I'm not dead yet!

just in tech week for the latest show

and it is almost 10:30pm and I am already home (last night i came in at 1:30am)- so things are going okay...of course i am waiting for that proverbial shoe to drop...we shall see....i am always nervous when i both design and manage the shop...i get a bit more anal than usual, and oddly calm...not much knitting, well none at all actually (but i still plan to watch the germany v argentina game at 11am while at work - i informed my colleagues that there are to be no costume dramas from 11am-1pm, maybe between 11:45-12noon during half-time, but that is IT!)

time to be like this now:

off to sleep....

Rain. Rain. Go Away....

...come again another day...

The eastern seaboard of the USA has been under a deluge of heavy rain (is that grammatically correct?). It doesn’t want to end...and I am home sick today.

I had a little knitting drama on my world cup knitting – I forgot to cross a cable 32 rows ago!!! And I couldn’t live with it, but I did not want to do the “right” thing and rip back 32 rows. Everyone was telling me to check out Yarn Harlot’s little trick here. So I did…but I just couldn’t do it! I wanted to NOT be anal – but couldn’t. So I ripped back:


It was frightening, but the right thing to do- and now it looks just like the rest of the cables!





Yesterday, I tried to bake. The keyword here is TRIED. I wanted to make this. Corinna was kind enough to post the recipe. Well, combine my lack of cooking skills in English with me trying to follow a recipe in German and that equals disaster. Okay, not a total disaster. It was more scone like rather than sweet fluffy bread like. The filling of nutella and hazelnut was yummy. I have plenty left over that I want to use for Palatschinken (crepes).

I should not have used instant yeast (which was my decision, not the recipe) and I didn’t let the dough rise long enough the first time and then didn’t let it rise a second time. Somewhere, I have a recipe for dough used in Mohnschnecken (poppy seed sweet rolls like cinnamon rolls) – it has always been a success! I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before!

Dinner was at least good – and no one has died of food poisoning. Yet….

Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole..part II

Germany vs. Sweden 2:0
England Ecuador 1:0

those 1st 2 (and only) goals scored in, what? 12 minutes? yeah you go boyz! es freut mich sehr.
I am feeling a bit sad for Croatia - since they are now out of the running..i mean, the average height of those boys is over 6' (170cm?") and that forward Prso is just HOT. 'Cause it is all about the boys with nice bottoms, i mean the way the game is played...ahem.

"we're singing for england! england! england! we're singing our song...." new order 1990 world cup song

so happy that i gaot to stay home, knit and watch the england match this morning...thinking about not going to work today (it may be sunday, but i work in theatre)...though i do have to go shopping, return some fabric, exchange a few pairs of shoes...that sounds like more fun than going to the theatre..and then maybe end up at the yarn store to sit and knit for awhile.

Don't tell Fritz, but i cleaned house a bit. Granted I had the World Cup playing on all three tv's (guest room, living room, and our room) - so no problem going from room to room when i was tkaing a knitting break.

No Annie this weekend :( she became terribly sick and wasn't able to teach at the store this weekend....hopefully, when she is able to visit again, i will not be in tech and have to miss her. I love her style of teaching...her classes are always a blast! it's that costume designer thing, i think...

still knittin'! must go shopping...

Delivery!!!

I don;t alwasy trust the USPS to do it its job, but today yesterday i received a little present from Alice - it was a sweet little thank you that just made my day :).

And not only did that get here in record time (she mailed it on the 20th and arrived on 22nd) - my first packchen zirkel package arrived in Germany 6 days after I mailed it out!!! Unglaublich! And Mad Hatter - aka Katrin - loves it. Here is a a bit of what I sent her:

just a little pirate tea cozy!

close up of pirate napkins and napkin rings

As part of our rules, Katrin also received 5 Fat Quarters (which i like so much, i am using them in EE's quilt), some Steam A Seam ('cause i hear it is hard to find in Germany and a few other bits and bobs :) She has much better pictures on her blog, so check 'em out!

Sorry i cannot babble longer - i have got to get back to that thing called work - we are getting so much done! When it looks like sometihng more than mannequins in victorian dress, i will post a few pics!

wish i could post...

wanted to post a lovely litle post about our paeckechen circle and how i received a surprise present...but all i can do is type a brief message...wrote it all out- got pic's to show too...maybe tomorrow...

Injured Player

Well, McBride and Owen are not the only ones. In my excitement to get across town and watch a rehearsal yesterday afternoon of the show I currently designing, I fell down the stairs – only five of them, but it still hurt and I kind of sprained a few of my fingers. The upside, all that padding on my tuchas (aka po, aka kuli aka butt) helped out immensely! But do you want to know what the real downside to all this is?

NO KNITTING!

I sat through 5 hours of the run and meetings and I couldn’t knit! – I was planning on World Cup Knitting during all this – instead of falling asleep when they start to talk set and lights (‘cause really, I only care about the costumes, people!) I usually knit to keep focused – this also meant I would be more than half way up the front and back. But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Had to hurt myself. Had to put my hand on ice. At least I got happy drinks later...hee

I promise you – I am knitting tonight! Icing in-between rounds if I have to – but I am going for it!

PS – other downer of the day yesterday– missed England vs. Sweden (tie 2:2). You know, work...geesh!

The quilting bug...

…it has hit. Somebody shoot me! No really! You think I am kidding here? I swore up and down that other than the obligatory baby quilt – the one with the character top and plain fabric on back, a little padding in between and MACHINE stitching – that there would be no quilting in my life – none (except costumes).

So as you can see – fallen off that wagon. Nothing special – no real pattern here – but I got on this green kick and Baby EE was born and she is so cute and I really like her mom … yeah her dad is cool too –

So I am just cutting uneven strips and sewing bits together – we shall see what happens – not sure what the back is going to be yet – I have serious amounts of fabric in my stash and well – I could do the back in all blues…or maybe lady bugs…

So please no quilting insults that I am doing this all wrong – ‘cause like I said, not a real quilter here – I am inspired just enough by those fabulous quilters’ blogs to something a little different from my usual


PS – Germany vs. Ecuador – 3:0 – oh ja! You betcha’! world cup knitting – 8” front and back – I really want that part done by the end of the weekend – But I HAVE to have dinner with Annie Modesitt (ROCKSTAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) this Saturday - oh gee darn – but you know, I do not think that she will be insulted if I sit and knit instead of smoke, after dinner (NOT quitting people! Just taking a break!

You are welcome Future Girl!

Blog hopping is one of those past-times we are all familiar with – and this is what led me to Future Girl’s Gallery while visiting Isa’s page. I saw the little Wim that Alice made for her. He is the cutest little felt deer you have ever seen! He is named for Wim Wenders, who is one of my favorite directors. I absolutely love “Wings of Desire” (Himmel Ueber Berlin auf deutsch). “City of Angels” is the crap American remake starring Nicolas Cage. Side note: American studios please stop remaking fab foreign films into terrible American versions - case in point: the American remake of LA FEMME NIKITA starring Bridgette Fonda is just awful!!!! So bad I cannot remember the name of it.

Back on course here (and if you haven’t noticed, I go off on tangents). So this cutie Wim, is made from embossed felt. I was sure I had seen it at JoAnn’s (‘cause you know I am there at least 3 times a week) – but not in brown. I asked Alice about it - she didn't know of any colours and was only able to get the brown at her local craft store…AHA! IDEA!!! Future Girl will need more felt in different colors…I WILL SEND HER SOME Hilda! Hilda! I have invented a manoooooover! …so I sent her bit…well, a lot…couldn’t help myself. Wish I could have seen the look on her face when she opened the package! I admit that I put them in colour order – because I am that dorky and I figured it would make the opening part prettier :)

I like the fact that you can meet people via the internet who are into the same things you are – and at …3am? Insomnia sucks – but at least I can find something that inspires me to be more creative rather than melt my brain in front of the TV (which I do anyway)

Back to knitting…or maybe I should really try to sleep…long day at camp tomorrow….

PS – abc.com has all of the latest and final season of ALIAS as a free download until June 30th. Other ABC shows are available too – check it out!

Presents from TNNA!!!

This is the nice thing about working in a yarn shop (outside of the amazing discount – needed to feed the habit) is that sometimes you get presents! And this fabulous regia silk was my fabulous present that the bosses brought back for me from TNNA this year. When I was in Germany in October, I bought some of the solid colour as a gift for a friend, so I am quite grateful to have two skeins all my very own. Thank you guys.

And Lynn brought me back these:

They were given to her by the lovely ladies of BIG GIRL KNITS - a book I highly recommend. It has both fabulous designs for big girls (though there are a couple of designs that I am not fond of – but you can’t please everyone 100% of the time) as well as a bible for fit! Remember, Costumer talking here! – and a huge, big (no, not size) fan of What Not to Wear. They stress that these patterns are not going to make you look skinny – just GOOD.
This is in line with the following conversation:

#1
Mar: Honey? Does this skirt make me look fat?
Fritz: Uhhh (staring in repulsion at my size 20 ass) uhhh……
Mar: (exits hurt and frustrated, hides in closet)
Fritz: Whaaat?!

#2
Mar: Does this skirt make me look fat…er?
Fritz: (eyes smile) You look great! (eyes stopping to check out butt in positive way)

Mar: (crosses to fritz and gives hime big kiss)

Fritz: Whaaat?!

Notice the “er” in the question? I learned early on (about 40 lbs ago) that asking, “Does this make me look fat?” is the kiss of death question for most men (and true friends) and really, if you are fat, you are fat – you just don’t want to look “fatter.”

Anyway back to Amy and Jillian, and BGK: Lots of good information here – I personally do not own this book yet (it being on my wish list on Amazon and no one buying it for me) but Lynn brought it to the store and I drooled appropriately. A and J also told Lynn about the FoBG, Friends of Big Girls – so I am now, officially a FoBG, and I’ve got the t-shirt buttons to prove it! (Well once they get my email and approve it)

PS – tie match today 1:1 Italy v USA – way to go!

all crafted out...(and maybe copa mundial too)

Wow! 6-0 for Argentina vs. Serbia-Montenegro tied match (0:0) for Mexico and Angola and what was the Netherlands game? I think they won…and I might be a bit overwhelmed here – I think I am world-cupped out….okay I have said it – I am beat! It is all this...grrr... not scoring until the last 10 minutes of the game thing that is just getting me!

And, I am a bit crafted out. I think it is because we have had an amazing week in the costume shop. My first college intern , who is deaf btw, has been awesome. Her skills are lacking – which is why she is here – but she is determined to learn and be anal and I am loving her for it – so all of our fittings went EXTREMELY well today! I mean really really well. WE already cut out and started building one skirt today. Monday will be cutting and sewing madness too so I am quite happy about that! The pic's didn;t come out all that well so i am won't be posting aything today.

And I did send my first little package out today - that is three times in one week i have mailed packages when I said I would! 3 times! (sorry about the 1 1/2 year delay, auntie betty) I normally lack in the maling area - i thin it is in the same place as the "return library books within reasonable time" gene..and that one i inherited from my mother. The mailing gene deficiency (sp?) comes from my mom's youngest sister.

as to not have a picture-less blog - here is another picture of the fatties :) well one fatty

Oh to be in Germany ...

... or maybe not...

What a match yesterday – and when you are watching it on the Spanish channel, it is far more exciting than watching ESPN. NO offense, but unless they have an announcer from another country- the US guys just don’t have the passion that the Univision guys do. I think Tusa at Knitplosion really got the feel for yesterday’s match.

I have watched the world cup as religiously as possible before – but the first time (1990) – I was just sort of into it all – ’94? Well in the USA baby! So very into it – but I was wrapped up in getting ready for my year abroad in Austria – ’98? – High on vicodin! Just had surgery to have all my hardware taken out – and bouncing on the bed yelling at the French v Croatia match was not entirely unpleasant…2002? Cable turned off…long painful story – could only watch on ABC – luckily the US did really well so they aired a lot more games.

So this year – I swore up and down I would not miss a single match if I could help it! But here’s the thing – it is on during the day here – not late in the afternoon or the evening – so I fell like I am doing more of a World Cup Sewing Event as opposed to a World Cup Knitting Event – So I am beat when I get home – and that makes it hard to knit..

So this is my lame excuse as to why I am only this far on my sweater for Fritz:

But I have also finished my first packchen circle package!!!! Here is a sneak peek:
I’ll send it off today and get the other two on their merry ways next week – one at a time is good – I have got until august 15th, after all. 

I dreamed I won the world cup in my maidenform bra...

Life is starting to take over – so the blogging might be a little scarce starting….NOW! I haven’t gotten very far in my world cup sweater…typical. Actually I am knitting it in the round and realized that it is measuring 60” around, instead of somewhere around 52”-54”, so I dropped about 16 stitches at each side seam, losing about 6 inches total…so it should fit a better now….and Fritz will admit that it is the beer belly stomach that is a bit bigger than the rest of him, so it should fit just fine. I think he’ll just be thrilled if I really do finish this one…..but we won’t talk about the 5-year-plan allover cable sweater ( I’ve got 6 months left, people!)

So I thought I would share a few things that I’ve got going on…reading this book. I burst out laughing on page 3 of the prologue while in the store and KNEW I had to have it. And I have been reading through this lovely social commentary, UPLIFT: The Bra in America…it’s basically a very long PHD paper about the history of the bra (did you know that there were blow-up bra's in the 50's?) and its relationship to society…blah, blah, blah…it’s interesting to me. Besides, I have to admit, one of my dreams in this world, is to get a grant and correctly brassiere (is that correct verb usage?) the women of modern civilization – and that includes every major city from Tokyo to Hamburg to Cape Town to Moscow to Barcelona and all the little cities in-between like Peoria, Illinois and Leichlingen, Germany. (note - no i do not want to go to nations where bras are not a part of their culture...blah blah blah ....tho it does look painful when i watch the discovery channel...i am talking about how the woman next door who thinks that she wears a 36B and probably doesn't)

When time is mine again (August, maybe?) here’s a few things I’d like to make for me. Gigi at Behind the Seams has a neat blog – and some cool links that have me excited to make this, and this and this and…I could go on, but I’ll stop now….oh and this!

Oh and I have been working on my päckchenzirkel – the making has been fun – it is the picking fabric for other people that I find difficult. I have several piles of groups of 5 fat quarters gathered on a corner of my cutting table at work and I keep flipping them around for who I think will want them. I go some time yet. One is completely made and the other two are I pieces – at this rate and my world cup knitting, I should get it all sewn up and mailed by the time we open The Borrowers.

Enough babbling for now….MUST KNIT!!!! time to make a nice cup of tea and relax.....

Ps – I got Univision on my TV in the costume shop!!!! I can watch the Germany vs. Poland game tomorrow – I do not expect much work getting done between 3-5 pm EST.

Kudos are nice

When you make something sweet and little like this:
(crocheted yoke and edgings w/Laurel by Schaefer Yarn & body is knit in Rowan All Season's Cotton - i made it up as i went along - top down , and of course i didn't write it down)
It is so nice to get an email like this:

Marietta,
I just opened the sweater you knitted for E.E.... I'm speechless... and that doesn't happen often! It is absolutely gorgeous! I can't wait til it's cool enough to put her in it... with her coloring, it will look fabulous on her... and if her eyes turn out to be like her dad's, then they'll match the sweater perfectly...
Thank you for all the time & effort you put into the sweater, I love it & it will definitely be part of E.E's keepsake box... even if she wears it threadbare ;)

Love,
Mom (Dad and baby too)

Of course my pic is missing both the buttons and one of the cutest babies ever! ( I did sew on the buttons before I mailed – or I should say, before my mom mailed it)

Hopefully, the proud parents will take a picture of the little princess in the sweater and I can post it here.

I would show you the whole 2” that I have knit of my world cup sweater – but Fritz has taken the camera hostage. He felt filming the destruction of the latest set at OZ was more important than my blog….geesh!

As for the actual World Cup – thank the powers that be that Ramon, our café manager, was able to get Univision on his little TV! I was able to a good 30 minutes of the embarrassing USA vs. Czech Republic match. I mean what were they thinking?!?! We rank 5th and they rank in 2nd – of course the USA was going to lose! Maybe it was a fluke four years ago…..at least I have my Germany.

never enough fabric....

The eternal fabric hunt is OVER!! Yeah – I am telling ya! I have been to at least 30 fabric stores in the last month – up and down the eastern seaboard and I think that I am done – really…I’m done…no...really….ah crap! I forgot something! Fabric for Pod’s costume.

Our next show is THE BORROWERS – hence the HUGE chair in our scene shop! And the costume designer is being ueber-picky about the fabric for this one – oh wait…that’s me...crap! Okay so I’M being super picky about the fabric – but I have this thing in my head and I thought I could find it – oversized prints, So as you can see I have found some of it – but the last one….that’s been a problem. So I have decided to buy some fake-linen (‘cause real linen would wrinkle waaaaaay too much) which has the drape I need, and will stencil 8 yards like a crazy person.
I found a “wallpaper” stencil at Joann’s – which is perfect!!! This is a job for interns!!!! ‘Cause I have interns this summer – it’s a concept I know, but I am very excited (can’t you tell?)

As for my world cup knitting? 404 stitches on size 4 mm needles is a lot of stitches…but it is happening…slowly but surely. I’ll take a few pics when it looks a bit more like a sweater. USA vs. Czech republic tomorrow – pity I have to work, but I think espn3 will repeat the game at 5pm…guess I’ll have to leave work early…aw shucks!

Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole! And t-shirts...

Germany 4 – Costa Rica – 2 – First score in the first five minutes – yeah!!!!!!!
What a way to start my day! – But let me tell you – it is very hard to cast on 404 stitches on size 6 needles – crazy amount of stitches, I tell ya! Especially while trying to watch the game  - I only got about 4 rounds done and then I had to go to work. I tried, I really did to get the whole day off – but an understudy is going on tomorrow and alterations needed to be done.

As for the sewing? This week was t-shirt – earlier this week I made this t-shirt:


I liked it so much, I made this one:

Yesterday, I thought I needed one with a bit of humor, so I made this one:

Yes those are little cars and stop signs- I am trying to use up my stash - I think I’ll make three more for colder weather with long sleeves, in black, dark burgundy and a dark blue (all from my stash, of course)


Back to my worldcup knitting!

24 hours left...

The world cup is almost here!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited - do you think 11:55 am est is too early to have a beer? I really think i should take this is on full force - all the way - but i am NOT drinking Budweiser, even if they are the official beer of the world cup! Who's stinkin' idea was that? Not a self-respecting German! I think that there is some Pilsner in the fridge - I should pick up some Warsteiner's on the way home.

So, I will be working on the socks for the whole month - as the mindless, knit-in-meetings, world cup side activity. I'll probably jump on the Jaywalker Bandwagon, and do the germany socks in that pattern - or just plain stockinette - we shall see - and i willdo them two at a time on two crics so it will go faster - i hope!But my real project is the sweater pictured below - which is for Fritz and will be knit out of Rowan Felted Tweed. I need to order at least one more, maybe two more skeins in the brown colorway I already have.

1 rod, 2 plates, and 14 screws

There are all these fabulously romantic stories about how people have learned to knit - sitting at the knee of grandma one cold winter night - or being home one summer, stuck inside while it was raining, and mom sits them down and teaches them to knit while they bond just before the evil teenage years hit...

Yeah not me... I learned to knit while getting a blood transfusion.

Yeah that's right - you read correctly - blood transfusion - and I can tell you that it is not that easy to do. First of all, your arms are in a position that does not make the blood flow into the body all that easily. Secondly - there was a lot of morphine involved.

So now you're thinking...ummm, Mar...Can we get some back-story here? Blood transfusion? What are we missing? Okay then - short version - Was coming home from work at the Children's Theater and should have gone shoe shopping. Slightly longer short version - I was involved in a car accident almost ten years ago, almost lost left leg below knee, stuck in hospital for 3-4 weeks, then stuck in parents home (upstairs) for 4 months. They screwed my leg together again with one rod, 2 plates and 14 screws in left leg from knee to ankle - by some of the best orthopedic surgeons in the country! If you plan on getting hit by a car and almost losing a limb, I suggest doing it in Minneapolis - preferably in Burnsville.

So back to the knitting – My Auntie Betty, who knit this amazing shawl (see below) for my mom as well as a fabulous shawl for me - is one of the most amazing knitters in the world. She knits those Dale of Norway sweaters - and they are amazing - at least she doesn't knit socks – that leaves something that I can make for her. She drove up from Chicago and brought with her Vogue Knitting and tons of yarn and needles for me - Auntie Betty patiently taught me how to knit while I was drugged up on morphine and getting a blood transfusion. Should have know I was on a path of doom bliss as a desperate happy knitter - I mean, here I am getting somewhere between 2.5-3 liters of blood put back into me (body holds 5.6 liters) and I am knitting with worsted weight acrylic (red heart I am sure) and these long straight metal size 7's. I think the knitting needles were thinner than the one stuck in my arm. Of course, the nurse had to ruin my fun and forced me to put the needles away so the needle in my arm could do its job- I mean really! So that is basically how I learned to knit.

I spent the next few months knitting the same slipper over and over again. I was on something like 10 Vicodin a-day - excuses, I know. This kind of leads into what Brenda Dayne meant about "knitting memory.” Knitting for me, is incredibly relaxing; as if I was stoned out of my mind on morphine or Vicodin or whatever else they were giving me for the extreme amounts of pain I was in in a peaceful dream like state. I just go into la-la land when I start knitting. But I do the same with sewing....wonder what that memory is from? Ah – but that's a topic for another day.

World Cup Scarf

The town of Unna in western Germany is hoping for an entry in the Guinness Book of Records for what it claims is the world's longest football scarf.

Source

I had written a little paragraph about what i was going to knit and had a picture too...but Blogger decided that erasing it when I flipped to spell check was a good idea. I don't :(. Also I am trying to edit past posts - it saves and the draft says that it is changed but the post is still the same when i check the mainpage - I am a terrible typist and even when I do write in MSWord, there are words that the spell check and grammar check miss - as well as verb tenses - so i apologize for the poor grammar. And when i am ready to face HTML again - i will post more links to some of my favourite webpages and blogs!

Off to go fabric shopping!

Dyeing

From left - right: original colour, dyed with forest green, w/ medium blue (the best choice i think), w/ bright green, and w/olive green.

Fabric that is. So I am in OZ and am getting ready for the next show. One thing I love about what I do is that if you can't find exactly what you want, you can try to make it! The dyeing isn't quite working out the way I had hoped, though. The problem is most likely the fact that the original fabric does not want to bleach out some of the original print -which is a bit to dark for what I need. The back ground colour is working for me - but I think that the motif is just fighting me. Of course, opinion all depends on your monitor. With the fabric being a decorator cotton, I decided to use Procion MX dyes by Jacquard - a fiber reactive dye rather than Rit dyes - which is a union dye. My dyeing bible is this book here. Great resource - not just for theatre - I also use the basic dye recipes for dyeing yarn and fabric for me at home. Crap - shouldn't have gone to Amazon.com for that link - now i want this book. Amazon is so evil when they pair up books of interest....oh well.
Anyway, I am designing the costumes for this one - yeah! The nice thing about designing a show is that all the financial stress and how the show will be built falls to the costume shop manager....oh wait, that's me...CRAP! Actually, this summer I get 2 - count 'em - 2 college interns and 3 high school part time interns - very exciting! (Poor kids!) Hopefully, this will mean things will go a bit easier - or so we dream.
I did have this fantasy about taking the summer off and running away to Vienna (no, not at the end of the DC/Metro orange line - Austria!) and taking a german language course...but thenI would have to leave my yarn husband for a month and that would just be sad.....

As for knitting, I am almost done with the bias corset for Starr - my dress form at home (named Sybil) is very tiny, like Starr, so once it is done I will take a pic for you all to see. And I am getting ready for the Knitting World Cup (go germany!) - I'll post that pic next time.

Just want to thank every one for your comments - it so nice to think that you all "really really like me!" - - i am not quite sure about blogging etiquette just yet - do I email each one and say "thanks so much" or is a shout-out considered acceptable? What would Miss Manners tell me to do? Well considering I am crap at writing thank you notes (sorry Mom, you did your best), I think she might think me a lost cause. heehee

see you soon!

You know, when you know...

In honor of our 6th wedding anniversary (Now ask how long we have been together?)- I thought I would share the story of how we, Fritz and I, met. It is kind of sweet, so stop now if you don’t want to puke at the cuteness. Not really any knitting content here.

How we met: he was flying Wendy and I was dressing Nana the dog.
We were working at a small regional theatre in Virginia on a production of PETER PAN. We chatted a bit during the build of the show and once the show went into the technical rehearsal just before Thanksgiving, but we really got to know one another during the run of the show. I was stage right and he was stage left. I should have known that something was up when he started coming to my side and asking me about the blanket I was crocheting. He seemed so interested ; should have known that wasn’t going to last, his eyes now glaze over when I discuss knitting and crochet. This flirting continued for about 4 weeks - my going to his side, he coming over to mine - I really wanted to ask him out, but I was still a little heart broken from my last relationship and just wasn‘t ready yet.
He finally asked me out the day after Christmas, 1999, I was sick as a dog and I still said yes.
So we are out - having a lovely time and after a few drinks, the conversation goes something like this-
Fritz:: I ‘d marry you tonight.
Me: that’s nice - your drunk
Fritz: No really, I’d marry you tonight.
Me: that’s nice.

On our 2nd date, the next night, he asked again, and I replied the same: That’s nice.
Well, 9 days after the first date, and the 9th marriage proposal, I finally changed my tune:
Fritz: I’d marry you tonight.
Me: You know, if you really meant it, you’d get on your knees and ask properly.
Fritz: (crosses downstage, gets on one knee) Mar, will you marry me?
Me: Okay
Fritz: Okay?
Me: sure, why not
(end scene with lots of kissing)

He tried to take it back - but I figured getting down on one knee was binding enough, ring or no ring . So he was stuck with me. We looked at our production schedule and picked this very weekend 6 years ago. Five months after he asked for the 9th time, we were married at the theatre we worked at, on the set of MUSIC MAN at the Footbridge (and NO we did not use that song) there were bag pipes and pre show music, even a lovely announcement reminding “audience” members to turn off their cell phones. Our wedding invitations included tickets printed up by Box Office and the Marketing Department created a “show poster” which was in the window in the lobby - people even tried to by tickets to the one show only of THE WEDDING. Should have let ‘em. Our post nuptial party was at the local Irish pub, where we pretty much paid the rent with our tab. Great party! You have never heard hava-nagilla until you have heard it on bag pipes! Not to mention that the band learned the ENTIRE soundtrack to Fiddler on the Roof! ‘Cause you know…
And it was such a slow news night in southwestern Virginia - we were on the 6 o’clock news!
So that is the very condensed - very sweet story of how Fritz and Mar got married

I'm Home!

Obviously, my leaving for a few days has not affected the cats - they are fat ever and happy to be just sleeping in there usual spots. Bernina (yes, named for the sewing machine) is the fat white one and Walter (nee DeWalt, until Fritz decided he didn't like their tools anymore) is the orange kitty - they are litter mates and 61/2 years old - we got them as engagement presents to ourselves :). Aren't they so cute?!?!? Okay enough of the cats - it is good to be home - it is even good to be back at the Land of Oz.

What was so lovely, was to come back to a clean shop, appropriately decorated for my birthday and the donation of a very cool looking Singer sewing machine – I cannot wait to plug it in and see how it works.

There has been no knitting or crafting – due to the driving and the sleeping and now the working.

So this is just a brief note to show off my new toy at work.
There shall be knitting tomorrow – sock content – I am teaching a class on knitting socks on two circulars in the morning so I will take some pictures and post them here.
I guess now that I am back at work I won’t be blogging everyday – but I hope to a few times a week – we shall see...

yeah for flicker! and new jersey!

i have to thank Jill for telling me all about Flickr! Something is up with Blogger and uploading pics - so i jumped the other bandwagon, and joined Flickr - which i hope to organize my theatre portfolio on too! So on my way back to Maryland this afternoon... By the way, did you know that it costs you 10bucks just to get out of MD and Delaware!!! My trip on the the Jersey Turnpike + the Garden State Parkway did not cost that much combined!!!!

Found a couple of "How Jersey are you?" Quizzes, on line and i felt the need to partake:

How JERSEY are you?

Welcome home. You're SO Jersey. You know Wildwood and Seaside are the most disgusting places on earth, and only good for drunken after prom vacations, you know there's always a "short-cut" to someplace. Isn't Jersey great? I mean, where else can you go 80 MPH and STILL be the slowest car on the road?
Take this quiz!

I scored a 82% on the "How New Jersey are you?" Quizie! What about you?

More cool things for your blog at
Blogthings

NYC, Spamalot and my birthday

and why this post has no pictures....oh blogger - thou hast forsaken me - and there will be no fabulous pictures of the yummy yarn and fabric . so i must caption for missing pics until i can get this f*@#&$ thing to post them :)

Well it *was* my birthday – as of 3 hours ago anyway :) - oh and what a lovely birthday it was. Actually, it all started yesterday with a fabulous trip into NYC. The day started awfully early for me (6:30AM!!!) – I am not a morning person and do not get out of bed until I have had at least 1 cup of coffee – and that is brought to me by Fritz (what can I say? I am so spoiled). But my mother was not catering to that whim – she is not a coffee drinker and she is not a morning person.

Fast Forward to NYC – I am off to a good start when I find out that “the little shop” where my mom buys her sewing notions across from work is none other than Greenberg & Hammer! G&H is an institution in the costuming world, if you ask me. Every major costume shop I have ever worked at has ordered from them – I got to meet the manager and chat with him a bit as well as shop for OZ and got some really cool buttons for gifts.

Then, went on over to Rockefeller Center to check out Kinokuniya Books for some Japanese craft books – of course that is not all I found:
As a pre-birthday treat, a friend of mine from High School took me out to lunch – for 3 hours !!!! It had been awhile since we had a good chat and boy did we talk!
As the day got hotter my bags got heavier! After lunch I headed to Soho to check out Purl and its companion Purl Patchwork.

After getting lost after getting out of the subway at Bleeker (typical Marietta) I finally arrived at the fabric shop schwitzing like crazy! They let me just rest for a moment and enjoy the AC until my brain could function again– which was not easy, what with so much selection in such a tiny store. Oh! but they were so nice – and of course, I bought lovely items – (fuer unsere päckchenzirkel, vielleicht…). After spending too much money (happily)and cooling off, I went down the block to the yarn store. SO very nice and very big! Fabulous selection – mostly what we carry – but other lovely items such as Habu Textiles Yarn. There was a lot to choose from and my brain had melted from the heat, so I cannot recall it all but I did make a yarn purchase of the Rowan "wanna-be harris tweed" in the 4ply for a fair isle sweater vest – no idea why, other than the yarn called to me…it did….i am sure the sales clerk heard it too…no, I am not crazy! – this yarn said it wanted to come home with me… (“there coming to take me away haha!...”) And it did.


lt-rt: kinokuniya craft books etc, purpl patch work stash enhancement, purl rowan 4 ply scottish tweed
Then off to the Fabric District for show shopping – long story short, go to 39th between 7th and 8th Avenues – the cheapest stores are there and you WILL get amazing deals. For example – bought lovely fabric for $25.00 per yard , which I know for a FACT costs $120.00/yard at GStreet Fabrics by me in Maryland. It is worth the price of gas to go to NYC for fabric!

lft-rt: immigrant tailor statue in Fabric District, SPAMALOT!!!!!!!!!, big ol' needle w/button in fabric/garment district (w/ statue on corner of 7th ave and 39th, or was it 40th?)

After all that – my mom and I went to see SPAMALOT! – which was fantastic! I have not seen a a true NYC Broadway spectacle show since Les Mis. I have seen several straight plays, but nothing on this scale in a long time – and it was fabulous! Oh! And Harry Groener played King Arthur. He was played the Mayor in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 3 (big Buffy fan here) – got to say HI to him after the show but didn’t get an autograph – shucks!
that was just tuesday - prebirthday day! and just as much happened today - which i will show you in pictures:

lt-rt: www.modernyarn.com in montclair, nj - awesome store! everyone must got there! shopping in montclair, my mom's front garden

well thanks for playing today - i hope to have pics up tomorrow when i get back to maryland. New Jersey has been grand! see you tomorrow night!