School's out...for summer!

Yay! School's out as of last Friday! I had a great year overall, which was my second year teaching. Firstly, I had my own classroom, which was magnificent. For those of you who don't know, I had to spend my first year teaching from a cart, moving into other teacher's rooms on their off period due to overcrowding. This year was so much better! 

I have improved my classroom management a great deal, so I had very few major problems in my own room. I may be strict, but I think I am fair and my students respect me and some (maybe most?) also like me. Teaching is like parenting, though; you can't only be a "friend." 

Teaching shouldn't only be about standardized test scores, but right now it is (at least in the US). My students did so well! They made me very proud! I had 25% of my students score "advanced," which is the highest level. That is really great- only 5% of schools in Louisiana had more 6th graders score advanced! 90% scored basic or above, which means they learned a year's worth of material. I am proud of them, and happy that I taught them what they needed to know.

Fun picture: T-Rex got a harness, but it is a pain to take off and put on. 

Now I am going to continue my job hunt, work on getting in shape and sew a whole bunch of clothes!

Yay!

Some progress...

I washed and dried my flannel, and cut out all my underlining pieces, and then transferred all the marks in sharpie. I still need to pre-shrink the wool and cut them out and then baste them all together, but it's a bit of progress!

The dog was cold, so I put him in his jacket and wrapped him in blankets. He spent the whole evening like that!
It's reaching freezing at night, so I brought the lemon tree in.
It's dark every night when I get home, so I don't know when I'll ever take pictures of the Swirl dresses.

In French Club tomorrow the kids will be trying to make crepes. I made the batter tonight, but they will cook them and fill them. That should be fun!

Oh, and I feel like this is an uglier version of my cape from American Apparel, which also cost 155$. Mine was maybe 50, since I bought nice fabric...

This was cool! Sam liked my cape so much she went and bought the same pattern to make one of her own! I can't wait to see it!

That's enough for now!

Ruffled Tablecloth

Today was the first day of school, and I still have done no sewing. Here is my ruffled tablecloth. I haven't finished the other yet. It is the reverse, pink on top with a green ruffle.

It turned out a little smaller than the table, so I don't know what happened. I measured again, and my measurement were correct. I think it had something to do with the corners. I taped it to the table and stretched it as far as it would go, but I had to strategically put some books on the back left corner.

What a great color scheme! Hot pink, lime green and tons of maps- I like my room!

Someone left a comment about a tutorial for the ruffler. I am not a maker of tutorials; I enjoy teaching, but sewing is my hobby. Besides, Susan at Spare Time has made a wonderful, incredibly detailed, 5 part series on how to use all the features of the ruffler. I couldn't even top it if I wanted to! You can see part one here.

Thanks, Susan!!

Too busy to sew?

School has started, at least for teachers, so I have been really busy. Plus, since we got the dog back from boarding him he has had what we can euphemistically call "intestinal distress."

Sadly, my sewing room is his favorite place to hide and have horrifying, horrifying diarrhea. So, I have not been doing any sewing. Don't worry, he is on meds and a bland diet and will hopefully be feeling better soon, poor baby.
I did wear my cute blue dress I made this summer to back to school night. That is when the students and parents can come to meet their teachers, get books and buy gym uniforms, etc.

My room's theme is hot pink and neon green- it is very BRIGHT and FESTIVE and ENGAGING!!! I have made one ruffled, coordinating tablecloth for my two long tables, and I have one in the works. My thread keeps snapping though and it is frustrating. I can't figure out why. It did force me to clean out the feed dogs and the shuttle, so it's not all bad.

I'll post some pictures when I finish both. They are cute, and I am learning how to use my ruffler, which is an AWESOME foot! If you have one, try it. I know it looks menacing, but it is so fast and awesome and evenly perfect.

Havr a good week! Who knows when I'll be able to post something new?

Last Day of School!

Today was the last day of school for the students. I survived my first year of teaching! Yay! I took some pictures, in case I feel nostalgic in the future, but for now I am just ready for summer.

The state also released their test scores yesterday, and they all did SO WELL!! I am so proud of them. 17 percent of them scored "Advanced" which is the highest ranking. That is wonderful! 89% got Basic or higher, which is what the state expects as a minimum. I am happy about that.

I have been sewing a bit too, but I'll save the pictures for the finished project. Right now they are just strewn across the table.

Here's my finished disco dress, since I never did post one!

A real photo shoot will take place when Andrew comes back from NYC...