Olympics

I've been slacking a little bit, but for good reasons. We have been apartment hunting and getting things packed and sorted and whatnot. But, I did get a good amount of knitting done on Saturday, so I am still on pace to get her finished if I don't slack too much more. Here's what I have as of noon Tuesday:


Off to knit some more! Check out some more Olympic Ladies at the Lady Eleanor Olympic KAL blog! They're gorgeous!

Warming Up and Cooling Down

The Warm-up:
Sixteen and a half hours until Olympic cast on! I really cannot wait to start working on the Lady! She's been flaunting her yarn at me for almost a month now! I'm going to do her on size 10 needles, since I only have ten skeins total. I'm planning on nine and a half (ish) skeins of body with the last half skein for fringe. The real challenge is that we have to go up to Hanford and Santa Maria again this weekend, and are planning on leaving around 2:00 tomorrow! I've already warned Steve that I will be knitting in the car again. The best part is that his parents have cable, and while the Olympics ARE on NBC, it comes in much better on their television than on ours. I really hope they don't want to go out for dinner Friday night...I didn't get to see Sydney, Salt Lake City OR Athens Opening Ceremonies, and I am bound and determined to watch this one! It's like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade for me - it's something Mom and I always did together and just because we live 1500 miles apart now doesn't mean diddly. If I ever have kids (god forbid - I have this fear of having a little girl - what if she turns out like me?) I hope that they grow to enjoy watching certain events with me, too.

The Cool-Down:
I'm going to have to drop out of the Jaywalker KAL. It sucks, and I really don't want to, but there is no way I am going to be able to finish this pair by Feb. 14. I'm about an inch away from the heels still, on toe ups, and the Olympics start tomorrow. I want to focus on that. The Socks That Rock prize is tempting - Lordy, but those colours are gorgeous! - but, honestly, I need more sock yarn like I need a hole in my head. I still haven't gotten around to that yummy Bearfoot I got back in Octoberish. And I can't really pay attention to it for long periods of time. It's just complicated enough that I still have to look at it on the even rows, so I can't really read or watch anything while working on them, but it's boring enough that I can't just sit and work on it with no distractions. So, while I am still bringing them with me this weekend, because they fit so well in my purse and they are a perfect waiting-around project, with great regret I am dropping out of this particular KAL. I do like the pattern, and the cool little things it's doing with my yarn. As much as I fear SSS, I think I might do one at a time next time. At least I'd get one sock done...

Oh, and the raglan is still coming along nicely. I decided that I lied and have indeed added the third colour (the dark green) to the bottom. I tried it on last night, and except for the length (of course), it fits fine. Still going to do the short sleeves, though. And must make sure to not wear my teal coloured bra underneath it...

I love cards like these!

Katie,
Thank you so much for the scarf you gave me for Christmas. I love it! I wear it all the time and it goes perfectly with my brown coat. I have something in the works for you, but it's taking a while to [get] my supplies and thoughts together. I know you will love it as soon as I can get it together! Let me know when you're going to be in town next. I miss you!

Love,
Amanda

Amanda seems to really love my knitting or at least does a very good job of sounding enthusiastic in her thank you notes. She was the recipient of the Winter Night afghan for her wedding, and the Rainy Day scarf for Christmas. I need to be as good about writing thank you cards as she is, particularly now that I know how good it makes me feel to get one!

Trying to pack up the apartment and get some knitting done at the same time. I'm afraid I might have to drop out of the Jaywalker KAL. I'd have to get them done by Friday in order to have any chance at all to get the Lady done during the Olympics. Maybe. We'll see. (Of course, we're going to be out of town apartment hunting and moving every weekend this month, so my chances of getting through the Olympics are slim at best. Oh well, still gonna try!) My goal for today is to get my desk and knitting/cross-stitch supplies sorted through and packed. Of course, I have to leave current projects out, but I have a lot of junk yarn that I'm pondering what to do with. I'm pretty close to done already, even though my Noro kinda got uncermoniously stuffed into my knitted yarn bag instead of laying comfortably in the box with the rest of my good yarns. I hope it doesn't take too much offense, I need to be on good terms with it if I'm going to be an Olympian! Speaking of which, I do need to take time to swatch today to make sure that I have the right needles out before they get packed up.

Dilemma!

I don't *think* said friend reads this blog, but he might, so I'll be vague. In short, I'm crunched for time for a gift I thought I had over a year more to make. I have a possible solution, but am still not sure if I will be able to get those done in time. Particularly with all of my already-scheduled projects. We'll see. I do have a backup in case this scheme doesn't work, though. Oh, I was thinking of using a chunkier yarn (I was thinking Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky or Thick-n-Quick in Natural/Fisherman - I don't know about any allergies and can't ask w/o giving it away, and, well, I know my friend, and it needs to be machine washable) on, say, size 10 needles, but am not confident that it will work well with cables. Any yarn/needle combination suggestions? If I do it in worsted or smaller, just the pieces I want to do for the wedding will take forever, even though they would show off the pattern the best.

TDRag is sprinting along all of a sudden. Only a couple more inches of body left! I'm only going to do two colours, and a rolled hem. I'm also probably only going to do short or three-quarter sleeves. For some reason, that's what it is saying that it wants, not the full length. Who am I to argue with a project? It probably knows what it's doing better than I do. Jaywalkers also got a bit of length added to them this weekend. I haven't tried them on for measuring yet, but I think they are almost ready for some heels. I am probably going to do a short row heel for them, instead of the heel flap and gusset, though. Danica is over three feet long now, but has been a bit neglected lately. Lady E is still going to be my Olympic project. (Yes, I know I have a wedding gift I should be doing. I don't care. I have plotted and planned for a month now to do this shawl in February, and damnit, I'm going to!)

Spent the weekend up north at Steve's old college (he's helping them build a set and I helped a little in the costume shop) and apartment hunting. We looked at one place, and found a couple others that interested us even more. We're trying to get info and appointments with them set up for next weekend, when we do the same thing. *sigh* I hate moving, but at least it's Out Of Los Angeles!

100 Things About Me

100 Things About Me

1. My birthday is May 11.
2. I have a knack for remembering people's birthdays.
3. I'm in the military - A1C, CA-ANG, 148th SOPS.
4. I hold a B.A. from Purdue University’s School of Liberal Arts. It’s in Technical Theater with an emphasis in Stage Management and a minor in Communications. . I originally went to Purdue to obtain a B.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering before transferring to the SLA.
5. I'm working on a Masters of Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a focus in Space Operations Management.
6. I work for an illusionist in my copious amounts of spare time.
7. I know what a MUD is and have played one since late 2001, although the player base is dwindling now.
8. In certain online circles, I’m also known as Losari or Khalyn.
9. I’m usually a loner in-game.
10. I grew up in a Christian home, and hold firmly to those beliefs, even though I don’t go to church much anymore.
11. I’m semi-superstitious and fairly open-minded about the paranormal.
12. I think it is arrogant of humans to think that they could be the only intelligence in the universe.
13. I believe that the mind or spirit or soul is bigger than the body, and that “there are more things in heaven and earth…than are dreamt of in our philosophies.”
14. I also believe that the mind is a powerful thing and sometimes imagination can make you see or feel things that aren’t there, and your eyes really can deceive you. Google “optical illusions” if you don’t believe me.
15. I also refuse to seek out or attempt to communicate with anything I don’t understand.
16. My dad got me interested in space and astronautics and star gazing.
17. I have been to Space Camp with my dad as a parent/child thing, and to Advanced Space Academy, both in Huntsville, AL.
18. I would go back and do the Adult Space Academy in a heartbeat, if I had the time and money.
19. I got the internship that brought me out to California the week of my senior finals. I had one week to take my finals and move from Illinois/Indiana to California. I’ve been here ever since (five years this May!).
20. I love both cats and dogs.
21. I love stage magic and illusions, even though I can’t do the sleight of hand stuff. I'm very proud of the fact that I am the only one trusted with the entirety of John's show.
22. My mom taught me to do needlepoint when I was about seven and cross-stitch when I was about ten.
23. My great-grandmother taught me enough about sewing to get the basics and make some doll clothes when I was about nine.
24. I am not as comfortable working with a sewing machine as working by hand, but I’d love to get a small cheap one to practice on.
25. I love fantasy stories. My favorite fantasy authors are David Eddings, J. K. Rowling, Michelle Sagara, and I’m starting to get into Jim Butcher.
26. I absolutely adore the Harry Potter books, and actually rather miss the anticipation of getting the next book.
27. I would have to say that my favorite author, based on number of books that I’ve enjoyed reading, is Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb. I love her trilogies and …in Death series. I love the character interactions and relationships.
28. My favorite colors are, in no particular order, purple, green and blue.
29. I really enjoy knitting socks for some reason.
30. I don’t really like felting things, since I don’t have a washer of my own.
31. I’m really bad about supporting my LYS. Even though the people there have always been nice, the selection isn’t very good unless you like Patons a lot.
32. I can be very lazy and procrastinitic (is that a word??), particularly when I’m bored.
33. I am a good swimmer, have taught swimming and been a lifeguard for years, but am terrified of the ocean. I like going to the beach and watching the waves and listening to them, but not going into the water when I can’t see what’s underneath!
34. Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love decorating for it, wrapping presents, playing and singing carols and Christmas songs, baking, cooking, and just being around my family. I have to be in the right mood to go shopping, though.
35. I’m very shallow when it comes to movies. I like it when there is some witty repartee, decent action/special effects, and the good guys win at the end.
36. I really don’t like philosophical or biographical movies. I like stupid comedy even less.
37. I am a martial artist. I have a first-degree black belt and am working on my instructor jacket in Songham taekwondo. I’m also training in Haganah/FIGHT, an Israeli streetfighting martial arts style, and I recently started aikido as well. I don’t consider myself a fighter, although "my guys" say I am.
38. I love Chinese food and am a chocoholic.
39. I rarely drink soda anymore. It wasn’t a conscious decision; it just doesn’t really sound good very often anymore. I prefer water, juice, or milk. If I have a soda, it's Mountain Dew.
40. I keep the knitting patterns that I’ve printed out in a three-ring binder in sheet protectors. I have tons more saved as favorite websites or as files on my computer.
41. I can physically handle up to ten martial arts classes per week when my work schedule allows. My classmates, and occasionally my instructors, think I’m nuts, but I love it!
42. I have been officially engaged (I had a ring and everything, although no announcements were made) once, and unofficially once. (“When we get married…” kind of talk.) Neither worked out.
43. I love soft things. Clothes, blankets, stuffed animals, yarns, whatever.
44. I hate being cold and I don’t like snow unless I’m indoors and warm.
45. I love thunderstorms. Particularly daytime ones that I can watch and not be tired afterwards.
46. I’m terrified of earthquakes.
47. I could never be a vegetarian.
48. My two favorite quotes are "I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." (Douglas Adams) and "Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible." (M. C. Escher).
49. My favorite Bible verses are Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.” and Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
50. Zip-up hoodies are the best things ever invented. Fleece ones are ten times more so.
51. I think more people should go to stage productions than movies. At least you don’t have to worry about bad sequels.
52. I think Disney’s last good movies were The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast. The Emperor’s New Groove was pretty good, too.
53. I love music. There is always music playing somewhere around me, when I have any say whatsoever in the matter. I'll listen to pretty much anything, too. I don't really collect it, though, and I prefer the radio or mixed CDs rather than listening to an artist's album.
54. I’ve actually stage managed more shows than I’ve assistant stage managed or crewed. Nothing like getting thrown into the deep end.
55. I have been known to turn jobs down because I got “bad vibes” during interviews, even when I had the job if I wanted it and needed it. I’ve also been known to stubbornly work through bad situations that should have been reported.
56. Most of the major decisions in my life have been based on gut instinct and going on what “felt right,” including going to Purdue, moving to California, moving to LA, working with PCPA and going it the military/going back to school.
57. I firmly believe that you can’t learn stage management from a book or a class, you have to go out and do it and learn it hands-on.
58. I think that trying to define a stage manager or what they do is kind of futile, because it changes from company to company and they can do a lot of different things, ranging from really really petty to really really important
59. I love just going outside on a clear night and watching the stars.
60. I’ve been knitting since 2004. An ME taught me during Hamlet.
61. I am the oldest grandchild on both sides of my family and was the only granddaughter on both sides for twenty years. I was and am spoiled rotten by my grandparents and aunts and uncles.
62. I believe that your attitude towards your situation is more important than your situation.
63. I prefer handmade to store-bought on most things. Furniture, knits, and jellies, particularly.
64. I think the fountains at Purdue made it the most beautiful campus ever.
65. I am too geeky for a lot of people because I enjoy being online and playing role-playing games, but I am usually not geeky enough for the gaming crowd because I’m not that interested in most games and tend to flit through them.
66. I have the basic skills to work in a scene or costume shop and produce something useful, but not enough to do anything really big unless I have someone supervising and advising me.
67. I would rather be too busy than bored.
68. I’m a card-carrying-white-picket-fence-happily-ever-after romantic.
69. I love mythology and legends, although I never got into Arthurian legends. Greek and Roman are my strong suits.
70. I love puzzle games and trivia games.
71. Jewels of the Oracle was probably my favorite PC game ever, but it doesn’t work on my computer anymore. I also like games such as Trivial Pursuit, Jeopardy!, and You Don’t Know Jack! Myst is also great, although I sometimes don’t have the patience to figure out all the clues.
72. I’m studying Spanish and hope to become fluent, or at least conversational.
73. I have a book of easy crossword puzzles by my bed so I can do them before I go to sleep.
74. I’m kind of a slob sometimes, but never too disgustingly dirty. I can’t deal with having dirty dishes around for more than about an hour.
75. I don’t consider myself to be artistic at all. I follow instructions or layouts that someone else has written.
76. I have never smoked anything in my life, and have no intentions of doing so.
77. I have been known to indulge in alcohol on occasion, but have only gotten sick once from it.
78. I’m surprised so many of my 100 things have changed in just two years.
79. I’m an expensive drunk and only drink beer with pizza after sparring.
80. I get shy about acting silly around other people.
81. I tend to be far more aware of reputation and control than a lot of other people I know. I’m always the “safe and solid” person who rarely acts too silly or does something too stupid.
82. I love Christmas carols. I start listening to them right after Halloween.
83. My first rule of socializing is to make friends with the bartender. At work, always make friends with the janitor.
84. I have a minor addiction to kiwi-strawberry flavored Propel water.
85. I have an nine-year-old cat named Teddie. He adopted me from the shelter and lets me live in his apartment now.
86. I love candles.
87. My favorite scents are lilac (real lilac flowers – they can’t replicate it properly for anything), citrus, and vanilla.
88. I occasionally drink coffee, but am definitely not addicted to caffeine anymore. (It dehydrates you, which is bad for class!)
89. I enjoy cooking and baking, and don’t get to do it often enough.
90. I really really love Orange Dream Machines from Jamba Juice and Orange Obsessions from California Fresh.
91. I really hate folding laundry and putting it away.
92. I believe people aren’t as classy as they used to be, and it’s becoming more and more acceptable to be rude, inconsiderate, and stupid.
93. I think the best way to get to know someone’s true colors is to travel with him/her.
94. I really hate the grammar and spelling one sees on the Internet and instant messages nowadays. I don’t mind such shortcuts on license plates, though, and applaud some of the more creative ones I’ve seen.
95. I really hate job hunting and having to sell myself to companies. They should just be able to see how awesome I am =)
96. Unnecessarily loud things really irritate me. I have very good hearing. I enjoy hearing things. I want to continue to enjoy hearing things as long as possible, not blow out my eardrums.
97. I also try to be considerate of the fact that you can turn your back on something visual, you can not touch or taste anything you don’t want to, but it’s very difficult and inconvenient to not smell or hear something unpleasant.
98. I have 500+ cable channels, and only watch four (Fox, USA, TNT, and SciFi) on any kind of regular basis. And haven't watched those in a couple months, either.
99. I can watch Law & Order, and any spin-off of it, all day.
100. I prefer talking through email than talking on the phone, in most cases.

Failure!

Okay, so not really. I didn't get a project done in time for a January FO, though, which was one of my New Year's knitting resolutions. If all goes well, I might get at least two done in February (Jaywalkers "due" Feb. 14 and Lady Eleanor "due" Feb. 26). Oh well. I did frog my Jaywalkers three times, and learned entrelac, and started my first ever sweater, so the month was definitely not wasted =)

Speaking of which, the sweater actually looks like a sweater now!

I'm working on the second body colour. I only have one skein of that particular colour (although it's a cheap no-dye-lot acrylic, so I'm not worried if I have to get more), so I have to make sure that I leave enough left over from the stripe to put a similar-width stripe on each sleeve.

This afternoon/evening is/was a Mummy and Jaywalker marathon. Size 1's are sooo slow!

Damn KnitPicks. I got their catalog today in the mail, and immediately fell madly in love with their Kimono Style sweater. It is so totally something I would wear. Unfortunately, I have neither the yarn nor the time to make it right now. Definitely added to my "Need To Make" list, though.

A Good Ouch...

Alright, in my defense, I have not crewed any shows or done anything remotely close to manual labor since mid-August. So my body is REALLY not happy that I spent yesterday working in the shop at South Coast Rep. My arms and legs are not happy because I spent the entire morning up on the loading rail in the Argyous unloading weight from linesets as they were struck. Each brick is twenty pounds (I think). There were linesets that we had to take off fifteen to seventeen bricks. They sent someone else up to help me with those, so there were two people dealing with the weight. Luckily, the fact that my legs hurt and not my back means that I was dealing with all that weight properly and lifting with my legs and not my back. The afternoon was spent doing notes and finishing loading in the show in the Segerstrom. I had to re-learn how to use a router.

The kind of cool thing was that I could see how far I'd come there and how much I'd learned while working there in the past. I actually was trusted to go up and work on the loading rail by myself and remembered all the safety stuff and did a good job up there. I don't mind working the rail that much, it's actually kind of fun, and there is a lot of downtime, because you have to wait for them to strike everything off the lineset before you can do anything to it, and you can only work on one set at a time. I also remembered how to safely use the chop saw and the table saw, and I'm much better with screw guns now than I was my first time there. I was assigned my own list of projects and it was just assumed that I could complete them instead of having to help one of the staff members all day like most of the overhires. Of course, since it had been a while, I did still have to ask some questions.

The really cool thing (at least for me) was that I had to go out on the grid by myself. Now, for those that don't know, a theater that has a counterweight fly system has a grid. It is wayyy up at the top, usually about ten feet from the ceiling of the fly space. They don't have solid floors, because that is where all the cabling is run that holds all of the linesets up, so the "floor" usually consists of a grid of steel beams that are about six inches wide, with about three or four inches of gap between beams. Now, having explained that, I should point out that in this theater, the grid is at least sixty feet from the stage floor. I am scared of heights. Make that terrified of falling from a great height. In this theater, although you can look through the gaps all the way down to the stage floor, there is literally no way you can fall through the grid. Really. You can trip and fall up there, but you're not going to go crashing down. No human fits through a four inch gap, and it's steel beams. It's not like they will rot and break under your weight. But when you're up there, all the mind sees is the open space under you and how high up you are. It's very scary. I got sent to strike a cable that was in the middle of the grid. Of course, I'm not going to tell them I'm scared to go up (although I do know a lot of people who refuse to go up on grids, and it's usually considered okay because of safety - they'd rather have someone be comfortable working up there than someone who could potentially freak out and accidentally hurt themselves or someone else). I'm just stubborn like that. And the grid is only maybe four feet above the loading rail I've been working on all morning. (Pointing out that the loading rail has a poured concrete floor and a steel railing.) So I get up there, grit my teeth, refuse to look down...and cross the grid by myself! I was actually good (and quite proud of myself) until I had finished striking the cable and then had to carry it back. For some reason, that was almost too much, and I had to be holding on to something with my free hand for the entire way back. But damnit, I did it!

Today, I want a hot tub, a good book, my knitting, and a nap, all at the same time. Some food would be good, too, if I didn't have to climb up and down stairs to get to any of it...

Ahh...had a nice steak dinner out with Steve. Spent today planning our move up the coast, plotting a Valentine's trip to Vegas that won't happen until end of summer at the earliest, knitting and playing on the computer. Does life get any better?

Had to put Danica down today. For some reason I just can't focus on it for more than a row or two (and I mean a short row or two, not a tier or two, unfortunately) at a time. This makes me concerned about my concentration strength for the Olympics. We will see. It's just for fun, anyway.

Picked up the raglan sweater instead, and got through the under-arm row before realizing that I didn't cast on the ease stitches properly under the first arm. So now am tinking back, but I'm almost to the first planned colour change! Yay! The sweater may end up being my FO for January, if I stop typing and get back to tinking.

No Jaywalker progress to report, although we are driving up to Steve's parents next weekend and I'll be taking them with me for that.

Updates

I've almost got my thief to master in Astaria, and explored a new area I'd never been to for some reason. (Don't worry if you have absolutely no idea what that means. It's a MUD I play off and on with a bunch of online friends. Mostly because I can knit and borg at the same time.)

I've spent today in my pj's, laying on my bed, surrounded by my laptop and my knitting. Steve spent today in his pj's in front of his desktop computer, playing CoV. It was heaven - where else would you find two theater AND internet gaming geeks? We're perfectly happy to ignore each other for hours playing our games, but at the end of the day, we know what's really important. It's fantastic.

I have the toes done on my new-and-hopefully-improved-definitely-bigger Jaywalkers. I considered doing them one at a time, since it does seem to go faster for a lot of people, but I know myself, and I will make one sock a different size than the other if I do. No matter how carefully I count or measure. Going to start the feet tomorrow, probably. Danica has been neglected and is letting me know it.

I might possibly have the yarn to do the Ribby Cardi. I could do it with my WotA stash, but it would have to be a minimum of three colours in order to get the yardage. Will have to play with this. I do not, nor will I have in the near future, the yarn for Tubey. I was really excited when I got the LionBrand catalog today and they have Lion Cashmere Blend now, but the excitement faded when I realized it was $9 a skein, and I can get the DB Cashmerino Aran the designer used for $7-8 a skein. Unfortunately, I would still need 11-14 skeins (depending on how many colours are used), so it is wayy out of my budget atm. Perhaps over the summer.

Tagged!

I got tagged by Wendy for this MEME! It's her fault! =)

Four jobs you have had in your life
1. Lifeguard
2. Swimming instructor
3. Production assistant
4. Stage manager

Four movies you could watch over and over
1. Pirates of the Caribbean
2. The Mummy/The Mummy Returns
3. Apollo 13
4. X2

Four places you have lived
1. Lane, Illinois
2. West Lafayette, Indiana
3. Santa Maria, California
4. Anaheim, California

Four TV shows you love to watch
1. Law and Order and any spinoff thereof
2. The Planet's Funniest Animals
3. Mail Call
4. Cubs baseball games

Four places you have been on vacation
1. Cancun, Mexico
2. Marseilles/Montpelier/Cannes, France
3. Las Vegas, Nevada, US
4. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Four websites you visit daily
1. Knitters Review Forums
2. The Reasons I'm Crazy (my LJ friends' list)
3. The Dilbert blog
4. my blog so I can get to the links for everyone else's that I read

Four places you'd rather be right now
1. Nowhere...I'm home in my pj's with my guy, why would I want to be elsewhere?
2. Vegas
3. Anywhere outside of the LA area
4. Somewhere tropical

Four bloggers you are tagging
trying to find blogs I check regularly and who haven't been tagged already!
1. Jenna
2. GreyhoundChaos
3. Maxine
4. GraniteRose

Mrph...

Alright, the whole Jaywalkers not fitting over my heel very well thing is driving me nuts. Against my natural inclination not to (I'm THROUGH the HEEL FLAPS, for heaven's sake!), they're returning to the frog pond and going to be restarted on size 2 needles and probably toe-up as well. So there. That's my update for the week. Mrph! At least I don't have to do the ribbing again quite yet. I hate ribbing...I'm going to have to rewind the balls, too, because I can't really bear the thought of working with that much yarn pulling from the outside and the skeins flopping all over creation and back. Okay, that's enough of that. Now, to work!

Whine! And cheese...

Next time, I'm going with my gut and doing the Jaywalkers toe-up. I suppose that commits me to doing another pair (hell, I have the yarn - and it just dawned on me that the KnitPicks' Simple Stripes in Vineyard would be fun for this), but I'm just really afraid of the sizing. I can just barely get them over my heel, and I'm so far and I don't want to frog them. I mean, I'm working on the heel flaps and I'm suddenly getting cold feet, as it were. Of course, I'll finish these. If for some reason, after washing and whatnot, they still don't fit me properly, maybe I'll send them to my mom. She has slightly smaller feet than me, although it's the width of the cuff going over the heel that is the problem, so that might not help at all. We'll see. I just don't want to break the yarn and have a "my god, my foot is so fat!" moment.

And, the cheese:

That's my Steve...it's a bit of an old pic, taken when we were both still working at PCPA. Actually, now that I think about it, it was taken before we even started dating, on a night the Involved just like to refer to as Tuesday. It involved Monopoly, pizza, being sprawled over various beds and sofas, and much alcohol consumption. (Read: I've never been so drunk - or so sick the next day - in my life!) However, one of my friends - also a Tuesday participant - just sent it to me, and I thought it was cute.

addendum: I just entered the Noro into my yarn inventory. I now have over 100 skeins/balls/hanks of yarn (119, to be exact, not counting previous project leftovers. Don't tell Steve!), which is kind of fun, but should I be worried that my yardage count now ends in 666 (28666 yds)? I hope the Noro, and thereby the Lady, isn't cursed already!

Olympics

Now that the show is over....okay, I didn't really have a segue for that. I just wanted to say it. Ahhh....

A lot of people have been talking about the Knitting Olympics (see sidebar USA button for link) lately. I think it sounds like fun, but there are a lot of people who are making comments like "I don't want to drive myself crazy, I want to enjoy my knitting!" To me, that doesn't make any sense. I mean, yes, the challenge is to have your chosen project done in 16 days, and that's really fast (at least for me). But the world isn't going to fall apart, nor will I feel like I have failed if I don't get the Lady completely done in said time frame, particularly if I have to take time to spend with Steve or real life. Of course, I will try, because it's the challenge that makes it fun, and the fact that there are sooo many other knitters out there who will be giggling and posting and "what's your progressing?" for the whole time. I love it!

The Santa Anas are blowing and driving my allergies nuts, not to mention drying my skin, lips, and nose out. Ugh. But, it is 72 degrees and *sunny* in mid-January, so it's definitely not all bad. Gotta run to Goodwill and drop off some old clothes and shoes before Steve gets home. I at least have to make it *look* like I did something today. I did do a lot of Oliver! groundwork, though, so that's productive already!

Productivity!

I amazed myself with my fabulous productivity today. I did all the laundry and folded it and put it away properly. I cleaned the bathroom, including the toilet and mirrors and sweeping. I sent off the last of the paperwork LBO needs to send back to Pittsburg. (They're going to remount the opera there this summer. They can keep it.) I got seats reserved for Steve and I for a small show John Gabriel is doing next week and invited us to. (It's just going to be John and the dancers doing a bunch of the front of curtain/card tricks, so they don't need us backstage crew-types for it.) I looked over and agreed on a hiring plan for the PCPA interns this summer. I joined and decided on a project for the Knitting Olympics and got a button. I started the heel flaps on my Jaywalkers. I ran some errands and had dinner with Steve. (Ben & Jerry's "Everything But The..." just might replace "Phish Food" as my favourite ice cream flavour.) It was, I think, a Good Day.

Knitting Olympics

I really want to do the Knitting Olympics over on The Yarn Harlot's blog. I'm seriously leaning toward the Lady as my Olympic project, both because I don't have any work going on during February (unless I choose to take some shop calls at South Coast Rep) and I want to get it done at least before summer, because I want to use the wrap for when the shows go to the outdoor theater in Solvang. (Of course, I get stuck with the last show of the summer there - again - so I'll be outside in October - again! It may be California, but it gets COLD there at night, even in July!) Of course, that means that I can't CO for it until February 16...can I wait that long?? I'm thinking that, if I decide to do it, I'll cast on for Ene's Scarf when I finish Danica. And, I only have 16 days to finish it. Definitely a challenge!

Also,
See, they're striping! How cool is that?! I'm going to start working the heels today, since I need to at least get a heel started before I take it to work on during the show tomorrow. Ugh. ONE MORE SHOW. Then I'm DONE with that godawful, godforsaken...Thing. I don't ever have to deal with that company again! And I'll have fun things like Oliver! and Dames at Sea to look forward to! And teaching/supervising! Steve's put in for an assistant design intern slot for the summer - I think his current school assignment (ASD for Timon of Athens) has resparked his love affair with designing, so that would be fun if he gets it. He has a pretty good shot - everyone up there who knows him loves him, and if they don't know him directly, they get smarmily wonderful reviews of him and his work- as long as they haven't closed hiring yet. This is assuming we aren't both in jail for making our roommates disappear - a jury of our peers would acquit us, seriously!

Gotta go start laundry. I was supposed to do it yesterday, but the Jaywalker dropped stitch got in my way and insisted I fix it first. Oops. Damn knitting. It talks way too loudly and too often sometimes.

Jaywalker update

I totally forgot to post an update for the Jaywalker KAL (sorry Cara!), but I do have some progress to report. I was working along on them this morning and suddenly realized my count was off. For some reason I didn't think much of it, increased a stitch, moped a bit over the weirdness in the columns, and went happily on. Then I tried one on. While they are still a little tight going over the heel, they fit, but I noticed a hole on the leg. About seven rows back, I had dropped a stitch right near one of the increases, and didn't know how to ladder it back up. So, the good one got put on a spare bit of sock yarn, and that one got frogged back several rows and fixed. Now they are both happily back on the same needles and waiting for me to begin turning the heels. The very fun news is that, not only are all the columns on all the socks straight and I have the proper number of stitches on the needles again, but that the yarn is starting to stripe itself! I had thought at first that the yellows and blues and purples and greens would be too jumbled about to really make the pattern work (and they *are* in the ribbing), but I liked the colours and the pattern so I kept on. My patience has been rewarded! I now have thick bands of yellow/purple/dark green/dark blue spots seperated by thinner bands of the lighter greens and blues! Very cool! I'll post a pic probably tomorrow, when there is better light.

Up to tier 13 (yes, I stopped on the number 13 last night!) of Danica. Will probably work on that tomorrow. Gotta get it done so I can start the Lady!

Saw Underworld:Evolution this evening with Steve. Not the storyline I expected them to follow, and gorier than the first, but still a pretty good movie, even with the surprisingly tasteful sex scene that somehow showed everything and nothing.

Noro!

Ooo...I got my Noro yesterday for the Lady Eleanor! It's soo pretty! I'd post a pic, but it's too dark in here to do the colours justice. I have to finish Danica before I start the Lady, though. I promised myself. Then I will start the Lady and finish the sweater, and then cast on something lacy, probably Ene's Scarf, and work on those two. (I've settled on having two "home" projects and a sock project that I carry around with me. That's only three projects, which isn't too bad.)

I also got a call from my mom yesterday. She found "the perfect" use for her Booga bag. She has recently been put on a diet by her doctor, and apparently the bag is the perfect size for her to carry her breakfast to work in! She loves it, and I guess has gotten several compliments on it.

So score two for the Noro yesterday!

Woo, shows!

The Ring finally opened, thank God, and have one more rehearsal and one more performance left to live through before we close. Now, I love any kind of live performance. I consider myself very lucky that I have been able to turn a hobby into a career and make enough that I can live off of it. That's why it breaks my heart that not only am I no longer enjoying the opera, I don't want to do any more work for it. I've taken to screening my phone calls, as I have gotten as many as twenty five messages on my days off. I hate checking my work email now because there will be at least five messages there EVERY time I check it, and I check email SEVERAL times a day when I am home. And it's all petty stuff, because this company hasn't figured out how to just go straight to the person they really need to get the information to. But I only have to deal with these people two more times max. Yay!

And just to add to the light at the end of the tunnel, Chrissy gave me a call today. PCPA has changed their summer schedule a little. They're doing A Little Night Music instead of The Pajama Game and Much Ado About Nothing instead of The Merry Wives of Windsor now, which gives some bigger names to their summer season. (I LOVE Much Ado..., I think it's hysterical.) Chrissy is going to do Beauty and the Beast of course, since she did it for the holiday show, and she'll also do Night Music. I'm going to supervise the interns on Anna in the Tropics (I'll call the Marian run and the intern will call the Solvang run) and do Dames at Sea, which should be a lot of fun, considering it's the same director and choreographer I worked with on My Way. An intern will do Much Ado..., otherwise I'd totally swoop that up! And, of course, Oliver! starts rehearsals March 7. Apparently the director is a bit "intense", but I figure she can't be any worse than what I just went through. I cannot wait! Now I just have to get a place to live up there and get settled before March 7!

And, just say it, The Knitter's Handbook is amazing! I love it! Thanks Mom!

Conquering the Danica

So this is Danica after nine tiers. The Mist is partial to showing through the Hush on the pickup rows, and I'm not sure how to fix that. It is getting better as I work on it, though, and it goes pretty fast.

Danica

So, I cast on for the scarf last night, frogged it, came back to it this morning, and, after several rocky starts and a long mental discussion with both the designer (who is now back to being brilliant), and the yarn (now back to it's wonderful soft wooliness), figured out how to do the pattern. I got the base triangles and two tiers done, noticing that the squares were kind of poofing a lot, but figured it would stretch itself out as I worked. Then I realized. My brilliant idea of using just the wraps from the short rows as the picked up stitches was flawed. It DOES indeed make them incredibly easy to pick up. It also forces ten stitches to stretch along the length of yarn normally reserved for just one stitch. There's no way the base rows of the squares can stretch to their proper width this way. Sigh. Back to the frogpond. At least it's a fairly quick process, now that I have the hang of it! Pics will be up when I have something worth photographing! The good part is that I've gotten a lot of practice with the knitted cast on, which I was shaky on before.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some knitting to do...

So, this evening was nice. I had to go pick it up at the UPS store, but I now have this:

My wonderful box o' Christmas Goodies! And inside was lots of Wool of the Andes!


I'm going to use Hush and Mist for my Danica scarf. I'm casting on after I finish this post. If that wasn't fun enough, it also included this...

...which will keep me busy with lace (Alpaca Cloud, Shimmers and Shadow) and even some shirts (Shine - planning on using it for Tempting II and the Honeymoon Cami)! And, as if that wasn't going to keep me busy until next Christmas, I also got THIS...

...in addition to the three sets of sock yarns I have already! Seriously, this box literally quadrupled my stash! And, to make sure I have patterns for all of it, I got these (some were gifts, some I bought when I realized how much yarn I was getting)...

...yes, that would be A Gathering of Lace, Scarf Style with Ene's Scarf and Lady Eleanor already marked, The Knitter's Handbook, and The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns!

Update, lots of pics!

My beautiful Noro...it's coming in the mail...muha! I'm going to have a nice, warm, pretty wrap for those cold, cold nights in Solvang!

Christmas yarns should be here tomorrow or Friday. Mom sent me an email saying it was scheduled to be delivered Friday the 12th. The problem being that Thursday is the 12th. So I don't know if it's coming tomorrow while I'm at rehearsal (and what a nice thing THAT would be to come home to - tomorrow is going to be a LONGLONGLONG day) or Friday on my day off.

Still have to get the pattern for the pi shawl. I might try to go to the library this weekend and see if they have Knitter's Almanac and make a copy. That's why libraries have books, right? So you can get informative resources you would not otherwise be able to have access to?


I want to know HOW people are knitting their Jaywalkers so fast?! I've started mine, I don't know, a week or so ago and am only this far! Geez! Granted, I've only been working on them as an "out and about" project - mostly when I'm on breaks or early to rehearsals, so that is probably most of it. The yarn is KnitPicks Dancing in Jig. Maybe the colours are a little TOO varigated to work best with this pattern, you kind of lose the zigzag with the pooling, but I really love them and don't want to rip and redo again.


My at-home, day-off project lately has been this oddly shaped pile of knitted fabric, otherwise known as the start of the top-down raglan sweater. I have (I think) 15 more rows left of the yoke, then can slip the sleeves and start playing with the first colour change into the light green.

Noro...

I actually won the Noro! Colourway 139, 10 skeins of it, for $61 (plus another $10 for shipping). That's just over $6/skein. I can handle that. My Eleanor might be a bit short, because I'm not ordering more, but that's okay. Haven't heard yet from the seller, but I made the payment this morning, so hopefully it will be shipped soon! AND my big box o' KnitPicks yarn should be here on Friday! I can't wait! I am going to break my two-at-a-time rule and start the Danica scarf ASAP, I think. I really want to start learning the entrelac! And I need something to learn to knit backwards on - you can't really knit backwards when you're in the round.

Oh, and I had an idea to possibly make my raglan a little more interesting. I'm thinking about adding a small mosaic band between the colours instead of doing them as wide stripes. Like, go from the cream, then do, I don't know, eight rows (four rows of each colour) of the mosaic with the cream and light green and then go into the light green solidly. The mosaic was definitely tighter in the afghan, though, so I might have to go up in needle size for that part. I will try it. That's the point of this sweater, right? To try things! I'm almost done with the yoke/shoulders, btw!
Jaywalkers are coming along, but I haven't been working on them at home, only when I'm out and have some downtime, so they're not quite getting the attention they deserve. Oh well, they will get done!

Still winning the bid on the Noro...have to keep it until 8:30 tomorrow morning! Cross your fingers for me! I won't be THAT disappointed if I don't get it - I mean, honestly, it's going to be a while before I can get to the Lady anyway - but it would be really nice to get that particular yarn in bulk so cheap! There will be other auctions, I know. And I want to do the Danica scarf, which seems like it's a smaller version and solid colours as opposed to varigated, first to practice with. I also want to work on knitting backwards, as that is supposed to be a helpful and handy skill when doing entrelac. So if I don't get it, it means there is still time. And if I do get it, there is still time =)

So many patterns, so little time...

Scarf Style and A Gathering of Lace were waiting for me when I got home from a very long day of stage and orchestra rehearsals! BEAUTIFUL patterns! So far, I want to do Ene's Scarf, Lady Eleanor (I've also gotten suckered into that one by all the gorgeous Ladies being shown off on the KR Forums. If I win the eBay auction for enough Noro Kureyon in the colourway I want, then it's fate and I have to make it soon. If I don't, gonna have to wait and save up. Something like that deserves a good yarn and lots of colours!), Rippling Rainbow, Magic Circle, Feather & Fan, and the Magickal Earth Shawl (although I'm not a fan of the unicorn). Any of the patterns, really.

Now I have to wait until Mom ships my yarn! Supposed to be here soon, I hope! Gotta work on the sweater and the Jaywalkers first.

You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer.
You are through those knitting growing pains and
feeling more adventurous. You can follow a
standard pattern if it's not too complicated
and know where to go to get help. Maybe you've
started to experiment with different fibers and
you might be eyeing a book with a cool
technique you've never tried. Perhaps you
prefer to stick to other people's patterns but
you are trying to challenge yourself more.
Regardless of your preference, you are
continually trying to grow as a knitter, and as
well you should since your non-knitting friends
are probably dropping some serious hints, these
days.
http://marniemaclean.com


What Kind of Knitter Are You?
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Year of the Socks!

I have enough sock yarn to make nine and a half pairs of socks this year for the Two Thousand and Socks! KAL RoseByAny (Amie) started over on the KR Forums. The lone sock being the rest of the Regia sock yarn that I got to make a mate for my Very First Sock Ever, who is still a poor loner. It's also counting the Jig currently being turned into Jaywalkers. 19 socks in a year? Maybe! Socks are turning into my "stuffing in my purse or backpack and taking everywhere" projects, so it is possible, I suppose.

I've also cut back to my original "only two WIPs at a time" rule. Otherwise I will start a billion things and never finish any of them! Currently, it's the raglan and the Jaywalkers.

Ambition

So, I'm wondering how ambitious it is of me to ponder doing (and by doing I mean finishing totally) at least one project a month for 2006. It can be socks, scarves, afghans, etc., and the whole project doesn't have to be completely done from CO to finishing in a month's time span, but I would like to have a project to add each month to the completed list.

Some of my other recent knitting ponderings:
-I'm going to rip out Knitted Stripes, double up that yarn, and do a ripple afghan with the three colours instead. That was the pattern I had PLANNED to do originally, but put off because I felt the ripple had to be done with chunky weight in order to knit up quickly. For some reason I didn't consider doubling it and using, oh, say, size 13 needles on it. I think that will work out well.
-Jaywalkers have been ripped out and I will re-CO tomorrow. They were too small even though I tried them on several times. Oh well. I want them done right! Remind me of that! Zari on the KR forums is also working on these socks, so maybe she can help keep me on track.
-I really really want to do a sweater this year. I actually CO tonight for a generic top-down raglan. I want to do something cute like Ribby or Tubey, but maybe I should try something mega-simple first. Besides, I don't have the yarn for those yet anyway.
-I am going to do the Danica scarf. I am going to pick two WotA colours and CO for it as soon as the rest of my yarn gets here. I really want to learn that and it looks like it could be semi-instant gratification - you could just do a square and feel like you accomplished something.
-I really want to do a Fair Isle or other multi-coloured-yarns project again. I want to work on that two-handed weaving method and get my tension right.

Oops...

So for some reason I just recently saw a pic of Ene's Scarf from the Scarf Style book. In fact, to give credit where credit is due, I saw it on Renocat's blog when I went to look at her near-completed Ribby Cardi. Now, one would think that a project named "Ene's Scarf" would be a scarf, but no, it's a beautiful lace shawl that I just happen to have enough Turquoise Splendor Shimmer to make. So I went ahead and ordered Scarf Style, and, to get my $30 free shipping, A Gathering of Lace as well. And now I want to make a Ribby Cardi, too. I don't have the proper yarn for the Cardi (or Knitty's Tubey), but I do think the Violet Shine would work well for the Ribby Shell. I went ahead and bought both patterns anyway. And I found another off-the-shoulder sweater free pattern on Elann.com that I think the River Shine would look good as. No more knitting spending for a while!

Tempting...

Knitty.com has done it to me again! Just when I finally get my to-do list somewhat whittled down, they publish a new issue with some totally cute patterns. I'm particularly in love with Tempting II (after having loved the first Tempting, though I haven't made it yet), and Danica (the entrelac scarf). The scarf would be great for some of the WotA, and I think I have enough Shine to do a variation of the Temptings (I think I like II better. The belt look is more me than the ribbon.) I also seriously love Tubey. So cute, and totally something I would wear! I'm really hoping to find a good pattern to show off the Shadow or Alpaca Cloud yarns, though, anyone have any ideas? Lacy scarves/shawls/stoles?

Twas the week after Christmas...

and I have YARN! Serious yarn! As in, I will not have to buy yarn for the next year and a half because I got so much yarn! KnitPicks is probably having to restock right now! I got (the condensed version):
30 skeins of Wool of the Andes (3 skeins each of ten different colours!)
6 skeins of Simple Stripes (2 skeins each of three different colours)
2 skeins of Parade (Blues)
4 skeins of Dancing (2 each of Swing and Jig)
2 skeins of Sock Garden (Morning Glory)
4 skeins of Sock Landscapes (2 each of Cape Cod and Spring Prairie)
2 skeins of Shadow (Lost Lake)
2 skeins of Alpaca Cloud (droool...1 each of Stream and Tide Pool)
3 skeins of Shimmer (1 Morning Mist and 2 Turquoise Splendor)
12 skeins of Shine (6 each of Violet and River)

If anyone has any project suggestions, I'm all ears! I want to make some gorgeous stuff with this!

And, a Christmas present to myself was finishing my Sockotta Socks! I used the tapestry needle bind off, and learned the hard way to not pull the yarn too tightly with that one. And I couldn't figure a good way to weave the ends in at the cuff, so they did get knotted (erk!). But I wore them all day yesterday when I was travelling (three airports in seven hours...sigh...) and they held up! Now I'm starting a pair of Jaywalker Socks with the KnitPicks Dancing Jig. I can't believe the colours! They are SO FUN!

Project Specs on the Sockottas:

Pattern Source: 2 Socks on Magic Loop
Yarn: Plymouth Sockotta #502 (purple/blue/gray/jaquard self striping)
Needles: 32" size 2 circular (Susan Bates)
Date started: approx. Oct. 24, 2005
Date completed: Dec. 25, 2005
Notes:
-like the pattern and colours
-the yarn is rather stiff and hurts the fingers after knitting for a while with it. It's comfy on the feet, though, and I think it will soften up after washing a couple times.
-used the YO heel from the Christmas stocking pattern and it worked fairly well, although I got off the stripes somewhere with it, so I don't think I have both heels done exactly the same
-first sock heel increased until there are 24sts unworked on both sides
-the YO includes purling the first st. This st is NOT counted with the rest of the purled stitches
-CO 68sts
-tapestry needle BO, don't think I did it completely correctly, note to leave plenty of slack between sts or else when you try to put the socks on, the yarn will break due to strain

Christmas is coming...

I have all but one mitten done out of my Christmas knitting. I should be working on it now, actually, instead of getting caught up on the KR Forums and typing this. But oh well. I'll felt this pair at my parents' tomorrow night, hopefully without my mom finding them, but if she does, I'll explain the process to her. She'll either be really interested in it or not interested at all in it, but she will definitely enjoy the thought of handmade mittens! Still have to finish Bubby for Gift Elf. I'm probably a terrible gift elf. She'll get it after Christmas. I'm going to take the mittens, Bubby, and the Sockotta socks with me to my parents'. I doubt I'll get much knitting done there, but I do have all that airplane time, and all of them are fairly close to completion.

I got a phone call from my friend Matt, whose son Ethan was the recipient of the Scallop Baby Afghan I made a while back. He said that (for some reason) they just recently got it, but he and Misti (Ethan's mom) both love it and the baby himself has been sleeping with it since it showed up. That warms the heart, the picture of a little one curled up nice and warm in a New York winter because of something I made.

And I needed that news, particulary on the day I got the message, because:

The opera is kicking my ass. After coming home in rants the past week, I finally had to break down, put my foot down, and say "No, I am not coming in to run rehearsals for the first two shows. I am not contracted to work on those shows. I am not getting paid anything extra to do any work on those two shows. I have already rehearsed two full operas. I am not spending more of my time and energy to start a third one, much less a fourth one, even if they are just being reblocked. That's why you hired another stage manager, remember?" It went over surprisingly well. Of course, as Steve pointed out, what were they going to do? Fire me for not doing work that wasn't my job and they weren't paying me for? If they try, I'm gladly leaving, and I'm taking my books with me. That includes all of the paperwork I've generated. All of the blocking notes. All the props lists. All the scene change choreography. All of it.

So now I have just over a week mostly off before tech starts because the other two shows are in rehearsal. I'm suddenly feeling much more confident and energized about it. I can now do this again. It's a nice feeling. And I'll get knitting time again. After Christmas, so it will all be for ME! Muha!

Steve and I are doing Christmas tonight! Yay! I get to finally give him Pasha! And a few other odds and ends, of course =) We're going to have a nice chicken dinner, including pumpkin pie, Christmas music, and presents. And relaxation. Which reminds me, I have to wrap the last of his presents and go to the grocery store.

After I finish this row...really...

wah

God. I'm. Busy.

have had no time to knit in the past ten days. going through withdrawl. Show is getting to me. SM'ing now. No ASMs. Covering rehearsals for other SM, as well. Going nuts. They'd better make it worth it. Bastards.

To Do List

Pasha is done. Will probably do another one and try to felt it. This one isn't terrible, but I wouldn't mind getting more yarn and trying again. No spare cash atm, though. Will post pics later.

Started the ribbing for the cuff of the Sockotta socks. Hopefully they'll be done soon.

Will knit the felted mittens over the holiday. Worsted wool on size 10 needles shouldn't take long.

Working on Gift Elf's project. Should be done soon, it's very small. Had to restart it, though. My preferred method of working in the round inside out doesn't work with this particular pattern. Oh well.

are we there yet?

So Pasha pieces are done. Took me probably two evenings total. Pieces are outside blocking. Not sure when I'm gonna get a chance to sew him together and stuff him w/o Steve being home, since he has the entire next week off due to Thanksgiving. We're gonna go up to his folks again this year. I'd like to make something to bring, but I don't know how long we're going to be up there. A lot of it will depend on my rehearsal schedule. I'm ASM'ing the final two chapters of The Ring of the Nibelung that will be performed in mid-January, and my rehearsal schedule is a little wonky. All I really know is that this year there will be no scary car accidents! (Last year we decided to go hiking in the mountains the day before Thanksgiving, and had a big ugly yellow Chevy truck, driven by an unlicensed driver, smash headlong into us as we were starting home. We were okay, Steve's truck was totalled. It was the sorest, most thankful Thanksgiving I've ever celebrated!) I'll probably bring the mittens and Sockotta socks up to work on, as I know that we both have the weekend after Thanksgiving off, so we'll probably stay up there at least a couple days.

I'm poor, so I've added Google ads to the footer. If any strike your fancy, just click and enjoy!

update

recieved the KnitPicks order on Thursday, safe and sound. Two new sock needles and three skeins of WotA for Pasha. He got started this evening and seems to be doing well so far. I can't really concentrate on any one project today, so I worked on my socks for a while, and since Steve had a call tonight, did Pasha's back and beak, then finished the heels on the socks. Both heels on the Sockotta socks are turned now, so now back to the stockinette. The heels didn't turn evenly, though, and I'm not sure why. Maybe I didn't write the numbers for the first one down correctly. Or maybe the allergy meds just never really wore off this morning. I dunno. There is some wonkiness, no hugely visible holes, though, and the stripes are off now. It was pure coincidence that they matched before, so that doesn't really break my heart, but still...

I'm working on turning the pattern for the Jaywalker socks from cuff down dpns to toe up ML. I think I might have a solution, but I have to check the guage, and I don't want to start a new pair of socks until I have this pair done. I'm going to be doing these on either my size 1 or size 3 circs, so I can still use the size 2 for the second Regia sock when the Sockotta pair is done.

Left to do before Christmas:
1 pair felted mittens
1 Pasha
1 Bubby
Not too bad, eh?

Pics!

Hmm...so the washing didn't really help any of the tension issues, and in fact, the snowmen one seems like it grew. I'm not sure why it's so much bigger than the holly one. Both are a little cringe-worthy, but Steve says that he wouldn't notice any of the mistakes if I hadn't pointed them out. I still might do another snowmen one. Anyway, project specs:

Pattern source: Annie's Woolens
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft Autumn, White, Dk. Sage (1 skein each, still lots left after making 2 stockings)
Needles: 12" size 8 circ, 16" size 6 circ, longer size 8 circ for heel/toe

Notes:
1. Tension issues. Major tension issues.
2. Heel on the Snowman has holes because I didn't turn it properly and didn't realize it until I did the Holly one.
3. Snowman was stranded, Holly was woven. I like the woven technique better, but have to work on the left hand tension.
4. Really cute patterns and quick knits if you don't frog them a billion times.
5. Original patterns have just one icon. Steve wanted longer stockings, so we did one full pattern of the main icon and added the center images of icons from other charts, still from Annie's Woolens. His has the snowmen and the holly, mine has the holly and the evergreen.
6. Short row heel and toe options.

awww!

Katie and Steve,
Thank you so much for the afghan. It looks really great on my papasan chair. I can't believe how soft and pretty it is. I'm soooo glad you made it to the reception. It was a great time, and great to see old friends. Thank you again.
Love,
Amanda and Nick

The possibly unfortunate recipients of Winter Night #1, but they like it, so hey, it works for me! =)

Want KnitPicks order! (I know, it's still early to expect it, but I WANT IT! WHINE!)

Been lazy, haven't finished Holly stocking or finished the first heel of the Sockotta socks. Only about twenty more pattern rows for the stocking. I really should get that done tonight. Then I don't have to worry about it anymore, right?

Second Sock Syndrome

sorta, but not really...
I got the Regia in for the second sock of the first pair today. However, my size 2 needles (currently the only sock needles I own, although 1's and 3's are coming in the next KnitPicks shipment!) are currently occupied by the pair of Sockotta socks that I work on in spurts. I am not a big fan of the Sockotta yarn, which is why I haven't been working on them as much. It's...hard. The yarn, I mean. I think it will soften up when it is washed, and being cotton-based, will surely make for more wearable socks for my current environment, but I'm not sure I would buy more of it. I'm almost to the heel of this pair.

Turned the heel of the Holly Christmas stocking (mine) last night. I could finish the thing tonight if I wanted. The weaving technique seems faster and slightly more even than the stranding, although there are still definite tension issues. However, I'm not frogging this one five hundred times. I also actually figured out how to do the YO short row heel properly, w/o the visible holes, and it looks five billion times better than the Snowmen stocking. I'm thinking that I'm going to do another Snowman stocking with the weaving and the proper toes. I want Steve to have something nice, too. Both will depend on how they wash out, though. Still have not washed the first Snowman, hence no pics yet.

Made my last KP order the other day after getting my last PCPA check until March. Some WotA for a certain quick project for a certain someone (not my gift elf, I already have her yarn, just waiting on the needles) and two pairs of 40" circs for socks. There should be no shipping issues this time, so I hope to get the order by the end of next week. Other than that, my small stash is on a yarn diet until further notice. Which shouldn't be a problem unless I see a yarn that I fall madly in love with. I want to get these stockings (made in stashed acrylics) and the Spruce felted mittens done. Then I have the yarn to do four pairs of socks - the Regia, Sockotta, SockaColori, and Bearfoot - plus some Crystal Palace Waikiki for a t-strap top that I started and abandoned for some reason (I might try to rewrite the pattern to do it in the round), the KnitPicks Shadow for the Tiger Eye stole I broke down and started already, and I am really wanting to do a top-down raglan with some of the (watches the yarn snobs shudder) Simply Soft I have stashed. I have four skeins in four colors that I think would make a nice sweater with wide horizonatal stripes. I want a slightly oversized sweater, with a...hmm...floppy turtleneck?...collar. I will start with the off-white for the collar and yoke and top of the sleeves, then do a light sage green band, then a darker tan band, and then a dark sage green band. Maybe it will be the ugliest sweater ever, I don't know, but at least I will have made a sweater and used up some of my stash. This is not counting the four skeins of Homespun in Cobalt that I need to do something with. I think I'm gonna do a dishcloth shawl with it. When I get around to it.

Btw, if there was ever a book that made you want to knit and read at the same time, it's Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton. The actual murder plot is a little weak, but still interesting, but the characters are great, and the LYS and SnB group that get involved with the main character are right out of my fantasy "girls night out". I have got to get me one of those groups...my LYS keeps inviting me, but their "late nights" are Wednesday and Thursday, which are usually the only evenings I can spend with Steve. We'll see. They're also usually older, but that really shouldn't be an issue. I'd really love to spend more time with people closer to my age that aren't drunk, though.

Christmas is coming...

As evidenced by the completion of the first Christmas stocking! Finally! It's...not my best work ever, but I'm hoping a run through the wash will help it. I'd tear it all out and do it again, but I don't want to spend more time on it, and Steve won't let me anyway. He thinks it's great the way it is. I hope my stocking goes better. I should have done mine first to practice on, but he was so excited about them...sigh...pics will be up after it goes through the wash.

Bearfoot!

Guess what came in the mail today?!


I can't wait to work with this yarn! Unfortunately, I already have a pair of socks on what I've started thinking of as my sock needles. I need to get another pair...after the paycheck comes! Thanks Susan! It rocks!

Mittens!

Felted Mittens
Pattern from Bernat.com
Yarn: KnitPick's Wool of the Andes in Cloud (2 skeins)
Needles: 29" US8 Inox circular needles (Magic Looped)
Notes:
1. I don't like the cuff. It needs to be longer and probably on smaller needles so it doesn't make that boxy shape.
2. The palm/fingers could be about a half inch shorter.
3. The thumb needs to be longer.
4. It could go through the felting process one more time to lose some more of the stitch definition. I didn't want to make them any smaller, though.
5. Fairly quick knit, and I used almost all of the yarn.

Luckily, I got three skeins of the Spruce, which was the color that I really wanted to make these mittens in, but I decided to use the Cloud for a test pair. Now I know what adjustments to make to make them perfect for...the person they're for! =)

FINALLY

My KnitPicks order finally showed up yesterday! Very excited! 3 skeins of Spruce WotA, 2 skeins of Cloud WotA (the second skein is already in use for the first felted mitten), and 3 skeins of Jewels Shadow! The Shadow is soooo soft, and has all these little flecks of lavender and dark blues and purples through it. I can't wait to work with it! I had to put it up on the shelf out of sight so I didn't start my Tiger Eyes with it yet! The WotA isn't too shabby, either - it's not nearly as scratchy as the Noro Kureyon that I made the Booga bag out of, and has been knitting up very quickly, although part of that is probably the fact that I'm using size 8s to make it bigger so it shrinks when I felt it. I might just get these mittens knit today! I'm using the Cloud as my test pair for the pattern. If they turn out well, I'll give this pair to Mom and make another pair in the Spruce for my Dad. I kind of want to make a pair of felted clogs for Kelly (his afghan is NOT going to get done in time - I have no desire to work on it right now), but I may have to knit them in advance and then felt them after he "gets" them, so I know they'll fit okay. And I want to make and felt a penguin for Steve ("Pasha" in the Knitty archives) and a small lil sumtinsumtin for my gift elf! I feel another KnitPicks order coming on! If my paycheck ever gets here, anyway...

Turned the heel on Steve's Christmas stocking yesterday (Steve decided - thank goodness - that adding another Snowman pic would make it far too long), and have also started a pair of socks (two socks on ML) in the Sockotta until the second ball of Regia shows up. The Bearfoot still hasn't come in yet =(

Sock pic!

As promised, a pic of my very first sock ever! I have lots of notes about what I want to do differently now, but have made a vow to myself that I will at least finish the next section of the Christmas stocking before I start a new pair of socks. That's only ten or so rows to do.

Thank you to all for the kind words. (Please see the second entry down on my LJ if you don't know what I'm talking about!) I had thought about making this page black or something as some kind of tribute, but the more I thought about it, the more inappropriate that seemed. Rainbows were Tori's symbol of hope and reminder that God is in control of our lives. Black, in this occasion, is a color of despair and sadness. We rejoice knowing that she is at peace and enjoying a celebration of colours! So I add to that my humble, but very colorful, picture of a sock!

the one-sock wonder

So I'm plugging merrily along on my first sock. I'm working on the leg of it now, and could probably have it done tonight if I wanted. (Steve has a lighting call at the college.) I can't get the yarn for the second sock for another week or so, though. The LYS called Saturday while we were in Illinois and told me that they were sorry, but they had sold the last one of that color already and it was discontinued, so they can't order more. I found it on eBay for $5, which is cheaper than the LYS, but, of course, you have to add shipping, which makes it $12. Sigh. And apparently the post office is still trying to forward my mail to various places, even though they were supposed to stop Oct. 6 (Mom told me today that one of my bank statements was mailed back to them at the bank with a "temporarily moved" label on it. Ugh.) I hope this is not the reason that my Bearfoot AND my 12" circ AND my KnitPicks haven't arrived. I hope they'll come today. I've gotten a Cosmo in the mail, but that is the only thing I've gotten since I got back. Weird.

Sock is going alright. Had the typical holey heel issues, which have not been completely resolved to my satisfaction, but a part of it might be that I think I might have boggled one of the final short rows. Oh well. I now have two other sock yarns, plus the Bearfoot on the way. Steve actually mentioned that "Hey, now you can make me socks, too!" He doesn't care for the colors I have right now, though. (Purple, blue, green, pink...can't imagine why!)

Spending today finishing the sock and reading ghost stories. Yay!

well, finally!

I finally called KnitPicks this morning (yes, it is only 9:30a.m. and I have been up for approximately two and a half hours already, sigh!) after a week of having my emails ignored. The lady was very nice and apologetic and started the process of sending a replacement order right away, along with a note on the file that said the order had delayed shipping. I don't think there will be any kind of compensation (I was kinda hoping for a free skein or a discount or something), although she said if the first order does ever arrive, I should just keep it. If this order goes the way the people at the KR Forums claim, it should be here by mid-next week. I hope so!

The LYS that I bought the Regia from is closed on Thursdays (and Sundays AND Mondays!) and, from looking at websites of other LYS in the area, no one else carries it locally. Which means I can't get another skein until Tuesday at the earliest. I'm really worried about getting SSS (second sock syndrome), but I think I'll be okay. I should call them and leave a message asking them to hold a skein in that dye lot for me...

Socks!

I finally broke down and tried it, and it's working! Socks! I'm doing a basic, toe-up sock with magic loop (I found the technique here).



I was actually going to go all out and try two socks on the magic loop, but realized that in my excitement yesterday, I'd bought only 50g of the yarn (Regia Jacquard color 5181) and I need 100g to make a pair. Sigh. I suppose that means another trip to the yarn store tomorrow so I can get the second skein a.) before they run out of that dye lot (not that it really matters so much to me, it's striped, and I don't care if they match perfectly or not) and b.) so I can get it before we leave on our trip to Illinois this weekend. I don't know if I will be able to get the first sock completely done or not, but I *will* be having at least four hours of airplane time each way. I hope Steve doesn't get airsick! I also really really hope that my Bearfoot and other yarns come tomorrow, or else I won't be able to play with them until next week! (not that I would have time to play with them anyway, but you know what I mean!)

Also, for your entertainment, submitting this pic, thereby busting the idea that "in order to find the most comfortable place in the house, move the cat!" He can stay right where he is, thanks! (Pay no attention to the beer bottle or the state of disarray of the desk - it's Steve's!)

socks and work

No KnitPicks, 12" circ, or Bearfoot yet. Sigh. Went back to the LYS that was supposed to have Bearfoot, and the lady said that they never stocked it. Grr. Did get a 32" size 2 circ for socks, though, and some multi-colored Regia sock yarn. Of course, I had to CO ASAP. It's so colorful, but it's like knitting on toothpicks!

Didn't get the office job I had counted on, though. Anyone know of any part time jobs in the Orange County area? At least until March?

resetting

Blog colors have been changed back to as close to the originals as I could find...I know that I saved my template before I changed to the black, but I can't find it anywhere for anything. Grr. Doesn't help that the laptop is being tempermental, so I'm on Steve's computer, which has different fonts and things loaded onto it. Anyway, I think this one is easier to look at (the black is just too harsh), so maybe more people will come back...I still have to work on the font, though, it's too big.

snarl

Alright, now I'm starting to get a bit ticked. My KnitPicks order has still not arrived! It has been three weeks now! The last time I have heard from them was last Monday. I have been trying to get in touch with them to get a tracking number or something that the post office can use to find out where in the country the package is, but no response. I'm so disappointed, I'd heard such good things about this company and their products, and the prices are certainly right, but I WANT MY YARN! I want to start something new! I emailed them today expressing my current displeasure, so hopefully something will come of this. My 12" circ and my Bearfoot haven't gotten here yet, either, but I'm not really expecting them for a couple days yet. I was so excited earlier - I'd found a LYS who supposedly carries Bearfoot and was hoping to splurge on a skein in a different color today and either play with socks or start a Tiger Eye lace scarf. After driving by the place about ten times and not seeing it, I finally get to it, and it's closed. Of course. Sigh. It was the perfect rainy day to start a nice, fun, colorful project, but alas, the fates did not agree with me apparently. No new needles (I was also hoping to pick up a super long circ to use for Magic Loop socks), no new yarn, no new projects. Toying with the idea of using some stash to make a test Pasha, since I'm wanting to make a penguin for Steve. I really should just put in a movie or two and work on KS or the stocking, though. I haven't worked on KS in days and it's probably feeling neglected. On the stocking, I've gotten through the first Snowman chart (Steve wants snowmen, then a full row of holly, then another snowmen, sigh!) and it does look much better. I've been working with it inside out, so the WS is facing out and the floats have to be longer. Got almost through the holly this weekend up at his parents, but the stitches were AWFUL! I've never knit so badly in my life, not sure what was going on. So that got frogged, and now I'm working up the desire to ever look at it again. It's really a pretty fast knit when I do work on it, it's just so frustrating for a perfectionist like me. I think I'm also sick of working with red, white, blue, and green, which is why I'm so excited to have this Bearfoot coming - colors! Lots of colors!!

*drool*

Look what is coming in the mail for me!!!

Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Mountain Tango!

Someone on KR was selling some to destash a little and had it cheaper than I could find in shops. One skein should be enough for a pair of socks, or maybe a lacy scarf. I can't wait, I've finally gotten a chance to do a mini-splurge on this yarn!!

waaaahhh!

My KnitPicks yarn still hasn't arrived! I want my yarn!! Especially as I've put myself on a no-more-yarn-buying-resstriction until I get all my presents (which, really, is just the mittens left, although I am toying with the idea of doing a scarf for Hannah and a Baby Booga for my KR Gift Elf pal). Sigh. Oh, and illusions are not just on the stage for me anymore.


Now you see it!


Now you don't!

I got this from someone at craftster.com and had to try it out. I kind of like the grey and white combination, but I am NOT using the huge ball of Red Heart grey I have! I used it last night for the swatch and it is far too coarse for a scarf! Now I feel bad for Mom and Dad and Kelly, getting scarves made of this stuff, ugh! I might do it in Simply Soft, though.

a very sunny Rainy Day

Rainy Day is finished! Yay! That makes only the mittens left on the "must get done" list! The two afghans and the stocking have always been on the "I'd like to get done" list! It always seemed like I had so much left to do, but really, I don't! Such a relief!

a very long post

Good things about today:
1. I am home in Anaheim for good now. I can actually stay here, with Steve, until March, when I move back up to Santa Maria permanently.
2. I got a very nice email from the artistic director of PCPA thanking me for the work I did on My Way and basically supporting all of my calls throughout the drama backstage. They can't wait to have me back up for Oliver!. I can't wait to have a real job. We're going to go back up to see their Beauty and the Beast in November.
3. I had an interview at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy to stage manage their fall semester showcase. Rehearsals don't start until the end of the month. Plenty of 'ahh' time for me! The TD seemed to like me, but I still have one more interview with the director, who isn't too thrilled with what he sees as my "lack" of musical experience. We'll see.
4. No roommates home so far this evening, no loud music, movies or television (I swear, they both must be deaf or have some desire to become so), no kissy voices or screaming arguments. Ability to use the kitchen without someone bitching about how dirty we somehow always get it, and made a nice spaghetti dinner tonight.
5. This time in two weeks, Steve will have been on his first plane trip, have seen the house and town I grew up in, and met the majority of my friends and family. He can't wait, I can't wait! I love travelling, love seeing my family, and I'm thrilled that Steve has elected to come with me this time!

Grr things about today:
1. Somehow the cable no longer works upstairs. Which means that, although I have all this wonderful knitting time, I have no background television with which to distract myself with. No Law and Order, no Animal Planet, no Travel/Discovery ghost story programs. And roommate (see Good #4) in charge of all the cabling downstairs is not home, so I can't bug him about it, and I don't want to mess with all his stuff he has plugged into who knows what downstairs. One can only check websites so many times throughout the day, and it is difficult to surf or read and knit.
2. Steve got called to work longer than he thought he did due to some client's inability to inform the lighting designer that he was tripling the size of the set. Luckily, they're only loading in today, not striking as well. He should be home in a couple of hours, I hope. He also has a bunch of design projects due for various classes, so he's going to be swamped this week. He played hooky from class and cuddled in bed with me this morning, though.
3. My KnitPicks order STILL has not come yet. Unless it came today. Since I no longer have a key to the mailbox (I constantly forgot to check it, so Steve stole the key back. He IS much better about checking mail than I am), I can't check. I hope it comes soon. On the other hand, I have vowed to not start the felted mittens until RD is done, so at least I'm not tempted by new yarns. I really should find some movie or something that I can space out and knit to. I also have a 12" AddiTurbo coming from WEBS, but that will probably not show up until late this week at the VERY earliest.

Pics!
Rainy Day almost complete! You can see the zigzaggy pattern of the ribbing, and get a better idea of the colors in the yarn. This is a nice project, but I will be SO glad when it is done!

Updated Knitted Stripes. We're at about Row 150 out of an estimated 380 rows. Lots of work left! I'm still not sure exactly how wide it is.

A better pic of the actual stitchwork. Nothing too tough, just lots of it!

The so-far-ill-fated Snowman Stocking. Note that it is currently on two circs, and frogged back almost to where it was in the original picture I posted that I was so proud of. Sigh. I really want to try that 12" circ, although I know the real problem is tension and I, in theory, should be able to use any circular knitting method and have no troubles if I could keep the &*^% tension even.

And, because Steve started to yell at me for having random pages cluttering my desk (and his):

Nothing fancy, just a punch of alphabetized knitting patterns (some very crumpled) now comfortably and lovingly housed in sheet protectors. Note that this is NOT my knitting notebook, this is strictly a book of the patterns I have gotten around to printing out for one reason or another.

some progress

RD is almost done. I'm going to cut it back to 60" from 66", I think. It's already at 51" and wraps around my neck just fine, and 'Manda's about half my size, so another ten inches or so should be just fine for her. You'd think by now I wouldn't need the pattern anymore, and it's just moving the ribbing back and forth, but for the life of me, I can never remember it and have to bring it with me everywhere. Sigh.

KS is progressing slowly but surely. I've been pretty good about my "four rows a day" rule, and actually it seems like it's going faster now. I think a lot of that is psychological now that I know the pattern better and don't have to have it in front of me.

The Christmas stocking is still giving me fits - I've done dpns, magic loop, and now am working on two circs, knitting fairly loosely for me, and still have puckers. Sigh. I'm about half done with the first Snowman chart. Steve wants me to add two extra "icons" to his...a row of holly and another snowman chart, which makes for a total of eight sections counting the heel and toe. I have 1 and 1/2 sections done right now. I'm hoping that if I keep working on it, I'll get to where I find a rhythm/knack/whatever and it will smooth out. Or that washing it when it is finished will help. It is acrylic, though, so it might not. I'm seriously considering getting a 12" circ. It was so much smoother on one needle. Maybe it is just this section of the pattern? I didn't have ANY trouble with the top border, and it looks so nice.

Easy Mittens have been scrapped, Felted Mittens will start when the yarn arrives and RD is done. As of last night, it still hadn't come, but I haven't talked to Steve yet today. Still trying to decide if I want to do a multidir-diag with the yarn or not. If I do, I'll probably mix it with some white/cream color to match the CC for the mittens.

Been watching wayy too much Travel/History/Discovery Channels during the day recently and scaring myself silly with all of their haunted places shows. Why do I do this to myself?? I know I won't be able to sleep at night, and yet, I am drawn to them anyway. I have always loved "true" ghost story collections - books, internet, television. Not horror movies, though. Can't stand those. I'm weird. Anyone have any true ghost stories? It is October after all!

Closing My Way and going home on Sunday. Yay! I have an interview with AMDA-LA on Monday, which hopefully will get me through until March, when I will move (yes, I'm taking the job) back up here permanently. Steve is planning on moving up with me when he finishes school in June, so it all works out! Hopefully, one of the jobs he wants up here will have opened up by then as well.

misc

Been a while since I've posted, sorry. I haven't done a whole lot since getting back to Santa Maria Wednesday. I've worked on KS quite a bit, and some RD, and even finished a WN2 square. The Winter's Night square isn't really much of an accomplishment, as they normally take about an hour to make, but since I've only been working on it during the show, and have to put it down frequently, it's not too bad. Both KS and RD seem to have exploded overnight. I keep thinking "I have HOW much left?!" But then I look at it or measure it, and considering what I'm doing, I'm on a pretty decent pace so far. 46/66 inches on the RD, and row 130(ish) out of what originally is to be 380 rows on KS. I will probably have to add some length to that, though, so it may not be done in time for Christmas. We'll see. RD definitely will. So will WN2 and at least one of the Christmas stockings.

Oh, the stockings have been a drama lately. 16" circs were too long, and I didn't want to order new needles, so I switched to dpns. Couldn't keep tension for ANYTHING. It looked hideous. So I ripped it back to about where it was in the earlier pic, learned magic loop, got some 29" circs, and have been plugging away on it since. Tension is better. Still not great when I was starting the magic loop on it, but I think it will be alright once the thing is done and washed and blocked. Steve wants me to add another icon chart to it, though, which will make them about five inches longer. We can't really decide what to add, though.

PCPA has offered me their staff stage management position. It's a permanent position, and I would have to move to Santa Maria permanently to take it. Well, I mean, I'm not signing my soul to them or anything, but it is definitely not a "this gig will end because your show is over" thing - it's a steady job with salary, benefits, everything. A job I've wanted for about two years now, and I would start in March. Steve wants me to take it. I've all but given my formal acceptance. It will be hard to live away from Steve, even for a couple months until he graduates and can move here as well, but we think we can do it. I can't wait to see him when I go home tonight! I think absence really does make the heart grow fonder.