Somebody disappeared off the planet

...and it was me.
Sorry about that. I've been head over heels busy with "The Gala" and designing a show for Aces. (and trying to finish my MWS for gala.) I've been spending all my free time knitting, and doing very little internet-ing. But, I am popping in, just to do the meme I've been tagged twice for. Bad Costumechick.
here goes:
The rules: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you have posted your answer.
1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was married for 1 year, and designing "You Can't Take it With You" for 'Summer Circle Theatre" in East Lansing, MI; having just finished my first year of grad school.
2. Five (non-working) things on my to-do list today?
Dude it's all work. But, I'll try to think of other things.
1. wash the sheets on the bed
2. Finish the body of the MWS (Only 6 pattern rows left!)
3. water my plants
4. eat dinner (I do actually have to put this on a list. DH is working evenings, and I forget)
5. highlight my hair.
3. Snacks I enjoy:
Dark chocolate, dark chocolate covered things, coffee, pea pods, tomatoes, nuts, things with yellow cheese dust on it, roller dogs, ice cream, cheese, chocolate. I like food. Let's leave it at that.
4. Things I would do if I was a billionaire:
Same as everyone - pay off debt. Invest wisely, living off the interest. Buy a winter home in the Virgin Islands, and a summer home in New England (By the beach, of course) Finance DH's book. Buy a fancy schmancy Fuel cell car. Have real (not put together) furniture. Take classes when I wanted to about subjects I find interesting. Paint. Knit. Read. Be Philanthropic.
5. Places I have lived:
Oldest to newest...
Middletown, PA
California, PA
Pittsburgh, PA
Haslett, MI
Little Rock, AR
West Haven, CT
6. Jobs I have had:
this is a long damn list, so I'll hit the highlights.
"Picker" (strawberries, corn, raspberries... you can grow it, I picked it) construction worker (roofing, concrete pouring, framing, blah blah blah), waitress, short order cook, Front Gate/Hospitality for Hershey Park, Lifeguard, On Air Radio Personality, Voice Over Artist, Concert Promotions Assistant, Tutor, Costume Shop Assistant, Stitcher, Head Cashier, Properties Master, Costume Designer, Scene Designer, Scenic Charge, Technical Director, Costume Shop Supervisor, and (soon to be) high school theatre teacher.
7. Peeps I want to know more about:
Ya'll have done this! If you haven't, consider yourselves tagged!

WIp Thursday...wait. that's a sucky title

How about a project update?

I didn't get quite as much done on the Camisa sweater, as I had hoped, this past weekend. I did get the back finished, and am now picking up stitches for the front upper portion. Soon... soon... Anyhow, I like the back, and it all measures out in a good way, so I have no qualms about fit at this point. This is good. This point in the sweater proces is usually where I start worrying that it'll be too big, or too small, or that I'll run out of yarn. I am worried about running out of yarn. I always do. Everytime.

I have picked up the Mystic Waters Shawl again (Thanks Jenn). I tinked (and tinked), and reknit the row that was all jacked up. I went three pattern rows rows back, and moved 8 pattern rows forward, for a gain of five pattern rows. I want to wear this shawl to the Gala, so I have to get crackin'. I only have a chart and a half to go. Also, I didn't want to finish the Camisa before Thursday, or I would have nothing SnB suitable to work on. I plan my knitting life around SnB, evidently.

The purse is still in it's same condition. Someday I will finish it. Someday..

Vermont

Did you know they have Maple Syrup in Vermont? Yup. They do. Everywhere. Even at gas stations. I think it might be against Vermont State Law to not like maple syrup/sugar. I'd be sure to at least fake a love of it before attempting to visit the fine State of Vermont. They might kick you out.

That said, we had a great annibervisday trip. We picked Vermont because we've never been there before, and it seemed interesting. We were not disappointed. I had planned on doing a place by place journally thing, but I have since changed my mind. It is too much for one post. I will, instead, hit the highlights.

Friday: Leave for VT, after opening my Birthday presents. I got a CD, a costume book, and two stand in presents. The stand ins' were little token presents given in place of the "real" gifts that haven't come in yet. The first is a new knitting book, and the second A SPINNING WHEEL! EEEEEEEEE! Ahem. I have to wait 6 months, but, that's ok. I still have one on the way!

After the drive, and a stop at Wolfies Restaurant in Deerfield, MA, we headed to the hotel to check in and peruse the brochures. I like brochures. We decided to drive north from Brattleboro, up RT. 5 to Bellow's Falls. Bellow's Falls was having the opening day of their Farmer's Market. I ate some Black Raspberry and Blueberry Pie, topped with maple whipped cream.

The town was down right picturesque. After the Farmer's Market, we walked around town, visiting bookstores and other shops, finally ending at a little local cafe for Dinner. They had live folk music playing, and awesome "eclectic country" decoration. Very chic, and very yummy.

Saturday: I saw on the "visit Vermont" website that the town of Jamaica was having a sheep and Wool festival on Saturday. Now, it was technically our Anniversary, so I didn't want to assume that we would go just because I wanted too. But, we did. Cause I wanted too.

The town of Jamaica is soooo cute. The whole downtown - all two blocks of it - was open and having street sales. They had music, and a maypole, and a book sale at the library. I, of course, bought some fiber for my new spinning wheel.

This farm puts pictures, and information about the sheep the wool came from. I think it's sweet. I also met the owner of Green Mountain Fibers, and bought a skein of her wool/bamboo sock yarn, and her book. The fiber sale was tiny, but so worth the scenic drive. Next we continued up the same highway to Manchester. There we enjoyed a nice lunch in another local pub. (You should start to see a theme here. We ate all local restaurants and did a lot of shopping - mostly for books and antiques. It's what we do.) Manchester is definitely quite wealthy. They had lots of big chain clothing stores and ski shops. We stuck to the little mom and pop joints. We bought some obligatory maple products, penny candy, and a souvenir spoon at a dry goods store, and then went book shopping at a bookstore that was "not to be missed" according to the NY Times. And it was an amazing bookstore. I'd shop there all the time if it was here.

The next leg of our trip took us a different way back to the hotel to change for dinner. We decided to go to Keene, New Hampshire and check out an old mill turned into a shopping center. Before we left though, we opened gifts. Somebody bought his lovely wife a strand of pearls. (grin). So off we went to Keene, dressed in nice clothes and pearls. In the mill turned shopping center, we bought a maple soda. The jury is still out on Maple Soda. We also went to an Antique store - one of those massive "200 dealers" kind. This is what I saw under a pile of other junk.

It is a Worsted Wool Winder. (It is awesome. I wound some hand spun on it last night.) I couldn't believe it still had all the parts, worked perfectly, and was in the original box. I wanted to play with it at dinner. DH talked me out of it. Speaking of dinner - we went to a microbrewery for dinner. mmm shrimp scampi and linguine. mmm chocolate mousse. mmm raspberry beer....

Sunday: We knew Sunday was going to be a slower day, as it was Sunday. Sunday in New England doesn't really afford much in the way of "open for business" options. We started with a yummy breakfast at a Vermont chain similar to Denny's called "Bickford's". Then it was off to the WEBS Tent sale. I'm going to ave the details of this part for another day. Lets just say, I had a good time. DH and I walked around Northampton, enjoying the town, and the shopping. (grin). On our way back to Brattleboro, we decided to drive a scenic route that took us through the town of Northfield. DH's Tenth great grandfather is buried in Northfield, and was one of the founders. We took a detour to see if we could find his resting place, or a founders monument. No, on both accounts, but we did live up to tradition by walking around a cemetery in the rain. It seems to be the only way we ever do it. Anyway, it was a good stop, and DH found some new stuff to research about that ancestor.

We ended the day with pizza from a local joint, a long swim in the indoor heated pool, and a sit in the sauna. I love hotels with pools.

Monday: Time to pack up and head home, but not before spending some time in Brattleboro proper! Guess what... We ate breakfast at a local coffee place. (Surprise!) Then we... shopped. (It's a theme) We went to the 15th book store of the trip. Not an exaggeration, btw. I think in this trip alone we have bought enough books for another bookshelf. We need to open a library. Anyway... They also have a cute little store called "Boomerang" that sells vintage and vintage looking clothing. I bought a perfect fitting pair of jeans for $20. I NEVER find jeans that fit well for that price. Color me amazed. We also went to another antique store. Looky what i got!

A whole collection of Casein DPNs. they even have old school sizing - and they are pretty.

And just to end the trip the way it began, we went to another restaurant we've never been to called "Longhorn's". Steaks. MMM.

More concisely, our trip went, "drive, eat, shop, eat, drive, sleep, eat, shop, eat, shop, drive, shop, eat, sleep, eat, drive, shop, drive, eat, swim, sleep, eat, drive, shop, eat, drive."

Now I need to rest. That's a big blog post!

So much yarn, so little time

I have been happily engaged in knitting a new short sleeve tee shirt. I love it.


It's "Camisa" from Knitscene Fall, 06. Needless to say, it's been in the queue for a while. Now, while I love knitting this sweater, and I hope I'm going to love wearing it, I can't help but feel like I want to knit other things. I want to knit all the other summer sweaters in my list! I want to finish a new shawl before June 4th! I want to make socks!
I don't know when I'll really do any of this!
Ah well, at least I have time to knit.
Today starts the official Annibervisday celebration. (That is, DH's b-day today, mine tomorrow, and our (11th!) Anniversary the next day.) We are headed to Vermont. We have no official plans. We will just pick a hotel, and take a look around. It should be nice and relaxing. Maybe I'll even get to do some knitting.
To tide you over until next Tuesday, I'll give you some clues to the movie quotes, still unguessed...
#2 - Starred Dan Akroyd and John Belushi
#7 - Steve Martin recently made a remake of a film from this series. It is set in France.
#8 - Sally Fields and Burt Reynolds are an odd pair
#10 -Pussy Galore is the best name EVER.


Be back next week!

Waving Hello

I was told in April that I now have a future Sister in Law. My brother, the electrician, and his long time girlfriend have gotten engaged! I really like her. She's smart, funny, and totally knit worthy. I gave her my Syncopated Hat last Christmas, and she raved about it, and wore it!

When I saw the theme list for Socktopia: May, I knew who I'd be knitting for...

Name: Waving Hello

Pattern: Waving Lace Socks from Interweave Knits Favorite Socks

Yarn: JoJoLand Melody Superwash, color ms08

Needles: Knit Picks Classic Circulars, size 1

Notes: I made these socks for the Socktopia theme, "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas", for Kate. They are my first Christmas project of the year - Head start anyone? Overall, I like them very much, and I'm sure they will get plenty of use.

The pattern is easy to follow, and I must say, prettier in person than in the book. The first sock flew by, with a nice long pattern repeat, you only have to do 3.5 for the leg. It feels like you are making progress much faster than if you were knitting a smaller repeat. (Or maybe it's just me.) The second sock was waylayed by tech, (Boo tech.) or else it could have been completed in only a few days as well.

For the record, I am a JoJoLand fan. This is the third time I've used JoJoLand yarn, and the third time I'm thrilled. I love the colors, and the changes are so nicely subtle, that they don't obscure lace patterns. The yarn is way "squishier" feeling when knit up than it is in the ball, which I think is a good thing. Also, I have yet to find a knot. I cannot tell you how happy that makes me. Nothing makes me more irritated than knots in color changing balls. I did experience some splitting with this yarn, but how many yarns really don't split at all? It wasn't any different than most sock yarn.

I opted for the lace cuff, and not the optional ribbed cuff. I hope they stay up... I also only knit 2.5 repeats on the foot, as Kate has teeny feet like me. As a matter of fat, I had to call my brother to find out what size shoes she wears, cause I had no idea. Same size as me - that makes it easy.

Now, the key is to keep on knitting presents, and not leave them all to the last minute, as I am want to do. we'll see. Oh, and these are 14 of 22 on my Y2klace kal!

I want to play too!

Here are the rules:

1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie (or get them out of your capacious memory).
3. Post them on your blog for everyone to guess.
4. Bold it when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. Looking them up is cheating, please don’t.
Guess away!
1. I like the smell of my hair treatment; the pleasing odor is half the point. Yay Erin! Oh Brother Where Art Thou
2.YES! YES! JESUS H. TAP-DANCING CHRIST... I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT! Kathleen C. and JennSquared! The Blues Brothers. (My Favorite ever, btw.)
3.It's not impossible. I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back home, they're not much bigger than two meters. Yay Anphoe (and Andrew) Star Wars; A New Hope
4. I wish, I wish I were a fish. WOw Matt! The Incredible Mr. Limpet
5.Ahh, a bear in his natural habitat - a Studebaker. Erin and Sunflowerfairy got this one! The Muppet Movie
6.To all my love slaves out there: Thunderlips is here. In the flesh, baby. The ultimate male versus... the ultimate meatball. Ha, ha, ha. Way to go WifeMomKnitter! Rocky III
7.You mean Douvier killed a wandering transvestite just to impress his god father?
8.For the good old American lifestyle: For the money, for the glory, and for the fun... mostly for the money. Another by Kathleen C. Smokey and the Bandit!
9.Everything. OK! I'll talk! In third grade, I cheated on my history exam. In fourth grade, I stole my uncle Max's toupee and I glued it on my face when I was Moses in my Hebrew School play. In fifth grade, I knocked my sister Edie down the stairs and I blamed it on the dog... When my mom sent me to the summer camp for fat kids and then they served lunch I got nuts and I pigged out and they kicked me out... But the worst thing I ever done - I mixed a pot of fake puke at home and then I went to this movie theater, hid the puke in my jacket, climbed up to the balcony and then, t-t-then, I made a noise like this: hua-hua-hua-huaaaaaaa - and then I dumped it over the side, all over the people in the audience. And then, this was horrible, all the people started getting sick and throwing up all over each other. I never felt so bad in my entire life. Anphoe (and Andrew) and WifeMomKnitter both got this one. Goonies
10.Now, >>>, you know a lot more about planes than guns. That's a Smith and Wesson 45, and if you fire at me at this close range, the bullet will pass through me and the fuselage like a blowtorch through butter. The cabin will depressurize, and we'll both be sucked into outer space together. If that's how you want to enter the United States, you're welcome. As for me, I prefer the easy way. Kathleen C. again! Goldfinger

Have Fun!!

A little busy, and a little tipsy

Carousel just keeps going around and around, as carousel's are want to do. Tech for this show seems never ending. Le sigh. Anyway. I did manage to find a few minutes to finish sock #1 of the new ones.

So far, I like them a lot.
I also like margaritas a lot. After we worked like crazy people today, we left work early, and went Cinco de Mayo - ing. It might make tech tomorrow less pain inducing. Or it might make it worse, due to hangover. we'll just have to see!

And now, with Warmness!

If I so desired this evening, I could go out to the store, buy some chocolaty mint candy, and eat it, all with out my hands being cold. "How?" you ask. Because I my official candy eating mitts!

Name: Andies Candies

Pattern: Endpaper Mitts, by Eunny Jang

Yarn: Filitura De Crossa Maxime (green), and Dalegarn Baby Ull (brown) - less than half a ball each

Needles: Knit Picks Fixed Circulars in size 1

Notes: I love color work, I really do. I cast on for these babies because I didn't have a project OTN for SnB. I had them in Que for quite a while, and just decided to give them a go. It's weird to me that sometimes the odd "pick-up" project is a fun diversion, and other times (as this one was) it seems like a slog and half to get through. About half way through glove #2 I had totally lost the love. I loved the way they were turning out, I just wanted to move on. You know what I mean?

But, I had a lot of time to kill on the train yesterday, and I finished them! I had taken along a ball of sock yarn *just in case* I finished the mitts. I wanted sooooo bad to ignore the mitts and cast on the socks. I didn't. I kept at it, and finished. It feels so freeing! That said, they are quite lovely, and I am sure I will get some wear out of them this fall. (incidentally, I did cast on for the socks. I'm glad I brought the second project, or would have had nothing to work on during my return trip. Tragic, just thinking about it.)

I named these "Andies Candies" because that's what the colors look like to me all knitted up together. well, and I love Andies Candies. The mitts are not with out their mistakes, but blocking makes *almost* all sins disappear. Kinda like confession for hand knits. The one mistake that glares at me isn't even noticeable by most others. It didn't bother me enough to rip back, so it' all good. Had these been for a gift, i would have ripped back. Why am I willing to wear something imperfect? I should knit perfect things for me too!

All in all, this was a successfull project, albeit a tough go of it towards the end. It was a really nice stash buster too. Since I used left overs from sock projects, I feel like I somehow "cleaned".

You know, maybe they are magic?! I'll put them on tonight, and maybe the "clean feeling" will turn into a clean house! Magic fairy mitts. I can dream, can't I?