Shibori and Tye-Die

The skill I've been working on for the last year or so and which I want to get better at is shibori dyeing methods on silk. I've done tie-dye. Tie-dye has turned into a family summer event and we do a production run of around 100 items every other year. No, we don't sell it, that's just stuff for the immediate family (yes, we are crazy. If you knew what was involved you would know just HOW crazy.) We've dyed about everything you can. Underwear, socks, hats, all types of clothing, towels, sheets. Practically anything that can be made out of a natural fiber. Once we found Dharma as a dye source we never looked back.

The guitar was definitely the hardest to dye of the three as it involved sewing in the shape by hand, gathering it up to get the definition, and lots of plastic baggies protecting the parts that had just been dyed from the parts about to be dyed. It was a challenge. I've never worn this above twice, as the shirt is a basic box T and extremely unflattering. Until I figure out what to do with it, it lives safely and securely in a box where I can get it out once in a while and admire it. The other two shirts I actually do wear and get compliments on.




What I REALLY want to do though is somehow turn into someone like Carter Smith which means not only figuring out how to MAKE the stuff but how to market it, sell it and eventually make a living at it. That would be the bomb. I'm not on Carter's level, but here's a few attempts for silk-dyeing.

If you have anything nice to say please, please go right ahead - I won't mind at all.

Actual Knitting

Yes, this post will contain Actual Knitting Content, which is quite exciting.

First, this sweater. I am making this for my sister who bought the yarn, 12-ply Jade Sapphire Cashmere. Can you say SOFT? I love this yarn, and I am enjoying it vicariously. Although I'm going to have to RIP this back again. Why? Because although I THINK I am OK Tension Knitter in reality I am Super Tight Knitter especially with cabling. I need to go up a needle size, from 6mm (10 US) to 7mm (no size US).

I know this. So, why do I knit most of the back in the recommended needle size? Who knows. Some sort of sick proof. I also need to up the size a bit, as my sis is a small, but not XXS. It's gotta fit. It's pretty though, even though it must go back to the drawing board shortly. The pattern is from Vogue Knitting Winter 2005. It's #11 and the one with the mega sized bobbles which I am going to tastefully edit out.

So, now I'm just letting this sit as I don't want to think about the re-do.

Losing my Wallet

So, I'm getting ready to go out today after having a nice long sleep-in this morning where I looked at the clock occasionally, decided I was still too tired, rolled over and went back to sleep.

Finally, made it out of bed around 11 am.

Decide that I really should go swimming.

Get stuff together.

I'm ready to go. Keys - check. Phone - check. Wallet? No wallet. Start looking for wallet. Can't find it. Wander through house turning over things, looking inside of other things - even things that I KNOW the wallet will NOT be in such as the bathtub. Why I think it will be in the bathtub, I have no idea, and why I have to keep looking in there as if the wallet will magically appear, I don't know.

Think - maybe I left it in the car. Go down to car. Look through car, and as a sidenote, clean up all trash etc. in car at the same time. No wallet.

Go back to house. Look again. Still can't find it anywhere. And yes, I did check the bathtub again because who knows? It might have been in there, even though it wasn't the 2335 times before.

Finally, just go swimming and of course, start thinking about buying groceries etc. and then remind myself that I have no wallet. At this point, I'm starting to think about calling the bank and reporting my cards lost, etc. but I KNOW that I had it last night and I KNOW the wallet couldn't have got up and walked away on it's own. So, I go home and repeat process of the morning. Still nothing.

Finally, open up the fridge to get a snack, and there is my wallet. In the fridge.

Yes, I did put some stuff in the fridge last night, but how and why my wallet ended up in the fridge as well is a mystery to me. And yes folks, that was my day today.

LCD Projectors

Our school has QEIA (I think that is the "acronym of the day") money. With this money we have hired a math coach for the math department because apparently we need help. I'm not against this per se, but perhaps getting some more input from the teachers of the math department, better buy-in, etc. would have made this process less painful. Of course, having our principal tell us our scores were abysmal and so we need a coach was not all that helpful. Honestly, for someone who should know how to communicate sometimes I have to wonder.

Anyway, I digress. Our math coach has managed to get our department some nice new cool toys - I got some software and some other things I ordered (such as a geometry solids set, which was cool) and just recently we got enough LCD projectors for the whole department. So, we have a meeting and the LCD projectors are handed out.

The next day in the lunchroom a conversation ensues about how to use the LCD projector. I explain that it projects what is on your computer screen, so of course, you have to have something to project (website, document, power point, etc.) One teacher complains that the Power Points included with our current text adoption do not work on our computers (true - the Power Points are archaic, and will freeze the computers) and then concludes that "the LCD projector is useless." Ummm... no. What is useless is the Power Points from the associated materials - but there are a LOT of other resources out there, interactive screens, other Power Points, build your own lessons, etc. So, then I get "Well, then it doesn't WORK!" and "I have to build my own lessons?" One teacher wants it to project a page from the book, but unfortunately that is a document camera - not an LCD projector. Although we do have CD's that have the book pages. So, what I get is insistence that the LCD projector isn't the right thing because it:

(a) doesn't magically provide a lesson.
(b) you actually have to connect it to *gasp* your computer to have it do anything.
(c) you have to have something for it to project.

Apparently - their idea of an LCD projector is that you turn it on and a lesson appears. You don't have to connect it, or have anything for it to actually project - because it's supposed to do that All By Itself.

Just shoot me now.

This Makes Sense

I seriously do not get what is going on with our state government. On the one hand, we are supposed to be getting all students to be better, stronger, faster and on the other - hey, let's cut education funds. I hope that doesn't happen because we are seriously underfunded already. We have already cut $11 million out of our district budget and if something doesn't change, we will be cutting more. How are you supposed to give students a great education when all you do is figure out what else can be thrown out the door?

In other news: California now ranks 47th in spending per student.

There's such a dichotomy it's frightening. Doesn't anyone see the giant gaping void between "We need better educated people to do the math and sciences we need" and "do it with no money"?

Officially Complete

Today I went over to Cal State and handed in the rest of the paperwork and forms so that the State of California will recognize me as an official teacher.

So, once the Credentialing Agency sends me the certificate, I'll be an official holder of a Preliminary Credential. That will probably be in six months, based on their speedy turn around time for my prior credentials.

And, yeah, you read that right. I'm still not fully certified, I'm only Preliminary. I still need to take 5 more classes, plus go through the You-Are-A-New-Teacher-So-We-Are-Going-To-Support-You-Whether-You-Like-It-Or-Not-Program. This whole process will take another two years.

Teaching is the only profession that I know of that is so low paid while at the same time requiring so much certification. Based on what I made before this (Project Management at a software firm) and the amount of work I did - I should be making at least double what I make as a teacher. Plus all of these added required classes are not paid for by the district or the state. Oh no. That all comes out of your pocket.

Eharmony Update

So... Eharmony is a bust but somehow I renewed anyway. So now I'm stuck for another 3 months. *Hitting self in forehead* So far:

5 - billion +1 referrals - "Meet Rod! Your ultimate match!"
10 - people who I managed to get through the whole convoluted "communication" process with.
3 - the actual number of people I met.
2 - the actual number of people that I went out with more than once.
0 - current boyfriend status.

Yeah - been on Eharmony for over 6 months - pretty poor odds if you ask me.