These are the socks that never end....

Yes, they go on and on, my friends.

I made the rather large and naive mistake of promising one of my guy-friends, Andy, a pair of hand knitted socks.  Now, I have only just started knitting socks this year and had only knit socks for myself (size 6 foot) and a friend (size 7 foot).  I had no idea what I was in for when I promised Andy size 12 socks....in fingering weight yarn on size 1 US DPNs.  If I ever utter the phrase, "I'm knitting Andy socks" again after I finish these, I hope someone shoots me.

Pattern: BFF Socks by Cookie A.  Yarn: madelinetosh sock in Whiskey Barrel

It was about at this point during the foot in the sock that every time I looked at it, I felt either like crying or throwing up on it...maybe both at the same time.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the pattern.  It was extremely easy to memorize and easy to execute so it's great for TV knitting (which is pretty much the only kind of knitting I do).  But after you've done it for 11 inches (yes I knit for 11 inches, then ripped out two inches because I realized the ending sock would be way too big) you start to go a little crazy.

I "finished" the sock Sunday evening and had Andy, who came over to watch Game of Thrones, try it on and lo and behold, it was still about an inch too long.  So yep, I ripped the entire toe out and then another inch of the foot.  So, now I have a finished sock which is really much longer in spirit than it is reality.

Terrible picture, I know.....try to ignore the dog hair.

So what does that mean?  I get to start on the second one tonight...and as I typed that my hands started to shake.

This might be a good time to mention that I am a single project knitter.  While so many knitters are able to switch from one project to another on a daily if not hourly basis - I can not do that.  That's not to say I don't have multiple projects on needles - I currently have a sweater and a shawl on the needles.  It's just that those get ignored for seriously long periods of time.  In fact, they'll be lucky if they are ever in my hands again.  Especially with this sock knitting jag I'm on....and the amount of sock yarn I've bought.

Prospero standing on the beach - The Tempest produced by OpenStage Theatre

Gonzalo on the ship - The  Tempest produced by OpenStage Theatre

In the world of theatre, we just had the second to last weekend of The Tempest and this coming weekend is the end.  On May 7, I'm working a friend's show, but that's only one night of work.  After that, I have nothing at all until June when I do a Reader's Theatre production of Desert Cities.  Just think of the knitting time!  Socks will be pouring off my needles!....right.  Even though I'll have a ton of knitting, relaxing, re-acquainting myself with my non-theatre friends time, I am a little of scared of not being involved with anything for so long.

The Tempest has been a great run and is such a fun show to call (now that all the projected scenery is behaving).  But I'm about ready to be done with this one....it'll still be sad to let go but I'm looking forward to the end much more than I did with my last production, Dangerous Liaisons.  The cast is wonderful but we aren't as close as the Liaisons cast was which may be part of the reason that I'm not dreading the end of this one the same way.

Last but not least, I'm desperately hoping that my nightmare (that woke me up at 5:30 in the morning in a dead panic) involving me forgetting to lock up OpenStage's donation jar isn't true.  I don't remember locking it up on Saturday, but I've never forgotten before.  I've tried to go by the theater to check but it hasn't been open or I'm unable to find the concierge to let me in the dressing room.  Will probably try again on my way home from work....gulp.

Hello World!

So, what's the whole idea here?  Well, I plan on writing about two of the things I enjoy most in life: knitting and theatre.  Primarily, I plan on using this blog as a journal for myself but if others find the content interesting, that's even better!

I've been knitting for about 7 years.   What that means is that I am not an experienced knitter who will hand out advice and tips.  Part of the purpose of this blog is to document what I'm learning and my growth as a knitter.  For about 5 years of those 7, I only knit afghans, scarves, and hats - I was absolutely terrified of ever trying to knit something that was supposed to actually fit someone (hats don't really fall into that category to me....sure, they have to fit but you have a lot more leeway there).  About two years ago, I finally knit my first garment - a super easy raglan shrug knit seamless in the round.  Since then, I've knitted quite a few of those shrugs for friends and family as well as some other sweaters.  Just this year, I started knitting socks and, I have to confess, I'm on a bit of sock-knitting binge.  In fact, I probably won't be knitting much else for awhile...sorry 'bout that.

Part of the reason I'm loving knitting socks so much is that they are small - they're portable and, even better, they don't take as long to complete.  Why is that good?  Well, mostly because I normally only have an hour or a couple of hours a day where I can knit.  And that is because, along with working a full-time job as a software tester (hence the software-related hello world title), I stage manage for two theatre companies in my city.

Theatre has been a passion of mine since I was three years old and my parents took me to see Romeo & Juliet.  After that, they couldn't tear me away from it.  I was involved in theatre all the way through high school and then even went so far to get a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Stage Management.  All in all, I've been stage managing for over 10 years now.   It is my true passion and, if I could make money doing it, that's what I would be doing.  We don't need to get into a discussion about why I'm not in New York City or Chicago pursuing that possibility of money, but, let's just say that it's not the time for that.  Perhaps someday, I'll take the plunge and pursue it as a true career but, for now, it remains a hobby that sort-of pays.

Well, that's my rather wordy intro.  Next time, I'll actually talk about my two current projects: Manly Socks and The Tempest.