Yes, I am back, and I hope to be able to keep back to a reasonable schedule of bloging this time.

In a new place. We have moved to Pittsburgh.
In November we decided that Buffalo wasn't working for us. The job I was in had turned into the job from Hell. I was super stressed and didn't see an end in sight in that job and I missed working with young children. My husband was out of work and our finances were suffering.
We decided that I would quit my job and we would move to Pittsbugh and stay with my brother while we were job hunting.  After we made that decision everything fell into place. Bill applied for a job in Pgh and he got a call for an interview almost immediately. I started appling for jobs and found one to apply for a the University of Pittsburgh Child Development Center. I got a call for an interview 45 minutes afterI finished the application.
Bill got the contract in Pgh and I got the job at UCDC.
A friend of mine from HS/College offered to trade us housing for helping her with the upkeep on her 1914 large beautiful house.
We are now pretty settled here and things are working out well.

I have been knitting, I have finished and sent out, furry green mittens to my niece, Steeler socks to my brother, Willie, and fulled mitts with cables to his wife.  The socks and mitts were knit with yarn purchased at the NY Sheep and Wool show. Currently on the needles are a shawl from silver grey yarn purchased at the Buffalo Knitting Guild auction a couple of years ago and socks for me in a blue colorway.

I actually got to go to a great fencing practice last week and I am looking forward to going again but probably not this week as Pittsburgh has been getting buried in snow and I don't think the roads will be in good enough shape to go. I had a blast at practice. In addition to drills and free play there were lots of little melees. Good fun.

Thanks to any of my readers who have stuck with me and are reading this.

My life has taken a right angle turn over the summer.
I did complete my Montessori training in June but it became obvious that there were not any local Montessori jobs available. It was suggested to me that I could start my own school but there just wasn't the time to do that before September and I didn't have the ready cash to get it going.

So I have gone back to the field I was in before I had my children. I am pleased to say that I sent resumes to 3 human services agencys for site manager/program manager positions and I got calls back from all 3, including the newspaper ad job posting. In many ways the human services field has moved closer to the Montessori philosophy while I was away from it. A pleasant surprise.

I am now the program manager for the new respite house for individuals with developmental disabilities run by People, Inc.  The house doesn't open until next week, so we are busy getting everything ready to pass state inspection.

I have also beeen sewing again. It is nice to have time to sit at the sewing machine.

 I have to go to work now. More later. Also more on my upcoming trip to Martha's Vineyard.

I have been very good about waiting until I was finished with my classwork to join Ravelry. I know it can be a time sink but it hs some features that I want to use, and of course I wanted to see what everyone else is knitting. You can find me on Ravelry as StringsNstrands. I don't have any pictures up yet but that will come.

Currently on the needles, the entrelac shawl made up of left over sock yarns, the shetland shawl for Marieke, November tall socks form And a tTme to Knit Stockings and the Niagara socks from The Eclectic Sole.

James is working hard at his summer job and has been working on my Mother's Day/Birthday present which is a longsword that I can use on the rapier field or for cut and thrust fencing. I am touched that he is putting so much time and thought into it.

I was bored by the skin of my blog, hence the new look. It feels more summery to me.

I have finished the last of my projects for my Montessori Training. I will be observed teaching tomorrow. We will do a material making session this Saturday to make the phonogram wall chart and then I have class on the 5th and 6th and I will be done. It seems a little unreal to not have giant assignments to be finishing.

I missed several meetings of the Knitters Guild this yeardue to the pressure of school work but I did attend the auction. It is always a fun night.

 I brign cash and carefully plan out what I am going to bid on  and my top for bidding on each item of interest.  This year I came home with more books than yarn but here is my haul this year.

From the little store that was set up I purchaed this used copy of Wendy Knits. I read Wendy's blog.

I also bought a size 8 circ needle  and some copper colored mylar ribbon for either plying or cutting up and carding in to wool for spinning. I think it is going to look spectacular plyed with some of the chocolate brown llama I have from Glenn Jackson.

 and I must have been in a cable kinda mood because I got these in the auction:
The Best of Knitters Magazine Arans and Celtics.

and
These 2 boosk were packaged together and I got them for less than $15.

Knitting the New Classics is by Kristin Nicolas. It contains patterns for 60 sweaters and mostly they have cables or colorwork. There are sweaters for men as well as women but none for children.  The sweaters are all knit with Classic Elite yarns.

I won my bids on 2 lots that the catalog said were kitted up with yarn and patterns. Unfortuneately that patterns was only included with this one:
This is Sirdar pattern number 1659 Tufty. There were several lots in the auction with the pattern adn the yarn kitted up to make different sized sweaters. This one I won is for sizes 1-2 years.

The yarn Tufty does not state what the fiber is on the ball band but it appears to be a cotton with a synthetic fiber as an eyelash. The kit includes 6 balls of yarn.

I also won this:
This mixed lot of yarns includes a set of bag handles and the catalog said there was a pattern included, unfortunately there was not pattern, but never fear I am sure I will find things to do with the yarn. It includes Navy Brown Sheep Bulky Spun, 2 balls of Freedom Wool, a bulk from Twilley's of Stamford, 1 ball of a rust colored Lite Lopi form Reynolds, a multi colored metallic novelty yarn, Cleo from Muench yarn and a varigated blues novelty called Spruce from Trendsetters Yarn.

If you know of a bag pattern that might incorporate these yarns, please let me know. Thanks.

That's it for this year's auction. I have found I have become much pickier about what I bid on at the auction.

A couple of observations from the auctions. The bidding was slower and lower this year and there were fewer lots with natural fibers.

I am still alive and I am almost finished with my Montessori training. I have to finish illustrating the 2nd half of my Practical Life album which didn't get completed last year and I will be observed in the classroom on the 26th. We have one more material making session and our last class is June 6th.

 This is also somewhat of a test post as I tried to post the introduction to my Language album 3 tiems last night night and the browser kept crashing.

More soon, I promise.