not so last minute

may was the month of finishing, but i did a little starting as well. i can't do without an autopilot project, after all. these are the sorts of things i can knit or crochet while i talk on the phone with my cousin or watch bad tv with my boyfriend. (my idea, not his--terrible tv and knitting are BFFs.) and i have two to share--from the same book even!

Sideways Scarf
a.k.a. Men's Rustic Scarf
designed by Joelle Hoverson
published in Last-Minute Knitted Gifts

knit in Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande (1 skein black, 1 skein + a bit charcoal grey, 100% baby alpaca) from my stash on size US 10 1/2 32" circular needles.

started: may 26, 2008.
finished: May 28, 2008.

i had some leftover yarn from a holiday gift plus the yarn (same dyelot!) i bought to make a gift i never knitted for personal reasons. add a pattern i have always wanted to knit and divide by a holiday monday... ta-da.

i now want to knit... like... 18 of these scarves. and maybe i will once i get deeper into my baby gifts for my future niece/nephew (ps- i find out who i am knitting for this month!). i will need mindless projects too then.

so.
love this yarn.
i love the look of the stripes on both the wrong and right sides. and this project saved me from extreme boredom the day my car was in the shop and i had to metro everywhere. i will say binding off on the train when you are doing a project in which the tension of your bind off has a major impact on the finished look... less than ideal. but i managed.

next!

Rainbow Hat
a.k.a. Children's Cotton Hats
designed by Kim Hamlin
published in Last-Minute Knitted Gifts

knit in Mission Falls 1824 Cotton (1 skein #774 "lush", 100% cotton) from my stash on a size US 6 16" circular needle and US 6 DPNs. size med/toddler shown.

started: june 3, 2008.
finished: june 4, 2008.

this is why i was knitting 26" of i-cord. in the end i got distracted by bad tv and knit 28". it turns out to be a happy accident because i like the look of the longer tails on the bow.

i think this pattern's sizing is a little off. i think their infant size is a preemie or true "newborn", while their toddler size is older infants and their child size is more like a toddler's hat. but it is still cute. i couldn't see a 3 year old letting you put it on them anyway. they have too many opinions by that point.

this one was knit for no one in particular. i am saving all my random baby knits for the great baby deluge of 2010. i am predicting it now.

fancy that

last night rW and i went to a fancy dinner the non-profit he works for threw to honor people with lots of money who give it away to save old stuff. i sound flip--it was pretty cool. and the work these folks do it swell too.

highlights of the evening...

1. i got to wear the vintage late 50s cocktail dress i wore to helen hayes 2 years ago. i love that dress and it is memorable, so i can't wear it to HH again soon. this was a good excuse.

2. rW in a tux = fancy!

3. dessert buffet. hells yeah berries diplomat. let's hear it for lemon mousse!

4. big bibles. we were at the Library of Congress, and the Gutenberg Bible and the Giant Bible of Mainz were in cases on either side of one of the bars set up for the party. i read about them and then got to use a cool interactive screen thing to look at the details of the Mainz. it was pretty awesome. the screen is sort of like a huge iphone screen. you can zoom in and drag the pictures around in a similar fashion.

5. sad sob story. i can really work one, and it got us vegetarian dishes for the main course. (boo hoo. i can't eat your soup course. or anything else on the menu. woe is me.) and it is a good thing too because i was pretty sad to see everyone else's amazing vegetables and delicious potato and eggplant galette floating is extraordinarily rare beef juices.

bleah.
we had mushrooms stuffed with mushrooms. sounds redundant, but it was great.

and now for something funny....



speaking of knitting, i am working on a 26 inch long 2 stitch i-cord. gah. thrilling.

too much. too much. much too much.

this past weekend my mother came for a visit. it was a long and crazy weekend. we went to two knits shops (where she got yarn for 2 sweaters and 2 pairs of socks), drank martinis, visited with my aunt's family, drank mojitos, visited with one of my college roommates, drank coffee, saw two plays in one day, delighted in avocados, spent 1h, 45m at the MVA, had the worst waiter ever, and she met my boyfriend.

it was pretty awesome.

in addition she finished a baby blanket and i finished my sweater, although the sweater and i have not fully made peace. it is currently too big, and after it finishes drying from the good blocking i gave it today, it will probably undergo surgery.

if it cannot be saved, i may give it away to a knitting girlfriend it looks better on or give it to my little cousin. she has more athletic build than me, and it would probably look fantastic on her.

i suppose my third option is eating cream puffs until i fill it out or saving it in case i ever have a baby. ha.

cheers

happy memorial day, all you US folks. i spent the holiday in a fashion highly atypical for me--mostly relaxed. and doing some personal shopping.

i decided it was time to replace some glassware after i broke a piece last week (my first of the 15+ i am now missing). i have very bad luck with my glasses and other people. in the last 7 years i have lost many, many pieces by the hands of my various roommates. see that one lone black stemmed wine glass? that is the last of a set of 6. i also used to have four martini glasses and four margarita glasses, but my landlord (or maybe the property manager) stole them from my last apartment when i was moving*.

i made do with what i had for a couple years, but when i could no longer serve wine to myself and a guest, something had to change. i did splurge a bit getting the martini glasses, but the four of them and the six wine glasses all together cost less than $20. go World Market! yay Ikea!

i also started a new project despite May being the month of finishing. i started a scarf from my stash because i wanted something purely mindless to knit while relaxing on memorial day. it is hard to pay attention to sweater armhole decreases and a guest at the same time.

it is the "Men's" Rustic Scarf from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. either joelle hoverson is obsessed with naming things especially for men, or the publisher was afraid people without brains would not notice the man-oriented items in the book. odd.

i am knitting it from stash yarn, and i have no definite plans for the finished project yet. maybe i am starting my holiday knitting without knowing it!


* i left my glasses over night and planned to pick them up the next day because the car was full and i didn't want to break them. i came back the next day to people stripping my hardwood floors and my glasses missing. i had 2 weeks left on the lease, and i was fully paid up. (!!!!!)

going green

i love the color green, and it is showing up in my knitting a lot. for a long time i knit almost exclusively in back and grey for myself, but green is my favourite "real" color for knitting now. today i have a finished greenie and a work in progress that is coming along nicely.

"Men's" Cashmere Scarf
designed by Joelle Hoverson
published in Last-Minute Knitted Gifts

knit in Karabella Cashmere Elite (4+ balls #13340 Olive, 100% cashmere) received as a gift, on size US 6 birch needles.

started: january 2008.
finished: may 20, 2008.

my boss at the knit shop gave me 5 balls of this cashmere for christmas. i love the color. she did a great job picking out what would be "me" as well as surprising me with something i would not buy for myself (cashmere is a little rich for an artist's budget, even with my discount). i used every little bit between a pair of super-cute baby bootees and the rest going into this scarf.

i used a slightly modified version of Hoverson's pattern to knit my scarf. i cast on 45 stitches to accommodate the DK weight yarn (the pattern calls for a chunky yarn and only 21 stitches), and i guess i made one last modification.... um... i am not a man, and this scarf is for me. so, let's just ignore that title.

i have declared May the month of finishing, and i have made remarkable progress on my Gathered Pullover. after pulling out the first 6+ inches of the body back in February, i was slow to regain ground, but a few trips on the metro and i made it up to the cables this weekend. i manged to work through the entire cable chart and the first side front section. i am getting very close to a finished sweater! i am exceedingly pleased with myself for knitting the sleeves first.

unfortunately, i think this is going to fit my shape poorly. hm. but i am going to finish it and figure out how to fix it if it comes to such drastic measures. keep your fingers crossed for me.

for mark

my FBiL* is obviously concerned about my long term career prospects. he commented yesterday that i am jeopardizing my vegetarian food blogger career by not taking photos of my delicious breakfasts.

i am pretty sure i am not going to switch from one low paying, high commitment job to another.... especially when my pictorial skills (and cooking skills!) are not near my two current favs.... 101 cookbooks and bittersweet.

but i will share a few pictures because i actually cooked (for real!) last night. above we have a mixed greens salad with avocado, blackberries, and blue cheese dressing.

to the right we have my "mac and cheese". it is composed of organic whole wheat penne pasta, tomatoes, and a cheese sauce composed of four cheeses and vegetable broth. the whole mixture is topped off with italian style breadcrumbs and a sprinkling of oregano.

delicious!

*FBiL = Fake Brother-in-Law

not for a lack of material

i have several finished objects that i completed while i was not knit blogging. i squeezed in time to knit, but getting the pictures taken and projects detailed was a little above and beyond.

starting with the oldest...

Classic Cashmere Bootees
designed by Erika Knight
published in Simple Knits for Cherished Babies

knit in Karabella "Cashmere Elite" (#13340 Olive, 100% cashmere) purchased at K+S=B on size US 4 bamboo DPNs.

started/finished: 02.27.08

i was given 5 balls of this cashmere, and i am not a fan of very long scarves, so i used 2/3rds of a ball to knit these. super cute! i knit them before i knew of any babies on the way. now they may have little feet to adorn very soon!

Orangini
designed by Jil Eaton
from Minnowknits

knit in Schulana "Merino Cotton 90" (2 skeins lime, 1 skein electric blue, 53% cotton, 47% wool) on size US 8 needles.

started: March 18, 2008
finished: April 16, 2008

i finished this as a store model. someone else started it in March of 2007 and let it sit after knitting 80% of the back piece. i picked it up out of the back room and finished it up in a few afternoons at work.

love knitting with this yarn!

Luscious Collar
designed by Annette Petavy
published in Interweave Crochet, fall 2006

knit and crocheted in Debbie Bliss "Alpaca Silk" (3 skeins gold, 80% Baby Alpaca 20% Silk) on size US 7 needles and size US I crochet hook.

started: april 22, 2008
finished: april 30, 2008

i whipped up this little number for my mum's birthday. i was in tech at the time for a show with a near 3 hour run time, and i needed something i could knit in the dark. it turned out very well, and she loved it because it is knit in one of her favourite types of yarn--alpaca! good color for my mum too.

finally...

Elegant and Easy Cable Mittens
designed by Marci Richardson
published in 101 Designer One Skein Wonders

knit in Dream in Color "Classy" (1/2 skein "Spring Tickle" 100% superwash merino) on size US 4 & 5 DPNs.

started: february 29, 2008
finished: may 18, 2008

this is my second pair of mittens from this pattern. this time i used seed stitch instead of stockinette for the non-cabled portions of the mitten. i love love love knitting with this yarn. colors are fab!

eat this.

i made a delicious breakfast this morning. everyone should try it.... well, everyone who likes hot cereals and berries.

Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa.

no pictures.
because i am an overeager little breakfast eater!

my shame.

this is all knitting blah blah blah. (fyi for my non-kitting readers.)


i currently have an obscene number of UFOs. un. finished. objects. most of them are playing for the 50% team. boo on that.

i have decided that i need to take a few down before i 1. do any more lizard ridge squares. 2. start the other parts of my cousins' baby gifts or 3. start carving out serious shawl time. i like knitting the shawl, and it has a (distant) deadline, but some of these old friends need to come off the books.

i worked on the Gathered Pullover in front of a movie the other night. each round is 152 boring stitches right now and i have not quiet caught up to where i had to tear it all out and start over. reknitting stocking stitch in the round is not as fun as i wish it was. this will get better once i pass the "tear out" mark and even better once i can work the cable motif.

when i got too bored with the sweater, i finished the movie up by knitting on my cashmere scarf. it is also boring, but i wanted something simple to show off the cashmere. so, yeah. dull. dull. dull. BUT! inspired by how quickly it was coming together, i managed to knit through the 3rd of 4 balls of yarn tonight. it was helped by the fact that i switched from metal to birch needles... the metal was almost too slick for my cashmere, and the birch sped me up a bit.

i joined in some cashmere left over from a 5th ball i knit into a tiny project instead of breaking into the 4th intact ball. in is probably only about 30 yards. if i had waited to use my partial at the end, i could see myself deciding to bind off after ball 4 and never use the partial. discipline! let no cashmere go unknit.

this scarf is on my hit list. as well as the 2nd cabled mitten. (i LOVE the mittens. they are fun to knit and the yarn rocks--Dream in Color "Classy") i will feel much less shame about the pullover or sock once these other two re done. i will also stop feeling like the only color i knit with is green.

(it sort of is.)

lizard ridge #6

just a quick little update. i finished the the 6th panel on the lizard ridge. i laid the 5 that were not drying from being blocked across my floor last night and decided that i may need the blanket to be 6 panels wide instead of 5.

that means i need to decide if i want to make it 5 tall by 6 wide... or go ahead and knit 36 instead of 30 panels. (i have already mentally upsized from the 24 panels called for in the pattern). i could also d a larger crochet border since, well... i like crocheting. =)

speaking of... i am now off to being the process of crocheting together a 180 panel afghan for a customer at the store. yes, i am being paid.

lizard ridge #5

yesterday i decided to minimize my productivity. i have been working so hard for so long that i really needed a day off. yes, i know it was a monday. what's it to you, huh?

i did dig out my bedroom so i would no longer be swallowed by my "tech piles". and i knit. a lot. i finished the 5th block of my Lizard Ridge, and i am very close to completing the 6th block.

when i finish the 6th, i will go back to my unfinished projects, which as you may note from the side bar, are piling up on me. (piles! imagine that.) the christening shawl is the only one that has a deadline, but i have had a good reason to not work on it in the last 2 weeks... i'm not crazy enough to knit lace dog tired.

this block was knit in Noro Kureyon colorway number 182.

lizard ridge #4

i have had very little time to knit or crochet with my hectic work schedule, but i recently spent several hours sitting at the MVA getting my title and plates changed on my car. i needed a project that i could easily keep track of in a noisy (potentially uncomfortable) room so i wouldn't go stir crazy.

ta-da.
my afghan squares!
this one was completed almost exclusively under unusual circumstances. sitting and standing in line at the MVA was one half. i did about 1/4 of it in complete darkness, and most of the last bit was done in the car, stuck in traffic (i moved 5 miles in nearly 3 hours, perfectly safe knitting "speeds"). i bound it off at home.

this is Noro Kureyon in colorway number 95. i loved it in the skein. i wish it had knit up with a little more variety. because i am doing 6 pattern repeats instead of five on my blocks, when i came to the end of my yarn all i had left was one color... so i cut it and finished off the last stripe with the remains of a prior ball.

i made a little mistake in the pattern on this block, and i did not notice until after i blocked the piece. boo. maybe i will be the only one who notices...?

i doubt it!

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.

i is special.

i got flowers at work today. pink tulips.

the delivery guy walked into the shop carrying them and the ladies i was working with pointed me out to him when he asked... and still when he looked at me and said my name i said "who? me?".

and then i had to sign a piece of paper, which i guess i did poorly because i was still so surprised.

highlight of my day!

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.

again and again

i am back in tech.
i am working on #4 out of 5 in the big spring tour de force that is my working life. come mid may i am going to pass out for an entire week. during that week or break, i will only work at the shop. and clean my apartment top to bottom. and sleep. and knit. i have some crafty news.

1. i bought the yarn and needles to begin the baptism shawl for my future niece/nephew. this is a project jess knows i am making, so i am cool with sharing the details. we shall see if pictures go up. can't decide if i want to try to surprise her a little.

2. i knit a few rows on the cashmere scarf because it is simple an di could do it in a very dim theatre.

3. i knit a few rounds on the gathered pullover because i can knit that in complete darkness.

4. the cross stitch project i am currently working on is a warm-up to something bigger. the current is a set of very small (and too cute) winnie the pooh characters that will be for the new person's room. i have pooh, piglet, and eeyore finished. i started tigger and i will probably get him done by the end of the week. i need to learn how to make better french knots so i can really finish each of them (they need knots for eyes) and frame them for hanging. they are moving right along, however!

i think i will keep the bigger project a secret for now.

last thing....
i hurt myself pretty badly at rehearsal last night. i even had to fill out accident report forms. i slipped in a puddle of water and fell into a chair sideways. my backside and lower back are nice and stiff and my shoulder/neck/arm are all manner of screwed up. boo.

advil is my friend. but beer actually makes it feel best.

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.

hey big spender

the picture is a mitten i finished a few weeks ago. i just like it and wanted to share. it doesn't have a mate yet. boo on me.

ahem.
i'm going to talk about myself for a bit. there aren't really rules for the blogging i do here, so hang in there with me while i have some me time.

life has been super crazy, and i have felt much more like a worker bee than a person for the last 4-6 weeks. so i went out and got a little indulgent to help make me feel a little more like a person. my idea of "indulgent" is laughable, but i am on an artist's budget, you know.

ahh, cotton knit. how i love thee. i hit target this week and got myself some new shirts on sale. 1 black tee, 1 black tank, 2 (very acidic happy!) green tees, and a new skully shirt. i think the last time i bought myself new clothes was back in october or november, and it is starting to show.

i really need new jeans, but with the weather finally turning and my skirts looking longingly up at me from my drawer, i may be able to put that off until the fall clothing urge hits again. new black tees make it that much easier to resist the temptation.

that and the fact that trying to simultaneously be a woman who feels good about herself and try on jeans is a near impossible feat, i think i will save the heroics for the future.

my real splurge was a few new books.

that's right, i am reading again.
i started out by icking up Tropic of Cancer again, and i have made some progress this time around. i had to put it back on hold lately because my head has been too full for a stream of consciousness frolic through Paris that utterly lacks a plot.

instead have been reading the copy of High Fidelity that rW gave me. he was going to lend me his copy and instead surprised me with my very own. i love the film, so it is safe to say the gift will get well used in my "rereading" cycles. it is a fast read, and it is very fun to see the differences between the book (set in london) and the movie (americanized and set in chicago).

now.
the books i got myself.
i picked up a copy of Breakfast at Tiffany's because i was inspired by gwen.
i bought the compact hardback for a few bucks more because there are 3 other Capote short stories in that edition. i am warming up for when i finally let myself read In Cold Blood. i know i can't do it until i am low stress enough not to get all worked up by the violent and horrible parts.

moving on.
new knitting/crochet book! i bought a sock book.... Stitch Style Socks. i don't actually own any sock books. all of my socks have been knit from free patterns or books that contain all variety of patterns. i have just never found one that is overall special enough to make me want to buy it. this one grabbed me with the cover project--houndstooth check socks. there are also some neat slippers, a pair of chunky cabled leg warmers, and knee-high skull socks. lots of fair isle and intarsia in this book, which are two techniques i want to get into more.

finally, something frivolous.
Dictator Style: Lifestyles of the World's Most Colorful Despots. this one is pure fun for designer. it is gross, opulent, and over the top. it seems sick to want to see pictures and read about Nicolae Ceausescu's bathroom or Manuel Noriega's christmas tree, but it takes design and mindless fun to a whole new level for me. plus, sometimes you just need something to be outraged about.

(and to tell the truth, it was $3 in the bargain bin.)

in addition to reading more, have also taken up cross stitch again because i have a project i want to make for a future new person. i forgot how fun it can be! i'll post pictures on my needle craft once i extract a promise from someone that he won't ruin the surprise for his wifey. ahem. (you know who you are!)

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.