Updated blog

Posted on April 16, 2006 by sogalitno

Knitting girl

I spent the afternoon redoing and updating and generally cleaning up my blogs.  This one and my other one (about my other life – music and etc).  It feels good to get them all in order.  something i have been meaning to do for awhile.  and today i was listening to PARSIFAL (a wonderful recording by Rafael Kubelik which was webcast by a german radio station) and was pretty much enthralled and planted at my laptop listening to it (almost five hours)….so hence the computer work.

Updates
-Added an album of my wips with progress and info for each
-Started an album of finished objects (need to take photos of those items i still have and try to get digital photos from my recipients)
-Cleaned up posts adding categories etc
s
-Cleaned up lists and links

Progress report on WIPS

The baby shawl is growing and is reaching the point where it may be time to stop the first lace border pattern and figure out an edging.  As with all lace its a bit of a mess and hard to spread out as its on a circular needle (60") and to take it off would be a HUGE pain – i dont' even KNOW – or WANT to know – how many stitches i have by now – but its hundreds.   

And there may be a crisis coming as I may be running out of yarn – even though I ordered a ten bag pack from Elann a month ago for this and thought it would be enough.

And also did a bit of cleaning up of the hard drive and documents and patterns – moving them to one folder and organizing in categories.  Since I finally bought a printer (a really nice one – CANON PIXMA iP4200 Computer and Photo Printer ) and its great to finally have a printer at home (my last one broke over two years ago – dont ask me why it took so long to buy another one).

[At the same time, I also bought a vacuum cleaner – it was recommended by Consumer Reports  – HOOVER U5262-910 EmPower Upright Bagless Vacuum -  A bagless upright vacuum with a folding handle for extra storage space / Hush Mode for quiet cleaning / No Assembly Required / Coral Orange

  Havent used it yet – I will be trying it out probably tomorrow.  (the side effect of my CFS is that somethings can seem overwhelming and it takes awhile to get the energy to deal with them – like figuring out something new).

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KUBELIK!!

Posted on April 16, 2006 by sogalitno

I stumbled across this listing in Operacast today 

SPECIAL PROGRAM
RICHARD WAGNER: PARSIFAL


Musikalische Leitung: Rafael Kubelik
Studioproduktion aus dem Herkulessaal der Münchner Residenz vom Mai 1980  (4 hrs., 30 min.)

Parsifal
Parsifal: James King
Gurnemanz: Kurt Moll
Amfortas: Bernd Weikl
Klingsor: Franz Mazura
Kundry: Yvonne Minton
Titurel: Matti Salminen
Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks


ok so have i been living under a rock!  i am transfixed … Act III has just begun and i have not MOVED since i tuned in (unfortunately i missed the first half hour of Act I… and didnt start rec#$ding until Act II ).

Die Meistersinger

Of course i was overwhelmed by Kubelik’s Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg  when i also stumbled across that on a European radio station webcast some years ago – and also came in late – but only right after the overture of Act One so i have most of it .  And it became a favorite ipod item since even surpassing my favorite MET with James Morris and Heppner and Mattila ;o 

Now i see that there is also a Kubelik LOHENGRIN 

oh dear, well I guess i will have to head here and buy.

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Muriel Spark has died

Posted on April 15, 2006 by sogalitno

Uspark

Muriel Spark, Novelist Who Wrote ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,’ Dies at 88

Muriel Spark, Novelist Who Wrote ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,’ Dies at 88 – New York Times.

 

Interesting connection – i played Sandy in THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE in high school (an all girl Catholic school and an environment with many parallels to the play).

A longer interesting tribute from the TIMES
Blithe Spark dies still in her prime – Sunday Times – Times Online

TIMES Official Obit     Dame Muriel Spark

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My sister’s book….

Posted on April 8, 2006 by sogalitno

Delaune_aftermath2
Aftermath of Dreaming
by DeLaune Michel

Other than the little problem that she wakes up screaming in the
middle of the night, things are going great for Yvette Broussard. Her
jewelry design career is taking off, she's back with her sort-of
boyfriend, and best of all, she no longer thinks about her
once-in-a-lifetime love, international movie star Andrew Madden. Until
a chance encounter with him changes everything.

Swept up by memories of her estranged father, and juggling the
demands of her bride-to-be sister and her male best friend who is
jealous of other men, Yvette is plunged into an obsession with Andrew
which ultimately forces her to confront the past she thought she had
left behind. Set against the glittering worlds of Los Angeles and New
York, Aftermath of Dreaming explores with both humor and pathos the
universal themes of abandonment and forgiveness in a knockout debut
that's sure to be one of the most talked about books of the season.

Read an excerpt
Read reviews here

BUY THE BOOK from an independent bookstore through BookSense, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble.

DeLauné Michel was raised in south Louisiana in a literary family
that includes her uncle André Dubus, her mother Elizabeth Nell Dubus,
and her cousin James Lee Burke. She has worked as an actor in theater,
television, and film. The first two stories Ms. Michel wrote won
recognition by the Thomas Wolf Short Fiction Award, and later work won
the Pacificus Foundation Literary Award. Her first novel, Aftermath of
Dreaming, will be published by William Morrow in April of 2006. She is
currently working on her second novel which will be published by them,
as well.

She is the founding producer of Spoken Interludes, a salon-style
reading series where award-winning, best-selling, and up-coming writers
read their own work. Through Spoken Interludes, she developed, has
taught in, and continues to run outreach writing programs for at-risk
teenagers. Ms. Michel's husband, Dan Fried, is an owner of H & H
Photography Studio which specializes in event photography. If you would
like to see their work, please visit their website. Ms. Michel lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband and son.

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My sister’s book….

Posted on April 7, 2006 by sogalitno

Delaune aftermath
Aftermath of Dreaming
by DeLaune Michel

Other than the little problem that she wakes up screaming in the middle of the night, things are going great for Yvette Broussard. Her jewelry design career is taking off, she’s back with her sort-of boyfriend, and best of all, she no longer thinks about her once-in-a-lifetime love, international movie star Andrew Madden. Until a chance encounter with him changes everything.

Swept up by memories of her estranged father, and juggling the demands of her bride-to-be sister and her male best friend who is jealous of other men, Yvette is plunged into an obsession with Andrew which ultimately forces her to confront the past she thought she had left behind. Set against the glittering worlds of Los Angeles and New York, Aftermath of Dreaming explores with both humor and pathos the universal themes of abandonment and forgiveness in a knockout debut that’s sure to be one of the most talked about books of the season.

Read an excerpt
Read reviews here

BUY THE BOOK from an independent bookstore through BookSense, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble.

DeLauné Michel was raised in south Louisiana in a literary family that includes her uncle André Dubus, her mother Elizabeth Nell Dubus, and her cousin James Lee Burke. She has worked as an actor in theater, television, and film. The first two stories Ms. Michel wrote won recognition by the Thomas Wolf Short Fiction Award, and later work won the Pacificus Foundation Literary Award. Her first novel, Aftermath of Dreaming, will be published by William Morrow in April of 2006. She is currently working on her second novel which will be published by them, as well.

She is the founding producer of Spoken Interludes, a salon-style reading series where award-winning, best-selling, and up-coming writers read their own work. Through Spoken Interludes, she developed, has taught in, and continues to run outreach writing programs for at-risk teenagers. Ms. Michel’s husband, Dan Fried, is an owner of H & H Photography Studio which specializes in event photography. If you would like to see their work, please visit their website. Ms. Michel lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband and son.

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good lys

Posted on March 31, 2006 by sogalitno

i was in need of longer circular needles – 60inch to be precise.  also ill and not able to get out (even four blocks -down and up a hill) to the LYS in my new (6 months) village…. sent an email to said LYS [Flying Fingers] and received a lovely email saying they could prepare the order and someone could pick it up.

that didnt happen – so i sent an order in (after working on other projects – i realllllly needed to get back to this project (the baby shawl/blanket) and was prepared to wait several days for the needles in the mail.

surprise!  this morning in my inbox was an email confirming the order and a note saying that the LYS's "yarn guy" would be leaving the package on my doorstep today!

wow!  how lovely! and yes it was there this afternoon and i spent sometime this evening putting the overcrowded stitches on to the new 60" needle and knitting.

bliss – i need some good lace knitting right now.

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still knitting..

Posted on March 28, 2006 by sogalitno

still sick.  doctor was away last week, should hear from him about the tests this week.  its a real pain this illness – no energy and believe me, especially when i have my study to finish organizing – its about half done.  i just look at the boxes left to unpack and sort thru and the boxes of yarn (and more in the basement storage area) that i need to sort out and i get tired and go back to the sofa or to bed. sigh

and my sleeping is all screwed up – i sleep about 10-12 hours a day but not all at once and not at traditional times. 

anyway, i am at a standstill on shawl i am designing for the baby of a friend – its a square shawl (see previous entries). and now i have run out of space on the 30" needle… so i need to get some 60" cause this is only the half way point.   

the cable/lace cardigan – still need to finish off the sleeves (decide on how long and finish both off) then steek the front and then finish the neck and block and sew the sleeves in and figure out buttons.

started work on a UFO – an aran blanket for my nephew (he turned two Jan and i started it the year of his birth). just need about 5 more inches or so – need to decide how long – and then finish it off but at least its giving me something somewhat mindless to work on.

the problem with being home ill is the temptation to order online – i see sweater after sweater i want to make and while i HAD a very uptodate inventory in excel – i cant locate the most recent version and so the only copy i have is a year old before i rearranged all my yarn into boxes complete with index cards with the inventory.  so i have to gather all the cards and re enter all that info into the spreadsheet.  one more thing to do when i feel better.

ok, off to try to sleep.

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where do we get our talents?

Posted on March 16, 2006 by sogalitno

DesignerBlog.writes…

My Italian grandfather had been a highly successful marble sculptor in New York, producing statury and architectural elements–columns, capitals, cornices, etc–that are still visible all over the city. Is it genetic? I never knew him, as he died long before I was born, and any artistic impulse jumped a generation the way this sort of thing so frequently does. My father had no artistic ability or desire of any kind. My grandfather was also deeply into opera and Italian culture in general. His legacy has been bedrock in my life. I so wish he could have known me and my career. We would have been great friends.

who knows where our talents come from?  as one of five girls, growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in a city deprived of any major arts and cultural influence, nevertheless we all were endowed and have pursue(d) artistic endeavours thru our lives – in all forms – theatre, literature, painting, music and dance.

still, its interesting to wonder why we each have our own interests – mine was/is music (piano, singing) and theatre and dance (ballet) other sisters are artists and writers and performers/directors.   certainly BR did not have much in the way of major artists – and not a lot of performances/events to attend.

i guess it was mainly the teachers we encountered at our school – a private catholic all girls school administered by incredibly gifted and instinctive nuns and lay teachers.  my eyes and ears were opened not by the nun i studied piano with (actually i was far too advanced for her but thats another story) but by the choral director –  a Jean Brodie character.  high school is a tumultuous time as it is and she created more drama and excitement still.  it was a crazy time. 

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FO

Posted on March 16, 2006 by sogalitno

The lace poncho is finished.  still need to block it – but i am still sick so when i have the energy will do it. 

In true obsessed-knitter fashion, i started another WIP –

SmlcablelacecardiganThe Lace and Cables Cardigan from ELANN – that i have wanted to do for a long time.  i had started it last summer in a purple Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece but decided to do it now in a purple Peruvian Collection Highland Wool – Grape Heather .  i wanted to do it in the round with steeks.  i did the center steek but i chickened out for the arms and did the splits.  i was confused about all the decreases and so i divided them into fr and back. 

[i just read thru the notes in the SWEATERS from CAMP book by Meg Swansen and see how to include the increases etc with the steeks – see the sections about the “pouch” ]

anyway. the body is done.  and both sleeves except of the finished length – i need to measure them against my arms and make a decision about the length.

funny, one side effect of this illness is that i cant deal with decisions and anything that requires much thinking and caculating – not much energy for that.   but i figure at some point i will make a decision.  and then its just preparing the steek and cutting it and tacking it down and finishing off the outside edges, sewing the sleeves in and blocking –

more fun to start another project… but while i am waiting for my yarn order from Elann (had to get more yarn for the baby shawl since i ran out – and of course ordered some more yarn for me – another cables and lace cardigan – i love this pattern – but in the lighter weigh of the P.C. Baby Cashmere.  and this time i wont add the border to the front two sides when i do the  steeks but will add it at the end – the mistake i made on this one.) i am fiinishing up the shrug – still a few more inches – why are the last few inches the hardest?

Posted in Knitting, WIPs | 1 Comment

more update

Posted on March 16, 2006 by sogalitno

the good news – its not the flu.

why is that good news?   three weeks sick?  this is NOT the flu

but the bad news – its not the flu.

its no fun when your body fails you.

at least for my sanity i have knitting, TCM, NetFlix, Audible and all those operas i have recorded over the years that i can listen to … and my two cats who seem thrilled that i am home otherwise i will be mad very soon. 

 

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