Potpourri

I've been stuck in tech hell this weekend. Actually, there really needs to be a place between heck and hell, as it's definitely NOT the worst tech I've ever been through (as long as you don't get me started about certain elements and/or people), but it's worse than heck.

Knitting has happened, but I can't really say any more about it than that. My backstage project is going quite well, actually, for as much time as I've spent on my feet and away from it the past few days. I have not touched the afghan yet this week, as I frankly have not been home long enough with enough brain power to do a garter stitch mitered square. Sad, huh? I have to figure out what I'm bringing to knitting tomorrow, if I manage to drag my butt out of bed in time. I just barely made it last week. The afghan is too big already to haul around, my current pair of socks is boring old stockinette TV knitting, and I've been trying to keep Backstage Project for, well, backstage. I might bring it, though, as the sooner I get them done, the better.

I'm actually dreading class(es) tomorrow, as I haven't been able to work on ANYTHING since Tuesday kickboxing, which feels like last month right now. (Please nobody point out that technically it WAS last month, you know what I meant!) I feel lazy and uncoordinated and like I wouldn't be able to throw even a basic form punch right now. A kick right now might reach someone's ankle, and would be more like a tap than a kick. I really can't wait until the schedule gets settled back down and I get some evenings free for classes again! I really don't feel ready for this next test. I know the form (In-Wah 1), but I'm not nearly as solid on it as I'd like to be, and I know the board break (a round kick), and that's it. I haven't gotten to spar since mid-September, and will probably have to spar Sir again for testing. Ugh. Apparently I'm still ahead of most of the rest of my form block - as of last Monday, they were still learning the form, and I'd already been working on cleaning it for two weeks. I don't think any of us have done the sparring segments yet, though, unless they did them on Wednesday or Thursday. Sir did tell me during one of the private classes that he throws more details and pointers at me at once than he normally does because I tend to pick things up faster, and he tends to be more picky with my stuff, too. That's good, I guess. It's still not going to make tomorrow any easier.

On a less physical note, I am going to be able to go home for Thanksgiving again this year! Yay! Frequent flier miles and being a pest of yourself to bosses do sometimes pay off - it's going to cost me more to park at the airport than to fly home! My brother has even volunteered to pick me up from the airport when I get there, although his work schedule prevents him from giving me a ride back to the airport for my return flight, which means either my mom or dad has to drive me there before the crack of dawn. Oh, well.

Oh, and some fun Halloween pics are somewhere on my computer, too!

I'm now going take a warm shower, crawl into some warm pjs, and sleep until I wake up. I'm hopefully going to make it to AG tomorrow morning, and definitely going to class and doing laundry. And if a certain cute guy just happens to call (I really doubt he will, but you never know), well, plans are made to be changed...

Time Off For Good Behaviour

Shh! Don't tell anyone, but...I actually had a weekend this week! Two whole days off in a row! (Going in and taping spikes for the LD today doesn't count, since it took all of maybe thirty minutes tops, and that was including finding the tape measure.) Of course, the flip side of this is that we are running the show twice next week and then going straight into tech hell for the next ten days, but hey, you take 'em where you can, right? You might want to send some love over AJ's way, though - I know the shops have been hella busy and she may not have had a lot of knitting time lately, the poor girl.

I, however, have gotten to add some squares to Rambling Rows:

and man, this sucker is turning out huge! That would be a five-foot long tape measure going across there, and the actual measurements end about halfway through the final white block. I'm guessing this is going to be about 5'6" wide (this is definitely as wide as it will get, as the first row of blocks is done) and probably 6'6"-7'0" long. Perfect! It's going pretty quickly, too. I can do a rectangle or a small square in just an hour or so; the large squares take longer.

I was planning on working mostly on that during my unusually large amount of free time, but for some reason I started working on Mom's mittens instead. Worsted weight mittens take a surprisingly short amount of time to knit, I've discovered. I started both of them at the same time on one long magic loop, top down, and was almost past the thumb gussets before I realized hadn't cast on nearly enough stitches for the gusset and ripped them back to the start of the thumb. Now I'm working on them separately, but I'm already into the ribbing on the cuff for the first one. Just have to finish that and do the thumb, then pick the second mitten back up and get that sorted out and finished off. It is entirely possible that I could finish these tomorrow! I'm kind of winging the pattern, as I couldn't find one that was both worsted weight and top-to-cuff, so I'm kind of going off a conglomeration of patterns, tips, and tricks. This is the first time I've done that, and it's turning out pretty well. Mom's hands are just slightly smaller than mine, so I hope these fit! (No, I'm not posting a pic because Mom does check this occasionally. There is a pre-frogging pic up on Ravelry, though. And don't worry, I have other plans for Mom's Christmas as well *muha*!)

Definitely planning on getting up to AG tomorrow morning, and possibly going up to SLO afterwards. I really love just walking up and down Marsh Street and window shopping up there. I might also try to catch a matinee of Across the Universe, just because it's Julie Taymor. (The Lion King has really been on Broadway for ten years now?!) SLO is the closest cinema that is playing it, unfortunately. A couple of the acting interns and I have kept trying to make a time to go see it, and the plans keep falling through, so I might just go if I can catch a good time.

Definitely must make it back in time for class, though, as I've been terribly lazy all weekend and eating far too much junk! Sir drilled me on crescent kicks Thursday (have I mentioned I hate crescent kicks? I do, I really do.) and started teaching me the footwork for spinning kicks. I've never felt less graceful in my life - it took me forever to get my feet going the right way at the right time. I was supposed to drill them this weekend but I just haven't had time until today and then I just zoned out and didn't do anything. I think I'll do three more private classes, which will get me through until Opening and understudy rehearsals. After that, I should be able to make at least two, probably all three tkd classes per week, plus kickboxing and more Haganah again. It will be soo nice!

And, just to share for my own amusement, I learned this week that Chrissy thought I was dating Cute Intern, and Cute Intern thought I was dating John. It was kind of a bummer to have to set them all straight - I wish my love life was half as interesting as people obviously seem to think it is! =)

Mischief Managed!

The whole HSS2 kit 'n caboodle is packaged, postaged (is that a word?) and will be on its way as soon as I can get to the office and get to my brown packing paper! I'm quite proud of it, but, more importantly, I hope my pal likes it!!!

Bye bye, little package, it's been fun!

What did YOU do today?

Other than waking up pretty sure my eyes were going to explode out of my head, and not making it up to AG for knitting, today was a pretty good day. I was a good girl and got all my chores done first (we won't discuss how loud the music was playing or how loud I was singing along to it!), then finally got to sit and finish these before class!

Project: Groovy Socks (HSS2 Socks)
Yarn: Razzy Tazzy Knits, Ravenclaw Movie colorway
Needles: 2.5mm/US 1.5 KnitPicks fixed circ
Date Started: September 7, 2007
Date Completed: October 22, 2007
Notes:
-I was actually pretty good about writing down what I did for the first sock and being able to repeat it for the second this time. I made the extra effort since I rarely make socks for anyone other than myself and I'm terrified these aren't going to fit. The measurements say they should, though! Minerva, if you're reading this and they DON'T fit, I'm SOO sorry! I really liked working with this pattern, though, and surprisingly, I even like the finished pattern, even though it's pretty lacy. I might have to make this pattern for myself!
-I actually really love the way the heel ended up striping! I wish it had gone that way for the entire sock, but alas, it was not really designed to stripe over the gauge I needed for it. But it's still fun!

Anyway, those guys are currently drying and should be joining the rest of the package and begin winging their way to my pal in the next day or so! This was my first swap and it was fun! (I totally snuck a peek at Minerva's socks on Ravelry, and omg, the colors! They're so pretty!)

Now that those are done, I can focus on holiday knitting. I have the first three pieces of the afghan complete: I had to adjust the color balance on the pic a little bit, as for some reason the red and the blue just really wanted to look like the same color for the camera, but you get the general idea. I'm going with burgundy, navy, white, hunter green, and then the fifth color is still a toss-up between grey or tan. I keep waffling back and forth. I don't have to make a decision for a while, though. I actually am really enjoying this project, but I've decided this can't be my project for the show. The needles are too heavy to keep from clicking loudly. Plus, I can't keep the darn cat off of it! Teddie usually has little interest in my yarn unless I'm actually working with it and it's dangling and moving, but apparently the cat loves Thick & Quick!
He's partially unwound two not-currently-in-use skeins across the living room floor, and no matter where I put the WIP, he's sitting on top of it. Maybe he's trying to tell me the fifth color should be the tan by adding his hair personally? Maybe he knows it's for Kelly, who seems to have been one of his favorite people ever? Who knows? He's curled up again on it as I type!

Mom did get back to me before I finished the socks, although her choice of color somewhat surprised me. She wants mittens to match the scarf I made her out of some cheap Red Heart about four years ago! Finding the colorway isn't a big deal, but Red Heart?? I didn't know there were, like, real yarns out there when I made that scarf! I wonder if I could get Amy or someone to match the colors with some nicer superwash. Is that legal? I'm actually thinking more along the lines of how itchy mittens made of Red Heart would be than about having to work with it myself; I'll probably do one pair of mittens out of the stuff. I'm just also thinking of backups. Those are going to be my backstage project instead of the afghan.

On top of all that, class was great. I got to hang out with Mrs. S and baby between classes, and Sir promised we'd do the new board break on Thursday. It was hot as hell today, though, and the sky is all brown from the fires to the south. It's not too bad here, but it's harder to breathe and it's hard on the eyes. Mine constantly feel dry, itchy and puffy, and Mrs. S mentioned that it was really hard on the contacts, too. The Santa Anas are definitely blowing, and they're drying everything out, including people! I talked to John tonight, and he said things weren't bad where he lives, but Jen, one of our crew who lives in Burbank, said that she and her partner could see the fires to the north and south and the air quality was pretty terrible there. Please keep Southern Californians in your thoughts and prayers. It doesn't seem like there are too many injuries or fatalities yet, and we should be thankful for that, but lots of homes are being destroyed. I look around my single apartment and think "man, if I had to evacuate now, what would I save?" I can't imagine having to make that decision in a house full of memories! (For the record, my first things to grab would be cat, phone, car keys, wallet, shoes and sweatshirt. Then the three pictures of family and friends I have framed, and a few pieces of jewelry that have more sentimental than monetary value to me. As much as I would hate to lose anything, a lot of the stuff I have here honestly could be replaced if I absolutely had to.)

On a lighter note, two trips to Disneyland - one with people from PCPA and one with John & the magic crew - are in the planning stages! I've been to Disney with PCPA peeps, and that's a ton and a half of fun, but can you imagine me, John, Jen, Sarah, Alfonzo and Nick teaming up to descend on the Happiest Place on Earth? Me either! I hope the place survives us! The PCPA trip will probably be the Monday/Tuesday after SoM opens, and other will probably be closer to Christmas. Can't wait!

Teachers and Students

First square of Rambling Rows completed:

This is going to work out just fine. The square is about 12"x12", which is what it should be. I think this will be great! I've picked up the stitches for the next rectangle, but haven't started knitting on it yet. That's because these:

are so close to being done and I just can't seem to find the time to get that last inch in! It's driving me batty!

One of the actors came up to me this evening during rehearsal and asked me to teach her to knit! She said she used to knit, but had forgotten how and was suddenly overcome with the desire to make a scarf again, so on the next break I showed her a knitted cast on and refreshed her memory on knitting and purling. I think we may have also piqued the interest of one of our YPs, so we'll see how we can gently cultivate that - I am planning on knitting quite a bit backstage during this show, and anything to keep the kids quiet when they're not onstage...

I also got this today: Yay! A bag that holds all of my kickboxing and sparring gear without looking like it's going to fall apart, explode, or put any kind of strain on the zipper! (My original two duffel bags have met untimely ends due to broken zippers.) I was quite pleased to see it waiting for me on the floor when I went in for private class this afternoon. Normally private classes are about 45 minutes to an hour, but I guess I got lucky - there was no one in the slot ahead of me today, so we started a few minutes before 3:00, and I didn't leave until almost 4:30! I got drilled on inner crescent/reverse side kick combos, repeat round kick combos, and was taught the basics of slide kicking for sparring. My legs just might fall off tomorrow. We do #3 side kicks a lot in kickboxing, but Sir wants me to switch those to slide kicks for now, just to get the repetitions in, since we don't do them in regular class. He said he'd tell Mrs. S about it. It's not as big of a deal on Tuesday classes, since it's usually a tiny class and there isn't an audience, but Monday's class is usually bigger and there are lots of parents and kids hanging out between classes during kickboxing and I'm a little nervous about doing different things than everyone else. I was surprised, normally I find balancing easier on my left foot and more power kicking with my right, but I can do slide kicks far more easily balancing on my right foot and kicking with the left, so Sir wants me to focus on that side for sparring. We also got to talk a little bit about the difference between tournament sparring and what we do in class (Sir, apparently, is more lax with the tournament rules during class sparring, as he would prefer we learn more realistic self-defense than ATA requires or allows as a rule, although it's still very controlled), and I expressed my interest in someday doing instructor training, which he seemed pleased about. I think I'm going to like the private classes more than I thought I would, although I always seem to come out with a longer and longer list of things to work on!

Anyway, tomorrow is going to be a long day, since I have to be at the theater at 7:15a to cover an Outreach show for an intern who is currently out of town on a previously agreed upon conflict. WHY am I so nice??

Knitting content!

No, seriously! We got some time off for good behaviour on Sunday, and I took advantage of it by doing most of my cleaning tasks that night instead of cramming everything in on Monday. This brilliant idea (I do have one occasionally) allowed me to spend some time knitting with the girls in AG yesterday morning (Inky and Kim, we missed you!), wander, window-shop, and indulge in some Coldstone Cremery in SLO in the afternoon, get home in time for kickboxing and tkd in the evening, and then curl up with some soup and more knitting for the rest of the night. It was brilliant! I forget how much I like SLO. It reminds me a lot of being back around campus in West Lafayette. Now to just convince the LYSOs up there that they should be open on Mondays!

I have no photographic evidence of anything I'm about to tell you, as I accidentally left my camera plugged into the computer and drained the battery. So you'll have to take my word for it.

First up, you know how the legs of socks can just drag forever? I feel like I've been working on the poor HSS2 socks FOR-EH-VER and have been caught in a time warp. The second one's leg was just NOT growing any longer at all! Then I measured it last night and realized I only have one more inch before starting the ribbing! When did that happen?? I know I've been saying this for about three weeks now, but I'm serious - these socks should be done this weekend! Mom had better act fast if she wants specific colors for her mittens, because if I don't have her request by the time I finish these socks, I'm picking the colors myself!

Second, I received my Rambling Rows Afghan pattern in the mail the other day! I still really like it, and have decided to forgo the Bears' colors for a more neutral-but-still-masculine color scheme. It pretty much works out that I'm only swapping out the orange (ugh) for a nice hunter green, so it's not even requiring any new yarn shopping. Since the pattern is actually written for worsted weight yarn, and I'm using super-bulky, I'm thinking about doing the smallest size blanket. I'm working on the first square now and will compare the measurements to see if the thicker yarn and needles will make the small blanket the same size as the original largest blanket or not. I've been trying to get the socks done before I spend too much time on this, though.

Third, I finally (FINALLY) splurged and bought Fitted Knits by Stefanie Japel after finding it in the Beverly's up in SLO yesterday. I've been going back and forth about ordering it for a while, but never got around to it. However, after actually being able to get my grubby little paws on it and actually seeing the patterns inside it, I had to have it. I've got about five projects from it on the MUST DO NOW list, but I think my first one will be the Boatneck Bluebell Sweater. (I'm sorry, I have no idea whose project and photo that is, but it's the best pic of the sweater I was able to find w/o forcing people to log into Ravelry. If it's yours, let me know and the credit is all yours!) It looks like it will be a fun, quick knit, and perfect for work.

I got my brochure for Stitches West today. I really would LOVE to take a finishing class, since I didn't get to last year, but I'm sure they're all filled up at this point and I really can't afford it right now.

Now for some dinner before rehearsal. The three classes I've done so far this week (two yesterday and kickboxing this morning) have kicked my butt today (the price one pays for not going for almost ten days, I guess), so I'm not going to physically work on my form today, but I will over break tomorrow and in private class Thursday! I've missed lots of classes, but I'm the only one in my form block who has actually learned the whole thing already. Now I get to start drilling it!

Ahhh...

Had an amazingly fun time in LA getting John's show loaded in. He's playing at the AGBU Theater in Pasadena this weekend and next weekend, if anyone is able to make it. It was fun to get to work together and spend a little time also just hanging out as friends. I never work so hard AND laugh so hard as when I'm doing a show there. Unfortunately, I can't actually work the shows due to my PCPA schedule, I could only get away for the load in, so I hope hope hope everything went well tonight. It was the first time he was going to do a new trick and I really want to know how the audience reacted to it. (ETA: apparently the show went really well and the new trick rocks!) I seriously need to be based in LA again! (I know, the grass is always greener, blah blah - if anyone knows of any reasonable full time job in LA right now, I'd consider it!)

I have about an inch done on the leg of the second HSS2 sock. Slowly but surely, it's getting done. Other than that, I haven't had a whole lot of knitting time lately, or general free time, or occasionally not even a minute to respond to a text, which apparently is enough to get a brother concerned enough to make Mom call and make sure I was still alive. (Why HE couldn't call is beyond me, I guess it's a guy/brother thing.) Still no word from Mom on mitten colors, and I'm really not a fan of the three color afghan. I might change the color scheme and do a Rambling Rows. I might not do it for Christmas, though. We'll see.

I got back into Santa Maria Thursday afternoon and did a private lesson with Sir. Although I miss having everyone else around, it's kind of nice to just work one on one with him and get more specific critiques and drills. My new form has two kicking combinations that I'm having problems with - an inner crescent/reverse side kick and front kick/side kick. I'm to drill those repetitively as much as possible for balance and footwork, and also basic sparring punches (my form punches are okay, since they're more controlled). Apparently, I've developed the bad habit of hooking my elbows out when I punch, so I have to work on breaking that. I'm going to try to get into a rehearsal room tomorrow to work on it - either before stage combat class in the morning or over dinner break. We start learning rapiers in stage combat tomorrow - can't wait!

And, we broke our rule

- there are no drinks in this stage management picture, and if you hear rumours that we were actually unclassy enough to eat pizza on paper napkins and drink wine out of paper cups, well...yeah. We had a fundraising gala this evening and of course the SMs got stuck actor wrangling for it. By about the third hour, we were willing to take the food and wine (mostly the wine) in whatever form it presented itself! But damnit, we looked good doing it!

Quotes of the Day

"You do taekwondo, Haganah, kickboxing and do full contact sparring. You usually have enough bruises that people wonder if you're in an abusive relationship. But you say "OW!" when you get poked by a knitting needle??" - intern

"Blondes have more fun, but brunettes will remember it the next day." - one of our YPs

ETA:
Overheard standing in line at Subway, behind a family of four - two parents, two kids - who were all, er, packing some extra pounds and had just paid for four footlong meatball subs with extra meatballs and extra cheese, plus sodas and chips for everyone: "See, this is why we don't come here very often. Eating healthy is SO expensive!"

Knitting is happening. I'm starting the gusset on the HSS2 sock. I was hoping to have them finished by this weekend, but that might be pushing it now. I've started Kelly's afghan, although I'm not completely sure I like it and might go back to my original backup idea. Mom still hasn't gotten back to me on colors and if she hasn't by the time I finish the HSS2 sock, I'm picking them myself outta the stash. At some point, I need to update my Ravelry projects page.

And...flirting is fun =)

New Toys!

Because, really, what are needles and yarn but toys?

I caved and ordered a Harmony wood circ:

I don't normally go for wood needles, but these intrigued me, particularly with the reviews they've been getting. I love me some sharp points, no matter the material. I haven't tried these, but they feel very smooth and warm, and I can't wait to finish the HSS2 socks so I can start yet another pair on these!

And speaking of sharp:

KP Options have a reputation for being pointy. These are US 17s. Normally a very blunt needle point. Don't let their bulk fool you - they're just as deadly as the rest of the KP arsenal! Very sharp! I'm starting my brother's afghan on them and have poked my fingers countless times.

I've also started another pair of stockinette socks, in addition to the HSS2 ones:

They're Spunky Eclectic in Berry Pickin, and I think the colorway is best shown off in the simple stitch. I like it.

Too much evening rehearsals, not enough classes, although I was invited to crash a private class on Tuesday morning, which was awesome. This new form is a huge jump in difficulty level! I've been working on it in rehearsal rooms when I get a chance, but I won't get to work with any instructors again until next Thursday. Sigh. So over this whole working thing - it's far too inconvenient!

Now to work on HSS2 some more and watch the L&O:CI season premiere on USA.

Another Darn Good Day?

Well, sort of, anyway. I did have two rehearsals for two different shows today, which was more than a bit mind-boggling, given their topics. And I'm surprisingly tired as all hell, which is weird, considering I didn't do *anything* today but watch a football game and sit through two rehearsals. At least two of my actors/directors are sick, though, so I'd better not be catching anything! But anyway...

My beloved Cubbies have officially won the NL Central title and will be going to the post season! I was born and raised a Cub fan, so I know better than to get TOO excited about this, as the odds that the curse will strike yet again are pretty darn good. But also, I was born and raised a Cub fan, so hope springs eternal. This is the year!

My beloved Boilermakers are also off to a 5-0 start for the season, with a win over Notre Dame (HISS!) which continues their tie with Ohio State (HISS!) and Wisconsin for first place in the Big Ten. Unfortunately, they play Ohio State next week, and I don't think they're gonna win that one. The defense isn't strong enough, but who knows, maybe it will be a pleasant surprise.

Note to self: one should NOT knit whilst watching football. The tendency to jump up and wave one's arms in the air while cheering or yelling at the refs or players or coaches creates chaos with yarn. (Yes, I DO know they can't hear me, no, it doesn't stop me in the slightest. It's a family trait and most likely genetic. We even get on the phone and yell about the game to each other!) It's much easier to knit while watching baseball games, except for home runs or great plays, of course.

Is it Monday yet? I want to knit and punch/kick things. I don't care if they have opposite effects! I want them both!

A Darn Good Day!

Got the purple belt and got a semi-standing date for private lessons on Thursday afternoons starting Oct. 11! So happy! It's still only four classes a week (two tkd and two kickboxing) instead of seven or nine, but Sir and I both agreed that it would be better for me than just one tkd class a week. I'm really excited about it! And because I'm in Leadership Club now (in order to be able to do those seven or nine classes a week), I get a bright gold horizontal stripe down the middle of my belts now. Great way to ruin a perfectly good shade of purple, but oh well.

John called and woke me up this morning so excited that I was going to be able to come help him load in, design, and rehearse the next show in Pasadena. We're going to do one of our brand new illusions in public for the first time, so we want it to go well! Should be lots of fun! I won't even miss tkd class, since the Monday he wants me down there is the one Monday they are taking off this fall. Awesome!

Now a fast hop in the shower and back to rehearsal, where I might actually be able to knit tonight, if I'm lucky!

And stop by and say Happy Birthday to AR and Amy's Baby Boogie!

Organizing thoughts...

...so bear with me if things seem a little scattered. This post, quite honestly, is more for my benefit than any readers'. Sorry, I just need to get projects organized in my brain!

Between the fact that I'm currently in rehearsal for three separate shows, really should be spending more time babysitting PSM'ing three more, and our office just got moved to a new building (which is actually AWESOME!) and we've been packing, unpacking, cleaning, organizing, and why-the-HELL-can't-they-get-our-computers-renetworked-so- they-aren't-just-big-expensive-paperweights?-grumbling, I haven't gotten much knitting done this week. I do have the toe done on the second HSS2 sock, as well as the toe of a basic stockinette sock. I need to get more done, though. Why?

Me: So, since the Christmas Club (a special savings account through my parents' bank)cheques are coming soon, give me ideas for Christmas gifts.
Mom: Well, I don't know about the guys, but you could always just make me something. You know, if you have time.
Me: Make you something? Like what?
Mom: Well...I could really use a new pair of mittens. HINT HINT. Oh, and Soleil has really taken a liking to those slippers you made for me last year and I can't get the cat hair off of them anymore without shrinking them. So maybe a new pair of those, too?
Me: (thinking: oh, okay, mittens aren't bad. I can do mittens. And the slippers took me about a day to make) What color?
Mom: I don't know. Let me think about it. Oh, and I think your brother would really like one of those afghans you make for his house. His favorite team is the Chicago Bears, so you probably can't go wrong with navy and burnt orange. (Ugh!)

This has resulted in me going and finding the bulkiest yarn available around here, Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, and size 15 circs. Surprisingly, I don't mind working with the bulky yarn nearly as much as I thought I would; it's much softer than I'd expected, and the colors are, quite frankly, perfect. I think it's too dense on th 15s, though. I'm adding in white for a third color, but am having the darndest time finding a tri-color afghan pattern! I want something fairly modular and preferably garter-based, as I have the sneaking suspicion that most of this will have to be knit backstage during shows and I don't want to lug a big old afghan around with me. I REALLY like the Rambling Rows afghan, but it's a five color beast to really look good, and honestly, I can't think of any other colors that go with navy, burnt orange, and white. (I ordered the pattern anyway. Did I mention I really like it?) My current backup plan is basically a ginormous dishcloth blanket on size 17 needles with a striping pattern similar to the stripes on the arms of the Bears' home jerseys. My actual original idea was to double knit a rectagle and have one side be navy and orange with a Bears' logo on it and one side be old gold and black with a Purdue logo, but that's beyond my skills, I think. At least for the time frame and circumstances I have to knit it in.

Anyway, currently waiting for the needle tips and afghan pattern to arrive so I can swatch again for that. Mom still hasn't decided on colors yet, although, with Coleen's help, I think I've decided on a mitten pattern. (I know Mom occasionally checks this, so I won't post which one!) I want to get the second HSS2 sock finished before I start her stuff, but should get the afghan started ASAP. My brother is really tall and will need a big afghan.

And now, I really need to go to bed, as I am testing for my purple recommended belt tomorrow afternoon. I miss class! I've been grabbing rehearsal halls when I can this week to get extra form practice in. I've kind of made up a workout that has a mixture of tkd, kickboxing, and FIGHT drills in it, as well as some of the pilates. It's not great, and I don't work up nearly the sweat that I do in real classes, but it's better than nothing. A heavy bag would be awesome, but no idea where I'd put it. I'm definitely going to talk to Sir about maybe adding in a private lesson once a week!

I'm also technically supposed to be in three rehearsals at once tomorrow night. They're being nice and only making me be in one. Lucky me! At least they're going to let me off to do another show (sort of) for John next month!

Another reason to miss Fridays...

For the fiberistas who have been patient enough to put up with my mostly non-knitting posts lately (HSS2 pal, look away!):

The first HSS2 sock! Yay!

I had one of the most fun evenings I've had in a long time tonight. Sparring as usual (I did not hurt Ma'am, of course, nor did anyone get injured other than Mr. M landing a really nice kick on my wrist which is going to bruise enough to raise eyebrows tomorrow), but then Mrs. S invited me to join her, Sir, baby Sam (their six-month-old son), Ma'am, Mr. M, Mr. C, and a few more students and parents of students (the kids basically ran free, as kids can do at such places) for pizza and beer afterwards. The pizza place just down from the dojahng is widely regarded as the best in the area - and after a few ribs about my age ("You're seriously old enough to buy beer?!" "Um, I'm 26..." "I thought you were sixteen or seventeen!"), it was fun to hang out with everyone outside of class. I guess this is a regular weekly thing, and I'm invited anytime. I do actually have two Friday nights where I don't have a rehearsal or performance. One is because of another mandatory work event (you think I could be sick *coughcough* that day?). The other is most likely some freak scheduling mistake, but I am clinging to it - November 30th - where we have a brat mat instead of an evening performance that day. I owe Mr. M for half a pizza and a beer.

Tomorrow (Friday)

First HSS2 Sock is finished! Will get a pic up maybe tomorrowish. I've also actually gotten some work done on Tumbling Blocks again. Someday, I might actually finish a lace project. Or any project that aren't socks. Half my FO's this year have been socks. Nothing else is quite so portable, though. And the HSS2 socks need to be finished soon so I don't plaster myself against the deadline.

Tomorrow is also the last day of Outreach rehearsals, yay!, although Interplay rehearsals start on Saturday, and Sound of Music rehearsals start Tuesday. No rest for the wicked, unfortunately. Tomorrow is also my last night of sparring class, at least until next year. Sigh. (Ma'am: "Well, I guess you'll have to hurt me, then!") The worst part? Chrissy and the intern are already planning out what days or evenings they want off. It's like, thanks, you've already taken my show and ALL of my Friday evenings for the rest of the year, let's rub it in as well! Double sigh.

I'm going to do some private sparring with Sir and maybe Mrs. S in order to stay ready for testing, which, quite frankly, terrifies me. Not that I think I'd get hurt, and I think I'd learn a lot, but still...sparring Mr. R is bad enough, and he's a second degree (I think, he's also still teaching on Monday nights, which I was happy to find out!). Mrs. S is a third degree. Sir is a fifth degree. I'm afraid I'm going to lose everything I've gained over the summer. My only free time is going to be while the students are in class using the rehearsal rooms, and my forms are getting more complicated than I have space for in my living room. Where am I going to practice? And I'm actually gonna miss Haganah, too. Knife sparring is a rush, although if we used real knives, I'd be dead ten times over.

And I'm madly in love with Jeffrey Donovan. It's a damn shame Burn Notice is over until next summer!

Streeeetttccchhh.....

First off, kitty seems to be okay. We had more litterbox issues last week (he seemed to have decided my laundry hamper was his litterbox instead of the nice clean real litterbox right next to it), so we went to the vet yesterday. After the normal mewling, crying, pretending to be an ostrich and trying to bury his head in my elbow, and in general trying to convince anyone and everyone that he's too pathetic to be there, it was decided that he had a mild UTI and was grumpy about it. So now we get to go through the shoving the antibiotic pills down the throat routine twice a day. Joy, but at least he's okay.

Secondly, the heel has been turned on the first HSS2 sock! Yay! I've also found another knitter at tkd (her grandson takes classes, and she knits or crochets the most awesome lace during them) and was able to have a real conversation about socks and sock yarns with the props interns at work. So nice to be around people who speak my language! Oh, and the LYS may be getting better. They had a few new yarns in that I haven't seen there before and kind of liked. Still only Regia and Tofutsies for sock yarn selection, but the new Regia colors they just got in are really pretty. But I just got new yarn, so I'm good. Speaking of which, there was a note in the mailbox that USPS tried to drop off a package Monday morning. I haven't had time to pick it up during business hours. Can't wait...!!!!

Thirdly, I finally got a chance to talk with Sir a little about the upcoming changes to my schedule. He wants me to work on crescent kicks (I just about died of surprise. No. Really. =P), spin kicks (Mrs. S. promised to work with me on spin kicks in sparring this week), and to keep my legs strong to support my bad ankle. He also suggested that as I learn my new form, to go through all of the techniques very slowly, focusing on balance points and breaking down each technique into each seperate component - making sure the initial stance is correct, pivots and chambers are correct, etc. I'm going to miss being in class so much, although it'd be nice to give my body a chance to heal from all the scrapes and bruises. I also really randomly got a copy of the Fall 2007 ATA World magazine in the mail today. No idea why, but it was interesting. (Huh, ATA just redid their website, too.) I may have to take it easier tomorrow, though - my arms were just about to fall off after FIGHT tonight, but I've also been PMS'y and haven't been so smart about eating so far this week. Gotta lay off on that.

Now off to shove a pill down a grumpy cat's throat and get some sleep for tomorrow!

Weakness!

Okay, I've been really super good about not buying sock yarn lately. And trust me, with my fairly recent discovery of Shelbyb's Etsy shop (and a few others', as well), the temptation has been there. But I've been good. I have only bought the Felici and the yarn for the HSS2 socks all summer. And then Amy has to go and update her shop. This, for some reason, totally pushed the Must Have button in my brain. It's not really a color way I normally go for. (It has pink in it, for cryin' out loud!) I have no idea what I'll do with it. But I ordered it. I have no willpower.

The HSS2 sock and I are finally starting to agree, I think. We're doing 80sts on a 9.5sts/in gauge, with five pattern repeats on the instep. It's not quite striping like the last version, but it's not as scrambled as the first version either. I really haven't worked on anything else, although I have so many ideas about the Modern Quilt Wrap. I like the sock yarn one. I'm toying with the idea of using my leftover LB Homespun from making everyone else's afghans and expanding the wrap to make a throw for myself. The ends would be a pain to weave in, though. We'll see.

Still no idea what I did to my ankle, but it doesn't hurt anymore. Not that I've really taken it easy, unless you count going to only one class each on Tuesday and Wednesday instead of two each day. (Not entirely sure I could do nine classes in one week - but somehow seven seems to be a reasonable number.) There's something still not quite right, but I'll have this weekend to rest it up and get it figured out. So far this week, I've done three tkd classes, two kickboxing classes, and one Haganah FIGHT class, with sparring this evening if I can get away from work quickly enough. I did the FIGHT for the first time last night, and I like it, but it's a little weird when you stop to think what you are actually doing to someone. I mean, tkd, for my intents and purposes at this point, is an exercise and a sport and is meant to score points in tournaments. Haganah is combat and is meant to hurt someone severely enough that they can't hurt you. We did knife combat, eye gouges, and various other maneuvers designed to break or otherwise damage important body parts. It's very fun, until you stop to think about it. Then it's a little scary.

Oh, and if you really want fun looks and reactions, knit between classes!

Too Much Of A Good Thing?

The real subject of this post behind the cut, as it really has nothing to do with yarn or knitting. The ankle is still not right. It probably does not help that I've done two kickboxing classes and a tkd class in the past 28 hours and did a nice job rolling said ankle on a jump side kick during tkd (I'm scared of those now, and it's in one of my sparring segments, ugh!). So all of the resting I tried to give it over the weekend went out the window, most likely. It's not swollen or bruised. I can walk, run, jump and kick just fine. And it doesn't hurt in class. It's just not...right. I put a brace on it today for kickboxing. I didn't go full out, but that was partly because of muscle fatigue and Mrs. S warning me that if she thought I was working my ankle too hard, she'd sit me out. It hurts now, though. So now I'm pondering how far I can push it tomorrow (kickboxing and tkd again on the slate) or if I do really need to suck it up and skip class(es). I cannot be dead or injured for sparring on Friday, as it's one of the last times I can go. (Basically, once rehearsals start Sept. 25th, I can't go to sparring again for the rest of the year - yes, year - because of a change in assignments and lack of interns. I'm really not happy about it, for a variety of reasons, but there's not really much I can do about it.) I'll sleep on it for tonight and see how it feels tomorrow. Heck, my muscles may be so sore and tired tomorrow that my body won't let me do anything anyway.

I frogged the first version of the HSS2 sock (the one in the pic in the previous post) to the end of the toe at knitting yesterday morning (we want pics of the hair, Inky!) and restarted the foot with the correct stitch pattern and worked about three inches. Then I realized I was doing an 8-stitch repeat over 32 stitches on the instep (4 repeats per round) at a gauge of about 9.5sts/inch. This creates a sock foot (factoring in negative ease) that fits my 9" circumference foot perfectly. Unfortunately, my pal's foot has a 9.5" circumference, and I'm not trusting washing to help me out much. I'm going to have to frog the foot and increase the toe to 40 stitches. It's going to mess up the stripes I'd gotten going with the 64 stitch pattern. Maybe I'll just frog the whole thing and do them cuff down for kicks. Toe-up obviously isn't working for me. Third time's a charm, right?

Oh, and I started a Modern Quilt Wrap. Only I'm doing mine with leftover sock yarn. And not striped. I started the striping thing, and it really doesn't work when you're using leftover sock yarn. However, doing whole squares of just one sock yarn is turning out to be surprisingly interesting. It's not beautiful in the KidSilk Haze kind of way, but it's interesting and it's using up my scrap yarn. Unfortunately, I still have far more sock yarn than leftover sock yarn, so I'd better get to the frogpond so I can start knitting socks again!

And from one of my interns: "Oh, good, you're knitting. When you're knitting in rehearsal, it makes me think that you think everything is going okay."

Yay, Knitting!

See, I do knit!

Sometimes! Actually, I really like these socks (I'm still wearing them from taking the pictures...). I'm really fond of the yarn - even a stockinette pattern is much more interesting with the stripes!

Project specs:
Name: Felici Socks
Pattern: toe up stockinette w/ gussetted heel
Yarn: KnitPicks Felici Aurora colorway
Needles: US 1.5/2.5mm (I think - btw, I'm really interested in the new Harmony needles!)
Date started: August 6th, 2007
Date completed: September 7th, 2007

So now I've finally been able to use the right needles for the HSS2 socks! I started them yesterday, and this is what I have so far:

Again, I like the yarn - love the colors - and the pattern is a modified version of Groovy Socks, mostly because Katie can't count and thought it was a 6-stitch pattern, which fit perfectly into the gauge of the sock, but it turns out it is an 8-stitch pattern and I didn't want to think about the numbers again. I kind of like it. It isn't wildly thrilling me, but I like it. What do you all think? Does the pattern work with the colors?

Oh, I even got some rows in on the MS3! I'm almost done with Chart E in Clue 4. I might work on it a bit more tonight.

Spent yesterday in LA hanging out with John, Jen, and Sarah, playing with new illusions. I did something to my ankle Friday during sparring, and it's still a little sore, so I don't know if I'll be able to do class(es - kickboxing and tkd are slated) tomorrow. If not, I should be sociable tomorrow night and go to a faculty mixer. I don't really want to, though. I just want to go to knitting in the morning, and preferably class tomorrow night.

Dear Designers,

Please, for my sanity's sake, can we start cutting back on the number of totally cute patterns coming out right now? I will never get the patterns I already want to do done in one lifetime. Yet, all in this week, I've found one of Fiber Trend's new gems, the Gypsy Shawl, which has somehow completely grabbed me, a totally cute tank pattern called Jax, and the gorgeous Modern Quilt Wrap (I might do mine in leftover sock yarn) from Folk Style (a free download if you subscribe to the free Knitting Daily e-newsletter). I'm also interested in doing another mystery stole: the Secret of the Stole, which doesn't start until October. (Yes, Inky, I'm blaming you for this!) Plus, I need to finish the vest, the Felici socks (I SWEAR, I'm so close to being done it's not funny!), the HSS2 socks, and the MS3! So if you guys could take a break for a while, that would be great!
Thanks,
kt
ETA: Felici Socks are finished! Pics up tomorrow or whenever.

Someday I'll have the time and energy to knit again! It does help that...I'm NOT taking over Urinetown in Solvang now! Yay!! (Can you see my happy dance or do I have to do it again?) I didn't realize how much I was not looking forward to it until Chrissy said she was going to keep it and it was like a weight fell off my shoulders. It's a great show, and a great cast, but I'm not quite ready to give up all my evenings again, and, honestly, it's HARD to take over a running show. There are all these intricacies that have developed and need to be learned and it's just kind of a pain in general.

I'd also probably have more time to knit if I actually stayed home in the evenings, too. But while I have the evenings free, I'm taking advantage of them! I did both cardio kickboxing (round one)and tkd (round two - Sir had fun teasing me) yesterday, fully expecting not to be able to walk today, but I'm actually barely sore at all. That says a lot about how far I've come since January, I think! The kickboxing class was a lot of fun - Sir's wife is teaching it and she is a really great encourager. There was only one other lady there who is also in tkd, and she is a yellow belt now I think, and the rest are just doing the kickboxing. The hardest part of the class for me was not bowing in and out, and not saying "Yes ma'am/sir!" when given a new drill. When did that become a habit?? We did some of the less complicated punch and kick drills from tkd, only against the bags instead of targets or partners, and we finished with a pilates-style ab workout, with some jumping rope thrown in. My only problem with it is that the gloves we wear for that class totally chafed and tore up my knuckles, to the point that it REALLY hurt to punch the targets during tkd. Tonight is definitely tkd, and maybe Haganah, depending on how I feel after tkd. I might give myself a break and just watch Haganah, since I don't want to be dead for sparring tomorrow like I was last week. Mr. R apologized for the bruises, which don't hurt at all anymore but are just starting to bloom into full color. Mr. M told him he was being too nice to me. Mr. R has a quite impressive and still painful-looking bruise on his foot from something that also happened on Thursday, so I guess we're even.

Las Tres Amigas y Preguntas

It's such a shame we are always so serious and somber when we get together, eh? It was awesome having the girls out here this weekend! Even Teddie had a good time! Becki and I have been friends since third grade, and Amanda joined us in junior high. It's always been the three of us. Amanda's been married for almost two years now (she was the Winter Night afghan) and Becki for just over a year (the Chunky Diagonal afghan), and now they live 2200 miles away. It doesn't matter. We always pick up right where we left off. It's great. We were supposed to go winetasting on Saturday, but our luck held out. I do not need a new car after this visit, but I had the requisite car problems during their visit. We went to a local winery and bought a nice pinot blanc to go with strawberries, then went to see Urinetown. We spent Sunday playing mini-golf at Boomers, seeing the preview of The Pearl (the first of the Outreach shows), then spent the evening with pizza, soda, M&Ms, wine, strawberries, and Because I Said So, Night At The Museum, and the always required 10 Things I Hate About You. Then we got up wayyy too early to drive back down to LA and drop them off at the airport. I was back home by 12:30p and went back to bed. There's no class tonight because of Labor Day, unfortunately, so I think I'm going to spend some time this evening at the rehearsal hall doing those kicking drills and working on my form. I also need to make jam with the rest of the strawberries this week sometime.

And, as part of a HSS2 contest:
What type of pet do you choose as your companion at Hogwarts? If the choices are still owl, toad, or cat, I think I would choose a cat. You can always use a school owl for correspondence, but you can't cuddle with one.

While shopping in Hogsmeade you stop by Honeydukes for some sweets. What treats do you purchase for yourself? a bar of Honeydukes best chocolate. I'm a purist.

A potion you are preparing needs an ingredient available only at muggle shops. You don't want to stand out in your wizards robes, so you resort to traditional muggle clothing. Describe your outfit in detail. Blue jeans, my favorite tan tank top, and sneakers

What is your favorite subject to study at Hogwarts and why? Defense Against the Dark Arts. I like feeling like I could defend myself.

Likewise, what subject is your least favorite and why? Herbology bores me to tears.

Back to the potion you were shopping for ingredients for, what type of potion are you making, what color is it, what are the ingredients, and precisely what does the potion do? I'm terrible at Potions, so I'm sticking with a simple Wake-Up Potion. It's a pinky-orange potion that makes you feel like you've had a good night's sleep, without making you hyper energetic. I use a teeny bit of unicorn horn, some chopped roots, a skivelfig, orange juice, and strawberries.

Now to go catch up on everyone else's blogs!

Visitors and Butt-Kickings

Becki and Amanda are here! They're currently crashed out in my bed, as they haven't quite adjusted to Pacific Time, much less my time, yet. They'll probably adjust just in time to fly home on Monday. Even Teddie likes them! We're going to go wine-tasting and see the show tomorrow night.

Reactions to the haircut have ranged from "Wow, it's gone" to (more commonly) "It's darling!" to (even more commonly) "It looks very natural on you - this is the way your hair should be". I like it, which is really all that matters. I promise I'll get pics soon. The eyebrows are almost healed, although they started scabbing over the other day, prompting a lot of "What happened to your eyes? Did you get hit in the face?"-type questions.

I have not gotten a lick of knitting done this week. Tuesday was a fifteen hour work day for me, Wednesday and Thursday were both nine hour days, plus class in the evenings, and then today I drove down to LA to pick the girls up.

I did, however, get my butt thoroughly kicked to hell and back at sparring last night. A.) One should not spar on barely twelve hours of sleep over a three day period. I knew as soon as I walked out on the mat that I mentally and physically didn't have it that day and shouldn't have come. In typical coach/teacher fashion, all I got was "Breathe, focus, and work through it." Sir was trying to show me how to set up a hook kick to the back of the head, and I really have no idea what he said now. All I remember is then getting told to drill stretch side kicks and hook kicks (not to mention the repeat side kicks and crescent kicks in general) outside of class this week. B.) One should not spar one's instructor in the above mentioned situation. (Was not by choice.) I mean, I've watched Mr. R spar in class before, and even on a good energy day I'm still only a green belt, but watching him spar someone else does not prepare you for how FAST he is. Good lord! I have bruises all up and down my left arm in particular - some from blocks and some from hits. I was planning on going to Solvang after class - Chrissy wants me to start calling the show as early as Sunday after this - but I walked off the mat, changed clothes, sat to collect my gear and decided it really was too much effort to get back up. I ended up cleaning my gear there and watching most of Haganah class with Ma'am, her daughter, and Mel. Oh, and my new board break is a #2 front kick, which I drilled on the pads five bajillion times with Mr. R. while the lower-rank color belts were doing their breaks. The drills worked, though. Brown board, second try (first was my fault for not setting it up correctly), what Sir called an "excellent break", which means I'm probably going to get something harder next time. Like Sir teases me, though, I wouldn't have it any other way. The new class schedule starts after this weekend - it will be nice to have a variety of classes and times to choose from when I can.

Now I must sleep or I will be in even worse shape next week!

Quite possibly the most amusing thing I've heard all summer...

One of the guys after class: “This is why I don’t get women. The three of you [indicating me, Ma’am, and Ma’am’s daughter who is about my age and a second degree black belt] are totally focused and kick ass fighting during class, get bruised, sweaty, and dirty, then sit down and start chatting about weight, food, hair, and generally giggling like schoolgirls. How does that WORK?”

More tkd after the cut. We had another new white belt in class tonight. Five of them in the past two weeks! It's great, but it's getting awfully crowded! I was finally able to get through my form without having to stop and ask questions, so Sir started teaching me the first sparring segment. It's hard! Not only did I get drills to work on the step reverse side kicks for the form, I have to work on keeping my balance while doing multiple kicks with the same leg (double side kicks and hook kick/round kick combos seem to be current favorites). Mr. R says its not just balance, it's also conditioning the muscles and building the strength to keep the leg up. I have to admit that my legs felt like rubber walking off the mat tonight. I changed my contract there - for slightly more a month, I can do not only TKD, but also Haganah, Weapons, XMA and cardio kickboxing. Basically, any night that I have free, there would be at least one class available. This will help a lot when we get into the performance schedule. The new schedule starts next week, and I'm sure I'll take too much advantage of it while I'm still free of rehearsals. I said something about planning on being very sore next week, and Sir asked if I'd want it any other way. Nope! I'd rather be sore or injured from a sport or activity than die of a heart attack from sitting on the couch! Sir also promised that starting this Wednesday we'd start doing board breaks every class. I can't wait to find out what my new break is!

I not only did not make it to knitting this morning, I've barely knit at all this week. I've done a few more inches on the leg of the second Felici sock, and that's about it. I got the stitch markers in from Craftylily (HSS2 pal, if you're here, turn your head now!):

They're very pretty and I really like them. (I could not get a closer pic to turn out for ANYTHING, sorry!) I didn't realize there were only three to a set, though. I hope Pal likes them! Now I just need to get the socks finished and I'll have the whole package put together!

In other news, I got all my hair chopped off today! Finally! It's honestly even a little shorter than I had planned, more of a smooth cap than the more choppy pixie cut I was looking for, but that's okay. It does not get in my face during class, and that's all that really matters. I'll get a pic up soon. I'm stalling, as I also got my eyelids burned while I was getting them waxed today, not to mention that I'm sweaty and stuff from class.

Four more days until Becki and Amanda get here!!!! I really need to do laundry and clean the place up!

What day is it?

Between last week and this week, my schedule has been so weird I have no idea what day it is anymore. Last week, of course, I was in LA, working Monday (yes, I worked on a Monday!)-Friday, had Saturday off (not normal, what does one do on a Saturday??), worked Sunday, was off Monday, then did 9:00a-11:00p yesterday, and am (supposedly) doing 9:00a-6:00p today and for most of the rest of the week. To make matters worse, USA must've aired the wrong version of their Psych commercial last night. They played one that said something along the lines of "New episode tomorrow night at 10:00p!" New Psych episodes are on Friday nights. Did they switch them? Will I actually get to see an episode the night it airs?! I check the website - tomorrow at 10:00p is a L&O:SVU episode. Now even USA is messing with my mind!

There is a benefit to this, however - evenings are free for class! I can even make sparring this week! A just picked up her camo belt and will start this week - it sounds like she's as nervous as I was, since she was asking me and Sir about it Monday. She'll be fine, although I do have to admit, it's kind of nice to not be the lowest belt there anymore!

In fibery news, I'm almost done with the heel of the second Felici sock. I have not started the socks for the HSS2 pal. Or rather, I have, and have come to the sad conclusion that yes, indeed, the proper needles for the yarn are the ones I am using on the Felici socks, which means I need to get them finished ASAP. I have everything else for the swap now - thanks to Kim's good fortune (and you should check out the awesome scarf she's churning out, too!), I found a link to an Etsy shop with really pretty Hogwarts-themed stitch markers. (I think I got the last set of Ravenclaw movie color markers, sorry!)

I think I really want to make a Tomato, and was going to use my stashed Shine for it until I realized that my Shine is the original sport weight, not the worsted weight the pattern calls for. I could still do it and adjust the gauge, but I'm afraid that I'll run out of yarn. I could use the diVe cotton, which is worsted weight, but I'm not sure about so much of that pale blue, and I don't have a contrasting color for it. And it doesn't matter anyway, since, as you can see from the sidebar, I still haven't done the armbands on the damn vest. I'm just terrified of picking up all those stitches and messing up! I know, I should listen to myself - it's just YARN. (And acrylic yarn at that, but I'm not a fiber snob).

Chrissy wants me to make her a Lady Eleanor. ("Can you make me a shawl?" "What kind of shawl?" "One like yours!" This is what I get for wearing it at work so much.) I'm still pondering. I want to do it, actually. I wouldn't mind making another one, but I don't think she really gets how much the yarn would cost. I have another pattern I saw today on the KR Forums that I really really like and I think might suit her better, but I have to figure out what weight yarn it uses. It looks like maybe a DK/light worsted? I LOVE the Jade Sapphire Mongolian Cashmere laceweight I have, but if that's $35/skein, I don't even want to think about how much 7 skeins of a DK weight costs! Maybe it'd be worth it to Chrissy, though. We'll see.

I'm stalled out about halfway through Clue 4 of the MS3. I really like the symmetrical version of the pattern, actually, but I just have not had the brain power to even contemplate picking up the lace. It's in a pretty repeatable place at this point, though, so maybe after class tonight I'll shower and snuggle in with Mythbusters or something.

I was able to make it to knitting Monday morning, being fashionably late as always. Okay, so quite late, actually. I actually got a few rows done on the Tumbling Blocks - I really wanted to work on some lace but couldn't really handle the thought of the MS3 and talking at the same time - and also put a few rows on the Felici sock. Mostly I chatted, drooled over books, and ate. K brought in some fantastically yummy strawberries. (One side benefit of moving to the Central Coast is that you have the best strawberries in the world literally on your street corners during summer - they don't need sugar, chocolate, whipped cream, nothing. Just clean 'em and eat 'em!)
And this is getting long and windy, so I'll go back to babysitting rehearsal now. I'm still sore from class on Monday - it wasn't until after class was over that I realized we did 55 round kicks per leg in one drill set, after almost two weeks off, ugh! - so class tonight will be interesting. I really like the step reverse side kicks in the new form, though. Still thinking about doing the cardio kickboxing class, too!

Back in the swing of things

...and wishing I didn't have to be, as always. Truly, after the week I had, the idea of going back and babysitting Outreach and picking up Urinetown is not the most exciting prospect. But, it pays the bills for now.

Anyway, the majority of this post is not going to have any relation to fiber or knitting, so you can bow out gracefully now if you'd like. I did get a bit of work done on the second Felici sock, but am still not up to the heel. I'd like to get that fixed today if possible. I do have to go into the office at some point this afternoon and do some Outreach paperwork, and Urinetown opens tonight, so I should do the dressing up and seeing a show and having a drink thing, I suppose.

My parents did make it safely to LA.
Although we didn't really get to spend a lot of time together. I didn't make it to the hotel until after midnight Monday night, and also ended up spending a lot of time at the theater on Tuesday. They got to see the show Tuesday night (it was a private show, but we were able to have guests come) and they LOVED it. My dad's the one who got me interested in magic when I was little, so it was neat to have him see a magic show that I was working on. Dad's the type who will try to figure out the tricks, but appreciates the talent and work that go into them. Mom just loves the tricks and doesn't want to have any idea how it's done. She just likes to be amazed and entertained. They make a fun critique team.

We spent Wednesday at Disneyland. Despite frequent claims and reminders that "we don't have to close out the park", we ended up not being able to get to one shop we wanted because it was past midnight and the store had closed. The park was busy and crowded but not insane. We were able to hit all of the major rides, and the longest we waited in line was about an hour for Splash Mountain. Disney has started a new policy of offering healthy food alternatives as well as the standard park fare, which was a nice surprise. You can get grapes, apples, melon pieces, and juices now. Of course, we had to stay and watch the fireworks (no churros, unfortunately, as we had just eaten a huge dinner at French Quarter) and got a little bored while waiting for them to start:
Self portraits aren't really my forte, apparently. I'm definitely my father's daughter in attitude and build:
But I am also quite definitely my mother's daughter:
So that was fun. I'll see them again probably at Thanksgiving, definitely for Christmas. Mom wants "something online where everyone in the family can put up pictures and tell what they're up to," but isn't so sure about the idea of a blog. I'm not quite sure what the difference is, but I'll work on that.

The show itself (I did spend the majority of the week working - which is ironic as I had to use vacation days to get the time off) went very well. John is really starting to leave the show more in my hands and only does final checks backstage and helps pack up now, which is awesome. Both shows went very smoothly. We did have one illusion break on Thursday, but we were still able to do it, and it will get lots of love and attention now that it's back. I was only supposed to stay and help out with loading the truck on Friday morning, and come straight back up to PCPA to babysit (note, not run, babysit) Outreach rehearsal. I should have left LA around 11:00a. But darn the luck, John decided he would unload the truck straightaway back at the warehouse and you know, it would just go faster if Nick and I were there to help unpack the illusions. So we unpacked, Nick left, and John and I finished cleaning and taking maintenance notes on the current illusions and ended up talking through and playing with a few new ones. Then we had to grab some dinner, of course. I ended up leaving town around 9:30p. Whoops. Hence the reason I have to go into the office this afternoon. John and I have decided that the reason the place is a time warp to us is because we love it there and love what we do there. I'm not apologizing, though. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. For me, there's no choice. That show is what I have always wanted to do. What we do here at PCPA, while it is excellent, high quality work, is feeling more and more like a rut and I'm not getting out what I'm putting in. John doesn't pay as well right now, but a fourteen hour day there feels NOTHING like a fourteen hour day here. I might go back next weekend to see the video of this week's shows and work on a new illusion.

Now to the office so I can get that paperwork done and get back here to work on his paperwork.

Goals - 2 at least

1. The first Felici sock is done. I still love the yarn. I started the second one, rather than start the HSS2 socks quite yet. I was seriously considering it, but the superstitious streak in me (I work in theater, we're a superstitious lot) can't shake the "you must cast on the second sock in the same sitting as binding off the first or it's bad luck" thing. If this one goes as quickly as the first, though, and it is progressing quite nicely, it won't take long. Or I'll break and order a second circ in the same size.

2. Got the green belt. It's much more attractive than the camo. More after the cut for those interested. I did break the brown board, and even survived sparring apparently completely unscathed, which is surprising considering I haven't been able to get to sparring class for three weeks now. Sigh. I ended up sparring Oscar and then Viv. The midterming second degrees had to not only spar two regular matches, they then had to spar all the other black belts, and THEN had to spar Sir and Mr. R. Crazy! Was fun to watch, though. Someday I'll get there. (I was asked the other day what my long term -3-5 years from now - goals were. I had never thought of it before, and wasn't even thinking about class at the time, but the first thing that popped into my head was "I want my black belt." Is that weird?) Sir showed me a new kick I'll need for my next form - a step reverse side kick - and told me to work those with twin high & low blocks next week since I won't be in class. I'll have to find somewhere with enough room and a bit of privacy.

After Labor Day they are changing Thursday night sparring to a regular adult class, and moving sparring to Friday nights. Which means that it's an extra night of class, but unless I can sweet-talk Chrissy into calling all of the Friday performances, which is possible but can't be determined right now, I pretty much have no chance of making it to sparring for the rest of the year. I'd really really love to have a job that left my evenings free right now. They're also starting a *drool* cardio kickboxing class on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays! The Tuesday class is at noon, so I think I could make most of the M/T classes during the school year. I'll have to see if I can afford it, though. And physically be able to do both the kickboxing class and tkd class on the same day. There would be a 45 minute rest between classes, and I bet my legs would not appreciate it for the first few days.

3. Kate is closing tomorrow night. Thank goodness. The audiences love it, which is great, but honestly, this show got cursed somehow. Something happens every night, it seems. We've even gone so far as to put a talisman over the stage door. (Told you we are a superstitious lot!) It has helped slightly - things still happen, but they're more minor. I've only been involved with it for two and a half weeks and I can't wait for it to be done!

Going to LA to do two shows for John next week and won't be around much. I'm leaving early Monday morning, so I won't make it to knitting or tkd, unfortunately. My parents have spent the past week meandering west in their car, and apparently they hit Vegas this afternoon. I'm jealous. They're planning on making it to LA on Monday and staying until Thursday, so I'll get to stay with them for a few days there. One of my interns is gonna check in on the TeddieCat for me. I suppose maybe I should make the place look semi-clean and possibly pack, huh?

Oh, and I'm probably also weird for really enjoying the show Human Weapon. I just think it's fascinating. But then, I have a weird job and what some would consider a weird hobbies, so maybe it's not that strange for me.

It's Here!

This yummy bit of soft goodness is my yarn for the HSS2! It's from RazzyTazzy Knits over on Etsy, and I cannot wait to get my needles into it! Again, I would highly recommend the seller - she was incredibly kind and helpful trying to figure out where in the world the yarn had ended up. I'll be able to speak more knowledgeably after working with the yarn, of course, but at this point, I would say with confidence that I'd buy from her again. In case you're wondering, my pal prefers the blue and silver Ravenclaw colors of the movies over the blue and bronze (which, admittedly, I've only seen a few combinations that really worked for me, too) of the books. This yarn is mostly blue and silver, although there are a few flecks of the bronze in it, too.

Now, the dilemma. Do I finish the Felici socks first? The yarns feel like they are about the same weight, maybe I will need those needles! And I'm so close on the first Felici:

(okay, so I really just wanted photographic evidence that I did, indeed, conquer that heel). I kind of want to make these longer socks - you'd think I'd never worked with striping yarn before, but this is So Darn Fun. Of course, the bubble burst is going to be trying to make the stripes match on both socks. I'm hoping for identical twins this time, although this particular sock is going to be called Scar, as the stripes coming out of the heel don't quite match up and he has half a row of green stitches in the middle of a purple block.

I'm also still trying to decide on a new sweater pattern, and have a lot of 100% cotton laying about. Any suggestions?

Ooo....

My HSS2 pal put up a pic of the yarn she just got. Man, is it yummy looking!

Mine still hasn't arrived. It was re-mailed yesterday, so I shouldn't really expect it so soon, but still. I can't wait! I'm so excited and I want to get these socks done! So far, I have half of my package for my pal ready - I'm missing the stitch markers and the socks!I'm amusing myself by finally forcing myself to do a flap and gusset for a toe-up sock on the first Felici. It's actually working for once! I figured I should get it worked out, since I did give Intern the option of a flap and gusset OR a short row heel. I should think before I speak sometimes...

teaching, me?

I'm bad. I didn't make it to knitting this morning. Sorry ladies! I missed you! I just completely slept through my alarm and it was too difficult to get out of bed this morning. In fact, I ended up going back to bed around 4:00p and sleeping for another hour or so before class. So drained and lazy today! And I won't be able to go next week, either, as I'm supposed to be in LA by 10:00a on Monday. I'm trying not to think about how early I'm going to have to get up to get there in time.

I do have something fun to report, though. One of my interns asked me to teach her how to make socks! She picked out some yarn from my stash (it's not like I am starving on sock yarn) - KnitPicks Dancing - and borrowed a pair of my needles. I'm pretty much just showing her my favorite way of doing socks - toe up, magic loop, we haven't decided on a heel yet - but trying to impress upon her that there are many different ways to do them in case she isn't comfortable with these techniques.

We're just doing plain stockinette socks. Yes, we. I had to start a pair to show her, right? And my HSS2 yarn, while finally having been located and is in the process of being resent, has not arrived yet. (Truly, though, the seller has been great, it was a simple UPS mistake, no hard feelings and I'd recommend her!) So I was stuck *ahem* with this:

My pair is in my new KnitPicks Felici. I have to say, I ADORE this yarn! It's a lighter weight than Bearfoot, but just as soft, if not softer, and I really like the stripes. It might just be me, but striping yarn seems to make socks go faster - like being able to watch the stripes change somehow makes the distance smaller psychologically. And did I mention that the yarn is soft? And I adore it? I'm totally going to have to get more. Probably the reason I'm not starving for sock yarn, eh? Too bad I'm pretty close to flat broke right now. Luckily, I have the shows with John next week to make some money. Mom and Dad are coming out and meeting me in LA next week, too, and we're going to go to Disneyland that Wednesday! Yay!

I still haven't done the armbands on the vest, although I did stop in the LYS and get an extra skein of yarn for it. I figure I should trust Murphy's Law on this - if I don't get an extra skein, I will need it, and if I do get one, I won't need it. I'm saving the receipt.

TKD after the cut

Class was really....calming...tonight. Like I said, I was dragging and exhausted most of the day, so I was rather dreading it, but once I got there it just felt so good. Viv was my partner again and was pretty relentless on me during kicking drills - my kicks are getting higher, but they aren't THAT high! She has amazing hook punches, too. I got randomly attacked by Sir during self-defense but managed to get through it. Oh, and the board break? Brown board, second kick. I think it is the angle and height. I wanted to try it again after class, but Ma'am suggested I just leave it be. She really doesn't want me to bruise my foot before testing on Saturday, I guess. I'm actually feeling good about testing, and am not doing a pickup this week. I am going to make sure I work through my form and sparring segments several extra times this week, though. I really hope I don't pick up another cold from the kiddies this time!

Now I gotta dig up my paperwork for John - apparently we're having a phone meeting in about five minutes. Yay.

I wanna go to class!

Okay, I'll stop whining now. Nothing particularly fiber-related has happened this week. I've started Clue 4 of the MS 3. I'm not sure how I feel about Clue 5 at this point. I'm not a fan of asymmetry as a rule, although I kind of like the lace pattern. I'm going to wait and see what other people's look like first. My yarn for the HSS2 has STILL not arrived. I've been in contact with the seller, who assures me that if it has not come by Saturday, she will send another skein at no additional charge. She's been great, but I want my yarn! I purposely have not started another pair of socks because of this swap, and now I'm getting behind in my classes! I guess the multidirdiag scarf will be my bus project until the yarn gets here. Also, I have not done the ribbing to complete the vest yet. I want to. I really do. But for some reason, the idea of picking up the stitches at the armhole is very daunting. Maybe I'll bring it to the knitting group on Monday and they can throw things at me or something until I get the stitches picked up correctly.

Non-knitting stuff after the cut.
1. I'm officially the SM for Kate now. I started calling it last night. It wasn't too bad, although I did mess up a few things that will be corrected tonight. It's not a fast-paced show like Dames or Seuss, but it does have its moments. I'm going to meet up with Chrissy this afternoon and get her notes for me for this evening, then I'm on my own. Yikes. I had a dream last night that I totally and unfixably messed up calling the show and it was just...BAD. I'd be worried, but a.) most of my dreams are not prophetic and b.) we were in a theater I've never seen before and I have no intention of moving the show to a new venue tonight, so I think I'm good.

2. If I also end up calling the Solvang run of Urinetown, which is looking like a pretty good possibility right now, I will have called four of the six shows this summer, not to mention having called the last show of the spring and will be calling the first show of the fall. And yet, I really do have the lightest schedule. I think its because I will have spent a billion times more time in performance than having to deal with rehearsals, and performances are generally less stress because everything is already set. Unless, of course, you have a light cue that causes a power surge in the booth and fries the light board (happened Wednesday). Then you just have to kind of roll with the punches.

3. I will have company this month! My two best friends from high school, the ones I've made the afghans for, are coming out for the last weekend in August/first weekend in September! It will be so cool to have them out here! We're going to go winetasting, and shopping, and to the beach...will be fun! My parents are also coming back out to California this month, although they won't be making it up to Santa Maria. They're coming out the week of John's shows down in LA, so they're getting a hotel down there. They'll see John's show on Tuesday, then Wednesday we're gonna go to Disneyland! Yay!

4. I went running the other day for the first time this summer. Did just under two miles in 15 minutes (all the time I could squeeze in). I suppose I'm going to have to get back in the habit, particularly since once the school semester starts, my evenings are going to be strictly limited, at least until the holiday show opens.


And I still want to go to class.