Thus it begins

So how come I never remember just how stressful the first few days of school are. I guess it's kinda like having a baby, because you don't remember the beginning just what you have at the end. We are working to get all our ducks in a row and making sure all the kids have the right stuff they need. Can you say exhausted. I feel like a drill instruction with a new batch of recruits. Hopefully things will get a little easier. I've been working on a pair of flip-top mittens for my niece who asked (CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT) me to make something for her. She is the brunette in the picture and the twins are mine. I can't believe how much they have grown and how beautiful they all are. Im ready to send them off to be locked in a convent. Anyway, I spun the yarn myself using blues and greens to create this oceany (is that a word?) color and made the pattern up myself. I don't know how happy I am with the final product but I am going to let it sit for a while and see if it grows on me. I had a little trouble with the flip part of it because it's a little challenging to work around the hand in the middle of 3 DP. I also tried working it on 2 circular which is my favorite way to work in the round but the beginning rows got a bit stretched out. I found it easier to work on DP and then changed to the circular. What you can't see from these pictures is the really cool button I found to hold down the flip when not in use. Matched perfectly and it's made from some kind of shell. I love it. It's cool how the little things (spent $1.75) make the difference. I spent most of the time working on these during staff meetings that I can't even begin to sit through without something in my hands. Im pretty lucky because my adminstration is great about allowing me to manage my ADHD and creat things at the same time. Other staff is getting used to seeing me working on things and getting mostly intelligent responses from me in the meantime. THANK GOD. I recently read the first in KNIT LIT series and found a great article about another CEO who knit during meetings. Makes me feel better about my need to do that. I know there are other things I could be doing such as lesson plans or correcting papers, but I am much more focused on what is going on when I am knitting something simple and can participate without thinking twice.