Kung Fu Knitting

We watched My Neighbor Totoro this week at my SAP. (Guess whose idea?) And along with this glorious movie was an art project. The kids are usually nuts over making puffball animals: Chicks, jubjubs, alien space monkeys. This time we made various creatures and totoros! O Totoro, Chu Totoro and Chibi Totoro. You might also notice a soot sprite or two and a few Pokemons. And let's not forget the lone tamagotchi (If you can find all of these I will be highly impressed!)

Isn't that just gorgeous? This was my art project today in my school age program. We ordered some Bare WOTA from Knit Picks , picked up some bargain koolaid from Aldis and let them at it, all smocked up of course. Unfortunately I forgot my real camera, otherwise I would have taken some rockin' photos of the process. One of the things that I enjoyed most about this project was watching the different learning paths that students embarked on for their dying. You see I didn't really tell them how to do it. I showed them an example and let them work independently, helping when needed and explanations of different techniques at the appropriate times. It was pretty neat to watch the iterative process that some of the older students went through in their dying. One experimented with mixing right there in her saran wrap and came up with a skein that she called messy wheat. Then she just dropped the dyes in discrete areas, carefully mixing certain spaces. Another young gal experime...

I am so lucky to have gotten at least a little bit of Valentines Love! Look at the card that thoughtful Holly sent. It was so unexpected and sweet. Thanks, so much. And inbetween all the working out and such, a little knitting has been getting done. And I have the proof. Actually this guy is getting sewn up at the moment. Can you believe it? I am going to be posting an FO soon! Perhaps I am gaining back some knitting momentum. (To be honest, I think I am gaining back a lot of life momentum at the moment). I've also started a shawlette from the Basil Zephyr that Annie sent me for the one skein exchange. Everytime I look at this yarn I see the flower petal shawl from Elann . So that is what it will become. t won't be anywhere as big as the one pictured on the site, but I think it will be very wearable with the right dresses and such. The pattern is not complicated in the least, but it is lovely. So, all in all, this will be some mindless but relaxing knitting that I am hoping...

Just when I am feeling the worst and am looking for something positive to cheer me up, the kids at work seem to pick up on it. (they are so amazing!) Today was one of those days but I ended up playing, I Love You! It's a tag game we made up, but you run around hugging the players while saying I love you when you catch them. How nice is that? Everyone you are playing with wants you to hug them. In fact, although they are running away from you, in reality they are all vying for your affection. :sigh: It's so simple, real and practically artless. I mean there's really only one level of duplicity involved and it's all mutually agreed upon. Not only was I treated to this lovely game, but there was just what I needed: much close and quiet story reading. I mean remember when you were little, what was one of the most reassuring, comforting activities? I remember lying in bed with my father and all my siblings and having him read or tell us wonderful stories. I remember feeling ...

Sometimes things happen to let you know that you've made the right decision. Today was my first day back working in my after school program. I was having fun with the kids on the back playgound and they asked if we could go for a walk. I said wouldn't it be even cooler if we went to the falls? So we asked the-coolest-boss-ever if we could take our little jaunt and she said, "I love impromptu activities!" Cool or what? So off we went: (This would be the same place that I lost my shoe! Ahem!) I took half of the kids right up to falls. They got all misted. We looked at the fossil ripples in the exposed gorge walls. We threw a bunch of rocks. We headed back down stream with all of our shoes. While walking back one of the really sweet second grade boys said to me: This place is great! (then he punched his hand up towards the sky and said) It's the best day of my entire life! I suppose that he's only 7, but I helped him have his best day ever. I couldn't have do...