The evil people out there...

...who hide behind the name "enablers". They're really just evil. I mean, a summer sale at Spunky Eclectic? After my earlier whine about already having too much sock yarn I want to play with all at once?? That's just cruel. And Cara is starting a new Log Cabin Afghan KAL soon. I really really love the look of that particular afghan in the STR, but buying that much would really break my bank. And it seems like it would be a faster knit in, say, a worsted weight. I've considered trying to combine the two enablings and stocking up on Amy's Spunky Sport for the Log Cabin, but would kind of prefer some more solid colours for the afghan. I'll have to think more, unfortunately.

I'm turning the heel of the first Cloverleaf sock already. Yes, tech has been going so smoothly that I can already knit during the runs...for once my professional life is smooth and my personal life is messed up - no wonder I'm so crazed right now! (He did come over last night, though, and will probably set his computer up here again soon and start gradually moving back in - we don't want to totally confuse the cat again!) I've done a few more rows on the hood of Rogue, but not made too much progress on it yet. Teddie disappeared again yesterday and turned up underneath the stove, which freaked me out. Is it safe for him to be under there? What if I use the stove and don't know he's there? Will he be okay? I really don't know. I don't really have a way of blocking him from getting under there right now. We put a roll of wrapping paper in front of it last night, but this morning he figured out that he can bat the roll out of the way. He is apparently madly in love with Steve, but is still upset with him for putting the latches on the cabinets so he can't open them. This morning, though, he started crying when he heard us start getting up and moving around and led us straight to his hidey hole on the other side of the fridge. He came out for some lovin' and then hid in his kitty tree and yelled at me after Steve left for work, but wouldn't come back out. What is it with males??

Panic!

I have not been able to find Teddie since I woke up this morning. He was laying on the bed with me when I fell asleep (we made it all the way out to the living room yesterday evening), but I haven't been able to find him since! I know he couldn't get outside, unless he's a very gentlemanly cat who closes and locks screens and doors behind him when he leaves, but I am DAMNED if I can figure out where he has gotten to! I've checked all the ground level cabinets (as there was evidence they had been explored last night), as well as behind the fridge, desks, toilet, and bed, and on top of the higher kitchen cabinets. I have to go to tech now, so I hope he's not stuck somewhere! I'll be back at dinner to try to look for him again!

ETA: When I got home over dinner, after frantically tearing the apartment apart and a tearful phone call to Steve about me being a terrible kitty mommy, I discovered him curled up in a kitchen drawer. Apparently, he had climbed up into the drawer after getting into the cabinets last night, but then couldn't get out and decided it was a nice place to spend the day. He wasn't too happy about being pried out by Steve and I (Steve brought dinner over for me!), and hid in his little cat tree for the rest of the dinner break. Steve came back during the evening and cat-proofed the cabinets so Teddie can't get back into them, and said that Teddie spent the whole time under the bed. He has eaten and used the litter box, though, and I'm going to go play with him a bit more now to try to coax him out.

New Roommate!

Ladies (and gents if any read this), I'd like to introduce you to Teddie. He adopted me today. Teddie is six years old, and lived at the shelter for about a month after being left by a family who was moving and couldn't take him with them. Although he doesn't look like it in the picture, he is very much a cuddlebug. He's just shy as well, and I'm sure it's scary to be in a new home. (Although, I have to say, only I would get a cat that would hide behind the toilet!) They said he's also a loner and doesn't usually want to be around the other cats. When I explained my work schedule, they figured that it was a good fit, as he would probably sleep when I was gone, but when I was around he would want to cuddle. That's fine with me! I'm sure we'll get along just fine - I couldn't just leave him there today after I met him. He even likes Steve, who also met him at the shelter (although Steve doesn't know there's a new male in my house) but suggested that I wait until next week after tech. But how could I leave that face??

Let the healing begin

Thank you to everyone who has commented, emailed, PM'd, and used various other forms of communication to offer support. It is really very much appreciated. He and I have been able to talk in the past two days, and have discovered a lot that we would like to work on. However, we do feel that living apart for a while will help us (we moved in together after only about six months of dating, for purely practical reasons - we were both moving to LA, me to work and him to school, didn't know anyone else down there, and figured at least we would know each other). So it's in a weird state of limbo, although we did have a date last night that was a lot of fun. It will either work itself out and we'll be all the stronger for it, or it won't. *shrugs*

So, on to more cheerful things like knitting stuffs. (Btw, one of his comments to me the other night was that he really loves that I knit, it's one of the amazing things about me, but his friends just don't get why that is amazing to him - guys are so strange.) I've started on the hood for Rogue:

I also gave in to my yarn sluttiness and started a pair of Zigzag Cloverleaf socks with the STR Scottish Highlands, the pattern being graciously shared by desi_knitter over on the KR Forums.
It seems like I have sock yarn pouring out my ears right now and I want to work with all of it at the same time! I have the Green Gables (will be a hat, I think, for Solvang), Sailing Away (Pomatomus socks), and Berry Pickin' (check the pic on Amy's blog, I'm so in love, these might become Mata Hari socks) all from Spunky Eclectic. I have STR in the Scottish Highlands and Seal Rock (no idea what to use that one for yet), and I have three skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepard Sport in Black Purl coming! This is on top of all of my KnitPicks yarn that I still have to work through! What's a girl to do? Quit working and just knit socks all the time? Be somewhat less stressful, until it came time to pay bills...

I'm going back to the animal shelter today to turn in my application and get pics of my hopefully soon to be new roommates. Steve said he would go with me on his lunch break. After that, some of the girls and I are going to hit up the Victoria's Secret Semi-Annual Sale up in SLO, can't wait!

May be quiet for a while

as I deal with some changes...mostly going from a two person home to living by myself again...I don't know where he stayed last night and I'm not sure it wouldn't break my heart further if I did know. I do know I will get a kitty soon. In the very near future, because now I don't have to wait for him to come up with his half of the money or find a time we can both go to the shelter together.

I haven't touched Rogue since I finished seaming the shoulders. All that is left to do is the hood and sleeves. I've started a new pair of socks with the Scottish Highlands STR. I don't know what pattern I will use yet. Something simple for tech next week. Right now, I don't even have a director for tech, as he was called away Wednesday on a family emergency. The Artistic Director, who I really enjoy working with on shows, has stepped in to at least make sure that the show opens properly and on time. The actors are rolling with the change pretty well. The director was hoping to be back today, but so far I haven't gotten any confirmation of that. I'm going to take a shower now, try to feel at least like I can go out in public without scaring anyone but myself, and go talk to the landlady about a pet deposit and maybe drive out to the shelter to check out the cats. I'm so numb right now, and I don't really want to face or talk to anyone, but I can't hide away, either.

Gloating

The original title of this post was Yarn Porn!, but I don't have any pics of it yet. My STR came in YESTERDAY, less than a week after I ordered it. Great service! And I canNOT wait to work with it! Told you I'm a yarn slut. How many pairs of socks can/should one have going at a time?? I only have one pair going right now, that I have worked maybe a half a row a day on in the past week, but that's with cheap KnitPicks yarn. I'm thinking I should really switch to something far more colorful and nice - that would make socks go faster, no? Besides, I'm in tech next week, so I will need something fun to look at. Not that I'm anticipating tech to be anything remotely resembling stressful - especially after Oliver! - but a good SM is always prepared. Ooo...maybe I'll start...okay...I hate having too many projects, but I'm thinking I should start my Pomatomus socks with my Spunky Eclectic Sailing Away this week - definitely Monday at the latest, so I could work on them. I think I am going to use the Green Gables for a hat or scarf for Solvang. I just really love the colors in it and feel they would be hidden if I made them into socks. Definitely something bright and eyecatching! Katie is going to be WARM in Solvang for once this year! This is, of course, assuming I have infinite time to knit, as I do have other projects going. Rogue is taking up most of my knitting time right now. I am thisclose to finishing the body. I have finished the back and am almost done with the front left shoulder. I think I could actually have this one done before Anna closes in the Marian, but I do also have to work on the afghan, I suppose. Sigh. I'm still thinking I need some easy stockinette or ribbed socks in cool colors for tech and performances, but I also feel like I should use up the sock yarn I got from Amy first, before it all starts to pile up on me, and I really want to use that for the scarf and for Pomatomuses, which I think will be too complicated to work on during performances. Hmm...duh...I could work on a scarf easily during performances. I still wouldn't be getting any socks done, though. Will have to consider this further.

ETA: As of about 2:30a this morning, I have a Rogue tank top! Steve was working on finishing up a set model for a design meeting today, so I was able to finish both front shoulders and three-needle them together with the back. It fits a bit closer than I was thinking, but it's not too small by any means. I just didn't do a size that had as much ease in it. Next up is the hood, which I'm trying to talk myself into not working on until tonight, so I can get these Seussical notes typed up.

Is it Monday yet?

1. Emotional/legal drama with friends has resulted in having one of them stay with Steve and I temporarily. I am of mixed feelings on this. I totally support my friends and am very very very glad that we can do SOMETHING to help them out. (In my opinion, feeling helpless is worse than almost anything, and this has been a very helpless feeling ordeal so far.) On the other hand...there was a reason that I was so excited to not have to share my living space with roommates. I'm seriously territorial and just don't really play that well with others. Oh well, I'm sure it will be fine. Steve will keep me in check.

2. Anna is going along surprisingly smoothly. The cast asked if they could change from having two four hour blocks with a two hour dinner to either one six hour block or two four hour blocks with one hour for dinner, so we have a shorter day span. We started rehearsals Tuesday and will be running the entire show for the first time tomorrow afternoon. The best part is, it doesn't feel like we've rushed or been pushed to get to that point. It feels like it is the next logical thing to do. We have one more week of regular rehearsals, then a week of tech, and then we open two weeks from yesterday. And it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. The only hurdle we've hit so far has been having too many directors in the rehearsal room, and I kinda put my foot down on that yesterday.

3. My knitting is off. I have the back armhole shaping and about a quarter of the shoulders on Rogue done. I have another square of the entrelac afghan done. I have maybe three more rows done on my socks. I want to work on things. I really do. I sit down in my chair either in the morning before rehearsal or in the evening after rehearsal, and...it seems like so much effort to pick anything up and work on it. Except the socks, maybe. I dunno. Maybe that means I should work on more socks. Not anything with a pattern, though. Which still doesn't make any sense, as the other two projects are also just stockinette stitch. My STR shipped yesterday, so it will get here by Wednesday, with any luck. Maybe that will inspire me again. I really want to work on Rogue now, though, so I'll quit typing and do that.

Oh, and tomorrow will be Steve's 24th birthday. I suppose I should get him a present or something, huh?

Uncharted Territory

Okay, so there is a chart. In fact, there are very clean and clear written, step-by-step instructions. But I am now here:



Know what this is? This is one of the completed side panels of Rogue. That's right. I've mangled my way through most of the body already. Now I have to do scary things I've never done before, like shape armholes and backs, do a v-neck with cabling, and pray that my swatching was correct and the needles I am going to switch to for flat knitting will really keep me in the proper gauge. Everything is very well written, I've been very impressed with the way the pattern is presented - it makes sense to even a novice like me. The body so far hasn't been that difficult (okay, so the tension on cables is a pain to keep even, but I'm told a good wash and block should straighten all that out). Just gotta take a deep breath. I mean, hey, if I can do lace and sock heels and entrelac and all that, I should be fine. It's not scary, right? RIGHT?

Retail Therapy Update

So...no trip to the LYS. I really am not a big fan of that shop and kinda have to talk myself into going there. So no yarn fondling there. I did browse around the internet a bit for some Bearfoot, but somehow it wasn't jumping at me. I was rather surprised at myself, actually. I just couldn't decide on colours. I love my blues and greens, but that describes the vast majority of my stash, and I thought maybe I should start branching out my colour scheme a bit. I have some potential colourways (of course, I would not turn down any of them), but I would like to see them irl before buying. All is not lost, however. I was reply to someone on the KR Forums and, for some strange reason, Socks That Rock popped into my head and suddenly I had to have some. So I went over to Blue Moon Fibers and somehow magically ended up with a skein of Seal Rock and a skein of Scottish Highlands in my shopping cart. No idea how that happened...hope that it comes soon, though...cuz I really really need sock yarn! (*rolls eyes but giggles anyway*)

Shoulda stayed in bed...

Warning, some non-knitting content!

First off, the root of this whole post pretty much, is that I have not been sleeping well for the past week for various inane reasons. My legs feel like I ran a marathon yesterday, uphill, and I have no idea why. (Never mind. I do know why, it just occured to me. We taped out the floor in the rehearsal hall and all that sitting/squatting/standing/up&downness is what did it. Huh. Great, now I feel out of shape, too!) My character on the MUD I play on died not once, but twice yesterday, very stupidly and about thirty seconds apart, so now I'm back down two levels there not to mention getting mocked (admittedly, I deserve to be mocked for the second of those deaths. The first was sheer bad timing and bad luck). A couple of my friends are going through some rough and highly unfair stuff right now, so I'm kind of emotionally drained, as well. I have some errands to run today (including going to the grocery store to get supplies for cookies for above-mentioned friends), and it might just have to include a stop at the LYS to fondle some yarn. Or I might have to shop online and find more Bearfoot or something. Retail therapy sounds awfully good right now.

ETA: I just got a phone call and had to turn down an offer to call all four operas of The Ring of the Nibelung cycle in Pittsburgh in July. While I'm flattered that the director wants to work with me again, I somehow don't think that PCPA will let me out of at least four weeks of rehearsals/performances. Opera isn't really my thing, anyway.

No real work accomplished on any of the current WIPs this week, mostly because I finally realized that I have exactly two months to make an afghan for Becki for her wedding in August. I've settled on a large, solid-colour entrelac pattern in some Homespun I had in the stash. I kept thinking I needed something simple that I could do quickly. Another Winter Night was a possibility (I could make at least one square per day for that and have it finished by mid-July), but I didn't want to give Becki the same pattern I made Amanda. I'd like to think I have slightly more variety than that. I know that her favorite blanket growing up was a quilt, and to me, entrelac looks very quiltish. I'm using the Homespun because it is a.) soft, warm, and machine washable, b.) a pretty color, c.) chunky and knits up quickly and d.) in the stash already. I'm on the first tier, and it looks pretty cool so far. I have five 24st base triangles on size 11 needles, and I'm thinking I'll do only six or seven tiers (or less, depending on size, I'm kind of winging it) and then the top triangles. Gauge is roughly (it's hard to tell with Homespun) 3st and 3.5 rows per inch. Instead of tassles or fringe like Danica or Lady Eleanor, I'm just going to put a simple knitted border around it. I think I can do a square a day for this one, as well, and I still have a bit of breathing room.

Of course, I'm still a pattern whore, and the spiral jacket over on Elann.com is...well, lets just say I've finally found the pattern for all of my WotA and can't wait to work on it. I just have to decide on the color order. Never mind that I already have five four projects otn (I'm going to frog Elfine, I think, it's just not doing it for me) and my self-imposed limit is three. Never mind that I have enough squares of the second Winter Night afghan done already to create a fabulously cozy lap blanket if I would just block the squares and sew them together, or that the Knitted Stripes afghan I gave up on a long time ago is actually the perfect size and design for a rug if I would only bind it off. I must get SOMETHING else done before I can start the jacket! Really! Someone convince me!

Indecision kills

So I lucked out with the curse and Steve's socks. He doesn't like that colorway, and it's the most "manly" colorway of sock yarn I have, so no socks for him. Well, okay, it's not, there are a couple other yarns that could be considered masculine, but they're hand wash. He is not getting handwash socks unless he begs! (And that just won't happen.) More socks for me!

I'm also not sure about the Elfine socks. I like the yarn, and I like the pattern, but I'm not so sure about the yarn and the pattern together. The super sport is a slightly heavier than normal sock weight yarn, and the sock looks way too big, even though it does fit. Just not sure.

Muha!

This makes me happy. I'm not quite sure why. It's a beautiful colorway, but I have to admit that if I had seen it onscreen before hand, I would probably not be as eager to pick it up. But somehow, this works. I love it!

I've started Elfine with the Green Gables yarn, and it has promptly started giving me fits already. I'm not sure yet whether it is the yarn saying it wants to be something else or if it is just my own stupidity. Somehow, I can count the God-knows-how-many stitches on the Snowdrop Shawl, or even on the former KYOA Pi Shawl, but 33 stitches on a sock? Out of my league, apparently. I'm tinking back to where I think the mistake is (I think I missed a YO a couple rows back, but can't tell exactly where) and hopefully fix it and all will be well. I do have to admit that the colors go well with the pattern.

I've also dug out a couple skeins of KnitPicks Simple Stripes in Storm for some mindless stockinette socks. I think these will be Steve's socks. It's kind of a guy colorway. His feet are only slightly bigger than mine (due to the fact that he is only slightly taller than me, I suppose), and he only wears ankle socks, so these shouldn't be too bad. I'd ask him when he gets home, but it will be about four in the morning, and he has to be back in the prop shop at nine. I'm a bit nervous about the curse (you know, the whole knit your lover a pair of socks and he'll walk away in them thing) because I'm overly superstitious about random and silly things, but I figure that these will be made with his full knowledge, from decent but relatively cheap yarn that won't break my heart if he does take them, and after two and a half years of living together and with my knitting, if he does leave, it will be for reasons far more important than a pair of socks!

Will be spending the weekend at home for once, working on various knitting projects and the prop lists for Seussical and Song of the Oak, our fall Outreach show. Steve is the set designer for Song, so that's cool. (I'm not SM'ing it, though. It will be handed over to an intern when he/she gets here for the fall/winter season. I'm just babysitting the meetings until then.) I could be really really nice to my ASM for Anna in the Tropics, my next show that starts rehearsals not next week but the week after, and get the paperwork and most of the prep done for it this weekend, but I wouldn't want her to have to come in for no reason, would I? I'm looking forward to Anna - we have two weeks of rehearsals (8 hour rehearsal calls), three days of tech and dress rehearsals and then we're up and running. That's so much more my kind of pace than the whole six-weeks of rehearsal thing that we do during the school year. It's brutal, but I far prefer the busier summer season to the fall/winter season. (Btw, I listened to Seussical for the first time the other night. It made me think of a combination of Wicked and Little Shop of Horrors and I still have "The Thinks You Can Think" stuck in my head.)

Back to tinking Elfine...