a new chapter

i have been hard at work teaching the next generation and opening one hell of a show. Crazyface opens tonight, so i started a new project today.

i have a container garden.

right out back under our bedroom window.
it is an experiment.

i come from a family of gardeners. my parents grow tomatos, peppers and asparagus. my dad's mum had an amazing tomato patch for years. my mom's mum grew everything imaginable. from rhubarb to carrots and broccoli to melons, grandma grew it. when i was little my parents humoured me and let me plant a little hill of corn. that was some of the best corn i ever tasted.

i plan to track my progress here and see what comes of this new adventure.

today i spent $65 and this is what i got....

• 3 plastic 23 quart containers (long window box style).
• 2 bags (32 qt each) of Miracle-Gro Organic Choice Potting Mix
• 1 bottle Miracle-Gro Organic Choice Plant Food Concentrate
• 2 yellow marigolds
• 2 orange marigolds
• 2 red/orange combination marigolds
• 2 red bell peppers
• 1 green bell pepper (for rW!)
• 1 poblano pepper
• 1 "early girl" tomato
• 1 "husky cherry" tomato
• 1 "mr. stripey" tomato
• 1 watermelon
• 1 jack'o'lantern

not bad for $65, right?

on the optimistic side, here is my maximum goal (hoped for yield) for my little container garden....

• 1 watermelon
• 1 pumpkin
• 4 red peppers
• 1 green pepper
• 1 poblano pepper
• 20 cherry tomatoes
• 5-7 big tomatos

i anticipate there will be losses, however. i expect to lose at minimum one pepper plant and one tomato plant. everyone keep their fingers crossed for Mr. Stripey! he is my heirloom tomato plant and i really want him to make it.

now.
we must have a moment of true confession.
i have done very little research before starting this project. i know. i am terrible. but plan to research as i go along and treat this as an experiment. so here's the report....

Day One
i came home from the store and set up the pots, filled them, and planted my new friends according to the directions on the tags. it was early evening, so i went ahead and mixed up the plant food and watered everyone. and away we go!

piles

today i found this post i forgot i started on... um... monday... 4/27


i have not been blogging lately because i simply have had no time for it. i am creating neither content or posts to contain it because the new job has been pretty intense. i was hired very shortly before the new quarter began, so i have been developing my classes week to week.

summer quarter will be better because i will have a quarter under my belt, and i have 3 extra weeks to refine the 2nd go round.

i plan to be very non-specific about my new job because i had to sign my name to 8,000 sheets of paper and i am pretty sure one of them frowned upon blogging.

our apartment looks like a war zone. piles and piles of stuff. first, we have piles of grading.

then we have the other major culprit for the lack of knitting.... piles of sewing. for shows. i have a big one coming up, and the only way to tackle it is to buy, borrow, and build.... a lot. the sewing has been simple and enjoyable. i am just not looking forward to all the finishing and hemming.

in addition to the pile of cut out garments on the left, this photo also features the model tote bag i stitched along with my students. it is my new favourite purse.

yesterday was hot and beautiful.


...and that is where it ended. i am relatively certain i was going to tell everyone about the day i had sunday when it was very hot.

rW and i went to Lake Artemesia and walked around the lake for awhile. i think we would have stayed much longer if we had brought some water along. never the less, it was fun and beautiful. we saw a turtle sunning himself on a log. he looked great--what a life! stretched out, eyes closed, leaning into the sun.

ahh!

and
one more picture for you....


i call this a "pattern piece tumbleweed". this final pile is what happens when you leave you pattern pieces poorly weighted on a surface overnight and neglect to close the window.

i am so s--m--r--t.

several things

okay okay.
enough prodding. i've had things to do, folks. they are many. let's review.

1. go see Roundheads and Peakheads. running through March 15th at the Atlas Center, it was produced by Catalyst Theatre Company. buy tickets here.

2. Constellation Theatre Company, a theatre i am proud to be an Associate Artist of is being awarded the James Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company at the 2009 Helen Hayes Awards. okay. so i didn't actually do anything when this announcement came out. jump and down and stuff... but i had to share.

3. deer are awesome and have natural camouflage.

Looking Out My Back Door

4. i have decided i really need to sew through some of my fabric stash--especially the things i have already cut out to make for myself. see my sewing here.

5. i read The Friday Night Knitting Club. not as good as i had hoped. only it sort of was because my expectation was to not really like it as much as "i should". still i read it because customers are always coming into the shop and telling me "oh! you would LOVE it!". yeah. because i knit i will automatically like chick lit about a knitter? um. actually, you don't know very much about what i like beyond knitting, so it is hard to say i will like a certain book. yeah. so it didn't change my life. and the totally unrealistic portrayal of opening and running a yarn shop was a bit trying.

6. i have become a selfish garment knitter. my needles have focused primarily on vests and sweaters for me, and so far i am loving what i have made. all. for. me. muwahahaha.

7. okay. so i may have knit rW another hat and scarf.

8. owls are neat.

9. my mother sent me an awesome red hat for valentine's day.

10. on the homefront, rW and i went out the friday of valentine's and had a yummy dinner. then we saw my show on saturday. i gave him a neat-o tie and he gave me an excellent back massage to combat the serious neck and shoulder tension that my work and hobbies create.

11. rW's record collection (see right) has helped return my love of taking pictures. the geometric shelves make a great backdrop for my fabric creations.

12. i have been trying some new recipes and adapting a few old favourites to be vegetarian. pumpkin bread. i couldn't find my version of my mom's recipe so i may have tried Betty's.

not bad.

13. best text message i have ever received: "Whenever i take Collin's socks off he has lots of fuzz between his toes. I always tell him we re going to send it to Aunt Yvette so you can make a sweater."


14. and a great knitting-related email.... "OMG, another tempting cablelicious project to tempt me! I sometimes wish I were an Indian god with multiple arms."

and that is life for now. i have a lot of knitting i should post. i realize that 2009 has been a very lax year for me actually updating the knitting content. i am still producing, it just isn' t making it to a blog near you.

i will try to be better.

moving forward

meet Tangerine the Owl. he came to live with me at christmas. cute, huh?

i think the whole month of december is a wash. the holidays are so time consuming and there are such a large number of other activities crammed into that time that the whole month gets swept away. with thanksgiving so close to december 1st tis year, it felt like a steamroller of holiday absurdity.

let's start the new year with my favourite bloggable thing... a list.

Holiday Highlights 2008!

1. successful knitting. i knit a cabled shell for my mother and a pullover for my father. they both fit very well, and each of my parents is very pleased with the result. you can see photos of them in their hand knits in...

2. Christmas photos.

Christmas 2008

3. i have also... practiced my hand at holiday floral arranging and being a good aunt (via hand knits). both of those items can be seen in the album as well. no pictures of Collin from me. i was too busy admiring him. i forgot to use the camera.

4. travel. i have been to ohio twice in the span of a month and to my hometown three times in a month. i hope this keeps me on Santa's "nice" at least through april or may. i get tense when i travel. going back to serious work is sort of a welcome change.

5. organized! in the midst of preparing for the holidays, i have been trying to get organized, clean out my needless stuff (who else owns 12 copies of the International Male catalogue? yes, it is for my job.), and map out my stash so i can knit it down this year. i have a lot of yarn, and some of it is intended for really big projects, so it looks even more ridiculous. must. knit. faster.

6. i also organized my thanksgiving photos. now you can see the trip rW and i took right here...

Thanksgiving 2008

7. happy new year! my new year's eve felt like 1945 (or something similarly quaint). rW and i walked down the street to a house party with friends who live around the corner. i baked an apple and pear pie and took it with us. (A+ pie crust this time!) i had wine and good conversation. it was a lot of fun!

January 2009 is going to be busy. rW and i both open shows. i am shooting a documentary in conjunction with the show i open in february. the inauguration is going to make the city wacky, and there will be a blogiversary this month.

i have a few projects i need to post about, but we are facing a slow down this month in the knitting department. hang in there with me!

sew confused!

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

proper topper: hats part II

the hat chronicles continue. i noticed something as i thought about my hat knitting some more. i tend to make hats in the last quarter of the year and there are very few that fall outside that period. funny, huh.


Unoriginal Hat
designed by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
published in the Yarn Harlot

knit in 1 skein of Malabrigo Chunky ("bobby blue", 100% kettle dyed merino wool) purchased at Now and Then on size US 10 DPNs.

started: november 13, 2008.
finished: november 13, 2008.

i bought this skein to be the pom pom and i-cord on the earflap hat i never knit out of the other skein of darker blue malabrigo. i had this pattern kicking around my queue for awhile and i thought it would be a good back-up gift to have on hand in case i can't find something better for the person i have in mind.

it is a fun and simple pattern. cables rock.


Gold Star Beret
aka "Aspen Beret".
designed by Pam Allen.
published in CEY #9092 Autumn, Book One.

knit in one skein of Lion Brand Woolease Thick & Quick (#189 "Butterscotch" 80% acrylic, 20% wool) on size 13 DPNs.

started: november 18, 2008.
finished: november 19, 2008.

the star stitch was very fun!
i started this when i was in dress rehearsals for Lord of the Flies. there was enough light spill from the stage that i could see the star stitches, but the pattern was easy enough that i didn't have to pay much attention.

the student actors thought i was a super star because they saw me knitting the hat on tuesday night and i wore it on wednesday.

were i to knit this again i would have gone down a needle size for the ribbing because it loosened up with wear and i have had to thread a drawstring through the ribbing and tie it in a bow at the back to keep the hat on my head. eek!


#09 Cabled Tam
designed by Jennifer Hagan.
published in Vogue Knitting, Holiday 2008.

knit in 1.25 skein of Malabrigo Silky Merino (#430 "smoke" 50% silk, 50% merino wool) purchased at Now and Then and knit on size US 5 DPNs and size US 4 & 5 circs.

started: november 14, 2008.
finished: december 4, 2008.

this project started with the yarn. i had. to. have. the smoke silky merino, and i bought enough for the bobbed tam also published in this issue of Vogue Knitting. then i decided the color was not good for the bobbles and switched to the cabled tam. the pattern calls for more yarn so i bought a third skein.

it turned out that i barely needed the second!

this hat is really beautiful, and the pattern is very good, although there is a small mistake in the last couple of rows of the chart. as enjoyable as it was to knit the tam, i will say it had a few tedious moments. most of those were centered around the rows in which every single stitch is cabled and you are working over 240 stitches in the round. those rows were blessedly few, which means on the balance, this was extremely enjoyable and gratifying to knit.

i call the project done, but i am pretty sure i am going to tear back the bind-off and ribbing and reknit it on size US 3 needles and for a few more rows to make a snugger band. this hat has a problem similar to the Aspen Beret.

one more hat to go!

a month ago

that was the last time i wrote an update. egads. much has happened.

and unrelated to all of those things which i will detail, is this photo rW took of me. i like it because i am relaxing on the floor betwen the couch and the coffee table--a favourite spot. AND (!!!) because i am wearing the Gathered Pullover i knit for myself.

i opened 3 shows. Busytown (children's musical), Temptation (political satire with costume party!), and The Serpent Woman (fantasy/commedia).

i was sick from september 26th through.... well, probably this past wednesday, but i am still not at 100%. it started with a bad cold that spread into a double ear infection that eventually also became tonsillitis in one (and only one) tonsil.

then i went on antibiotics that made me 500% more sick and didn't cure the ear infection. so i could neither eat nor hear and was still in tech.

now all the shows are open, and my ears are still about 40% clogged, but i am told it can take up to a month for ears to fully clear and webMD says i shouldn't really get too worried unless i still have hearing loss after 3 months.

ridiculous.

i read Breakfast at Tiffany's while i was at the urgent care and on the metro because i was sick enough to not feel like knitting (!!!). i have since recovered enough to report that i have knit....

75% of a christmas gift. 2 mittens, each from a different pair. 20% of a hat. and one whole side of the edging on the christening shawl. i made a mistake on that on day 2 of tech #1 and it has been sitting ever since until i have the time and brain power to tear back and resume.

jess has assured me the bambino will not be baptised until december, but i want to get it done before his arrival as a point of pride.

other items of note for the month:

locked myself out of the apartment. twice.

rW and i have passed the 6 month mark.

i have started to sew for myself again.

my car had to go to the doctor.

i registered to vote in maryland.

i started my christmas shopping.

and i discovered a new bakery.

tomorrow i am having a head shot taken for use on the company website and programs. i am unsure how i feel about this. it means i need to go wash my freshly dyed hair so it will be manageable tomorrow for the hair and make-up gal.

i hope i get to wear my glasses.

ps- marat/sade

oh, yes.
opening went well!

the post threw me a bone, and some other critics liked it quiet a bit. i'm not in the mood to find reviews and link.

you can check out some pictures here, here, and here. that lasts set has one of me showing my typically well concealed goofiness and anime eyes.

show cntinues to run through next weekend, so get your tickets here.

the next big thing....

and this time it is a revolution.

cast: Steve Beall, Joe Brack, Jonathan Church, Katy Carkuff, Parker Dixon, Alice Anne English, Danny Gavigan, Michael Grew, Ashley Ivey, Emre Izat, Lisa Lias, Meg Maxwell, Eric Messner, Christine Millette, Richard Ernest Owens, Helen Pafumi, Barbara Papendorp, Colin Smith, Jesse Terrill, and Andrew Vergara.

the rest of us: Andrew Griffin (lights), Yvette Ryan (costumes), and Matt Soule (set), Matt Ripa (assistant director), Jenn Carlson (stage manager), Christine Millette (ASM), Hannah Hessel (dramaturg), Cliff Williams (fights), and Joel Reuben Ganz (movement).

tickets here.

happy mother's day, clytemnestra.

last night we opened The Oresteia. finally! it was a huge show, and getting it up on its feet made me feel less than human for the last 2-3 weeks. i am happy with my work, but if i had another week there would be a little less "quick and dirty" hiding behind the lovely exterior of these garments.

check it out...

Constellation Theatre Company Presents..

The Oresteia
by Aeschylus
translated by Robert Fagles
adapted and directed by Allison Arkell Stockman

May 9- June 1
Clark Street Playhouse

design by: A.J. Guban and Yvette M. Ryan

original music performed live by:
Tom Teasley

ensemble:
Joe Brack, Katy Carkuff, Jennifer Crooks, Misty Demory, Nick DePinto, Kevin Finkelstein, Gwen Grastorf, Theo Hadjimichael, Brian Hemmingsen, Keith Irby, Nanna Ingvarsson, Ashley Ivey, Elizabeth Jernigan, Hilary Kacser, Lisa Lias, Kenny Littlejohn, Beckett Martin, Meghan Nesmith, Anne Nottage, Kevin O'Reilly, Rachel Lee Poole, Julia Proctor, James Radack, Julie Roundtree, Joe Thornhill, Amy Quiggins, Jjana Valentiner, Ron Ward, Lindsay Kitt Wiebe.

buy tickets here.

i will share pictures as soon as we get them back.

my big fat greek tragedy

i have been busting my backside to get The Oresteia on its feet. i have been cutting so much fabric that i have a knot in one of my hand muscles from scissors use.

in other news, the Maryland MVA is not so bad. take your patience pills (as my mother would say) and you can get through the whole experience just fine. we will see how i feel about it once i go back in a week or two.

hhhhhelen hhhhhayes.

monday was the 24th annual Helen Hayes Awards. for non-DC folks, you can think of this 2 ways... the DC equivalent of the Tonys. or theatre prom.

it is a little of both.

the highlight of the awards portion of the evening was that Reefer Madness (which i designed last july) was nominated for 6 awards. it won 2 of them! Outstanding Director, Resident Musical and it took the biggie it was nominated for... Outstanding Resident Musical.

the party was loads of fun... as captured in the picture (taken by my gal pal Meghan). yes, i know... shock of all shocks, i wore yellow!

i was going to go with a long black evening gown, but it was pouring rain all day and i was not interested in mopping the streets of downtown DC. dress was a happy accident... as was my 1960s hairstyle.

oh, and ps... i have the most attractive friends ever.

it was all good. i stayed the right amount of time. i had the perfect number of drinks. i saw and hugged at least 80% of the people i wanted to see and hug. my date was awesome. i liked my dress. and i got to sleep in on tuesday! i didn't even have to be at work until 3pm. all of these = great time.

my latest

last weekend i opened a brand spanking new musical: Looking for Roberto Clemente. i loved working on this show. i love watching it. i adore the cast. the design is adorable, and the message of the piece is fantastic.

but, hey... don't listen to me, go read the washington post review. theye even have two pictures. yay! click on the "next" button in the frame and you cn see the second one.

if you want a better view of all of my design, take a look at the short video Imagination Stage put out to promote the show.

go see some children's theatre. it may surprise you!

Looking for Roberto Clemente
at Imagination Stage
by Karen Zacarías (book) and Deborah Wicks La Puma (music)
directed by Kathryn Chase Bryer

April 12-June 1, 2008
Sign interpreted performance May 11 at 3:30
Enjoyed by ages 4+

World Premiere of a rock musical about baseball and heroes
The year: 1972. The place: Pittsburgh, where legendary baseball player Roberto Clemente is at the top of his game. Sam Kowalski and the neighborhood baseball-playing kids are in an intense competition to win the chance to meet Clemente in person. But it is their hero’s fateful off-field actions while aiding natural disaster victims in Nicaragua that teach the kids about what is more important in life than winning. “Any time you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don’t, then you are wasting your time on earth.”--Roberto Clemente

buy tickets here.

cast: Zack Colonna, JP Illarramendi, Derek Manson, Don Mason, Erika Rose, Matthew Schleigh, and Chris Wilson.



Roberto was a pretty amazing human being. Read a bit about him, and i am sure you will see why some call him the last true sports hero.

s.m.r.t.

i never update my blog. or knit. but i do get some sleep and i am trying to read a book when i can. i am not the lamest person in the world yet.

(see! i can't even do that right!)

at least the washington post gave me some love. oh, and my mom. she loves me too. at least she still says it even though i have been a bad daughter and not been calling her daily in the past couple of weeks.

the picture is the realization of the
sketch i last posted. fun, huh?

see, my lameness has a good cause behind it.

ps- there were other (mostly) good reviews for the show, but i am not feeling in much of a gilding the lily mood. i am happy with the work, as are my colleagues. that is enough.

i am truly wicked

i must be wicked because there has been no rest for me. i have worked and worked and worked for the entire week before leaving to see my family and i have done little more than work since.

i am not complaining because i have been doing things like creating Chinese Gods and hilarious peasants. i have also been enjoying the company of a lovely cast. for those locals who are interested in coming to see it....

The Good Woman of Setzuan
by Bertolt Brecht
translated by Eric Bentley

presented by Constellation Theatre Company
at the Clark Street Play House

Directed by Allison A. Stockman
Designed by Chris Baine, A. J. Guban, and Yvette M. Ryan

Cast: Katie Atkinson, Molly Cahill, Katy Carkuff, Catherine Deadman, John Feist, Kevin Finkelstein, Lewis Freeman, John Geoffrion, Keith Irby, Ashley Ivey, Hilary Kacser, Jenny Leopold, Lisa Lias, Kenny Littlejohn, Beckett Martin, Francisco Reinoso, Joe Thornhill, Meghan Tolmie, Yasmin Tuazon, Ron Ward.

Order tickets here.

when i was awake and not working

another tech week has come and gone. this one was particularly tricky and energy draining for several reasons.

1. cast of 19 actors ranging in age from 14-40ish.
2. Chicago = musical. musical = always more work.
3. 118 mile round trip drive daily. (that is approx 60-75 minutes one way)
4. rain. lots of it.
5. i was trying to get 2 other shows under control at the same time.

but when i was awake and not working, some interesting things happened.

for instance, i learned that you can buy drain opener in a convenient 80 oz family size bottle. this is very good when you live in an old apartment and this elixir of life allow you to shower and wash dishes. i always just bought two bottles at a time in the past. score!

while picking up some props for the director of my next show i bought a second 6-drawer organizer. it is now filled with all of the notions, trim, crafty bits, and other flotsam and jetsam of being a costume designer. i used to keep this stuff in bags piled in my anne frank closet (yes, that is the name--and it is a story) with little rhyme or reason because i hadn't taken the step to get organized. now my sequins are all together! now i won't buy a 15th package of 3/8" wide non-roll black elastic!


this organizational bender (which was undoubtedly fueled by sleep deprivation) reveled that i own 9 tape measures. yes, 9. that i am aware of. new ones crop up all the time. but i can never find one when i want it. if you looks closely in my new and improved bag of tape measures (in a drawer!) you will see that one of those tape measures is still in the package. nice.


i finished knitting a mitten. production meetings are always so long, and you spend so much time talking about light cues that traveling with knitting is a must. i am lucky that my director for this show is a friend and he is married to one of my knitting BFFs. he gets it.

isn't the mitten beautiful?
i love it. i can't wait until i have two finished mittens! i am also excited about taking a picture outside in real light. the colors are amazing in real light. this is my own take on an existing pattern. don't look too closely at the top decreases they are hard to work in seed stitch and maintain the pattern.

a few little things

not to leave you too disappointed that i have not shared my first finished object, i have two new ones i finished over the weekend. aside from the gathered pullover, which i have been neglecting, i will probably only have small projects until i am off the yarn diet because i am working from my stash, which is... well... full of small project amounts of yarn. the first...

Purl Beret
designed by Isabelle at Purl Soho
published on the purl bee blog

knit in Plymouth Happy Feet (1 skein color 06, 90% superwash wool, 10% nylon) purchased at K+S=B on size US 1 addi turbo circular needles.

started: january 22, 2008
finished: january 26, 2008

this was a a quick little knit. now if i could just knit my socks this quickly. i realized this was a whole sock worth of fingering weight yarn, so i wish i could be this focused and get a sock done with the same efficiency. alas, this was simpler than most sock, so it is no wonder it was faster.

i was also "project", rather than "process" knitting here. i enjoy going through the process of socks. i was just knitting this so i could wear it because i like the yarn and the pattern is cute.

i think i will modify a bit if i knit it again. i was knitting to the specified 7 stitches = 1 inch, and i think it is a little on the small side in terms of over all scale. of course, i have been wearing my very floppy Urchin beret, so in comparison this is much smaller.

also, i only steam blocked this to even out the stitches from the decreasing. i will probably wet block it over a dinner plate at some point to make it more beret-esque. what can i say? i go for the Little Match Girl look with my berets. (yes, i am well aware of the fact that the story is usually told with her bareheaded.)

my next stash project is a birthday gift for a friend who just celebrated her birthday while i was in tech for Life's a Dream. the details...

Fingerless Mitts
designed by Ann Budd
published in Weekend Knitting

knit in Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk (2 skeins color #8, 80% baby alpaca, 20% silk) on size US 6 needles.

started: january 26, 2008
finished: january 27, 2008

i like this pattern a lot. so much so that i plan to make a pair for myself from some Reynolds Rapture left in my stash (previously seen in the center squared hat and unseen sweater). it is simple, pretty, and fast.

on this pair i sewed up the side seam rather than doing the three needle bind off called for in the book because i sew a better looking seam than the 3 needle bind off creates.

i hope they fit. i have stupidly tiny hands, and i try everything on myself, so there is a good chance my friend will need a little more room. here's hoping that is not the case!

okay....
so i mentioned the show, and it is closing this weekend. i am a little sad to see it go. it is a good one, and i enjoy knowing it is out here running and people are watching it. so. go get a ticket local folks.

here is another picture to tempt you....



aren't they a good looking bunch? lindsay is wearing a stupid sexist veil for me, and theo grew that silly goatee just because i asked him to. and jim... well, he probably actually likes wearing the crown. go reward them for being good sports in the name of art.


Life's a Dream
by Pedro Calderon de la Barca
Adapted by John Barton and Adrian Mitchell
Directed by Alexander Strain
Produced by Journeymen Theater Ensemble
playing at Church Street Theater

cast: Maggie Glauber, Rex Daugherty, Eric Messner, Brian Crane, Theo Hadjimichael, Lindsay Haynes, Jim Jorgensen, Jesse Terrill, Andrew Vergara Retizos, and Mary C. Davis.

closing saturday february 2, 2008.

thanks, peter.

i forgot to check the Washington Post yesterday! and it is a shame because peter gave us a rather solid review. i even got a little shout out that my aunt will appreciate.

love the picture.
go see the show.

now showing

last weekend i opened another show, and it is running through February 2. the details...

Life's a Dream
by Pedro Calderon de la Barca
Adapted by John Barton and Adrian Mitchell
Directed by Alexander Strain
Produced by Journeymen Theater Ensemble
playing at Church Street Theater

cast: Maggie Glauber, Rex Daugherty, Eric Messner, Brian Crane, Theo Hadjimichael, Lindsay Haynes, Jim Jorgensen, Jesse Terrill, Andrew Vergara Retizos, and Mary C. Davis.

check it out.
no, really. i designed the same show with a different company about a year ago, and i am much happier with this design. and i really enjoy watching the show. i know, i know.... but kitty... Spanish Golden Age drama?

just go, it is worth it.

listen to the City Paper on this one. you can also go read about how it really isn't as golden age-y as some would like over at DC Theatre Scene.... you know... in case you are still reeling from the last time you saw a bad production of Fuente Ovejuna.

and i realize this is going to make me sound ungrateful, but i have to say it.

my costume design is not 17th century Spanish.
just had to clear that up since the DCTS reviewer gives many impressive facts about the period, and i wouldn't want it to be misleading to folks who see the show. (hey, but like a good bra... i am supportive!)

no 17th century.
not Spanish.
those clothes are made up creations that blend the play's origin (Spain) with its setting (Poland) and liberally borrow from a fantasy style composed of elements of the Mongolian plains, late 19th century Algerian Jews, traditional Nordic knitwear, Native American, Byzantian, Indian (dot, not feather), and West African styles.

yep.
that is indeed a small insight into the way my mind works.

quilts ahoy!

so the show i have been up to my ears designing is Quilters, and when there are quilters about, you better believe there are quilts. here is the quilt that i designed with the set designer.

it was built by the lovely and talented Miss Mar and her assistant Katherine. these women rock. each of the 16 smaller pieces are removable (the big full quilt is revealed at the end of the show) and each is stunning.

go to her blog post on the project to see the full details because i have got to get to bed, kids. oh, and do click through to the post because she included a bonus of a truly lovely picture of her Hanukkah candles.

blogger's spell checker has given me three ways to spell the holiday.... jerks. off confusing us heathens for sport.