Ooops! Where did that come from?

The Tall Guy was on a bike mission today that involved Alexandria. Never one to turn down an opportunity to buy beer from a grocery story (doesn't happen in MD) and a chance to pop into Knit Happens, I hopped in the car for a ride.
We both came home happy, him with a new bicycle (don't ask me about storing it, it's currently in the living room) and me with some yarn and a book.
This is Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio Sport. I think the colorway is Kalorama Circle or something like that... This is a local dyer (Karida) and I love her stuff. It's pink and fun...
and yes. This is Cookie A's new book!!! The store got a handful of copies in early and I had been hoping they still had some by the time I got there. I was in luck!

In other news, the Tall Guy and I walked into an open house in Columbia Heights today. We fell in love with a row house (Wardman style, my favorite!) that had original wood flooring, a backyard and parking and well....Is just out of our budget. Sigh.

progress on a sock

This has been my car and train and no thinking involved project this week that I mentioned on Monday. I think they're going so fast because I just keep wanting to knit til I see the next color!Also, I tried a new short row heel and I think I'm in love (sorry non knitters). You can see it explained here and there's even a YouTube video Basically? No wraps, no YO's... it's awesome, trust me. Personally, I think it may have just changed my life in terms of sock knitting. It will probably take a few more tries to make it super pretty, but for a first try? Not bad and the holes are minimal to zero. Yay! (Thanks to all who commented on their short row heel thoughts as well on Twitter)
Back to knitting the sock, sitting quietly for a bit (I have a killer knot in my shoulder, I'll blame work stress for it) and watching an episode of Gossip Girl (I know, I know, so bad.. but SO good!)

30?

It's hard to believe that I'm 30 today. I'm not one to spend much time navel gazing, but it really is a weird thing to wrap my head around.(Hours after I made my entrance) I look real happy.

(First Grade) Every child should have puppies born in their garage to a stray dog... the one closest one to me, under the mom's paw is my "Max" who was with the family for 15 or so years.
Why did anyone let me wear those glasses? (Freshman year of high school)

Three days before the wedding. (Age 29.5)
Also, sorry about the quality of the photos. It's kind of a long story on how I got these onto my computer.
And... really why did I try to blog yesterday? That post was riddled with typos. Mea Culpa.

Okay. Back to knitting and no more navel gazing for at least a few years!

some knitting?

Really?
Funny enough, the lack of my writing about EDIT: knitting, (not blogging) is not equal to the amount of knitting I'm actually doing right now. I'm actually knitting all the time, one thing or another, as usual.
See, here's some proof!
Last weekend I went to the HomespunYarnParty (it was awesome, of course) and while helping out at the Yarn Party booth, I picked up that super cute project bag.
Later on, while somehow staying within my budget, I bought a bunch of yarn. Whoo boy. I'm almost embarrassed to show you how much. That sock up there, though is what I'm obsessed with this week. It's the first section of striping for the Knitterly Things Wee Sock Kit in Vesper Yarn. I have no idea what kit I have and the package isn't in this room. So, I'll have to get back to you on that... but, what I can tell you is:
You should get one. The base is scrumptious and you can play with several of her colors, striping however you want. I'm casually lazy, so I'm going to split each of the four skeins in half, knit the sock toe up (using a variety of plain vanilla patterns), knit each color until I run out and then switch to the next. In theory, the two socks will be pretty closely matched and knitting toe up means I can knit til I'm out of yarn.
It's clear spring is here in DC... there's a hint of warmth in the air and my allergies have pretty much blown up. I'm going to stick to the stockinette projects for a bit here until the head starts to feel a bit less spacey.

Spring...

First daffodil of the season


Daffodils were among my Mom's favorite flower, I always think of her (and miss her) when they first pop up this time of year.

Favorite new show...

Or just new to me...
Flight of the Conchords. I'm in love. (just watching season one now)

Red Velvet

So, I just remembered as I went to take a photo of this adorable baby sweater that I'm working on with this yarn that the Tall Guy took our camera w/him on his camping trip this weekend. I have no idea where my old camera is either. Sigh. So, instead, I'll bring up one of my other favorite topics.
Cupcakes.
See, I realized I was early for my haircut yesterday, so I wandered down the street in Chinatown, vaguely remembering a friend sending me a link (thanks Suzette!) about a new cupcake bakery opening in the last few months. I found Red Velvet catty corner to Jaleo.
It, like many of the cupcake shops in DC, is tiny. The selection was decent and I picked up one each of: Southern Belle, B-Day, Summertime and Vanilla Bean. The site is flash, so I can't seem to give you a direct link to the menu page.
The cupcakes were pretty tasty, seemed fresh and the lemon cake of the Summertime had just the right amount of zip. I can't say the to-go boxes were that good...though they had the little dividers in them for each cake and I was careful with the box, by the time I got home, the cupcakes were all over the place and therefore you don't get a pretty picture.
Overall, I would say they're fairly equal to Hello Cupcake, but still, not as good as Georgetown Cupcake. Red Velvet is, however a heck of lot more convenient, given the less-than-a-block walk from the Gallery Place metro.
As always, if you have a suggestion, send it my way!!!

Cut!!!

My hair.
I just chopped off about 8 inches give or take...

Please excuse the photo quality, I took this while the Tall Guy was putting air in the tires, it was dark out and I was using a cell phone cam.
I love that light head/neck feeling after a big haircut!

Something about knitting? Really?

So, I've had a minor loss in knitting mojo...sometimes when I finish things I love and I try to start something new, it's hard to find something that may be as good as what I just knit... so, while I was working on a baby sweater and was working on a chevron scarf (until I lost a needle on the metro) I was also casting around a bit, looking for a new sock, or something that just caught my fancy... lo and behold, in the depths of my pattern stash, I found the Firestarter Socks.
They are so pretty! And the construction is unique, so I'm giving it a go...
Here's the yarn..
Up until yesterday, I was planning on trading or selling this... it's Claudia's hand painted and I had swatched it a few times and hadn't really liked it... it seems to be working for now, and I think it may be a super early Christmas gift in the making...we'll see how I feel at the end.
It looks like there will be plenty of knitting/Pia Television time this week (I have two Tudors discs sitting here) ! The Tall Guy is off on a work adventure and Jessie will be over tomorrow evening!

pretty...

If you're looking for a cute, interesting gift that's jewelry like without being gemlike, check this site out. I LOVE it!

Ani....

The Tall Guy and I went to see Ani DiFranco at the 930 Club last night... I love her so much.. I know she's not for everyone, but she holds a place close to my heart and it was great to see my 6' 4" husband rockin' out in a sea of women.
Because she has been writing and singing for so long, she mixes every set up, and it's not uncommon to not actually hear one of her "popular" songs at a show... last night, however was exciting because her second song was "As Is" which we used for part of our wedding. We probably would have used it for our first dance, but well.. not everyone would have quite got it (and maybe the word A#$hole in the first dance would have offended some folks, you never know)
The imbedded video is from when she played in DC last year, but you get the idea. The quality isn't fantastic, but that's all right.



The weather has turned amazing here in DC and we can only hope that it will continue. Keep your finger's crossed.

Light as a feather

Yup, this new computer rocks. And I won't say anything else about it, I promise.

Today, Annie got a package in the mail. She's going camping with the Tall Guy and his friends next week, so it was decided she needs to "carry her own weight"...no joke.

I think this is hilarious.

I started on a new scarf last week as my purse project in lieu of a sock... it's a little longer then the photo shows today, and I apologize for the photo quality, but these colors were giving me trouble the other night... It's a skein of koigu and a skein of Interlacements...

For the first time I'm using the ubiquitous pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. So far, its pretty good...there's only one pattern row out of every four rows and easily memorized (key for purse projects).

I think it will be an early night... it has been a chaotic week so far!

Almost forgot to show you

In the excitement of sweater knitting, computer buying, snow and all round craziness, I nearly forgot to show you my new socks!
Details:
Pattern: Ampersands (free!)
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiberarts Socks That Rock, Mediumweight in Space Dust
Needles: Size two addi lace...Magic loop, of course...
Notes: I love the way these socks fit, this may be another "go-to" pattern. I didn't change any of the pattern; the only thing I regret is not doing the cuffs longer since I have close to half a skein left over..any thoughts on what to do with a half skein of STR Medium?

The more true colors are in the bottom photos, not the top one...


A baby sweater for a friend in CA (no, not Erica!) is nearing completion w/out me even telling you about it! I'll show you shortly...
In the meantime, the great thing about living in DC is that while today was icy cold (around 25 and dropping tonight), it is going to be close to 70 on Saturday! Yay!

The drama is over...

For those following the computer excitement of this weekend, a decision and purchase was made.
After arduous debate, soul searching and the Tall Guy finding the refurbished section of the Apple website, I clicked purchase on a MacBookAir. Ahhhhh!!!! So excited.
So, I'll be sticking with Apple, getting a full size keyboard and having a computer that weighs 3 pounds and if I wanted to, I could stick in an interoffice envelope.
Today is looking much better.

Admit it.

I have a pretty cute dog.

It was a two hour delay for Fed's here in DC this morning. It would have been nice to have the day off, but really, that would be overkill for about 6 inches of snow.

Woecake or just computer woes

The Tall Guy and I have spent the majority of the day shopping for a new computer for me. I love my Apple iBook G4 from 2005, but it's tired, the screen goes out randomly (and Apple couldn't seem to fix it when I sent it in, still under extended warranty) and I'm starting to fear it's reliability. I'm not completely sold on buying another Apple for the sake of buying an Apple. I use my computer for web, blogging, picture management, and iTunes. Nothing too tricky.
So. We shopped. And shopped. Let me tell you. Best Buy was the pits for customer service. We walked into two, and both times had to fight to get service, received one word responses and, when we asked about a particular model, upon finding out the only one that was in stock was the floor model, instead of trying to show me something similar/trying to up sell me (it prob. would have worked), the sales guy stalked off. Awesome dude. Thanks.
So, it seems the best computer I saw all day, for the under $1000, under 13 inch screen and not too heavy was this guy.
The jury is still out, but I think I may be hanging up my Mac. I'll keep you posted.