Boy, I've been busy

It's been a super busy week. Joe so very kindly allowed me to get rid of the single bed in our spare room so that I can set up a sewing table. Until now, all my projects have started in the dining room, been ironed in the kitchen and sewn in the spare room. I have had no place that I can start a project and abandon it halfway through without having to clean the whole mess up, until now. I'm still trying to figure out how to organize my new space. It's all so exciting.

I've been so busy at school, preparing for the huge Kick-Off Party which takes place on Halloween at lunch in the library. I've had a very aggressive advertising campaign consisting of posters, banners and professionally recorded announcements and it seems to be paying off. At last count I had 120 students signed up, with more signing up every day. Our school population is only about 650, so to have that many high school students excited about a reading program is astonishing. Now, the fact that I offer prizes as bribery for them to read has a whole lot to do with it.

Several staff members and I have decided to dress as pirates for the occasion. Or more accurately, I've bullied some teachers into joining me as pirates on Halloween. I've made iron-on t-shirts that read "Join CI Reads (the name of the reading program) or walk the plank", so I spent the first half of the week solving printer issues, printing the transfers and ironing the transfers on t-shirts. One of my non-crafty, teacher friends suggested cutting the hem and neck of the t-shirt to make it look more piratey, so I did. I love them!



I've also made my first sale! 10 sets of fabric cards! Here's a picture of them before fancy packaging:



Lastly, I've been knitting more mittens. During the evenings I've been too tired to move from the couch and knitting has been keeping me occupied. I would love to find a pattern that DOES NOT have errors in it so that I can knit up some mittens as Christmas presents. I've tried three patterns in a row, all with minor errors. I've easily been able to work around them, but it is still frustrating! I'd love to find a pattern that has instructions for both men and women. Any suggestions?