Knitting and theatre

It's been a while

2006-12-12T14:04:00.000+01:00

Where have the last two months gone? I didn't realise it had been so long since I posted. Knitting-wise, I'm plodding along. I tried the dolly bag twice, but messed it up, so am going to put it to one side for a while and do other things, because we're clearly not meant to be...! I've started on the Crinkle jacket from one of the Rowan magazines (no 39 I think) and am knitting a draught excluder for my parents' new house (beautiful, but the doors need replacing!) I couldn't find a pattern for one anywhere, so have made it up! I'm knitting a long tube, then thought I would tie the ends like a Christmas cracker with i-cord. Should work! It's a thick yarn (RYC tweed) on 5mm needles, so is very dense - should be perfect at keeping out the draughts.

Theatre-wise, it's a bit quiet as well. We had the workshop for Faust, which was a lot of fun. I've now worked on the script and sent it round, but haven't heard from anyone else with their re-writes, so we shall see.

So just hanging in until I head off to France for Christmas in the new house. I'm going by train, which will mean lots of quality knitting time! will certainly get the draught excluder finished and might try some socks as well.

Not getting on with much at the moment

2006-10-23T15:53:00.000+02:00

I've had a bit of a fallow patch knitting-wise. But that does at least mean I've been having a great social life! Mad weekends out partying lead to days spent on the sofa recovering and knowing that I can't tackle anything tricky, as my concentration is a bit up the spout! Having said that, I have managed half the dolly bag and started the socks for my Pa's christmas present.

Started the Faust process this weekend - we held a script workshop, with the idea to cut the Marlowe text to a 45 minute play. We also discussed ideas and approaches. All in all a very nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon. This week's looking pretty busy socially as well, which is great!

Vogue Knitting and little hats

2006-10-06T09:17:00.000+02:00

I received my first copy of Vogue Knitting last night. Oh. My. God. It actually makes me want to resign from my job so I can stay home and knit all day! There are two jumpers I definitely want to knit, and it explains some interesting techniques. Even better is that I'm off to the US at the beginning of November, so I'll be able to buy some of the yarns for the things I want to knit. Great stuff.

I also spent last night knitting little hats for the innocent smoothies help the aged campaign. They're going to put the hats on smoothies and then give 50p for each one sold to Help the Aged. I got through 3 last night! It's a great idea, because it's the sort of little project you can have in your handbag for train journeys or whatever, plus a great stash reduction strategy.

Talking of stash... there's three kinds, isn't there? The left-overs from completed projects, the stuff bought for new projects you haven't knit yet and then the random "that looks nice, I'll take a couple of skeins you never know do you" stuff. I have much of all of them!

Things I must get on with:
sian's baby jacket (will buy the DK to sew up the seams this weekend and then that will get finished next week)
Crinkle (started it, but bogged up within about 6 rows. But I know where I went wrong)
The 2 Kim Hargreaves kits
Line my Debbie Bliss bag
Daddy's socks (when the yarn arrives)
The Dolly Bag from Rowan
Try felting that Emma King bag (I knitted an evening bag, but it's very floppy, so I thought I'd try felting it and see what happens!)

I also need to try to find something to knit for Dom and Esther for Christmas (Dom being my brother and Esther his black labrador).

First time socks

2006-09-29T11:22:00.000+02:00

So here they are, my first pair of socks. The Kitchener stitch didn't work at all well on the first one, but was fine on the second one. I also need to work out how to avoid getting a hole at the point where the heel flap is picked up for the instep. Someone told me, but I didn't quite understand, so I shall ask the trusty Rowanettes! But overall I'm pretty pleased. My pa would like a pair for Christmas, so I've downloaded what looks like a nice pattern from Knitty. I did enjoy using the self-patterning yarn, and I kinda like that the two socks are slightly different! There was just enough in one ball of yarn for the two socks, which is cool. Just knocking up some wrist warmers at the moment, as the baby jacket is on hold till I buy some DK in an appropriate colour to do the stitching. I've also started on Crinkle from Rowan 39 in a lovely green colour. And then I have to line my tote - will need to ask Iona for a hand with that - sewing is WAY out of my comfort zone!

It's all over

2006-09-25T11:15:00.000+02:00

So there we are, it's over. Last week was show week for the Blue Room, and it went down a storm. The way I had conceived the production made it a huge challenge technically, but the team pulled it off. All credit to them for a fantastic job. We got a professional camera man in to video it on Friday, so we'll have a wonderful reminder of it, plus I'll be able to show it to people who are interested in the future - maybe use it as an audition piece to study directing (well a girl can dream!). The cast party was totally epic. We started off with a meal at Les Brassins, which was great. Then we headed to Debbie's birthday party, plugged in the SingStar and totally took over! And then suddenly it was 6.30 in the morning, and having stayed up that long, it would have been churlish to go to bed, so after hanging around for a while, Abi and I got a cab down to the Marché du Midi and had insimin and mint tea for breakfast! Then back to the house, where I crashed out for a few hours. Abi then came round with some food and we watched my new digital TV service all afternoon - including following the Ryder Cup Five Live coverage. How exciting was that?! This is the only time of the year I like golf, but it was fabulous.

I did of course do some knitting yesterday, but given my state of exhaustion, nothing too challenging - just the leg of the second sock. This week is going to be great - doing absolutely nothing in the evenings, as I try to recover from last week. But I would (and I'm sure will) do it all again!

2006-09-14T11:52:00.000+02:00

So, here's a photo of the exchange gift I sent to Deborah. When I am using my house as something more than a very large cupboard i.e. actually spending some time there, I'll take a photo of my first sock as well. On to sock number 2 now, but only getting in a few rounds here and there, as we count down to curtain up on the Blue Room. We're just about sold out - I think there were 30 tickets left yesterday and more bookings have come in, which is great news. Recognition for all the time and energy put in by the cast and crew on what has been a very ambitious production. Paul Davis aka The Voice of Reason thinks we've pulled it off and I hope he's right! Dress tonight, the opening next Tuesday. I'll be a wreck by then!

The home straight/Exchange/The Joy of Socks

2006-09-06T09:31:00.000+02:00

So, we're into the last week or so. Opening night less than two weeks away, dress rehearsal (and media preview night) a week tomorrow. we ran through the whole thing last night and it's looking good. I really think that if we pull this off, it'll be really special. Martin is taking direction (gasps of astonishment), Abi is pulling off a virtuoso performance, the set looks magnificent and the sounds really enhance it. Woohoo!

Got an e-mail from Deborah Miller, who got the exchange gift (phew). I'd never tried cables before, but I was really pleased how it turned out and will definitely give them another go. Photo not working at the moment, but I'll add it another time.

I've also taking a step forward by knitting my first sock! Well, it's not quite finished, just the toe to go. But it's been fabulous fun, and I'll definitely be making moe. It got much easier when I changed to bamboo needles, and I devised a system of moving the stitches round the needles every few rounds, so that the gap isn't always in the same place. Self-patterning yarn is hilarious fun!

Rowanette Exchange

2006-09-01T14:55:00.000+02:00

I took part in my first Rowanette exchange this year. What a joy! Basically you sign up, answering a short questionnaire and you get sent the details of someone you knit for. Each year there's a theme, which was "Home and Hearth" this year. Of course, someone else has your details, so one day you receive a surprise package with something that has been knitted for you by a stranger. Such a lovely idea. Karin Boogarts knitted for me, and send me the loveliest pair of felted slippers, which I wear all the time round the house. Also a pair of socks, and she included a beautiful smelling soap and some special Enschede (NL) biscuits. Photo included. I'd better not say what I knitted on the off-chance someone actually reads this blog and spoils the surprise for my person (though I hope she'll receive it soon, as I did send it off a while ago). Still, great experience and I'll definitely take part again next year. Special thanks to my "Exchnage Mum" Carol, for her organisation.

It's moved into addiction

2006-08-24T13:56:00.000+02:00

I've started to realise that I have actually become addicted to knitting. I haven't been able to sit down and have a really good knit for weeks, because since I got back from holiday, it's been rehearsals every night. And I'm having withdrawal symptoms! I've just spent half my lunch hour drooling over patterns and yarns like builders drool over Page Three girls! Double plus ungood.

Not that I'm not having fun with the play. We had our first run-through last night, well, more like a limp through, but it gave a first sense of the shape of the piece - what it's saying, how it hangs together. At first read, the challenge of the Blue Room seems to lie in the acting, but as we go on I realise that the make or break will be the technical side. I've got the best crew going, so I hope we'll be able to pull it off. Even if some of Mr Hare's stage directions are ignored!

Exchnage gift finally got sent off a few days ago. It looked great once it was sewn up - I hope my exchnagee likes it.

Time is flying

2006-08-14T15:25:00.000+02:00

Another month gone! How does that happen? Since I last wrote, I've performed at an RSC theatre, been on holidays, and got quite a lot of knitting done. I just need to sew up my exchange gift and then I can send it off. Now that I've seen it all tacked together and practically finished, I'm actually quite proud of it. I hope my exchange person likes it! I received my gift this week - the loveliest pair of felted slippers and some socks. The slippers are so comfortable and I look like a little pixie wearing them!

While on holiday I also started a bag from a Debbie Bliss pattern. It's supposed to be a nappy bag, but it's nice enough to be any sort of tote, really. In Finland, I went to Marimekko during the sale and bought quite a few remnants, which I think will make good bag lining material - quite sturdy, and very atttractive, especially against a plain yarn.

I also picked up some really interesting yarns, both in Finland and Denmark. Will have to work out what to do with them. They add to the list of ongoing projects which includes:

a jacket for Sian's baby (which has now been born!)in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino astrakhan
2 Kim Hargreaves kits (on in kid silk haze, the other I can't remember)
An Emma King evening bag
the Debbie Bliss tote I mentioned earlier
A lovely top in Rowan Cotton Glace from Mag 39

Which given I'm getting no opportunity to knit at the moment is quite enough I think!

Theatre-wise things are just as packed. Straight back from holiday, straight back into rehearsals for the Blue Room. We have very little time - just three and a half weeks till the dress rehearsal - but if we manage to pull it off, I think it'll be very cool. Let's wait and see!

No time to knit!

2006-07-15T10:45:00.000+02:00

Is it really over a month since I've written?! It's been so hectic. Going back to the UK for the all winners festival has turned into going back to the UK to perform in London, the All-Winners and a shakespeare festival at the RSC in Stratford! Which is the pinnacle of any actor's dream, and pretty much as good as its going to get, I reckon!

Interwoven into the death throes of Real Lady Macbeth are the first few reheaersals for the blue room. That's going really well. We've started blocking the david hare bits and have identified the poetry bits that will come in between the different scenes. Abi and Martin are going to be fantastic and its going to set a few pulses racing, I reckon! Almost all crew on board too, which is a relief.

So is it any wonder the knitting's taken a bit of a back seat?! I've been working on my exchange gift. I'm about 1/3 of the way through, but with going to the UK next week, then the holiday after that, I think I should get it done by the extended deadline of 10 August.

More Real Lady Macbeth news

2006-06-14T10:51:00.000+02:00

Wanted to put up a picture of the Real Lady Macbeth, I'm the titchy one in the purple dress. The whole thing is really taking off - we'll find out this weekend whether we'll be invited to perform in the All-Winners Festival in Woking at the end of the July, and we may also do a couple of nights at a church in Covent Garden - West-End debut!
I start rehearsals tonight for David Hare's The Blue Room, which will be on in September. As if I didn't have enough on my plate! Managed to get some knitting in last night on my exchange gift. Totally messed up one row and I had to unpick cable - that's a first I can tell you!

We won!

2006-06-06T13:42:00.000+02:00

The Real Lady Macbeth won FEATS! I got nominated for best actress (along with all my fellow cast members!). We won best stage management. It was a triumph. I also managed to combine knitting and theatre for the first time, by knitting during the Forum and in the bar during the fringe! I'm working on my Rowan exchange gift, but as rehearsals for the Blue Room start next week, I'm not sure when I'll get time!

If you're wondering what FEATS is, got to www.feats.eu

Been a long time

2006-05-28T22:25:00.000+02:00

Well, clearly the theatre and the knitting haven't left much time for blogging! I've been very taken up with rehearsals for the Real lady macbeth, not aided by being away for work purposes for a week, less than a week before the Brussels performances! But we did those and the show came together in time to feel that we gave people a good show. Now we're fine tuning before heading to Luxembourg next weekend for the festival. really looking forward to a self-indulgent weekend of theatre.

I did manage to get a bit of knitting in, though pulling a muscle in my thumb a few weeks ago put me out of action for quite a while. Since I last posted, I've finished the baby blanket for anna, as well as a little jacket for the baby. I've started one of my Kim Hargreaves boxes. One thing I would say is that it would be useful if the website gave you an idea of some of the stitches and techniques used in a particular pattern, so you could see if you were up to it. I'm finding it quite tricky. Still, gotta push yourself! I've started a little jacket in DB cashmerino astrakhan for my colleague Sian's baby, and this weekend I started my Rowan exchange present. Got to get some serious knitting in on that, if I'm going to be finished in time. Still, found some fabulous wool for it. Hope my exchange will like it!

Success!

2006-03-27T12:25:00.000+02:00

Well, contrary to my own expectations, I got the role I wanted in The Real Lady Macbeth. Read-though this week, I suppose we'll start rehearsals a week or two after that. Guess it means knitting will take the back seat for a while. I'm just over halfway through the Debbie Bliss baby shawl, and I received my two Kim Hargreaves kits when I was home last weekend, so we'll have to see when I get round to those. Would be good to have them for the spring, but we shall see how it goes. I got the Debbie Bliss kit through as well - but I'm going to use the wool for another project, a little baby jacket. Had great fun at John Lewis last week buying wool - nice to see the colours "in real life" rather than just on the internet. I also got Rowan 37 annd 38 which I had bought off the website. Some future projects in there too! So much knitting, so little time!

Big project finished/auditions

2006-03-16T13:06:00.000+01:00

I have now finished the Debbie Bliss coat and it's having its first outing today. Photo attached!
I really like it, it's very warm, falls beautifully and the colour is fabulous. My only problem is that the collar turns up and I can't get it to sit properly, though that might be due to my paltry ironing skills! I'm very proud of the actual knitting as well, it's pretty even, and the tension seems good. This is going to give me the confidence to get on with the two Kim Hargreaves kits I ordered and should be waiting for me in the UK this weekend. I'm also going to head up to John Lewis to stock up for the other projects I've got on my horizon. But the free pattern baby shawl is the current project that needs to get finished.

Theatre also came up again this week, with an audition for the Real Lady Macbeth, which the Brussels Shakespeare Society will be taking to the FEATS festival in Luxembourg. I really like the play and would really like to be involved, but I'm not sure that I'll get either of the female parts, as I'm probably too young for one and too old for the other. But, we'll see. Hope to hear in the next day or two.

Moving on

2006-03-08T11:27:00.000+01:00

Well, I'm very excited! I managed to finish all the knitting for the Debbie Bliss coat and am hoping that I'll finish all the sewing up tonight. Inserting the sleeves into the armholes was quite tough, as they didn't seem to be the same size, but I think I sussed it - well, we'll see once it's all sewn up. I'm left with two balls of cashmerino astrakhan, so need to find something to do with them. I should be getting two balls of the same wool in green from the Debbie Bliss club, so maybe I'll be able to think of something that uses them all together. Any ideas?

I also knitted a loop scarf with the Colinette yarn - really lovely. When I finish the coat, I'll put up pictures of both. So, next jobs - finish the jacket for Anna, start the herringbone skirt, and get knitting for Sian's baby!

Project update

2006-02-28T09:28:00.000+01:00

As promised, some news and photos. I've now finished the Froth scarf that I got free with my Rowan Club membership. It came out really nicely, and I like the frill edge, shall do that again. The Kidsilk Haze is a nice yarn, though does tend to shed a bit.

As promised, this is the Big Wool Fusion jacket I did (complete with inquisitive kitty!). It knitted up really quickly, which was great and it is beautifully warm. I just need to find some buttons to go with it. Any suggestions of where to get big enough buttons would be gratefully received (the cardi is knitted with 15mm needles, so the buttonholes are pretty big)

This poncho was the first thing I'd knitted for myself for years and years, which I finished in October. It was from some balls of hot pink DK given to me by my best friend's mother. The poncho is really simple, two rectangle sewn together, and I shall use the pattern again, though this time making the rectangles slightly wider, so it doesn't gape so much at the neck. I love this poncho though, I wear it loads. It's great in the autumn, and I love people complimenting it, and I can say "thanks, I made it myself!"

So now, I have to finish the Debbie Bliss coat - only one sleeve and the collar to go. Then I've got wool for a very sweet herringbone skirt, and some beautiful colinette yarn (point 5) that I shall knit into a looped scarf. Then I shall treat myself to one of the new Kim Hargreaves designs - probably Fay.

Shame I have to work really...I'd much prefer to be at home knitting! Obsessive, me?!

New First Post

2006-02-16T18:58:00.000+01:00

OK, so I was going to do a blog focusing on how Eurocrats are ordinary people too blah blah. But that's a bit po-faced for me I think. so it's going to be about me and more particularly, my two big pasttimes at the moment: theatre and knitting. As they are mutually exclusive - if I'm out rehearsing I can't be home knitting - it should keep things interesting.

I'm currently in a knitting phase, as I just finished a show (performing the Alan Bennett monologue Bed Among the Lentils, if you're interested). I've got a few WIPs underway:

1) a three-quarter length coat in dark purple cashmerino astrakhan by Debbie Bliss. I've done the fronts and back, just the sleeves and collar to go. That's been really interesting for two reasons: one, it's the first time I've used circular needles to knit straight rather than in the round and two, the front and sides are knit from seam to seam not top to bottom. The yarn is quite challenging too, as it has lots of room for getting caught in a loop and creating extra stitches. So I need some light relief sometimes. Any advice on how to make it up would be useful, as I don't fancy using the yarn itself, as you usually do.

2) light relief is a scarf which was the free gift when I joined the Rowan club and is knitted in their Kidsilk Haze. That's going to be beautifully soft and is in a lovely green colour. I think I'll try the shawl in the latest version of their magazine at some time in the future. This will be the first time I try picking up stitches and will make the most of my newfound circular needle skills.

3) I've also got a little garter stitch baby jacket on the needles. I love knitting baby clothes as you see them appear so quickly, so it gives you comfort when instructions such as "cast on 240 stitches and knit in st st for 48 rows" just make you despair!

15 March will see the first evening of a knitting circle I'm setting up with some mates here in Brussels. Funny how everyone 'comes out' as a knitter or cross-stitcher once one person owns up publicly! We're combining it with our regular clothes swapping party - can you think of a more girlie evening?!

Next time I post I'll try to have a picture of the Rowan Big Wool Fusion jacket I knitted which is the first adult thing I've done in ages, and which came out really well. It's baking hot to wear though!!