Kindy Present for 2009

These are the presents we are giving the kindy teachers this year.


Inspired by other's blogs, specifically Bakerella..... They are a cookie in a jar - just need some butter, egg and vanilla added and they are good to go!

I think they are really nice, and a bit fun. Our teachers are very special - they are Montessori trained, and now have both kids! Jenna is there full days on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and Hamish does half days Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

Yesterday I went to the kindy and did a science lesson for the afternoon kids. It was fun - we looked a x-rays and some skeleton bones, played with a microscope, did some household acid and base chemistry and played with the power packs and lightbulbs.

Apparently they are going to write a book about me.... Kaiako Fiona......

Hamish also had his birthday today at kindy, so following in the family tradition we had muffins and candles. All good fun. There was another lovely little girl celebrating from yesterday, so 2 muffins for all the kiddies.

Another 3 months passes by

So are the days of our lives..

Actually - some days it feels like my life is a bit of a soap opera!

Jenna and Hamish doing some building

Work has been frantically busy, but great. Teaching is definitely my thing, which is terribly comforting. The school I work at is amazing, and everyone is fabulous.

The kids are growing furiously - in both mind and body, and Hamish has started kindy.

First Day of Kindy

I have been plenty busy in the craft world too - lots of dyeing, knitting and sewing. Really enjoying myself.

Painting rocks for Mothers Day

So why no posts? Well I guess I update alot more often on Facebook these days, which is great. I am catching up with friends from many years past - and its kinda cool to see what all my school mates from the early 90's are now doing. Some wonderful things - thats for sure! There are editors, muso's, producers, designers, models, tv stars, but most importantly - lots of nice people, doing good things that usually involve family.

Snow on the Napier-Taupo road in October!!!

So here are some shots of the last few months. Enjoy.

Kindy trip to the zoo last week

Ouch

Its really been 4 months since my last post?

Wow - thats a loooooong time.

Heaps to update on, will do over the next few nights. Obviously I have found a new busy career that keeps me off the puter in my kids-at-home time.

More to follow in subsequent days........

Before and after - first haircut!

Crawford is about 6m old now, and has just had her first haircut. So cute - I could almost eat her up!

Before - and this is after brushing!

Scruffy thing, but loads of personality.

After - soooooo cute!! She actually looks like a proper westie now!

This took 2 hours. Nails filed, ears plucked then cut, face cleaned up, back clipped, bum and tail clipped. A girl has got to have all the treatments daahling!

Amazing! She looks fabulous, and apparently went very well, so the only thing we have to practise before the next trip is plucking her ears as she didn't enjoy that so much.

Calling all customs!

I had a query about customs - whether I am up for them at the moment.

Yes I am!

In a week I will be on school holidays, so that's 2 weeks of being at home - bliss!

I am interested in doing a dye up or two, so if you want to contact me for a custom - fjwolff at ihug dot co dot nz

At the moment I have the following in stock:
4 ply machine wash 100%
4 ply machine wash sock wool (70/30)
8 ply machine wash 100%
and 200g each of 2 and 3 ply lace wool.

I am interested in jumper lots - so if you were thinking of a larger dye job, let me know.

Roll on last week of term ;)

Earth hour

So of course we did this tonight.

A little pointless given all we ever have on at this time of night is 2 60W bulbs, but ya know - we did what we should have.

While all these things are great - ultimately its what you do in your day to day life that makes a big difference.

I am a massive one for the old "reuse, reduce, recycle". It ties in with the classic engineers phrase eliminate, isolate, minimise - but dont tell the greenies that.....

My Precious....

Its a sad state of affairs when you have a thing for wool. I have a thing for wool. Therefore I am sad. Or pathetic. Or whatever.

Anyway - Wollmeise. Hard as anything to get your hands on, and after almost a year, this is my stash. I sold one to Sam who made a beautiful shawl, and knitted up some of my Saami, and this is what is left!



I love the stuff, and it smells great, and since I dye wool (often to sell....) I feel qualified to say her colours are intense, tasteful and insanely beautiful!

From left to right
Fratello (Yarnissima Kits)
Rhabarber
Buxkranzl (Sock Club)
Okzident (Sock Club)
Spina de Pesce (Yarnissima)
Hollerstaud'n (Sock Club)
Petit Poison No 5
Digitessa (Yarnissima)
Jultomte (Sock Club)
Rosenrot
Orient (Sock Club)
Campari Orange
Red Hot Chilli
and 2 naturals along the back.

There are 2 more sock clubs to come, and then I think I am done with buying Wollmeise. Its horribly stressful, there is lots of hoarders of the stuff, and the price is horribly inflated on places like Ebay USA. For example the latest installment of the sock club sold on Ebay for $300 USD. Now I love the stuff, but at $50NZD per skein, thats about my limit!! I cannot justify keeping more than this, nor can I justify the constant trading and selling that goes on. I wish people would just buy what THEY want, and leave the rest for other people who want to buy. I never buy more than 3 skeins at a time becuase postage goes stupid after that, and really, dropping $150 NZD on wool in an evening every few months is obscene as it is.

Recently I purchased all four kits from Yarnissima - she sells Wollmeise with a pattern in a stunning kit. They arrived today from Netherlands, and wow!! The wrapping, and the extra goodies all just show what an amazing buying experience this all is.

So watch for future projects. I think I am going to do a shawl with Rhabarber and Jultomte, and I can see a few other projects of mixing the natural and Saami. I also want to do a petit poison and Hollerstaud'd project I think as mine go beautifully.

I think the wool is worth it - its 150g skeins which in itself makes it worth minimum $30NZD (as most nice sock wools are around $20/100g, and with the colours, the quality and the gorgeous smell (Perwoll wool wash) its an enjoyable thing to collect.

Fossils.....

I have a new lust.




Fossil hunting.


We stayed here during the weekend, and it was lovely. These are some shots from their farm.


The white parts in the rock are oyster beds, and they are only 20mil years old...





What!!!!!! When is 20mil only young???? This is me who freaks out when I walk through castles that are 1000y old!!!!!

WE went fossil hunting at Kiritehere Beach in West Waikato. At first I couldn't find any (despite the fact people said to me " fossils are lying everywhere under the bridge there..." and I still couldn't find them).


So luckily Shane is infinitely more patient than me, and had the first find. After I saw what they looked like, I jumped all over them, throwing rocks to crack them open, and then asking him to put a large rock in the boot. To be honest - they didn't look that cool. Really - they were just clam shells baked in rock.



Well when I get home I find out that my special rocks (that anyone has access to) are actually dated from the TRIASSIC period, which is really ffffffing old!! 210million years. My little buggers are Monotis, and they are very common for the area, which was covered in sediment 210 million years ago, and then NZ did the freaky land moving thing, and up went these sea beds!



So now I love my fossils, and they are pretty and stunning and clever and gorgeous! We have donated a couple of lovely specimens to Jenna's kindergarten, and I have some cool ones to take to school and donate to the rock collection there.

Some I guess I will keep myself, but I admit that I only understand this better since I started "teaching" geology 2 weeks ago - which I know nothing about!!!!!

Mini break

So we did the whole mini break this weekend. Reality was kicking in, and I wanted an easy night away. Not easy with a dog...

But we found this gorgeous place, that looked nice, and was free the morning we wanted to leave, and was OK with dogs. Actually - thats not quite true. Shane went off on Sat morning to run some errands, and I serached the web, called around, packed up the truck, and when he got home I told him to have a shower, and we were off. He knew nothing about it!


Te tiro cottages was a dream. Gorgeous setting, nice price ($130 a night for all of us), 40 mins drive, and just plain relaxing. It was a wonderful chance choice.



Yes - this is view from the kitchen window!!!!

We spent the afternoon wandering around the farm with Crawford and their foxy Puck, and then had a wonderful evening just chilling and drinking a nice red.



After night fell, we walked about 2mins to their very own glowworm grotto - OMFG. This was the coolest!!!!!! So cool we ran back to the cottage, woke Jenna up to come down and see the sparkle fairies in the fairy forest (as it had been dubbed)



The hosts were amazing - Angus and Rachel rocked, and the kids were lovely too. They were very accommodating and friendly, and I think have a wonderful place to raise their kids.

Book Tetiro the next time you want a break away with the kids! 2 Cottages, sleep about 4-5 each and a wonderful private setting. 2 families with young kids I think is perfect!


(This is where the kids slept - and didn't they love that!!!! Our bed was right underneath them.)

Update on Crawford

So here is the latest shot of Crawford for those who have been asking.


She is a pretty good dog - the allergies are doing our heads in, and she is due to go to the groomer, but she is a GREAT mate for the kids, and generally pretty easy. Keep in mind that in the above shot she has been running around like a loony after a foxy, she is buggered, and dirty and needs a brush and a wash! Still - Crawford at about 5m.

We just need to keep her out of the garden.....

Clothes recycling

Jenna is terribly short of winter clothes. It makes it difficult when your child refuses to wear trousers, so its skirts/dresses and stockings for us most of the winter. We stocked up on stockings at the end of winter, so we should be good.

But skirts - well I decided to have a look in my wardrobe and see if there were any dresses I could recycle, and then I looked in Jenna's. I found these two dresses - both of them expensive, and both too small. The velvet Run Scotty Run was purchased second hand, and is made from beautiful velvet. It used to have a ribbon bow on it, but that has been pulled off.


That dress was turned into this skirt, and Jenna wore it all yesterday, and it was successfully played in at the park.


This pumpkin patch dress was a hand me down, I think from my sister's kids. It is beautiful - patterned cord, and to be honest it's been Hamish's dress up dress for a while as it was too small for Jenna when we inherited it.

I cut off the top, and sewed up the back (It was a pinny style) and made this fuller skirt. Again, gets the seal of approval from Jenna.


Now both are a little rough, I would have liked to do a nice waist, but well - its for kinder, and Jenna is pretty good with simple elasticated waists, and the other thing is my weekend time is definitely at a premium these days!

A 4th birthday is around the corner...

So here I am trying to get the invites done.

We couldn't decide on a specific theme, so we decided on princess fairies.....

Actually I decided after I found a whole pile of paper barbie princess plates and cups for about 75% off - that was enough, theme set.

I am going to try and keep most of the party disposable free, but I am happy for paper plates and cups.



So here are the invites - printed myself, covered in glitter and rolled with a ribbon. I think they will look quite nice in the kindergarten pigeon holes tomorrow. I really dont know what the etiquette is for invites, there are boys and the older kids and the younger kids all invited. We just let Jenna tell us who she wanted. About 13 kids!! Also their siblings, so we may be up for around 25 kids - which would be interesting if it rained!!! Mind you, its at the start of school holidays, in the middle of easter, so I suspect that will be prohibitive for some.


I am doing flower garlands for the girls, crowns for the boys. I'm hoping to make something nice for the garden, and each child invited (not siblings) will get a fabric bag for their goodies. I'm hoping to knit a little korknisse for each of them, and maybe have a few nice prizes for games. I dunno - I'm now over it ;) and its 4 weeks away!

Selfish Dishcloth swap

This was sent to Alison from TNN for a selfish dishcloth swap. Knitted from Bendigo cotton - very soft, probably better for a face cloth.


I liked it - it was loads easier to knit than it looked, just lots of wrapping and shot rows.

Pay it forward

So a year or so ago I promised to do a PIF that would turn up in 365 days - and I only got 2 responses, and one of them was a little dodgy (not you margaret...)

I am OK with not receiving my PIF - cause really - in these things do you ever "expect" to receive them?

But I want to put it out again since I am just over my year, and I am one for commitments!!! So if you are Oz or NZ please be one of 2 to comment, and I can fulfill my blogworld duty :D

Really - who cares, and who knows, and its all about karma, which I am all into.....

So post first two, and get something nice that suits you in the next month or two - I promise to lurk and stalk to get it almost right :)

Should say that if you want to receive you have to post this on your blog and post to 3 in return within 365 days.........

Swap - How cool is murder.....

OK - I have finally read through the file and I can state that my swapper was Christine. Thanks so much. It was the flash of light I needed :)

My swap theme was I guess murder? Hard to say since I got sent a case file which I hope I dont actually have to solve. VJ did an awesome job of this swap, only 100g of wool which is awesome as I love quality, not quantity, and her colours are perfect for me. Has she been stalking???

SO the box arrives - big case file, and I was already smiling ;)


Open in up, red splatters everywhere and I see the evidence bags. Wool. Sock stitch markers on a noose. Chocolate - dark. A novel. And a case file.

Admittedly I went straight for the goodies and looked (yay - wool and chocolate and reading....) , and glances over the rest, but it was clear to see a lot of work went into this swap.


From the getgo I thought it was Christine because she does insanely themed and overcommitted swaps that makes everyone say (gee I wish she was my swapper...) and I am stoked to be on the receiving end :)



So those that know me. I am a massive murder novel freak. I love them all - name a murder author, I have probably read ;) My fave over the last few years is Karin Slaughter. (keep in mind I have small kids, so if you have a new author you think I should read, please leave a comment.)

Red is my colour. Specially the deep red that Christine got.

I love sock wool - enough said. Patonyle is awwwwwwwwwesome.

100g is perfect.

Books are good.

Choc is OK, it sweetens up him, and goes nicely with red wine ;)

Sock patterns - yes I collect patterns and wool, yet rarely knit.

Recipe - I am a closet wannabe chef so all cooking goes down well here.

Tattoo shot - yes I have a tatt, and while its not the extreme that VJ pictured, I am still "drawn upon..."

I am always losing my bloody stitchmarkers, so everytime I cast on yet another project (I currently have 3 pairs of socks, 2 dishcloths, 2 shawls, 2 tops, 2 dresses, 1 soaker, 1 blanket....) my stitchmarkers (and KP's tips) have to be stolen off one project, and on to another...


Thanks VJ - lovely swap.
PS - yes I have read the book, and I already have a new swap in mind. Yes I have read the case file, and I found the VJ hidden amongst all the comments, so gut no longer matters, I have evidence!!!!!!

How ya doin....

So the baby teacher gets tired 3w in. Yes - thats right I am rooted. Granted it has something to do with the fact that Wed night I drank too much, and Thurs night I had a tech teachers meeting in Matamata that went very late (and surprisingly much earlier than I wanted it to - I wanted to chat, but my ride wanted to leave....)

So Friday is my hardest day at school - I have 4 classes in the day which is fairly normal for a secondary teacher in NZ. Man it sucked.... I thought my final class - my Y12 Chem would be good, specially since I was micing chems, and making pretty colours, but they were scallywags too. Boo hoo. So Sat night I am tied.

Now two interesting reflections this week.
No 1 - My old school - Fairfield College has been in the news. There are management "issues" and it makes me sad. You can take the girl out of FairColl, but you can't do the reverse. I love the school, it made me who I am, and many of my teachers are still there - nearly 15y later. So I have been hot on the news articles for that place, especially since I was offered a teaching position there in November 2008.......

And tech teaching. I get very sick of people asking me why I am teaching tech, in addition to the pure sciences. Yes I love chem and physics (and I really like Calculus too....) but I love tech. I love everythign this subject stands for and I cannot wait to be a tech teacher in 10y, cause NZ will rock the world.

Mostly my reflections tell me that tech teaching is where the boys get into the workshop and have fun, and this week has been a week of discovery, disappointment. and realisation - as well as good smack of awakening.

I'm not there to control their learning. And I had an awesome class with 70% of my class on Friday. The ideas, and the release of them into their project all came about from the meeting on Thursday night. How wonderful to have that awakening!!! And then the stolen pencil case, and the aftermath - that might continue.......

School rocks - its hard being back into the work mind set, but still easier than doing a 60hr week engineering.........

Awkward.....

OK - so spot the chick trying to keep a low profile in the full school catholic mass.

Then spot the chick who practically crawled under the seat when the father said - all the new teacher stand up, now come forward to the front of the cathedral!!!!!!

OMG - I wished the ground would open up and swallow me!! Especially when the whole staff stood up and blessed us.

It was quite sweet though, and as a fairly religious friend said to me, to be blessed by the whole staff (about 60 people) is a very special thing, and would be very rare throughout secondary schools in NZ. So I'm all OK with it, and it will be a good story in 20y time.

School is going well still - I have to write a unit plan this weekend for Y8 Tech, I have most of it written in my head - just have to get it on paper. Socially I am starting to do the teacher thing - go to the pub on Friday night and spend 2hrs over 2 beers talking about difficult students. LOL.

On a braver note I actually plucked up the courage to check out Rate my Teacher. This (horrible) website allows misguided students to get on and bitch about their teachers. Every school in several countries is listed, as are all the teachers, and so are comments about the "coolness" of these teachers. I expected the worst when I went to visit today. Thankfully I guess the school has not yet got a teacher called Ms W! Phew!!! I guess noone hates me (or loves me....) enough yet to get on and moan.

Must keep low profile......... First year teacher......... Bluff and manage as best you can.....

Happy valentines day to all - I got him a 32" LCD for our bedroom. Might seem a little extreme in size (we have a small house, and thats the same size as the lounge TV) but I am told when I get my ankle done in a few weeks, I will love having a TV in bed. Hmm - we shall see. I did enjoy watching the TVone Biofuels episode of Country Practise this morning in bed with my cup of tea. While the kids were watching the wiggles or something equally inane in the lounge.

Next photos will have a picture - I am hoping to finish a selfish knit this weekend :)

So I guess I am a teacher....

Well I have been going for a week or so now, still lots of disruptions with the start of the year. IN a way, thats the nice thing about the school I teach at. The special character (marist/catholic school) means that the whole school stops quite often for mass or assemblies.

Tomorrow is the full school mass, so we meet on the field after form class, and then we all walk about 30mins until we get to the Hamilton catholic chapel, where there will be the opening mass for the school.

I'm a bit nervous, I have only been inside a catholic church once, for a funeral about 20y ago, and I had NO idea about what to do then, so even less likely now.

2-3hrs tomorrow of teaching time will be taken up with this, and I lose 2 classes, and half of another. Kinda hard, but I believe it does make the school very special, and a nice place to be.

My classes are good - I have a HUGE year 11 class of 34 students for science, which is diabolical considering I only have 31 seats... My Y12 Chem is really nice, so is my Y12 Physics - many of the same boys in each class.

My department is great, my HOD is mad as a hatter, which is fabulous. Nothing worse than someone who doesn't keep you on your toes. I had my first observation visit today (on my path to being a fully registered teacher) and it went well! My HOD said he enjoyed the class, which is a huge compliment. He loved that I was authoritative and had no problems smiling with the boys.

Could there be a better boost up for a baby teacher? :)

SO yeah - I guess I keep ticking along, doing what I can, accepting my limitations and asking for help whenever I need it. Oh - and laughing - I have to keep laughing!

YSV3

Yarn Swap Version 3.

This was sent to Sheryl in Taranaki. She has let me know she received it, and she knew it was from me, so here is a shot.



Its Bendigo Rustic 8ply, and the theme is honey.

I originally dyed this up to make another rainbow dress, but I ended up liking it so much, and it fit with a theme so nicely, so I decided to send it to Sheryl instead. She is on a campaign to knit a sweater a month at the mo, so I doubt socks will make on her needle until she gets through her February and March jumpers ;)

Lunch Bag

TNN are doing a series of yarn swaps at the moment, I have just sent off #3, so I shall put that up next week when my swapper receives it.

But this project was started right back from V1. Its been sitting there because I had run out of white 10ply hand wash wool. BUt I found some last week in my stash, and decided to put it to good use.

So here is the before shot:


And the after shot:



I need to find a fun button (oh damn - a trip to spotlight, or knit world.....) but I'm pretty happy with the result. A new lunch bag!

Pattern was from Knitty, and is called Brown Bag. I never found out who this swapper was, but I hope they like what I did with the wool.

(I'll be honest and say I pushed this project ahead cause I needed my 6mm, 40cm addis for another project ;) )

Going live soon at Craft Fetish

This is my latest idea to sell through my online store Yarn-A-Du at Craft Fetish.

The Rainbow Dress by the lovely Tikki is a very popular item to knit in NZ. After the great comments on my last dresses on both Ravelry and TNN, I decided to dye up kits for people who want a similar sort of effect. Tikki thinks its a great idea too ;) - Thanks Georgie!



Rainbow kits, using a superwash NZ made DK/8 ply wool, come with two colours. The main colour is a variegated wool dyed with different repeats that will pool in unique ways on the skirt. Included in the kit is matching semi-solid, kettle dyed wool designed to be used for the bodice.


The approximate breakdowns are 50g and 150g, but there are small, medium and large kits.

I anticipate that there will plenty of wool to make one rainbow dress, and possibly a matching dolls dress, or maybe a beanie for your little girl.



Of course - there is nothing to say you have to use them for rainbow dresses - maybe for a special boys item of your choosing.

Going live Wednesday 21st Jan at 7pm. 7 kits available at this stage - more to follow!

Rainbow Dress Take 2

So someone else asked me to knit them a rainbow dress, but this time I did something a little different.

I started with this



Which I then dyed into this



And added this


To make this.


Unfortunately my vision wasn't the same as the orderer's vision, so I have 1 rainbow dress that needs a new home. Anyone interested? Sized about 18m-3y. Its overall length is about 41cm.

Its verrrrrry pretty and I am sure I can sell it to someone :)

The dreams begin...

So the new career starts in 2 weeks. And I am ashamed to admit I am having "those" dreams.

You know - the ones that show you have no control over your class (and you are screaming at them.....), you have no knowledge of pedagogy or content, you upset all the others in the department at the staff meeting.

The list goes on. Everytime I think of the dreams I start packing myself about the fact that the dream will be a reality in a very short time.

But then I remind myself that I am OK with this teaching thing, I do know my content, and I am totally into power sharing - so I dont actually have to yell at the kids, I am all for negotiating the best situation and environment to suit us all.

Still - I dont remember having these nightmares about engineering? Maybe its cause I cared less back then, and I am far more interested in making a jolly good go of this teaching gig.

Hmmmm

Meet Crawford

This is the latest addition to our family.



A West Highland White Terrier who we have chosen to call Crawford (Yes one member of the family is obsessed by the Hawthorn Hawks - an AFL team......)

Crawford arrived here this morning, much to everyone else's surprise. We had been looking at them all week after a recommendation from our Vet, and their temperament all week had been lovely. This little girl is the quietest of the little, with I think the nicest face - not that I know anything about the breed! While she is from purebred stock, she comes without papers, which is just fine. We may look at having puppies down the track, or maybe not - keep options open.

The kids are besotted, Dermot the Burmese is doing OK, and so far no accidents.

These dogs are supposed to be fantastic companion dogs, great with kids and older people. Hardy, cheeky and intelligent, Crawford will be a welcome addition and with any lucky a great little dog.

The wierd questions you get asked....

So I am booked in for an MRI on Monday for my ankle. Turns out that the ortho surgeon I went to today identified a loose piece of bone in my ankle, which is likely to be the reason I have been in such pain for the last 8m. It seems the "bit" is well rounded, so it possibly is old, and comes from the initial sprains in my ankle from when I was 13-14.

Anyhoo - I am looking at surgery, 6w in a cast, a couple of weeks off work (possibly....) and an ankle reconstruction to tighten up sloppy soft tissue.

But the interesting thing was when being asked medical questions for the MRI, I was asked about claustrophobia (I can understand that one), metal inserts or plates (again, I get that one) and then out of the blue - have you had metal removed from your eye......

Well actually I have! In the BC (Before Children) days, when Shane and I used to be able to have some fun, we went go-carting, which resulted in a metal splinter in my eye. Roll on the hospital, a sharp implement to remove said splinter, eye drops, pain and a scar left on my eyeball that gets commented on everytime I visit an optomatrist.

So evidentally it will all be OK since the whole thing was removed (under the watchful eye of about 6 baby doctors and the specialist who narrated the whole thing) but imagine that - in the MRI, and BOOOM - your eye gets punctured from the piece of metal in your eye flying out towards the strong magnetic field.

Cool :)

Just thought that was amusing - I've never been asked that before, and it just sort of surprised me.

The downside of the surgery - No netball this year. 6-12m recovery. Unhappy school with teacher on first year of service taking sick leave. Cast and Moonboot for 6w. Pain. Possible weight gain - thus diet.

The upside - more knitting time!! Excuse for said beginner teacher to sit in the corner of the class and issue instructions. No whiteboard writing for 6w. Development of lots of OHT and Computer based resources for kids. Next year - Painfree netball, running, swimming etc.

Wonder what my HOD will say next week when I fill him in. Hopefully I can schedule said surgery for end of term 1 or 2 holidays. Fingers crossed.

Wollmeise - first project

Well I have finished my first project for the year.

I turned this



into this



And I love it.

Used around 70g of fingering weight wool, and had a few gauge issues as you can see in the colour repeat. I thought about frogging it, but decided it would be a constant reminder than gauge is important!

Plus it doesn't affect the size at all, just the colour pooling.

Onto the next project.......