05 July 2008
A L O V E L Y S I T E
So, I've been meaning to do this for a while: point out the very excellent web magazine Knitty. (Obviously, it's about knitting.) I fell in love with the place when I was writing a research report about the history of knitting, and found that they actually had information on my topic. I had said, "Okay, if I don't find something here, I swear I will switch topics!!" I pounded on the link with my mouse, and lo and behold, there it was: a huge article on the history of knitting, complete with more sources at the bottom. I wrote my report, got 100% on it, and then began to check back every so often for patterns and such. It is now my favorite pattern source.
So go check Knitty out if you haven't already discovered it!
(And, NO, I am not affiliated with Knitty in any way. I'm just posting this because I'm bored and wanted to write something.)
03 July 2008
M O V I E S , B O O K S , & H O L I D A Y S
So, I went to go see Kung Fu Panda yesterday with a friend. It was a cute movie, pretty funny, and, like all children's movies, had a moral at the end. What was the moral, you ask? Well, it's "There is no secret ingredient." In other words, stuff is special if you truly believe it is. In other words, the placebo effect really works. All in all, it was a good movie, though it'd probably be a better movie to rent rather than go see.
I also hit the motherload today at my local Half-Price Books: a leather-bound, excellent condition, gold gilded Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy anthology!! So, that is what I plan to start reading... soon. Then I'll write a review and summary. I swear.
+EDIT+ I'm now reading Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams. Check out my synopsis and review! (07.04.2008)
And, lastly, happy Independence Day to America!!
29 June 2008
A F A I R L Y P O I N T L E S S P O S T
Ah..... I've been bad...... It's been more than a week..... Sorry..... And I'm still not reading a book.....
BUT! I do have some fun stuff to report: I knit a wombat and a clownfish in the past week.
I got the patterns for both out of World of Knitted Toys by Kath Dalmeny. The patterns are very cute, but a little tedious. The wombat was knit on US 3 needles, and the fish was knit on US 2 needles, both using scrap worsted weight yarn that had been floating around, begging to be made into something.
20 June 2008
I ' M B A A A A C K . . .
Yep, I'm back from vacation! And so my crazy life begins anew... But vacation was fun. We went to Maine and stayed along the coast (including on a llama farm) before moving inland and going on a moose spotting tour.
The food up on Maine was good too-- lots of blueberries and seafood, both of which Maine is known for.
And here's some good news... I've made it my goal to update here at least once a week...Now, let's see if that happens come July...
26 May 2008
D O N ' T F E E L N E G L E C T E D . . .
Yes, I know........... It's been nearly a month.... Sorry, all right? My schedule imploded and I have barely had time to sleep this past month. So be happy you're getting a post at all.
On the happier side, I'm leaving on vacation at the end of May and won't be back until mid-June! And then all of my summer obligations start! Fun! (It really will be fun, though.....)
Also, there're still a bit of costume news even though the theatre season is technically over: Since all of the senior costumers are leaving, chances are very high that I will be the head student costumer next year! (Woo, more work....)
And I'm still working on that new layout... Once again, the whole no time thing...
And here's a pretty picture I made for you all!
9 May 2008
J U S T S A Y H I
So, I'm not really posting because I have anything to say, I was just feeling guilty about neglecting this place. I'm thinking I'll put up a new layout for summer, maybe something green and nature-y. We'll see.
I've recently fallen in love with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and more specifically their CD "Beethoven's Last Night." I love their sound and the songs are extremely catchy without being annoying. Give them a listen! (Man, that's a corny phrase!)
2 May 2008
F I N A L L Y , A N U P D A T E !
All right, so, Pirates is in its final week, and the run has been awesome! We have been getting compliments left and right, even for the weaker performances.
Also, here's something totally new: for the past few days, I have been attending try-outs for my school's competition cheerleading team. Despite the fact that I missed the most important day for learning the stuff for the actual try-out, I made the team. What's more, only me and one other person from my grade made the cut! In all, only five were cut, but I'm still happy!
Oh, and another thing: we still have the old radiators in school, and they are still used. And they are still on in the building. So, on Tuesday, I accidentally leaned against the metal pipe leading to the radiatior itself and ended up with a second-degree burn on the back of my knee.
I'm also reading a new book.
23 Apr 2008
A W E S O M E C O S T U M E S !
Sorry for the lack of updates lately. Life seems to have decided to attack me all at once, so I've had like no time these past few weeks, scrambling to finish the costumes in time. But I did, and they are excellent, as is the show in general! Only, now I've got the songs running throug my head. And they won't stop.
I'll post more later, maybe some pictures if I can. :)
11 Apr 2008
C O S T U M E S G A L O R E
So, we've been taking stock of who's costumed and who isn't. All of the police are costumed courtesy of moi, most of the pirates are more or less costumed, and the wards of the Major General are all at least half costumed. And this opens on the nineteenth. Argh.
Also, I'm reading a new book.
07 Apr 2008
M O R E C O M P U T E R A R T
The following would be computer art picture number two. This one was supposed to show slowly ascenting motion. Well, I dunno if I did manage to do that, but I think it looks pretty cool.
Oh, and I have no idea what those wavy things are, either. I just made them.
03 Apr 2008
S Q U A R E S & S T R A W B E R R I E S
Squares first: here's my first movement picture from computer art. The object was to create an abstract, rapidly falling image. So, here's my attempt at that:
I don't think that it's that bad, personally.
Now for the strawberries: in biology, we extracted DNA from strawberries. No kidding. And all you need is a plastic bag, a strawberry, liquid detergent, chilled alcohol, a funnel, a cheesecloth, and a test tube or test-tube-like container. Seriously. You mash the berry in the bag, add 10 mL of the detergent, mix that up more, filter the juice out of the solution by pouring it through the cheesecloth and funnel into the test tube, adding an equal amount of alcohol, and mixing a bit. Then, in the alcohol, white clumps of slimy stuff form: that's DNA, all condensed into blobs. :)
Oh, as for costume crew: more police jackets are done, there are 18 nightgowns to be made, 25 dresses to be modified/made, and a whole mess of pirates to costume. We're still in better shape than we were a week ago, though.
29 Mar 2008
S I X P E O P L E & C O U N T I N G
Costumes again today, and we now have six workers total and one of the actor's mothers, too. I finally finished that ---- nightgown and then put together the costume for the Chief of Police and am now in the middle of another police officer's coat. Two of the Marjor General's wards' dresses are made, and the Pirate King's coat is almost done, too. So we're trucking along, but we still have 49 people to costume by April 19. Well, 48; the Chief of Police is done.
28 Mar 2008
B U N C H A S T U F F
So, a few things to update on:
Computer art class: We've moved on to rhythm and movement and visual dynamics, which I most definently stink at. I'll see if I can get some of my work on here for your viewing horror.
Costume crew: Yesterday, we had 5 people total. Today, we started with two and that was reduced to one. And to add to that, neither of the staff supervisors showed, either, so I was all alone. :( But it ended up all right since I accomplished a lot. I taught myself to add elastic to sleeve cuffs using bias tape: I even freehanded the sewing of the tape to the cuff and it came out perfect! But, when I went to surge the bottom of the nightgown, I broke not one, but two needles and had to use the tip of a 3/8 inch drill bit to replace them!
Oh, and I'm reading a new book; there's a link to my review in the sidebar.
24 Mar 2008
C O S T U M E C R E W U P D A T E
Aright, so, the costume crew for the Pirates of Penzance? We had an all day work day today, and the only people that showed up besides the two teachers were me and one of the teacher's daughters. Wow.
On the up side, I'm almost done with a nightgown for one of the wards of the Major General, and some of the police-people have been straggling in to be fitted for suits (which still need to be modified into police uniforms by moi). But whatever. What's costuming 49 people in less than two weeks alone? *A death sentence, that's what*
23 Mar 2008
H A P P Y E A S T E R ! ! !
Yeah, so, the weather is crazy where I live. It's now been snowing more or less nonstop for three days straight. Man, is it Christmas or Easter today? :)
And, in honor of this very snowy Easter, I have this very cute bunny picture I made for you:
I used the tutorials here and here to make it. (And I made some of my own modifications, too.) Happy Easter!
19 Mar 2008
M O V I E S & S T U F F
So, yesterday, I went to see the movie Penelope with a friend of mine. We didn't expect it to be that good, and we were right. The plot was predictable and the acting wasn't that good, either. It had a very "moral-of-the-story" ending, too. In fact, just about the only thing we liked about it were the costumes. We really liked Penelope's coat (see below):
Sorry about the lousy pic; I searched and searched, but I could not find a decent shot of her coat! Sheesh.
Right, one other thing: sorry for the lack of pics to go with entries, but currently, the only camera I am able to get my hands on is a film one, so by the time any pictures are ever developed, the relevance is gone. I'll get one this spring, don't worry! (Okay, fine, so it is more or less spring.......)
But not where I am. It's 40 degrees out and there's still snow on the ground! Incredible.
17 Mar 2008
H A P P Y S T . P A T ' S D A Y
Spring break- w00t! And that means seeing friends and shopping till I drop! I have spent almost all of break so far with at least one of my friends. Which reminds me, I have increased the number of people working costumes from one to four plus two mothers! YAY! (Can you tell I just had a lot of sugar?)
Also, today, I went to the mall to have my makeup done at the Clinique counter since the stuff I have now isn't really working for me. And I came away with a bunch of stuff- way the heck more than I came for. Man, I'm such an impulse buyer. Or maybe I'm just a wimp when it comes to salespeople. Whatever, I like my stuff, even if it cost an arm and a leg.
13 Mar 2008
T I S O N L Y M E
So, I am working costumes for my school's production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzancce, and I am the only one. More than a dozen signed up, but I'm the only one that actually shows up for the work sessions. So, now, I have TWO WEEKS to costume FORTY PEOPLE.
Methinks I am doomed. But at least break is about to start. So that's something.
Oh, and the computer art thing? I made a few changes in class, and ended up with a total of 35 layers. That is a lot, lemme tell you. I went a bit crazy, you see.
10 Mar 2008
I ' M F L Y I N G ! ! !
Right, so, Mondays are out to get me, I swear. Prove it, you say? Well, allow me to direct your attention to Exhibit A- my flight this morning.
I was walking from German class down to third floor, and I take two steps just fine, and then- whoop! Nothing beneath me! I literally sail through the air and I hear all the guys on the staris give a collective "OOOH!" I hit the stairs and proceed to bump down the rest of the flight, head-first. When I hit the bottom and stop, I just lie there in agony for a moment and completely ignore that there are twenty-some-odd people looking at me and that my stuff is everywhere. In that moment, one my friends yells "Oh my god- Margaret's dead!" and then laughs hysterically. And she proceeded to laugh whenever she saw me for the rest of the day.
I guess it was rather funny, but I still walk with a limp from that landing.
09 Mar 2008
T H I S W O U L D B E M E
Hiya, my name's Margaret and welcome to my blog. Some info about me is on the side, along with some fun links. This is the third incarnation of my website, although the second still exists at this place's sister site. Please check it out!
I plan to use this blog for pretty much anything, especially for posting my knitting and crocheting projects, with some other stuff.
And speaking of other stuff, here's something: I have to create something using emphasis for my computer art class on Monday, so I came up with this as a prototype:
Those are fish, by the way. I created this with Paint Shop Pro 8 and a total of fifteen layers. I can't turn this in for the project, though; I have to recreate it with Photoshop at school.
We'll see just how well that goes.