I am a bad blogger. I've thought about writing loads of times over the past few weeks, but never actually sat down to do the typing until now. I have been busy with work, but that's a standard excuse.
A week ago, on the 24th, I realized how soon Christmas will be here. To most of you, I am sure that three months seems like plenty of time, but other knitters will know exactly what I mean. This year, I am trying not to be too ambitious. No matching fisherman's sweaters for the family or any of that nonsense. Nothing with more than one seam. So far, I've made one scarf out of Gedifra New Age, a fantastic chenille tape. It feels like a muppet. Ho-hum designs are not my thing, so I added an intarsia monogram on one end. Fortunately, the person in question has no curves in their initials, so I didn't need to chart any of it. Oh, this is getting a bit technical.... This project also appeals to my thrifty side, since it was made of reclaimed yarn. It was purchased for a sleeveless sweater back in 2002, which sat unfinished for three years. If it isn't done by now, it never will be, I reasoned and ripped it out. My energetic cat offered his assistance, but settled to just watch with saucer sized eyes. I think that I have enough for another scarf or two hats. The trick is making them for people who don't know one another. And like medium dusty rose.


Hmmm... who could this be for?


My current project is another stash raider: a cabled scarf of my own design made from leftover skeins of Rowan All Seasons Cotton. It's fast work, and has prompted many comments from the older ladies at work. I sometimes sit next to the sound board during preshow/intermission and knit, since I don't like to leave the equipment unguarded but haven't much to do. My days of knitting during the show are a distant memory, now that I'm doing actual reinforcement instead of pressing GO three dozen times over three hours. Sigh. Ask me which I like better and you'll get a different answer everyday.
Planned: another ASC scarf, of similar design; a Manos multicolor hat for Sarah, my HLP; a striped hat out of odd balls of celadon and cranberry Manos (think thin stripes, which are so much easier to do in the round); a pair of socks (sounds small until you consider there are about 50,000 stitches in a pair of socks); and a lacy wide scarf/shawl out of Cherry Tree Hill yarn that I've had forever. I'd like to figure out some sort of young and fabulous use for my three balls of R2 paper yarn. Preferably something that doesn't require the purchase of additional yarn. Hmmm...
I got up at 6 am on Saturday. No, that's not a typo. Six in the goddamn morning, all because I love my Grandfather and told him that I'd help him at Pancake Day. This was greeted with general amazement when it actually happened. The last time I saw that time of day, it involved a fire alarm and a lot of swearing. There was no swearing this time, but plenty of smoke. The smell of pancakes and cooking oil was so strong that I had to take a shower before my matinee. Though I'm not sure that would have cut through the dense fog of old lady perfume typical of our matinees. My aunt and uncle came into town for the occasion, with their adorable dog, Ginger. Dog and aunt slept in while uncle and I flipped pancakes, making three generations of the family accounted for in the Pancake Day volunteer force. A lot of hard work and a lot of fun, but I was really tired during the matinee. So I unwisely ate lasagna for dinner and was ready to slip into a food coma before the evening show.
My show closes on Sunday. We've been counting down the days at work, which is funny considering that the show isn't unpleasant, nor are any of the actors. They're a great bunch. Still, everyone starts counting down to closing on opening night. After that, I have a few one-offs but nothing steady until Halloween. It'll be nice to have some free time, but I've found that paychecks are habit-forming.
I've found a way to do free photo hosting, so look for photos of my fabulous projects soon! As soon as I get around to taking them.

File this under the general heading "Crazy Shit Happens to Kirstin":
I haven't gotten any DVDs from Netflix in the past two weeks, which is very frustrating. After the first week, I thought that they'd been lost in the mail. I reported them lost to Netflix, so they sent replacement discs. I didn't receive those either. When I thought about it, I realized that I hadn't received any mail in a while. A quick phone call to the business office of my summer gig confirmed my suspicions: the post office is forwarding my mail again. I didn't tell them to do this, nor did they tell me that they were going to resume forwarding my mail. You can see how this would be a problem. So, I marched down to the local post office to complain for a second time (as they didn't stop forwarding my mail, despite directions to do so, until I went and complained at the beginning of August). No apologies or reassurances that the problem would be resolved soon. The supervisor merely made a few notes and disappeared into the back room. I stood at the counter for a few minutes before I realized he wasn't coming back.
This whole thing makes me feel a little crazy. Obviously, the post office, the cause of my problem, feels that I am the one with the problem. I don't have my DVDs, New Yorker, bills, letters, etc. I am sure that the lovely people in the business office will forward whatever reaches them eventually, but a) who knows when and b)it might get sent right back to them. I don't know what to do. I sent an email to Netflix asking if I could receive a partial rebate for the month, even though it isn't their fault that this happened. Unfortunately, I can't boycott the post office. I need to send and receive mail. Currently, I am a little more concerned about the latter. So, if you've sent me a letter and I've not responded, this is the reason. I am sorry.

I'm going to avoid the end of the year rush and make a list of music I've loved this year now.
These are the things I've had in heavy rotation for 2005, released in 2005:
* Marianne Faithfull, Before The Poison. Some things, like her voice, get better with age. Listen to this with the lights off and a bottle of whiskey.
* Nouvelle Vague. It's a cover album of New Wave songs sung by French singers who speak no English, bossa nova style. Not nearly as pretentious as it sounds.
* Martha Wainwright. Yes, she's the younger sister of Rufus Wainwright. Musical talent clearly runs in that family. She has a vulnerability reminiscent of Cyndi Lauper (if you don't remember the 80s, I promise you won't understand). Beautiful, rainy day stuff.
* The Postal Service, Give Up. My friend Willie gave me this CD during our college reunion. It was in popular rotation on the jukebox at The Mill (how I've missed that jukebox!). I have a lot of respect for Deathcab for Cutie fans, who are so devoted to a band that sounds like aural wallpaper to me. My HLP Sarah recommended them to me, since they have the same lead singer as Postal Service, so I bought Transatlanticism. I was unimpressed. I hope there's a new PS album in the works.
* Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Cold Roses. I bought this around the same time as Martha Wainwright, but it goes much better with Before the Poison. It's not at all like his dreadfully popular "New York, New York". Due to that song, I didn't listen to Ryan Adams for years.
A couple of my coworkers and I went to a free concert on July 4th in Philly, featuring several acts and Elton John. I'm a big EJ fan, so I didn't pay attention to who any of the other acts were when I heard the commercials on BenFM. We were excited when Ryan Adams was announced, until we realized, to our chagrin, that it was Bryan Adams and the MC had mumbled.
* Annie, Anniemal. Yes, it's Swedish pop, but Swedish pop music approaches the Aristotelian ideal. Oh, and she isn't some lame Swedish Britney Spears, but a DJ with the skills to pay the bills. I listened to this often during the run of Henry.
* Verve Remixed 3. I think that this knob-twiddling format is getting tired, but there are some very nice selections on this disc. See Postal Service's remix of Nina Simone's "Little Girl Blue", the swanky reworking of Ella Fitzgerald's "Speak Low (When You Speak Love)", and Shirley Horn's "Come Dance With Me", which makes the listener want to do just that.

I should never order anything through the mail. I don't have the patience for it. A couple of my Netflix DVDs seem to have gotten lost in the mail. That is, if they weren't stolen from my mailbox, as the mailman hasn't been pushing the mail down into the slot lately. Argh. Alternate theory: my mail is being forwarded to PA again. I'm going to mail myself a postcard as a test. I really hope that the Netflix DVDs show up, because they'll freeze my account if I report too many of them missing. Also, I am bored.
I'm awaiting the arrival of a couple of Phildar magazines as well, from a shop in Belgium. Phildar has a cult following among American knitters, so you'd think that they'd distribute their yarns and patterns here, but they don't. They have to be ordered from Canada or Europe, neither of which is quick.
I am working on a Phildar project now: an alpaca and mohair blend wraparound cardigan that the French call a "cache-coeur". The yarn is a color similar to orange sorbet: pastel but not prissy. The loose double-ply construction makes my normally even stitches look wonky, so it will have to be blocked. There have been a lot of similar things in the fashion mags, so I'm looking forward to wearing the finished product.
My yukata sweater is 95% done. All it needs is its collar attached, which sounds so much easier than it is. This sweater just keeps making problems. Attaching the sash took me eight hours! After all the trouble this seemingly simple sweater was, it had better look good, feel good, and never need blocking. Since it's cotton, that's unlikely.

I had a completely pointless job interview last week. I knew that I wouldn't get the job when I left the house that morning. Maybe I should have just stayed home. It poured and my umbrella turned out to be broken. I slipped several times on the pavement, leaving my feet painfully curled in an unconscious effort to stay upright. So my sprained foot really hurt. I had to wait 40 minutes for the #22 bus, which is totally ridiculous since they're supposed to run at least twice an hour. When I got to my stop, I couldn't find the place. When I finally did, the conversation lasted a whopping five minutes and concluded with the interviewer saying, "Good luck with the bus". Oh, the petty indignities of life. I guess that I won't give them a follow up call.
The v-neck sweater completely resists all shrinking attempts and, perversely, becomes even deeper cut with each try. It's easy to block a sweater larger, but how on earth do you make it smaller when you want to?
I'm glad that I didn't buy a new laptop last year. The one that I wanted to buy has been greatly improved in the intervening time. All of the add-ons I priced out have become standards. You may recall, last year I realized that I had a nest egg large enough to get a new laptop or go to Europe for twenty days. I went to Europe. I'm looking to build another nest egg this fall, and the computer seems the prudent choice. It's just so damned sensible, though.

Am I one of a dying breed? I've read several places that makeup (or at least makeup that looks like makeup, an important distinction) is out. But I love makeup! I've finally given in to the indoctrination and the MAC counter. I'm amazed at how makeup can change a person's face, express their personality, and give the self-esteem a little boost. I don't NEED makeup; that is well established by years of wearing no makeup or natural looking things. Still, I like it and I figure that it's better to have fun now than when I am in my forties. Don't get me wrong-- I wouldn't wear the high fashion elaborate looks over to grandma's, but it was a thrill the first time I got a compliment on my makeup from the clerk at Sephora.
I finally learned how to do a good line in liquid liner the other day. What a thrill! I did a very classic heavy line to have brunch with my Mom and she nodded with approval when I told her it was inspired by the early slutty-looking Barbie dolls. I didn't go for the red lips though. I still don't think that I can carry that off...
A lot of designers are showing a smoky, plum eye for Fall (take that Vogue and your "inspired by Vermeer" natural look!), which I tried out today. It's fun, and a look that can be interpreted in different, age appropriate ways.
Well, enough about the old facepaint.
My latest, long dreamt of project just flew off the needles this week. I finally made the v-necked shell from Rowan's All Seasons Cotton collection. Funny, it doesn't look so low cut in the picture. It is undeniably, almost unwearably low cut, and I carefully followed the pattern on the neckline. Oh, and all of those eyelets that I carefully put in just roll inward to invisibility. So, I tried pressing it out with an iron. Mistake. I threw it back in the washer for another pass at blocking, but this may become a *sweater vest*. That would be a real disappointment.
I ran into my aunt at Borders today. I hadn't seen her in months, so we had a long chat. I ended up telling about how I need to figure out what it is I am going to do with the rest of my life and then do it. Not the easiest thing in the world. She was very understanding. Thank god I didn't just wear the shell anyway, low neck be damned!