Knitting backstage?....It will never catch on.

As I think I said in the very first post, I have been knitting on and off for years but only crocheting for the past 2 or 3. I do prefer crochet and this is for a variety of reasons, the main one being you see results really quickly with crochet and for an impatient soul like yours truly this is quite fortuitous. I do like to mix things up though so I tend to alternate my projects in order to ensure boredom does not set in. Knitting has become much more enjoyable for me in the past year and a half or so because I went on tour with The Phantom of the Opera.

If you are new to this blog, I am a singer/actress/professional northerner and last year I went on tour in the UK. To keep my brain ticking over, when I wasn't on stage, I would knit or crochet backstage. I can't read books in those situations as there are too many distractions and I can't concentrate. I end up reading the same page over and over but knitting/crochet is something that, although at times complicated, I find I don't have to concentrate on in the same way I do with a book. When I started the tour my knitting skills were basic but by the end, due to much help from another cast member, I was positively OK at it.
                                         
             

           

             

       

                     This is me as "Noreen - the wardrobe mistress"

                     in The Phantom of the Opera (Noreen is not the

                     official name of the character, she doesn't have 

one, but it seemed to suit her).

I began the tour able to knit scarves, that was about it. I am now about to finish knitting a jumper. I particularly enjoy making fancy gloves with or without fancy patterns (although a fellow soprano is the master of this. She makes gloves with owls, penguins, whatever you want knitted into them. All patterns she has devised in her head). My real talent (I say talent) lies in crochet and while on tour I made a number of hats, shawls, teddy bears, capes, tea-cosies, recepticles for electronic items (phone/ipod covers) etc... Some I made for myself some I made as presents for people. 

By the end of the tour we had formed quite the knitting club. At least 11 members of the cast were knitting during quiet moments in the show. All had differing abilities but all were so excited to see what each of us would come up with. Dogs were knitted along with Union flag cushion covers, scarves and snoods, cardigans, jumpers, gloves, elephant doorstops and even a garter for a fellow cast member's wedding. It was a joy to be a part of this knitting renaissance and I am positive that it kept us busy and it kept us sane!