There's a Gravy Train out there somewhere

I'm very excited, but trying not to be. There are new specifications for all the GCSEs from 2009 and my old team leader rang me on Friday (mainly to find out how close I'd got to earning the coat and how many more responses he could expect me to mark) and asked me if he could put my name forward to the publishers as somebody that might be interested in working on the new text books.

I might have capered quite a bit. I'd be a published writer! My very first choice of career, and I'd finally have achieved it. But, I'm really trying not to think about it, because it's most likely to come to nothing. Still, it's a good sign for the future.

I have now earned the coat. There were 60 responses left to mark last night, and I am sort of hoping they will have been completed by the time I get home so I can finally put the marking to bed for this year and get back to actually having a life. I intend to go to dinner and cocktails with my friends tomorrow night, and hopefully to Mamma Mia some other night this week.


Then there will be knitting. Much knitting. I'm having an attack of the must-FOs, even though Marianne is ticking on nicely, so I put an extra 6 inches on the garish sparkly skinny scarf I've been knitting from this pattern, and also made

<-------- one of these.

Pattern: Dishcloth Duo
Yarn: Wendy DK cotton from Shaw's the Draper's
Mods: The yarn seemed skinnier so I went down a needle size to 4.5mm. Next time I might try a provisional cast on and three needle bind off. I really do hate seaming that much.

Whatizzit? It's supposed to be a dish scrubby. I don't much see the point in knitting dishcloths, perhaps because Mr Z insists on using a green scourer to wash up everything (yes, even glasses....yes, even for wiping down the counter, in spite of the fact it doesn't absorb anything). However, I have had in in mind to try and knit some reusable cotton wool pads for make up removal, much like these, made from towel offcuts. It turned out to be a really quick knit - about half an hour, including seaming, and stopping to concentrate on exciting bits of Heroes - and works really nicely as a make up remover. It's abrasive enough that I don't have to really scrub the make up remover into my face, but not so abrasive as to leave my skin red. I intend to make a lot more, maybe with some little string bags to wash them in, to give away as gifts next Christmas.

Fun little knit! Now I am planning what to knit for the Ravelry Olympics, and wondering how much knitting time I will have if we do remodel the kitchen this summer as planned.