Secret Projects, Puppets, and Giggles: Another Monday with the Girls

Yesterday was an excellent day. I finished the back cover of my book (finally!), I picked out a new pattern (and the yarn), I actually got to do some writing, and I had knitting with the girls.

I left early yesterday for knitting with the girls -- because I had to run to the store to pick up cupcakes for Miss E's birthday. I rushed to the store, worried that I'd be late, and no one was there. No one. So I sat down in my corner of the couch and snagged a copy of the new Knit.1 to flip through for a while. There weren't a ton of patterns that I couldn't live without, but there was a handy reference guide -- with knitting terms in ten languages. Now *that* would come in handy. I think I may have to buy a copy just for that.

Eventually, Miss S showed up. She and I were just about to dig in to the cupcakes when Miss E arrived. Not too long after we'd eaten our cupcakes, we had a new knitter show up -- another Miss E. (In fact, come to think of it, there are 3 Miss Es now.) There was a lot of knitting going on in the front of the store. Miss S was working on her scarf. Miss E was working on her super-cool felted bag. And the new Miss E was working on a wrap. I, on the other hand, taunted the girls by telling them that my project is a secret project. Man, they hated that. It's a big black ribbed thing in the round. Some thought it was a sweater. Others, a skirt. It was even suggested that it might be a big knitted cover for the spare tire on the back of my car. But I'm not tellin'. They'll just have to wait and see. I was going to post a picture of my progress today, but now I guess I'm just going to have to wait -- so I can torture them a little longer. :)

While we were chatting and knitting, the new Miss E brought up her school's guidance counselor, who communicates to the kids through puppets. One of them, apparently called "Candy Wanda," is supposed to tell the kids that it's time to "clear their creative space" or something like that. I said that I needed a Candy Wanda of my own -- and when I pull her out, everyone has to knit. This, of course, would come in handy for the girls who tend to zone out (like Miss C) or start talking and forget to knit (like Miss H, who was home sick this week). Miss E's grandmother suggested putting a can of pennies inside, so I can shake it at the girls every time they stop knitting -- and the puppet soon became the Behavioral Modification Puppet. And that settled it. Now I have to design a puppet. I'm going to have to start digging some scraps out of my stash.

Miss E announced that she's grounded for the next couple of weeks, so we won't be seeing her for a couple of Mondays. When she's back, I should have that puppet ready to go...