Category: knitting Page 5 of 6

Wintering up

On Tuesday, 16 October, 2007

So my new office is frickin’ freezin’ and I’m told it gets even colder in winter, so I’ve started preparing. I made myself a pair of fingerless gloves last weekend. They turned out quite nicely, and were ridiculously quick and easy to make. I may make several pairs in different colours, but these will do for starters.

I’m still working on the elephants as well. I’ve got all the pieces made on the first and I’ve started the second (finishing is my least favourite part of knitting, so I’m putting off the evil day until they’re both done).

Covering things up

By admin

On Tuesday, 9 October, 2007

In knitting, pics, work

My office mate is wackier than I am. He decided to keep the tissue box cozy on his desk.

Football…

By admin

On Monday, 8 October, 2007

In knitting, work

So, on Saturday I went to my first Baylor football game since I was an undergrad. The library won a “does your department have spirit” photo contest and we were given 200 tickets to split among us. I figured, since it was free, why not? I mean, sure I don’t like football, but watching the game isn’t really the reason I go to sporting events, it’s to hang out with friends (except tennis matches… I do enjoy watching those, but that might just be because I understand all the rules). So I went. There was also a tailgate party beforehand. MB came with me as my “tailgate date”, and then I sat with her and her friends on the student side. We definitely looked like we were having a better time on our side than where my real seats were supposed to be. We were right next to the band, and as MB and her friends are all ex-band members, I had coaches on what to yell when. So, even though we got slaughtered, and Baylor’s level of play was atrocious, I did have a good time. I don’t think I’ll be running out to buy season tickets any time soon, but it’s OK for once in a while. Plus the fact that I had such a good time yelling with MB and her friends that I yelled myself almost hoarse and didn’t get to do any recording the rest of the weekend, so it’s definitely not something I want to do regularly.

Tissue Box Cover

I also made one of these this weekend. Now, normally, I’m not into these sorts of items. They’re too frou-frou for my taste, but it this case, frou-frou was exactly what I was looking for. I made it as a prank for my office-mate, Eric… in pink yarn with little pastel flecks. I’m just waiting for him to step out of the office for a few minutes so I can slip it onto his tissue box. This all started because he and another guy wrapped everything in the girl across the hall’s office in foil for her birthday a few months ago, and a couple of weeks ago, when we were helping him move his desk around, she found the two boxes of foil in one of his desk drawers and decided to take revenge. I’ve been helping her, because it’s fun. I’m getting a little nervous though, because he hasn’t retaliated yet.

New project…

By admin

On Monday, 1 October, 2007

In audiobooks, friends, knitting, librivox, public domain

Since I still haven’t gotten back my knitting patterns book from Meredith, I’ve decided to start a project of my choice for Asa. I figure if I don’t start it soon, I may as well give it to him for his high school graduation. So, I found this pattern for a stuffed elephant that looked really cute, and I decided to do that for now. I’ll probably still do the other when/if I get the book back from her.

Cute, isn’t he? I’m making two of them, one in a darkish blue-grey for Asa, and one in yellow for Jana, since I don’t yet know what her baby will be. I’m about two thirds of the way through the first one and I only started Friday night, so it’s knitting up really quickly. I’ll post photos of my two versions when I get them finished (this photo is one of the ones on the pattern).

I did finish A Little Princess last weekend, but I didn’t get around to finishing cataloguing until the end of the week. I decided to do a collection of AlarcÃ³n short stories for my next official project. Ans is proofing both that and P & P for me, because I was starting to run out of room on my laptop with all the audacity files for P & P that I’d been saving up. She can’t understand a word of what I’m reading for the short stories, so she’s reading along and just comparing sounds. 🙂

No more Armand!

By admin

On Friday, 21 September, 2007

In audiobooks, knitting, librivox, public domain

I finished El Dorado yesterday! Woohoo! No more wanting to smack Armand! 🙂

It really did end up being a very good book, once I got past those beginning chapters where he was being such a goose, and once the action moved onto the other characters. I’ve decided that one reason I was so annoyed with Armand was that Orczy changed him so much from the first book to this one. In that, he was the responsible elder brother, who had looked after his little sister from the time their parents died, and was completely devoted to the Scarlet Pimpernel’s cause. In this book she made him younger than Marguerite and completely reckless and foolish.

And I have two chapters left of A Little Princess, so I should be done with that this weekend. Now I need to find something new to read. I am still working on Pride and Prejudice, but when I started it, I didn’t realize there was another solo version in progress. It had been semi-abandoned, but it started back up this week. As it’s a newer reader, I don’t want them to feel like I’m infringing on their territory, so I’d rather not take P&P public just now. My plan is to keep working on it, but I need something else for my public project. I’m thinking of, perhaps, some more Nesbit, another Anne book, or maybe the first Katy Did book. But I haven’t decided yet.

I finally got my invite to Ravelry yesterday. I spent part of today adding completed projects to my page. I don’t know how much I’ll use it for organization, but it’s a great place to get new ideas!

On eating crow…

By admin

On Tuesday, 18 September, 2007

In audiobooks, knitting, librivox, public domain, theatre

So after everything I said about the WCT being somewhat picky about casting the leads of plays, I have to take it back. I watched Annie the weekend it opened, and ended up leaving during intermission. Like Once Upon This Island, the casting of the leads left much to be desired. I will say that the three people cast as Miss Hannigan, Rooster and Lily St. Regis were fantastic. They were the only leads who seemed confident onstage and with their lines, songs and choreography. They were also the only leads who seemed to be having fun with their parts (not really difficult with those).

My main objection was to the poor child who played Annie (well, the one I saw that night… the role was shared by two girls). It’s not her fault. I’ve worked with her before and heard her sing, and know that she has a very nice voice, but someone made the decision that she should belt all her songs… and they just weren’t in her belting range, so the result was that she sounded strained and painful.

I decided not to audition for Amadeus after all. I’d only just regained enough energy (after the stress of adjusting to the new job) to get back into my LibriVox project, and I’m on a roll with that, so I wasn’t willing to give up my evenings just yet.

I’m still working on El Dorado, but I’m not as blocked as I was before. The focus hasn’t been on Armand as much as it was in the beginning, so he’s not driving me crazy like he was. I’ve also started two other projects – A Little Princess and Pride and Prejudice. I’ve been wanting to do both for a while, and doing chapters in those was a good motivation to deal with Armand. 🙂 I haven’t put P & P into the catalogue yet, I’m just working on it on the side for now, but I’m five chapters each away from finishing El Dorado and Little Princess , and I’ll be taking it public once I do finish them.

I learned of a knitting group here in Waco a few weeks ago. I’ve been thinking of visiting it. I’m a bit shy of going because I only know one person… and also because I don’t have anything particularly interesting on the needles just now. I’ve got that scarf I started for Ethel last winter still going; and a hat for the Dulaan project. I had bought a whole bundle of a particular yarn… ooh, probably two years ago that didn’t turn out to be how I expected (it said worsted, but it’s much thicker than that), so I figured I could use it up making hats and things for the Dulaan project.

And now I’m off to eat lunch in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. 🙂

It’s over!

By admin

On Friday, 16 March, 2007

In knitting, theatre

It’s the last day of Spring Break (Saturday and Sunday don’t count, they’re not work days). As usual, I had to work during Spring Break, but I asked for a couple of days off in the middle. I mostly lazed, but I got a lot of recording done for my latest LibriVox solo project, The Scarlet Pimpernel. I have one last file left to edit, and then it can be catalogued. I really sped through this one, for some reason. I only started it at the end of February! (literally, the 28th).

I have a couple other projects in progress; Pirates of Penzance, which I’m trying to get finished this month, during March Madness; the other two are MC projects, my first two, since I was made an MC a week or two ago. Nothing too difficult yet, but I haven’t gotten to the cataloguing part yet. I’d meant to ask kayray, my MC if she’d let me catalogue Scarlet Pimpernel, so I could get it figured out, but she started before I could ask. I’m thinking of maybe MC’ing a weekly poetry project as a way of getting my feet wet instead.

We had auditions for Once Upon a Mattress last week, and I got cast as Lady Lucille (one of the ladies-in-waiting) and the Pantomime Queen (I thought I read quite well for the Queen :)). As Lady Lucille I get to hang out with Regan and Beth. So much fun! I think it’s going to be a great cast. I haven’t actually counted, but I’d say I know at least half of the people already from previous shows.

In knitting, I have this particular pattern for a little dress that I’ve been wanting to make since I first saw it over a year ago, but my friends keep having boys! I’d decided that if Meredith turned out to be having a girl, I was going to make it for her, but no, she’s having another little boy! *sigh* So, I gave her the book to look through instead, so she could pick out a pattern. She ended up asking me if she could take it with her over Spring Break, because she couldn’t decide, and she was going to make her mom choose for her! 🙂 So, I’ll find out next week what I’m making for her.

Baby clothes

By admin

On Thursday, 1 March, 2007

In knitting

Sometimes it seems that my friends get together and agree when to have babies. It often happens that if I hear from one that she’s pregnant, I’ll hear from at least one more within a few weeks. And so it has happened again. This time, I have four friends having babies within the next few months. So, I’m busy knitting baby clothes, and I’ve finished the first item.

Now I just have to decide who it’s for!

HP Scarf

By admin

On Tuesday, 30 January, 2007

In knitting

So just for the fun of it, I decided to make myself a Gryffindor scarf. I finished the knitting last weekend, and then wove in all the ends during the week – and believe me, there were lots of ends to weave in, two for each colour change. The finished scarf is about six feet long, worked in Unger Utopia, two skeins of each colour.

I took it in to work to show off the day after I finished it, and one of my co-workers, Ethel, liked it so well, that she asked me if I’d make her one. She knows nothing about HP, she just liked the stripes, the yarn and the weight and warmth of the finished scarf. Hers is going to be turquoise and white; I’ve already ordered the yarn for it.

So without further ado, a couple of pics of the scarf: