Ringing in the new year...

...with updates since October. I truly am bad at this.

Well, I wound up with a 3.8 GPA for the fall semester - not bad for working full-time and going to school full-time! I actually thought I'd end up with a 4.0, but I got a B in my voice lessons (not sure why actually...kinda came out of left field). But my diction professor asked me to cover for her at a service (and I got PAID), so that was flattering!

Now, a quick summary of the projects I did (again...since October)...is it sad that I'm mad at myself for only doing 5 in two months? In my defense, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim came out in November and I have logged quite a large number of hours playing it.

I did finish my hoodie and I lurve it!


Three quick accessories projects(none of which were for me):




And last, which I finished on December 30, the FO made of the yarn that I'm wearing my last post ^_-


I also have a sweater for David on the needles!

Oh, and I've also done a bit of recording for next Virtual Choir (Water Night, yay!!!). The first 3 soprano parts in playlist form (I plan on recording the two other soprano parts tomorrow), and yes, the only difference is in one or two places:

Two months catch-up....

I don't really have an excuse, other than I forget I have a blog sometimes :P

Classes are good, most of them. Some are pointless, but that's to be expected in a college curriculum, unfortunately. I love love love my voice teacher and Lyric Diction is one of the coolest things I've ever taken.

Piecewise, I'm working on "Ich will dir mein Herze schenken" by Bach, "La Conocchia" by Donizetti, "Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle?" from Gonoud's "Romeo et Juliette", and "Love at the Door" by Samuel Barber. She's planning on giving me something from the Classic period as well, for jury at the end of the semester. Now to find an accompanist (I emailed 6, received a response from 1, who cannot do it) -_-

A couple finished knitted objects:

The "mystery" shawl, dubbed Rainbow Sherbet was finished on time and gifted to my youngest sister on her birthday in September. However, this is me modeling it, mid-Hurricane Irene.


This hat, which was a good stash-buster (as you can see, I had to break into a different skein of yarn to finish the top and the button band). It still needs buttons, but who knows how long that will take me?


An absolutely horrid finished cardigan, which I will likely donate to a shelter, b/c the yarn is not worth frogging to reuse (in my opinion). Not even going to waste space with a picture of it. I DO think it was an error on my part in deciding which yarn to use, as the pattern uses yarn with silk for drape and I used a wool/acrylic blend...but either way, I really don't like it.

A Honey Cowl in madelinetosh, color Hickory, for my friend, Missy.


Then WIPs (only 2, I swear). The madelinetosh hexapuff count has gone from 4 to 67 (though only 62 were finished when the following photo was taken).


And a Coastal Hoodie I've been working on since September 2. The button band and almost one sleeve have been completed since this photo was taken.


Since the hoodie is a bit too big to take with me and phinagle the four different skeins, tomorrow I will be casting on for a new sweater in a colorway that I begged for and ecstatically received!

Puff fever!!!

It sounds like a disease, but it's....well, it kind of is! And I'm doing TWO of the projects...

First off, the first four of the all madelinetosh one:


These are just from leftovers or things I don't have plans for. They are currently sitting in a clear glass vase on our coffee table and Dave thinks they are pretty awesome decor.


Still working on the mystery shawl (one of them anyway...might frog the blue and brown one), and here's the bright one after Clue #3.


I also uploaded two new "performances" to YouTube. Both turned out to be the lovelorn ballad type, but that was not planned. Mostly cause I only planned on the first one and then spur of the moment, did the second one, cause I saw the karaoke track off to the side.

First, "There's a Fine, Fine Line" from Avenue Q...please ignore the fact that I am not a belter ^_-


And "I'm Not That Girl" from Wicked, which was the spontaneous one.


Class starts on Thursday, wheeeeeeeeeeeee!! So excited!

A shawl post!

You'd think after last year, I'd be done with them. No such of a thing!

First off, my finished "Beauty for One Instant". The name comes from a line in the poem 'the lesson of the moth' and the pink/purple color is called Lepidoptra...there is usually a method to my madness!




I also have a cardigan on the needles (not in madtosh...which might be why I'm having trouble working on it :P)! No pics yet, but I'm about 3/4 of the way done with the body. But then I have....sleeves.

Also taking part in a mystery KAL, for a scarf/shawl pattern. I'm doing two and both are using yarn I already had skeined up (YAY STASH-BUSTING).

Clue 1:



I'm also almost done with a hat, just have the button placket left to do...but I'm really not feeling inspired to finish it. Maybe this weekend...


Don't know if I mentioned that I started Power90 when I got back from LA. It was going well, I'd advanced to doing real push-ups for part of it, and then last night I got this bad pain in my left shoulder. In talking with my exercise guru brother, it sounds like I've either sprained or torn something and he told me what kind of stretching to do with it. If it doesn't feel better at the end of the week, I'm making an appointment with the doctor. In the meantime...no more push-ups, which basically eliminates the Sculpt portion of Power90. Greeeeeeaaaaat.

With that, I'm going to go do cardio!

Completely unexpected!!

Unexpected, totally welcome, and a pleasant surprise. I logged into my account for VCU to see if the federal loan had been awarded, and it had. Along with a scholarship from the School of the Arts! It isn't a lot, but hey! Every little bit helps, especially when I had no idea anything like was coming. It was like finding $20 in my coat pocket (only way better)! I am so honored and even taken aback (in a good way) that I was given a scholarship, as a transfer student who already has a degree!

We headed up to Seneca Lake this past weekend for the Glenora Jazz Festival (Spyro Gyro was playing), and it was fun. Dave managed to injure himself and is still on crutches, but he sees a specialist for his ankle tomorrow. Wine is tasty and we also brought home some scary looking BBQ sauce entitled "Colon Cleaner". No, I will not be using it, that's aaaaaalll David.

I actually don't have any knitting to show off this post and I feel so.....unaccomplished. Which is silly, since I did finish my Catkin shawl(and did all the laundry, took out all the trash, worked out)! Today actually: the knitting was done on Friday, I blocked it yesterday, and sewed the buttons on today. Hopefully I will get pictures tomorrow (if Dave can manage to take pictures and keep his balance on crutches at the same time). Working some more this week on stash-busting partially used skeins, before commencing on a Mystery Knit-Along on August 1.

And now, for inspiration: Diana Damrau, who is an AMAZING soprano. If could sound like her -or just sing with her one day-, that would be a dream come true.

Catching up on the knitting displays

I'm behind. I usually am :P

First, this tank (which I actually finished before we went to LA, wore it there, but didn't get pics), done in madelinetosh Celadon.




This is a tee I was working on all through vacation, hoping I'd finish in time to wear it. I didn't :P The last 4-5" of stockinette was such a slog. But I love it. And I realized it's my first NON-madtosh garment this year! Crazy! It's a cotton/silk blend from Misti Alpaca and I LOVE it. The garment itself is totally wearable too and I adore the deconstructed raglan.



In an attempt to stashbust and get rid of the almost finished skeins of yarn lying about, I did a couple pairs of mitts.

These, I used up all the rest of the yarn.


These, I still have about 20 yards left so I could have picked off the bind-off...but I didn't. I'll likely just make another headband or something.



And lastly (for now), I'm working on a shawl, the popular Catkin. This one is in madtosh Lepidoptra and Silver Fox. The chart I'm working on requires a lot of counting, so it's a bit slow, but all the projects I've seen say it goes much faster after this chart.


Now off to watch the Women's World Cup and knit some more on the shawl!!

Los Angeles - June 2011

So...Los Angeles was amazing. The weather was fantastic and the food!! Oh my goodness, the food. It's amazing how things taste fresh from the ground and gotten from less than 100 miles away. Why do we have this industrialized agriculture system? No wonder less and less people like vegetables -_- Perhaps if they had REAL ones, they would like them!

I digress. I'm doing the summer CSA and the food I get from there is fantastic.

I did finally get to meet Eric Whitacre (only took 5 years :P) and got his autograph, along with 5 other members of the cast!



It was truly an awesome trip and I was sad to come back. On the other hand, I start music school in 7 weeks, so it can't be that bad, right?! ^_^ And hopefully Paradise Lost will be on Broadway or in London's West End by the time I graduate, so I can go and audition for the stage production.