The Crazy Knitting Musician

Nope

2010-09-09T08:52:00.000-07:00

No pictures. No crocheting or knitting to report. It's sad but true. College is busy. Not even one week has passed and I'm already frighteningly behind in my studies.

And it's cold. Can I go home yet?

College

2010-09-03T08:15:00.001-07:00

I'm alive, but busy. I was expecting to post on Wednesday, but nope, completely forgot. I haven't even really been knitting, and that's the embarrassing part. I started a pair of interchangeable mitts a while ago, but haven't touched them since... the plane. Yeah, embarrassing. I started working on crocheted coasters a while ago too, but haven't touched those for a couple days either. I'll post pictures next Wednesday, but for now, a simple update will have to do. I have class at 11 and I have to go over some texts before then.

P.S. It's the beginning of September, and it's not 40 degrees yet! :)

Last post from this location

2010-08-25T18:22:00.000-07:00

For a while, at least. Goodbye California; I shall miss you. But I'm off to bigger and better things, over in Wisconsin for college for my first year! Of course, I'm super excited, but I've been knitting up the proverbial storm while awaiting for Friday morning, when I get on a plane by myself for the first time. I've been quite independent all my life, being an only child with insanely busy parents, but I still haven't been 100% on my own. I mean, I went to band camp every year, but that was only a week, and we lived out of our suitcases. Anyway, some knitting content, shall we?

I finished these mittens what seems like ages ago, but was really only earlier this week. This is the pair unblocked...

and blocked!

Blocking is a miracle. I know it's not very obvious from the pictures, but all my stitches are even and the mittens aren't puckery now! They weren't very puckery to begin with, but still. Of course, I showed them to my mom, saying "Mom, look what I just made!" She said if she saw them in a store, she'd definitely buy them. I think I know what I'm making my mom for Christmas or her birthday (in November) this year, but maybe not the Pimento. I'm kind of tired of it, and you'll understand why later on in the post. Maybe pink, or purple with cream? The reason I chose Pimento was because what looked like clovers to everyone else looked like berries to me, so I figured red berries would be festive.

This was my second colorwork project ever (my first one was a hideous Fake Isle hat I made while band - and therefore all my friends - were in Hawaii on a band trip; I know, soooo unfair). It's not the pattern's fault, though I must admit that I'm not too fond of the pattern itself. Being my first colorwork project, it was insanely puckery and ugly and the Noro Kureon I used was really itchy. I ended up selling the other three or so balls I had remaining in my stash. Anyway, I'm really really proud of these mittens, and I can see myself wearing them as soon as the temperature drops below 60 (which I assume it does in Wisconsin as early as the beginning of September - and I'm the little Californian used to 40 deg being SUPER FREEZING).

I guess I should probably mention this: I made these mittens inside-out, but I didn't purl at all throughout the colorwork portion. I did the ribbing as normal, then pulled the ribbing to the inside. Normally when we knit using dpns, we knit on the outside. But this time, I just knit from the other side. It's hard to explain, but if you pull a sock cuff inside out while it's in progress, you can still knit all the way around - the purl side is just facing you. You work on the needles that are further away from you than normal.

Then, I started some Dublin Bay socks on Saturday, and finished them on Monday. I got the yarn from Stitches West this year, when I went with my awesome French teacher. It's Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in February's limited colorway, Peppermint Mocha. I am such a sucker for limited colorways and discontinued yarns.

And THEN, I wasn't done. I decided I needed to use up the rest of the Palette I had left over from the mittens. I didn't end up using all of it, but it was very close and caused much nerve-wracking.

It's blocking on that plate right now, and I'm super proud of it! I was actually super scared when I pulled it out of the water after washing. It looked purple and beige - I almost freaked out. But after it started drying just a bit, I got relieved as it started transitioning back to a deep red and cream.

I think I'm rambling a bit more than normal simply because the next time I post, it will be from my DORM in Wisconsin. Such a weird thought.

Look what I can do!

2010-08-18T21:42:00.001-07:00

I finished my shirt! It's kinda lumpy but it does need to be reblocked after having seamed everything together.

Last night, as I stumbled in the door after an awesome day in Monterey, I found a package from Knit Picks! So of course I tore it open and wanted to cast on right away. But I resisted until this morning.

Knit Picks Palette in Pimento and Cream. These colors are truer than those in the photos below.

I took that picture this morning. This the progress as of this evening.

Future stitches to be picked up for the thumb.

In Monterey yesterday, I happened upon a cute little yarn shop called The Twisted Stitch, at 400 Foam St, Ste A. It just opened fairly recently, and the only reason I even noticed it was because I was wistfully staring out the window, wishing a yarn store could be close to either Fisherman's Wharf or the aquarium, and all of a sudden I saw yarn in a window, and screamed YARN STORE! So yup, I got some Cherry Tree Hill suri laceweight in Rosewood from the fabulous owner, and I can't wait to go back over winter break and visit it again to see how well the store is doing.

Knitting up a Storm

2010-08-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

Lots of knitting progress this week. On Sunday, my parents and I went to San Rafael for a day trip. And of course, whenever we go on day trips, they let me check out one or two yarn stores in the area. I found the Dharma Trading Company, and walked out with three skeins of white Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino and three skeins of brown Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino. Actually Mom bought them for me to make things for her, and I ended up making a neck scarf with one of the skeins.

Mom decided to model the little scarf for me, but was too shy to let me photograph her face. The peter pan-collared sweater is from Lands' End.

The morning I finished the neck scarf, an awesome package arrived!

I started a short-sleeve pullover from a French pattern book I received for my birthday this year, using the bottle green St. Denis Nordique. So far, the back is done and I'm working on the front. Interesting: there's an English version of this pattern floating around. Ah well, I don't mind translating. I made a swatch of the leaf panel in neon pink acrylic and it seemed just fine, though some people seem to say there's an error in the pattern. Hopefully I was interpreting it correctly. A few things literally got lost in translation, though. I didn't understand the terminology for "k1 tbl," but that's the only problem I've had so far.

The ginger Cascade Elite Fresco is going to be a long-sleeved shirt/pullover from the same pattern book.

I Have an Excuse!

2010-08-07T18:10:00.000-07:00

I got my wisdom teeth removed on Monday. I was pretty much passed out all week from pain meds. Now I have big icky holes in my gums. But I'm awake now, and with a finished object!

My second Whisper cardi is done! I've been working on it off and on in between consciousness (again, thanks to the pain meds).

Next project: Debbie Stoller's All-Day Beret with some Paton's Angora Bamboo I picked up in Madison, WI while visiting campus last month.

Finally, a Legit Update!

2010-07-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

Yup! So here it is. Two works in progress; unfortunately, none of them are very fascinating.

Zoidberg from Futurama! Well, a future Dr. Zoidberg. Obviously I have to add tentacles and eyes and all that good stuff, but he should be finished by tomorrow. Hopefully. [x] [x] And hmm that's supposed to be red - a bright cherry red of Cascade 220 Quatro. Ah well.

And another Whisper Cardi, designed by Hannah Fettig and featured in Interweave Knits Spring 2009 catalog. Finished the first sleeve and working the back. Such an interesting design; you work a sleeve, bind off a few stitches and work flat for around 22", then cast on those stitches you bound off earlier and continue knitting the second sleeve. Then you bind all stitches off and pick up stitches along the straight stretch and knit downwards.

Whisper is out of a big cone of yarn the boyfriend got me for only FIVE DOLLARS from That Yarn Store. I love all the little nubbs in it - plus that sweet strawberry color makes me want to hug it. Oh and it's wool. Laceweight merino wool. The sticker inside the cone has "7320" on it; I wonder if that's how many yards it has.

New Resolves

2010-07-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

It's summer, and having graduated from high school recently, I've decided to add posts every Wednesday, REGARDLESS of whether or not I have nothing to show for myself. If anything, it'll add some consistency to the blog and my life, and hopefully even get me motivated to knit some more. Next post: Wednesday, July 28th!

Yosemite and Lace Cardigans

2010-06-25T17:16:00.000-07:00

The boyfriend and I went to Yosemite for a day trip.

And I made sure to take plenty of knitting pictures. About a week ago, I also finished my Whisper. Love the yarn too - Golden Glow. It's not super soft, especially for being 100% Merino, but it's soft enough for me.

I plan on blocking it this weekend. And yup, that's about it.

America's Best-Kept Secret

2010-05-19T16:40:00.001-07:00

Lexington, Kentucky. I loved when we went in early April, and I still long to be there over a month later. When we got on the plane from O'Hare to Lexington's airport, we got into a little regional jet. Despite all the flying and traveling I have done with my family over my life, I have never had to walk outside to get on a plane before. Ever. So of course, I anticipated Kentucky would be capital of hickville. Little did I know. As we were preparing to land in Lexington, I looked out the window and saw the most picturesque view I had ever seen in my entire life. I have been to France, and I have traveled the French countryside. I have been to Aix-en-Provence. I have been to Rothenburg, Germany. I have traveled all around Austria. I have traveled much of California and Hawaii. It's not as if I have been sitting at home all these years. Lexington was the last place I figured would capture my heart. While descending into the town, I could see little white houses with white picket fences (electronic devices weren't allowed at the time or I definitely would have taken pictures). If anywhere, the American dream lives here.

But yes, all places have faults. Lexington's one fault (and this applies for much of Kentucky, I assume) is horses, horses, and OMGHORSES. Everywhere we went, we were bombarded by horse pictures, horse paintings, horse statuettes, the works. Other than the horses though, I'm pretty sure this place is perfect.

And that's not even a fourth of the pictures I took, most of them more beautiful and charming than the posted ones. What gets me is that no one is on the streets. I envisioned one of Kentucky's largest cities to be bustling at least, but it's quiet (but not eerily quiet). It's like no one knows this little gem exists.

(And surprisingly, very few Lexingtonians have accents.)

Good Morning from Kentucky

2010-04-03T06:37:00.000-07:00

The view is wonderful. Unfortunately, I do not have access to the Internet on an actual computer so I will upload pictures whenever I can. It's nice in kentucky, despite the local obsession with horses.

Just another update

2010-02-27T16:20:00.001-08:00

Stitches West '10! I'm sure that's been dominating knitting blogs over here on the west coast. I picked out two items:

I wanted a bag like this at Stitches West '09 but Mom didn't let me get one. This time, I made sure I got one (plus I was with a family friend instead)

Exclusive Lorna's Laces colorway! Only available from jimmybeanswool.com. Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, colorway Peppermint Mocha.

Lately, the boyfriend has been proving how useful he is.

Love these colors! The red and off-white are Buckingham, with 80% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk, ready to be knit into a Selbu Modern. The aubergine is Berroco's Lustra, which is 50% Peruvian Wool and 50% Tencel. I believe these were for our eight-month.

I highly recommend ProFlowers. This was sitting on my doorstep upside-down for 12 hours but they were so carefully packaged that it didn't even show. I came home to these after a hectic band trip. Needless to say, they made my day.

He made this just for me. He worked for about two hours and came back with this all done.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T20:46:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas! I'm going to get presents later, when everything is on sale. For now, this is what I've been up to:

My friend went to Short Course Nationals for swimming, so I made these for her to congratulate her. I'm kind of into the baking thing nowadays, so I made some marshmallow fondant as an experiment and covered six cupcakes with it. As far as I'm concerned, they turned out pretty well for not having a circle and not having a proper rolling pin.

Made for my French teacher, who wrote some of my letters of recommendation. My anatomy teacher will probably get chocolate chip cookies because I don't normally knit for men I don't love.

I have plans for making an ugly Christmas sweater before next Christmas using this chart on this pattern and a bright, gaudy green torso with red sleeves. I'm pretty excited.

Happy holidays to all!

Time

2009-11-20T15:56:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was my birthday! My parents are the best; they gave me $100 and told me to "go spend it." So what did I buy?

Love them! And of course, people gave me yarn! Two of the French V girls went shopping together and bought me these (plus smelly stuff [lotion and body mist!] but it's irrelevant):

Jiffy and Fun Fur. They're new at knitting themselves, so Jiffy and Fun Fur are the best things since sliced bread. I was thinking about making a hat out of purple with a Fun Fur pompom so they could see what their present turned out to be, but then thought that maybe I could make a yellow hat (out of the Jiffy I used for that yellow afghan) with a purple pompom. I don't think I'd have enough for a purple pompom on a yellow hat and a purple hat, but we'll see.

Oh, and I also got this little piddly gift from the boyfriend:

So I pretty much love him. :) Left to right: Lover's Leap (how perfect), Sapphire, & Hoofle Floofle

Progress on the lace shawl for my French teacher, also a knitter (and with whom I am going to Stitches West 2010), who is doing my recommendation letters for college.

Stitch marker my swap partner in Color Swap 5 gave me. I love it sooo much.

And that's about it. The only thing on my wishlist now is more time to knit.

CS5 Package

2009-11-09T16:52:00.000-08:00

The Box.

Hmm... what color could it possibly be?

Yellow! My favorite!

Beautiful stitch markers handcrafted by my swap partner.

Here's a llama, there's a llama, and another little llama...

Goodies! I was in need of another tape measure, and I had recently run out of chapstick. When I opened it, I wondered aloud, "How did she know?" Plus I love gum, so hooray!

Mug! Perfect for photographing little amigurumi fruits peeking out over the edge.

Another "How did she know?" moment. I have been needing a headband when I go biking in the slightly nippy evenings but never got around to making one; this is perfect!

Butterflies! Too cute. Plus a pen (and I loooove pens).

Yarnyarnyarn. Lorna's Laces fingering & Frog Tree (100% alpaca!) sportweight.

Everything! So wonderful.

Taken just for fun.

Opening this felt too good to be true. It was so wonderful receiving this. Off to go post these pictures on the CS5 forum!

I Love My Bike

2009-11-08T17:50:00.000-08:00

This is what I've been up to.

For swap partner in Color Swap 5

For friend's friend's birthday. Got $7 for this little guy.

Another $7.

Bike Adventures.

Sooo my birthday is in fewer than 11 days. Mom gave me $100 to spend on knitting, so I spent it on pattern books. Two catalogs from Bergere, two catalogs from Phildar, Knitting Workshop, Knitting Without Tears, Sock Innovation (my first Cookie A patterns!), and Knitted Lace of Estonia. I think I'm set for a long time.

It All Comes Out in the Wash

2009-10-05T18:05:00.000-07:00

I spoil the boyfriend. He gets handknit socks. And he spoils me. I get lots of stuff - this time, an alpaca plush (with kitty and turtle plushes too). I think we go well together.

Story of My Life

2009-10-04T22:20:00.000-07:00

I need to take a chill pill.

I cry every time I look at my knitting.

Ornamental Stitches Scarf

2009-09-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

It's done! It's definitely for my mom, but I'm not sure for what occasion.

Now to work on the Vintage Cardigan.

Back from the Dead

2009-09-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

Band camp, then school band camp, then school, all the while being obsessed with a Leaf Lace Shawl. But I won't make up excuses for how long I've been away. I have pictures, which should take care of any hard feelings, right? :)

Please excuse the poor picture quality (and the slanty-ness of the second picture).

Off the needles, blocked, and all folded up, waiting for Mother's Day '10 to surprise Mom. She's been watching me knit it up, but I told her I'm just experimenting in lace for now. She doesn't have to know it has been for her all along.

I'm planning on making a Swallowtail Shawl sometime in the near future (possibly after I finish my Vintage Cardigan) in a beautiful brown heather from Knit Picks' Alpaca Cloud.

Since the beginning of the school year has arrived, it's schedule time:

1. French V
2. AP Calculus BC
3. String Orchestra (on violin)
4. Wind Ensemble (on double bass)
5. English Literature (aka Brit Lit)
6. Economics
And on Tuesday & Thursday afternoons, Jazz B (on violin)

I love my schedule.

Just Stuff

2009-07-21T17:46:00.001-07:00

I got a fancy new computer, whoo! It's much faster than my crappy old Dell.

Finished these recently, now working on the Fibonacci socks instead of the STR socks. (Btw, altering my queue: Fibonacci socks, Vintage Sweater [hopefully completed before camp], Lacy Vine Scarf [again, hopefully finished before camp - Aug. 1], then the rest whenever I come back from camp.) I did the Fib. socks because I wanted to do a fairly basic toe-up sock with the Knit Picks Palette to see if I was capable of doing toe-up socks before making Firestarter. They're super cute.

Jog visible... hah whatever.

And now on a tangent...
It's difficult to find a good swap group. Seriously, there's always something I don't like in them. I'm not usually a Debbie Downer, but really mean it. It's always un-secret or really random and un-sock yarny. I'm looking for the basics in a sock yarn swap. Something cute and simple, like at least $20 or 100 grams of sock yarn (color-themed or not; doesn't matter), maybe a handmade little something to go with it (be it a needle-poke-proof bag, dpn holders, etc.) too. Essentially, the Knit Sock Kit Swap mentioned on LimenViolet's earlier episodes (I've been in school and wayy out of the loop lately). A cute pattern (free or not; doesn't really matter), sock yarn, a bag, and maybe some other goodies thrown in. What I really don't like about the swaps I have been looking at in Ravelry are almost all not secret. And if they are secret, they're usually anti-sock yarn. I LIKE SOCK YARN. I would buy sock yarn for my partner and I would hope to receive sock yarn in return. I also very much enjoy being surprised. I don't want to keep in contact with my swap partner!

But that's just me.

Oh yeah. Earlier this week, I made a purchase. A very large purchase. From Knit Picks, of course. Show the kids what we got, shall we?
+ 18 skeins Swish Worsted in colorway Sunshine (for the Vintage Sweater)
+ 3 hanks of Gloss Lace in Natural (for mom's shawl to be made before Mother's Day 2010; I planned wayy ahead)
+ 1 hank of Bare Superwash Merino & Nylon Sock Yarn to be dyed all the colors of the rainbow! Well, except violet. We bought the Kool-Aid almost a month ago in preparation. It's going to be very wild-looking.
+ 2 hanks of the NEW Stroll Hand-Painted Sock Yarn as an impulse purchase. Soo excited to get them. I bought colorways Tree Fort and Tea Party because I couldn't decide between the two. $20 combined, so two for the price of one. How great is that?
Total = $106
Not too shabby. I love Knit Picks.

And I think I'm going to make Broad Street Mitts with the Gold Essential / Stroll Kettle-Dyed Fingering Weight. Maybe for a surprise Christmas auction on Facebook. Maybe. (Y'know, have a paper bag on a desk, take a picture of it, and write a note saying, "YOU GET WHATEVER'S IN THIS BAG. Leave a comment to be entered." Of course, it'll be a secret, but only you and I'll know that there will be the gold Broad-Street Mitts :) ready for a random drawing. I haven't done a drawing since like April. I kind of miss it.)

Happy Two-Months

2009-07-17T15:56:00.000-07:00

Not much to report, except for the fact that tomorrow marks our (the boyfriend's and mine) two-month anniversary. So I made him a love bird that apparently looks more like a bee. :)

Finished the Charades late on Wednesday night (7/15), and working on the next project in line. >:( 3x1 ribbed socks are oh soooo boring. Next will be the fingering-weight Fibonacci Socks, using a basic toe-up sock pattern that is yet to be determined, giving me a chance to learn the construction of a sock knit from the toe up. Next will be Firestarter (or maybe Brainless) using the STR Lightweight, colorway Lochness.

I must say: I hate 3x1 ribbing.

HEY HEY HEY Look what I got!

2009-07-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

My yarn from KnitPicks came in today! All are Essential (now being changed to Stroll). From left to right, top to bottom: Black, Wine Kettle Hand-Dyed, Gold Kettle Hand-Dyed, plus a free pattern from Knit Simple Magazine to get me to subscribe. I would, but the magazine I'm most interested in right now is Knit.1, "targeting hip 18-35 year-old knitters."

The black is to finish up the boyfriend's Marching Band Socks. I'm almost out of yarn and I'm just about to work the heel flap of the second sock.

The wine kettle hand-dyed is for a pair of Cabled Socks. I was going to make them with my Malabrigo Sock, but ended up making my first pair of Charades instead.

The gold kettle hand-dyed is for an experiment in designing my own sock pattern. I have a sneaking suspicion it won't work, but I guess it's worth a try. If all else fails, I can always find a cute cabled sock pattern, or make wristlets / gauntlets / fingerless mittens (whatever you happen to call them).

Someday, I'll make those mittens. Maybe.

Yeah, sorry for the poor picture quality. I'm in the process of purchasing a new camera.

Edited at 6:44 PM:

To-d0 list (in order):
+ Charades (to finish)
+ Marching Band Socks for the boyfriend (to finish)
+ Ongoing project - Lacy Vine Scarf, to finish whenever
+ Basic Socks w/ STR Lightweight - Lochness
+ Fibonacci Socks in fingering weight (Knit Picks' Palette - Semolina & Pool)
+ Cabled Socks in the Essential/Stroll Wine Kettle Hand-Dyed mentioned earlier in the post
+ Something with the Essential/Stroll Gold Kettle Hand-dyed mentioned earlier in the post
+ Vintage Sweater in Sunshine Swish Worsted

All that before July 31, 2009. ...Is that even possible?

Pictures

2009-07-13T20:13:00.001-07:00

Because I neglected to do so earlier.

It's summer, so I've got temporary ADD, making me start projects impulsively. Enjoy.

My first lace scarf... ever. Can't wait to see it when it's blocked.

Charade socks from STR - Lightweight, colorway Gibson (currently out of stock). I'll try to get another picture later that shows off the colorway better.
Sock #2

Sock #1 finished late at night on 7/11

Marching band socks for the boyfriend, about which he certainly knows nothing. Mods to be made: shortened to first needle (on toe), ribbing to be ripped to second needle (instep).

My regular camera was spazzy, so I had to use the video camera's "picture" feature. "Just So" Sweater, mainly as an experiment to see if I was up to making sweaters. I most certainly am.

Postmodernism

2009-07-12T21:47:00.000-07:00

Apparently we're in the postmodern era of music (but not limited to only music). Modern is supposed to mean the "latest" or "most up-to-date." So seriously, who thought of that? What happened to "look to the future?" I mean sure, we all thought we were going to die come 2000 (or 2001, if you really know your stuff), in an everybody's-talkin'-'bout-Jerusalem style. Whoops.

Those who named the Renaissance (1450-1600) knew what they were doing. The word "renaissance" literally means "a renewal of life, vigor, interest, etc.; rebirth; revival" (Dictionary.com Unabridged based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009). The Renaissance involved bringing back themes, whether it be in art, architecture, or music from Medieval times. This makes perfect sense. Then we have the Baroque period (1600-1750). Baroque is literally "anything extravagantly ornamented, esp. something so ornate as to be in bad taste" (Dictionary.com Unabridged based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009). Baroque architecture, art, and music was all about excessive ornamentation, so fine. That works. Next is Classical (1750-1820), when authors, artists, architects, and musicians demanded order. A classical, neat, uncluttered approach, in contrast to the Baroque period of yesteryear. And just so I have my evidence: Classical is "traditional or typical" (Dictionary.com Unabridged based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009). The name is suitable. Finally, we have arrived at the last respectably-named period of music, the Romantic era (1820-1910 [some say 1900; it's debatable]). Not necessarily romantic per say, the romantic era's music was, in layman's terms, emotional, or " ardent; passionate; fervent" (Dictionary.com Unabridged based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009).

My point is, what's next? Post-postmodernism?

I'd like to shake the hand of the genius who devised "Modernism."

Yeah, no pictures. Well, maybe just one...

Different mouth for future versions.

Frustrated

2009-04-21T21:54:00.001-07:00

I am frustrated and upset because I cannot alter a sweater as I would like to.
I want to make a version of the ever popular Central Park Hoodie, but I want it at least three inches longer and FITTED. Also, I'd prefer a larger hood without a point. I'd probably also want to make it in one piece to simplify it. The only problem is: I don't know how to alter a pattern! >:(

Stitches West '09

2009-02-28T21:04:00.000-08:00

I love knitters. I love how strangers can go up and talk to each other as if they've known each other for their whole lives. I love that camaraderie that comes with knitting. Here are two quotes that I picked up today. Remember, these people have never met each other.

One woman was wearing yarn around her neck. Another woman approached her, saying, "Oh my, you're wearing the yarn! It looks beautiful on you!" Then she went on her way.

Two women were looking at rainbow roving displayed in braids. One woman said, "Wow, it's so beautiful! But what do you do with it?" The other replied, "You hang it up and look at it!"

Also, I struck up conversation with many of the owners of the booths. Generally all were friendly, especially those at the wooden hooks & needles booth (the owner knew I was eying those rosewood crochet hooks). The owner warmly informed me that I was more than welcome to try any of the hooks. I grabbed one labeled "G" and started working on one of the 200 baby hats I need to make for charity. She saw me struggling a bit with the hook because it was too long for me, and promptly supplied me with a shorter one (7"). I started working at a rapid speed, and all of a sudden everyone at the booth went quiet and the owner just stared at me. She gaped in awe and said, "Looks like we have a competitor against Lucy Chen!" I don't exactly know who Lucy Chen is, but they were so sweet, I ended up buying that very hook just before we left. It's a beautiful Rosewood, but it cost a whopping $32. Regardless, it was worth it.

Oh yes, and I got a little tutorial on spinning. I never really had understood it before, but now it seems so simple. I've got to give it a try one of these days. Yikes I'm so busy though; I'll probably have to wait until summer.

OH. And a huge thing happened to me too. So me, my mom, and my aunt were gathered around this superhuge needle and hook booth, when I notice the guy trying out the huge needles. He is wearing a red Boston Symphony Orchestra shirt, so of course I asked him if he was a part of it. He looked at me, and responded that he was not a musician but his partner was; his partner played oboe. Apparently his partner was once an oboist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, but is now playing for the San Francisco Symphony. He introduced me to the oboist, Jonathan Fischer. He asked me what I played, so of course I said that I played violin and bass clarinet. "Bass clarinet?" he asked. "Not regular clarinet?" "No" I replied, "I can sort of play it but I don't like it as much as I like bass." "Ah, early specialization. That's good."

So the long and the short of it is that I had an awesome knitting day and an awesome music day. It's pretty awesome being the knitting musician. :)

(Oh yes, and the videos I've been taking at http://www.youtube.com/anonymousenough have gotten me fame at school... sort of. I got interviewed and journalism is going to publish an issue in the school newspaper about students [that go to our school] who use youtube.)

Ravelry Patern?

2009-02-16T22:28:00.000-08:00

MY PATTERN MAY BE UP ON RAVELRY!

Why am I so happy, you ask? Simply this: I worked for about two weeks straight last year trying to get it up (Snow White Scarf, a simple pattern involving a basic braid in the middle). I thought I had failed... until tonight. I checked my inbox on Ravelry and saw that I received a message asking for permission to use the photos. I assume that's a good sign. :) YAAAYYYYYYYYY.

I'm loving the horns in this song:

Yayyy :) I feel like jumping around. I think I will.

2009-02-07T12:44:00.000-08:00

Musical rehearsal is going a lot better than anticipated. The music is actually a lot easier than was the audition. Though the director gave us the music from the musical to sightread during the audition, he said he will end up cutting it out because it doesn't sound clean enough (fast eighths in cut time [so they sound like sixteenths] in the upper stratosphere dwarfing the melody played by the saxophones and clarinets).

We had a sectional yesterday, and it went really well, except for my occasional forgetting A-flats and D-flats. I can actually play all this music.

My new project: baby hats for charity. I get community service for crocheting in class. Not too shabby. I usually get about 1 1/2 per day, or 2 if I have time and the pattern is quick. I wouldn't normally crochet in class, but it's just too boring to pay attention so I fall asleep if I'm not doing something with my hands. Now I'm out of acrylic yarn so I have to wait until my mom can stop by the craft store. Yeesh that sounds so strange to say that one stops by the craft store to get yarn.

And I went into a bow-obsessive phase that I'm still actually in the midst of.

The Final Word:
+ "Wait, we're in cut time, right?" "What? We've been in four four for the whole number! Brass..." Trombonist & Band Director

Do Forgive Me

2009-01-18T14:31:00.000-08:00

for I have been negligent.

This is what I've been up to:

For friend's birthday.

Christmas presents for everyone.

Birthday present for my favorite band geek.

Irish Hiking Scarf for my mom's friend's birthday

Octopus for my friend's birthday (another band geek).

Yep, fun stuff.

Update

2008-11-02T19:41:00.001-08:00

I doubt this post will be too long.

So I ended up getting third chair clarinet out of seven. I think it might be a delayed apology from the conductor, though, because last year when I was in string orchestra, he placed me in the very back though both he and I knew I didn't deserve that spot. The year before that, when we had a different conductor, I had been eighth chair (out of over 30 violins).

But now I'm playing bass clarinet, so I'm first chair! And last.

The blanket has grown tremendously. I'm still not halfway done, but I'm making good progress. I've been taking it to school and working on it during class (which, surprisingly, hasn't gotten me in trouble yet). I've been knitting during presentations, movies, after labs, at lunch, but not during lectures because I like taking extensive notes.

Physics homework calls. But to avoid a boring picture-less entry, here's this:

The portion of French that wore costumes.

I guess I might as well post my schedule, since I neglected to do so earlier.
1. Anatomy & Physiology
2. Physics
3. AP French IV
4. Wind Orchestra
- Lunch -
5. Honors English
6. Honors Pre-Calculus

Not Much Progress

2008-09-16T16:35:00.000-07:00

I am terrible at clarinet. We started seating auditions today, and my audition was so terrible, I'm guaranteed last chair. And there is no up-side. I was supposed to get a school bass clarinet, but even that didn't happen. One bass we have is apparently so gross no one is allowed to even touch it, and half the body is missing on the other one. If I'm lucky, my parents will let me rent a bass clarinet.

[/rant]

News!

I finished the Transition Scarf (school spirit scarf from the last post), and hopefully it will receive at least 2nd place at the fair next year.

I'm not even halfway done with the afghan from Ravelympics. Looks like it will be an ongoing project throughout the year.

Trust me, the color looks way better in person.

Woven. :)

Gotta love the new liondesign.

Still working on Seeing Green.

The Final Word:
+ " 'Victime' is always feminine. What does that tell you." - Mme Smith, AP French teacher

Band, Football, and a String of Other Things

2008-09-08T17:15:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time, I know. School has been overwhelming me. On the bright side, I went to our rival's home football game on Friday (they played another team; not us) and recorded videos. They're (almost) all posted here.

Homecoming drama and the works. I'll probably reuse the dress from last year (gasp!) because I spent some serious money on it and I'd rather not get a whole 'nother for only one night. Maybe I'll change my mind. Maybe. Maybe I won't even go at all. I'm considering it. Homecoming's only fun if you go with the right people, and I'm pretty sure that everyone else has made plans already and I'm not included. Oh well.

Highlights from the game?

The score never changed after this; the home team (Amador Valley High School) lost 28-3.

Band.

The only reason I'm actually looking forward to the coming weeks is band performing at football games and being able to record them.

I'm not in band this year either. My parents keep saying it'll take up too much time. But I was accidentally placed in Wind Orchestra instead of String Orchestra, so I'm in a really small band that's no fun because hardly any of my friends are there, and our String Orchestra has sixty members. Ah well.

I'm working on a school spirit scarf and that afghan I was supposed to make for the Ravelympics event Afghan Marathon (I ended up having too much summer homework that I didn't have enough time to finish it up, so it's an ongoing project). It's gorgeous, but I want to be able to use it soon. It's taking too long.

Freakish amounts of homework tonight. Better get working.

Back

2008-08-23T21:59:00.000-07:00

I have missed you, dear blog, and very awesome blog readers.

Camp was very time-consuming, I must admit. Then I recovered from camp, then recorded our school marching band practice for the 2008 field show (Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Phield Show). I'm still in the process of convincing my parents that I can handle band, as I have recently been invited to join our marching band even though most people have already learned the field show. Hopefully my dad will be convinced when I tell him that I got a 2300 on a practice SAT today (if you're out of the loop, a perfect would be 2400).

Gnarls Barkley's Crazy is pretty awesome. I'm currently listening to it.

Alright, now for some awesome camp pictures!

While I'm waiting for them to load, let me fill you in.

Saturday: Arrive & audition
Sunday: Dance
Monday: Indian Bowl (staff performances)
Tuesday: Dance
Wednesday: Skit Night
Thursday: Jazz Night! (4 hours of nonstop jazz)
Friday: Ensemble Night
Saturday: Special Dinner & Dance
Sunday: Final Concert.

Yay, pictures loaded!

We always stop at Memory Lane on the drive up to camp.

Two lovely girls from our "pentagon" groupie. They both go to the same school which happens to be our rival school. Our colors are blue and yellow, and theirs are purple and gold. :) I was thrilled to see them wearing our colors (though it was just the camp shirt), and they were, well, kind of awkward wearing our colors.

Pentagon! Front row: Kindle (braids + scarf) - violin & me - violin; Back row: Laura - clarinet, Suzy - trombone, & Maiya - clarinet (though she would make the perfect stereotypical flute)

The light shines out from Maiya's head.

We love this kid. To show our affection for him, me, Kindle, and Maiya decorated his hair with Fruity Cheerios. Doesn't it look so amazing?

So those are the highlights of camp. Oh yes, there's also Choptox. :)

It's kind of a long story, but here's the gist: Skit night rolls around (Wednesday) and we decide to do a reality TV show based upon our cabin. We have 27 girls in our cabin (we're the largest, but we're divided into 3 rooms). Since it's band camp, we have stereotypes of each instrument (i.e. strings are really brainy, flutes are preppy, trumpets think they're the best, etc.). As a commercial break, these two (HILARIOUS!) girls go on stage, one of whom has a trombone. She buzzes feebly and hardly makes a sound. The other girl says, "Lips too small to buzz that trombone? Then try Choptox!" And then we have another girl, dressed as the amazing Andy Martin goes on stage and endorses Choptox. Andy was actually there at the performance, and we were told later by one of the people with him that he was dying of laughter.

By the way, Andy Martin is seriously AMAZING. I feel so privileged to have met him and told him that I'm his biggest fan. I look terrible in this picture, but I'm overjoyed that I got it:

This man is seriously amazing. I'm so lucky to have met him. And I'm seriously practicing violin so I can be in his jazz band next year at camp (he instructs the top jazz band of the camp) and be one of those rare jazz violinists. Oh yes. His daughter looks just like him too. :) It's pretty awesome. His son doesn't look as much like him as his daughter does. And, get this, her name's Andreina. Her brother's name is Andres, so it's like a whole family of Andys!

One more quick thing: after the full orchestra performed Akademische Festoverture (Brahms), we got a standing ovation. We were the only group to get one. :) We've got skills.

The Final Word:
+ "You're too good not to be heard." -Vince Gomez

2008-08-01T15:09:00.001-07:00

My yarn came! :)

I'll bring my yarn to camp, and cast on in exactly a week (well, five hours + a week). I'm doing the Afghan Marathon for the Ravelympics 2008, if I haven't already mentioned it.

So yay!

Camp & ...Christmas?

2008-07-31T13:42:00.001-07:00

Two days left until camp! I just have to make sure my yarn is delivered before I leave on Saturday morning. I plan on casting on at camp for the Ravelympics (Afghan Marathon!) next Friday evening when the opening ceremony is on TV at home. ..Though I won't be watching it.

But I digress.

I have found the perfect Christmas gift for all of my friends. Scarves, hats, etc. are costly and time-consuming to make (especially for over 25 people not including family - yikes!). I thought I was going to make coin purses, but I decided against it. I have guy friends too, and I'm not sure my hardcore guitarist guy friend would particularly enjoy a small feminine coin purse. So I made my way over to Lion Brand, where I saw a link for Amigurumi toys! My mind was made up. These are the things I'm possibly going to make for people on my list (I'll probably condense the list more later):

+ Berry-Topped Cake
+ Hi-Life Cupcake
+ Love Birds (matching ones for a couple)
+ Frosted Doughnut
+ Little Lamb
+ Turtle
+ Cat
+ Penguin
+ Lion
+ Guy
+ Gnome (one of my personal favorites)
+ Pig
+ Bear
+ Alien
+ Elephant
+ Octopus
+ Panda
+ Snowman
+ Holiday Penguin
+ Best Bunny

They're cute, simple, and though not very practical, they're sure to touch the receivers' hearts.

If you are a knitter, crocheter, seamstress, or anyone else who makes all holiday gifts, then this whole "Christmas in July" planning thing is nothing new. However, for my fellow classmates, this is what we do. We plan ahead.

Off to go pack for camp.

The Final Word:
+ "We're halfway there, livin' on a prayer." Livin' on a Prayer, Bon Jovi

Updated at 3:55 to include:

I just made my list of people I need to give gifts to this holiday season. I'm currently at an astounding 58, and I still haven't counted family yet. I have no idea how I'm going to swing this. 58 gifts! Pure insanity. Maybe I'll just make around 30 bears and pigs, and then make the rest of them specialized to fit the recipient.

Yes, 58 is not a final number. Later on during the year, I'll probably look back at the list and delete about a dozen or so and add another dozen, or maybe I'll end up deleting more than I add. 58 is simply an estimate, but still - that's almost 60 toys I have to make! I am overwhelmed. I don't know how I'll ever get them done.

One of my favorite quotes, from the Andy Griffith Show, Opie's Charity:

Andy: I’s a readin’ here jus’ the other day where’s there’s somethin’ like four hundred needy boys in this county alone, or one and a half boys per square mile.

Opie: There is?

Andy: There sho’ is.

Opie: I never seen one, Pa.

Andy: Never seen one what?

Opie: A half boy.

Andy: Well, it’s not really a half a boy, it’s a ratio.

Opie: Horatio who?

Andy: Not Horatio – a ratio. It’s mathematics. ‘Rithmetic. Look, now, Opie. Just fergit that part of it. Fergit the part about the half a boy.

Opie: It’s purty hard to fergit a thing like that, Pa.

Andy: Well, try!

Opie: Poor Horatio.

Nifty House Sock #1

2008-07-28T10:31:00.000-07:00

I was lucky to get online this morning. We have to get Comcast and fast.

I've been working on my Nifty House Socks. They're really coming along. :) I couldn't resist trying them on.

I'm so proud of them! I can't wait until I'm actually done with this one and the second sock. Hopefully this one will be finished today, and the second sock later this week.

Updated at 11:54am to include:

I found this picture somewhere on my computer earlier today. I'd have to say it's my favorite picture of all time.

In orchestra this year, bassist Kyle pushes fellow bassist David into a band locker.

AT&T IS THE WORST

2008-07-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

It's been difficult to post lately because our internet keeps going down. We have AT&T. I have this to say: NEVER EVER GET AT&T! Expensive and useless. Pathetic. We're getting hooked up with Comcast soon.

CI-655313 <- Something I need to remember. :)

Happenings

2008-07-26T15:03:00.001-07:00

My violin teacher got mad at me for not telling him that I had an audition next week for camp. Oops. :)

Surprise surprise. Here are what I've been working on:

First official sock! :) Way too big, but I'm still proud of it.

I ran out of yarn just after I passed the heel.

Lace Ribbon Scarf.

Nifty House Socks!

Plus Shades of Green and Snow Blocks Afghan. Lots to keep me busy. I love the way the yellow looks on that last picture. It looks so bright and sunny, though it's really a mustard yellow.

The Final Word:
+ Are you ready for this?

Updated a few seconds later to include:

That's right, I have camp next week! I leave Saturday morning and return Sunday afternoon (of the following week; it's a nine-day camp, not two). :) I'm excited. I plan on getting a lot of knitting done before I even go to camp (like get the yarn, start, and FINISH a crochet cotton scarf). I wonder if I'll even get the yarn at all before I leave.

My friend's birthday is August 2nd, the day I leave, so I'll be dropping off Seeing Green at her house on Friday.

Now to get red yarn for the scarf my mom's friend requested.

Sockey?

2008-07-25T15:56:00.000-07:00

Class is over. Yay!

I made a sock. My very first. :) Made from worsted weight (scrap acryllic that was bugging me), it's too baggy to wear around the house (or at all). At least now I know what to do for the next pair.

The pdf of the pattern I used is found here.

I made several modifications, including the number of stitches I picked up. I picked up fewer than were recommended, but it worked out in the end.

Progress

2008-07-23T19:11:00.001-07:00

Guess what finished blocking today. :)

Pattern: Woven Transverse Herringbone from A Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara G. Walker
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted, 604 - Golden Ochre
Yardage: 100 grams, 216 yards per skein
Yarn Source: ImagiKnit, San Francisco
Needles: 14" size 8's
Gauge: 16 sts x 28 rows = 4" x 4"
Modifications: selvage: sl 1, work in pattern until last st, k1.

I'm amazingly happy with this scarf. :)

Stripey

2008-07-22T14:01:00.000-07:00

Such beautiful shorts, right? :) They're my house shorts.

Inside-out in my very girly room.

Pattern: 13. Tassled Earflap Hat from KnitSimple Magazine (I don't know the issue number; sorry!)
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, half skein each in Sky Blue and Charcoal
Yardage: 170 gram skeins (106 yards)
Yarn Source: Leftovers from other hats (birthday presents); stash
Needles: 10mm, 24" Addi Turbo Circulars
Gauge: 2 sts/inch over stockinette
Modifications: switch to cc on Row 3, alternating mc and cc throughout; border in cc; ties are basically thick cords

It's my newest project, Stripey! :) I love it! ("Too bad I have all these extras. One of these would only make half a hat. Wait a second...!") The tassel's a bit short, but overall, I'm overjoyed. I realized that I had never done multicolor knitting before this. I was so thrilled watching it come along, that I took many pictures, all of which are posted on Ravelry.

I'm willing to bet that Mary Weaver will be the next Eunny Jang, and hopefully I'll be her right-hand, er, lady. I definitely want to be the next Kim Werker. Now that would be awesome.

The Final Word:
+ "Really? I thought it would be yellow. She reminds me of butterflies." Friend's Grandpa

Wanted: 200 Hours of Community Service

2008-07-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

Junior in high school, and 0 hours of community service. Pathetic. Ah, but I have things to show you:

I made this for Mom some time in elementary school. :) I had skills in needlecraft even then.

Status: Finished!

Mom and I were talking at dinner last night, contemplating how I could get the 200 hours of community service recommended for college-bound students. All I could talk about were my projects (Progress, Shades of Green [now finished!], Snow Blocks Afghan, and other planned projects for the future), which got her thinking: why can't I knit or crochet for community service? We talked it over briefly, and I figured that if it took me two hours to make one hat, I could probably make 100 hats in a year and a half. That would get me my 200 hours! Now I just have to make a deal with a hospital that can give me two hours for every hat I send in (and maybe three for every scarf...).

I really like the Stitches from the Heart program, so if I can guarantee that they will give me community service hours, I'll be knitting/crocheting up a storm in the next year and a half.

Updated at 1:18pm to include:

New wanna-do: Square Lattice Afghan from freepatterns.com with this yarn (Jiffy by Lion Brand).

La Vie

2008-07-18T13:03:00.000-07:00

I took pictures!

I slept on these for two nights straight with a sleeping bag and duvet underneath. We still have yet to get the pillows.

It's sort of hard to see, but our backyard is basically a big patio connected to a smaller patio by a narrow pathway, with grass and an unseemly hill.

The garbage truck scraped up our garbage can. =/

I drive this thing every so often.

Hello, feet.

My cup runneth over. :)

The Final Word:
+ "Do you remember the 21st night of September?" September, Earth, Wind, and Fire

Travail

2008-07-17T21:04:00.000-07:00

Progress is really coming along. I'm pleased with it, and I'd say that I'm almost halfway done.

Currently measures 5" x 34.5". I guess I'm planning on a 70" scarf. I'm really excited about blocking it.

We watched Hellboy II last night. I thought I would hate it because it's not really my kind of movie. But it turned out to be not so bad and I actually somewhat liked it. The two girls I went with are the two girls I carpool to class with, and we couldn't really see anything else because either one of us had already seen it with another group or the showtimes were too late (that's what happened with Get Smart; we would have seen it, but we would have had to wait two hours for the next show).

Before the movie, while me and one of the girls were waiting for the other, we dropped by Barnes & Noble. I walked around with my friend while she searched for teen books, and surprisingly, she asked me for suggestions. I told her I read books by Ayn Rand, and that they were hardcore novels. I was shocked when she said that she wanted to look into them. We walked around the store, and she ended up buying what looked like three teen romance books. Fiction, of course. As she checked out, what did my little eye spy? Only SnB the Happy Hooker! I had been looking through the book through a copy I had borrowed from the library, and I was ecstatic to see it lying casually on a nearby table, labeled "Gift Ideas". A moment of indecision aroused (should I get it and finally own this wondrous book, or should I not, and please my mother? [she's not too happy about the inappropriate title, and I can't say that I blame her]). I bought it anyway, but haven't shown it to her. I'm kind of afraid of her reaction.

The Final Word:
+ "I can't smile without you... can't smile without you" Hellboy II

Ambitions

2008-07-16T14:09:00.000-07:00

These are the projects I really want to complete before the summer's out:
+ Prepster: Preppy Spring Jacket - SnB the Happy Hooker
+ Knee Socks - online pattern; HJS Studio
+ Transition Scarf - mapped out on Excel
+ Progress - Barbara G. Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns, Woven Transverse Herringbone

If I do end up finishing all of those before the summer's out (which looks extremely unlikely), I plan on creating my own pattern to resemble a breast cancer ribbon.

I'm taking my scarf to class with me every day so I can work on it in the car on the way to and from. It's going well so far.

I love the bag. I got it from my mom's friend (it's from Bath & Body Works). Inside, there were four tiny lotions. There was supposed to be another woman to join them, but she didn't show so I got a part of her present: body scrub.

Movies tonight with some friends from class, and I'm so disappointed that I don't have a cute handmade handbag to bring. But I have a feeling we'll be sneaking food in there anyway, so I guess a bigger canvas bag would be a better idea. Frankly, $7 for a small popcorn is outrageous. I can get that same thing for less than $1 at the grocery store.

But enough of my ranting. I have to study for the final exam next Thursday.

Updated at 2:27pm to include:

I'm just dying to go to San Francisco and get some yarn (ImagiKnit!). Luckily, I found a crocheting friend who I've known for some time now, but never really knew that she crocheted. :) I'm so excited now. I thought she just barely knitted.

The Final Word:
+ "Oh, so you crochet too!" "Yeah, I do." "Just like Kashi!" "No, not like Kashi." -Mom and friend in the car this morning
+ "Dude, crochet is so badass!" -other friend I carpool with, in response to SnB the Happy Hooker
+ "I never could understand knitting." -first friend, in the car this morning

Neglect & Progress

2008-07-15T18:13:00.001-07:00

I've been neglecting this poor blog. Unintentionally, of course. There's been so much going on: hanging out with my aunt from the 3rd - 5th (the fair, the chili contest at the park in Mountain View, etc.), hanging out with Mom's friends she hasn't seen for ten years, and going crazy with new books. We went to Borders on Saturday, where I bought The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. I just finished it today at around 2. I have to say that it was very difficult to put it down, especially to study, and honestly, obsessively reading the book caused my B- on a quiz this morning (thankfully, though, it's my lowest score [others were A+'s :) ] so this one will be dropped and consequently won't affect my grade). At Borders, I also bought The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, and Anthem by Ayn Rand. Then, on Sunday, my mom reconnected with some of her old friends from work at the Cheesecake Factory in Palo Alto (10 years had passed since they had last seen each other). Then we went shopping (still in the group) at the Stanford Center, meeting up at Neiman Marcus at first, then realized that we couldn't afford anything there. We moved on to Bloomingdale's, then Macy's, but didn't end up buying anything. Then Mom realized she had to go to Santana Row in Santa Clara to return some things. After the return, we wandered into the Borders there, where I (happily) purchased the first installment in the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, Left Behind. I had read the first part of it after being loaned the book from a friend of mine, but soon gave it back feeling guilty of separating him from his beloved book.

Class is boring as ever, but almost over. Just seven days of it left, then it's over and done with. Then, after one week to chill, I get shipped off to band camp! More specifically, La Honda, located in the forresty mountains off of Highway 1. Then two weeks right after that, when I should be going to school band camp, but since my parents forbid me from taking part in Marching Band next year, I don't have to go to school band camp. But I'm going anyway on the first and last days just to watch (and hopefully some more in between) with a friend who was in Marching Band both last year and the year before, but couldn't due to his obsessing over AP classes (he's taking a crazy SIX!).

Ah yes. I'm going to make knee socks! I've finally decided that this is what I really want to make. Also, I want to make sure my first socks are special, so that's why I'm taking the trouble to make them go all the way up to just below my knees (+ extra ribbing). Inspired by these, I'll be following this pattern using this yarn (Lion Brand's [New!] Sock-Ease in Lemon Drop). I'm so excited. Now I just have to get the yarn. And the needles. And the measurements. :) I can't wait until I actually start!

Updated at 8:08pm to include:

I want to call this "Progress" because I finally am making progress on this scarf (simply adore the yarn, which is from my trip to San Francisco over Spring Break '08).

I absolutely adore this stitch (Woven Transverse Herringbone from Barbara G. Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns), though I don't knit evenly enough for the scarf not to be a little ripply. Looks like this will be my first project I actually take the time to block.

The Final Word:
+ "Wow. It's huge. Is it a blanket?" -Fellow CalTrain rider

2008-07-02T20:42:00.001-07:00

Currently: packing for my aunt's house. She's coming to our house on BART tomorrow, and then we're going to the county fair to see my items I entered. I dread having to stand near manure-filled pens of hogs while my mother oohs and ahs about how adorable the little piglets look. But hopefully it will end swiftly and I'll be on my way to my aunt's house.

The parents ultimately said no to marching band for next year. Crushed as I am, I guess I had it coming. I will have to learn not to love things so much, especially unattainable things. But hopefully I'll be able to sponsor the sweepstakes trophy.

I took a few random pictures yesterday. I'm putting them on flickr. They're loading... 25% complete now.
The pitcher in my bathroom. It's all slanty because I was leaning over to avoid my legs from getting in the reflection of the mirror.

Lights in my bathroom. They remind me of some backstage dressing room kind of thing.

I "created" these two Birthday Books. I just got two regular notebooks with the cool & fancy designs, then added stick-on tabs. Every single day of the year has its own special page, including leap day!

March first. And those are the two people whose birthdays are on that day.

Bath stuff from my neighbor. I took care of her animals for over two weeks, and I received these fancy bath items, chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, and $60. :) Not too shabby.

I GOT TO SEE WALL-E! It was amazingly adorable, and, according to a friend, apparently Yahoo! users gave it an A; one of the extremely rare A's in the history of Yahoo!.

One of my friends is coming back home tomorrow from his engineering camp thing at UC - Berkeley. I guess I'll just have to wait until after the weekend to "pimp him out" with another friend.

We didn't have class at the community college today. We had our midterm yesterday, and everyone received an e-mail saying that class was canceled for today. But we had tons of work to do, and I'm still not done with it.

Trente-Trois

2008-06-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

It's my 33rd post!

Okay, so I lied. I wasn't able to take pictures like I wanted to. So this will be yet another boring, picture-less post. Actually, maybe not. I have the scarf I'm making for my friend's birthday right here.

I just took the picture, but there's some kind of "internal error" involved with uploading it right here. I'll try one more time.

It's definitely not working. I just took another picture too. How frustrating.

Now I just uploaded them to flickr. I'll try using the url.

Hooray! Amen for flickr. I think the scarf looks pretty darn cool, if you ask me. :) I'm proud of it. I think my friend will like it.

Cheesecake Factory > any other restaurant. Amazing salmon + creamy mashed potatoes + decadent rich fudge cake = my kind of meal. Lemon sauce with the salmon and mashed potatoes too. Yum.

I have this incessant craving to go to San Francisco. I could go so easily; just hop on BART, sit there for half an hour, get out, and there I am. Round trip is less than $13 I think. But I have an exam for US History tomorrow (the course I'm taking at a community college) and I have to study. Tomorrow, our History groupie wants to see WALL-E after class. Thursday, I'm going to the fair with my mom, dad, and aunt (she's taking BART here). Then my parents will drive me to my aunt's house in Mountain View where we'll spend the weekend at her friend's house who's on vacation (they needed someone to watch over the animals). We're supposed to go to her local yarn store and stuff too, so that should be fun. I'll be sure to bring my Seeing Green Scarf (pictured above) and the blanket I'm making, along with my trusty camera. I'll be sure to document the weekend to prevent my posts from being overly boring and text-heavy.

One of my best friends is in Omaha, Nebraska right now, hoping for a spot on the national swim team. She's competing.. actually right now. Right this second, actually! Omaha's on Central Daylight Time, and swimming finals (semifinals, for her) begin at 6:45 pm. It's now 6:46 pm over there, and her event is the first. She swims 100 Back and 200 Back, and I hope the best for her. Her birthday was on the 15th, and I gave her this charcoal-black earflap hat with a tassel on it. I called her a few days later for the events she was going to be participating in for the Olympic Trials, and she said that she loved the hat so much. Not only that, but she was also going to take the hat to Omaha with her! I get to watch her performance (that's going on now) tonight at 8 (that's when it will be televised). I'm so excited; just over three hours until I get to see one of my best friends on TV doing what she loves!

So that's the view out my window, wonderfully blocked by the annoying shutters. But there you have it. The sky is a bit yucky because of all the Californian wildfires right now, so there's tons of smoke around. On the news last night, they were saying that there is a mass of unhealthy smoke floating above California. I've been coughing and sneezing, and I really hope it's just from the smoke and that I don't have another cold.

And I have news: I CAN DRIVE. Officially & legally. I got my permit on June 24th, 2008, and I had my first driving lesson on that very same day. Now, I can drive my mom to and from the store. I also drive to pick up the two girls we carpool with for class, but I don't drive them all the way to school.

Lots of studying for the big exam tomorrow that must be complete before 8 pm.

The Final Word:
+ "She's my little deuce coupe; you don't know what I got." - "Little Deuce Coupe", Beach Boys

Results

2008-06-28T21:26:00.000-07:00

It's been ages. Eons even. I've been so preoccupied with school and finals and other commitments that I haven't even had time to blog. But don't worry, I haven't forgotten! I suppose this post will be all about results. So here goes:

Didn't make jazz; didn't make Chamber Choir. Pathetic. But I made Women's, so I guess I'm stuck there. However, one of my friends consoled me as I was looking at the list, saying, "It's all politics. Trust me. There are tons of girls in Chamber next year who don't deserve the spot. They're just placed there because their mom is best friends with the teacher or have some other political affiliation. Don't worry. I've heard you sing. You're actually pretty good." So yes, I was disappointed, but at least I didn't have to worry about other girls who made it directly into Chamber without stopping at Women's first. Ah well. Stuck in a class with all girls. Oh, the horrors. I've heard it's hellishly cliquey. Something that I hate. I guess I'll have to survive. I'll learn to deal.

So I entered my stuff into the county fair. I did fairly well, and there was actually quite a bit of competition. The item that did the best at the fair was my Fabala afghan. I'll post a picture of it soon. I'm so proud of it; I was looking for it feverishly with my friends, and suddenly they just said, "Well, maybe it's over there, in the Winners' Circle". I looked, and there it was! It was displayed beautifully, and not only did it win First Place, it also received.. get ready for it.. Best of Class and Best of Show! :) Hooray! Other items did pretty well. I entered a scarf with colors of our rival high school (purposely) and my friend who attends that high school took a picture and displayed it on the internet. Here it is. :) I love how they displayed it. People have been saying they've "(seen my) scarf at the fair", but I never know which one because I entered four.

My dad's still really unwilling to let me participate in Marching Band in the coming year. He feels I'll fall behind in my studies and that I'll soon be flunking. I doubt it's going to happen, but he feels it's entirely possible. He made a deal with me: If I can get a score of 2200 on the SAT Reasoning, I can do Marching Band. The only problem is that I'm at 2000 right now, and I have about three days to get it up 200 points because if I let the counseling office know any later than that, I won't be enrolled in Marching Band and that would just be terrible. So I'm studying. Very hard.

I started a scarf with this stitch, and I also started an afghan in some old Caron Simply Soft (White) in this stitch. I'm almost halfway done with the afghan but I have a lot more to do on the scarf. I just bought the scarf yarn today. It's green in place of the cranberry on the stitch website, with the white squares. The scarf will be for a good friend of mine who is in colorguard. She's really sweet and I've been meaning to crochet her up another scarf. I gave her one several years ago, and in that time, I've seen her wear it twice. I suppose that's better than the never other people have worn the items I've made them. But hopefully this one will be more attractive for her and she will want to wear it more often.

I'm earning serious moolah from taking care of my neighbors' animals. I guess I shouldn't talk about my salary, but I frankly could care less. I got $40 + shower kit + chocolate-covered macadamia nuts for taking care of my neighbor's cat and taking in the newspaper and mail every day for about a week and a half. I worked for my dad the other night by entering contacts from a cell phone onto a spreadsheet because it's a company phone and he wants to return it. Extra $20, but I think I really deserved it. It took over two hours to enter them all because he has over 200 contacts. Ouch. So I have $60 floating around, and my parents owe me more for my grades (not all As, but really close, so I get some money), plus I went to the fair and Discovery Kingdom with my friend, and my expenses need to be reimbursed.

Ah yes, the fair. Basically all that happened was this: I hung out with my friend + her sister, spent serious money (ride wristbands alone were $25), went on rides, one ride in particular held us upside down for an agonizingly long time (I had a headache afterwards), and then went into some gallery place and relaxed in the air-conditioned building. It was over 100 degrees that day.

Then we decided it would be awesome if I could sleep over at her house. My mom agreed, and I did, which was amazingly fun. We played Rock Band for several hours, then we had to go to my friend's sister's dance recital. It was a dress-rehearsal at Ohlone Community College, and was amazing. It's traditional Chinese dancing, but it was actually really interesting to watch. It wasn't all that Oriental as I thought it was going to be; it had a lot of Western influence as well. Then the next day, we went to Discovery Kingdom (formerly known as Marine World); owned by Six Flags. Super fun. That night, we went to my friend's sister's dance recital (the actual thing), and it was more spectacular than the dress-rehearsal. I even saw one girl in Marching Band there (flautist). I didn't say hi, though, because she was too far away.

I'm taking History, now, at a community college (not Ohlone). Some people are even going as far as Laney Community College so they won't have to take History during the school year. For me, I'm clearing up my schedule so I can do Marching Band, but many other people are doing it so they can take more AP classes. I think they're just crazy.

In a nutshell, my summer (so far) has encompassed:
+ Karen's Birthday
+ Paul's Party
+ Cynthia's Birthday + Party @ Tara's
+ Fair
+ Discovery Kingdom
+ School

My summer is about to encompass:
+ Cheering on best friend for Swimming Olympic Trials :)
+ Watching Olympic Trials (Tomorrow - Friday)
+ Hanging out at my knitting aunt's house for the weekend (+ her local knitting store!)
+ Band camp
+ Watching the Olympics held in Beijing, mainly swimming + track
+ School band camp (possibly; only if I make Marching Band)
+ And hopefully movies

I want to see WALL-E so badly; it seems so cute! A few friends from class are going to see it too, so I'll just see it with them.

We're going to Cheesecake Factory tomorrow. Maybe I'll get a few pictures to spruce up this blog and keep it from getting excruciatingly boring.

The Final Word:
+ "Stop trying to make her white, Chris." "But I've already half-succeeded!" (reference to my being half white [Mom's white, Dad's not]; Chris was messing around with the white-out)

L'Amour

2008-05-19T19:45:00.000-07:00

My band geek finally called! It was so good to hear from him. Band's coming home tonight anyway.

I picked a rose from our garden the other day.

Elle est tres belle, n'est-ce pas?

We're reading The Little Prince in French, so my rose reminds me of "la rose du petit prince". Supposedly the rose symbolizes the author's wife, Consuela, and their hardships. I can see how it fits together.

Earlier in the week, I made fudge for my friend's birthday. Finally, here are the pictures:

I made chocolate-covered strawberries with the leftover melted chocolate. I haven't had them for so long, that when I took the first bite, I was addicted. I melted chocolate the next day and made some more. I finished the last of them today. I'll probably be making some more tomorrow after school and I'll probably eat them around 5 PM. They're straight from the refrigerator when I eat them, so they're nice snacks after a hot day.

We started swimming in P.E. today. So many of my friends were sick or they got hurt (one of my friends messed up her knee or something and she could barely walk) that they couldn't jump in with me today. Most of them were overjoyed to get out of swimming, but one of my friends with allergies was really upset. Apparently she really loves swimming. I admire her so much.

In-class essay in English. We're supposed to be preparing for the SAT, so it was completed in 25 minutes. The prompt was difficult: What motivates people to change? I blanked, but after about three minutes, I started my introduction and realized that I could use the book I just finished reading: Ayn Rand's We the Living. It is a very loose example if you've read the book, but I used Kira Argounov's determination to go to the Institute of Technology, though it is unladylike in the Soviet Union of the 1930s. I basically said that she desired to be greater and build an aluminum bridge, despite the protests of her family. Then I connected that to how her motivation came from the inside and Kira's own desires, certainly not from outside sources. Tada! I'd say I got a 5. Certainly not a 6, but I doubt a 4.

I haven't been knitting for a while. It feels so strange. It's almost been a week now. I believe I'll start a yellow scarf from the Malabrigo I got at ImagiKnit during spring break. Plus, I want this really badly. So many cute sweater patterns!

How Upsetting

2008-05-14T19:16:00.001-07:00

My band geek hasn't called me all day. I called him twenty times during lunch, but that's when band was supposed to be checking in for the cruise, so I figured he'd be busy. And yes, I did really count. It was an exact 20 times. He promised he would call me at least three times a day. But he didn't pinky promise. I had to rush to class, so we didn't have time. And now it's past seven pm and band is supposed to be enjoying the ship and entertainment.

Earlier today there was a car accident in front of the school. It wasn't much (well, the Volvo got maybe $10,000 in damages according to my mom, the insurance expert, but Volvos are expensive anyway), just a little fender bender. Well, somewhat. There was a reddish Volvo that didn't stop or something and plowed right into a BRAND NEW black Ford SUV that was waiting at the light. The Ford didn't even have a license plate yet, it was so new. And of course, because of that force, the black SUV was pushed into the back of a huge white pick-up truck. The pick-up truck didn't have any damages whatsoever, but the black Ford SUV had several white marks and a few dents, and the front of the red Volvo got all crunched up. The light on the right (facing the car) was completely damaged.

I miss band so much. This entire day has been somewhat difficult for me. AHH and tomorrow's my friend's birthday! I have to make her strawberry fudge!

Updated at 10:05 PM to include:

So I made the strawberry fudge. It did NOT turn out how I had expected it. The recipe called for unsalted butter; I used salted. Other than the butter-heavyness, it tastes pretty good. I'll post the pictures later. I have to go to bed.

Found a Friend in the Business

2008-05-13T16:52:00.001-07:00

I left my backpack in Mom's car and she's on an inspection. So I can't do homework until she comes home.

I'm obsessed with Chris Brown's "Kiss Kiss" and "With You". Mostly "With You".

Today was band's last day for a week. A whole week. They're heading up to Canada tomorrow morning. Since I have nothing better to do and since I adore band, here's the itinerary my friend dropped off for me [my notes are in brackets]:

Wednesday, May 14, 2008
4:45 AM: Arrive at school
5:00 AM: Buses depart for Los Angeles [the port is in Los Angeles]
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM: Arrive San Pedro, check in for cuise, board Sapphire Princess
2:00 PM: Welcome aboard meeting in Club Fusion for all students and parents
3:00 PM: Compulsory guest muster drill [I've tried, but I can't understand this]
4:00 PM: Sapphire Princess sails for Vancouver, Canada
5:45 PM: Dinner in Vivaldi Dining Room - casual dress, no shorts, blue jeans, or T-shirts
7:00 PM: Dinner ends, enjoy the ship and entertainment
11:00 PM: Lights out

Thursday, May 15, 2008
Please refer to the daily Princess Patter for information on ship activities, food service, and entertainment options.
10:00 AM - 12:30 PM: Performance/clinic in Princess Theater - Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble Perform
3:30 PM - 5:30 PM: Band Awards (Senior Banquet) in Club Fusion - formal attire, drinks and hors d'oeuvres served
5:45 PM - 7:00 PM: Formal dinner in Vivaldi Dining Room
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM: Student only dance party in Skywalkers - please stay in formal attire for the entire evening!
11:00 PM: Lights out

Friday, May 16, 2008
10:00 AM - 12:30 PM: Jazz Band performance in Princess Theater Mike Vax and Bill Hill - clinicians
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM: CLINIC OF ALL BANDS & SEMINAR - HISTORY OF MUSIC - JAZZ APPRECIATION - MIKE VAX AND BILL HILL - Princess Theater
4:00 PM - 5:15 PM: Student only karoke party in Skywalkers
5:30 PM: Group photo - open deck area by pool
5:45 PM - 7:00 PM: Dinner in Vivaldi Dining Room - casual dress, no shorts, blud jeans, or T-shirts

Saturday, May 17, 2008
7:00 AM: Breakfast
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM: Disembark the Sapphire Princess in Vancouver, Canada
10:30 AM: Vancouver City sightseeing tour
1:30 PM: Check in for ferry
2:00 PM: BC ferry to Schwartz Bay
3:15 PM: Arrive Schwartz Bay, transfer by bus to hotel
4:00 PM: Check into Victoria Marriott Hotel
5:00 PM: Jazz Band performs at Causeway near Milestone's Restaurant
6:00 PM: Concert ends with dinner on your own
10:00 PM: All students in their own hotel rooms
10:30 PM: Lights out

Sunday, May 18, 2008
6:00 AM - 7:00 AM: Breakfast at hotel
8:00 AM: Depart hotel for tour of Butchart Gardens
11:15 AM: Boxed lunch provided, board buses for return to hotel
12:15 PM: Return to rooms, prepare for performance
2:00 PM: All American Band Show and Contest - FULL UNIFORM [field show]
4:00 PM: Show ends at Parliament Building
5:00 PM: Dinner on your own in Victoria
10:00 PM: All students in their own hotel rooms
10:30 PM: Lights out

Monday, May 19, 2008
6:00 AM - 7:00 AM: Breakfast at hotel
7:15 AM: Depart for parade line up
8:00 AM: All bands in formation - we are #3 in parade
9:30 AM: Victoria Day Parade steps off
10:30 AM: Load trucks and buses for return to Vancouver
11:30 AM: Depart Victoria for ferry to Vancouver from Schwartz Bay
12:30 PM: Check-in for BC ferry
1:00 PM: BC ferry departs for Vancouver
3:30 PM: Arrive at Vancouver airport and begin checking in for flights to San Francisco.
6:40 PM: United #564 scheduled to depart - arrival SFO is 8:51 PM
7:45 PM: Alaska #714 scheduled to depart - arrival SFO is 10:14 PM
8:00 PM: Air Canada #534 scheduled to depart - arrival SFO is 10:15

In a nutshell, we bus down, cruise up, and fly back down. One of my friends in band is really consciencious about her grades and knows that she will have a ton of work to do when she returns. Her solution? Don't bus down or cruise up. She will just fly up on either Friday night or Saturday morning and meet band there. She flies back with band on Monday night. Though she will miss the entire cruise, I really admire her for making the sacriffice for her grades. AP testing is on Thursday for World History, and she does not want to make it up on the Wednesday after she returns. She has to take major tests on Tuesday and then she has an in-class essay on Friday, so she will be bombarded already. So she'll stay here with me and just miss school on Monday. My band geeks are going to call me at least three times a day. :) It's wonderful!

Today in orchestra, the conductor said something about how we were progressing on a certain song. He said we sounded better than his band. Because he is not the official band director (he's just the assistant band director), all the good bands (like Jazz Band and Wind Ensemble) don't go to him. He gets the... kind of reject bands (Concert Band (aka Symphonic Band) and Jazz B; Jazz A is the official Jazz Band and Jazz B is the other one for people who didn't make Jazz A). So when he made this comment, my friend whipped around to me, and yelled, "HAH! WE SOUND BETTER!" fully knowing my love for band. And of course, I shouted back at her, "YEAH, WELL IT'S CONCERT BAND! WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?" Then I turned to face the conductor and he was looking at me a bit suspiciously. Oops. I totally dissed his band right there. Oh well. He'll be gone until Tuesday with band, so I guess it's okay.

There was a sign in the quad last week that said "LEI'S 4 GRADUATION". I wanted so badly to take a picture of it and upload it to the English Fail blog, but I never got around to bringing my camera to school. I'm sure there will be other signs with apostrophe misuse anyway.

Ah yes. I found a friend today. This is what this post is supposed to be about, but I digressed. She's at What She Said. I know her from camp. Band camp, of course! She's a flautist.

The backpack has returned. Time for math homework.

Vest-Hunting

2008-05-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

I've wanted a cute vest for a really long time now. I've always dreamed of a cute little thing that fits snugly but not too tightly, and carries an air of femininity I could wear over a blouse. I haven't been wearing blouses lately because they're somewhat boring. Now, I wear polos all the time instead. In fact, my enitre wardrobe is composed mainly of polos from various stores, including American Eagle. But now I'd like to pull those four blouses out of their corner and actually start to wear them. While looking through KPC, I found only one vest that meets the criteria I desired. This is it. I love that it's not huge and saggy, but I don't like that it's so see-through. I also don't want ribbing the whole way up. However, I adore the neckline and the armholes. So I think I'm going to take my chances at designing my own vest! I plan on making the bottom half entirely of ribbing (either 2x2 3x3, or maybe even 4x4 - I'm leaning towards larger ribs) and the top half entirely of stockinette. The length seems fine, so only simple adaptations will be needed.

I didn't finish the Mother's Day Purse on time. Oh well. Mom understood. Dad got her flowers anyway.

I get to find out about Chamber auditions on Tuesday! Only two days left. Though I think I'll check on Monday too, just in case the teacher's back. She hasn't been here the entire week because she caught pneumonia and was apparently in the hospital. Poor thing.

We're going out to eat at the Cheesecake Factory for Mother's Day. It will be extremely crowded, but that's okay. That's what knitting's for.

Peace Treaty Scarf Update

2008-05-09T17:01:00.000-07:00

I saw band this morning! I asked my P.E. teacher if he would let me go early (half an hour early; I have P.E. during A period and marching band is also during A period), and he finally relented. He's a cool guy.

I've decided to change the Peace Treaty Scarf. I have this nifty olive green yarn (Red Heart's Super Soft or something like that; it was for birthday gifts) I got for $2.49. Though it may not last very long, it's really soft and it looks more manly than the ivory I was using before. Our orchestra conductor might like that better. Ah yes - it will also be knit instead of crochet. I'm using the "Men's Cashmere Scarf" pattern from this book. I really like the pattern.

We had to do an in-class essay on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and finishd it today. I ended up getting so involved in the essay that I wrote over five pages (double-spaced). We wrote about a theme in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, and I chose something about stereotypes. I think I did well; probably an A. It's Regular English (as opposed to Honors) and I was in Honors last year, plus the fact that I've never gotten lower than an A- on any essay this year, so I think I'm a pretty fair judge.

We had a math test today on probability. Hopefully an A. I don't think it will be lower than a B. I studied pretty hard and knew pretty much everything that was on the test.

I've been making an off-white little clutch for my mom for this Sunday. I don't think it will be ready in time. Maybe next week or the week afterwards. The body is finished, but I have to felt it and sew it together. Belated Mother's Day gift, it looks like.

Friend's youth group is tonight. Fun fun fun.

Jazz Auditions are Over

2008-05-06T16:25:00.000-07:00

And I know I didn't make it. What's frustrating is not the fact that I didn't do well on my audtion, but that I have no way of knowing if I have a back-up (Chamber). The list wasn't posted today either because the teacher wasn't there. AHH! So tomorrow, I will be really anxious to find out if I made it. I don't know when Jazz members will be posted, but I don't think I made it, so I guess it shouldn't really matter. The audition went something like this:

"Play the piece you prepared"
Played.
"Play a G Major scale."
Played two octaves.
"Now, play a g harmonic minor scale."
"...Well, I don't know my minor scales.
"You don't know your minor scales? How about melodic minor?
"Um... not those either."
"Play a g melodic minor scale. Lower the 3rd, raise the 6th and 7th."
Had some difficulty, but finally got it.
"Alright. Do you know any blues scales?"
"Um... no."
"Hmmm. Okay. Well, play for me an F Major scale."
Played without a problem.
"Now Ab (A flat) Major"
Played.
"Perfect. Okay then, that's it."

And that was all. I'm so ashamed of myself. I call myself a musician yet I can't really play my minor scales. How pathetic. He didn't tell me that I hadn't made it, but I'm sure that I won't be enrolled in Jazz Band next year. If no Chamber either, it looks like dreadful Computer Science for the next two years.

Peace Treaty Scarf for the orchestra conductor (not the same as the band director; the band director auditioned me today):

It's a Woven Stitch from Betty Barnden's Crochet Stitch Bible. I think it will work.

You Should Know By Now

2008-05-05T21:48:00.001-07:00

That I can't forgive you. -Danny Jones

I have been outrageously busy. First, I've been anxious for choir audition results to come back. The list was supposed to be posted today at lunch, but as I was going up to the room, I ran into Steven returning. I asked him if he made it, but he said that the results weren't posted. I was like, "WHAT!?" So apparently they're supposed to be posted tomorrow at lunch. One of my friends who is already in choir this past year (and is pretty much guaranteed to get in again this next year) said that right after third period (lunch is really between fourth and fifth periods, but I suppose the list will be posted during third), he would run as fast as he could to the choir room and check my name for me. He's absolutely sweet for doing that, but if I don't make Chamber, I'll probably be really embarassed.

Second: JAZZ AUDITIONS TOMORROW. `Nuff said.

Third: AP Testing. Not that I'm in AP anything, but my friends have been stressed, so it has rubbed off on me

Fourth: English and French tests tomorrow. Both on vocabulary. Plus we're starting an in-class essay in English tomorrow. Ouch.

Fifth: Incredibly difficult math test on Thursday. I need to study at least five more hours, probably at least ten.

Ah yes. I tried to post earlier in the week, but for some stupid reason, right before I hit "Publish Post", I pressed Ctrl + A, Backspace. Then it automatically saved. So I basically lost everything I had posted. And it was a good post too. So here it is, in all its glory:

IrfanView messed up my photo. It looked good until it got all cut off. But here's the jist:

I'm going to make my Chamber friend (yes, the one that will run from third period to the choir room) a scarf for his birthday in August. I've known the guy forever - since fourth grade (almost seven years ago, I believe). This is the book I'll be using:

And this is the pattern I'll be using:

I thought I lost the book earlier in the week, but it turned up somewhere after my mom had cleaned my room. I like my room a bit messy, though. Though it might be hard to navigate through, the most important thing is that I can find everything. Which I can.

A few days ago, as I was on my way to A period in the morning, I spotted something funny-looking in my neighbor's front yard. When I came home after school, I ran inside the house, got my camera, and ran down the street. This is what I saw:

I thought something like this would be PERFECT for one of my best friends. She is a strict vegetarian dedicated to opposing animal abuse (especially those on farms), so I wanted to fill her yard with cows and say, "Holy Cow, _____'s 16!" It is, after all, a very special birthday. But when I called the place and asked for a quote, they said it would be $130 because it is about 50 miles away. Yeah, I don't think so. Love her, but I can't spend $130.

My current project is a scarf for the orchestra conductor. I have been completely unfair to him this entire year. I was always rude to him (not directly, but sort of.. indirectly. It's hard to explain), so I owe him. Big time. I'm pretty sure he's going to Canada with Marching Band (after all, he is assistant band director) next week / two weeks from now, so I thought he might be able to use a scarf. I don't know if it will actually be cold, but when I went when I was younger, the only thing I remember is that it was really cold and I was always uncomfortable, obviously spoiled by Californian weather. So anyway, I'm having a bit of trouble deciding what scarf to make him. I don't have much yarn of the color I'd like (off-white) and it has to be somewhat skinny. At rehearsal tonight, I noticed that he does have a bit of a stubby neck, so something too wide would not suit him at all. A crochet scarf would work up quickly, and might suit him well; I would use some kind of woven pattern. I'm only scared that I won't have enough yarn. But oh well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Basically, I'm hoping to mend our relationship. I'm not in love with him or anything, but it would only be courteous. As a new teacher in the district, I'm sure he has already been exposed to enough stressful situations, and I'm sure I have only made it worse with my strong disliking of him. Besides, I'll be seeing a lot of him with three bands next year. I'd rather not hate a teacher I'll have to see almost 1/2 my day. Hmm.. that's 1/8 of every school day, so maybe 1/10 of my year? So I guess... I'd rather not spend 1/10 of the next two years of high school in a class with someone I don't like. It's about time I'm nice to him. He deserves it.

In My Life

2008-04-29T16:22:00.000-07:00

All these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
...In my life, I've loved you more -The Beatles

We're doing CST (California Standardized Testing) now, so we go to our third period class at the start of the day and have three other classes for the remainder (instead of the regular six). We had to do the World History part today, and the sample question had something to do with Russia; I can't remember what exactly. I chose C as my answer: Vladimir Lenin (instead of A: Some random Asian guy whose name I can't remember, B: Martin Luther, or D: Someone else whose name I can't recall). I was correct. Then our French teacher (third period is French, so we basically spend two hours with her every morning for this week) calls out that the correct answer is C. Then she asks us, "Did you know his first name was Vladimir? Who knew his first name was Vladimir? Raise your hands!" So about seven to eight people raised their hands, including myself. Then my friend (he's a strange boy) calls out, "Yeah, I thought it was John." The little group of my friends burst out in uncontrollable laughter, while the rest of the class stared at us. I don't think they put it together: John Lenin. :) Yeah, French is pretty great.

Ah yes, John Lenon reminds me of something else. On Friday, I hung out with my friend's youth group. That was the second time (first time was the Friday before), and this Friday will probably be the third. We watched Expelled, and I thought it was really good. They mentioned John Lenon's "Imagine" in it, and how he refers to "no religion, too".

Updated at 9:08 PM to include:

CHAMBER AUDITIONS ARE OFFICIALLY OVER. We just had Part 2 tonight. The first part was to check out your range and singing abilities; the second part was to see how well you could carry your part in a quintet. I'm not in choir, so I kind of stood near the side waiting for someone to need a second soprano. Finally someone yelled out "SECOND SOPRANO?" and I walked in that direction. I joined their group, and we performed pretty well. I was kind of shaky on my part (I forgot to mention - we sang the national anthem), but mostly, we were fine. I was with Abi ("it's short for Abigail"), Krystal (swimmer; I met her last year at a swim meet from my best friend on the swim team), Ali (I met her today) and Steven (knew him since he was in seventh grade, but he didn't remember me; he's one of my band geeks). So I basically met two new people (Abi & Ali), and got reaquainted with two others (Krystal & Steven). Honestly, at first, I judged Ali. I saw her in the room before we broke into quintets, and I.. judged her. I was so cruel. But when I finally got to know her, she became so sweet and I was so surprised. There I go again, judging someone and then soon finding out that they're probably the sweetest person present. Oh yes. I was in a completely junior group (asides from myself, of course), so it was nice to work with mature voices. When we went up to actually do the audition, we had to say if we were in band, orchestra, had any conflicts with fourth, fifth, or sixth period, or if we were taking private voice lessons. I said I was in orchestra, but would be in marching band next year and maybe jazz band too. Steven, who is currently in jazz band and plays trombone (and is AMAZING), turned to me and said, "Jazz band? ...What do you play?" I proudly replied, "I play the violin." He looked at me strangely for a second, then smiled broadly and answered, "Jazz violin, huh? That's really cool." Quite frankly, he made me feel really special. I think this gives me the grounds to scream and say "HI STEVEN!" from across campus, right? I do that to Trumpet Max. Yes, I do call him Trumpet Max because I don't know his last name and when I first found out his name was Max (I had seen him playing trumpet in Jazz Band performances before), I quickly said, "oh, Trumpet Max?" aloud. I guess it kind of stuck in my head. Trumpet Max is always really nice to me, and smiles and replies, "Hi!" to my "Hi Max!"

Band is amazing, isn't it? So many connections in more ways you thought possible. Alas alack. At least this past year.

Fruit calls. Strawberries, specifically.

Onward, Soldiers!

2008-04-27T13:23:00.000-07:00

Someone's been getting ready for the fair. :)

[...Patiently waiting for Blogger to upload the photos from my camera...]

Okay.

I'm EXCITED. I can earn a maximum of $80 if I choose enter the Oro y Vino scarf I've been working on after all:

I've got about a foot and a half so far, and it is absolutely beautiful. I love the stitch so much.

Looking around Youtube, I stumbled upon this guy:

Isn't he incredibly awesome?

Alameda County Fair

2008-04-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

The fair is coming up! This will be my first time entering any of my projects into any kind of competition. I looked at the items at the fair last year, which sparked my interest and fueled my crochet passion throughout the rest of the summer.

These are the projects I have chosen to enter, plus a green afghan I've labeled "Fabala".

From left to right: Snow White, Fancy Fans Stole (blue, in the bag), Forrest Wrist Warmers, AVocation Scarf, Flammable, and Percy Plaid.

I really wanted to enter the Foothill Scarf, but realized that I had worn it too much (visibly worn projects will be disqualified). I've never worn the AV scarf, so I figured that it would be the better bet. Plus, more people attended Amador, so it might look favorably upon the judges. I would have entered both, but I have already entered the crochet Percy Plaid scarf, and there is a limit of only two entries per class.

I probably should have mentioned this earlier: I'm entering everything under the Adult section. I could have gone under Youth, as I am not yet eighteen, but I have been crocheting as long as I can remember (and frankly, I think I'm pretty good), so it's not really fair that I join Youth. Plus, there is only one division for Needlework and one class for all knit and crochet items for Youth, whereas in Adult, there is a different division for all the types of crocheted garments and items, and separate ones for knitted garments and items. There are six to eight classes within those divisions, so it's way broader. And not to mention the prize incentives. For Youth, one pays $1 per item submitted. First place is $1.50. Yes, one dollar and fifty cents. So if I won first place for everything I entered, I would gain $3.50 (I would really get $10.50, but $7 pays for the cost of submission). For Adult, on the other hand, one pays $1.50 per item submitted. First place is (usually around) $10. Second is $7 and third is $5. Not too shabby. Granted, I will be competing against people at least double my age, maybe even triple. But as I scoped out the competition last year, I didn't think there was much to worry about.

Updated to include:

So I was looking through Michaela's former posts at Dollar Knits, and found this thing that tests the reading level of your blog. Check this out:

Isn't that awesome? I feel so smart because Junior High was around two years ago or so.

I want to make Saartje's Bootees so badly! They're absolutely adorable, and they would be perfect for the fair. Not to mention that some of our friends at church have a recent addition to their family (a baby girl!), and I would love to make Jannell some booties.

I'm in the middle of uploading the Snow White pattern to Ravelry. I'll publish a link to it later.

Les Auditions de Chambre Sont Finis!

2008-04-23T19:02:00.000-07:00

I auditioned for Chamber today! Apparently, I have an incredibly unique voice that's nice to have in a choir because it just carries the choir. That was a surprise.

Jazz auditions are in two weeks. I've chosen "Autumn Leaves".

Chamber Auditions A Demain

2008-04-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

Chamber auditions are tomorrow! ...And I know I will completely bomb them. I'm not so concerned; I was planning on cancelling them anyways.

Yesterday, I stopped by the counselor's office for a quick chat. My counselor told me that the master schedule of classes isn't out yet, so there is no way of telling (at this point) if Chamber and Orchestra will conflict. So I'm auditioning for both Chamber Choir and Jazz Band just like I had originally planned. But I still have to choose a piece for Chamber! I'm leaning toward "You Raise Me Up", as I have performed the solo before (I bombed it then, and will bomb it again; history repeats itself). I plan on doing either the first or second verse with the chorus. I don't like long auditions.

I accompanied Chamber Choir last year for their Spring Concert with violin. It was a huge honor then, and I'm still really proud of myself. I don't think the choir teacher remembers me though. Oh well.

Stashbusting!

2008-04-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

I've been doing some serious stashbusting as of late. I finally finished Snow White! Here are the pictures:

Soon, I hope to be working on crochet juggling balls for some rowdy boys at school who enjoy crumpling up brand new sheets of paper and seeing from how far away they can shoot the paper into the trashcan when we have a substitute teacher. I'm not a hippie, but it kind of disturbes me that they enjoy wasting paper. I have TONS of excess mustard-yellow Lion Brand Wool (at least four skeins - that's a lot to me; two boxes = my entire stash), so I'll be using that. I was thinking of filling the juggling balls with rice or beans, but decided against it because they are boys after all, and if the juggling balls contact water, the rice or beans inside will get gross and could get moldy. Then I thought about filling them with plastic beads typical hackey sacs have. But then I realized that I needed the foot of a pantyhose or else they would slip out. I don't have access to extra pantyhose. I've finally come up with filling them with... yarn! I have way too much of it anyways, and it's not exactly being wasted. Yes, they will not fly as well, but hopefully it will become more of a healthy challenge than an annoying obstacle.

We're going to Olive Garden today! We usually go out to eat once every two to three weeks or so on Sundays (eating out isn't too healthy). It's a nice treat for after chuch, too.

Help!

2008-04-19T09:40:00.000-07:00

I need somebody.

I'm having serious second thoughts about auditioning for Chamber Choir. My audition is scheduled for Wednesday, April 23. Four days from today, and I still don't know what I'm going to sing. Not only is the first time I've auditioned my voice before, I'm worried that Chamber Choir will conflict with Orchestra. This year, they have been during the same period, so my friend (who is an AMAZING singer) really wanted to sing and still play violin in Orchestra, but was forced to choose. You can't have two classes for one period. He was disappointed, but I'm sure he is now happy with his choice. If that same thing happens next year, I'll be in trouble. If I just happen to do an amazing audition and make Chamber, I may have to refuse the spot and take Orchestra that period instead (I have more of an allegiance to violin than to singing). And that wouldn't be nice. I figure that I'll have to schedule an emergency meeting with my counselor to find out what periods Orchestra and Chamber will be next year.

So if I don't audition for Chamber, I still have an open class (and I'm NOT taking something pointless like Comp Sci [Computer Science]). I'm taking History over the summer, plus I'm taking A period for a 7-period-long day with 4 major classes (Physics, English, Math, and AP French). Two of those "extra" periods are filled with Marching Band and Orchestra, but there's still another extra period for... JAZZ BAND! I spoke with the band director yesterday at lunch about if he wanted a violin in Jazz Band. He was kind of surprised, but said he would like to have one. (I brought first chair clarinet with me, and he just kind of stood there.) I told him that I would be in Marching Band as well, and he asked me if I played an instrument. I said clarinet, and also said that first chair clarinet (who was standing right next to me) was tutoring me. I think he liked the idea. I asked when he would like me to audition, and he said that auditions were being held during the first week of May, and that I could come in either Tuesday or Wednesday (of that first week of May) after 3:30. Pretty much everything is riding on this audition.

I don't think I'll be auditioning for Chamber after(especially if it is during Orchestra's period), so Jazz Band is my only hope to fill that extra class. If I don't make Jazz Band, I'm finished. My dad will force me to take comp sci and I'll be stuck in a class I totally hate. ...No pressure.

Busy Busy Busy

2008-04-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

It was cold today. It was supposed to be 85 degrees, but it only got to 79. 79! I can't wait until it really starts heating up. And I don't mean 80-degree-weather. I mean the super hot 105.

I really want to make this bag, but I don't have any yarn in that color and my parents won't buy me more until I've used up the stuff from ImagiKnit. The bag is so adorable, that whenever I have to bring my lunch to schools in emergencies (such as having to talk to a teacher during lunch and not being able to get lunch in time to eat, or maybe having to PERFORM, LIKE TOMORROW, during lunch and not getting a chance to buy lunch), I just dream of having a cute little bag like that I get to carry around to my classes. My friends know I have a strange (to them) obsession with band and knitting, so whenever I have some kind of scarf, hat, or other cool accessory, at least one of them always says, "Let me guess. You made that, right?" They're pretty much the greatest.

Speaking of the performance, we were notified today in class that small ensembles have to perform tomorrow. We're sort of a "warm-up" to choir. An opening group, I suppose, although not exactly. Three groups are all that are going to perform. We just play as people attening the choir thing walk through the hallway. We are stationed in the hallway. And that's about it. It's weird; the choir concert is in the middle of the day (during school). Oh well.

Tomorrow, I get to see my orchestra buddy from camp! She goes to another high school we're competing against in the track meet. I have yet to race her, and as we run the same events, that's pretty pathetic. She was in Mexico last year, and this year, I'm not in track.

Today, my band geeks (yes, my; I do own them) called me an idiosyncrasy. Well, mainly one in particular. I got mad at him because not only was he using a big word, it was a vocabulary word from last week that I will probably be tested on on Friday. I looked at him, dropped my stuff right there, and rummaged through my backpack, searching for my vocabulary packet. I found out that it means a characteristic habit or mannerism, but it my case, apparently it's more "peculiar" than "characteristic". (He thinks I have issues because I love band so much. Silly boy.)

If I ever start seriously selling what I knit, I think I'll start donating 5% or so to the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra. They're amazing, and I think it's really cool that they try to support kids that live in slums by putting a trumpet or a cello in their hands instead of a gun or a knife, as would normally occur.

Lots of homework tonight. Better get to it.

Can't Stop the Rain From Falling; Can't Stop My Heart From Calling You

2008-04-15T19:46:00.000-07:00

I feel like a failure. I shouldn't really be posting today since I don't have much to say, but whatever. I've been kind of down all day.

My friend and I didn't feel like doing our homework at the library today, since we had finished much of it in class. So in those 50 minutes or so before driving school, we just sat outside the office on a bench in the wondrous sunlight and talked about everything and nothing. The orchestra conductor walked into the office, stayed a while, and on the way out, asked me if my brother was taking band next year. Um.. no. First of all, I don't have a brother. Second, I don't have a sister either. Third, I LOVE BAND. Why wouldn't I sign up? So then he understood and said, "Oh, so he spelled your name wrong." He was really nice about it. I've found him to actually be a really cool guy. Hooray for that.

In driving school, we watched this Ultimate Driving Challenge movie. The hosts were Chris T. Adkins/Atkins (didn't catch it completely) and Paula Zahn! Paula Zahn looked so much younger and she had somewhat longer hair. She was dressed totally nineties.

So I'm officially NOT going to junior prom. Notwithstanding the fact that I'm a sophomore, I'm pretty confident that I won't get asked. Oh well. Maybe next year. That's a big maybe.

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

2008-04-14T19:56:00.000-07:00

So I just did me some talkin' to the sun.

I never knew golf could use up so much energy. I have A period P.E. (the period before school starts, taken by students who have a larger course load than most), so it's freezing cold. Apparently we're in our golf unit, so we set up a driving range on the JV soccer field using carpet samples (a good 11 x 14" each, I'd say). There, we set up the cheap plastic ball and hit it with a somewhat authentic-looking golf club. After everyone has hit their four balls, our teacher calls for everyone to run out and get the four balls they threw. My friends and I always run as fast as we can to get the ones closest hit by people who have no idea how to hit a ball (that definitely includes me). Basically, the idea is to run the least, and I suppose it's our little game to see who gets back first. Most of the class thinks we're weird, but it doesn't really matter to us. My legs are sore from this morning. But it feels good. Since I'm not in track this year, I haven't felt it since last year.

It turns out that the scrapbook is actually due next Monday. So I'm the only overachiever in the class that finished it early. But that means that I'll have four extra hours free next weekend! Knowing me, I'll probably knit or something.

Anderson Cooper 360's on. I can hear it reverberating from downstairs. Apparently some polygamist woman from the Texas compound is speaking to him, and he's getting all excited for not having access to them before, and this being the first of its kind. She doesn't want to say how many wives her husband had, but earlier, there was some woman saying that he had around 15. Frightful.

I haven't knit for a while. I wasn't able to knit yesterday because I had more English homework after the scrapbook. I hope I'll be able to tonight.

Updated at 8:11 PM to include:

The polygamist woman is being (excuse my language) a total bitch. Apparently she feels like she's being persecuted just as the Jews were by the Nazis during WWII.

And I miss my orchestra buddy. She's been gone for too long.

Here Comes the Sun

2008-04-13T17:32:00.000-07:00

It seems like years since it's been here.

It's 92 degrees outside. About an hour ago, it was 96.

I made a crochet juggling ball yesterday. It's so lopsided that I'm too embarassed to take a picture of it. But I did have to make a scrapbook for history on WWII today. Here it is, in all its glory:

So there you go. I just didn't take a picture of the works cited page because it looks somewhat pathetic to me.

Now I believe I will get away from the hot computer and chill out and knit while listening to To Kill a Mockingbird on tape. I've found that books on tape / CD are actually great to knit to. I listened to Shakespeare's A Comedy of Errors about a week ago, and though I had to read a bit of the liner notes to understand what was going on, it was pretty awesome. They're not too hard to follow, especially when it's just a book instead of a play. Off I go.

Updated to include:

The second page is my favorite - the third picture. It's the one with the knitting stuff. I even found two patterns from WWII, which I glued in there.

Not Much of an Update

2008-04-09T20:59:00.000-07:00

So MonsterCrochet is my new hero. Not only does she own the same book as I do (this one), she can crochet and knit as well! And not only that, but she's amazing at both of them too!

Driving school is the worst. Ever.

And now I have tons of homework so I'd better get to it.

Chamber and Jazz Band Auditions, Oh My!

2008-04-07T20:13:00.000-07:00

Alrighty. After school today, my friend and I started driving school. Eight students plus the instructor. If you ask me, it was two and a half hours of a waste of my life. Basically we just read the handbook, and when we finally took a quiz on what we had just read, these two girls spent 45 minutes, totally analyzing each question. And they were matching! Quite frankly, they drove me crazy. The instructor's pretty cool though.

To Kill a Mockingbird is going well. I'm in love with that book, but have to restrain myself from reading the entire book in one night. If I do that, I'll just get ahead and then it will be hard to pull myself back to the speed of the class. I do regret not taking Honors again this year. Last year was really hard, but this year wasn't supposed to be as difficult if I continued with Honors. To the incessant nagging of my parents, I finally succumbed, and took Regulars for an easy A. I have the easy A alright, but it's painful to move so slowly. I'm fairly proficient at English. >=[ Grr. Most likely, I'll be taking Honors English and Honors Pre-Calculus next year anyways, plus AP French, so I think that'll be decent. The only downside is that I have to take US History over the summer in order to fit Orchestra, Marching Band, and Chamber Choir into my schedule with just one extra class to be taken at 7 AM (Marching Band!) every morning except for Wednesdays. Besides, I'll have plenty of Marching Band trips to keep me occupied along with my knitting. As rumor has it, our Marching Band has been invited to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (and we haven't declined), and possibly the Rose Bowl within the next two years. Yay!

To clear this up: I'm not currently in band. I just really like band. They're amazing. You know? And if I don't make Chamber Choir, I'll audition for Jazz Band - jazz violinist! Yeah! My chamber audition's on Wednesday, April 21 after school. The first Wednesday without the acursed driving school. Jazz Band / Wind Ensemble auditions are in early May. I'm nervous for Chamber because I will be competing against singers who have had years of personal training but can't read music. Reading music is really the only advantage I have, besides having an above average voice I suppose. But it's a good thing that I'm not totally depending on choir to make it through life. Band, yes. Orchestra, same deal. Choir, not so important to me. I will be thrilled if I make it, but if not, I don't want to be in Women's Ensemble. First: I like guys. Tenors and basses sound amazing. Second: I want to be in a group consisting of absolutely excellent musicians. The cream of the crop. And I guess third: Women's Ensemble dresses are hideously ugly. But I will be crushed if I don't make Chamber Choir and then don't make Jazz Band. That would just be... pathetic.

Sweepstakes Trophy

2008-04-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

So far, I've got $4.35 in my Trophy Fund. The $4 was from the most recent hat sale and the $.35 was from the quarter and dime I found at the bottom of my backpack.

Well. That's about it.

No Monterey Jazz Festival

2008-04-05T14:54:00.000-07:00

So I'm not at the Monterey Jazz Festival today. But my parents have made it up to me: I'm the new sweepstakes trophy sponsor for the Foothill High School Band Review in October! I thought it would be $600-700 at first, so I didn't even bother looking because that's totally impossible; we're not going to pay that. But when I finally got curious enough to look, I saw that it's only $150!! ...For a huge freaking six-foot trophy! Obviously, I'm going to see if I can contribute a bit of that from the sales of my knitted goods to make sure that my parents don't have to pay all of it (that's just mean) and so my name on the trophy is deserved. My goal is to raise at least $75, but ideally, I'd like to pay the full $150 myself. So it looks like I'll be knitting up a storm in the coming months and throughout the summer.

Second of April Two Thousand Eight

2008-04-02T16:12:00.000-07:00

No auditions today. What a let-down. Maybe they just won't take place at all. Monterey is completely out of the picture now. And maybe even the next jazz festival. Oh well. So much for that.

Super-huge district concert is tonight. Every orchestra in the district will be present. Great. Another chance to show how ridiculous we sound. Most middle schools are better than us. Oh well. I might get to knit a bit, so it's not a total waste I suppose. But I told my mom not to come; it's a waste of her life. She promptly acknowledged it and we didn't speak further about it. I guess one plus is that I get to wear the same black dress I wore to Max Loh's thing at the theatre. YAY and he hugged me that night too! Did I mention that before? Well, if I've mentioned it or not, he did. And I was super happy. And I still am, knowing that he was the last one to hug me. Oh yes. How embarassing: I'm situated at the back of the orchestra. Normally I'm around fourth chair, but now I'm around thirtieth. During auditions at the beginning of the schoolyear, I was the only one who memorized the circle of fifths and did arpeggios for all major scales. But according to the conductor, I "sounded scratchy". Okay, so I didn't have enough rosin on my bow because I had forgotten mine at home. Yeah big deal. Seriously, I thought placing was in terms of skill-level. And he said he'd do another seating test for second semester. There hasn't been one. It doesn't help that he's a horn guy too (never been in a string orchestra, can't play a string instrument, but can play almost every brass instrument). He's made for band, not for orchestra. It's his first year here. Oh well.

Back to homework.

April

2008-04-01T17:20:00.000-07:00

No violins or any string instruments (besides the usual jazz instruments; piano, guitars, and electric bass) are going to the Monterey Jazz Festival. How depressing. I've been looking forward to this for over three years! I spoke with the band director today, and he said that he would hold auditions tomorrow, hopefully for the next jazz festival (which is supposedly in five to six weeks, according to one band geek in jazz). Apparently "we can't do it this weekend, obviously". I thought we could pull it together! Hmph

So my day has been pretty depressing. My friend saw Run Fatboy Run without me over break because he thought I had already seen it (we were originally supposed to go together with a bunch of other people). So now he doesn't want to see it anymore because he said it's not as good as Shaun of the Dead. But Shaun of the Dead isn't in theatres! Bleh. I just want to see a hilarious Simon Pegg movie with my friends and tons of fake-buttered popcorn, okay?

I'm moody. And I'm upset. And we have a concert tomorrow that no one in the orchestra is looking forward to because we get owned every year by our rivals (it's a district-wide concert; the other school is better beyond any means of comparison). Our marching band is way better, but their orchestra far exceeds ours. It's so humiliating. We play pieces a middle school orchestra should have surpassed. They play pieces a decent high school orchestra should play. Ugh. There's a district-wide band concert on April 9th that I'm kind of looking forward to because it's time for me to become, once again, a cameraman. Jazz band, wind ensemble, and another band (can't remember now) is supposed to be there, and same from our rival school. In that case, our school is so much better. =]

Chemistry and algebra homework left. I should be done in an hour. Then maybe I can rip out the scarf I've been working on with the pattern from ImagiKnit & the Oro y Vino yarn. I also should rip out the Valentine's Day Scarf that I've made with the Manos de Uraguay instead of a Prismsatic Scarf. I'd rather do a seed stitch border instead of garter. Honestly, garter's pretty ugly. In my opinion, that is. So back to homework.

No Auditions

2008-03-31T17:35:00.000-07:00

My main focus today was the audition. But the band director didn't show up to audition anyone! According to our orchestra conductor, he "has been in Hawaii for the past two weeks; who knows what he remembers." It doesn't really help that he's almost 65 years old either. He was at school for band, and he said that he would stay after lunch for our orchestra period to audition us. But he didn't show. Tomorrow, I'll see if I can talk to him before one of his band classes to discuss the audition. This is really surprising, because the Jazz Festival is on Saturday, and obviously no one has played with Jazz Band yet. I don't know how we're going to put this together, but whatever. Hopefully everything will all work out and we'll get first place and everyone will be so proud of us. Wishful thinking.

I wore Flammable today. I had a blue polo and jeans on, with white VANS. Almost all my friends came up to me and said, "That hat totally doesn't match!" But that was the point. Bright on neutrals. Hmm.

Okay back to the Monterey Jazz Festival. I'm not even really nervous about auditions anymore. I talked to some of the violins auditioning, and all of them said they had changed their minds. So I went up to one of the violins who had taken the piece, and told her that she had to audition for it. It would be totally perfect. We make an amazing duet, plus the violist who we both love, and then really any cellist would be fine because we love all of them. My cello friend isn't auditioning anymore, and neither are any of the other cellists actually, except for one. So it looks like it's down to four amazing musicians auditioning for four parts. Sounds good to me.

Monterey Jazz Festival Jitters

2008-03-30T11:23:00.001-07:00

Last night was AMAZING! After the performances, I gave Max Loh a bouquet of white roses with a light blue ribbon. When I got home, I IMed his sister, and she said that he thought they were really pretty. Yay!

I didn't get to knit almost at all yesterday. Spring break is almost over, and I have just a tiny bit more homework to finish up. After that, I'll probably make use of the books on cassette I checked out from the library and knit a little bit more to relax before school starts.

AHHHHH AUDITIONS ARE TOMORROW!! I need to practice more! I'm not ready! Well, actually I do feel pretty prepared. And it's not too bad knowing that I'm one of the only violins auditioning for the second part. So most likely, in less than a week, on Saturday, April 5th, 2008, I'll be in the Monterey Jazz Festival! WOW. That will be a fun but very nerve-racking day. In preparation for Satuday, I looked around for black yarn that could make me a hat similar to Little Mermaid and Flammable. Concert dress for jazz band girls is a black dress. It's supposed to be full-length, but most full-length black dresses are terribly ugly, and the only one I have falls just above my knees anyway. (For guys, it's a tux. I love men in tuxes too, and the entire jazz band consists of guys except for this one trumpet girl. Woohoo that'll be fun.) It looks to me like we'll have both female violinists (no guys are auditioning for the first part, and I don't think anyone else is auditioning for the second part besides myself), a female violist (she's the only one auditioning) and a male cellist (three or four males are auditioning, one female; I love her, but the odds are a bit against her, as first chair is a male and I'm pretty sure he is auditioning). So back to what I was saying... I get cold easily. And in Monterey, it's extra cold. I'll be wearing the black dress, black ballet flats, and a huge warm coat, but 60% of heat escapes from the head. Therefore, I need a hat. Not to perform in, but just to wear going into the place. I'll do my hair once we're inside.

So to get that yarn that I was referring to, the black yarn for the hat, I went online because I can't get to our local yarn store now. So I turned to WEBS. I can't spend $20 on yarn anymore, so I went right to their sale section. And guess what the second yarn was... Araucania LIMARI!! For $8.00, I could get the same stuff I bought for $16. Shipping has to be added, but even with shipping, it's still cheaper! So I bought color 555 I think. And then I looked a bit further down the list and decided on the bulky-weight Mondial Splendid, color 200. Hooray for the internet. I ordered both yesterday, and they should arrive Friday. I really hope they could arrive before then, but I'm good at whipping up a hat in two hours.

We're going out to lunch now I think. Yummy food.

A Day and a Half

2008-03-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

I made another hat last night! This time, I used Araucania's LIMARI color 553. I think I'll call it Flammable. When we went to Sonoma last weekend (we went to Bella Yarns of Sonoma, where I got the Cashsoft to make Triple S), I saw two fires. One looked like it was a controlled fire about a mile off the highway (the flame was just barely visible) and then a truck pulling a camper had caught on fire. We drove past before it had been extinguished. I even got a picture of the smoking truck. But I won't publish that. Instead, I'll publish my hat!

So this year so far, I've made a My So-Called Scarf, Triple S, Little Mermaid, and Flammable, all of which were completed during Spring Break. That's.. hardly anything! I guess it's because I've been busy with school and all.

I checked our band's website, and the Jazz Festival is NEXT SATURDAY. APRIL 5TH. AHH!!! That's the same day as our Winterguard/Percussion show, so I'll have to skip it this year. I'm so nervous for Monday's auditions! Hunting Wabbits 2 isn't necessarily a hard song, but the shifting's kind of weird, and there are four flats in the key signature. It's fine with practice; I'm just glad I don't have to sightread that. OH. Speaking of sightreading, after the first Jazz Band performance at the Festival, the itinerary says, "Jazz Band sightreads". I flipped. I don't mind sightreading during an auditition. That's no problem because it just affects my placement into an orchestra. Sightreading during a concert with 12 TOP JAZZ BANDS OF THE NATION is a bit different. Serious pressure!

Yesterday, Mom went to Carmel so I got the house to myself! Yay! I watched movies because they were on and I was bored knitting in silence. Well.. okay let me reorder things. First, I called Round Table for a pizza because we didn't have any food. It came an hour later (they had warned me in advance, but I wasn't too hungry when I ordered it) when I was knitting a scarf with Oro y Vino and watching Mighty Ducks. So I ate my pizza and drank my Dr. Pepper (I'm supposed to be on a soda diet for track, but I'm not in track this year) while finishing up Mighty Ducks. It was a really cute movie. Next, United 93 was on, so I watched that for a while. I got really emotional at the very end, but it was really well-done. Then I sat knitting for about an hour, musing over the film. And finally, I saw that Meet the Parents was on ABC Family at 6, so I watched about half of that before my dad came home and demanded my assistance. I recorded it (DVR) so I can watch it tomorrow. I think a working title was Meet the Fockers, if I'm correct. I thought about it while watching, but realized that it wouldn't make sense because there's just one guy, Craig or Greg Focker who meets his girlfriend's family, whose name isn't Focker. Hopefully it'll end well.

But for now, lunch is ready.

Someone's Up Early This Morning

2008-03-27T07:43:00.000-07:00

Good morning! I feel like I'm back at band camp (the one in the woods with cabins, not the one for school), having to wake up around 6:30 and get to breakfast before 7:30. Today will be a busy day I'm sure. As far as I know, I will be knitting as long and quickly as I can to finish up the Triple S ('Scrunchable Scarf' Scarf) in Cashsoft. In the afternoon, I'll probably head over to our local yarn store to try to exchange some yarn I bought there a while ago. It was in January, so I doubt they'll let me exchange it, but I might as well try.

I wanted to go to Berkeley's Ifshin Violins to get my bow re-haired, but I don't think that's going to happen today. I know the owners (they come to band camp - the one in the woods) so I know the store has to be good. Maybe in a few weeks or so. I'm freaking out about an audition to be part of a string quartet for our school jazz band. They have one selection that requires two violins, a viola, and a cello. I'm auditioning for second violin and almost all the other violins are auditioning for first, so I have a pretty good chance, but it's still nerve-racking. And if I do make it, will I be good enough? What if I mess up? Our jazz band is competing for the best high school jazz band in the nation with twelve other high schools from across America. Pressure? I've always wanted to do something like this, but.. I don't know. I thought maybe re-hairing my bow would help my sound quality because it was dropped in a puddle of water in the band room two years ago. I didn't even drop it. It was someone else who was borrowing my violin and bow and was trying to "wash" his hands with a bottle of water. Some water fell on the floor, and AHHH! Then he dropped my bow. I (obviously) freaked out. So anyway, to repair water damage from two years ago, I thought re-hairing my bow would work. Oh well. Hopefully I'll just make the cut and can re-hair my bow before the performance.

Updated at 8:23 AM to include:

I finished Triple S! I've decided to leave it a bit short, and it comes just below my belly-button when wrapped around my neck. I won't crochet a border after all because it looks cute as is. It almost looks like a crochet picot border. I can always a border later. I have a skein and a half left of Cashsoft, so I'm planning on making a hat; making it up as I go. I'll post the pattern whenever I come up with it.

So here is my lovely Triple S.

Isn't it wonderful? I can't wait to wear it on Saturday night!

Updated at 9:18 AM to include:

I know I'm obsessed. But I finally got pictures of my yarn! After finally finishing Triple S, I started winding my new yarn into balls. So here you go.

Color 115. I'll be making a Prismatic Scarf with this.

Color 602. Golden Ochre colorway. I'll be making another My So-Called Scarf.

And color 114. Oro y vino colorway. I'm supposing this means 'gold and wine' becuase 'or' in French means gold, and 'vin' in French means wine. Hooray for French in the real world!

Updated at 9:29 PM to include:

At 7:00, my mom dropped me off at our local knitting store for tonight's Sit & Knit. True, the ladies weren't my age (the youngest one was 28), but I had tons of fun otherwise. One of them, Joe, obsessed over her "Gizmo" that was supposed to airate wine (yes, wine was present tonight) to make it taste better. It made funny noises. This evening, I bought a skein of Araucania's Multicolor Limari (AHH $16!) to make my friend a hat she's been wanting for so long (I charged her $20 figuring that the yarn was only $11.50 or so. I won't change the price for her because that's just mean and I already told her the set price, but if anyone else asks, I'll probably charge them at least $25. She got a super discount!) I worked at the hat for about two hours and I'm ALMOST DONE. It works up quickly and is incredibly soft. I just have to crochet the border, finish weaving in the ends, and add a tassle, and it will be complete! I was finishing it up at the shop tonight, and one of the ladies there said, "Ooh such thick dpns. I'd have to get my AspiraCream to do that!" I was using size 15s.

Okay now it's 10:55, and I'm done with the hat! It's all packaged up, but before I wrapped it up, I took a picture.

Due to the lack of natural lighting now, it's all.. yellowish and greenish. In actuality, the tissue paper is a bright teal and the hat is mainly light blue with darker blue and purple highlights. I believe I'll call this Little Mermaid because of the undersea influences. Though I hate the ocean. Oh well.

I Left My Heart In San Francisco

2008-03-26T21:25:00.000-07:00

We left at around 10:15 this morning to head to San Francisco! We ended up taking BART to the 16th St. Mission Station. We got out of the station at just after 11:15 (construction was underway, which delayed us a bit).

Coming out of the station.

Mission Street is not a very nice area. It was kind of worrying, but there were plenty of police officers on bicycles around, so that eased my mind. And off we went to ImagiKnit.

After a long trek (0.86 miles according to BART's website), we were finally there!

ImagiKnit is up ahead, just across the street.

It was pretty big, and contained yarn I had seen in many different places but until now, not together in one place. I'd say ImagiKnit has a pretty eclectic collection.

On our way back to the 16th St. Mission Station, we took a little bit different route. We saw tons of Barack Obama posters. I won't get into politics now, but I think it's so amazing that both a black man and a woman (a white woman, but still a woman nonetheless) are running to be the first president of their kind in the history of America. Unless John McCain wins, of course.

It's kind of hard to see, but there are nine Barack posters on the first floor and three Hillary posters on the second floor. I'm liking the juxtaposition. Ironic much?

Five official Obama posters. I don't know what the other ones are.

Blogger takes too long to upload photos, so I think I'll leave it at that. I might as well mention that Macy's was really cool. They had this Spanish theme going on. And as we were walking, we saw Dior, Chanel, Gucci, Lacoste, Burberry, and others. Oh yes. Britex Fabrics was pretty cool, but everything was really expensive! I got pictures of everything, including signs, sculptures, and more. I even took a picture of my frappachino at Starbucks I got later on in the day (which I consumed illegally on BART during the return trip - no food or drink allowed).

I would love to post everything and all the pictures I took. But I don't have three hours. Blogger takes too long and I need to get to bed. I have a big day tomorrow: knitting all day to finish the Scrunchable Scarf and get the border done before Saturday (I would like to get it done before Thursday ends but I don't know if that's feasible), then I got two skeins each of Manos del Uraguay's color 115 (for a Prismatic Scarf), Malabrigo's color 604 (Golden Ochre colorway) (for a My So-Called Scarf), and Malabrigo's color 114 (Oro y Vino colorway) (for the pattern that came with the yarn. They're all beautiful and I'd love to post pictures, but again, it takes forever. Maybe tomorrow.

Spring break is.. actually sort of almost over. Tomorrow is Thursday, which means only two more days off from school + the weekend. Then school again. Ugh. Back to the old grind.

New Blog?

2008-03-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

Woohooo a new blog. Hopefully I'll actually keep and regularly update this one. Basically, I knit and play violin, piano, clarinet, and I would play bassoon, but my parents refuse to pay for one. Oh well. I have a guitar that I don't play too often. Oh yes. And I'm a runner; more specifically, I'm a sprinter. I was on the track team last year and the year before, but sadly I couldn't do it this year.

In case you haven't noticed, I'm in high school. And I adore our marching band. Next year I should be part of it, but for now, it's nice to just follow and videotape the band. I lead a crazy life with homework, music, trying to catch up with and record band performances, taking driving school, and on top of that, finding time to knit (I'm actually an avid crocheter as well).

I'll try to update every day, but no guarantees.

Tomorrow, we go to ImagiKnit in San Francisco. My mom's a sewer, so she wants to go to Britex Fabrics too. If I can, I'll post pictures of the yarn I will buy and, if possible, the fabric my mom will buy. I plan on making a Prismatic Scarf with my yarn. Hooray for spring break!

I'm currently working on Susan's Scrunchable Scarf with the beautiful off-white CashSoft. It's unbelieveably soft and it's just so beautiful to work with. I forgot a selvage though, so I'll just have to crochet a border after I'm finished.

I've gotten my desire to blog out of me today. Now it's time for lunch!

Updated to include...:

I'm just too excited to wait until tomorrow to post again! So here goes: Saturday will be an amazing day. Well, just Saturday night, really. Don Lewis & Young Expressions will be at our local theatre that night, and I get to see my absolute hero perform. His name's Max Loh and he is an amazing pianist. I even have his autograph (I'm so lucky). I plan on getting dropped off an hour earlier so I can walk to Safeway and get him a bouquet to give to him after his performance. Oh yes. If I haven't mentioned before, he's a phenomenal composer. So yeah. He's pretty awesome. =]

So that's why I have to finish my Cashsoft / Scrunchable Scarf soon. I would like to have it by Saturday night. It's almost halfway done, so hopefully it'll be done by then!