Hoping for a Long Spring

In keeping with my belief that it's important to buy knitting-related items if you're not actaully producing them, I bought a cup from Jenny the Potter this month. I'm using it to show off some Manos yarn, which I also bought recently, for right now, but it's a perfect cup for drinking coffee too. There's nothing like the feel of handthrown pottery. Russ used to "throw pots" when he was in high school and college. Before I went up to the studio with him to see him throw, I had this image of people throwing clay against the wall or something like that when I heard the term "throw pots." Anyway, I love pottery. Maybe I'll have to buy another one, so I can have one for show and one for function. Jenny also included two cute, little stitch markers, which I thought was the perfect touch. The only thing is that when I use stitch markers, it seems like I need several of them. Mmmmm, that's a thought to ponder.


I jokingly wrote last month that I thought I'd finish Paige's Taconic v-neck sweater around the time it hit 80 degrees outside. I just read on the weather channel that the forecast was for 79 degrees on Monday and Tuesday next week...and I finished sewing the seams of her sweater last night. (LOL) She tried it on but didn't seem overly excited about it, which wasn't unexpected. She doesn't want to look bulky, and it is kind of a bulky sweater. Kitty, on the other hand, thinks it's wonderful. I've shooed her off of it numerable times, but she just looks annoyed and hops back on it. It was a fun pattern to knit although I think I'd change a few things if I were to knit it again. It calls for you to hem the bottom and the sleeves, but I'd do a provincial cast-on. It's easier than hemming, and I think it looks nicer.

One of the reasons I haven't blogged in a month is that I've been teaching an offline college class, which means my students email me their assignments, and I've been preparing for a late-start online class, which means my students complete all of their work on the computer. Now, I'm teaching both classes. I enjoy it, but I'm a slow grader, so most of my evenings have been swallowed up by taking care of those classes. The other time-consumer is that swimming season has begun. The kids have had two swim meets so far, and we've been mildy chilly, bordering on miserable, sitting in the stands. We're heading off for another swim meet this morning, but I think we'll be happy. It's nice and sunny, and we know there's a Starbucks close by where we can go to warm up if needed. Paige and Kai are both swimming this year, so it's wonderful only having to go to one event instead of being torn between two. I love knitting at swim meets when it's still cool outside, which it is today. I'm just hoping that we can postpone the hot temps for a month or two!