Well, I delivered the rest of the costumes last night. I only have one more pinafore to make and elastic to put in the last pair of bloomers and I'm done with the costumes for the latest Chaska Valley Family Theater show, Quilters - The Musical.
Hopefully, with the dress rehearsal tomorrow, I'll have some photos to show. Not that all the work I've done over the past few weeks will show, since I had to make about 10 pairs of bloomers and 9 petticoats. Why all the effort for undergarments? Well, these ladies tend to be dancing, jumping rope, flopping down on the stage and generally flashing glimpses of dainties from time to time. Not intentionally but you know how stuff happens sometimes. Fortunately, our director was savvy enough to recognize the potential for disaster and all the ladies are well protected from embarrassment during the show, not to mention adding to the the historical accuracy of the costumes with the said garments. Guess I should take pride in a job well-done, although the audience may not realize how much it took to keep the "Family" part of the CVFT name intact.
On the knitting front, well, I have a new sweater on the needles and it's going quickly but you'll just have to wait a little longer for a glimpse. After all, life is still racketing along at a breath-taking pace around here.
Oh, and I caught a cold. Figures . . .
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Life Interrupted
Can life interrupt itself? Because I feel like I have no life of my own but the reason is LIFE.
Too confusing? Well, let me explain. The past two weeks have been a nightmare of scheduling "issues" that have had me breathless and exhausted beyond normal.
During the day, I homeschool 4 kids. Not horrifically difficult but I do have a 7 year old with some attention issues. Ergo, I have to sit in the room where she watches her videos and does her work text pages to frequently remind her to stay focused. She is a very bright student but she lacks focus for mundane things like grammar, phonics, math, spelling and Heritage studies.
Fortunately, I get lots of knitting or reading time in during those times when she needs me to sit with her.
The other three kids are pretty independent, requiring only minimal supervision during the day. A few questions, correcting a few papers, etc. are the most interaction they require to fulfill their daily school work.
Unfortunately, with two teenagers in the house, there is a bit of drama that tends to unfold on a daily basis. This includes battles over who gets the shower first, which shower whom gets and figuring out why on earth we're out of shampoo AGAIN when I just bought some a few days ago. (Shampoo hoarding is an undiagnosed syndrome that seems to be reaching epidemic proportions in my home). Then my expertise in the negotiations/peace-making realm are put to the test as two teen-agers battle over who gets which t.v./DVD player today. Although they have each been assigned their own, permanent a.v. system for use, there seems to be the feeling that this should be re-negotiated on a daily basis.
I could go on and on about the epic battles that take place between two strong-willed teenagers but I won't. Needless to say, these power struggles are never ending but a quick phone call to DH usually results in a clear winner - DAD.
The rest of my school day is spent checking up on everyone's work, household chores, bills, projects and other necessary activities that keep a roof over our head (albeit not always that clean), food on the table (okay, so I use a lot of pre-packaged stuff) and the creditors at bay.
Now, that's the normal stuff.
For the not so normal stuff: I'm currently costume mistress for a local production of "Quilters - The Musical." Guess all that work for Beauty and the Beast last winter set me up for more calls on my talents as a costumer. Not that I mind but I guess I didn't take into account WHEN the bulk of the work would happen and have been a bit unprepared for the added stress of the beginning of the school year and costuming a show at the same time.
Add to that a serious case of tendonitis in my right elbow from scooping ice cream all summer. Makes normal activities just a bit more painful than usual.
To top it all off, our first homeschool academy classes are tomorrow and I'm not quite as prepared for "Embellishing Ready-to-Wear" as I hoped to be. While I have the first lesson sort of planned out in my head, that's as far as I've gotten in my preparations for the class. Oh well, since these kids are supposed to be designing their own one-of-a-kind fashions, we can all just wing it together.
And of course, we have dance, hockey, swimming, Awana, Quilter's rehearsals, and occasional homeschool meetings in the evenings. Just to round off the insane schedule I managed to create this year.
So, if the posts continue to be a bit scarce, hang in there. I haven't forgotten. I've probably just been flattened by the steamroller of LIFE - again.
Too confusing? Well, let me explain. The past two weeks have been a nightmare of scheduling "issues" that have had me breathless and exhausted beyond normal.
During the day, I homeschool 4 kids. Not horrifically difficult but I do have a 7 year old with some attention issues. Ergo, I have to sit in the room where she watches her videos and does her work text pages to frequently remind her to stay focused. She is a very bright student but she lacks focus for mundane things like grammar, phonics, math, spelling and Heritage studies.
Fortunately, I get lots of knitting or reading time in during those times when she needs me to sit with her.
The other three kids are pretty independent, requiring only minimal supervision during the day. A few questions, correcting a few papers, etc. are the most interaction they require to fulfill their daily school work.
Unfortunately, with two teenagers in the house, there is a bit of drama that tends to unfold on a daily basis. This includes battles over who gets the shower first, which shower whom gets and figuring out why on earth we're out of shampoo AGAIN when I just bought some a few days ago. (Shampoo hoarding is an undiagnosed syndrome that seems to be reaching epidemic proportions in my home). Then my expertise in the negotiations/peace-making realm are put to the test as two teen-agers battle over who gets which t.v./DVD player today. Although they have each been assigned their own, permanent a.v. system for use, there seems to be the feeling that this should be re-negotiated on a daily basis.
I could go on and on about the epic battles that take place between two strong-willed teenagers but I won't. Needless to say, these power struggles are never ending but a quick phone call to DH usually results in a clear winner - DAD.
The rest of my school day is spent checking up on everyone's work, household chores, bills, projects and other necessary activities that keep a roof over our head (albeit not always that clean), food on the table (okay, so I use a lot of pre-packaged stuff) and the creditors at bay.
Now, that's the normal stuff.
For the not so normal stuff: I'm currently costume mistress for a local production of "Quilters - The Musical." Guess all that work for Beauty and the Beast last winter set me up for more calls on my talents as a costumer. Not that I mind but I guess I didn't take into account WHEN the bulk of the work would happen and have been a bit unprepared for the added stress of the beginning of the school year and costuming a show at the same time.
Add to that a serious case of tendonitis in my right elbow from scooping ice cream all summer. Makes normal activities just a bit more painful than usual.
To top it all off, our first homeschool academy classes are tomorrow and I'm not quite as prepared for "Embellishing Ready-to-Wear" as I hoped to be. While I have the first lesson sort of planned out in my head, that's as far as I've gotten in my preparations for the class. Oh well, since these kids are supposed to be designing their own one-of-a-kind fashions, we can all just wing it together.
And of course, we have dance, hockey, swimming, Awana, Quilter's rehearsals, and occasional homeschool meetings in the evenings. Just to round off the insane schedule I managed to create this year.
So, if the posts continue to be a bit scarce, hang in there. I haven't forgotten. I've probably just been flattened by the steamroller of LIFE - again.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Another drive-by FO post
Home just in time for bed (after a very busy day, of course) but I couldn't resist popping in to show off today's FO.
The Tweedy vest was a web only pattern from the fall/winter 2005 issue of Knitscene Magazine. Alas, the pattern is no longer available online. Mine was made with Malabrigo Seleccion Privada K, which I picked up on sale at Coldwater this summer. The colors just happen to be the local school colors and I plan on wearing this vest to hockey games. Woot!
I love how the pattern worked up. The neckline was a mental challenge because it used short-rows to make the front of the ribbing deeper than the back of the ribbing. Unusual but I think I like it. I'm considering making another one out of the green tweed yarn I recently added to the stash.
BTW, this isn't the only FO of the week. Dancing Diva's ballet shrug is also finished but I haven't managed to snag a photo of her wearing it yet. Stay tuned for an update. Soon, I hope.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Drive-by Posting
Just a quick update, since I'm still doing the crazy, headless chicken dance around here.
Tropical Punch socks are done, done, done! LOVE them, mostly because I mastered the whole spiral knitting thing. Although there are a couple errors, so I cannot say the socks are completely jogless, I'm very pleased with the whole technique.
Well, off to the pool with the little girls. Time for P.E., doncha' know.
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