Spring is definitely here now.

I really don't trust the crocuses and daffodils to be a sign of spring. For me spring is definitely here when the cherry trees blossom. The yellow of the broom is a sign of Spring is almost established but when the cherries bud and bloom is Spring most definitely here to stay and we are on our way to warmer weather. Should I say relatively warmer weather as we are talking about England here.

On Monday I saw the pink buds of the cherry tree and it seems it was a symbolic sign for me. Chemo ended this week whoo hoo! and I have an opportunity to do something I have wanted to do for many years but did not have the access to do. On Monday I saw that new undergraduate course is being offered starting in September 2011 at one of the local universities and applications were to be in for this week. The fastest ever UCAS application was done and submitted. A phone call later from the admissions tutor and it appears that I am in provisional dependant on my interview on Monday Two weeks time. I just have to pass the interview process.

Its not that I am giving up the Dyslexia support and other work I do but the uncertainty factor is getting higher and higher and the pressure in the institutions is squeezing tighter and tighter. Life is just too short for this sort of hassle YKWIM?? Added to the hassle of working full time in the HE sector, the part time PhD has been on hold for almost 12 months thanks to the ConDem government and it is apparent that it is not worth continuing as the classroom will be a completely different when ever they finally announce all their plans. With the recent bout of chemo and the navel gazing that it induced I feel with all the change happening in the HE sector it was time for me to change again. I have changed career on more than one occasion it looks like right now is the perfect opportunity. I had been toying with going back and getting a new engineering degree for a few years but hubby had threatened divorce as he felt that it was not the course what I was looking for.  He was right but I could not find what I was looking for course wise. I did not want to do structural engineering as I was more enamoured with product design and the limited production of handcraft items.  I did not want a single craft program like ceramics but one which allowed me to participate in multiple design sectors.  

So for the next week or so I have to develop a portfolio and prepare a number of samples for the interview so I can be a full time student in Creative Crafts.  Imagine being able to knit for a University class assignment. It will be a novel experience for me to be a full time uni student and half time part time work. I have always done Uni as an add on to Full time work and everything else. So I am going to be flat out like a headless chook for the next week or so getting ready for my interview cause I really really want to do this course. Keep all your bits crossed for me.  

Spring has sprung!

Now that I have said that we will get a dumping of snow. Oh what a cynical cow that I am. The crocuses have been out for a week or so in odd places. Now the patch in the front border has suddenly gone bang with their bright yellow colour.  I swear they were not there like this yesterday.

I love the count down from Xmas towards spring as with the Equinox we start to see the light come into the days and things not be so bleak. Since Xmas the weather here has been that dark damp drizzle that says winter but on Monday we had patches of Sunlight. Today it was what I call an early Spring day. The singing birds are returning and the cherry trees are budding. All the signs that spring is really and truly on its way. Normally I don't say spring is here until the first daffodil appears. But I think we can say that it almost going to appear.  The flowers are forming and they will burst open any day now.

Early daffs forming flowers.

Spring does a lot for us as a family as we seem to come alive with activities.  The kids after hankering down during the winter are now seeming to be busy little bees with heaps of events that mum's taxi service has been in high speed dispatch lately.  Tonight is parent teacher evening and I am looking forward to speaking to his teacher about issues that I have with them not paying attention to his records. Yet again I expect to get told by one of his subject teachers that they did not know he is a dyslexic or that he is a registered young carer. At least I will have my C sock toe of my A-Z KAL project to finish so I can wait patiently without killing one of the teachers in the disorganised chaos that is a high school parent teacher evening.

Warning she knits so she does not kill!

I had finished off the first sock but since daughter is doing a hankering for it I have ripped it back and will redo the toe so that it fits her foot.  It will be a little bit wide on her cause I was doing them for me but it really is case the possum content in this yarn has it in for me. I am not going to reknit both socks from scratch just the toes cause that was were it was too dangerously baggy. She has not reacted to it so it looks like she is getting another pair of green socks for her collection.

Spinning my little heart out

I have been spinning my little heart out over the weekend between working on the stump sock for the hubby.  So far I have spun 300gms of Blue Faced Leicestershire [BFL] and I have another 200gms to go in this lovely mocha colour. I then have to workout how I am going to work out the meterage since my scales have decided to go kaput. Working out what I can knit with this handspun has been interesting contemplation while I have been treadling away.

Example of Broomstick Lace from Romansock 2007

When I dropped daughter off at the train station this morning I noticed that mags in the news stand had a lot of broomstick lace in their pictures along with a higher ratio of crochet to knitting. It was cold in the car park and I was in the  station waiting with her and picking up the Metro paper for her Dad. Could crochet be the new knitted item for 2011? Then getting home in the ads between the news bulletins the there were more items with broomstick lace.  I have a feeling that this Spring we will be seeing a lot of broomstick lace in the shops.

Rav Tav Bitterroot

Well after much drama I finally manage to get a Bitterroot shawl cast on that I was happy with and got through Chart A & B fairly quickly in one night. I then had a couple of maddening days thanks to work but I was finished with Chart C by Friday night.

Then my old foe the double disaster knitting requirement hit again. Yeap I had got 1/2 way through the final chart and then I had to rip back to 1/2 way in Chart C. I had noticed that I dropped a stitch and then thinking yeap no worries I can fix this with a crochet hook proceeded to make it a complete balls up. After 2 hours the knitting was thrown across the room into the corner and my language would have be enough for Sister Xavier (my 3rd grade teacher) to put me in the corner and book an appointment in the recess for my mouth to be washed out with a bar of soap followed by a hot chilli pepper.

So a RIP back was done and Chart C was re completed. I managed to get Chart D almost finished we are talking 4 rows to go when I realised that foobar I was up the creek without a paddle again, I was almost out of yarn. In the end I fudged the pattern for the last couple of rows into one row. It looked like I would have just enough to do the bind off.

Nope I got just over the 1/2 way point I am all out of luck. I ended up scavenging yarn from a small left over ball of variegated yarn so I would have enough colour bits to blend in as a part of the bind off. I now have to sew in the ends.

After finishing this project today I have been left in a precarious position for Knit night I have absolutely no projects started. I have lots of little project bags kits prepared but I just have a meh! feeling about all of them.. I really don't know what I am going to start next. I tried starting a few items but I end up ripping back and repacking back into the project kit bag. I think I will just take some scraps with me and knit another couple of Easter eggs if I get time

First Shoots of Spring

After weeks of watching green shoots and little buds waiting for the blooms to open today I sighted a lone daffodil opening up in the sea of green grass. I have seen some buds on the magnolias and my cherry tree looks like it is going to flower soon but not just yet.

I think the late winter cold snap has held back the spring flowers for about a month and I am starting to wonder if the cherry tree will blossom.

I still can not get into the swing of some major knitting so I have been looking at some Easter patterns and found a lovely pattern for easter egss and baby chicken/ducks. I got the pattern from Purl Soho blog.

It is March and I am supposed to be knitting a Bitterroot with the Rav Tav gang but I seem to have a problem with my gauge and I am just not liking the three attempts I tried get gauge with one wool. I can not quiet put my finger on what is I dont like. I have knitted Chart A and then ripped it out three times now.