thinking. I'm worried that I won't have enough time to read (at least two books a week!). I'm worried that I'll be the worst PhD candidate in my program when I'm used to being at the top of my class. All summer I have been forgetting the silliest words! What if that were to happen while I was teaching? Or what if my vocabulary left me during a class discussion and I couldn't communicate as eloquently as the others? My list of fears goes on and on.

Now that I've met my colleagues and chatted with them for a few days, I learned that I'm not the only one who feels this way. Many of my colleagues are starting again after a few years of being away from academia. We are all concerned about the work load. We all have been rejected from multiple graduate programs. None of us know the exact trick to getting into graduate school, though all of us have. This makes me more comfortable. It's not that misery loves company, but I am reassured that I am not the only one with doubts. I feel less like the black sheep.

When I was an undergrad, I idolized the graduate students. They were so professional and so intelligent! I had them on a pedestal. Now I'm one of those students. Perhaps I know more than I give myself credit for.

After a few days of being with my colleagues, I am feeling much more confident. We are all starting with worries and doubts, but we are learning together and helping each other. My critical thinking skills are working faster and faster. I am pleased to say that my vocabulary is quickly coming back. Everyday I am becoming more confident, though being accepted into a program should have given me that from the beginning.

Now my knitting has met steep competition: graduate school. Hopefully I will be able to make time for my favorite hobby, especially since reading and writing--my other loves--have become my job!

Happy knitting, reading, and writing!

I have never done a knit-along before. I have always had so many other projects to work on that I kind of ignored this part of the knitting world. Yet when I found out that Laura Nelkin was hosting a knit along on craftsy.com, I had to sign up. Even though it was a mystery pattern until June 1, I knew it had to be something with lace, which I love to knit!

I was right! The pattern is a cowl and I think it could dress up any outfit nicely. It's really easy to work on and repeats frequently. Once you have the pattern down, it is really easy to work on and watch TV or even have a conversation. The beauty of it is that it looks complicated. Hopefully I will be done with it at the end of the week and will have the finished pictures posted.

Well, it's summer break for this teacher! I guess I really needed time off because I haven't been writing or doing much of anything productive. I have been knitting, which is great. However, I do need to stop "chillaxing" so much and do different things during the day. My basic routine is to walk the dogs, have my necessary morning coffee, knit and watch some TV shows, and go to the gym a few times a week. At least I'm taking care of my body, right?

I started working on The Adagio Tunic Vest in late May. I love it. It's an easy pattern to follow with minimal seaming. However, I've since put it on hold to work on the craftsy.com knit-along. I'll write another post about that later. I have really enjoyed working on the vest. The yarn I used from knitpicks.com is the softest tweed that I have ever used. I'm really looking forward to wearing it this fall/winter. Living in the desert, I don't really need to knit items that are super warm, so I think I could wear this with a long-sleeve shirt underneath it and not even need a jacket for even the coldest weather here. Yes, you should be jealous...but not right now because it's been over 100 degrees for at least a week. That also makes it difficult to knit very warm things.

I took a class on lace shawls on craftsy.com. It's a great course with two wonderful lace shawl patterns. I knit up the first shawl really quickly (Skywalker). I started Clarus in June 2012, hoping to finish it before summer ended.

Then I got other projects...

Suddenly it was March 2013 and I knew that I had to finish it. So I started knitting in a frenzy. I knit for hours. I am FINALLY on the border. There are over 330+ little stitches per row and it is taking me about 30 minutes to knit each row. Perhaps I will have this shawl done on Thursday. I only have 11 rows left!

I will definitely post pictures when I am done. Without blocking it, the shawl already covers my back. Once it's blocked, the shawl will grow at least three times its size. It will be exciting.

I always knew that patience was a virtue; it's one of those knitting lessons that I daily learn. However, this shawl is really testing the limits of my patience. The only thing that keeps me going is knowing how much I will love it when I'm done!

Happy knitting!

I saw this kerchief and thought it was awesome!

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-skullkerchief

I finally finished a few projects! And some are still in progress. There's always more! So much to knit, yet so little time!

I've always known that Rumplestiltskin was a fairy tale, albeit a nice one. Who wouldn't want to turn something basically worthless into gold? However, now that I knit, I believe it to be more of a reality.

I went through my stash...my yarn stash that is. Since it has been months since I have bought any yarn, I thought that my stash would be under control. It turns out that I have three bags of unused or partially used balls/skeins of yarn that I have no use for. I know people say to keep some excess yarn for waste yarn etc., but I think I'm fine with three bags. That doesn't count the three containers of yarn that I'm planning to use. Needless to say, I think I'm covered for a year at least.

While I was looking through the yarn, I thought about Rumplestiltskin. Yarn is like hay, perhaps worth a bit more (though I haven't checked the prices of hay recently). Really, unless you are a crafty person, yarn is probably worthless to you. Sure, knitters know that some yarn is really expensive and one only has to touch it to know why. However, yarn doesn't really become worth much more until it is knit, woven, crocheted, etc. Handmade garments and accessories can be extremely expensive, like turning hay into gold.

Now I only need to talk to Rumplestiltskin about how to turn my yarn into gold faster so I can buy some more yarn....

Happy knitting!

Last weekend, I visited my family in San Diego. Living in Arizona, I don't get to see my family much. Although it was a whirlwind trip, it was wonderful to catch up with them...and surprising. I was with my first cousin once removed and my second cousins...I think I got that right. At any rate, for not seeing each other often and having grown up in very different environments, we are very similar. We all have a goofy sense of humor and like to laugh. We analyze everything, but in a fun way. We have similar interests, such as watching "Downton Abbey" (but who doesn't like that show?). And we are always busy. I thought that I was bad going to and from places daily, collapsing on my bed at night, but it appears that my family is that way too. Could it be because we're all from California? Who knows. Getting together with them reminded me how important family is and that I really need to work on staying in touch with people. It looks like I have a new mid-year resolution: keep in touch with people.

Hi,

After looking through my feedly articles, I found this adorable knit camera. Check it out!

Knit Camera

Enjoy!

Yesterday I picked up a lace shawl that I had started last summer...and it is much more emotional to knit it now than it was then.

To back up, I am one of those people who associates places--and apparently things--with memories. So I can be in a city, see a monument or restaurant, and remember who I was with, how I was feeling, and what was going on in my life at that time. Most of the time, it is wonderful. I do not have the best memory. That award would go to my mom, who could tell you what she ate for breakfast 30 years ago. However, my memory is more like a thumb drive, except that I have many thumb drives that I've dropped all over the world and in different objects and smells. If you asked me about a memory right here and now, I may not be able to recall it. If you take me to a place or give me an object, everything comes back. Perhaps that is why I have trouble throwing stuff away. Anyhow...

Back to the knitting. Normally I knit a project straight through without stopping. This year I got backed up on projects and had to put the lace shawl down. It has been about six months or more since I have knit it.

The last time I remember knitting it was in June and July of 2012. I was starting a trip to Spain and lace shawls are perfect because they keep you busy for a long time, but don't weigh much or take up much space. I remember knitting it on the plane, both ways. I remember knitting it on the couch watching Canal de Cocina at 11pm or later. I remember working on it while lunch was being made: I can smell the Spanish-food goodness, the olive oil, fish, and cheese.

It is so odd to look at that blue shawl and see so much of Spain in it, even though the yarn is from who-knows-where, and the pattern is American and found on craftsy.com. So much has happened to me since that shawl was started. Still, I look at it and it remains the same, though a few rows longer. I wonder how I will feel about it when it is finally done.

So this shawl-to-be has been in Spain, Sicily, Tucson, and it is my project-of-choice for my road trip to San Diego this weekend. Perhaps it will be my memory of this year. It could be the name of a book: The Blue Shawl: a Year in the life of L--.

Happy Knitting!

As a middle school teacher, I use many teaching strategies. I know that there are many different types of learners and that doing something with newly attained knowledge is the best way to retain it and fully understand it. That being said, I love direct instruction. I realize that I learn best from direct instruction, but I think that more people can learn from direct instruction than they think.

At the Tucson Festival of Books, the main way to transmit information is via direct instruction. People watch music, performances, lectures. Some booths do have activities for people to do, especially Science City. However, the majority of presentations are hour-long lectures given to groups of 30-600 people. If direct instruction is so terrible, why keep using it? I do realize that adults have longer attention spans, but I know that adults learn with as varied strategies as children.

I noticed that the lectures of direct instruction were very well received. Not only did groups of 500+ listen on the edge of their seats for an hour, but they took notes and waited for up to an hour in advance. People enjoyed the presentations, behaved perfectly, and retained information. Now, did I retain as much knowledge simply listening without taking notes? No, probably not. However, I did retain the theme of the lecture, as well as the messages that most resonated with me; the messages that I needed to hear and use at this point in my life.

Another aspect of direct instruction working in this scenario is interest. Anyone can sits through hours of TV or movies, provided that they are interested. I think that is extremely important. At the Tucson Festival of Books, everyone was interested in what they were doing. If I were to change how education works, I would try to revamp the curriculum so it is interest-based.

This is the 5th year that Tucson has had the Tucson Festival of Books. While it is a festival dedicated to books, there are many things for non-readers to do. People should not be deterred if they do not like to read. This year, attendance was predicted at 100,000 people. That may have been difficult to believe on Saturday, due to the rain, but it was difficult to walk along the mall because of the abundance of people.

I was lucky enough to volunteer to be an author escort. I really enjoy that job because I can sit in on presentations that I normally would not attend, and I meet many cool authors. This year, on Saturday, I escorted Naomi Benaron, Heidi Durrow, and Bill Carter. I had seen Bill Carter speak about his documentary in 2006 and loved it. He wrote a new book about copper in Arizona. At first I thought it would be boring to read, but it is fascinating. The other authors were also interesting to hear about, having very different experiences and being very strong women.

I also escorted Nevada Barr, JA Jance, and Margaret Coel. Now, I don't read mystery. If I had, I probably would have asked these authors for their autographs. All have written many books and have had amazing lives. Nevada Barr is a hilarious rebel who does her own thing. She is entertaining and the comic relief. JA Jance is more serious, but told many moving stories about her life and how it intertwines with her work sometimes. Coel didn't speak as much, but she was interesting to hear as well.

I also heard Bruce Coville, Jennifer A. Nielsen, and CJ Hill. I read Coville throughout fifth grade and I absolutely loved his books. It was so exciting to see him in person and to hear him speak. He has a great sense of humor and taught us as well. We laughed when he told a story of him teasing the "suck up" in his class. While he was going for the laugh, he pointed out that making fun of overachievers is not good for a culture. We want the "suck up" to be our dentist, doctor, who builds our bridges. We want the people who are the best to help us when we need help. If we spend time making fun of them, they may stop putting forth the effort.

Lastly, I heard Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana speak. That was incredible. I loved hearing them talk about Hollywood and the challenges involved. They write daily, they work without the certainty of getting paid. Ossana also talked about how it can be more difficult to make it in Hollywood as a woman.

One thing that stood out to me was that the women who did become successful encountered many difficult situations in their lives. They had to be persistant and relentless. That was the second message to me this weekend. On my way to my personal success, I will encounter adversity and very difficult situations. I need to not take things personally and to focus on my work. Success is not easy: one must work hard at it. For me, it was a message to keep going. Even if there are 77 rejections, as some authors have found, persevere and things will work out.    

I started knitting my first pair of socks with a craftsy.com course. It's much easier than I thought, but it is taking longer than I thought. When I look at the needles and yarn, I can't believe that I've come this far. I'm hoping it turns out well. So far it fits nicely. I'm already dreading knitting the second sock since I hear so many horror stories about them not being the same size. We shall see!

Back in November, my mom asked me to knit her friends some decorative scarves. It's important to use a particular yarn--that's where all the magic is. They are a bit short. Next time, I will make them a bit wider and longer, but they will make a great addition to any outfit.

Yarn: Dazzle by knitting fever (get two)

CO 18 stitches using the thumb method or backwards loop method. or as many as desired for width.

Knit 3 rows.

*Make an elongated stitch by wrapping 4 times for each stitch.
Knit 2 rows.*

Repeat until the end. Knit an additional row and cast off. Enjoy!

I know that this is technically a knitting blog, but I couldn't resist writing about this after all of the hype. The week leading up to the Superbowl, talk about the commercials was all over the news. Apparently it is better to tell a story and barely state the product being sold. Some commercials did tell a story yesterday, others were funny or gross. These commercials were also ridiculously expensive. Some data does state that it pays off to buy commercial time during the Superbowl, but I'm not sure. Personally, as much as I hate them, I think online advertising is more effective these days.

My friends are the kind that chat during the football game, but all must be silent during the commercials. So I suppose advertising companies are correct in believing that, of all the times they could buy to advertise, this is the time when people will not be fast-forwarding the commercials. I did end up watching the commercials, but I had originally planned to be knitting. I needed to knit because the 49ers were stressing me out (I needed to knit afterwards to keep the tears away as well). On a side note, don't start knitting your first pair of socks during a Superbowl party. It's very difficult to focus. I will be blogging about them later.

Commercials! In no particular order:

-pistachios: I knew that the "Gangnam Style" song would make an appearance. Is it over done? Possibly, but it is entertaining.
-Big Bang Theory: I'm a sucker for this show. I thought it was cool that they dressed up in football uniforms.
-Doritos: Both the goat and the men playing dress up. Ridiculous, but funny.
-Dodge Ram: I did not like this commercial. Are farmers important? Yes, but so are teachers (Yes, I am biased on this one). The gross exaggeration was unnecessary.
-VW Get Happy: The Jamaican accent was a stereotype, but it was funny. I think the world would also be better if there were at least one happy person in each workplace.
-Coke: The race in the desert was entertaining and stereotypical, but my students remembered it.
-Oreo: The whisper fight. I didn't like that they destroyed a library, especially since many kids dream of doing that.
-Taco Bell: The "We Are Young" song in Spanish with the older people playing pranks. I loved it and I am totally going to do that when I'm in my 80s.
-Godaddy.com: Normally make-out scenes don't bother me, but the sounds in this one were disgusting. No thank you!

And that's all folks!

Sorry I have been so bad about keeping up this blog! I did intend to write more this year. I have been busy! I moved around January 1st, so I have been cleaning, organizing, and finding everything. Due to those changes, I have not been knitting as much as I should have. However, I do have many things that I need to knit.

Currently, I am working on decorative scarves for my mom's friends (pictures and patterns to come). I have also discovered the ruffle scarf that is so popular lately. I can knit one up in a few days. It's only six stitches knit into one side of the ribbon. Again, I will post pictures and little tips that have helped me.

I need to finish the project for my mom and then I need to finish the Masters Level 1 project. Once that is done, I have a lace shawl to finish and socks to learn how to knit. So many projects, so little time!

Happy knitting!