...my thumb is NOT broken!!! After further study by the radiologist, what looked like a crack in the bone ,was really a very tiny vein. No more splint and no more whining pouting! However, it still really hurts and the bruising is hideous. My hand is a lovely shade of putrid green. But, I'll take bruising over breaking any day!
Must knit and spin this weekend...so much time lost.
Has it only been a week since I posted?
Last Saturday, I went to the Tennessee Fiber Festival in Dickson and had a wonderful time! I bought this: 
The other workshop was an introduction to Naalbinding (pronounced NAL bin ding). I don't have any good photos of the same I made, sorry! This is the first time I've signed up for workshops and I'm so glad I did. It made the festival experience so much better. Don't get me wrong, shopping at the vendor booths is great, but learning new stuff in the company of other fiber "School's out for summer!" Tomorrow is actually the last day, but it's a half-day and doesn't really count. Zack's last final was on Tuesday, and today was field day (i.e. we have nothing more to teach therefore the students shall spend the day outside) so the last day was really yesterday. Tomorrow is just a technicality.
At the moment, I'm feeling contemplative and more than a little thankful.
The school year started out quite badly with some personality conflicts of the middle school variety. There were many tears and no laughter. I was terrified. A guidance counselor came to Zack's rescue, and after a little schedule rearranging, things gradually calmed down. I'm thankful someone listened and helped Zack get on his feet.
Zack developed some good friends this year. One friend invited him to the beach for a week, another friend encouraged him to start attending scouts again. One good friend is the son of Zack's father's best friend from high school. (Small world!) I'm thankful that Zack possesses good character judgement and that his friends are good kids.
Zack's teachers this year have been wonderful and I'm thankful for each one of them. They listened, they were responsive, they helped and guided. Most importantly each one of them provided encouragement and positive reinforcement. I wish Zack could take them with him to high school next year.
Some people might think that we've just been lucky this year because of the way things have worked out. That's one way to look at it. But just when I'm at the end of my rope and I find myself asking, "What am I going to do or how am I going to manage?" a door opens and God shows me His plan. I learned a long time ago that He does answer prayers, it just might not be the answer I thought I wanted. I am so thankful that "Thank you, God" seems so small.
I do have a few high school-related items that I've already started praying about even though we're just beginning summer break. I'm praying for the friends that Zack hasn't met yet, but will meet at the new school next year. I'm praying for his teachers. I'm also praying for myself...I'm the mom of a high school student! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO? HOW AM I GOING TO MANAGE? I'm confident He'll show me in His time and in His way.
We are so blessed. How cool is that?
Last week, I experienced a tremendous moment of weakness and cast on the Cabaret Raglan by Norah Gaughan. This goes against everything I said I wouldn't do, mainly cast on another project without finishing a work in progress (WIP). But heck, your knitters/crocheters/fiber addicts, so I know you'll understand.
When I first saw this sweater in the Interweave Knits Summer 2004 magazine, it didn't really catch my eye. It was knit with ribbon yarn in pink. Two strikes right off the bat. It's funny how the color of a finished garment will greatly determine if I like the actual sweater. Sometimes when I'm browsing through a knitting magazine, I'm in such "gotta knit this" overload, that I tend to overlook a great pattern because I don't like the color in which it was originally knit. That was the case for the cabaret raglan.
When I saw the sweater again in an e-mail from Knitpicks, I was pretty surprised to find out I had that sweater pattern already in my magazine stash. How did I miss it the first time around? Pink. Ribbon yarn. So, when the sweater was presented in purple with a fetching piece of lace peeking out around the hem, and knit in a standard worsted cotton/wool blend, it caught my eye.
I'm doing a few modifications to the pattern, mainly waist shaping. I shant go into the details of what a waistline does when one passes one's 40th (and 41st, 42nd, etc, etc) birthday, but I really don't want to wear a sweater that is straight as a toothpick. Adding waist shaping is all well and good in theory, but I didn't really know how to do it. Until I pulled my favorite cotton summer sweater out of winter storage. It's my favorite because it has waist shaping and 3/4 sleeves.
I spread that sweater out on the counter and took many measurements. Then I swatched until I hit the right gauge. I cast on the appropriate number of stitches and started knitting. I'm making the sweater just a touch smaller than my favorite (not because I think I'll lose weight, but because the cabaret gauge is much bigger and I fear it will stretch easier.)
Photos as of the other night. 
I'll discuss the yarn I'm using in my next post. It's late!
Good night!
p.s. this weekend is the Tennessee Fiber Arts Festival in Dickson, TN...see you there!
...or Public Display of Knitting!!
If you've never done it in public, it's time you let go of your inhabitions and do it while other people watch. Trust me, it is liberating. You will find heightened levels of pleasure as passersby watch your talented fingers move with such assurance and purpose. The size of the project doesn't matter, nor does your technique. You can knit Continental or English...or, if you're like me...you can go either way. Does that mean I'm a bi-knitter?
If you feel that you'd rather do it with a group than solo, I encourage you to find other knitters in your community and join the knitters around the globe for the World Wide Knit in Public Day on June 14. (And you thought this was something dirty...shame.) Should you be fortunate enough to live in the fair city of Nash-Vegas, the knitters are going to congregate at Centennial Park at 11am. Bring chairs, blankets, lunch, drinks (non-alcholic as this is a city park), sun screen...and your knitting! Check out the flyer. If I can make it work I'll post it on the blog, but it's giving me fits.
I'm Chris, and I do it knit in public!
Zack's hand shows how large the leaves are. Don't worry, he's not going to pick it!
I don't know what these are, but they are pretty. 
More trilliums...trust me, there were thousands! 
One of many caves 
A natural bridge...if you look closely you can see Zack climbing up the dirt.
Someone who just had lunch...or breakfast.
I hated taking this photo. The gap was narrow and very deep.
Fiddle head ferns.
It was a good visit, but I wish we had another day or two.
Not much time to post. Enjoy the flowers. It's dogwood season in southern Ohio (not where I live, but where I happen to be at the moment.)
