Stress and the Inner Zen

I'm moving this week. Yes, again.

I also start dress/flying rehearsals for a show, pre-producton for 2 additional shows, and somehow working to manage a shop of 25+ women who are all strong personalities in very different ways.


It's stressful. My job is stressful. I'm watching people all around me lose their cool, freak out, and even quit (and in this economy, WTF?). But yet, somehow I feel calm. I go to work, do my best for the day and go home. The next day- I do the same. There is no time to be angry, there is only time to get the work done quickly, done well, and done with the best attitude you can muster. This week I had several people become upset with me, because I'm not angry or stressed, and I refuse to become angry because it will only make me more stressed. It seems my coping mechanism for freaking out has become- I get calmer.



Well see what happens this week, but I feel like it's going to be so stressful I might go into a state of zen... or just total emotional apathy, ya know, well see...


Until then, enjoy this little bit of fun! I love Neil Patrick Harris.



Oh and here are the handwarmers I finished this week. They make me happy. The yarn is 100% suri alpaca, so it's very fuzzy, soft, and warm!

Universal Handwarmer Pattern!

Okay, so it’s been a long week. The economy is in the crapper, and life is hard. Something that always makes me feel better is the act of creating. Specifically knitting. This pattern can be used with ANY yarn/needle combo, and to make ANY size or length of handwarmer.

This is not a pattern for someone who has never knit anything before. I consider it a starting place for intermediate knitters to begin writing their own patterns.

Before you get started. Here is the least you need to know. I failed math. I don’t mean “ I was bad at paying attention, and math was hard for me”. NO, I failed math- literally. Twice. I went to art school mainly because I knew I wouldn’t have to take a math class. I can do this math, and so can you. Just don’t think about it too hard, follow the instructions, and it’ll all work out.


To start you will need:

The yarn you plan to use. Generally you can expect to use about 200 yards of yarn for an average pair of handwarmers. This changes depending on lots of things, so be prepared to use 100 yards more or less depending on your project.

A calculator. Math is your friend.

A set of Double Pointed Needles- the right ones for the yarn you are using to achieve the gauge you want (whatever that may be for you)

A notebook or place for taking notes and an implement of marking- or just print this blog post, and write on it. I like to keep my knitting notes in a book, you should do as you please.

4 yds Waste yarn- the same gauge as the yarn you are using.

A soft cloth/plastic tape measure.

A yarn needle

To start:
knit a 4” by 4” gauge swatch using the stitching pattern you are planning to use. YOU MUST KNIT A GAUGE SWATCH FOR THIS TO WORK. NO CHEATING!

Count your stitches and rows. Write them on the top of your notes.

Gauge: ______(stitches) ______(rows) equals 4x4




Okay. Now measure.
ALL MEASUREMENTS ARE TO THE CLOSEST ¼ Inch.

Around the palm of your hand (not including thumb) this is your width measurement.

(Width)_________ X (Width Multiplier)_______=_______ (Cast On) round to nearest whole even number

Now measure from the crook of your thumb to where you want the handwarmer to end on your arm. This is called length A

(Length A)__________ X (Length multiplier)______= _______ (Rows to Thumb Row) nearest whole number

Length B is from the crook of your thumb to where you want the handwarmer to end on your fingers.

(Length B)________X (Length multiplier)_______= ________ (Rows After Thumb Row) nearest whole number

Now wrap the tape measure around the base of your thumb and DIVIDE by 2 (half). This will give you the Thumb width

(Thumb Width) ________ X (Width multiplier)_______=_______ (Thumb Opening) nearest whole number

Now measure how tall you want the thumb sleeve from the base of your thumb.

(Thumb Length) _______X (Length multiplier)________=________ (thumb row) nearest whole number



Now lets do some math! I promise it’ll be okay.

Divide gauge Stitches______ by 4. Round to nearest .5 this is your multiplier for widths.

(Width Multiplier) _______

Divide gauge Rows ______by 4. Round to nearest .5 this is your multiplier for lengths.

(Length Multiplier)_______



Plug these numbers into the worksheet above, pull out your calculator and do the math.


OPTIONAL BUT RECCOMENDED:
Now if you want to get extra fancy and figure out exactly how much yarn you will need – frog (rip out) your gauge swatch and measure it in inches________ (Gauge Length).

Multiply Gauge (Stitches)______ X Gauge (Rows)_________=_________ (Total Gauge)

To get how much yarn per stitch you will need divide (Total Gauge) _______ by (Gauge Length)_________= _________(Stitch length)

Add (Rows to Thumb Row)_________+ (Rows after thumb row)______+ 1 = _______(Total Rows)

Multiply (Cast on) _______ X (Total Rows)_______ = (Stitches in body)_______

Multiply (Stitches in Body)_________X (Stitch Length)________= __________(Single Needs)

Multiply (Single Needs)_______ X 2 = _________ (Total Needs)

Divide (Total Needs) ________ by 36=_________ (Base Yardage)

Add 30 + (Base Yardage)________= _________GRAND YARDAGE

GRAND YARDAGE = this gives you about how much yarn you will need to knit your handwarmers with your gauge! You should round UP when buying yarn, so you do not run out. There is almost nothing as frustrating as needing 10 more yards of something once the dye lot is no longer available.



Okay, so now onto the fun part!

Start designing your handwarmers! Cuff and stockinette? Ribbed for your pleasure? The options are yours. Stripes? Whatever you want.

Wrist Cuff: you should decide what type of cuff you want based on how many stitches you are casting on, and personal preference. With a little math you can determine what type of ribbing you want, and how tall you want your cuff to be.

I generally use 1/3 of the total of (Length A) to get the number of rows for my cuff:
(Divide Rows to Thumb) ______ by 3= ______ (round to nearest whole number).

Type of ribbing can be determined by personal preference and number of stitches in cast on. For example: I like a 3x1 rib. In order to get a 3x1 rib I need my total stitches to be divisible by 4 (3knit+1purl) you get the picture. You can adjust your cast on stitches accordingly. If you like your knitwear a little tighter- subtract stitches from cast on. If you like your knitwear a little looser, add. I generally like to add, because my hands swell and shrink in the winter and I hate to have things too tight!

Finger Cuff: This is the cuff at the top of your handwarmer over your fingers. The ribbing here should also be divisible by the same number as your wrist cuff, but it doesn’t need to be the same. I like mine to be around 10 rows long. You should use your personal preference and design something pleasing to your eye.

If you want to do stripes, use your (total rows) and divide into stripes. I like to use three colors and a 4 stripe repeat, so it looks random, but there is a pattern. You should design something that makes you happy.

Okay so onto the knitting! After all that math, you are going to really enjoy knitting handwarmers you designed, that are perfect for the yarn you like! And won’t you feel smug when someone asks you for the pattern, and you can say “oh, I designed it myself”


Cast on _______sts. Divide evenly between 3 DPNs. Place marker. Begin knitting in the round. BE CAREFUL not to twist your work!

Knit in your rib pattern: Knit ____ Purl____. Repeat for rows 1-______(rows for cuff). Continue in pattern to end of (rows to thumb row) _______. Slip marker.

Thumb.
Pick up waste yarn and knit across (Thumb Opening)_____ turn work, and knit across those stitches again. Drop waste yarn, pick up main yarn and knit across those same stitches one more time.

Complete this round. This completes thumb row. Leave waste yarn in place and continue knitting in pattern for (rows after thumb row)______. Be sure to put on your finger cuff for ______ rows.

Bind off loosely.

Knit the bodies of both handwarmers before you knit your thumbs. It helps you to count and double check that your right and left are both the same length, and the thumb is in the same place on both.

For the thumbs!

With your work facing you carefully pull out the waste yarn and pickup the stitches. This should look a little like a buttonhole with knitting needles holding it open. Pick up an additional 2 stitches on either side of the “buttonhole” to complete the round. Distribute onto 3 DPNs place marker and begin knitting in the round for _______ (thumb rows). Knit the last 3 or 4 rows in ribbing to keep them from rolling down. Bind off loosely.

ALMOST DONE!

Weave in your ends, and block with steam over a clean rolled-up washcloth. Voila! You are now a knitwear designer!!!!!

SO Cool.

My friend Mara posted this link and it was so cool...I had to copy her.

Enjoy. I'm in tech.

I was there

I don't know if you heard, but there was a little party in Washington DC on Tuesday. I was there with 1.8 million of my closest friends.








I could write a big sappy post here about how much this day means to me. But in the end I think many of us all feel the same way. So instead I'll just say thanks.








Thanks to everyone who:


voted


worked on the campaign


volunteered on MLK day


was there at the inauguration working security


took a part in this little piece of history


is going to look at their life and find a way to be a little more personally responsible for our future





Thanks.

Oh, and I know I promised you pictures, but blogger keeps crashing my internet when I try to upload images, so I'm going to have to figure out what the problem is first......grrrrrrr

Obamanation!

There are a million (literally) people in DC this weekend. Maybe even more than a million. There is no toilet paper, milk, or bottled water to be had. It's a political hurricane.


AND I'M HERE!!!!!




The town is buzzing. The people are excited. It is going to be the best weekend ever.



I'll post some photos soon.






Oh, and Pat wins the caption contest.


Pat, I'll send you a little something something this week!

100!

Woohoo!

This is officially my 100th blog post. And you are still reading this thing? Wowsa. I feel like I should include some amazing, wonderful, cool thing that some lucky person should win for reading 100 insane and wacky thoughts by me!

Well, instead- here are a few thoughts about this week.

I went on a date. Yup, a real-live-honest-to-goodness-date. It was even with a real-live-guy. Maybe eHarmony will work for me yet! DC seems to have a much better selection of "my type of guy" than Hartford. I also have been looking at apartments. I've narrowed it down to a neighborhood I want to live in, and I am looking each day at the listings for that area. The problem being- The inauguration is in a week, and every one is trying to rent out their apartments for $8million a night, so they aren't really interested in talking to me and my crappy $1,000 a month, ah isn't the free market grand?! ...Whatever. Oh, and yeah- that is a sh*tload of money, but that's what apartments here cost. YIKES!

The area I am looking in was really bad about 10 years ago, and slowly has been picking it's way into the kind of place that will be taken over by artists (me), then yuppies (too expensive for me) in the next 3-5 years (median income trends up, population trends down). Good news for me- I work in the arts, so I fit into the artist category and the area is still cheap* enough for my not-for-profit salary. It's also not so sketchy that the teenagers are selling smack in the alleys. Hopefully I will find a great apartment in the next week or two, and all will be well!

So I guess that's all I have to say for this momentous 100th blog post. Not so momentous, but also kinda nice to be headed towards a little normal in my crazy life.

Oh, fine. Here is a picture contest. Come up with the best caption, and I'll send you something from my etsy store! Post it in comments, and I'll pick someone by the 18th of January.

XOXO, and thanks for reading my rambling....

*Not really cheap at all, but everything is relative.

Ringer in the New Year

I am starting to feel like I only write blogs after something really big has happened. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but it seems to be a trend.


Here is the update (s).

(1) I visited Florida for the holidays! Woohoo. While visiting my folks I also tossed together an impromptu high school reunion. It has been said that I attended the "gayest high school in America" I would like to change that to I attended the "most likely to succeed high school in America". A little back story for those not in the know: My High school was (and still is) an arts magnet school for Orange County, Florida (and a large number of graduates are homosexual). It was a school that you had to audition/interview to get into, however it was free to attend. Pretty sweet deal. When I graduated, I knew we were all pretty talented. Little did I know we were all going to be incredibly successful as well as talented.

around 15 people showed up at the reunion. Among the attendees were Broadway dancers, riggers, master electricians, and singers. One owner of an environmental consulting company/not-for-profit for the entertainment industry and a well known rap/hip hop artist(who was on twitter chatting with other even more well known rap/hip hop artists while hanging out with us). Not in attendance due to scheduling conflicts and births -photographers and musicians who support themselves fully with their art. In addition, after the public festivities we were invited to the home of a grad who was most well known for a boy band and a well planned appearance on Dancing With The Stars... ( I didn't go because it all seemed a little too weird, and contrived). It was a treat to see all those people and realize that either because of or in spite of the education we received at that crazy high school we are all incredibly talented and insanely successful.

(2) I got a (temporary) promotion (sorta). The Director of Costume at my theatre is leaving. While the theatre is searching for a new director, the duties will be split between myself and another woman. It is going to be a HUGE CHALLENGE, but one that will very quickly tell me if I want to be upper management or not. It is something I am looking forward to, but at the same time I have a feeling I am going to be astonished with the amount of time and energy I will be putting into this job. Additionally I will need to move (YES AGAIN), so I can get home from the theatre past midnight during the week.
Side note: I am beginning to hate moving. Almost to the point where I am willing to toss or sell all my possessions in order to be able to do it easily and cheaply. The *near impossible* search for an affordable new apartment has begun, and since I no longer own a car I am looking to move into the District of Colombia. My bi-annual moving is beginning to wear me down, and I am starting to feel a little like one of those theatre gypsies I used to look at with pity and concern.

So there are my updates! Lots of little things, and maybe even a big one. Oh, and since it is New Years week here are my resolutions. This year the list is short.

1. Loose the weight I put on this fall/winter. It is my rule that I CANNOT leave a town till I fit back into the pants I wore into the town, and I'm going to break that rule pretty soon if I don't kick the 10 fat ones I put on. So here it is. I gotta loose 10 pounds during the month of January so I can leave Maryland and move into the District of Colombia.

2. Start paying more attention to my appearance. I *hate* blow drying my hair. It feels like a waste of time and resources, but the reality is- I look much better if I do it. So I'm going to make the attempt to do my hair and at least slap on some mascara everyday. I will also make sure I have at least one pair of jeans without paint or dye stains on them at all times.

3. Find a way to be happy to live in DC. With the economy as it is- I am going to be here for more than a few months, and it is time to start enjoying it. So there.

4. Start dating again. It's time. I've tried to pretend that I am happy with my life and relationships as they are, but in reality I'm lonely. It is now officially time to suck it up, and go out on some dates. EHarmony will once again be getting my $$$$. Jerks.


That's the story on my end. How about you? Any resolutions to share with the class?????