Tuesday, November 28, 2006

New Day

Today is a new day.

Here are the bats I received from Grafton Fibers:


They are Wensleydale hand dyed wool ..... I can't wait to try them!!

Streaming Leaves is nearing completion, one more skein to go:


Pomotomus Socks are moving slowly. I love the pattern, but time limitations are holding me back right now:

We are in full swing of the busy holiday music season. Nutcrackers last weekend, Symphony this weekend, more Nutcrackers next week, then a week of Messiahs.

I can only squeeze a bit of knitting in late at night. But that is okay - busy is good!

Enjoy your week.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Happy Thanksgiving

May your Thanksgiving be filled with blessings and joy.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Sampler

Cotton, Merino and Silk
oh my!
Alpaca, Cashgora and Camel
to try!


My favorite postman brought me this yummy sampler from Hello Yarn just in time for my 1st spinning lesson tomorrow morning. Perfect timing, ya think??

Here is the start of Pomotomus from Knitty - only 3 rows so far .......

This is Lornas Laces Shepherd in Sherbet on #1 DPNs. I am a fairly loose knitter and always have to go down a size or two, I figured they would be right for the gauge. These are some itty-bitty needles but surprisingly easy to manipulate.

Any exciting plans for Thanksgiving?

DH and I are going out for dinner. I have cooked for the past few years, but since there are just the two of us, we always have way too many left-overs to eat. Nutcracker Ballet begins Friday, and we are busy working this and all weekends (now until Christmas) so that made the decision of dining out an easy choice for this year.

We will put up our Christmas lights Thursday morning and be outwardly ready for the season. Inside is a different story. Last year we were not in such a festive mood, so the interior decor was minimal. I think I will put up quite a bit more this time since I am feeling pretty darn good!

I just love garlands of green and bright white lights weaved throughout.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Back to the Land of the Living

Good Morning! Thanks for all your well-wishes. I am finally feeling almost normal again. Sharon - I hope you are better now too. That was some ugly virus going around!! It kept me under the weather for over a week. I hardly ever get sick so this was a very unpleasant awakening for me.

I forgot to take my knitting with me over the weekend, and was feeling so poorly, I probably wouldn't have done anything anyway. But - I this week I finished this little set for a friend who is due in December:

This is the Child's Placket Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. The matching hat (free pattern) is Bev's Baby Seed Cap . I used Simply Soft in Country Peach with #6 circ for the sweater and #3 dpns for the cap.

Enjoy the rest of your week- and stay well!

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Stuff

The weekend in Cleveland was amazing. I saw people I have not seen for years, including JM's family. The solo and chamber performances at the concert were magnificent. And playing in the Sinfonia was indeed moving. I managed not to cry until we were done. I feel blessed to have known John, to have my dear husband at my side for this tribute and to see my colleagues at such a lovely and moving event.

I awoke in the middle of last night with a majorly sore throat. And then had to get up way too early today to go play more children's concerts this morning (we also did some on Monday). I canceled my students for the afternoon and laid on the sofa feeling sorry for my self. Unfortunately (health wise) I have to go out of town again Friday for symphony. I can only hope I feel well enough tomorrow to do some practicing since I am playing principal and have not yet looked at the music! EEEEK! I am happy to be working, but sure wish I felt better....

Here is Streaming Leaves as of Monday pm. I knit just at the airport while we were waiting around. I like this pattern, though I must *really* concentrate or I get messed up. Right now it is moving along just fine...


After receiving Patootie's picture yesterday, I decided to knit another Placket Sweater (from Weekend Knitting) for a friend who is due Dec. 2. I had some pretty peach colored Caron Simply Soft and already have the first 4" knit. Pics soon to follow.

Now I must go to bed and try to get some sleep to help fend off this cold. As always, I appreciate your dear thoughts and comments - see you after the weekend. Hope yours is grand!

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

One Cutie Patootie

Remember this?

Here's the little Cutie Patootie I knit it for:

I just received this today and had to share!!!

Monday, November 06, 2006

Sinfonia


Here we are in the performance of the Sinfonia on the stage of Severance Hall:

We miss you, John.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Just in case...


...you think I have been lollygagging around playing with my wheel (which regrettably I have not!!) here is the Fiber Trends "Streaming Leaves" in that delicious BamBoo.

All was fine until I started the pattern repeat. The directions read begin at row 9. Did I see that? NOOOOOOOOO! I went back to row 1 and knit a nice chevron in the middle. So a-frogging I went. As you can see, we are back on track now.

It seems that I always have to go back near the beginning of any project I knit! Anyone else have that issue of not getting in the groove until some rows get ripped out or am I the only one?

I have not had a single moment to play with my beeee-you-ti-ful wheel yet. Since returning from symphony Saturday pm, playing a church service Sunday and a rehearsal Sunday afternoon, I have also taught too many students, waxed and assembled said wheel, played 4 children's concerts plus a rehearsal and am trying to practice the music for this weekend!

We are headed to Cleveland for John Mack's Memorial Concert (the article about the concert is at the bottom of this page if you want to read it. I could not get a link to work!!) and I had to buy something to wear. The performers' dress is supposed to be "church best." My wardrobe consists of formal black for performances and jeans or slacks for everyday and church best does not reside not in my closet... I thought this would special enough for the occasion (picture it over *nice* black pants).

And I just got an email from Danna asking if I would turn pages for the Liz, the pianist. I said yes since Liz asked for me and I have turned for her before, but am wondering why I always put myself in such stressful situations. Turning pages sounds like a piece of cake, but believe me, it is a demanding task! Especially in an event as important as this.

Maybe after returning Monday, I will have some wheel time - no wait! Friday is out of town again.... and I will be playing principal oboe with that orchestra - more stress!!! (sigh) Will I ever get to spin?

Here is the article from the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Musical salute to beloved oboe teacher

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Here's an experience that would have been music to John Mack's ultradiscerning ears: the sound of more than four dozen oboists and English hornists in a work by one of his students.

Somewhere, from his prime seat in double-reed heaven, the Cleveland Orchestra's former principal oboe soon will be listening to Margaret Griebling-Haigh's Sinfonia for Choirs of Oboes and English Horns. The piece is the grand finale Mack students from near and far will perform at a memorial tribute concert for their beloved teacher at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5, at Severance Hall.

Mack, who died July 23 at the age of 78, influenced generations of oboists for 36 years as a principal player in the Cleveland Orchestra and as a teacher at the Cleveland Institute of Music, New York's Juilliard School and the eponymous oboe camp he held annually in Little Switzerland, N.C.

Many of his students hold posts in orchestras around the world, and Mack's vividly expressive artistry is preserved on Cleveland Orchestra recordings led by George Szell, Lorin Maazel, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Pierre Boulez and others.

The idea to salute Mack began with Danna Sundet, who studied with him at CIM in the 1980s. Sundet originally set out to plan a surprise 80th birthday bash for Mack for next summer. When the master oboist died of complications from brain cancer in July, the Mack family asked Sundet to proceed with a memorial concert that they would sponsor.

"I'm really touched," Sundet said the other day. "His family is saying to us, his students, 'We've already had our closure. This is for oboe players who weren't able to be at the funeral.' They really have not experienced the sober reality that he's not with us."

Sundet and colleagues decided that one aspect of the memorial event should involve as many Mack students as possible. So they asked Griebling-Haigh, an oboist and composer who took lessons with Mack in high school and later, to write a grand finale.

The result is a nine-minute work for which 50 oboists and English hornists (so far) have signed up for the performance, led by Steven Byess. Griebling-Haigh celebrates the honoree by incorporating his name in a chorale based on the notes E-A-C-C#, or the equivalent - almost - of M-A-C-K.

"It's E as in mi, and K like a sharpened C," the composer said.

The chorale will be intoned by the entire ensemble, with groups of five solo players also shaping more complex and lyrical material. At this point, seven solo groups are scheduled to perform these sections, though the overall personnel could expand by concert time.

Along with the variations on M-A-C-K, the composer bases the score's penultimate section numerically within the scale system on the oboist's birth and death dates (10/30/27-7/23/06).
"You'd never notice it going by," said Griebling-Haigh.

In addition, she has woven in "a tiny little twisted section" based on Rossini's "La scala di Seta" overture, which has prominent oboe solos. (Mack can be heard playing them gorgeously on Szell's 1967 Cleveland Orchestra recording.)

The memorial concert, which is free and open to the public, will include spoken and musical tributes to Mack as chamber musician, teacher, orchestral musician, soloist and recitalist. Members of the Cleveland Orchestra will take part.

Sundet said she has sent out nearly 1,000 formal invitations to Mack students, friends and colleagues. Evidently, this number only touches the tip of the oboe iceberg. "We are keenly aware that there are a thousand more people who should be on our list, but we couldn't track them down," said Sundet. "It's just been a very good lesson in the generosity of his spirit that touched everyone."