Surprises...

Weird Monday. First off, AF guy did come down Sunday afternoon, saw the show, and spent the night. He confuzzles me. If anything, he's ten times more attractive now than he was when I dated him (many many moons ago). But I'm pretty sure he just wants to be friends, and that's cool, as I have no desire for a distance relationship at the moment. It just sucks that he's so darn cute (and has ten thousand girls probably waiting for him back at the post, sigh).


Also, he totally got the Teddie Stamp of Approval. The cat was in love. AF guy was in love with the cat. Too bad he's allergic to them. In fact, after AF guy left this afternoon, Teddie has actually been getting in and out of his cat carrier!

Totally all on his own! I have never ever seen him voluntarily get within five feet of the carrier if he can help it. I've kept it out in the open with the lid open so he gets used to seeing it and isn't afraid of it when I bring it out, but in the past, he's still whined and begged and pleaded every time I've had to pour him into it. This evening, I caught him inside once just sitting and looking around, and the second time he was snuggled up sound asleep inside it. I wonder if he thinks he's going somewhere? If so, I want to know, so I can go, too!

The other surprise is:

The yarn for Mom and Dad's socks came today - after I'd gotten an email from the company this morning saying that not to expect it until Nov. 22! I have all four skeins wound (after a discussion about swifts and winding balls and yarn with my brother. Apparently things that spin are fascinating to males, whether they are twenty three days or twenty three years old =P) and started the first of my dad's socks tonight. I figure his will take the longest, and I'm not completely sure that I will have enough yarn. I had TONS of leftovers from my LL socks, but just in case, I'm doing his earliest and toe up, so I can fudge the leg if I have to. I'm planning on using my Column Sock pattern for both pairs of socks, so they have a bit of stretch to them if they aren't quite the right size.

Oh, I finished the heel of the first Jaywalker (I frogged and did a short row heel, I know, I'm a wimp!) and I seamed one of the Rogue sleeves this evening, too. I forget how long seaming takes. One sleeve and I was done for the evening. Tomorrow I'll try to do the other one. Then sew one to the body the next night, the other the night after, and hopefully I'll have a new sweater by this weekend! Still worried about the arms being too short, though. And my seaming sucks!

WOOO!

Happy Opening, Ladies! Great job! Have a great run!

Cold Feet (aka Various Knitting Anxieties)

See, I do have them done. And I have the body done. And the hood done. And I'm probaby not doing the kangaroo pocket at the last minute like I had planned on. (And yes, they were posing on my unmade bed with the shirt I am wearing on Sunday when AF guy comes. Can't wait!)But...er...I'm suddenly terrified of sewing them in. So many questions are popping into my head. Should I seam the sleeves first, then sew them in? Should I sew them in and then seam them? How exactly does one sew in sleeves? I mean, I know how to gather and pin and baste and sew sleeves into sewn doll clothes. But I've never done it with knit fabric before. Such anxiety! I will finish this, soon! I've asked the lovely knitters of the KR Forums for advice, and they've never failed me before. I promise, the cables show up much much better irl than they do in any of my photos. I'm just not a photographer. The sleeves actually blocked fairly well, as well as can be expected for a stockinette stitch, anyway. Of course the edges roll. I dunked them in Eucalan before blocking and I cannot believe how much the yarn has softened up! Not that it is terrible to begin with, but wow!


The other worry started this afternoon. I was happily trotting along with the first of the Jaywalkers and got to starting the gusset. I've never done a toe-up flap and gusset before. So I'm faithfully plodding along with the pattern's instructions (after a nudge from Amie, who kindly suggested that I learn to read. It does help, surprisingly!) I do the initial increases where I usually start heels. I place the markers one stitch in on either side of the sole needle, and faithfully begin the increasing every two rows. The problem? I've done seven increase rows, and have eight stitches on the outside of the markers. I'm supposed to keep going until there are 18sts on the outside of the markers. But you can see how close I am to the back of my foot already. I'm afraid if I do twenty more rows (ten more increases), the sock will be far too long. Am I crazy? Do I stop now and begin the heel extension? For the record, so far I haven't been crazy about the toe up flap and gusset thing. I was pondering this, and realized that I prefer knitting socks from the toe up, but heel flap and gussets from the cuff down. Someone figure out how to change the laws of physics so that I can use both techniques in the same sock, please? Thanks!

Oh, and I registered for Stitches West! I'm going to go Saturday (morning and afternoon) and Sunday (morning). My first choices are "Design Your Dream Sweater" with Leslye Solomon, "2 Hand Knitting: Basics" with Susie Hodges, and "Sweater Finishing", again with Leslye Solomon. (Wow, I hope I like her as a teacher the first time!) It came down to whether or not I wanted to go to Stitches or join the STR 2007 Sock Club. I'm already in a sock club that I really enjoy (um, hello, did you SEE the above sock picture?), I have more than enough sock yarn already (no comments from the peanut gallery about buying more LL the other day!), and I feel like the money is better spent learning more about what to do with the yarn I already have than buying more and continuing to have mediocre projects. Anyone need a roommate for Friday/Saturday night? =)

Seussical opens Saturday night. We previewed tonight, another one tomorrow night. I get to sit out in the house (on headset again tomorrow night) this weekend! So cool! I'm gonna sit in the booth with Chrissy starting next week and use the understudy rehearsals as my practice calling times. Hopefully by next weekend we'll have two people fully confident in calling the show, which will be so nice for both of us, as we're doing almost fifty performances! I was surrounded by Cub Scouts in the audience tonight, and they loved it. So exciting to do kids' shows sometimes! Their energy is a palpalble thing, and it's so fun to watch the kids (big and little) watch the show!

Alpha Bravo Charlie, we have a Rogue on the horizon...

Pics later.

Suffice to say, there are two blue sleeves pinned to a towel on the bedroom floor. I'm not really sure how well Wool-Ease will block, since it is mostly acrylic, but I'm hoping there is enough wool content to...I don't know...do something with the blocking. They turned out as well as they should have, so now I am faced with the somewhat daunting prospect of setting in sleeves. As tomorrow is a 10/12 (which, for me is more like a 13/15 - hours worked / #hours in the span of day, the time we are first called until the official end of call), I at least have one more day to put it off. My brother wanted to know why it smelled like wet dog and there was a towel full of pins on the floor. I told him it was wet sheep and the towel was not to be moved under pain of death.

Yarn was purchased today, as well. I dug through my sock yarn stash and didn't find anything that was telling me it was supposed to be a pair of socks for either my mom or my dad. It all wants to be mine. (I tried, I really did!) So I ordered some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Lakeview and Camoflauge online. I'm telling myself that I'll work on the hat/scarf and dishcloths while I wait for the sock yarn. Hey, if that's what I end up spending on Christmas gifts, I can live with it! I also picked up some cotton for the dishcloths, and, surprisingly, Michael's also had several small booklets that I picked up. I got The Knitters' Book of Finishing Techniques by Nancie M. Wiseman (please help me make the sleeve seams nice!), Trendy Knitted Tops (which had several designs that I like or think I can modify to be liked), 99 Knit Stitches (for ideas to try with the dishcloths), and a learn to crochet kit. I also got my dress for opening, continuing my tradition of dressing up for opening night. Now I just have to get something done with my hair.

Although the dress doesn't really have anything to do with fiber, the shopping expedition did wake up something in me. I think I know what classes I want to go to at Stitches West. I want a Fair Isle class, a finishing class, and a basic design or pattern adaptation class. Why? Because my color work sucks and I love the look of Fair Isle, if I make something I want it to look as good as it can possibly get and I don't want it to LOOK homemade, and I've actually been struck by a creative burst and think I might be able to create, or rather, re-create something on my own. I have some ideas about styles and things, but not really any idea how to go about starting the trial and error process of design. It's one of those things I get technically (I'm actually pretty good with math and the whole gauge-using-numbers thing makes perfect sense to me), but I'd like some help putting everything together in my head, if that makes any sense. So, three classes. I think I can do that.

Oh, and AF guy didn't come down this weekend. Apparently he injured himself. He is planning on coming down next Sunday and Monday, though! Can't wait to see friends!

Guess I am doing some holiday knitting...

Me: oh, what do you and/or Dad want for Christmas?
Mom: do you have time to knit any socks?
Me: maybe
Me: socks for you or Dad?
Mom: either

I was really not expecting that one at all! I can do two pairs of basic socks in time, I think, if I do sport weight on size 2 or 3. (I think some of my beloved Bearfoot may have to be sacrificed to this cause. Or maybe the Cool Rain from Spunky Eclectic - Mom would love those colors. I have no idea if I have any male-friendly yarn, though. I might have to ask brother's opinion.) And a hat and scarf for another friend double stranded on large needles (which I was planning to do anyway). And a couple of pink and white dishcloths for another friend. That's all, though.

Sleeve increases on Rogue are done! 44 more rows!

I actually have the days of Stitches West completely off, by sheer dumb luck. And it's only like two hours away. And one of my co-workers has family in that area and said I could stay with them instead of a hotel. I would LOVE to be able to go all weekend and do The Works, but I don't think I can justify splurging that much. Someone help me decide which classes I really really really want to go to!

Tech is going well. We got time off for good behaviour this evening (the really really great thing about a 70m high energy show), but we did almost kill an actor with a trap. Luckily, no one was injured, just a lot of shaken up crew and stage managers, but it's all good and we have tomorrow off! I'm going to try to get the Rogue sleeves finished either tonight or tomorrow. I'm thinking Harry Potter movie marathon...

No, I can't, I have rehearsal...

No Halloween for me this year. Spent all day in paper tech for Seussical. Unfortunately, I went straight from paper tech back to the office, where I spent a few hours staring at the run sheet and shift plots, trying to make them not only match up but make sense to actors and make sure that I have crew members available every place I need them. This is very hard to do when you're still seeing dancing music notes in front of you from looking at a music score for five hours straight. Then I got to go to rehearsal, which only made it an 11-1/2 hour day. Crew view's tomorrow, then we start getting onstage with wandleprobes, spacing rehearsals and shift techs for the rest of the week and then hit tech this weekend and a week of dress rehearsals after that. It's pretty cool - I still have all of the work during tech, but not much of the responsibility, since I'm only the backup stage manager. My job is to make sure the ASMs aren't killing anyone are running things smoothly backstage, and to learn to call the show. But I'm not the stage manager running the tech, I'm just kind of hanging out and paying attention to everything. I might even get to go to an Opening Night and not have to wear blacks and maybe even get to dress up and sit in the house! It's a really really fun show, though, and I hope everything works out the way the director is envisioning it, because it will be awesome if it does! Now if I can just get the damn songs out of my head...(Who, who-waddah, who who who-waddah-daddah...)

So I pretty much won't be home for the next ten days, although AF guy is supposed to come visit on Monday. He hasn't called me when he said he would recently, though, so not sure if that's still happening or not. I'm not holding my breath, although I do hope he comes.

I actually did spend some time on Rogue yesterday! I think I'm about 75% done with the sleeves, but I'm starting to worry that they may be too short, and I'm not really sure how to fix that. Just keep doing the increasing sections instead of the shaping? Also, I'm almost to the heel of the first Jaywalker (this one looks SO much better!), started a new log on the sock yarn log cabin (only getting worked on at work) and finished the body and two of the symbols of the cross-stitch. Failed miserably on getting those April Fool Socks done for Socktoberfest- I've barely touched them. Nor have I touched the spinning since my parents were here. I've developed some sort of barrier about it, I think. At some point I need to dig out the Simply Soft (duck, Amie!) and make a hat and scarf for one of my friends who is a big Colts fan (and conveniently, a Harry Potter fan, since the pattern I showed him was the Ravenclaw scarf from the third movie) and has a December birthday. I know I have blue and white around here somewhere...

Feel Free to Add to the List

Things I've Learned From My Needlework:

1. Every little bit really does count.
2. Just because you don’t see or feel progress doesn’t mean it isn’t there. You might just have to focus on something else for a little bit to see it.
3. Both God and the Devil really are in the details.
4. Sometimes things just don’t make sense or seem to have any particularly special results until after you do them.
5. If it’s not turning out the way you want it to, and you can’t fix it, frog it and try again. If it still isn’t working out, either adapt or find something different to do. You can’t force something to be what it isn’t.
6. Patience is a virtue.
7. Just because lots of other people who have similar interests as you like something doesn’t mean that you will.
8. Practice does make perfect. Having a natural skill and/or a drive to learn also helps.
9. Breaking large projects down into pieces or steps makes them not seem so huge. A large afghan is either one pattern or lots of smaller chunks of patterns. A shawl is a bunch of pattern repeats. A sweater is a back, a front, two sleeves, and a neck. A 2ft. square cross-stitch of a Precious Moments Noah’s Ark consists of lots of pairs of animals and a boat. Eat the elephant a bite at a time.
10. Anything worth doing is worth doing well. If it isn’t up to your standards, it will bug you every time you think about it, and who needs that kind of annoyance? On the other hand, nothing is perfect, either, so give yourself some slack.
11. Always go back to the basics. When it all comes down to it, even the most complex lace or cable knitting is nothing more than knit and purl stitches. The most elaborate cross-stitch is still just a bunch of x’s and /’s.
12. If you don’t learn the basics and make a habit of using them properly, nothing you ever do will turn out the way you expect, no matter how carefully you follow the instructions.
13. Everyone has different standards and tastes, but no one should ever look down on you for yours.
14. Just because you think something is special doesn’t mean anyone else will.
15. If what you are doing “to relax” is stressing you out, stop.
16. Just because you CAN make something doesn’t mean you SHOULD make something.
17. Everyone has some kind of idiosyncrasy when it comes to their crafts. Including you.
18. When you are taking a break from a project, actually walk away from it.
19. Chocolate and fine wine are both great restoratives, but can also cause lots of problems.
20. If you don't like it, don't buy it.
21. Buying the best you can afford is bullshit. Just because a something is expensive doesn't mean it's any good. If you like it and it fits your needs and desires, go for it.

Doncha Hate It When...(Lossa Pics and Kinda Long)

You pick up a project you haven't worked on in months (okay, a year or more) and realize how damn close you were to finishing? I've been rearranging my apartment, because my brother has come to stay for an indefinitely extended visit. As I have a one bedroom apartment, he gets the luxury of sleeping in the living room where my computer and knitting stuff was. To give us both some privacy, I rearranged my bedroom (and finally got a decent desk and dresser in the process!) and moved my computer into it.




(Yes, I love blue. How on earth does my desk get so cluttered so quickly? Never mind, don't answer that!)

Anyway, since the computer is in the bedroom now, the stash had to move, too. I realize this is not nearly as big a deal for me as it is for some people, but I do have to say that I feel a bit sorry for it, getting all squashed in the corner now.



In the process of moving the stash, I came across my cross-stitch basket and found this.



(Not difficult, as my knitting needles were resting on top of all that comfy canvas and floss and patterns.) I had started this project about two years ago as a wedding gift for a friend (they were decorating their bathroom in this theme). I was not able to get it finished in time for the wedding, ended up buying them a gift, and got hooked on knitting shortly after. I picked it up - and realized I have maybe three colors left to do in the entire thing! I worked on it again last night, and have about thirty stitches left in the main body, then the Chinese characters that go along the sides and the backstitching. That's it! Gah! I was so close two years ago! I'm going to finish it and give it to my AF friend, who is studying Chinese, appreciates Asian culture, and has a soft spot for cross-stitch. I'll of course tell him the whole story, so he doesn't get all worried - he knows how much time and patience go into needlework!

Oh, and in other fiber news, my dad thinks spinning is pretty cool and was asking me all sorts of questions about it. I didn't show him my first attempt (only have a pic of the swatch I knit with it)



I did show him my much better but still fairly sucky effort that is currently in progress (pics of that are turning out very blurry for some reason). My dad is the type who very much appreciates technology and new toys (hell, he was a CSI and now is in charge of training all the CSIs in Illinois, he knows his toys), but still cans his own veggies, makes his own jams and jellies (I was eight before I realized that other people actually BOUGHT jelly in the store - I still refuse to and either make my own now or get some of Dad's =) ), and has a very strong tie to our family's farming history. Yes, that's where I get it from - I love my daddy! He's also a softy and was able to sweet talk my mom into getting these guys



when they got home from visiting me. Apparently their names are Gomer and Merlin. Why? I haven't got the faintest idea. I guess my brother suggested the names and they liked them. No reported problems so far with the Lab and two other cats that also currently reside with them, so that's good.

Speaking of kitties and fiber, Teddie really likes the cross-stitching thing, because Mom swears much more when he bats at the floss and pulls it out of the needle than when he bats at the knitting yarn. You can practically hear him snickering as he runs under the bed for safety. (ETA: Teddie apparently prefers men over women. He was pretty shy when my family was here, but would be coaxed out for my dad and brother. He would not have a thing to do with my mom for some reason, though. If she was around, he'd hiss, run and hide. *shrugs*) However, some knitting progress has been getting done. I'm almost done with the first chunk of yarn for the sock stash log cabin. I have one repeat of stripes for the CDT done. I had the toes complete on the stockinette socks I was working on and then frogged them. I love the yarn still, but think I need to go down a needle size for it, and my US 1s are currently in use for the April Fool's Socks



My beloved US 2s are now housing this:



The yarn suddenly started screaming the other night that it wanted to be Jaywalker socks. I'm game for trying the pattern again. This time I'll even try to do it correctly! I'm going to try a toe-up heel flap and gusset on these, and I'm going to do them one at a time.

Anyway, it's a lovely Monday, and my big plans are possibly going to play disc golf, hunting on Astaria, and carving the jack o' lanterns from the pumpkins Kelly insisted we get. I'm sure there will be fiber time, too!

I don't normally share these here, but I really liked Firefly and was happy that I got this result w/o even trying to manipulate the answers!




You scored as Serenity (Firefly). You like to live your own way and don't enjoy when anyone but a friend tries to tell you should do different. Now if only the Reavers would quit trying to skin you.

Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics)
created with QuizFarm.com

No Progress, No Pics

On, well, anything, really. Some on the CDT, but I've had two people tell me that maybe the colors I picked don't work so well. The yellow apparently is not in the correct tonal world as the rest. I've looked at it, I agree, and decided that, for now, I don't give a damn. Note that I am reserving the right to frog it all back at some point in the future. I've accepted and admitted that I'm in a fiber funk right now. No work has been done on anything else, though I have thought about it. It just seems so...difficult to pick up the needles right now. I need to take one of these two at a time socks off the needles and put it in my rehearsal bag instead of the CDT. That would be the smart thing to do. I love doing socks two at a time, but it is SO SLOW! I really don't understand why.

Oh, I did find The Dress I Must Wear For Opening (since I can gloat and sit in the audience Opening Night for Seussical - one of the perks of this whole two stage manager deal), but I really need to work on my legs before hand. They just aren't really toned enough to show off in this dress. To help with this (not the only exercise, but definitely the most interesting to me right now), I got one of the balance balls the other day and have had fun playing around with it so far (wow, can I feel it in my back and abs!). It's a lot of fun, but the dvd that came with the ball that showed you how to properly use it and not injure yourself doesn't work on my computer. After various negotiations with the company and me stressing how disappointed I was in this, they are sending me a new copy of the dvd. I hope that one works, I'd love to learn to properly use this instead of the random stuff I've cobbled together. It's been great as a substitute desk chair, as it really makes you aware of your posture! I've been trying to use it as that for an hour or so everyday.

Teddie doesn't like it so much, as it is much more difficult for him to sit on my lap when I'm sitting on it. He's become a lap kitty all of a sudden lately. Not that I'm complaining, but I'm not sure what's up with that. Maybe it's the changing weather. I'm thinking of getting him a playmate, but due to his maturity, am not sure if that is a good idea or not. He just seems bored now that he's over his allergies and feeling better.

Two guys on my mind lately, one really distant and one not so distant but not convenient either. I'm just mostly enjoying the idea that other guys interest me again, as even a month ago, the idea of being around another guy in any kind of romantic sense made my skin crawl. It's fun to crush on guys again. There's something in the water or something, though. I know of five long term couples (two years or more) that have broken up over the past four months. Anyone else notice this?

Family is coming out to visit this weekend (I think). I suppose I should clean the place, huh?

Guess where I was today?!

Does this help?

or this?


or this?


Monterey! One of my friends (okay, an ex-bf, but still, we're friends now) is currently stationed at the Army post there (he's in the AF, I don't get it either, but apparently such things are the norm) and had today off because of Columbus Day. So I drove up and we spent the day hanging out around the bay, taking in the jawdroppingly beautiful and somehow peacefully violent ocean cliff views, eating ice cream, and just enjoying being in each other's company and not wanting to kill each other. It was really really nice. We are already making plans to do this again. Unfortunately, the military doesn't really go for the whole "Monday off" thing, and my job doesn't really go for the whole "weekends off" thing, so we will have to wait until I am in performance schedule for Seussical or he gets a random three day weekend. Btw, Highway 1 between Monterey and San Simeon is not for the faint of heart. I'm sure it's a gorgeous drive during the day, but I'm rather glad I was doing it at night - those curves are wicked and I don't think I could have done them with any distractions! It was fun for the first five or six curves and then got nasty fast. I much prefer the more boring 101.

Teddie is not happy with me for leaving him home by himself all day, especially after I spent yesterday rearranging furniture. My brother is coming out for an extended stay soon, and I realized that if he was sleeping on the futon, I was gonna have to move my computer into my bedroom as I keep vampire hours and didn't want to disturb him. So the bedroom furniture all got rearranged. Then, I realized I didn't have any spare pillows. So I truck off to the store, and lo and behold, pillows on sale! I got a standard set for the futon and a queen set for my bed, as I haven't gotten new pillows in years, either. And of course, had to get sheets, too, for both beds. And a floor lamp that actually works for my room. And a set of drawers that aren't cheap see-through plastic to store my undies and socks in. (I didn't think my brother would appreciate that much.) My bedroom is so pretty now! And the futon is much improved, as well!

No real fiber news. I haven't really worked on the spinning at all. I frogged and restarted the second CDT on bigger needles. It was just going too slowly for me. And, my inner yarn slut came out again and I had to start a new pair of socks. I mean, seriously, have you seen Amy's September offering? Look me straight in the eye and tell me you could have put it away!

Dames is closed (pout - we agreed, if we had stayed in the Marian we could have done a few more weeks, but it was too damn cold in Solvang!). I'm starting Seussical tomorrow (they've already been in rehearsal for a week), and also have two meetings for a couple of shows in preproduction for next semester, and have to set up a meeting for a third show. Oye. And, as I got up at 6:30a this morning so I could be on the road by 7:30a (the sacrifices we make for friends!), I think I shall go to sleep!

Told you it would either be feast or famine. Not that I have much in the way of knitting to report. I've done another repeat on the Snowdrop, added a few rows to the Rogue sleeves (nowhere near completion), have almost finished the first leftover sock yarn ball for the Log Cabin, and have started another Chunky Diagonal throw for myself. It sounds like a lot, but it really isn't nearly as much as I normally do. I've been in a bit of a knitting/fiber slump this week. I have barely even worked on spinning. I've been busier than usual at work, true, but not crazy busy. Most of it is that one of my friends is going through some rough times right now, and the only way I can talk to him is online. It's difficult to spin and type at the same time. It's slightly easier to knit, pause, and then type, but I just haven't been doing it.

I love using the sock yarn on the size 5's for the Log Cabin. The fabric is very light, but it's not really loose or airy. Of course, I expect that this will change as I go through different brands of leftovers, since they are all just slightly different. The new CDT is being knit up using solid colors of LB's Jiffy. Beverly's was having a sale, so I got 5 skeins and a Chibi w/ some darning needles for just over $12. I'll have to go back for more yarn as I work through it. I'm okay with that. I'm working it up on size 10 needles. It's much denser than the first one, but I think it will make a great blanket. I'm also going to make it bigger by changing the total number of stripes per strip to 15 instead of 13 and doing at least five strips (maybe six) instead of four. I like my blankets big. The Jiffy isn't quite as bulky as the Homespun, though, so this does involve more rows and stitches than I had anticipated and it's going much more slowly than the first. The Log Cabin has been my show project, and the CDT has been my bus project. I'm saving working more on the April Fool's Socks for Socktoberfest.

Eight more Dames performances. Seussical starts rehearsals Tuesday, but due to Dames, I won't really start until the week after. Everyone's getting sick, including me (though no one else knows that, they'd flip as we're already seriously shorthanded), so think good thoughts for us!

Oh, and I got a new toy! Woo for new mp3 players that actually work and hold a charge! Now I just have to find songs!

Quick Update

Before I have to go get the van, as our bus is unavailable tonight. Sigh.

Yes, I spent the rest of the evening playing with the spindle. I totally...well, not ruined, but shall we say, had some difficulties with the trial batch of the pretty blue/green fibers. I realize now that I was not drafting nearly enough - I ended up with something very close to a polar weight yarn, although it was still useable (of course, I had to knit a swatch with it, which was where I figured out that this isn't maybe the way things were supposed to have gone). I don't know if I can rescue it or not. I hope so. Once I realized where I had gone wrong, I pulled out the Corriedale and started playing with that. It is going much, much better. I'm trying to work on keeping a constant tension/drafting. Sometimes I've gotten too thin and the yarn has broken. I'm not really good with joining, yet, either, but that is getting better, I think. This is So Cool! I do miss my knitting, though. Will have to get some lovin' time in on that.

Anyway, gotta go. Show time!

Package!

I did finally convince Blogger to upload the Ferocious Guard Kitty:


He was uncharacteristically vocal with me last night, but I'd like to think that he knew I was upset (we had a CRAZY rehearsal last night and I was pretty stressed by the end of it) and was trying to talk to me. I notice that the more stressed I am when I come home, the more vocal and attention demanding he is. He knows. A warm cup of mint tea, a purring kitty in my lap, a good night's sleep, and life is much better. Now he's contentedly curled up in my lap (not for very long, as you'll see in a minute), so apparently all is forgiven. I love my Teddie Cat.

But anyway, enough melodrama. Let's get to the Good Stuff:

This is the package my very sweet super left inside my door this afternoon (new postman, long story, needless to say she had permission)! My first ever spindle and fiber purchase!! I'm so excited. I, of course, had to rip it open the minute after I took the picture. It contains 4oz. Corriedale in Rosy-Fingered Dawn, 4oz. BFL in Purple Haze, a small amount of an unknown fiber (I think maybe Corriedale as well, but I'm just going by feel) in a pretty blue/green color, which was wrapped around my new Greensleeves Barebones spindle! Oh, and a rootbeer DumDum, which cracked me up. Amy, are you trying to tell me something? ;-) The instructions are pretty clear, although it did take some looking around to figure out what was meant by "drafting" on the spindle. A quick look at her Hints and Tips page on the store site, and I think I have a better idea of what is supposed to happen now. I LOVE the feel of the BFL! It's so incredibly soft! I just have to squish it every once in a while. The Corriedale is a little rougher, but seems like it will be easier to learn on. I've decided that I definitely need another pair of hands and arms - I can't knit and spin at the same time! I wasn't expecting the kit to come so quickly! Rogue sleeves? Snowdrop Shawl (now corrected, I think)? Spinning? Oy!

Alright already!

Pics!
The lovely Bearfoot


joins my slowly growing wool sock yarn stash.


(The Regia just jumped in for the photo op, it normally lives with my KnitPicks sock yarns, which haven't been touched since I met superwash wool. It's warm, but it's so soft! I will, however, need to start making some summer wear socks again soon.) I know, it's not nearly as impressive as lots of other sock yarn stashes. In fact, it's kind of lame. I just don't like having lots of unused yarn around. I do have one full skein of the Lorna's Laces left, approximately 200yds. Anyone have any ideas what to do with it? I realized after I started the afghan that I could have used the LL leftovers to probably make another pair of socks. I still might. Maybe.

A lonely Rogue awaits its sleeves:


The not even close to finished, unblocked, messed up goodness that currently is the Snowdrop Shawl:


I think the mistake is on the left side somewhere. I know I flipped a yo and an ssk on the border several rows back, but am pretty sure that is not the problem. I am pondering tinking back to fix that, as well, though. EDIT: I think the problem may be a missed YO in that same row. Maybe. Unfortunately, it's like ten rows back. Sigh. The first time I didn't use a lifeline on it and look what happens!

The Majestic and Ferocious Guard Kitty has apparently made a deal with Blogger to not have his very good picture published, as I can't get it to upload for anything. No kitty pics today, sowwy!

Stupid Shawl, Stupid Moths, and Ooo...Was That Bearfoot?

The Snowdrop Shawl has bitten me. I still haven't figured out a.)HOW I made this mistake and b.)HOW I went on for several more rows before realizing that I didn't have the correct number of stitches at the end of the row. I swear it kept working out until That One Row. So I tink back to where I thought the mistake was, fix it, work back up to where I was, and am STILL two stitches short and the pattern isn't working correctly. What on earth?? So I am now in the process of tinking back even more rows of very fine laceweight yarn. Sigh.

Two more skeins of Mountain Colors Bearfoot arrived in the mail today, a result of a KR poster's destashing. You know I can't resist Bearfoot. In Elderberry and Firestorm. Sigh. I'm practically drooling over this yarn. It's so pretty! No idea what I'll use it for yet, of course. Teddie actually WAS drooling over the yarn, or rather, the envelope it came in. I think the sender must have a pet of some kind, because that envelope got the most thorough going-over I have ever seen him give a piece of mail. It's also almost time for another Sock Yarn of the Month shipment from Spunky Eclectic. And I broke down and got one of her learn to spin kits, too. In an attempt to vary my color schemes a bit, I got a combo warm/cool color thing. I have a feeling that I'm not going to be very good at spinning, but hey, I might as well try it. And there is a yarn shop down in Solvang that is also supposed to cater to spinners, so maybe I can go down early sometime and get some help or something. At any rate, the point is that I really don't need anymore sock yarn. Someone remind me of that next time I mention wanting some. I just can't knit it up fast enough. I saw a moth in the apartment today and promptly put all of my wooly sock yarns (which had been readily accessible for fondling display) in Ziploc bags and in the freezer, because I know I won't get to it to use it fast enough. (The poor moth was probably just lost and had no desire for my yarns whatsoever, but you can't be too careful.)

I did another couple rounds of the April Fools today, and started a new project that I totally stole (with her permission) from a fellow KR poster. I'm using leftover superwash wool sock yarn to do a Log Cabin. It will most likely take ages, given that it is sock yarn, on US 5 needles, and I knit socks slowly anyway, so I only have about three balls of leftovers in the correct weight, but it is a good mindless project. My idea is that I will work each block until I run out of yarn, and then spiral to the next. I have every belief that it will be the ugliest afghan anyone has ever seen, but honestly, I don't really give a damn. It's not like I'm gonna sell the thing. I'm just doing it to get some use out of yarn that I really don't want to throw away, and eventually my grandchildren might be able to use if I get it done in time!

More Socks!

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Black Purl
Pattern: plain old stockinette, done cuff-down and with a heel flap and gusset
Notes:
-I really prefer doing socks toe up. I like trying them on that way as I go. However, Twisted German Cast On is a lot of fun, for some reason, and it is nice to get the damn ribbing out of the way early.
-The heel flap and gusset was fine, no major problems. I had no stunning moment of turning the heel, and it takes more concentration (and more light, can't do that one in the booth during a show). I also like the look of the short row heel better, but I have to admit that this one is more comfortable and fits better and doesn't slouch. I will try a toe-up heel flap and gusset on the next pair of socks I start. (April Fools are cuff-down as well.)

That's three completed pairs of wool socks for Solvang. I've also finished the cabling on the sleeves for Rogue. I am hoping that I can get the sweater done by this weekend. I'm a bit nervous about having to sew in sleeves, though. I've done a few more repeats on the Snowdrop Shawl, and have progressed on the April Fools a little (over half done with the first repeat). I'm in the process of hunting down the perfect yarn for my Hogwarts vest (and possibly sweater, too, we'll see) and a Chunky Diagonal Throw for myself. I'm leaning towards Patons Shetland Chunky for the throw (found an online store that has it at $3.50 a skein), and possibly for the vest as well, although I would prefer a worsted weight for that. I really want a superwash or machine washable yarn for a sweater, but I can't find the right colors. I may have to go with Patons Classic Merino, which I found in Michaels at a decent price. Oh, and I also picked up a couple balls of Sugar 'n Cream cotton, which is what my grandmother always used to make washrags with. I've finished one and am about half done on another, just a k2, yo, k to end to increase and k1, k2tog, yo, ssk, k to end decrease. They're definitely better to have around than sponges!

Moving to Solvang this week. Woo!

Additions to The List

Woo! The Fall '06 Knitty is up! New additions to the "To-Do" list include Ivy, Avast, and the Back To School washrags. Potential maybes include Lucie and Intolerable Cruelty.

This is, of course, after I realized this morning that I really needed a Hogwarts school sweater. Yes, I'm a geek. You don't have to point that out again. I don't get into the dressing up as characters or anything, though. I haven't even made a House scarf, although I would if I had anywhere to really use a scarf other than Solvang. However, a nice sweater is always appropriate. Looking at the sweaters used as part of the school uniforms in the movies, they seem to be fairly simple. I didn't know how to do a v-neck or neckband, though. I was looking around the 'Net, and lo and behold: Hobbie's Wizard Wear has free patterns of exactly the sweater I was looking for. Then I thought, but a vest would be really cute and more versatile given my climate. And such a pattern exists for that, too! So they were promptly printed out. Really, how many people would know they were Harry Potter themed but me? Only other geeks who would appreciate it! Now the real question is which House colors to use. I'm thinking Ravenclaw. I don't really like Gryffindor or Hufflepuff's colors much, and Slytherin's don't show up well against the dark grey MC of the sweaters, not to mention it's, well, Slytherin.

Oh, and Amy is evil. Honestly. I'm totally going to have to get one of these. Just to try, you know. Because I have nothing else to do (*cough*RogueSnowdropSocksShows*cough*). Because she HAD to offer the choice of warm or cool or combo colorways. I'm gonna have to wait until next paycheck, though. I wonder what kind of spindle I should get? Suggestions?

Where Were You?

I know these will start going around like wildfire tomorrow, so I figured I'd get a head start.

Where was I on 9/11/01?

I was on campus when I initially heard about it. I was running late to my advanced theater technology class (of course) around 9:00a (I think, Central Time), and saw unusually large numbers of students in the Union, all watching the various televisions. I was vaguely curious, but since the prof already didn't like me and it's hard to sneak into a class of only nine people w/o attracting attention, I didn't stop to find out what was going on. One of the girls in class told me that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center, but we all were under the impression it was a small, private plane and it was a freak accident at that point, and didn't really give it much more thought. When the prof came in, though, he said he had been running late because he had been on the phone with his wife about "the news." He started to try to teach the class, but after a few minutes just said "Forget it, I'm going to go find a television," or something like that. At any rate, class was dismissed, but we all went into a nearby office to find out what on earth was going on that was more important than classes. We got there just in time to see the Towers fall. It took us a while to figure out what had actually happened, given our initial, very wrong, impression. Classes were cancelled (I presume, I didn't go to anymore after that, I don't think. I may not have had anymore that day anyway, I can't remember), and I went back to my apartment and spent the rest of the day sitting on the couch with my laptop in front of me and the television on. I think I called my parents at some point, but I'm not sure. I do remember that there was a lot of rumours about going to war, and that since Purdue has a nuclear research facility (non-military, of course), it was a potential target. Purdue also boasts a very large international student community, including a large number of Arab students, and there were instant reminders everywhere that those students had nothing to do with the attack and any attempts at "retribution" would result in drastic punishments. I don't remember hearing of anyone trying to hassle any of the Arab students, so I guess it worked. There was a candlelight vigil a couple of nights later, and a prayer led by local religious leaders - Christian, Jewish, and Muslim - but that was about it. It didn't really directly affect my day to day life, but it totally changed my outlook on the rest of the world. I think I am not alone in realizing for the first time that day not just that we could indeed be attacked on our own soil, but that someone would WANT to attack us. That someone hated us so much that they would kill 3000 innocent people. I've flown many times since then, domestically and internationally (France and Australia), and while I'm not scared of flying or my fellow passengers as a rule, every time now, there is a little voice in the back of my head wondering, "What if it's this flight this time? What would I do? What could I do?" It's a scarier world now.

UhOh

Alright, I'll admit it. I've been fascinated by spinners for a while now, and have no idea where to start or even what questions to ask. I've seen several "begin to spin" kits online and wondered if they are at all helpful. I know lots of people who sell fiber and spindles and whatnot (Amy comes to mind immediately), but no idea at all what I should use to "try out" so to speak. Really, the last thing I need is another hobby to eat up what little time I have left, but I wouldn't mind trying it just to see.

Oh, and I did, indeed, finish the hood on Rogue Monday (woo, I have a hooded tank top!) and CO both sleeves. I haven't had a chance to work on it since, so I'm only almost done with the hem facing rows. I am thinking about finishing those tonight so I can start the cuff cables tomorrow. Sock knitting has been slow, as I can't knit DURING Dames, it's too busy, but I do get in a few rows here and there. I'm still hoping that I can get this pair of socks and Rogue done by the time we go to Solvang! A week and a half, think I can do it?

Whew!

Dames is OPEN! Woo! It's the biggest little show I think any of us have done here in a long time, and a lot of work for the cast and crew, but it really is so much fun! It's very sweet and cute and funny and the audience is eating it up! That's such a nice reward to see after the exhausting week of tech we just went through for it.

Two personally awkward moments today, though. 1.)Steve's parents and sisters came down for the weekend. They saw Dames last night, and the Song of the Oak (the fall Outreach show that Steve set designed) preview this morning. I didn't see them last night, and didn't even know they were there until I literally almost ran into Steve's mother in the lobby this morning at the preview. They were pleasant to me, as always, it was just slightly surprising to run into them and then try to figure out what to say to them. As they were leaving, though, his dad turned to me and told me he was very sorry about the way things had turned out. It was very sweet, but slightly heart-wrenching at the same time. 2.)A guy I had kind of started crushing on, and who I thought had been showing some signs of interest, came to the preview this morning with a second-year student actress on his arm, who he has apparently been seeing for some time. Sigh. Oh well. I really wish him no ill will, but I know that he is applying for a staff job (and he well deserves it), and I'm wondering how well it will go for him if he is dating a student. I guess we'll see.

Between the tech week from Heck (I've had worse, but it definitely wasn't fun) and two awkwards in one day, I'm totally hibernating tomorrow. My big plans are to make my apartment liveable again and then curl up on the couch with Rogue and Harry Potter. I'd really love to go to the beach as well, but that would require leaving the house, and I'm not sure I'll have the energy for that. My brother is going to drive out next Monday to visit for a while. I hope I can find something for him to do!

Woo!

All done - the washing and drying didn't tear it apart, and it looks much better on the wrong side now than it did earlier today. I'll finish the card and pop it in the mail tomorrow with a nice bottle of wine, I think.

Project Specs:
Pattern: Chunky Diagonal Throw from Lion Brand Yarns
Yarn: Lion Brand Homespun in Florida Keys (green), Cobalt (blue), Covered Bridge (red), Sunshine State (yellow), and Deco (white)
Needles: US 10.5 for body, US 11 for border
Date started: July 17, 2006
Date completed: August 27, 2006
Notes:
-I messed up the color assignments early on, so the order is not the same as the pattern's. If I was making this for myself - and I probably will at some point - I personally would do a more repetitive pattern instead of the random. I love the colors of this one, though.
-The Homespun is a good enough yarn for this. Again, and I said this with the Winter Night afghans, too, the fraying of the woven-in ends drives me batty. I'm not sure what else is possible to do to prevent it, though. I would love to try another chunky, machine wash yarn for this at some point in the future. Perhaps Wool-Ease Chunky or Thick-n-Quick if I can find enough colors I like.

The first of the cuff-down socks was finished yesterday, the second cast on, and I finished casting on for the April Fool's socks this afternoon as well. I'm doing those two at a time. I really like the fit of the heel and gusset (yeah yeah), but I really really hate the toe. It's very square. I have added an extra two stitches to the second sock, as well, because the first is justohsoslightlyever too tight. I can still wear it just fine, but it stretches just a bit more than I'd like.

Looking at these, and the ohmygod beautiful sock yarn from Spunky Eclectic that arrived in the mail yesterday, I have changed my mind about the Sock Wars, I think. It still sounds like a lot of fun, but I'm kind of over deadlines for the time being and I want absolutely no pressure to knit. Besides, I want to get some of these WIPs over on the sidebar crossed off, particularly Rogue and the Snowdrop Shawl. And I'd love to get cracking on the Pinwheel Sweater over at Elann.

Lock 'n Load

Okay, I found out about this from the Knitters' Review Forums. It is hysterical, sounds like a blast, and I once I saw it, I had to do it. It just ties in too perfectly with my other hobbies.



I'm riding on the idea that I did, indeed finish the Column Socks in a week. Okay, so I worked on nothing else that whole week, but I'm not planning any Christmas knitting this year. (I take that back, I did promise a scarf to someone. Shouldn't take long, though.) If I get Rogue done soon, which I should, all I'll have on the needles are socks and the Snowdrop Shawl at that point in time. The shawl can take a bit more downtime if it wants. Becki's afghan is going to be finished today (once I stop typing and start laundry and go grocery shopping), so I won't have to worry about that. No other deadlines or anything I have to get done, so it could be possible that I won't be the first man down. Anyone else interested? Sign ups will close on Sept. 8! More info can be found at the Sock Wars Forum.

Oops..well...

What's a girl to do when she has three of four borders of an afghan (that was supposed to be done a week ago) knitted, half the foot of one sock left to work, another pair of socks on the needles, an incredibly...technical...tech week coming up, and evenings this week semi-free? Why, work on Rogue, of course. For some reason, it started hollering at me the other night, and I figured that since the hood had been dragging like crazy before and I had no problems putting it down, I should probably work on this while I actually felt like it. I think I'm about a third of the way through the hood now. I figured out how to pf/b to increase instead of the m1 bar, because I kept getting holes where I picked up the bar and the stitch underneath it stretched. I haven't started the sleeves yet like I was going to when I put the thing down, but they are going to be Twisted German CO (that stretchiness has won me over and I'm a big sleeve pusher-upper), and knit flat, both at once, on a circular needle. I'm okay with seaming the sleeves themselves, but am a bit anxious about setting the sleeves into the body. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, I guess.

I recently acquired several of the Harry Potter AudioBooks, and they have been great to listen to while knitting. (insert warning of nerdiness here)It's been really interesting for me, because I know the books so well (no, I can't say as I've memorized them - yet - but I have read them enough to know exactly what the next phrase will be most of the time), but the only audio experience I have had with them has been the movies, so hearing the same words in different voices and different readings has been fun. It's not quite as cool as holding the book in my hands and curling up to read it and see the words myself, but it is a very fun way to satisfy my HP and knitting cravings at the same time. I would highly recommend them. My only complaints so far have been that my laptop's speakers suck, and the reader reads Hermione's lines in a voice that makes me think of a whining, flaming fairy-boy during allergy season, not as a teenage girl (I'm listening to PoA (Prisoner of Azkaban, for the uninitiated) atm and will probably start GoF (Goblet of Fire) tonight.

Oh, and anyone want to tech my show for me next week? It's only an hour and a half long with six actors. And 30+ costumes (all of them quick changes, most of them in the last twenty minutes of the show). And a set that has to be destroyed at the end of Act I and be completely changed for Act II. Only 196 LQs so far, though, but we still have about half of Act II to paper tech. I'm anticipating about 300 light cues total. (To give you a range, Oliver! had 350+ LQs -skipping some numbers, my last cue # was 486, or thereabouts - and Anna had 87 w/o skipping any. 300 is pretty average for a musical and not bad at all.) Plus I think 80+ music cues, 20 or so sound cues, and an unknown number of deck/curtain cues. Calling the show isn't going to be the problem. It's going to be getting all of the technical elements to work together properly in the first place. That and the speed of the show. 400+ cues in 90m averages to about 4.5 cues a minute, so I may not be able to get much knitting done during this show. I'm looking forward to actually performing the show, I just don't want to go through the first day of tech for it =P

Pics!

As promised, some highlights of the weekend. Five pics for the connection-speed impaired.

First up, we have this gorgeous creation:

This is the back of her dress. Photos do not do it justice. Those are all embroidered flowers, along with strings of sparkly clear beads. The groom's tux vest and the flower girl's dress matched the lavender of the flowers, while the matron of honor and bridesmaid's dresses and the best man and groomsman's tux vests matched the green of the stems. The train was several feet long, and as Becki is barely over five feet tall, we had a lot of fun getting her dressed. It took five people to hold the dress and train up so she could dive under it. But, it was worth it:
She was so beautiful and happy. It's wonderful to see her and John together. The ceremony was actually very short (despite my crying when I saw her being walked down the aisle by her daddy and then the minister skipping the prayer right before my verses so I didn't have time to compose myself again, oh well), and the reception was a lot of fun. She and John had decided that they wanted real food that people would actually eat, so the meal was hamburgers, hot dogs, and grilled chicken, with corn and a fresh fruit mix. It was great. Their gift:
is still being worked on. I didn't have time today to work on it, as I had to babysit a new intern's first rehearsal this evening, but I should be able to work on it the rest of the week. Unless I can talk Cute Actor into going to see another show with me, of course...oh right, back to reality:
The Cloverleafs (Cloverleaves?) were finished on the flight home, as I said. They don't photograph particularly well at midnight. Or I just don't take very good pictures. Whichever. And, as the Yarn Harlot says, this is how long it takes to fly halfway from Chicago to Dallas, wait on a plane, fly from Dallas to Los Angeles, sprint through the airport (the distance to the gate you need is inversely porportional to the amount of time you have to get there in airports. Don't believe me? Try it next time your flight is delayed and you have less than five minutes to get to your connecting flight - the gate will be on the opposite end of the terminal, trust me!), fly from Los Angeles to Santa Maria, and sit through a four hour rehearsal for a show that isn't yours:
I'm still wondering about this whole heel flap and gusset thing. This is my first time with them. It seems strange to me, but I will grit my teeth and do it. Supposedly this traditional method doesn't have the slouchy problems that my beloved short row heels have, which will be nice. Again, though, there's this whole picking up stitches thing, and I keep reading things about knitters who misjudged how many stitches to pick up and ending up with holes in the heels. I don't want to be them. Oh, and the LL hasn't really been anything to write home about so far. It's nice, and the fabric being produced on the US 2's is probably my favorite sock fabric so far, but I can't say as I've been overly impressed with the yarn. I do love the color, though!

When Katie Comes Marching Home Again...

Finally home again! The wedding was absolutely beautiful (I'm totally jealous of the dress, oh my god, her dress! And I did cry, of course, but if that's all anyone remembers about the wedding, they have other issues), family and friends were great (gotta love it when an aunt runs a candy store and heaps chocolate on you before you leave), travelling was far less hassle than I had expected given recent events, and my Cloverleaf socks were completed. Pics of all will be available after the camera battery is recharged. I did not get the afghan finished to my level of gift-giving comfort before I left, so it is still here. Now that I have some extra time on it, I am going to re-seam it properly (the seams are pretty tight right now and I'm afraid the yarn will break) and put the actual pattern border on. I started another pair of socks in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport Black Purl on the flight from Chicago to Dallas yesterday (which was a bit of a surprise, as when I bought the ticket I don't recall any mention of there being a stop in Texas, but oh well, I still got home eventually). These are just plain stockinette socks, cuff-down, so I could figure out the cast on and heel and stuff. I used the Twisted German Cast On, and wow, I can't believe how stretchy it is! I'm also going to cast on another pair in Spunky Eclectic's Berry Pickin and make the April Fool's Socks (mostly I want to use that cast on again!). I meant those to be the very next pair of socks, but apparently I grabbed the wrong purple sock yarn in my packing haste and ended up with LL in my bag instead.

Congrats to Colleen for more fair ribbons for her very cute toys! And please check out Amie's blog for an opportunity to purchase a very cute pattern and help out a very sick little girl in the process. Having lost one of my own small cousins to neuroblastoma last year, this means a lot to me.

Alright, gotta get back to the whole working routine - luckily I should have students starting this week that I can dragoon into ASM'ing!

Yay-Ugh

The yay:
1. The Chunky Diagonal Throw strips are completed and seamed together. I ended up using some Simply Soft to seam them - the Homespun was just too much of a pain to work with for seaming, and almost impossible to hide unless I wanted to change colors every ten stitches or so. I'm not that good of a friend.

2. I have one more day of work and then I am GETTING OUT OF HERE for a weekend! I love travelling anywhere anytime anyway, but this is special. You have no idea how happy this makes me, just the thought of not having to worry about if I will run into him, or wondering what (if anything) I should say or do if I do run into him, is very liberating. And, of course, I can't wait to celebrate Becki's marriage. I can't believe my two best friends from high school are married now. One almost for a year already! I'm not really the girly type, but I'm actually really looking forward to going over to Beck's Saturday morning and helping her get ready and getting to the church early and all that fun pre-wedding stuff. I'm just reading some Bible verses, so hopefully I will do that well. My main fear is that I will cry, as I'm far more like my mother than I'd like to be sometimes. (She's a sentimental sap who cries at cotton and coffee commercials during the holidays.) I think it will be okay, though.

The ughs:
1. The blanket is knitted and seamed, and I now have one evening left to knit the border. I'm pretty sure I have mentioned before how much I hate picking up stitches. This is the reason why. I can't pick up stitches evenly for the life of me, which throws off the stitch count and thus my borders get wonky. Plus, the border in the pattern, which I like, is twelve rows wide, which isn't bad, but it's 100 increasing to 110 stitches on the top and bottom and 136 increasing to 146 stitches on either side. I may not get any sleep before the flight tomorrow night. I thought about maybe chickening out and doing something like an applied I-cord border, but I can't find any good directions on how to do it. Any suggestions? Maybe the crocheted border Amie suggested? I've never crocheted before, though, so not sure how well that would work.

2. I have four loads of laundry sitting on the floor in my bedroom that desperately need to be folded and put away. I hate folding laundry, and am half-tempted to leave it there, but Chrissy is coming over this weekend to check on Teddie for me, and she is a neat freak. I can't just close the bedroom door, because then Teddie can't get to his litter box, so I'm going to have to put it away tonight, as tomorrow will be spent working on the damn border. I'll have to wash the blanket when I get to my parents' Friday night, I guess. I hope everything turns out okay =P

3. I have meetings starting at 9:30a tomorrow. It is currently 2:00a. If I'm awake (this is hardly staying up late for me, but 9:30a is awfully early in the morning), I should at least be doing something productive, yes? Working on the border, or folding the laundry, or packing or cleaning or something. But no. I'm typing a post and chatting online instead. Ugh.

I might duck out of babysitting Much Ado dress tomorrow night so I can come here and get stuff done and attempt to get some sleep before travelling for fourteen hours.

Unreasonably hyper

I came home from rehearsal uncharacteristically hyper tonight. Not sure why. Maybe it is that we are finally finished with three rehearsals' worth of tap dancing (thank god this is not a huge cast show - the noise would probably drive me battier than I already am!). Maybe it's the cute actor and the fun chemistry the cast has. Maybe it's the fact that I actually have people to hang out with tomorrow and go down to Solvang with (okay, so I kinda rigged it that way in the hopes that cute actor would go, but I'm glad it's more people than that). Maybe it's the fact that I actually talked to Steve today and had no kind of emotional craziness after the fact. No anger or hurt or anything. No happiness, either, but whatever. Maybe it's the fact that I've had two exes randomly hit on me in the past 24 hours. Maybe it's just the fact that I finally (FINALLY) went in and got my hair cut and styled. Who knows? It's probably just the fact that I have a purring cat on my lap, yarn and needles in my hands, a bottle of brew, and these:

Three of the afghan strips are done, as well as the first two stripes of the final one. I'm really kicking arse on this pattern. It's so simple, but it looks so damn cool! I love it! I'm totally going to have to make one of these for me. Not going to use the Homespun again, though. I love the colors available in it, and I love the softness, but the fraying is getting to me. I've had to get a thing of Fray Check for the ends. I might use some fabric glue on it as well, after I wash it. But anyway, I'm all about machine washable for afghans, and I would need a chunky yarn. LB Homespun, Wool-Ease Chunky or Thick-n-Quick are the right gauge range, but lack a variety of available colors. Any suggestions? I'm realizing, looking at this, that I will actually have to seam these together soon, and am wondering if I should use one color of Homespun or if I should dig out some of the worsted weight acrylic I have stashed and use it to seam instead? Any thoughts?
Oh, and:

Teddie doesn't seem too impressed with the afghan strips. (Yes, that would be the Rogue project bag making an appearance in the background.) He thinks the ends are great for playing with, though, particularly when I am trying to fold the strips up and put them away. He really loves circular needles, too, but only bothers needles and yarn when I am actually using them. I guess non-moving stuff is beneath him.

Btw, I figured out my little knitting quirk/superstition. I will weave in all the ends as I go, including the bind off tail, but not the cast on tail. Those, for some reason, must stay unwoven until all the pieces are complete and ready for seaming. Hell if I know why, it just must be so.

Ice Cream!

Okay, so there's only a couple bites of Ben & Jerry's Phish Food left, but woo, more new sock yarn! Amy's Spunky Eclectic July Club Yarn arrived today. Mine has a bit more brown in it (at least it looks like on the skein), and reminds me of neopolitan (spelling?) ice cream. I swear, I have got to start knitting socks faster so I can get to all this yummy yarn! I did get to do a couple more repeats on the Cloverleafs today during rehearsal. Nothing is more boring to sit through than a music rehearsal - there is ABSOLUTELY nothing for an SM to do but sit there and listen and look interested. Normally I do not knit during rehearsals, but I made an exception today after they spent over an hour and a half on one song. I don't mean to sound disparaging, it is a song with very difficult five-part harmonies, and each person has their own line, so if one person is off even the slightest, you can tell, and they were working really hard at it, but I really couldn't take it anymore. (I decided today, although I have not had any musical direction experience, that it would be easier to teach a large cast harmonies than a small cast. More people can mess up in a large ensemble than in a small one.) Only eight more repeats for that sock, and then the ribbing, and done! I also finished the second strip of the Chunky Diagonal Throw this evening. I am telling myself to start the third strip. I leave for the wedding two weeks from tomorrow, and still have two strips and the border to knit. I think I'll be okay, though. I do want to start this strip, but maybe after I eat an apple and wash my hands. And I really should fold the three loads of laundry I did the other day...

Meme!

Stolen from Amie, because I liked it:

What was the scariest thing (or one of them if you’ve had many adventures) you ever experienced?Watching my dad board the plane here in Santa Maria to go home after he helped me move out here three years ago. It really hit me at that point that I was very much alone here, and I was terrified. Other than that, I tend to scare myself more often than anything else scares me.

Do you plan to retire where you are right now or move somewhere else?Wow, retirement. It seems sooo far away right now that I can't even really think about it seriously. Right now, I can't see myself ever actually really retiring, just being more specific about what shows I work on and where. There's no place in particular that I want to live, just somewhere warm.

Three little gifts you’re always glad to get:
Flowers. I love flowers. Any kind of flowers.
Yarn
Anything along the lines of "I saw this and thought of you..."

4 careers you might have enjoyed:
Working in Mission Control for a space mission (the reason I actually went to Purdue)
Teaching
Working as a full time YMCA Aquatic staff member
Singer (I can't act for anything, but I used to have a decent set of pipes. They're out of tune due to lack of use now, though.)

A book you loved as a child but found disappointing as an adult:Hmm...I can't really say as I've gone back and read a lot of the books recently that I read when I was younger. I can't believe I read "The Babysitters Club" series so much, but I liked them when I was eleven, if that counts.

Somebody ought to do (invent, make, write) that!A way of making all the diseased blood drain out of a person while good blood is getting pumped in. That way we could help all the people who have blood diseases like AIDS and leukemia. (I had some invention in mind earlier, but now I can't think of it and so have to go the humanitarian route.)

Where or on what could you easily drop $100? - up to 5
Yarn
Books/Audio books
Clothes (I don't buy that many clothes, but I will pay for quality and style when I do)
Blackjack tables
Tickets to see shows. I'd willingly drop $100 to see a show if I had to.

Name an adult, not a parent, who really had an impact on you before you were 18 and what made such an impression.There have been SO many people who impacted my life, it's hard to pick just one. Ms. Jones, my drama teacher in high school, was the one who honed my interest in the performing arts and encouraged it and was okay with the fact that I would rather be backstage running things than onstage and introduced me to that world (even though it was still just a hobby to me at the time). Mrs. Monts (now Ms. Marshall) was my English teacher throughout high school and drilled an appreciation for literature and grammar and research that has been of incalculable value so far. I had a love/hate relationship with her in school, but man, I have never forgotten what we learned and read and wrote in her classes. You would do your work, and you would do it correctly in her class, or you wouldn't pass. It was just that simple.

That all said, Anna is now open and running well in Solvang. My ASM is doing just as well as I expected. Dames started rehearsals this afternoon (I have to get going in a few, as my dinner is almost up). The contrast between these two shows is insane. Both casts are great, and fun, and both directors are wonderful to work with, but the shows themselves! Anna is a very simple show technically, and a very intense and emotional and difficult show plotwise (we have betrayals and rape and murder and suicide and all sorts of fun things, and it's still a beautiful show somehow). Dames is a very shallow plot (more along the lines of "I just met you! I love you! We're going to get married and live happily ever after right after this big tap number!" That's pretty much the whole plot.) but is going to be a difficult show technically (I get to collapse a set onstage with a wrecking ball at the end of Act I and build a battleship for Act II, it'll be great!). I love theater, it's so varied. I need the fluff right now.

Strip #2 of the Chunky Diagonal Throw is almost done. I might be able to get away with working on it this evening, but not sure yet.

Project Whore!

Yes, we've discussed this in the past, and yes, again I was unable to control the urge to start a new project in lieu of a current one. I did indeed start the Chunky Diagonal Throw (the Lion Brand pattern I linked to the other day) on Monday. And I'm not sorry in the slightest. I already have one full strip done and am starting the fourth stripe on the second one. That's almost the same amount of work in about half the time. So, I'm validated, see? Of course, I haven't gotten any work done on anything else, but who cares? Same three colors as the Log Cabin, along with a sunny yellow and white to balance it out. It's actually quite pretty and colourful, and I can't wait to get it done so I can admire it before I give it to Becki. I may have to make another one for myself afterwards. Pics will be up soon. I have another idea for a future Log Cabin that I already like better, but will have to get this one done first, and soon, as the wedding is August 12!

Thanks for the feedback on the sweater. Again, there would definitely be some modifications to it - I would probably not do the center strips quite so high in the boob diamonds (if I did them at all), I would change the sleeves slightly, and I might try to do it in the round, as well. Gotta finish Rogue first, and I don't have nearly enough cotton for that sweater, so will have to save up and get some. I think my next sweatery project will be that Pinwheel Sweater/Jacket over at Elann.

Anna's done in Santa Maria and the Solvang tech is going extremely well. I will have to go back down with them tomorrow and Saturday, and then pop down once or twice a week, if I can. I currently have no ASM for Dames, which starts rehearsals on Tuesday, so I'm kind of busy right now. I'm hoping the work will distract me sufficiently to not worry about other such petty things as relationships. I'm pretty sure the only males a girl can depend on are her daddy and her cat. Maybe a brother, but little brothers are strange things. Yarn helps, too =)

Doncha Just Hate It When That Happens?

When you're already emotionally invested in one project, as a gift no less, and you're nearing the deadline for it, and THEN you find that PERFECT pattern that you wish you had had two months ago when you were first trying to figure out what you wanted to make?

I've been working on the Log Cabin for my friend Becki, who is getting married Aug. 12, driving myself nuts trying to get squares done when it's a pain in the butt to pick up stitches in Homespun, and then, I open my email this morning to find this pattern. (I know Lion Brand can be picky. You may have to register or sign in to see the pattern.) It's gorgeous. I love it. It would be a simple, quick knit. I love the design of it. It would be a PERFECT wedding gift for Becki. But now I've already started the Log Cabin, which I don't like at all. Well, okay, that's not true. I do like it, but it's going much slower than I had anticipated and to me it still feels and looks a little wonky. Such torment! What to do?? This is what I have done so far of the Log Cabin:

Yup. Two full squares and one that is about 3/4 done on the needles. That's it. I had another square almost done, but I was playing around with a way of keeping the stitches live. I had this inane idea that if I could keep the edge stitches live, then I could graft the whole thing together (no, kitchener stitch does not bother or scare me). But it's much more trouble than it's worth, and then I didn't have the yarn to bind it off properly, so the whole square got frogged. I might have to make a trip to Michaels today and see if they have any Wool-Ease Chunky....

Oh, and I really really wanted to have these

done for Solvang this week. But now this stupid afghan is getting to me. I'm so close on the socks! I turned the heel of the second one yesterday after desperately needing a break from picking up stitches. The STR is very nice, btw, but I think the Bearfoot is still my favourite. I'm pondering doing either Pomatomus or April Fool's Day socks next. Both are cuff-down, which will not really be a first, but definitely not a comfortable technique for me. The April Fool's would be easy enough to convert to toe-up, but I should really bite the bullet and learn. I also want to try a real heel flap and gusset.

And, because I can:

He looks like the grumpiest cat, ever, eh? =)

A Traumatic Day

Teddie and I went through the rite of First Visit To The Vet this afternoon. He hates hates hates the cat carrier and car rides and cried and yowled and complained the WHOLE way. Luckily, it is only about twelve blocks away. Honestly, you have never heard such pathetic meowing in your life. Luckily, the waiting room was empty when we got there, so he calmed down a little, but only if I was sitting right next to him. He didn't like it when he didn't know where I was. He hated going into the carrier, but was too scared to come out to get examined. It's amazing how a ten pound cat can turn into thirty pounds of dead weight when they don't want to move. To give him credit, though, he never cried or tried to run or hiss or anything. He really didn't like getting his temp taken, but then, I can't really fault him for that. Everything seems to be okay, except he does have allergies, which is why he has been scratching so much at his eyes and making his poor eyelids bleed. Poor guy had to endure yet another shot, this one for steroids to control the allergic reactions, and now has to get ointment rubbed on his eyes three times a day and will have to start taking oral steroids once the shot wears off, in about ten days or so. At least it wasn't mites. Oh, and the vet told me that even if you get the flea and tick stuff labelled "for cats and kittens" at the pet store, unless it is Advantage or FrontLine, it can still be fatally toxic to kitties, so be careful. I really liked the vet, he was very grandfatherly and gave me some good advice. Anyway, Teddie is now back to hiding under the bed (after cussing me out like crazy during the car ride home), and I have enough cat hair on my shirt to spin an entire skein of sock yarn and won't be able to afford to eat for the rest of the month. We're both recovering.

Oh, and check out this pattern at Elann and tell me what you think. I think that with a few modifications (mostly so's I could wear it in public without getting arrested), it would be a really cool sweater. Guy friends tend to agree, although a couple thought it was "slutty". Girl friends tend to be split 50/50.

Gotta go do a show. Four more left in Santa Maria, and then I get to baby sit Solvang for a week. Joy of all joys =P

I had a very strange dream last night. I seemed to be back in high school, first day of senior year, only it wasn't anywhere close to the same building layout. The people were still the same. My HS assigned the lockers in alphabetical order, and we had a tiny class, so I had the same group of people around my locker since junior high. Those people showed back up in the dream. However, for some reason, I didn't get a class schedule like everyone else, and when I went to the office to get one, they said that they had a package for me. It was one skein of a rough, rainbow coloured yarn (you know, primary, Crayola rainbow colors) and another skein of the same colorway, but batting. (Sorry, I don't know what the proper word for a hunk of batting is, so I used skein.) My first thought was "This is great, but I don't know how to spin! What am I going to do?!" When I looked back down at it, it had turned itself into a spun skein of yarn, but now I wonder if my subconscious is telling me something...I've also been wondering more about crocheting, but I already have enough projects, knitting and non-knitting, to last me until Kingdom come. We'll see.

I do have the first of the Cloverleaf socks done, and a respectable portion of the second. Done a couple more rows on Rogue (that seems to be the story of my life lately), and almost finished another Log Cabin square last night while watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire again.

Terrified poor Teddie yesterday after running the vaccuum, the garbage disposal, and the dishwasher all in one day. He finally crawled out of hiding around 10p.m. He's definitely much more sociable now, and he will come out and jump up in my lap and such in the evenings, but during the day, he pretty much stays in his cabinet. No sprawling out and sleeping in the sunshine for this kitty, I guess. Maybe he's a vampire kitty, sort of like a feline Bunnicula. I haven't noticed any white food leftover, though.

Steve finally gave me an answer. We're not going to try again right now. We might at some point in the future if we want to, but not now. Definitely not the answer I wanted to hear, but somehow, I feel better at least knowing. He's still my best friend, though, and I think part of the comfort is knowing that. Doesn't always make it easier, but it does help. I will still be hurt and jealous if and when he goes out with any other girl, though, but oh well. I've been hurt and jealous before. And, hell, both he and I know that there is no one like me!

Mmm...so totally got stood up by Steve on the Fourth, who then seemed baffled and ticked when I chewed him out for it. Again, what is it with males?? I ended up going up to Pismo Beach with a bunch of other techs (Steve included, was a weird day) and hanging out on the beach for a while, drinking and watching the fireworks off the pier and the amatuers along the beach. The fireworks were nice. I told Steve that the next move was his - I was not going to contact him or do anything, as I'm obviously so much of a distraction to him that it's confusing him more (his words). Haven't seen or talked to him since. His loss.

Teddie and I have worked out a decent compromise. He sleeps during the day in his little kitty bed that I have put in the cabinet under the sink. It gives him a safe and comfy hidey hole, and I know where he is. When I am home in the evenings or late afternoons, we chat and he'll eventually come out to the sound of my voice and cuddle with me. He's agreed to wear his collar and looks very handsome. He'd probably come out more during the day, but it's hard to talk to an empty room after a while. He gets fed dry food in the morning and a small can of wet food when I go to bed. It seems to work for us.

I have done several more rows of the Rogue hood, and am about half done with the leg of the first Cloverleaf sock. I did the first square of the Log Cabin afghan, as well. My sock yarns keep talking to me, though, particularly the Berry Pickin' from Spunky Eclectic. It somehow magically wound itself into a ball the other night, and is now teasing me. I may have to go back to doing a pair of those at the same time, as I think my size 1's would be best for that yarn. I might get really really bold and try a pair of cuff-down socks and even a real heel and flap. I love my short row heels, but one should always branch out and learn new techniques. Besides, as much as I hate picking up stitches, I ALWAYS seem to be ending up with a project that requires it anyway. I think I will finish the first Cloverleaf and CO for the second, and then CO the Berry Pickin for some April Fool's socks.

Oh, I do have today off and have been really good about cleaning up the place and doing laundry and all that nonsense. I do have to stop by the office, though, and pick up my book for Dames so I can get some prep work done early for it. I don't really trust my ASM to do it correctly, and...I will be in VEGAS for the weekend before we start rehearsals! So, two weeks from today, I will be on the road with John (the magician I SM for when he has gigs) heading to Vegas, where he is taking care of my room and some compensation from Thursday until Sunday! We have a very very small show on Friday at the Stardust, but it should be very easy and I'll have the rest of the weekend in Vegas with a group of people I consider friends! I cannot wait!

Think I'm gonna head down to Solvang and see Beauty and the Beast tonight, as it will be one of the last times I'll be able to catch it. If you know anyone who is coming to the Central Coast, tell them about Anna in the Tropics here at PCPA. The audiences have LOVED it - every single house we've had so far has been on its feet during curtain call - but since it isn't a big name musical, we're having poor ticket sales here at the Marian. Solvang is supposedly selling better, but then, down there, most of our audience are the tourists, whereas up here, they are mostly locals. Anyway, gotta go finish laundry and get some warm clothes out for tonight!

Just a random plug and moral question...

I found Wildhorse Farm Designs quite by accident yesterday. Lisa has some great (non-lacy! Okay, there was one lacy pattern I liked and bought) sock patterns (a little pricey, but what the hell), and really truly great customer service. One of the patterns I bought didn't download properly, so I emailed her. Within half an hour, I had a very apologetic response with the correct file attached! Blew me away! She seems very nice, and I'm glad I spent the money there.

Now for the moral/ethical question of the day. Looking at her patterns was very inspiring to me, both because they are fun patterns, but also because as soon as I saw the pics, I could start "deconstructing" them and figuring out the pattern on my own. I'm kind of proud of that, as it tells me that I am starting to be able to "read" not only my own knitting, but that I have learned enough about techniques and whatnot to start to read other people's as well. Now, my question is, is it okay to do this? I mean, if I figure out the Isoceles sock pattern and make the socks, but didn't buy the pattern, have I done something unethical? If anyone asked, I would, of course, tell where I had found the picture that inspired me to make them. Would I then give the designer credit for the inspiration? Or the pattern itself? Or should I just spend money on a pattern I don't need to make the socks? Discuss.

Opening!

So Anna opened last night to very positive reviews. We weren't really sure how the show would go over in this particular community, but all of the feedback we've heard so far has been very positive. I must confess, I didn't really like the show myself when I first read it and we started working on it, but it has really grown on me. There are some really beautiful and powerful moments, and I think that if the audience is willing to come, they will really identify with the story. That, and I had a really great dress for the party afterwards and made Steve and a few other guys drool. So that was fun, too =) (No, I'm really not above petty vanity sometimes!)

Teddie has been far more social lately. I generally know where he is now, and he even came out and laid up on the bed with me last night and stayed even when I wasn't petting him. We've tried to block under the stove, though, so he can't get to that hidey hole anymore. He's definitely a night owl, which works out well for me. The only conflicts we've had recently has been the fact that he wants me to wake up at six or seven in the morning to give him attention. I don't think he realizes that I don't get to sleep all day like he does. Oh well. This coming week will be better, since I will be in performance schedule and be home more.

Still working on the Cloverleaf sock. Did a few more rows of the Rogue hood. For some reason, this hood is just DRAGGING and I can barely bring myself to work on it. It's not difficult knitting, in fact, most of it is stockinette. Maybe I'll sit down with it tomorrow and just bang it out. I really want to get to the sleeves, for some reason. I was trying to wait for Cara to start her Log Cabin KAL, but since I have a deadline on this, I started mine a bit early. Maybe she'll still let me play. I haven't quite finished my first square yet, but I probably could today if I work on it during the show. Binding off loosely is a very important skill for this particular pattern, I've learned. Otherwise, I can't pick up the stitches again in the dark booth! I'm using three colours of Homespun that I had in my stash - Cobalt (blue/purple), Florida Keys (green), and Covered Bridge (red). Not a combination that I would naturally pick out, but I kind of like it. Far more colourful that pretty much everything else I'm knitting right now. I keep switching back and forth between the Cloverleaf and the afghan square for show knitting.

One matinee today, then understudy rehearsal tonight (which should go fairly quickly) and then TWO days off! We are getting Tuesday off because of the Fourth (the Equity folk decided that they would rather have the Fourth as their day off, so many of them are actually in rehearsal or performance tomorrow, which is strange), but because I'm in a performance schedule right now, and Anna doesn't have a show or rehearsal tomorrow, I get Monday off as well! Yay!