greetings from the motherland!

ha ha. okay. apparently, New Hampshire air makes me a little loopy.
What's not to love really, when you're home, take a stroll (alright 2 miles each way) downtown for a beer on an outdoor deck on the water and stroll back?
Before we get too far away from the Michigan trip of two weeks ago, I wanted to show you one of my yarn acquisitions purchased at Artisan Knitworks.
This lovely fiber is Urban GypZ
Fiber: Superwash Sock Merino
Colorway: Oi Vey!
Yardage: 550-560 Yards!!!!!!

Needless to say with that much yarn, I'm tempted to make knee socks... or a cute baby sweater or something. Any suggestions would be welcome!
Back to NH time, but I'll report more when the Tall Guy and I return to DC. I won't be traveling again until the beginning of August. Yay!

The weekend in review

Whew. I am finally sitting down on the couch after a hectic, but great weekend.
On Friday, the Tall Guy and I met some friends for dinner and then strolled (alright, for DC-ers, we hiked from Woodley Park to the Cathedral and then up to the AU metro stop) to the Cathedral to check out the light display that was being superimposed on the front. I have the info somewhere and its evading me, but here are some pics. (sorry if they're a bit blurry, it was hard to get a good shot with trees, people, lighting etc)
On Saturday morning, we got up early, dropped Annie off at the PetHotel and drove up to Gettysburg. I had decided we needed to celebrate our last "dating" anniversary before we get hitched. What a romantic place to celebrate... the site of the bloodiest battle ever fought on US Soil, right? That said, the weather held out, we learned a ton (we're both history nerds), drove the battlefield, had good food, and...
I even made it into a Yarn shop! Misty Mountain Fiber is in downtown Gettysburg. What a cute little store. The owner (her name is evading me) was so nice...I picked up a bag of locally produced (local sheep, hand spun, hand dyed) dk weight yarn that should be enough for me to make a stripe-y sweater. I could have come home with a wheel, but not yet. One day...

Today we made our way back to DC, with a stop off in Frederick, MD. It has such a nice little historic downtown! We'll be going back one day on a Saturday, since a lot of places seemed to be closed on Sundays. When we picked Annie up from the boarder, she was thrilled to see us, though once in the car, I felt like she was glaring at me rather indignantly from the backseat. She's been asleep all night, so I'm pretty sure she didn't sleep a wink the entire time we were gone.

Finally, a work in progress! I started this sock on the way out of town, and the Tall Guy was gracious enough to drive the whole weekend, so I didn't get too far, but a good start. So far, so good. I talked about the pattern etc. for this here. The color is pretty on-spot, though I know it looks dark, it was the best way for me to get a clear shot of the stitch pattern. Its pouring here in DC, I'm so not excited about going to work tomorrow!

slowly but, surely

The house is starting to resemble a dwelling..and before the behavior actually occurs, I should fess up... I may not be as good a blogger coming up here for a little while... the Tall Guy and I wandered into Best Buy last night and somehow in an event that felt more like a drug deal then it did a retail transaction, I (ME not the Tall Guy!) am now the proud owner of a Nintendo Wii! When my Aunt and Uncle were over for lunch today, we even got them playing and discussing if they should get one. So much fun. Its really the only game system I've ever played for more then 30 seconds where I have fun, don't break out into a cold sweat or want to vomit because the graphics are so weird (like... what was that Bond back in college?)
Our good purchasing luck continued as the Tall Guy found an open box LCD TV like he had been looking for (not too big, 32 inches I think) and then... today, we were going to Goodwill to drop off more stuff for charity and what-do-you-know..(quick digression here). If you know anything about me on the outside world, its that I'm a bit of a denim girl.. not totally nuts, but I love my Diesels and my Sevens etc. I'm little and when I find things that fit right, I get them... it been ages and ages since I bought any new jeans as it was one of the things I cut out of the budget in efforts to save... so, today we go to Goodwill, walk in quick to see if there's anything interesting and I find...not one...but two pairs of paper, denim and cloth jeans! In my size! The best part? They were $6.98 each and I'm pretty sure one pair has never been worn! Seriously. Awesome.
And on to yarn and knitting content...I can't believe its taken me this long to show you all the sweater... I've been wearing it on the regular for over a month now! Its not the best light, but you get the idea (and look, our bedroom is in not-too-bad shape!)

And, before I go, a little yarn pr0n for ya...I was at the Loopy Ewe website this week, ordering a few presents for fellow crafters (shhhh, you can't see...) and a few skeins of Yarn Love fell into my cart. How could I not resist they are totally my colours! Its the Elizabeth Bennet line, which is 65% Superfine Merino, 20% bamboo and 15% silk. I may leave a few projects unfinished just to cast this stuff on!!!

Tomorrow, I promise, in honor of Malabrigo March, you'll see photos of my min-clap in progress. In the meantime, back to kicking the Tall Guy's butt in Wii Bowling!

Yay for Fridays!

It's the most overcast its has been all week right now, but its sunshine in my heart. Okay, not really. But, it is Friday and I'm looking forward to a fun weekend of Wineries in Va, Yoga and other good stuff.


The Loop Ewe struck again the other day, in the middle of a bad-work afternoon. Somehow two balls of the Bamboo/Crystal Palace sock yarn are now on thier way to me. I had returned this yarn to Stitch DC some time ago, but then decided to give it another go. I love this colorway too!

In other news, the Giant Sock is nearing completion. Yes, I'm well aware that the tall guy won't be wearing hand knit wool socks again until about November, but that's okay. I'm on the cuff now, and he doesn't like "tall" socks, so this will be pretty simple.

Happy Weekend to all! This is my more calm weekend of the month. Ha. Next weekend is a wedding and meeting the parents. Wish me luck!

Holy Sheep

Hello Hello! I have survived my work week and managed to upload the pictures I had promised. First... sheep. This is just one of zillions at MSW and to be perfectly honest, one of the only pictures I took there. I was too overwhelmed to take pictures. Sad but, true. Here we have some alpaca sock yarn! I think its more of a dk/worsted weight then fingering weight (dk and worsted are heavier/thicker yarn then fingering) but, that's okay. I think there's a good chance it may become a chevron scarf, thanks to Janet. Either way, I've discovered how soft alpaca can feel! One of my girls, Yvonne has had some personal experience with alpacas due to her boyfriend's Mom owning a... well... bunch (what the heck is a bunch of alpacas?a herd?) and I've invited myself to Vermont when then go one day to meet them in person.
This roving is made from Soy and is called Soy Silk. I've been fascinated lately by what can be done with by-products of materials such as soy and bamboo. The hippie in me loves it. I'm not sure how it will be to work with for a novice spinner, but its really fun to look at in my living room
And.. this roving is a merino/tencel blend. So, the picture looks blurry, but its because the tencel sort of sheens off of it. I'm not that terrible of a photographer! The picture doesn't quite do the color justice either, its a fantastic deep sea green.
And.. my new spindles! I am very excited for these guys. I've been playing a little, but really haven't had time to sit down and try it this week. I'm hoping for time this weekend, but that's looking questionable.
I have a few more pics for you, but will hold off til tomorrow.
In the meantime, its an amazing day here in DC, the heat is coming in, but the humidity doesn't seem to caught up quite yet. I'm off to prepare for a "date". I don't normally advertise milestones, but it appears today marks one year of the Tall Guy and I being. ..well, whatever it is that we are, mostly what I like to see as a great team. It's insane how fast time seems to go by now...

Okay.... the day got better.

I got home from a long day today to a very (very) belated birthday card sent via my aunt from my grandma. The best part? A check! Yay! I'm not one to get excited about such things, but it was totally unexpected... I mean at 28 do you always except a check for your birthday a month and a week late? I don't! So. Now. A slight excuse to buy yarn this weekend!
Also since I haven't been home in good light, I'm giving you the stock photo of the Lime & Violet yarn I just got. How can you not love these ladies?

And, yes. Its true. I do have a domestic side that is starting to fight its way out of me mostly via baked goods (the cupcakes went over well at work) and a reduced desire to go to crowded crazy bars anymore. I am, however a creature of cycles, most noted by those that have lived with me, so this too will likely pass.

Go NH!

I have a deep love for my home state and this weeks ruling by the state lawmakers made me hop up and down and do a little dance. The Governor has said he'd sign the civil union bill so it looks like its a shoo-in.
I won't wax poetics on my socio-political beliefs, but I really do think this country needs to get used to the idea that there is more then one way to be in a strong relationship. The bible shouldn't be the only way to interpert family values...
Yay New Hampshire!In other news, I only have about an inch done on the new giant sock so, I'm not sharing. Sorry. I also ordered a skein of Lime and Violet handpainted sock yarn the other day and it just came in the mail. It is SO pretty, but the light isn't good for a picture, so I'll hold off.

Promises promises

Tonight. Or tomorrow if I get sidetracked.. I promise to post pics of:

• My aunt's amazing needlepoint in better detail.
• The art project from this weekend. The tall guy and I tried our hands at dying yarn. He's better than me.
• The giant sock continues...

And... as the giant sock continues, I look longingly at two skeins of yarn patiently waiting to become socks as well. One of Lisa Souza in Little Devil and one of Fleece Artist in Nova Scotia, which while I swear I have and Sherri at the Loopy Ewe thinks is her favorite (according to the cute hand written note she sent me with my package... I LOVE the Loopy Ewe!), it doesn't seem to appear ON the Fleece artist website.

So, sorry no eye candy at the moment, but allergies, work and yoga/work are kicking my butt right now. I promise to deliver the goods soon.

Look out sweater, here I come!!!

I decided in the middle of the night a few days ago that in order to be a true knitter, I must suck it up and make a sweater. I don't know why, but for the last 4 or so years, I've avoided it. Give me socks, give me anything, but the idea of a sweater scared me. So, after all this time, I decided to just put on my game face and do it.
I went to two knitting stores today after not making it to Alexandria in an attempt to check out a non-profit fiber place by my friend Tom's house. If you've been to Springwater Fiber and have an opinion let me know.
The first was one I hadn't been in in ages, and while they are friendlier then I remember, it wasn't really my scene. Knit and stitch = bliss is "Okay". I'm not sure if I'm just biased against the name. For some reason it annoys me. It's sort of lame name, right? Anyway, after carrying around yarn for awhile, talking to one employee who was nice, I ended up leaving there empty-handed.
Minor digression: As I made my way over to my second stop in Chevy Chase from Bethesda, I realized that sometimes you just need to wander around a knitting store by yourself. Its strictly "my time" and sort of like yarn/knitting fantasies (you know, reading the blogs, looking at your yarn, reading books...isn't this normal?) I think a lot of what I love about knitting is the process surrounding it. .
Back to the story: I finally made it into the third of the Stitch DC stores and the only one I hadn't been into at least twice! I came out with a lighter wallet but a good bit of yarn. Jess, who I had seen before at the other stores was totally awesome. I thought I would hug her when we had a whole conversation about lame sweater patterns. It sealed the deal when I looked down. I realized that in between her cropped jeans and chuck taylors appeared to be hand knit socks with skulls on them. I'm going to need to be her friend. We'll see how that works out.
In the end, I came out with:

• a whole bunch of Karabella Aurora 8 yarn for my sweater
• A set of needles
  
• A brand new pattern (that looks as simple as the one I walked into the store with but, much more "me" )
• Here it is: my future sweater
  

• and... the cutest little skein of pink and gray fuzzy stuff that I have no idea what I will do with.

The funny part about all this yarn buying today is that nearly all of my stash is out of hiding and in between Sid's tank, my dining room table and my ironing board right now. As I knit more and more, I realize I'm becoming a yarn snob or at least... I don't like working with the novelty yarns like I used to. If anyone wants to trade a whole bunch of random novelty stuff for some solid wool, you let me know.

You don't get a picture of the mess right now, my Dad would die if he saw me broadcasting my disaster of an apartment to the Internet world this evening.

And, thanks to the Federal Power Act, don't forget to Spring Forward tonight!!!