Here is a shot of the finished kid's sweater, modeled by Melanie's adorable granddaughter:

I'm just tickled with how well this fits her (she'll be 2 next month). Getting the pattern written up is on my to-do list for this weekend. Don't you think that would be a great sweater for an adult, too? And there isn't a single cable on it anywhere. It took two weeks and three days from start to finish. That qualifies it as an instant gratification project for me.

I am at a design impasse right now. I wanted to do something in a cotton yarn, so I pulled some Sublime Organic Cotton out of the stash. Two days later I found out that yarn is going to be discontinued. ARRGHHH. Should I continue? Or does the Sublime Organic Cotton get relegated to the stash for my retirement years when I can knit for fun? I find keeping up with yarn to be one of the hardest and most frustrating parts of my job. It's like fashion—we're out here in the backwater where I have trouble keeping up. And I wonder how much having a current yarn makes a difference in whether a knitter will knit a design or not. I don't have a good answer, and that's keeping me from moving forward with a design.

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It's been a tough two weeks. Eight days of subbing on top of all the other stuff I have to do has made me very tired. As much as I like subbing, I doubt I will do it anymore after this year. DD#2 will be at the high school next year and I won't have any kids at this elementary school. The school doesn't care—they would keep me subbing for the next 20 years if they could. While I was there this week, I dropped some very broad hints about not being available next year. I want them to start looking for a replacement for me. It's hard, because I know how difficult it is to find good subs. But it's time for me to move on, even though I will be sad not to have any kids at that school. It's been a big part of our lives for the past 14 years.

I will not miss the head lice.

The husband is off to do a small job today, so it will just be me, the dogs, and the chickens here. I haven't been out to the chicken coop in nine days. The chickens probably forgot who I am. I plan to put a big pot of soup on the stove, build a fire in the fireplace, then settle down for a productive day of work. Wish me luck.