The Neverending Costumes...I mean STORY

so this is where i have been for a few weeks now (actually we have been developing this production for 2 years)

And it is finally opening - the second world premiere live theatrical version of the NEVER ENDING STORY...

i will post soon (and maybe youtube will actually post this video this time - try #5)

Anniversaries and birthdays

Did you know that I have been an irregular blogger for the last 2 years? It is true. 2 years plus 1 week…and I had a birthday…and today is my 8th wedding anniversary! Wow! Lots to celebrate!

My fabulous assistant, Jessica, has made these most delicious cupcakes to celebrate my 3 ½ decades on the planet. I hear there are more treats planned for later in the week by the other lovely assistant, Katherine. After eating 3 of these yummies today I really do not need anything other sweets….of course, that is saying like I do not need any more yarn or fabric…such a silly concept.

For my birthday/anniversary present, I received a lovely gift from Fritz and Max.

THEY ARE NOT HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is Tuesday night and I have not seen them since Saturday. Can you believe it? It wasn’t so bad on Sunday and Monday since I was in Delaware checking out my mom’s new digs:

Some love shots of the garden.

The lovely Mamie.

And neighboring gardens.




Last night was awful though – I was home all alone and really missed Max – first time we have been apart since he was born….both fantastic and depressing. I mean, how can you not miss this face?



In other news, the personal/work life has been incredibly stressful, so when I get home, I have almost no interest in the knitting or crocheting or even sewing. Our next show THE NEVERENDING STORY is absolutely overwhelming for us at the moment. There are many many many costumes and not enough time to make it all happen – and not enough staff. We have been working hard on this show for way too long – it is truly the never-ending show.

Outside of the crazy number of costumes, the costume shop is also responsible for dyeing the ‘nothing’ fabric.
Here it is in stages:

no crafting here

well not at home but very busy in the work place.


just got a new camera though......and still need to learn how to use it. Here are a few pics from this weekend:



a very filthy Max:

my mother's day breakfast in bed:


I am always giving Fritz a hard time for wearing the same thing every day and said he should switch it up a bit. So he emailed this pic and wanted to know what i thought:

Yeah, well, it's the same thing he wears every day: Black polo and blue jeans. The leather jacket was for the weather :) Gotta love 'im!

in fashion news - my mom sent me this cool link to a New York times article about a Superheroes exhibit at the Costume Institute at the Met in NYC.

check out the video

and for more music - Kate Nash, again, PUMPKIN SOUP and there is knitting in it!

time keeps on slippin'....

(more photos of max in traffic wearing Adam's hat)

(there have been a few complaints from family members that there have not been new Max pics in awhile - I hope you enjoy these two!)

Time is getting away from me again.

Not much by way of crafting for me at the moment. I think i mentioned before that I have been taking on a lot of sidework lately (when it rains it pours). One of my designer friends is opening a HUGE show tomorrow night and I was only able to make a few pieces for her. I felt bad when i saw how exhausted she was yesterday - i really wish i could have done more, but i am just overbooked with life right now.

I am seriously considering Freelance as a full-time gig. The problem with Freelance is that I am kind of lazy - and you have to be ueber-organized and have the proper space to do it in..... I need to get through the next show before I make that decision. The thought of spending the summer by the pool with the baby sounds heavenly - okay not all that grand as i turn to a lovely lobster red when i am in the sun too long, BUT a few afternoons of scheduled swim time with me and the baby sounds fabulous.

my latest obsession:

My assistant, Jessica, got me hooked on Kate Nash...love this album! I really like her style.

How would you spend your time if you had all the time in the world?

I keep wondering what I would do if I was a stay at home mom.
Would I want Maxim home everyday so I can spend every glorious moment with him? Or….
Would I put Maxim in Daycare everyday so I could do my own thing? Or maybe put him in Daycare part time so I can still afford daycare and afford to work from home as well as pay the bills?

He is starting that cling-on phase and wanting "Mama" or "Dad-dee" (who is also Mama) and he is walking and running and wants to sit in my lap and be read too....i am getting sentimental, i know. Shoot me.

I sometimes wish I didn’t have to work for the stress of working – for the need of the money to pay the bills.
I DO have an awesome job! I get to sew costumes everyday. I get to research cool things as how to make animal heads or animal feet . I am really looking forward to making horse hooves and other altered footwear for the next show – and once we learn how to do that, I hope to do it more for future shows.

And what about the things I want to learn for myself? Especially more advanced pattern making. This has led me to finally join the Japanese Sewing bandwagon.

A few months ago, Kathleen Fasanella hosted a Japanese book group buy. I had only started reading her blog via Tini via Gorgeous Things via the Sewing Divas this past fall. I had seen a lot of these Japanese pattern books at Sew Mad and Moonstitches (i really want to find the right yarn to make this scarf) Let's not forget the fab crochet books recently purchased by Alice. All of these have made me want to do more.
Though I am not in the fashion industry, I am pattern maker in the theatre world.
Well I used to be. Well I am.
These books are like dirty magazines for the cutter/draper. I mean the technical drawings and how-to’s are HOT!!!! I now get it! I get the excitement over these books! And the next question is….have I done anything yet? NOOOOOO!!!! Why? Well, time.

I really want to create a proper studio space at home so when I am not at work, I can work on things for MEEEE or the baby or whoever – just not for work.
I went to IKEA awhile back and saw this set up:

(That’s my mom)

I want this set up – it is a perfect layout – lower table for the machines and the higher table, set higher (about 42” from the ground for me). Of course this means that I have to lose the guest room in order to turn it into a proper studio space and put the bedroom set into storage – the nightstand and the dresser too.
This sort of organization at work has been part of the inspiration and desire to re-organize at home.
Also these blog entries found at the Domestic Diva – very inspirational when it comes to how to organize. The other inspiration? Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine’s latest issue on Studio Spaces – now many of these must have cost a fortune but good ideas that can be used on a much cheaper scale at a later date.

what we did in the costume shop:

Date night!

And Passover.

Fritz and I went on a date – a grown up date – no Max – just us.
Pretty impressive, I know. We even went to see a grown-up play. We saw THE GOOD WOMAN OF SZETCHUAN over at CONSTELLATION THEATRE. My friend, Yvette, designed the costumes for it (and they were fabulous), and I made one of the costumes for her – this equals free tickets. I love the complimentary ticket system. You work on the show and you get a few free tix. So nice and considerate.
The scary thing is that this is the first time in 5 years that I have taken advantage of my free tix earned elsewhere other than ISI. We really need to get out more. Really!

My mom came down and babysat and both she and the babe both survived! Max has new teeth (again!) coming in and has not been into too much food or sleeping.

It is also the Passover week – no Seders here. Not in the mood this year. We listened to PRARIE HOME COMPANION on the way into DC the other night and there were these Swedish guys singing “Putting on the Ritz” and the ShoeBand siniging a few Passover songs. It was both funny and sad at the same time for me. The Passover songs were in the 3rd segment for the night.


There has been some crafting in the world of KNIT OR GET OFF – well crocheting really. The wonderful world of Ravelry has led me to make these:



The pattern (in Japanese, of course) can be found here.

It is charted, so rather easy to follow but a bit awkward, due to weaving the circles around one another to create the centre. Once you’ve got that, you are good to go. These were just for practice. But I am thinking of making four of them (reversing the colours on 2 of them) and using that as the front of a bag (and maybe back?), and line it with some fab Asian print fabric – something on a geometric scale?

As for fabric, the latest banner is this fabric, in case you were wondering. I bought it at Capital Quilts, my local quilting shop (well, local to Woolwinders). Along with these guys here:








All of them are Alexander Henry prints and are from the Vienna or Gustav Klimt collections. The moment I saw them in the store i knew two things 1) they had to be alexander henry prints and 2) they had to be named after something from the Art Nouveau/Jugendstil period.


Skirt or aprons? Or bags? Or stash for now?

always another opening - again!

Sorry for the delay! Not much knitting or crocheting at Knit-or-get-off! There has been crochet and knitting teaching and lots of baseball uniform making here.

Our latest show (and world premiere), LOOKING FOR ROBERTO CLEMENTE just opened last night and it is great! Again, we are blessed with an amazing cast. Not a single bitchy comment made during tech week and that says alot!!! Well, not to me anyway :). Here is a link to the video/trailer created by our marketing department.
It is a shame that the music playing behind them is not our cast – it was the recording made by the playwright and composer for marketing and rehearsal purposes. It’s good – but I just happen to love our cast more. The video also has pics of the costumes (designed by Yvette M. Ryan)
Oh and if you want to see what I was running around working on before i went to USITT, check out Yvette's entry here, her design, but I made that! Well, not the headpiece, but the jacket, skirt and breeches (which you cannot see) Sweet review here.

In other news:
I wanted to review some of the shopping, yarn and other, that I did in Houston last month.
The first yarn store I went to was the Mary Charles Yarn store
It is a lovely little shop – upstairs from a very cute little knick-knack shop, Pattywhacks


Yarn first:
Mary Charles was definitely upscale. And so so were some of the prices. Most yarns were reasonable and she had a great selection of Blue Sky Alpaca yarns – never seen the worsted weight wool before and thought that it was really nice. She also had Art Yarns, Colinette, Rowan’s dk weight yarns and Debbie Bliss. She had some other beautiful things, but that was 3 weeks and a show ago, so I admit, I have forgotten.
I did pick up 5 skeins Queensland Kathmandu (i know KFI, bad Marietta) just enough to make Max a sweater. If i ever get to it - or a yummy scarf/shawl.



Mary Charles herself is really nice and gives great customer service, and she loved on my son (‘cause he is so damn cute!)

Before the yarn store was open, I hit Pattywhacks downstairs, and did some damage:


Salt and Pepper shakers! Had to get them. Then I saw these:


Gnome shaped playing cards.

And this one on the way out:

The box was made by the store owner's daughter.

I could not resist. There were more items of the Fliegenpilz and Gnome variety, but I had to STOP THE MADNESS. There was yarn to be had, and possibly fabric, so I had to curb the desire for more cuteness. These may be gifts, I may keep them. I have yet to unwrap anything. We shall see.


Gratuitous Baby pic: