Quickest sock ever...

First Column sock is done. I'm down in Fullerton with Steve for a week, and no camera, so no pics. It's mostly p2k3 ribbing except for the center front, which is where the pattern reverses and makes a larger column down the center front.

I think this is the fastest I've ever done a sock - started May 7 and, with a bit of frogging when I changed patterns, finished May 18. Let's see if I can get the second one.

Btw, congrats to Rob, who won the 2000 sock package over on Amie's Two Thousand Socks KAL!!! I can't wait to see how many we actually get knitted and counted this year!

A visit to the Frog Pond and other Touristy Sites

I've forgotten how exhausting playing tour-guide can be. While it has been a lot of fun having my parents out here to visit (they leave early tomorrow afternoon), I also feel like I have not slept in days. It's the questions, I think, rather than the schedule. I don't know what kind of pretty flower that is. I don't know why the cows are in this field and not that field. I don't know how long strawberry season lasts here. I don't know when the harvest season for the wineries is. This weekend was pretty tame, as I had shows for most of it. Sunday, my parents, Steve, and I headed south to a really truly amazing steakhouse. Really. Truly. Amazing. Yum. Have to save up so we can go again. Yesterday, we did some of the wine tour stuff. We hit three vineyards and ended up with five bottles of wine. We decided that since we had the wine, we would make dinner at my apartment. Making dinner requires having food at the apartment. Hence the time for the birthday present. I now have no excuse to not eat for the next year and a half (approximately). And not just eat. Eat well. Today was spent down in Solvang doing the touristy thing and then we made the rash decision to stop by one of the produce stands and get fresh strawberries for smoothies. Dad mentions that the perfect meal for the evening would be homemade bread and fresh strawberry jam. I should take this moment to point out that I was eleven years old before I realized that other people BOUGHT jams and jellies in the grocery store. I seriously and honestly cannot recall a time when there was a jam jar in our house that had any label on it besides Dad's handwriting dictating what kind of fruit and what year it was made. Ever. So I was NOT ABOUT to disagree with him there. After another grocery store run and a run to Target (I am very sick of shopping right now, btw), we have fresh bread, homemade jam, and wine for dinner. (Yes, I have extra jars of jam. No, I am not giving any of these out quite yet. It's too good.) And more questions.

Oh, and the Cleo halter is journeying to the frog pond as we speak. I was not ever going to wear it in the stiff double-stranded cotton state it was in, so why not use the perfectly good yarn for something else? No idea what, I just needed to frog something, and it poked its head up out of the WIP basket. I showed Mom a pic of Ene's Scarf, and she really liked it but "didn't know when she would use something like that". So now I'm not sure if I should make it for her or not. I pointed out that I use my Lady almost every day at work, and Dad said that she could use it for sitting on the porch in the mornings when it was cooler. She's thinking about it. I'm going to ask her for a real opinion tomorrow before she leaves, because I don't want to make it "for her" if she won't use it. (I'll make it for me, in that case!) Continuing work on the first Column sock. The heel turned with no problems whatsoever, reinforcing my belief in the cursed Jaywalker yarn. I found one of Nancy Bush's sock books in the bookstore the other day and was amused and yet slightly disappointed to see several sock patterns very similar to my Columns in there. I guess it's hard to be truly original in ribbing. I did, despite my mother's dubious looks, pick up a copy of The Yarn Harlot's Knitting Rules! I love reading through it so far! Mom needs to read the first chapter about explaining knitting to non-knitters. She appreciates the fact that I knit and enjoy knitting (heck, she does cross-stitch, and there is absolutely no practical use for that, so she can't really complain), but she doesn't "get" why I think it is perfectly okay to carry a half-finished sock around with me "just in case". Parents!

Not about knitting...

Parents got in about five hours later than expected last night, but are here safe and sound. Apparently they spent the day exploring the beaches and restaurants up north, since I have two shows on Saturdays.

Steve is finishing up a gig and then driving up here tonight. He's anticipating getting in around four in the morning. I'd ALMOST rather him stay down there and sleep, but then there is no way he'd make it up here in time for the show. He's already seen it once, but we have had plans for about three months now to take my parents out to dinner at a restaurant we've been DYING to go to, and the only day he could possibly come up is tomorrow, and this is a very nice, last-minute gig. Send safe driving and staying-awake thoughts to him tonight, if you get a chance to read this.

One of our YPs broke his ankle hiking with friends this morning, so had to figure out how to cover his track (none of the YPs except Oliver are understudied, which I SAID was a bad idea from the beginning!) before the show this afternoon. It takes three people to cover his track. Only in theater. (If you're taking notes, this is why it is a BAD IDEA to understudy from within, btw.) At least he broke it somewhere other than at the theater - the insurance and paperwork would have been a nightmare!

Starting the heel on the Column sock. That's all that has gotten worked on lately because I can work on it during the show =P

Report

So laundry is done. Kitchen and bathroom are cleaned. A few more rows of Rogue are done. Several more rows of the sock is done. The KYOA Pi is languishing. I just can't bring myself to work on it right now, even though I have enjoyed the project so far. My brain is going "Ack! Lace! I'll have to think about THAT!" and refuses. I keep trying to tell it that the Clues I've picked so far have been very simple lace patterns (in fact, this one is almost all stockinette), but it still refuses to listen to me. Somehow the cables for the Rogue are easier to process. Hell if I know why. I tried to take pics of the sock, but I can't get the colours right or the ribbing to show up enough to be of any interest whatsoever. There isn't really enough of the Rogue right now to take a pic of. I'm on row 11. I'll get to start the kangaroo pocket soon!

Got to jump in the shower. I got my hair chopped off again this afternoon. Still not sure if I like it or not. The whole "bangs" thing is new to me again.

Mom and Dad's flight was late, so I'm going to pick them up from the airport after the show tonight. Should be fun. My "birthday present" from my cast (kidding! the cast is really great) yesterday was to have one of my ensemble guys go out with a bum foot and one of the swings who was already in for another ensemble guy with a bum wrist went out with a bum arm. And they choose to tell me about all of this twenty minutes before we open the house. Sigh. At least photo call went smoothly.

Oh, and I got the most absolutely cutest birthday card from my boss. Kittens and yarn, can't miss! She also gave me a really great huge Minnie Mouse beach towel (she knows I'm getting back into swimming), my ASMs got me this huge balloon and another bag of Starbursts (can we see a pattern here? I LOVE Starbursts!) and my parents are going to "gift" me by stocking my kitchen with real food this week! And recipes, too! Yay!

k, really off to shower now!

So...

My accomplishments for today:
1. Not killing a specific crew member who has been whining all week and driving all of us crazy.

2. Four more rows of Clue #3c done on KYOA Pi.

3. Three more rows of Rogue done.

4. No idea how many rows of first sock done during the show. I'm going with a rib pattern that I'm sure ten billion people have done and copyrighted and posted somewhere on the internet, but I personally am calling it "Columns". Basically, for the foot, it is k2, [p2,k3] 3 times, [k3,p2] 3 times, k2 on the instep and stockinette sole. For the leg, I'm either going to repeat the foot twice and have the wide column up the front and back center of the leg (not wild about, but it's an idea) or I'll keep the front the same as the foot and do k2, [p2,k3] 2 times, p2, k2, p2, k2, p2, [k3,p2] 2 times, k2 on the back. I would say I'm about a third of the way through the foot, and I'll probably work more on it before I go to sleep.

5. Four loads of laundry done (but as yet unfolded).

6. Car cleaned out of trash, old prompt books, and other things that really can live in the garage that I forget we have now.

7. One load of dishes done in the dishwasher (but as yet still not put away).

8. One pan of cookie-squares baked. Only one cookie bar was taste-tested and I didn't eat all the dough!

9. 700m (28 lengths) swim workout, plus a short water exercise workout for legs. (My shoulders and triceps are protesting - I just started swimming again after not really doing it as a workout in about six years.)

10. Listened to the Cubs win!

Not bad!

To do for tomorrow:
Work up the photo call list for tomorrow night (What a really delightful birthday present - a photo call! Yes, that IS sarcasm.)
Vaccuum
Do the dishes from making cookies
Fold the laundry
Put dishes in the dishwasher away
Call Hitching Post and change reservations for Sunday from 5 people to 4 people (my brother isn't coming out with my parents - he has finals next week and can't miss)
Knit!
Celebrate being 25 years old...wait, I can start doing that now! (Okay, so technically, I should wait until 5:10p but who wants to wait that long for a birthday??)

Time Management

Okay, so what do you do when you have three projects you are equally enthused about, plus you have a show going, plus you have your parents coming out to visit for the first time ever this weekend (meaning, I really should clean up the apartment and clean out my car at some point - this is the first time they have visited me since I moved to California three years ago now)?? Oh, and you're trying to get back into a workout groove? And you want to play games online? And you're inherently procrastinitic (yes, I just made that word up)?

So much I want to do vs. what I need to get done!

Oh, instead of doing the fluted banister socks, which I still really like, but don't feel like doing cuff-down and the pattern isn't quite working for me with the colours, I'm thinking of doing some other rib variation. Possibly something more similar to the pattern of the Rainy Day scarf or Amy Boogie's 52 Toe Ups. Just playing. It's a bit...liberating to think "I don't HAVE to find someone else's pattern!" On the other hand, I'm not particularly creative. Oh, and the whole lace sock thing - can someone help me out? Would having YO holes (I'm sorry "eyelets") make your socks less warm? I love the Mata Hari socks over on Grumperina's blog, but the whole eyelet thing makes me cringe a bit.

Yes, I'm being rude by not linking to any of the people, patterns or sites I am mentioning right now. I had a brat mat this morning and I'm tired. I think the socks and I will go stretch out in bed now while I try to work out an interesting ribbing pattern.

Maybe she'll finally shut up now...

Because she's wearing her Jaywalkers! Finally! The second sock was finished Sunday night, after doing a show and driving four hours down to Fullerton to see the boy, only to discover that the call he was on that was supposed to end at nine was going until midnight. (I got my birthday present (May 11) that night, too - a rice cooker/food steamer, The Notebook on DVD, a bag of Starbursts and a rose!! Yay!! Can't wait to try out these new recipes!!! Yes, I'm strange, I do enjoy getting gifts that plug into kitchen outlets.) Anyway, you don't care about that, you want to see the socks.


Ta da! (Pay no attention to the whiteness of my legs. Why, yes, Colleen, that IS the start of the Rogue in the bag by my feet.) Okay, so there are still issues with the second one's heel. It is an afterthought, which is a nice technique, but I did have some problems with it. First and probably foremost, it's not such a great heel to use when you've already messed up and put a pattern on the sole of the sock, because then you have to deal with stitches that are in a pattern already. Next time, I will make sure that the sole is stockinette. Second, I hate and suck at picking up stitches. (Yes, I know, I just did a whole entrelac stole. I still hate picking up stitches.) Picking up the actual stitches from the sock was fine but no matter what number of stitches I pick up on the sides, it isn't right. I either have too few and get a hole, or too many and get this extra streak of knitting down the side of the heel. Will have to get better at that. I could see afterthought heels translating very easily to two socks at a time and doing both heels at the same time afterwards, so I do want to try this one again. Jaywalker socks were done in KnitPicks Dancing, Jig colourway. It's a decent yarn, a bit hard on the hands, but softens up after washing. I will use it again, as I like the colourways of it, and I have more in the stash already.

Started the Fluted Bannisters Sunday night, as well, and have the toe of the first one done. Bearfoot...my god, I love that yarn! So soft! Soft, I say! Particularly after the "sock yarn" mix of the Dancing, the 100% superwash wool is heaven on the hands. The Mountain Tango colourway is growing on me, too. I got it from a lady on KR who was destashing and even though I wasn't wild about the colour at the time, it was a good price and I had really wanted to try some of it. I'm ending up really liking it! Who knew?! I'm going to get these started and then get back to the poor KYOA Pi, who has been all but totally neglected this week and I am now officially a clue behind. I told my grandmother that I wanted to have it done by June (she knows I'm working on it, but doesn't know it is for her), so I'm not terribly behind yet, but it's going to start piling up fast!

As much as I hate to say it, Rogue can probably wait for a bit.

Sock whore

I admit, my head gets totally turned by new patterns and yarn. And I don't knit socks all that quickly, as you've probably figured out, so WHY this happens, I have no idea. The latest pronounecements from the Mount:

1. Bearfoot shall not be used for hippo socks. It just wasn't striking me as the "right" colourway for that pattern. Bearfoot shall now become Fluted Banister socks. This pattern just seems to suit the colourway better, and I can't wait to get started on them! This will be my next sock project. I think I will, again, modify it to a toe-up.

2. My Spunky Eclectic yarn shall be used for hippo socks. That does strike me as a fun colourway for those. They will be worked on after the Bearfoot.

3. Jaywalkers have about seven more rows left of the pattern, then the cuff ribbing and the heel. SOOO close! (I'm honestly not dragging them out in order to get closer to the loot-getting numbers of the 2000 Socks KAL over at Amie's. I swear, I am not that intelligent!) I'm really liking this whole afterthought-heel thing so far. I might try it again. I'd really love to have these guys done by the end of the weekend.

I must now suffer upon myself a pilgrimage (sp??) to my LYS in search of another size 5 circular needle. The KYOA Pi is too big to ML, but not yet big enough to work completely circularly. *sigh* Rogue is coming along extremely well. I'm having the teeniest trouble with laddering along the beginning-of-row marker, for some reason, and had to redo the first cable row, but I think it's going to be okay.

Now my Cubbies just need to start winning again and I need another pair of hands and an extra set of eyes so I can do this Guild Wars mission and knit at the same time.

Knitting and Gaming

Don't normally mix very well. Online gaming, that is. Mostly because you need both hands to play and to knit. You see, the new chapter of Guild Wars, called Factions, just came out this weekend and is hella cool. I love the graphics (seriously, I play the game to sight-see. It is truly a beautiful game), the design, the functionality, the THOUGHT that they put into this game. And, no monthly pay-to-play fee. Steve and I both bought the first chapter as soon as it came out (we each buy copies of games we like so we can play at the same time), and I've enjoyed it, but kind of dropped off playing because of knitting. I decided when the new chapter came out, I'd put it off, since I hadn't even come close to finishing the first one, but Steve got his copy of it and I got a chance to play it this weekend. I really love that game. Now I miss it. But I miss Rogue and Jaywalkers and KYOA Pi, too. So now I'm having this dilemma. Knit, or game? How to resolve this???

Oh, and look what was waiting at my front door when I got home last night:

I absolutely cannot wait to play with this sock yarn! I love the colors, and it is so soft! I don't really consider myself a yarn whore, but I was thisclose to using it for my next sock project. Then my Bearfoot started sulking quietly and I felt sorry for it and realized that I hadn't kept any of my promises to it (I've had it for about six months now and not touched it). So now the new yarn is balled up and resting comfortably (thanks to the new winder and swift), and the Bearfoot is near my elbow, patiently waiting for me to finish up the last couple inches and heel on Jay and finally, finally cast it on for something.

Oh, and I had this idea for another sweater yesterday...you SEE my problem?? So many patterns, so little time, and now another addiction is worming its way back in my head! Argghh!

Oh, and a random thought: The Last Five Years is a musical/opera (technically, there's no dialogue) everyone should see and a soundtrack everyone should have. It's short, sweet, and really makes you think about how relationships work. We did it here two years ago, and I have been in love with it ever since. I was listening to it on the way down to L.A. Sunday, and it's still in my head.

Gotta go sit through a production meeting and a check-in with my supervisor. Maybe one of these days she'll realize I'm not a student or intern anymore. Oh well. Knitting and playing later.

Weekend Quickie

So, very quickly, before I have to run and figure out who can cover a sick mic runner's track for two performances today and make sure that the rest of my cast and crew is healthier than they were yesterday (we sent one crew member home, another was sick, and two swings went on in modified tracks due to injured arms for their overstudies, oy! Not to mention that last night was apparently pant-ripping-night and kept the poor wardrobe people hopping. Geez!), I did indeed CO for Rogue last night. (No pics yet. Think of a CO row and one row of twisted stockinette in the round in a heathery medium blue. That's all there is so far.) I was so nervous about it, I don't know why. I re-swatched (not only did I swatch for a project, but I swatched TWICE for a project!) and am spot on for gauge. Still needed a glass of wine before I could actually do the CO. (BTW, I cannot cast-on loosely for ANYTHING. I might still rip it out and do a provisional CO, as it is very tight on the needles still.) Will keep you updated as I go, but I probably won't get to work on it again until dinner. Jaywalker is my current theater project, and he has been much better since he recieved his letter and we straightened things out.

Alright, off to a YP choreography cleanup, and figuring out how many crew members need to be covered today. And I have to get lunch at some point, too.

FO #2 for April and Post #2 for the day

Grr...Blogger ate my first post, so I have to remember all of the witty comments I made. Oh right, I didn't have any. Anyway, as promised:

Project Specs
Pattern: The Incredible Custom Fit Top-Down Raglan Sweater
Source: Fmarrs
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft, 100% acrylic, 1 skein each Off White, Light Sage, Dark Sage (there were leftovers of each colour)
Needles: 2 US 7 circular (1 used for the body, 2 used for sleeves)
Gauge: 6 stitches/7 rows per inch
Notes:
-This is a great first sweater pattern. It is clear, concise, and non-intimidating. It is also somewhat boringly simple. I added the colour changes and the faux-Fair Isle rows for the changes to make it somewhat more interesting.
-From the beginning this sweater kept telling me that it wanted to be short-sleeved. It just looks right to me, so I let it talk me into it.
-It is slightly too big due to the fact that when I swatched, I could have sworn I got 7 stitches per inch, and so I made all my calculations based on that number instead of 6. It wasn't until I hit the dark green stripe that I bothered to check my gauge and got the surprise. I checked various places throughout, and I seem to be pretty consistent with the 6 sts/in. I guess I just can't count. Oh well, all good wearing around the house comfy sweaters are oversized.
-I will probably rip out the hem and add a couple more inches of stockinette to the dark green band at some point. Not in the immediate future, though.

We all know what this means, right? Rogue is just around the corner! As soon as I have time to CO!!

A Letter to a Sock

Dear Jay,
You and I have been going 'round and 'round with each other for several weeks now. We had even worked out a peace treaty: you would not mess with my stitch count anymore, and I would live quietly with the holes by the heels that you kept insisting on. I held up my end of the bargain, and I thought I could trust you to do the same. But you've been increasing the stitches again! There were five extra stitches on one round yesterday! Not only is this an unacceptable violation of our peace treaty, but I have yet to figure out how and where this treason began. Honestly, your deviousness never ceases to amaze me. As punishment, you have been sentenced to being frogged back to the heel and will be used as an experiment for an afterthought heel. I know this may seem cruel and unusual, but as you and your heel have been battling with me every step of the way, I see no choice but to seperate the two of you and go with a "divide and conquer" mentality. Your mate is beautiful, quiet, clean, ready, and eager to be worn with you and treated with the respect all handknit socks deserve. Yet you are denying yourself, and your mate, that respect by being so recalcitrant and stubborn. You are actually fitting better than your mate, and I so want to be able to wear the pair of you, so I will not make empty threats such as "this is your last chance!" However, if you do give me any more grief, I will move on to a new sock project and shall hide you in some dark, isolated corner at the bottom of the WIP crate, to be released only when I remember your sorry presence and take pity. I have enough sock yarn and needles to make sure that this could be a very long time. Please think that over carefully the next time you decide to have a bit of fun.

Sincerely,
kt

Oh, and I am also finishing the raglan today. Pics will be up later. There is some talk of frogging the body back and adding a couple more inches of the dark green in order to balance the stripes out more. (Actually, I'm pretty sure I will do that, but I want to get the sleeves done first so I can claim I have a completed sweater.)I will see what it looks like with jeans first. I did decide to go with short sleeves. It just looks and feels right. And I have hemmed and hawed and finally settled on Selection A "Daffodil" for this week's KYOAMPi Clue. I need to reset my stitch markers for the 36st repeat instead of a 24st one. I'm really really enjoying this shawl, and am starting to get nervous because it hasn't caused me too many problems so far. It's probably waiting until I get to the border or something and then will pounce. I wonder when Amy Boogie's first Sock Club yarn will ship. Can't wait!

Baseball season

You, as a reasonably intelligent person, or at least a literate one, have probably deduced from my side bar that I have an interest in the Chicago Cubs. I'd like to clarify that. I am a DIE HARD CUB FAN! I miss three things from the Midwest: my family, thunderstorms, and Cubs games. We always tried to make it to a ball game at least once a season. My mom's bosses are die hard Cardinals fans, which is allowed when you live in Central Illinois, almost exactly halfway between Chicago and St. Louis, and they would always have Cardinal tickets we could use. I've been to many a game at Busch Stadium. I've even been to a few at Dodger Stadium down in LA. Both are very nice fields, and I enjoyed watching the games there. But nothing, absolutely nothing, beats Wrigley Field. (Red Sox fans are the only ones who might be able to claim similarity, I will concede that possibility having never been to Boston. Someday, though, and Wrigley will still be better!) I can't even WATCH games on TV out here, because it's not a local team so none of the local syndicates pick them up unless they are playing somewhere west of the Rockies, and then it's a crapshoot unless they are playing the Dodgers or Giants. That, and I don't have a television hooked up anyway. (I've been seriously considering signing up for MLB.com, where you can watch any game online, but it is HELLA expensive!) However, the full glory of the XM radio my parents gave me as a Christmas gift has now been revealed. I can listen to every Cubs game that doesn't overlap with a show! It's brilliant! I love it! I loved the radio before, but this takes it to new heights! I am so excited! It's really really fun to knit to, although sometimes I have to put the knitting down because I get too excited. Instead of calling each other up and saying "Oh hey, did you catch that episode of ?", my mom and I call each other up for "Did you catch that GAME?? Did you see that PLAY?? Can you BELIEVE it?!?!" and then tell each other to be quiet so we can hear the announcers on our respective medias in the background. We're insane, yeah. But I gotta say it - I LOVE baseball season!! And my Cubbies are currently doing pretty darn good. GO CUBS!!!

USPS

Okay, the bad thing about USPS shipping is that their tracking and notification system really sucks. Despite multiple attempts and requests to have email notifications, I have never been able to track a package (either recieving or sending) past "The USPS has recieved notification that your package is being shipped." The good thing is that it makes for some pleasant surprises. Such as...

My new bag from Amy Boogie's Spunky Eclectic. Isn't it great?! The colours are little off due to the flash, but I LOVE it! Thanks, Amy!!!!

And, for the curious:

A lovely wad of blue/purple lace yarn! (Please, hold your applause until after the performance!) So this is the start of my KYOA Pi Shawl. I'm about halfway through the second clue. I did Choice B last week for the first lace band and Choice A this week for the second. I'm really enjoying this so far - I've never really been intimidated by lace itself, but more of the sheer size of pi shawls. Would I have the patience for one? What if I started it and hated it and never finished it?? What if I really &*$%$!! it up and it looked terrible?? But somehow, this whole week to week thing seems to put it in a more manageable perspective. I'm not real great about knitting to deadlines, but it's nice to be getting the chunks of it and feel like I'm not trying to eat the entire elephant in one big gulp. I'm sure the "week at a time" euphoria will wear off when we start getting into 50 and 90 rows a week!

Rogue keeps whispering in my ear. She wants to get started. I have one more round of ribbing on the body of the raglan, and then the sleeves. I might be able to get that finished on Monday, if I behave myself. Jaywalker #2 and I have reached an agreement. He (these socks are definitely male, don't ask me why) can keep the damn holes where the heels join the rest of the body if he doesn't funk up the stitch count for the leg again and lets me knit peacefully. I'm not telling him that I'm hoping the holes will shrink some when he gets washed. We'll just keep that little thought to ourselves...

A pretty darn good day

The good news is that it is 11:15p.m. and I have already been home for 45 minutes! Gotta love Thursday early shows, even if they do have strange energies because they are at weird hours of the evening. And, my understudy rehearsal for Sunday might not happen, due to our poor Oliver understudy being sick AND auditioning for a role in New York. AND, next Thursday's incredibly odd (definitely not regularly scheduled) matinee is cancelled (which means that understudy rehearsal will probably go there instead, but it's a rehearsal I can schedule whenever, not a performance, and then DONE). AND my Boogie bag shipped today (that's what I'm calling it for now, as opposed to a Booga bag, which is what I made for my mama). AND the second clue for the KYOA Mystery Pi Shawl comes out on Thursday nights for me, because of the time zone difference. So I'm curled up at home, on Thursday night, with a pre-mixed mudslide, an internet connection (rare after about 10pm, the guy I'm borrowing it from must be staying up late tonight), AND a potential THREE hours of knitting time before I have to sleep at what I consider a decent hour. I even got some work done (okay, a row and a half) done on the Sock That Shall Not Be Named. (Hey, maybe I'll read Harry Potter again tonight. Oh, I think I figured out why they're cursed. The socks, I mean, not Harry Potter. He has all sorts of non-sock-related problems of his own. I think all the bad vibes and frustration during tech somehow wound their way in amongst the fibers. Maybe if I work on it in a soothing environment for a few days it will work itself out?)

@$@%^&

Stupid Jaywalkers. I'm so over these socks. The only reason I continue working on them is so I will have a pair that I can throw at someone. I don't even ever have to wear the damn things, I just want them done so they don't beat me, if that makes any sense. One is done, washed, and resting quietly on the desk. The other is on the needles and is fighting me every damn step of the way. Give me some ^&*#$@ slack here! The heel is done, after having been frogged twice. I go to restart the pattern, and I'm soo off my stitch count. Now I have to tink back, repick up the final row of the heel, and try to start the damn thing all over again. Honestly, if I hadn't already finished the one, I'd frog the entire pair and start with something new. I'm going to use my Bearfoot for my hippo socks, and those are AWFULLY tempting right now! It's really not the Jaywalker pattern itself, I just really think that I have some cursed yarn, as this one has been arguing with me every chance it gets. How to get rid of it??

Oh, and my box o' goodies came from Knitting Warehouse today. Yay! So now I have the needles and yarn for Rogue, the needles for Pomatomus, the winder and swift to get the yarn for Ene wound...Must...finish...Jaywalkers and Raglan before starting Pomatomus and Rogue...and I frogged and redid the first clue for the KYOA Pi. It looks much better, if I do say so myself.

Resistance is futile...

I think my willpower went the way of Oliver! rehearsals. Seriously, I have none right now. As you know, I recently indulged at Knitting Warehouse.com. I bought a custom bag from Amy. Both of those were indulgences that I had been semi-planning for, so they are okay. (I've been drooling over Amy's bags for months now. Months, I say!) I innocently went to check her blog today, and she is starting a Sock of the Month club. I need sock yarn like I need a hole in my head. It takes me forever to make socks. I have enough yarn for EIGHT pairs of socks already. But for some reason, the lure of homespun and hand-dyed sock yarn in a surprise array of colours (she's doing Project Spectrum, so green is this month's...I love green...and blue is next month's...I love blue, too....) is just too tempting. I had to. Now I just have to learn to make socks faster. It would help if I would stop posting here and finish the heel that I totally messed up last night.

Oh, and yeah, the lack of willpower extends to other areas of my life, right now, as well. Brownies stand no chance. Particularly turtle brownies with walnuts and caramel. Steve asked if I could stay one more day and leave tomorrow. Of course, I can't say no to that, even if my box of Knitting Warehouse goodies is patiently waiting for me at home. This whole semi-vacation thing is getting to me, I think, I'm definitely losing it...

EZ as Pi

I'm doing the Knit Your Own Adventure Pi from that Yahoo group instead of Ene's Scarf. I'm using KnitPicks Shadow in Jewels - I've been planning on using it for a pi shawl, but it always seemed so intimidating. Getting the clues once a week makes it seem more manageable somehow. I've already done the first week's clue with Choice B. I can't wait to get next week's! If I have enough clues finished by the time my parents come out to visit, I will send the shawl back with them to give to my great-grandmother. She's so excited and supportive about my knitting, and it's worth it to give something extraordinary to her. I'm so nervous about screwing it up - I've already considered frogging it and redoing what I've done, just to be sure that it's perfect. It really looks fine, but I keep telling myself that now would be the time to frog it if I wanted to fix anything...

Finishing up the heel of the second Jaywalker tonight, I hope. I'm visiting Steve down in Fullerton for a couple days, and only have the Pi and the Jaywalker with me. I will try to use the rest of the week to finish up Jaywalker and the ribbing of the Raglan. I'm planning on getting home tomorrow, and my yarn for Rogue, plus my ball winder and all those goodies should be waiting for me, as well. Now if only Steve could come home with me...

Oh, and did I mention that on top of all my other goodies, I'm also getting a custom bag from Spunky Eclectic. I can't wait! Amy has been soo great to work with, helping me figure out exactly what I wanted and needed, and the mock up bag looks great! I highly recommend her!

Knit Your Own Adventure

So I was checking out the EZasPi Yahoo group the other day. They are starting something called the Knit Your Own Adventure Pi Shawl. Clues are posted once a week, and there are four options per clue. They started today. I haven't gotten a chance to really look over any of the four options, but I've really been wanting to use that KnitPicks Shadow in Jewels for a Pi, so I'm looking at this as my opportunity. I do have one or two balls of that wound already, so I may start working on that instead of Ene this week. (FOUR days off for Easter! WOOOOOO!!) We shall see. Oh, and finally got to the ribbing on the bottom of the raglan. Yay!

Is it just me...

Or is the latest issue of Knitty a bit disappointing? I've been so looking forward to their spring issue, and normally I find one or two things that I really like in each "publishing", but this one didn't really have anything I liked. The Hedera socks are kinda cute, and so is the Reid toddler cardigan, but I don't have any toddlers to knit for. I dunno, maybe it's just me. This is not to say that there isn't anything worth knitting in there, just that nothing that strikes my fancy in particular, which is somewhat bumming.

But my order will get here on Monday. Too bad I'll be out of town snuggling with my boy (who is coming up Friday and spending the weekend so he can see Opening, yay!). If he doesn't have to be at his show's strike on Sunday, maybe I can convince him to wait and we'll go back down to LA on Monday afternoon after my package arrives....nah, he's worth more than the package any day!

Oh, and the first Jaywalker was finished Monday. It's just slightly too big, but I haven't washed it yet. The second one was the one that had laughed so hard that it dropped stitches, if you'll recall, and was a right pain in the arse to get back on the needles and to a point I could actually work on it. One of those that when you pick it back up, you go "What the HELL was I thinking/drinking last time I touched this???" I think I've finally beaten it down and gotten it under control, though. Next socks will be cuff down, just for a change of pace, and a possibly a gusset heel, to see which one I like better.

Yay, shopping!

Yeah, so that list I posted the other day...well, I still don't *HAVE* them, but they're on their way! I know, most of this stuff I could have gone over to Michaels and bought, but it's my day off, my throat hurts, and I don't want to change out of my pj's. So there. (Not that being in my pjs would have stopped me from going to the store, it was mostly the sore throat and general laziness.)

I found Knitting-Warehouse.com this afternoon and decided to check their prices on ball winders and swifts. Considerably cheaper than what I was finding elsewhere online and even on eBay, so I popped those into the old shopping cart. Hell, it's a knitting warehouse, right, I have a show opening in a week that I can give myself a congratulatory gift for (yay, I didn't kill anyone!), and I need some dpns...size 2 Silvalumes, lovely. Oh, and they have Silverado circs in the two sizes I've been looking for and are always sold out. (Yes, I like metal needles, particularly smaller sizes. I've broken too many bamboo and wooden ones!) And now that I have the 100% wool Lady, I'll need something to wash her with, so the Eucalan wound its way in. Ah, and a row counter I can use on my circular knitting. Oh, and they have the yarn that I wanted to make Rogue out of on sale! (I might be considered cheap by some, but I really enjoy Lion Brand's Wool-Ease. It drapes very similarly to 100% wool, doesn't feel itchy, is worsted weight, comes in a bajillion colours, and most importantly, is machine washable. And their Blue Heather has fixed itself into my head as the Rogue yarn since I saw it in the store the other day.) Ahhh....about the only thing I didn't find and buy was a blocking board. Mostly because I looked at a couple, and their prices, and will ask Steve to make me one when he gets access to a shop again. Hell, I could make it here at home, even, all I'd need is some padding, a couple pieces of luan or something I could use as backing, a clean large piece of fabric, a marking pen, a yardstick, and some glue and staples.

So my goals for today were to clean the apartment, set an appointment to get my windshield fixed, finish the cuff on the first Jaywalker, try on the raglan sweater for length, and swatch for Rogue with some scrap Wool-Ease. The apartment is half clean, my windshield is getting fixed on Wednesday morning, I've taken the sweater off the needles and onto scrap yarn, and I've decided size 7 needles are too small for gauge. (Aren't you proud of me, I'm REALLY swatching this time!) So cuff, continuing to swatch, and try on the sweater. Yeah, and folding and putting away laundry and washing three dishes and wiping down counters. Oh, and KnitPicks no longer has any Violet Shine in the dyelot that I need, so I don't have the yarn for Tempting like I thought I did. It's been a good day nevertheless!

Oh, and I did bid (insanely low) on a ball winder and a swift over on eBay before I found the ones I ordered. If I for some reason win these bids, I will have an extra ball winder and swift I'd be willing to swap for something. Or someone could just outbid me...

Right, and the whole plan for CO Ene today...well, ahh, it kinda hit me last night/this morning (it might 2 in the morning, but it's before I went to bed, so it's still last night) that I need at least the winder BEFORE I can start working on Ene, as her yarn is still twisted in hanks. Oops...

Shopping List

Alright, I really need:
1. a ball winder and swift (my ball winder, sadly, was the only casualty of the move and a swift would just be useful to have)

2. a 32" US6 circular needle (preferably Inox, as I love their tips for lace, Addis are a bit dull)

3. one more skein of KnitPick's Shine in Violet (so I have enough for Tempting II)

4. a blocking board that has measurements and lines and stuff on it (I wanted to post a pic of the Lady stretched out, but realized that I can't even draw a straight line, much less pin something into one. It was drunken looking, to say the least)

5. a set of US2 dpns (as much as I love ML, and my size 2 Inox, hippo socks - as they shall now be known thanks to Colleen - look like they might be easier on dpns)

The LYS here in Santa Maria kinda sucks, but I could definitely get the needles there. They're out of ball winders and swifts, and I have no idea where to find a blocking board besides online. This may be a Monday project. Now back to our regularly scheduled technical problems.

Decisions...

Cool, so I finally have a FO for the year. I was thinking this morning (it was painful, so I tried to stop but it kept nagging me) that the current lineup I have kinda works for me. I have a scarf/wrap project, a shirt/sweater project, and socks. Now that the Lady is done, my next scarf is going to be Ene's Scarf - I'm going to try to CO Monday. (I'll need something to recover from tech this weekend!)

The raglan sweater is almost done as well, I have a couple more inches on the body, and then have the sleeves, which won't take me too long. I'm pondering what I want my next sweater/shirt to be. Do I go for something summery (and that I have the yarn for already) like Tempting II, Honeymoon Cami, or the Waikiki T-Strap top that I've hoarded the yarn for for over a year now? Or do I realize that I no longer live in SoCal, that the Central Coast does not get THAT warm during the summers (the trade off for never getting too cold in the winters. It's normally 55-75 degrees ALL year, which is not a warm summer if you're used to SoCal or the Midwest), and that even if it did get warm, I'm going to be spending the summer inside rehearsal rooms and the theater with the airconditioning anyway, and make a Rogue or Ribby Cardi?

And what on earth is my next sock project going to be? I really want to play with my Bearfoot next, but want a pattern that will show off the colours and not get lost. Maybe Broadripples? Opinions will be treated with enthusiasm.

Drumroll, please....

Presenting...



Yes, the Lady Eleanor finally makes her debut on my website! Her knitting was finished at 12:04a.m. Tuesday, April 4. She spent the night stretched to all hell and back blocking on my living room floor, and her fringe was added this afternoon. Hey, it's only 32 days after the deadline...better late than never, yes?

Posting delayed due to unstable internet connection and lack of pictures on the computer at work.

Project Specs:
Name: Lady Eleanor
Pattern Source: Scarf Style by Pam Allen, design by Kathleen Power Johnson.
Yarn: Noro Kureyon, colour #134, bought from Ebay, 10 skeins (used most of it, but not all)
Needles: Boye #10 circs
Size: approx. 20" wide x 80" long (not including fringe)
Started: February 10, 2006 Completed: April 4, 2006

Notes:
-In all honesty, I could have had this done in time for the Olympics had I not been trying to move 300 miles in the meantime. It is a very easy knit, and the pattern is very clear and helpful. I've had it about 90% done for over a month before I could finally finish it.
-If I ever made this again, which is a possibility but not in the near future, I'd go with bigger needles for a more open look, and a larger scarf/stole. I would NOT use the Noro ever again if I could help it!
-My fringe is only 15" long as opposed to the 20" in the pattern, and has only six rows of knotwork. I did not trim the ends even as I rather liked the uneven-ness of it.

I'm feeling a bit anticlimatic - the heavens didn't open and pour sunshine down on her or anything! I mean, c'mon! But she was a fun knit, and I'm very glad to have her done and be able to use her during tech this weekend!

Book Meme

Borrowed this meme from Cara. Looking down the list, I realize that I can't really think of any books that I WOULDN'T read. Some of them I just have never heard about, and they wouldn't necessary grab my attention at a bookstore or library - give me murder mysteries and/or fantasy any day - but it's not like I wouldn't read them. I just haven't gotten around to them yet. Oh, and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil should totally be on that list. (Not underlined because someone borrowed my copy and never returned it. Grrr...)

Meme instructions: Look at the list of books below. Bold the ones you've read, italicize the ones you might read, cross out the ones you won't, underline the ones on your book shelf, and place parentheses around the ones you've never even heard of.

The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown It's not on the bookshelf because Steve has it atm.
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams
The Great Gatsby - F.Scott Fitzgerald
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
(His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J. K. Rowling
(Life of Pi - Yann Martel)
Animal Farm: A Fairy Story - George Orwell
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
(The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon)
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
1984 - George Orwell
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J. K. Rowling
(One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
(The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini)
(The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold)
Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
(The Secret History - Donna Tartt)
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C. S. Lewis
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
(Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell)
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
(Atonement - Ian McEwan)
(The Shadow Of The Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon)
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
(The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood)
(The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath)
Dune - Frank Herbert

Determination

I am determined. This is the end of the third month of the year. If you recall, my New Year's resolution was to have an FO each month. So far I have been wildly unsuccessful, although I have three projects in various stages of nearing completion. Hence, the determination. The knitting part of the Lady will be finished by Monday evening. Preferably earlier than that, so I can start blocking her Monday evening, but that remains to be seen. If I do a couple of squares a day/night (before and after work) and then hit it hard Monday, I should be fine. I'm definitely NOT going anywhere this weekend. The past two Mondays I have been out of town, snuggling with my boy down in Orange County. This weekend, I just don't have the energy to make the 9 hour round trip drive in less than 24 hours and spend the night on a couch or floor. It sucks that I won't get to see him, but I know he'll be too tired to make the drive up here for the weekend - he's getting back from USITT and going straight into tech for a show he's designing - in which case I wouldn't be able to spend time with him anyway because of double rehearsals on weekends, and I know I'll be too tired to make the drive down for a day. Transporters totally need to be invented, working, and available to the general public NOW! Or Floo powder or Portkeys or SOMETHING! I want him here, or I want the drive and scheduling to be more convenient. But anyway, enough whining. If I can't have him, I can at least snuggle in with my new paperback (a J.D. Robb collaboration called Bump in the Night) and my knitting.

Venting - Very long, not about knitting, and soley posted to release my own angst

Okay, I work at a professional theater conservatory. This means that, although we do professional shows and are a for-profit company, we are also a two-year school for aspiring actors and theater technicians attached to a local community college. One of the reasons I love my job is because of the teaching opportunities. On this particular show, I have a second year student assigned as one of my assistants. Fairly common, although I had worked with this student before and, although he is pleasant and bright, he is not the most reliable of people, which is a necessary trait in the position he was assigned. Concerns were voiced by myself and some others, and shushed down in the hopes that Student would take this opportunity to prove himself. Concerns were soon proven valid, he has been late, been "sick" on weekends after having been seen partying the night before, and, this weekend,just plain didn't show up for calls without leaving any messages. EVERY time I have reported this to the Powers That Be, an excuse comes up from somewhere that lets him off the hook. This last time, I all but got called a liar to my face, and was told that he HAD called and left a message on MY extension. (They "know" because HE said so, and I have nothing better to do with my time than make up stories to get my students in trouble, you know! Okay, they didn't say that exactly, but that was certainly a subtext I heard.) I ALWAYS check my messages, especially when people are MIA, and there wasn't one. Do they really think that as soon as he didn't show up, and we couldn't get in touch with him, that I wouldn't have checked my phone??? We checked every extension in the office, and there was no message. Not only that, but they are just NOW telling me that I can't call Student in for any office work OR rehearsals this week because of USITT. He's not in Kentucky this week. He is going to his classes. People have seen him. But he's an ASM who is not required to be at rehearsals for a show that opens in two and a half weeks?? And he gets out of it for a WEEK?? Why the HELL was he assigned to this particular show slot, then?? And, why didn't anyone else know about this? The Artistic Director (the head of the company, for the uninitiated) himself didn't even know that. (Yes, I stomped on some toes by going straight to the Artistic Director, as Student's direct supervisors/hierarchy are at USITT this week, so no one else was around, nor did either of them bother getting back in touch with me about the situation until AFTER I went to the Artistic Director.) This is all so frustrating! I mean, I don't want the kid kicked out of the conservatory or to make his life more difficult, but I don't want someone I can't rely on working on this show. Is that so much to ask? He's PROVEN that he is unreliable. I can't make it too much clearer. How am I supposed to work him back into the show now? We are blocking all of Act II this week and running for the first time this weekend. He's missing all of that because of this stupid "USITT release" policy. And then I'm somehow supposed to work him back into the running of the show a week before we go into tech?! Granted, he's basically going to be Furniture Mover, as that's all I could really trust him to do at this point, but it's also the principle of the thing. That kind of conflict would NEVER have been approved for an actor, student or intern, in the conservatory. That kind of conflict would only have been approved for a tech intern or student if they were actually GOING to USITT, because we like our kids and encourage them to go and network and get jobs. Most of the second years are going, along with one first year. But if you're NOT going, and you're not going BECAUSE you're assigned to a show that is currently in rehearsal, is it so totally unreasonable to expect that you should actually BE at those rehearsals?

Unfortunately, it's really turning into an issue that is showing the splits in the company. The Artistic Director, PSM, and Dir. for the Acting Conservatory agree with me that this is a serious situation and we need to look into some other assignment options for Student. The PM and the Dir. for the Tech Conservatory are trying to get it covered up and tell me that I'm making too big of a deal out of this. If this was a real world situation, I'd have fired the kid on the spot when he didn't show up and went incommunicado, especially since this is the THIRD time that I have had to file a concern against him. I've only been here a month now. I was woken up this morning by the PSM (who is at USITT this week along with the DTC and the PM) calling to tip me that the DTC was on the warpath that I had gone over his head. It's a pissing contest, and that irritates the hell out of me.

This has given me a headache already. I need to go knit.

hmm...

I actually had a post thought out and titled and everything in my head last night, but of course, now that I'm logged in, I can't remember any of it. Memory's the second thing to go, y'know. I can't remember what the first is...

The director is insane, but in a good way. She's very fun to work with and cracks us up at least once a night. Very high energy, and kind of flighty, too. I mean, she's done her homework, and she knows what she wants, but she does get distracted easily. Between her, the musical director, and the choreographer (both of whom are ALSO tightly wound/fast inner tempo/however you'd like to put it people), I feel like the only sane, calm, cool, and collected person in the room sometimes! It's a lot of fun, though, and the show is in good shape. We're going to try to stumble through Act One this weekend, so that should be fun.

Spent Monday down in Fullerton with Steve. He had a lighting call in the evening, so I got some more Jaywalking done along with several episodes of Law and Order. Gotta love TNT. Couple more inches on the leg, and then the ribbing, and the first sock of that damn pair will be done. Then I might actually get to report a sock to Amie's 2000-sock count! Finally.

I'm having last-minute terrors of the Lady Eleanor. She's still pretty small right now at 50-odd rows. I should have knit her on 11's instead of 10's. Should I frog and redo? I tell myself no, but she's barely past 60" right now, and I only have one skein left. I'm a tall girl and want it to wrap nicely. I could buy more yarn, but not until after I get a paycheck and my tax refund and...well...you get the idea. Buying yarn is not in the cards right now. Besides, I have tons of it already. Any suggestions what to do with a bunch of WotA? I have three skeins each of about 8 different colours now. Not enough to do anything big with any of the colours, but not sure of nice ways to combine them, other than felted bags and such.

Cleaned the apartment, did dishes, did laundry, finished a props list, and thought I'd get some knitting time in before the ten million meetings I have this afternoon, but this post took up most of it. Oh well. Will do some more tonight after rehearsal.

Top o' the Mornin'!

Okay, so it's afternoon already. Picky, picky.

Yes, I'm Irish (with a whole side of the family named Kelly, how could I not be? I'm also Scottish - McHaney, German - Ottmann, Swedish - Lindbolm, and French - Trummel. Trummel is not pronounced the French way anymore, though, it's been totally Midwestern Americanized. There's also some Native American thrown in there, too, I believe. I'm a pure-bred mutt, as my mom used to say.) Yes, I'm wearing green. No, I will not be imbibing any strangely coloured beers today, unfortunately, as I have rehearsal tonight, and all day tomorrow. Damn responsibilities! And I probably wouldn't, anyway, as I've not met m'self a beer I liked. If it had to be green, you could pass me a Midori sour or five, though.

But just to prevent me from rambling:


and



Happy?

progress

Heel's turned on the first Jaywalker. Finally. Did a short row heel again. I like short row heels. With YOs, instead of wraps. No wraps for heels, please. Lady is stretched out on my living room floor. Still one more skein to do. Raglan is curled up on the floor by the bed. Maybe Monday I'll buy a new e-book or two and work on that and the Lady again all day. It seems about the only time that I can, since I can't carry those two around with me like I can the socks.

Still coughing and sniffling from the cold. Ugh. I'm sure the director thinks I'm this unprofessional stage manager who can't sit for two minutes without making some sort of disgusting noise. Honestly, I can't BREATHE without making some kind of noise. And I'm so sick of Kleenex, you can't imagine.

Gotta go grab a shower and fix some lunch so I can sit through design and production meetings all afternoon before rehearsal. Again, HOW were they expecting me to not go into overtime?? They will probably breathe a sigh of relief when my staff contract kicks in and I go to a salary instead of hourly pay!

TGIM??

Yes, I know, it's crazy. Most of the world looks forward to Fridays and weekends. I look forward to Mondays. Why? Because the reason that most of the world looks forward to weekends is because they don't have to work and can go out and get entertainment. My job is in entertainment. Therefore, we poor saps work while the rest of the known world puts their collective feet up. We don't get time off until after you all have gone grumbling and moaning and "ugh it's Monday"-ing back off to work. Then we proceed to collapse for 24 hours until we get to start all over again. Oh, and because Actors' Equity (the acting union and one of the Powers That Be in the live entertainment world) mandates that actors (and stage managers, who somehow fall under the acting union's aegis, not IATSE, which would be the theater tech union) get one business day off per 7-day time frame so they can do errands like go to the bank, and deal with the rest of you all who work normal work weeks. And I just put in a 60 hour, 7-day work week, and I've had a fairly irritating cold since Thursday, so I'm whiny and very glad it's Monday. Not only is it my normal day off, but I actually CAN'T go into work and get paid for it today. Racked up too many hours already and payroll is going "Erk! Overtime! No more!" Now, I'm not sure how they figured I could do six days a week, with nine 4-hour rehearsal blocks, plus prep and paperwork (there's at least an hour worth of paperwork for each rehearsal), plus attend meetings and deal with my students, WITHOUT going into overtime, but as long as I get paid fairly for the work I do, I don't really care. (BTW, "Food, Glorious Food" is going to be fantastic. So is "Consider Yourself" - think of the choreography for the waiters' dance right before "Hello, Dolly" in the Barbara Streisand movie version. Phenomenal. This show is going to be amazing! Wish I had taken dancing and could be performing in this one!)

This is getting really long already. Anyway, my original thought to share was that, it being Monday, and my sweet, sweet Steve having bought me Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on DVD yesterday when he was visiting ("I know you've had a long week and you aren't feeling good." Steak, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, and green beans ready and waiting for me on my dinner break. "I know you don't like green beans but you're sick and they're good for you, so eat them anyway." Seriously, if he didn't have me hooked on him already, I didn't stand a chance after melting into THAT puddle of "he's wonderful" goo! Too bad he can't stay up here yet. May 26th!), my big plans for the day are watching Harry Potter and working on the Lady. On skein nine of ten!

Well, whaddya know?!

Apparently, I've been purling incorrectly for, well, since I learned to purl, what, two years ago (I'm in my third year of knitting) now! It took learning to knit backwards for the Lady E and Danica and then doing the first heel of a Jaywalker to realize it. I kept wondering why all of a sudden when I purled my stitches got twisted, but when I knit backwards they were fine. I mean, obviously, I know how to purl, and knitting backwards was the problem, right? Umm...no. I pulled out some of my earlier projects to reassure myself. Nope, now that I know what I'm looking for, every other row is twisted in all of my stockinette! I checked three or four different projects, and they're all the same. Why I never realized it before, I have no idea. (It does explain, however, the really cool texture to the heels of my Sockotta socks! I might continue to do that for sock heels.) I do know what a twisted stitch looks like, and I really do know how a stitch *should* be seated on the needle. I guess it has been so long since I've had to do any purling, since most of my projects for the past year have been garter or stockinette in the round, that I just never realized it. It doesn't seem to affect ribbing at all, though, except perhaps to make it tighter on sock cuffs? Could be why I've been having a problem with them being too tight? I checked The Knitter's Handbook, my new Bible, and I Can't Believe I'm Knitting!, and I guess you're supposed to go over the needle and through, not under it and through. It makes sense, I just have to train my hands to do it correctly.

Oh, and I've done another inch or so on the raglan, a couple of squares on the Lady, and am almost done with a heel on the first Jaywalker. The two of them have been sent to seperate corners for laughing so hard at me, and will continue to be seperate entities until I have had my say and finished the damn things them. It does make them go faster, I will admit.

Oliver! started rehearsals this week, and is going well. We've just been learning ensemble music and dialect this week. Honestly, if a group of 8 to 15 year old energetic kids singing their hearts out and trying to learn a Cockney accent isn't enough to crack you up with cuteness, I can't really think of what would. Sickness is starting to go around, though, so I'm expecting their next few rehearsals to be a bit sparse. Hopefully, they'll all be okay. I hope the adults and students will be, too, of course, but they're just not as cute. They start choreography tomorrow - that should be fun!

And the apartment is DONE! Everything is unpacked and put away and clean and pretty! We desperately need a dresser or chest or something for the bedroom - all of our clothes are hanging up or on the one upper shelf or on the closet floor - and the only places to sit are the floor, the bed, the toilet, or the two desk chairs, so we can't really invite company yet, but it's getting there! And it's OURS! Steve will be up this weekend again, can't wait!

Random thoughts

Ahh...Monday, my day off. And what am I doing? Sitting in the office so I have access to the internet so I can get some banking things taken care of. Ugh! We also had to tape down the set in the rehearsal space this morning, too, so it wasn't a total day off anyway. Rehearsals start tomorrow - I can't wait!!

Steve came up this weekend, and we finished getting everything out of storage. Now I just have tons of boxes of trinkets and small things that don't really fit anywhere to unpack. Of course, the stash got unpacked and fondled and lovingly put away last night. (After the Harry Potter books, though.) I have (erk!) three medium sized boxes and a small plastic basket full of yarn now. The acrylics went into one, the natural fibers in the other, and the sock yarns went into the bottom of the "project bin". My thinking is that when (if) I want (get) to work on new socks, I'll have to paw through all my UFOs WIPs first. So far, the only casualty of the move seems to have been my ball winder. It looks like one of the plastic gears inside snapped in two. Guess I have to add a new ball winder to my list o' things to get after I get paid again! Maybe I'll get a swift to go with it this time!

It's a rainy, chilly day in Santa Maria, and I would really really love to kick back with a movie and knit all day. I could probably get my raglan sweater done, or the next skein of the Lady, who has been sorely neglected the past two weeks. Remember when I said the Jaywalkers were mocking me for not getting them finished in time? Apparently they laughed so hard that at least one of them dropped their stitches! I picked them up for the first time in ages the other day and have already noticed at least three dropped stitches on one of them. I'm really thinking at this point that I want to take one off and do them seperately. Apparently, I'm going to have to frog back anyway. I should probably at least attempt to get clothes unpacked first, though.

I ranted a week or so ago about this on the KR Forums that I really have been disappointed with the Noro Kureyon. That dislike continues, unfortunately. The colours are unbelieveable, I'll grant, but I don't care if I'm buying the yarn from an eBay dealer or straight off the spinner's wheel, big factory or not, when I pay for yarn, I expect it to be of good quality. I don't mind paying for quality, especially when it's for hand-painted colourways. I do mind when I pay and don't get it. Yarn should not be dirty, not have leaves, twigs, and spliters strewn through it, not be SO unevenly spun that it's impossible to keep a consistent guage. Mistakes happen, I know, but honestly! KnitPicks needs to come out with some varigated wools. I've really enjoyed working with the WotA so far. Much better than the Kureyon, it's just the colours! So frustrating! I'm very very interested now in getting some of that "dye your own" yarn and playing with that. Not in the near future, though.

Alright, running away from work! This whole no internet at home thing is killing me. That's DEFINITELY on the list for the next paycheck - argh!

I am alive!

Just very busy, and don't have internet at home anymore. Probably won't for a month or so. We can get into our new apartment tomorrow - until then I'm staying with a friend. I can't wait! I even got to take a half hour or so to work on the Lady last night, and my friend said, "Oh, knitting! I should really get back into that!" She was even more enthusiastic when I pointed out that this was my "Katie is NOT going to freeze in Solvang this year project".

On that note, I hate Noro Kureyon (the yarn, not the colours) right now, and I still have two skeins to go. I'm hoping that once we get everything moved in and the rehearsal schedule gets set, I'll have some more time!

Olympian!

Well, I didn't get a gold, but I did indeed participate, which still makes me an Olympian. I console myself with the fact that I am working on a great project, and I did actually get the amount of knitting in that I had planned on. Next time I will swatch better and get a better idea of sizing so I will know if the amount of knitting in the pattern is actually going to be enough or not. But it was supposed to be a learning and challenging experience and it was.

And I have a completely cleaned and packed apartment, and most of it is safely stored in a city 250 miles away, so I can't really say I was able to dedicate all my time to it. The packed, stored, and moved apartment is a far greater accomplishment, in my opinion. At least, the whole having a roof over your head thing is nicer than having a partially finished yarn fabric piece, no matter how pretty it is. On that note, however, the Lady is gonna get finished soon before I go nuts!

Also, I cannot wait to get working on Oliver! It's going to be absolutely crazy - 40 cast members, including 13 Young Performers (kids, aka YP's) and a dog! But it should be a lot of fun, too! Starting Tuesday!

Silver or Bronze?

LOL...I'm sooo not going to get this done. I COULD, maybe, get all the knitting done by Sunday, but probably wouldn't have time to block and fringe it. I am going to go with just knitting until I run out of yarn. I'm wanting to actually use this thing, not just say that I made it. And I know the crochet edging is going to take me some time to figure out, as I've never crocheted in my life. Should be interesting! In all fairness, though, I am going to get the knitting the pattern calls for completed in time. I just feel that that particular amount of knitting isn't going to be enough, and unfortunately, didn't realize it before hand. Will have to train smarter for the next Olympics!

btw, I take comfort in the fact that other, far more experienced knitters, are having similar crunch-time issues. I'm petty like that, but it's all in good fun. We're all knitters, and that's what counts!

I am going to be happy to finally have a FO for this year, and I can get back to my Jaywalkers and maybe finally get those #@%@#^^&%#$ socks that project finished. Note: I do actually enjoy the pattern, and the socks, and the yarn, I just WANT THEM DONE! They are sitting there, packed up in their box like a good little project, MOCKING me because I haven't finished them YET! This must stop!

Oh, and I'm totally saving up for one of Amy Boogie's bags. I really love the collegiate one. I can so see myself toting around my prompt book, my spiral notebook, and my knitting project in one convenient bag! Gotta wait until probably April or May, though, until we get settled in financially. Maybe I'll get one as a birthday present to myself...

Dilemma

Okay, I'm slightly worried now - I just finished tier 28 and still have just over four skeins left. Do I go to the pattern limit of 37 tiers (35 pattern tiers plus the two base triangle rows) or do I go until I run out of yarn? I budgeted my time for the 37 rows. I could do a skein a day, but Steve might get a tad upset with me, although he knows of this dilemma. I'm a little worried that the 37 might not be big enough, but then, she is VERY stretchy right now, and I think could grow a lot during blocking. And I'm just boggled that Marji (see the Olympic Knitting Lady E KAL) has already finished 12 skeins and 52 rows!!! I feel so behind now! Hers is absolutely beautiful, though, go check it out!

Enabling

Steve cracks me up. I didn't get much knitting done yesterday because we spent most of the day packing and cleaning and then playing games together. (We're on a game kick, too, I think it helps with the moving stress for both of us.) I had that one tier about half done, and Steve starts getting ready for bed. I start to put the knitting down, not saying ANYTHING, and he goes "You have to finish that row, still! You slacker, pick it back up! I'll just turn away from the light so you can keep knitting." So he's the only reason that the one tier got finished at all. And then this morning, this was the conversation:
Me:"How much more do we have to get done? I want to knit a lot today."
Him: "Yeah, you have to catch up, you're totally behind."
Me: "Well, it's your fault, you were distracting me yesterday!"
Him: "Me? I made you finish that row! You could have kept going, you know."
Me: "Yeah, but I finished that skein and didn't want to start a new one at midnight."
Him: "Wimp. Are you going to have enough to finish or do you have to buy more?"
Me: "I'm good. Go to class so I can knit."
Him: "Okay, you'd better be caught up by the time I get home!"

Day 5

Three things today:

1.) I am behind in my Olympic pace as of today. I got one tier done, instead of the ideal three, due to packing. Will probably catch up tomorrow, as most of the packing is now done. Don't get me started on how much I hate moving and packing. Particularly when we don't have an apartment to move TO yet and money is...well, it isn't, unfortunately. STRESS!

2.) I can't remember what #2 was supposed to be. I'm sure it was of great importance and would have changed people's lives, however. It was probably some smart-aleck comment anyway. Give me a break, it's 12:30 at night!

3.) My friend Alexis (non-knitter) has a far more interesting result for knitters who don't finish in time. According to her, the knitting police will come to your door, act all nice so you'll let them in, and then proceed to "knit you to your chair and take away all of your needles and yarn so you can Never Knit Again!" While I am completely happy with the current set of rules (particularly given my showing thus far), hers would indeed make things more dramatic.

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.