New Yarn

Above & Below:  new yarn bought in Oberlin.  A bunch of threads + some ribbon.  Methinks a cute springy scarf is in order!

Below:  Not yarn...  At the final performances of The Weaver's Tale with Fifth-House, they presented me with a HUGE, GENEROUS gift certificate to my favorite Chicago Yarn Store (Loopy).  These aren't something I'd normally buy, but with my fancy gift certificate?  Yes sir!  A pouch for crochet hooks & a case for notions (with a magnet for my needles!).  By Namaste.

 Above & Below:  This is the yarn I used for my drop stitch knitted circle scarf, that I never really posted about, but I did post some pictures of it.  I'm basically in LOVE with it.  Super-wash Merino.  SUPER SOFT.  and BRIGHT COLORS!  These hanks were on the sale shelves at Loopy (and are usually out of my budget), so I couldn't pass them up.  Especially with a gift certificate!  I still have one wound hank left from when my mom bought me two hanks for my birthday, so I have a total of 4 (at 225 yards each, worsted weight).  Not sure yet what I'll do with them...but I'm excited nonetheless!

And lastly, Above:  I also have one small ball of this already, but these guys were also in the sale area at Loopy.  When I got the first ball, there was only one, but now that I have three, I think something awesome is in order!

I'm Alive, and I have a New Job!

Wow...it's been a while.  Things have been pretty crazy, but at the same time, I haven't had much to blog about.  I was home in Indy, mom & I visited g-ma & family for Mother's Day, back to Indy, then the following weekend in a wedding the wedding in Cinci, then back to Chicago a few days later to start back at work right away.  My new show is open & running, and I have to say that this is one of the most talented casts I've worked with so far.  I love listening to them tell their story every night.  (I listen b/c from where I am backstage, I can't see them.)

But there is one big thing to report...I have a new job!  This past year, I did some stage managing for a group here in Chicago called Fifth-House Ensemble.  They're a chamber orchestra (10 musicians), who specialize in innovative, mixed media performances. This season, they put together a series (3) shows that used actors to tell fairy tales with movement set to their music.  The shows were directed by a director I worked with my two years at ISF; she's brilliant, and I love her, so I agreed to do the work for free.  Obviously, the shows turned out amazingly.

While in Indy, I got a phone call from their Executive Director.  The person who had been helping with their Operations & Marketing was leaving, and she was curious if it was something I'd be interested in doing.  Long story short, I'm the new Operations & Marketing Director for Fifth-House Ensemble!!!

I started my training this week, and am super excited to get going!  Today was my first staff meeting, and I already had some ideas & thoughts to share.  One of my current tasks is brainstorming ways to boost their social media use.  Obviously, an exciting task for me, the Twitter & Facebook obsessive!  I think my work with their blog, twitter, and facebook will be my favorite part of my job!  I will also be helping a little with their education & outreach programs.  Mostly scheduling, I imagine.  Bringing the arts to children is something I believe in very strongly; I think children experiencing the arts is crucial to their development & growth as humans, even if they don't end up pursuing the arts as a profession or hobby.  So, obviously, I'm super excited about this part of my job too.

The pictures I've dispersed throughout this post are from my time in Oberlin visiting my g-ma and from the wedding in Cinci.

Wedding Crochet & New Yarn!

I finished 2, count them TWO, more projects last night for the wedding this weekend.  The first was the ripple shawl I made to keep me warm while bridesmaid-ing.  My dress is strapless AND cocktail length (and super pretty!), so there's a pretty good chance I'll get chilly in the cathedral style church or at the reception.  I used Caron's Simply Soft, an I/9 hook, and the Sarah London Ripple Chevron pattern (modified in length & width for my purposes).  I used three colors: purple, turquoise, and a really light cream.  I alternated them 2P, 1T, 2C, 1P, 2T, 1C three times to make some cool stripes.

in progress last night on my parents' porch

finished & folded!

My mom and I went to Oberlin, OH this past weekend to visit my Grandma.  When I agreed to go, I said "ONLY IF THERE'S A YARN STORE IN OBERLIN!"  This was my first trip back to Oberlin (where my mom grew up) since I learned to knit & crochet; and yes, I still would have gone had they not had a yarn store.  Luckily though, Oberlin has a LYS!  It's a generations old Furniture & Floor Covering store that the current owners brought yarn into.  The front half of the store is FULL of yarn & notions & stuffs, and the back half is floor covers, etc.  Pretty awesome!  I got some Sidar Snuggly Baby Bamboo DK weight yarn in light blue, turquoise, and bright peach.  It's 80% bamboo & 20% wool and SUPER SOFT.  Sure it's "baby" yarn, but I fell in love with its texture and the colors, so whatever!  It was my first time crocheting with bamboo yarn, too.  I loved every step of this scarf. 

It took me a while to figure out exactly what to do with it, but I knew I wanted a springy, open weave scarf.  I finally remembered a pattern I had seen on the CRAFT blog for a Window Pane Scarf.  Perfection.  I used my H/8 hook for this guy.  I plan on wearing this one with my dress for the rehearsal dinner on Friday. 

And last but not least, mom and I visited our favorite Indy LYS last night.  We got some yarn for family members for some super secret projects.  But I love the yarn so much, I have to share it!

FO!!! Granny Square Afghan!!

I did it, guys!  I finally finished the granny square afghan I was making for one of my BFF's wedding gift!  AND I finished it with 12 days to go!  So I mailed it to the beautiful couple yesterday!  It took me months.  I got the yarn in October and started knitting squares.  Then I learned to crochet.  And then I learned to granny.  So I switched to granny squares.  And then I took lots of breaks from working on the blanket.  But, here it is!

Age

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?

Someone my mom and I have known for years, who passed away a few years ago, used to say that.  He owned a gym.

Me?

Well, I’m conflicted.  I’m part 11 year old and part 75 year old.  You?

Also, those are some gratuitous spring pictures from around my hood today :)  You're welcome.