Category: knitting Page 4 of 6

RTFM, eejit!

On Thursday, 8 July, 2010

I really should read knitting patterns more carefully before I start. When I started the little sweater, I decided to do the pullover rather than the cardigan because I saw that the cardigan involved steeking, which I didn’t think I was ready for yet. If I’d read more carefully, I’d have realized that the armholes on both the pullover and cardigan are created by steeking. Eek! If I’d noticed this before finishing the body, I’d have adjusted the pattern to take that into account, but it’s too late now (the sweater’s already terribly behind schedule and I don’t fancy frogging the body back that far). So, I guess I’ll be trying my hand at steeking after all. Toes crossed, and all that.

I also feel like an eejit because I made the second sleeve two inches too short! The pattern calls for increasing two stitches every fourth row until you get 78 stitches. That took me 68 rows on my counter for the first sleeve. When I started the second sleeve, I got my rows and stitches mixed up and stopped increasing at 68 stitches, and didn’t bother to confirm by glancing at the pattern before I started the finishing off rows. *sigh*

They look much better now that they’re even. And I’m going to be very pleased with the final product if the whole steeking thing works out.

Shower fail

By kruthie73

On Thursday, 27 May, 2010

In audiobooks, friends, knitting, librivox

I do so dislike having to play “takesies backsies” at baby showers, but I just didn’t manage to finish the sweater. I’d be further along if I hadn’t noticed a mistake two nights ago and frogged back to fix it. Still, baby isn’t due till July, so hopefully I’ll have it finished before then. And the shower was a fun way to finish a work day, even if all the men did congregate in one corner as if the rest of us had cooties (you’d think they’d have outgrown that by now!). 🙂

I’ve decided on Sense and Sensibility for my next LibriVox project. I’ll do Anne’s House of Dreams after that. I do wish Anne of Windy Poplars were out of copyright. It’s one of my favourites in the series. Darn you, Lucy Maud Montgomery! You should have written faster!

Ack!

By kruthie73

On Thursday, 20 May, 2010

In friends, knitting

I need to get back to knitting! Next baby shower is next Thursday and I haven’t finished the body yet, much less the sleeves (though I’d already decided that I’m going to do stripes on the sleeves rather than the star/snowflake design that’s on the body, so they shouldn’t take as long).

I’ve had to pause in the knitting a couple of times, to work on costumes for Gypsy and then cos I got the flu (never feels right to work on baby garments while ill… not that I had the energy for it anyway).

So cute!

By kruthie73

On Sunday, 4 April, 2010

In audiobooks, knitting, movies, pics, theatre

I’ve finished the little dress from the Dale book, and it turned out soooo cute!! I’m really pleased with it. I bought some little pewter clasps online to use as buttons.

The shower is next Saturday, so it’s pretty good timing.

I’ve started the next project. I was originally going to do one of the sweaters as a cardigan and the other as a pullover (the pattern has instructions for both), but before I started I read through the cardigan pattern and saw that it’s knitted in the round and then steeked. I’ve never done steeking before, and while I do want to try it, I figured a gift item wasn’t the best test piece, so I’m going to do two pullovers instead and save steeking for another day.

I’d be twice as far along, only I realized a couple of rows below this that I’d mis-read the pattern and was starting the rows in the colour-work graph at the wrong place (I’d started the first one in the right place, but then was going to the far right at the beginning of each new row, instead of back to the same starting place), so I frogged it and started over. Much better now. The one thing I don’t like about this pattern so far, is that there are a couple of rows that involve three colours of yarn. It’s orders of magnitude tanglier than just two.

At LV I recently finished The Sky Is Falling by Lester del Rey, another sci-fi story. My next project is What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge. I’d wanted to do it a couple of years ago, but someone else started a solo version before I could get to it, so I put it off and did What Katy Did at School instead. The other project has since been completed, so I feel like I can do mine without stepping on anyone’s toes. 🙂

Recently watched the new-ish version of Sense and Sensibility (I think it was part of that Austen series they showed on Masterpiece a year or so ago, but I missed it then). I really liked it. Well enough to buy a copy for my library. None of the others in the series impressed me that much, and I will keep faithful to the earlier versions I already own (P&P w/ Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, Persuasion w/ Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root). Not to say I no longer like the Emma Thompson version of S&S, though.

We’re doing Gypsy at the WCT. I tried out for one of the stripper roles, but got cast as Miss Cratchitt, the secretary in the New York scene. Should be fun… I’m onstage for two scenes at the end of act 1, and the rest of the time I’ll be able to read, play cards, relax back stage. Reminds me of Christmas Carol. 🙂

You know you make me wanna…

By kruthie73

On Sunday, 14 March, 2010

In knitting

Twist & Shout? Yeah. I’ve been working on that pattern from the Fall 2008 issue of Knitty since the fall of 2008. I just can’t get the darned thing finished!

First off, shortly after I got the yarn, Lucy decided it would be great fun to strew the entire contents of the package around the living room floor one day while I was at work. Thank goodness I came home for lunch that day, or by the end of the day it would probably have been unsalvageable. As it is, I called in sick to work and spent the rest of the afternoon untangling yarn. I had to throw some away, but I was able to salvage most of it (spent the rest of the project picking dog hairs out of it, though).

I did finally start the project during the 08-09 winter, but kept putting it aside to work on gifts for other people. I managed to get about halfway up the back before I got to the point, weatherwise, where I no longer wished to knit.

By the time I picked it up again last fall, I had no idea where, exactly, I was in the pattern (you have to keep count on two or three different things at a time), so I ripped it out and started over. I knew I was going to have to buy more yarn to get it finished, thanks to dear Lucy, but I’m obviously a horrible judge of yarn needs. I keep getting “just one more skein” to finish the thing off, and coming to the end of it and thinking, “ok, surely just one more skein?”.

I’ve finished the five sections, pieced it together and am about halfway through the collar. But I’m at a standstill now because I’m out of yarn (again!) and knitpicks (who make this yarn), won’t have any more of this colour in stock until May!

In other projects, I have three friends having babies within the next four to six months, so I’m working on gifts now. I’m finally making the little dress from the Dale baby book that I’ve been wanting to make for so long (but my friends kept having boys!). I’m about a quarter of the way through it. For my other two friends I’m making pullovers from another Dale baby book. Unfortunately, the yarn I ordered for those got nicked off my front porch between the time it was delivered and the time I got home from work. Pisses me off! >:( When I re-order I’m going to have it sent to work.

Shoot!

By kruthie73

On Wednesday, 23 December, 2009

In knitting

I forgot to take photos of my Christmas knitting projects before giving them away! 🙁 Well… they were for my housemates, so I may yet get a chance. I made two pairs of fingerless gloves (Fetching pattern from Knitty that I made for myself a couple of years ago), one in black, one in variegated pink. The third housemate got a cap and scarf. Now I can get back to work on the jacket I’ve been making for myself (another Knitty pattern – cover image from last fall). It’s been a while in the making. I started it last winter but kept getting sidetracked by gift knitting and only got about halfway up the back by the time it was too hot to continue (I don’t knit in Texas summer). By the time I picked it up again a couple of months ago, I was totally lost, so I ripped it all back and started over. So far I’ve finished the back and am halfway up the right front (might get that finished today or tomorrow).

Pandas and Trains

By kruthie73

On Monday, 7 July, 2008

In friends, knitting, librivox, pics, public domain, theatre

I’ve started working on baby projects for T. I’ve already made a little panda hat. I still need to buy eyes for it, but otherwise it’s finished.

The other project is going to be a pullover with a train on it. I found a pattern, and I’m going to change up the colours to make it look like the Hogwarts Express. I had ordered the pattern a couple of weeks ago, but they had run out, and I had to wait for their new stock to come in. It finally arrived at the end of last week. Now I just need some yarn – I have some in my stash that I want to use, in red, black, white, and yellow, but I also need some grey, blue and green.

The melodrama goes up in less than two weeks. I’m not particularly excited at this point, but then, I hadn’t wanted to direct to begin with. I wanted to be nice and rested when auditions for Children of Eden came along. Ah, well. We do get to use the theatre space as of tonight, which is a week earlier than we’d expected, so that’s nice. Even though we don’t get to do any set building as yet (the Children’s Theatre are still officially in the space), at least the actors will get a feel for the dimensions and the acoustics.

I went downtown to watch the fireworks last Friday for the first time since coming to live in Waco. The closest I’d come to this before was hanging out with friends in one of the Baylor parking lots when I was an undergrad and setting off some of our own little ground based fireworks and then watching the big display from a distance. It was quite fun. I hung out with Beth and the 92.9 tent; and Eileen came and hung out with us too.

I’ve just started working on Anne of the Island for LibriVox. I had been working on Mr Hogarth’s Will and Angelina, but I just couldn’t get into them and I kept procrastinating and not doing any recording at all. I’ve turned Mr Hogarth’s Will into a collaborative, and started up Anne as my new English solo. I feel sort of guilty abandoning Hogarth, especially because no one has shown any interest in it in the nearly two weeks since I turned it collaborative. But I’ve also started recording more often now that I’m working on a project that interests me. If no one picks up any of the chapters, I’ll probably do one here and there just to keep it alive. Oh, and for the first time since, I think, my second project, someone beat Ans to signing up to PL one of my English solo projects!

I’m still working on Angelina too (more enthusiastically since I started Anne). Spanish is so under-represented in the catalog, that I feel it’s my duty to contribute as much as possible, both in solos and collaboratives. I’ve currently got three collaborative projects going – part 6 of Aesop’s Fables, Jose MartÃ‘s La Edad de Oro, and I took over part 2 of Don Quijote from Gesine when she needed some time off. Angelina is only the third solo Spanish work in the catalog, and one of the other two is mine as well.

Long live the Queen

By admin

On Monday, 9 June, 2008

In knitting, pics, theatre

Queen Victoria was a hit! I made a couple of alterations toward the funny side to the text Lise sent me and got lots of giggles. The worst was Tommy, who kept anticipating parts of the speech and would start laughing before the punch line. I watched the final performance in character and had an awful time trying to keep a straight face, especially when Regan looked straight at me and made a face at me.

I’m going to be co-directing this summer’s melodrama with MB. I hadn’t intended to direct it, because I knew MB wanted to try her hand at directing and thought the melodrama would be a good place to start (as it was for me, two years ago). But for some reason, the board decided they didn’t want a newbie directing by herself, and asked if I’d co-direct with her. As far as they know, I’m directing and she’s watching and learning. As far as we’re concerned, she’s directing and I’m offering moral support and suggestions.

When the new season was announced, I had wanted to direct the Hallowe’en show, Dial M for Murder, but I got sick and wasn’t able to get the proposal in on time. I learned today that a guy I know from a couple of shows this past season is going to be directing. He was kind of a pain in one of the shows, so I don’t think I’ll be auditioning as I’d originally intended. But that’s ok, because I also found out recently that The Cachinnator is going to be directing the Christmas show (A Christmas Carol), and I really enjoy working with him. If someone else had gotten DMfM, I might have ended up working on shows from June – December (not that I really expected to be cast in DMfM, because there’s only one female role).

I finally got around to working on my project for Jana’s baby (about time, since he was born over a month ago!). I had originally intended to make a little dress set out of one of the Baby Dale pattern books, because she’d been told she was having a girl. But then Elliott arrived, and I had to change plans. I decided to make a vest, and I wanted to try some fair isle, but I didn’t like the patterns I was finding, so I made one of my own. I’ve nearly finished it. I just have to do the ribbing on the armholes and neckband. I’ve posted a link to the pattern here: http://www.karenrsavage.com/blog/toddlers-fair-isle-vest/

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat…

By admin

On Wednesday, 19 December, 2007

In audiobooks, family, knitting, librivox, public domain, theatre

The Man Who Came to Dinner has finished. I got lots of compliments on my character, and lots of “it took me a second to realize that was you when you came on stage” type comments. During the course of MWCtD my friend Tredessa applied for and got the directorship of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which is the next show coming up. I hadn’t been particularly interested in auditioning for that show (I find Tennessee Williams terribly depressing), but I enjoy working with T, so I checked to see if they had a stage manager for it yet. They didn’t, so I signed up for the job. We’ve had auditions, but rehearsals don’t really get started until the New Year, so there’ll be a bit of a break. As much as I enjoy doing stuff at the Civic, it’s nice to know that, for this gig, I actually do get paid a small stipend (yay, crew!).

I’m heading off to CA on Friday to spend Christmas with mum and Paul’s family. I just learned that Alondra’s sister and her two sons will also be there during that time. That is going to be one crowded house. I think I may be asking to go to work with mum more often than I would otherwise have done. I know she wants me to play Santa to all her friends one day at least.

I’ve been knitting frantically for the past few of weeks to finish Christmas presents. I’ve made a purse for my sister-in-law. I finished the actual knitting a couple of weeks ago, but it wasn’t until this past weekend that I got around to sewing up the seams and putting in the lining (which I think I made a little too big, but by the time I figured it out, I was so far into it that I couldn’t bear the thought of starting over (again – the first try was too small)). My other project was a scarf for mum’s friend Natalie, which I also finished last weekend. I took both patterns from my “knitting pattern a day ” calendar. I’ve been pulling out the patterns I like and storing them in one of my notebooks. I was pleased to be able to use a couple of them. I’d post pictures of them, only I haven’t been able to find my camera for several weeks now.

I’ve finished both the projects I was working on for LibriVox. I finished Pride and Prejudice over Thanksgiving weekend, and Novelas Cortas the following week. Now I’m working on another of the Scarlet Pimpernel books, The Elusive Pimpernel. At this rate, I may end up doing all of them (that are on gutenberg, anyway). I got the new MCC continuing ed schedule in the mail last week, and I saw that one of the seminars they’re offering is about doing voice over work. I’m seriously considering signing up for it.

I went to see August Rush and Enchanted around Thanksgiving. I really liked them both. I’ve gotten to the point where I usually just wait for a movie to come out on dvd before watching it, but there are a few that intrigue me enough that I’m willing to shell out five bucks for a matinee.

Pretty!

By admin

On Wednesday, 24 October, 2007

In knitting

I’m thinking of buying a set of the Knit Picks interchangeable circular needles. I’d seen them before, but the original version had nickel plated brass needle tips, and I wasn’t sure about them. But now they’ve come out with a wood tip version which is calling out to me. They call them Harmony and they’re yummy looking! I’ve been moving more toward wood and bamboo needles lately, so these are definitely appealing to me. And then I could get rid of that hodgepodge of circular needles that I have now, all of which have been given to me by other people.