Advancing the Plot

New year, new yarn

2011-01-01T20:02:00.002-05:00

I was in Old Town Alexandria (Va.) this week and stopped at Fibre Space to look at yarn for a couple of new projects. I would like to make a sweater using bulky yarn and I have been eyeing Geodesic, knit using lace-weight, for quite some time. Well I found a gorgeous lace yarn from Dragonfly Fibers called December Baby. How appropriate, I am a December baby! It's a rich, deep blue with very slight variation. This is my first lace-weight project so I am excited to see how it goes. It will take some time to knit, but I am already enjoying watching the color unfold. The selection of bulky was not great, so I will look around online for that.

The Koala sweater I have been working on for TWO YEARS is still lingering. I love Ravelry, but now I can really see how long it takes to finish a project-that's good and bad. Bad for Koala, my jaw dropped when I saw that I started it in Dec. 2008. It was supposed to be a quicky sweater but has not turned out that way. I watched this very helpful seaming video on You Tube (thank you Ilina) and had inspired me to finish seaming the sweater, the part I like the least.

The problem all along has been that I don't feel comfortable sewing the seams, like I am fudging it. This video put me at ease because much of what I have been doing was right! The other problem has been with the fabric curling a lot. In my mind, this is a quicky sweater so blocking before seaming was out of the question. Not anymore. It was an obstacle I just was not seeing so this afternoon I washed and blocked it all and tomorrow I tackle the rest of piecing and seaming.

Preparing for winter

2010-08-29T12:18:00.003-04:00

This year I have a new farm for CSA, Bending Bridge Farm in Penn. I am using the newish model of paying upfront for the CSA, like normal. The difference is I get to pick out what I want every week because they are at the Bethesda Central Farm Market every Sunday. I do my shopping and they debit my total from my share. I am so happy with this model because I am not getting stuff I don't want in quantities I could never finish in one or even two weeks. If you are in a CSA, I highly recommend this new model. And my farm has great selection: red and green peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, garlic, wax beans, green beans, Asian egglant, greens, lettuce, watermelon, cantaloupe, and more.

And being at the farm market every week is great because what Audrey and Cameron do not have, like peaches, I can buy from the other farmers. I am spoiled by the peaches (at about $2.50/lb) and would like to freeze some for use later. After trying the popular cooking web sites (for example Epicurious and All Recipies) and finding them completely useless, I found some large university extension services with great resources on freezing fruit and vegetables:
University of Minn. Extension
Colorado State Extension
University of Ga. Cooperative Extension

This will be my project for the week.

Living trust and will? Done.

2010-08-24T18:23:00.003-04:00

Every once in a while I do something that reminds me that I am 41. An adult. Who needs to handle her life like an adult when necessary. Today I finalized my living trust and will.

It has been on my to do list literally for years, ever since I bought property. One reason it took me so long is I did not really know how to start to the process*. Arlington Adult Ed can take the credit for pushing me along. I attended a class this summer about getting the will written, knowing that I need to take the first step in attaining that goal. The lawyer who taught that class was very sensible, not scary or threatening, and drove the point home to me that this is something that I need to complete.

It really was not that hard, just time-consuming. Choosing beneficiaries and executor was thought-provoking and kind of difficult. I have two brothers and I did not want to offend the one I did not choose, but in the end I know I made the right choice. And there is nothing that can't be changed if my choices are eating away at me.

So I feel a big sense of satisfaction today.

*I don't think I am alone in not really knowing how or where to begin. For example, as I was leaving the office this afternoon to head over to the lawyer's, I rode the elevator with a colleague. A very smart guy, slightly younger than me, with a wife and children. He revealed that he does not have a will. What? Dude, you have kids!

Thanks DC Blogs

2010-08-23T22:00:00.004-04:00

for the mention last week:

http://dcblogs.com/?p=3078

It's the only time I get hits! BTW, I got a email from a knitter who read my post about the guy subletting the apartment from the psychiatrist who requires he be out of the apartment 3 days a week. She is also a psychiatrist and laughed. I thought that was a pretty good coincidence.

Time to start thinking about Christmas gifts, knitters!

2010-08-22T20:50:00.003-04:00

Time to start thinking about Christmas gifts, knitters! I found some nice yarn on sale on Elann today, for a new scarf for my father. Thanks to the yardage estimator here and the random stripe generator here, I think I figured out the yardage and some fun stripes.

Yesterday I met-up with the DC Threads meetup for the first time. Very nice women, and a small group which I prefer. We had knitters, crocheters, and a cross-stitcher, so there was good representation. The group meets in the atrium of the American Art Museum, a very public place, and it was funny the people who stopped to chat with us. One woman belonged to a card group that has never played cards, in the 43 years she has been part of the group, so she was impressed with us actually doing what we meet to do. I made some progress on Tudora, but I realize I can't knit and talk at the same time!

Snap out of it

2010-08-20T16:30:00.004-04:00

I found some nice buttons on Etsy today; thinking about making another Tudora so I will need another funky button. It was a fast project and I have a whole ball of yarn leftover. It will make a good Christmas gift.

I was off today, another long weekend before the end of the summer. I considered driving to the beach but the total of 6 hours driving made me think twice. I hate living so far from the ocean! It has bugged me for as long as I have lived in D.C.

This summer has been a drain on my psyche for some reason. Have not figured it out yet. I hope the reason for all of the angst and feeling so low will become clear in the coming months. I just can't seem to snap out of it. A breakthrough has to be on the other side of this.

Now that I can cable

2010-08-18T20:22:00.005-04:00

Now that I can cable, I feel like I have a whole new world of knitting in front of me. I used to avoid patterns w/cabling, shrinking in fear. Oh no, not cables!

Here's the progress on Tudora. I am psyched about my Berroco Blackstone Tweed yarn in Salt Water. The color is great (and what a great name), I hope it translates on the Web. It's a very blue teal color, w/little flecks.

Sublet with a catch

2010-08-14T14:09:00.005-04:00

Had the most fascinating conversation yesterday afternoon with a guy living in D.C. on a temporary assignment at NIH. I met him at the bar of a mediterannean restaurant in my 'hood.

Having the day off, I went to the spa for an afternoon facial and manicure (thanks Groupon). Feeling all relaxed and shiny clean, I decided to stop in for a glass of red wine on my way home. This restaurant has a great selection of South American red wine and I knew I could grab a mezze or two if I was hungry. I love afternoons like this and I don't have them very often.

Shortly after I sat down at the empty bar and started sipping my glass of Argentinian Malbec, in walks a regular. Ann, the bartender greeted Ron by name and uncapped a Yuengling. There was some small talk, he lives in Seattle, going to Hawaii next week for vacation with his wife who is living in Seattle, blah blah. Then Ann brings me up to speed in Ron's living situation and the sitcom they have been planning over the many weeks that Ron has been visiting the bar.

He is subletting a studio apartment in NW from a psychologist. The psych lives in south Florida, but three days a week she comes to D.C. to see patients. On those days, Ron has to put all of his "stuff" away and stay out of the apartment from 8AM to 8PM. Oh the story lines this TV show could have! We were on a roll, I just hope we can remember them all after all the wine and beer.

I love this sort of stuff. And of course he found this apartment on Craigslist. Where else!

Coquille is cooking right along

2010-07-31T11:27:00.006-04:00

Here are a few new pictures of Coquille. This is turning out to be an easy pattern to remember, a quick knit. I look forward to wearing this in the fall. The weight of this yarn (Mini Moochi in Violet Rainbow) will be perfect for the fall and winter in Washington, DC.

Coquille already had a do-over

2010-07-25T14:58:00.004-04:00

About 6 inches into my new scarf project Coquille I realized I was reading the pattern wrong, missing a few of the short-row gussets. So I pulled it out last night, but it was okay, I had messed up the very beginning, too, so this was my chance to fix it. This pattern is easy to remember, something I really appreciate so I can watch TV and knit without having to stop and look at the pattern.

Here's a picture pre-frog to show how the color of this yarn (Mini Moochi Violet Garden) is striping. I studied a number of pictures on the Internet to get a good idea of how these colors would come together.

I think a single color yarn with a value change would look really nice, too, like dark blue to lighter blue or dark gray to silver.

Help Bethesda (Md.) Central Farm Market Be America’s Favorite Farmers Market!

2010-07-19T20:05:00.002-04:00

It’s summertime and that means two things: 1) There are loads of delicious farm fresh produce available at Bethesda (Md.) Central Farm Market farmers market every week; and 2) American Farmland Trust’s America’s Favorite Farmers Markets™ contest has kicked into gear and we need your votes to win!

The process is simple. To vote for our market, all you have to do is:

1.) Go to www.farmland.org/vote

2.) Type in Bethesda Central Farm Market; and,

3.) Click “Vote”

That’s it. That’s all it takes to bring Bethesda Central Farm Market one step closer to being America’s favorite farmers market!

Now American Farmland Trust has introduced leader boards where you can keep track of the Top 5 markets receiving votes in Maryland.

Want to support multiple markets in Maryland, Virginia, or D.C.? Search by state and you can vote for more of your favorites - just remember, you only have one vote to cast per market!

According to American Farmland Trust (AFT), the purpose of this contest is to re-connect local consumers to local farms, with the ultimate goal of keeping our nation’s farm and ranch land productive and healthy! Buying at the farmers market keeps money in the local community and helps farms and ranches remain economically viable. By voting, you’re helping support farms and communities across the nation. As American Farmland Trust says, “No Farms No Food™!”

So don’t forget to vote forBethesda Central Farm Market at www.farmland.org/vote and spread the word!

New project for fall

2010-07-16T19:34:00.003-04:00

After browsing the Summer Knitty, I found a scarf that I love - Coquille. It looks pretty quick, too. I really like the way to yarn stripes, it will really enhances the colors in the yarn. I will be using Mochi Mini in Violet Garden.

There is a meetup group that knits at the Smithsonian's American Art Museum that I have been wanting to join, but I have not had an easily transportable project! (One small detail.) Once the yarn arrives in the mail, I will be all ready.

I don't knit very much in the summer because the yarn gets so hot and scratchy. Do you have the same problem? I can't even imagine wearing a wool sweater when it is in the 90s and humid. Ugh. So my desire to knit is gone. This is also the time to start on Christmas knitting. Dad needs a new scarf. I made him one a few years ago, which really did not turn out all that great, too short, not wide enough, but he still wears it! How flattering.

Koala collar to big

2010-03-07T17:00:00.000-05:00

I added the collar to Koala Cardigan last night to realize that is was too wide, it was too thick and chunky for the sweater. So I reduced the CO to 15 (from 20) and will see if that looks better. I won't finish this weekend like I had hoped, but this is time well spent.

All in good time

2010-03-06T11:09:00.003-05:00

Back to the knitting! I am slacking, badly. This really great, easy sweater I was all psyched to wear this winter - this cold and very snowy winter in D.C. - is still laying on my livingroom floor. I thought, "If I put it in the way, I will get tired of stepping over it and finish the darn thing." Not. But you all know how that goes.

I have been using my time constructively though. I have been exploring my highly sensitive personality and working on myself. I guess this all started last summer when I went to Kripalu for a yoga retreat. And then I tried a therapist. And then I found Jenna Avery on the Internet, by accident, or so I thought. And then I read "Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life" to get my condo feng shui in order. So this is all unfolding as it should. I was waiting for the bolt of lightening that would bring all of the clarity I am seeking, but that's not coming. All in good time. That is my new mantra.

So before I get started on my new project, Geodesic cardigan, (in the winter/spring Knitscene) by Connie Chang Chinchio - she has some great designs - I am going to finish this cardigan this weekend. Promise.

Weekend Yoga Retreat

2009-07-13T20:23:00.002-04:00

I was at Kripalu this weekend, something I have been wanting to do for a long time. The planning all came together, with my being in RI w/my parents for a few days earlier in the week.

It was amazing. But the funny part is that I really did not appreciate the experience until I was in the car Sunday afternoon, driving back to the airport in Providence. This calm came over me and I felt so relaxed. My breathing was so clear.

The workshop teacher was Cyndi Lee, from Om Yoga in NYC. I had never heard of her before, but many of the people in the class knew who she was and there were a few people in the class who take classes at the studio in New York. She took a great picture of the class when were finished for the weekend, totally spent but completely renewed. Well, I was anyway.

It's starting to look like something

2009-02-16T11:14:00.002-05:00

I am over here today, plugging away at Auburn Camp Shirt.

Seaming this weekend

2009-02-14T10:12:00.003-05:00

My goal is to finish seaming the Auburn Camp Shirt this long weekend.

I finished knitting more than a month ago, before Christmas I think, but the finishing on this sweater seemed so daunting. It involves sewing seams and also more knitting, like the collar and the cuffs on the sleeves.

But I am tired of finishing sweaters at the end of their season. I want to wear this in the spring!Wish me luck!

Paperback book swap

2008-12-06T19:29:00.002-05:00

Have you seen PaperbackSwap.com? I actually came across it on Ravelry because they have a group. It's pretty cool, and I received my first book today! If you have piles of books around and don't know what to do with them, here's an option. Load your titles-it's easy, you just enter the ISBN-and start swapping. I had two requests w/in the first 5 days.

Check it out.

I am not a joiner, but...

2008-11-23T11:13:00.005-05:00

Here's some progress on Hey, Teach. I have figured out how to read a chart, but that doesn't mean I am not knitting each row 1 and a half times! Grrrr. But I HAVE figured out where I have made my error so I don't have to frog the entire row. There I go, looking at the positive.

I also joined Ravelry yesterday. So visit me there. I was resistant at first because I am not a joiner. In fact, I am usually repelled by the trends. But I was tired of being sent to Ravelry by bloggers that I read to see patterns, finished projects, and the like , only be blocked because I was not a member.

Will I ever finish this project

2008-11-06T22:02:00.002-05:00

I gave myself the deadline of last weekend to finish the Auburn Jacket because I was going to NH to see my college friends to celebrate our 40th birthday. I bought the yarn at Charlotte's Web on my last trip there, in the spring. But I was one sleeve short of finishing. And it was only a short-sleeve! I am kind of mad at myself. I just want to be done with it already!

So now I have no motivation to finish a spring-ish sweater as winter approaches.

The weekend was fun, it was great to get away. We went to Boston and did some shopping at Downtown Crossing and some eating in the North End.

My next project is a cute cardigan w/o buttons. And I am chipping away at this, from Knitty, in a dark gray heather silk blend:

Election Levity

2008-10-17T10:10:00.006-04:00

I have been politics-free for the past month or so now. Living in Washington, D.C. probably does not help. Life is so nice with out all of that ridiculousness. I highly recommend it.

But this could not go by without sharing - McCain and Obama fingerpuppets.

Pattern is at www.lionbrand.com

Effing Twitter

2008-08-17T18:18:00.001-04:00

Rant warning: I am not usually a complainer, well not out loud anyway. But my recent experience with effing Twitter has to be shared as a warning.

These new features pop up weekly and they claim to be the greatest thing ever, until there is a problem. And then they turn into the worst thing ever because customer service does not exist on the Internet. You think the cashier at Macy’s is rude, but at least there is a breathing person there. With the Internet, there isn’t anyone there. Just some self-serving FAQs that help no one and a HELP screen that is just the opposite.

I am attending a conference this week, my peers in the association world. Trying to keep up with the latest in technology, I decided to play along with the effing Twitter group that was set up for attendees. I followed the instructions and bingo, I start getting text messages.

So it’s fun for about half a day when I decide, ‘OK, I tried it, not for me.’ I don’t really like texting, I don’t know any of these people (there I just outted myself, I am not a Millennial), but now I understand how this service works. I log onto effing Twitter to turn off my device (read: cell phone) to make it stop. But no, they just keep coming.

Cripes, what do I do now? And to make matters worse, I am blocked at work from entering the site so I have to wait until I get home to figure this out. As the messages keep on coming. And I am paying for every last one of them.

Next I block all of the people who are following me and stop following the meeting that was set up. And I reply with “off” as effing Twitter has suggested somewhere on the site. I am frantically trying to get it to stop. And then I try making it stop my replying “Stop.” All the while I am getting replying to the effect of you, “You have requested messaging to stop.”

Well, yes effing Twitter I have, but you don’t seem to understand STOP.

This has been going on for 4 days now and my level of frustration is off the charts. In my Google-searching for help from someone else who may have had this problem, I find this site Get Satisfaction. Have you seen this? Users can post questions, ideas, problems, and supposedly an employee from said company will help you out. I will try anything at this point (Sat. night at about 12:30). I pound out my question.

Next stop, Sprint.com. I wonder if my carrier be of any help here. Miracle, they can block text messages. I am ready to cry. I love Sprint. I love Sprint. I love Sprint. Problem solved, no more messages from effing Twitter.

To follow up on Get Satisfaction: I had a response to my query this AM from “Mark.”

Whatever. I hate Twitter.

I'm over here tonight

2008-08-15T18:41:00.004-04:00

Hey, Teach

2008-08-13T09:13:00.004-04:00

I received the elann.com sale email today, one of my favorites I have to say. Even if I am not too tempted, I like to see the yarns that are out there and ON SALE!

But I have had this sweater on my mind (Hey, Teach from the summer Knitty) for a few weeks now.

This looks really cute, wearable for multi-seasons, can be dressed up or down. Living in the mid-Atlantic, I am always looking for something lightweight to wear outside when it is just a little cool. And it doesn't have loooong sleeves to knit. I get so bored with sleeves!!

I chose this tweedy silk in granite

I also came across their list of free patterns I thought I would share. Like recipes, I have a little obsession with free knitting patterns. I have a hard time organizing them, outside of a 3-ring binder.

Still plugging away on the Auburn Camp Shirt. Watching the Olympics is a great reason to sit there and knit. Or is it the other way around?

working the brain cells

2008-08-11T21:05:00.003-04:00

1. Soda and Lemon Anyone?, 2. green eggs & ham, 3. Tchaikovsky - Nutcracker, 4. One with nature, 5. KATerpillar, Konverter, Konquerer, Klown, Kryptik, Kone, King, Kreep, Kommunikator, Krane, Konnoisseur ... whatever you want, yet I don´t like Kats - namly Kartoon-Kats! -, you know I´m too much a Naturefriend, a Realist, for such plushy Surfaces!, 6. All-Star Women Team @ Tuxpan de Bolaños, Jalisco, 7. profiteroles, 8. Mirror Lake . Fiordland . New Zealand, 9. Untitled, 10. Branches, 11. Algida Luxor Cruiser ; ))), 12. Before the world was made… the innerlight of Sarah.K was!!! :)))

This was kind of fun, kind of challenging. It took me way longer than it probably should have, but with the learning curve and all... Plus, I don't think Blogger was the easiest way to do this. (Can anyone offer any suggestions on using code in the body of the blog? I could not figure out how to add the graphic once it was complete. The were a few options for sharing in Big Huge Lab's Mosaic Maker but none were for the graphic. I though using the HTML code was by best option but I don't know how to get Blogger to read the code in body of the post. Am I making any sense?)

I saw this on myafinari posts and thought it looked like fun. So I memed myself. Can you do that??

Here are the questions with my answers in parenthesis. (I couldn't change the order of the pics in Big Labs either. I am a dinosaur!!)

1. Favorite drink? (lemon soda)
2. What is your favorite color? (green)
3. Your flickr name (Advancing the Plot)
4. One Word to describe you. (Independent)
5. What do you love most in life? (my freedom)
6. What you want to be when you grow up? (be well known for what I do)
7. Favorite dessert? (profiteroles)
8. Dream vacation? (New Zealand)
9. Who is your celebrity crush? (George)
10. What high school did you go to? (Cumberland HS)
11. What is your favorite food? (ice cream)
12. What is your first name? (Sarah)

Bird-be-Gone

2008-07-31T20:13:00.002-04:00

I found a new use for knitting needles

There is a pigeon, or more specifically a Mourning Dove, who is trying to build a nest among my herbs. I scared her off the other day and dismantled the start of the nest. But she came back! So I stuck a few pencils in the area near the lemon basil that she was nesting.

And she came back again, resting near the oregano and sage.

So I was thinking, What will repel the bird?

Knitting needles of course!

I quit my community garden plot a few years ago because I was tired of fighting the deer because they won every time. Now I am fighting off birds in the window boxes! Sheesh.

No Democracy for D.C. Soldiers

2008-07-15T09:46:00.001-04:00

Bluegrass at the Birchmere

2008-07-15T09:15:00.007-04:00

I saw a great show last night at the Birchmere in Alexandria.

Chatham County Line, The Infamous Stringdusters, and Crooked Still formed the the pseudo-Folk Festival. It was great fun! I love bluegrass, surprising for a northerner, and these 3 bands were fabulous.

Chatham County Line was the closest thing to old fashioned bluegrass so they were my favorite. They are good looking, young, very talented guys who are having a lot of fun. "One More Minute" is a beautiful song.

The Stringdusters was another bunch of good looking, talented guys, a whole bunch of them, but they were more country-pop. Enjoyable but not really my kind of music. Many of the band members play other types of music and play in other bands, including a gospel singer, so they had tremendous range in style.

Rounding out the bill was Crooked Still, yet another bunch of good looking people, girls included, talented musicians. I would characterize them as contemporary bluegrass. The cello was a big surprise and added a hint of meloncholy to the music.

Wonderful live music. They are in Philadelphia tonight and then on to NYC.

Turkey was amazing

2008-07-05T11:47:00.006-04:00

I am back from my 2-week tour of Turkey. It was amazing, I recommend it to everyone I talk to. We all (the tour group, mostly Americans, a few Canadians) agreed that Americans don't know squat about Turkey. We lump it into the "Islamic World," along with Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and get all nervous.

It was a wonderful, beautiful, fascinating place. Language was not that big of an issue, the weather was gorgeous, the history breathtaking. And then there was the Turkish bath! I am melting just thinking about it.

We were constantly reminded that Turkey is a secular country, just like the U.S., it is just filled with mosques instead of churches. It was exotic for a while, but then we all got very comfortable with hearing the call the prayer, seeing covered women, and groups of men socializing.

I went on a tour with Rick Steves company and it was just what I was looking for. The pace was quick, lots of walking, carrying our own bags, fabulous out-of-the way pensions and inns, highly recommend it.

Here I Go!

2008-06-05T09:52:00.001-04:00

I leave for Turkey on Saturday night. This trip is finally here! Paul, the new guy, offered to drive me to Dulles. Above and beyond the call of duty! I am traveling alone, meeting the tour in Istanbul on Monday afternoon, so being seen off by a friendly face means a lot to me.

I have gotten so many different reactions when I tell people I am taking a 2-week vacation in Turkey. All of the people who have been there are elated, telling me what a great time I am going to have, it’s so beautiful, the people are so nice, the culture if fascinating, and all the rest. Then there are the people who pause for a couple of seconds trying to compute “Turkey” and “vacation.” They are genuinely curious and interested but I can tell that they don’t really get why a person would go to Turkey, like what is there to see.

And then the reactions when I reveal I am traveling alone, although I am meeting a tour group in Istanbul.

Jonathan: So are you traveling with friends or family?

Me: No, I am going by myself.

Jonathan: Oh, wow.

Me: I am meeting a tour group in Istanbul.

Jonathan: Do you know anyone on tour?

Me: No, not yet.

Jonathan: Pause

Jonathan: Wow, that’s quite an adventure. Maybe you will meet the love your life.

Laughs

Well, no, that’s not what I am looking to do. He is very excited to hear about the trip, but he is part of that (huge) segment of society that needs to put people together.

I am not thrilled to be going alone, but I am not letting that stop me from going. Part of the reason is that Turkey is not a place many of my family or friends would want to travel to. And I could not travel well with some of my closest friends.

I am in fact dreading the 12 hour flight through Madrid. I don’t do well on long flights. And I am going to feel totally isolated. So I know that I have to go out of my way to make connections with people. My introverted personality will serve me well, but only up to a point. Then I need to interact with other humans, even if they are strangers.

And then I will meet the other people on the tour, many of whom will look at me, and any of the other solo travelers, with some trepidation. I get it all the time.

Hmm, she is friendly, smart, interesting, attractive. Yet she is alone. There must be something wrong.

So I will have to break into those groups of couples and not threaten any insecure wives whose husbands might speak to me.

I sometimes feel like a stay single to carry the flag. It’s okay to be alone and do things on your own. Our society is so marriage and family focused that single people are marginalized most of the time. If I ever get married I will feel like I am abandoning my brethren as I moved to the dark side.

Bon voyage! See you when I get back.

The next level of blogging

2008-05-27T22:29:00.004-04:00

My first meme, I am so flattered (thanks Deb!).

Ok, here goes. More about me than you ever wanted to know.

"The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer."

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was living in a group house in Glover Park, finding my way in my new life in D.C. I was having fun, hanging out with friends, doing happy hours, cook-outs, playing flag football and left field on the company softball team.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?
I don't keep actual lists because I then forget to look at them! But rolling around in the back of my head: get in touch with Sophie to meet up for dinner Wed. or Thurs.; practice using the new camera; finish the left front of the Auburn Campshirt; set the alarm for 4:45 AM so I can get to the airport in time for my 7AM flight home from Austin; and decide whether to call Paul or not and then just stick to it.

3) Snacks I enjoy:
Edamame; ice cream; cookies; Triscuits; dark chocolate.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
start a foundation.

5) Places I have lived: Rhode Island; Boston; Austria; Brookline.

6) Jobs I have had:
cashier; museum assistant; nanny; in the library during college.

7) Bloggers I am tagging who you will enjoy getting to know better:
Pink Monkey Knits
Yarngear
A Knitter in Queens
What Liz Said
Neophyte Knitter

Artomatic

2008-05-25T21:45:00.002-04:00

It's Artomatic season on DC again. It's a great event if you have never been. Lots of painting, sculpture, mixed media, photography, ceramics, glass. 9 floors I think, music, poetry...and it's free. But only through June 15.

Warning if you are traveling from NW DC, the directions are wrong. Turn right on M St. NW, not left. Follow the directions from the 14th Street Bridge.

A little of this...

2008-05-04T11:06:00.003-04:00

In the knitting category, I recently joined the Auburn Camp Shirt KAL.

FilmFest DC continued last night with "Fados" and "Late Bloomers." These movies could not have been more different, but in a good way. "Fados" was a look at all of variations of the Fados tradition in Portugal, Brazil, and other Portuguese-speaking countries. It consisted of vignettes of singers and dancers performing. I enjoyed the singing, Fados is so melancholy, but live performing never translates fully to the screen, be it a movie or TV. It's like taking a picture of a sunset, unless you saw it yourself, it does not have the same impact on the viewer.

"Last Bloomers" was in the same tradition of "Calendar Girls," some older woman who are depressed with their lives buck up and make a change - one that shocks their friends and neighbors. Martha lost her husband and prays that God will take her, too, in her sleep. No such luck. But a conversation with her friends reveals that when she was much younger she was an accomplished lingerie designer and sewer. A trip to a fabric shop brings back the fire and she decides to make the sundries shop she and her husband had run for many years in their little town in the Swiss Alps into "Petit Paris," a lingerie shop. The town is scandalized but the women prevail. It was cute.

Before the movie, Carol and I ate at Poste, in the Hotel Monaco. Have you been?

It was the menu was what hung us up. It is categorized by where the food comes from (The Garden, The Pasture, etc.) which was clever but not very helpful. More importantly for me, The Washington Post's description of the prices at $$ is too low. The entrees were $23++. But the menu was mainly appetizer-type dishes, a ratio of at least 3 to 1, at $13-$24. Is the intent a tapas menu? And it was heavy on cheese. I love good cheese, but I am not going to order ricotta and goat for dinner. My friend and I got 2 apps for dinner (the squash blossoms were excellent), no drinks or dessert, and the bill was $51. A little steep for what we got. The food was fine, the ambiance, too, but I was a little let down. There are better places to eat in DC with more ambiance and more food for the $$.

Film Fest DC had better get better

2008-04-28T21:14:00.001-04:00

I am 2 for 2 with the Film Fest DC movies I have picked. And it’s not in a good way.

Tonight’s movie, Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame, started out really well. An adorable little girl, probably 5 years old, decides she wants to go to school, like her neighbor, Abbas. She shows great tenacity to buy a notebook because that is what she thinks she needs to go to school. She resembles any little girl excited to go to school like all the other kids.

And then the movie takes a very twisted turn, with a bunch of boys playing Taliban, taking her captive, pretending to stone her, digging her grave. Yes, it was probably some big, giant metaphor, but it was taken a little far. Which is fine, but I felt duped by the description of the film:

Winner of the Crystal Bear for the best first feature and the Peace Film Award at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival, Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame possesses an innocent simplicity that belies the shrewd eloquence of its anti-war message. In March of 2001, the Taliban blew up a massive pair of fifth-century Buddhas carved into the side of a mountain in central Afghanistan’s Bamyan valley. Six-year-old Baktay lives with her family in the caves surrounding the gaping holes where the statues used to be. Determined to attend the girls' school across the river, the beautiful child must trade stolen eggs for pen and paper while enduring the cruel taunts of local boys. This debut feature from Hana Makhmalbaf, the younger sister of filmmaker Samir Makhmalbaf, is the follow-up to her documentary on the making of Samir's Afghan-set drama At Five in the Afternoon, called Joy of Madness. -Eddie Cockrell

Innocent? Not so much. It was so depressing, and from what I overheard leaving the theater, I was not alone in my funk. The movie was a movie, that’s not my problem so much as the description. The scenes in the schools were a blink of an eye. Stars awarded=1.

Last night’s film, In the Name of God, was simply poorly made. The theme was basically how Islam is misunderstood in many cultures, a very worthwhile movie idea. The dialog, story lines, acting, and music were so simplistic, predictable, and just plain poor, and everyone was strikingly beautiful. The stereotypes were stretched to their limits. For example, the main character’s father was Pakistani, living in London with a white British woman, of course! Being married to her would have been bad enough in the eyes of his family back home, but to be living together made the strike that much worse. And it was more than 2 1/2 hours, and it started 30 minutes late. I almost left after about 2 hours, but felt bad so I stayed. Ugh, what a waste. It felt like a bad Hollywood movie. Stars awarded=2.

I have 4 more movies to attend through Sunday. Fingers are crossed that my choices get better.

Jury Duty … Again

2008-04-15T18:39:00.000-04:00

Lock clockwork I got my jury duty summons in the mail a couple of months ago. Criticize DC government all you want, the court system works. Every other spring I get called, I can mark my calendar to it. And it is starting to suck.

This year, as I did 4 years ago, I am serving in the District Court. Which means I call in every evening for two weeks to see if they need me to report. I reported on Monday as required and about half a day later I am sitting on a jury for a trial that the judge estimates will run for the next 3 ½ weeks. It is so defeating knowing that my life if not my own, I have to find a way to keep up with work, and pay attention to the mind-numbing details of the trial. The only good thing I can say is that is not murder or drugs.

And I did see the DC Madame in the courthouse today! I just saw in the news that she was found guilty on all counts. I wonder if she knew that when I saw her this morning?

Send me your good thoughts and pray that these two morons settle out of court. I don’t think I can take 3+ weeks of this, on top of which the Pope is sleeping about a mile from where I live, at the Vatican Embassy, smack-dab between me and the Dupont Circle Metro. The traffic tomorrow and Thursday is going to be very bad. Maybe I will head for the Tenley Metro.

Do you think they would notice if I brought my knitting into the jury box?

Michael Palin knows how to travel

2008-04-13T13:27:00.003-04:00

I just finished watching Sahara with Michael Palin. He has done some wonderful travel expeditions to remote and exotic places around the world and this is one of his best. The itinerary is a great geography lesson, and he, being British, offers an interesting commentary on world history.

I remember the first one I saw many years ago was Around the World in 80 Days and it was riveting. You would not expect the Michael Palin you know from Monty Python to lead these exciting adventures, but he is great. I highly recommend any of them if you are interested in seeing remote parts of the world.

New Projects

2008-04-12T10:25:00.005-04:00

I have a couple of projects I am working on.

The first is the Auburn Camp Shirt found in the Spring 2008 issue of Interweave Knits. I found this beautiful yarn (at left) at Charlotte’s Web in Epping, NH, a couple of weekends ago when I made a quick trip up north for my friend Heather’s 40^th birthday (more on that later). The yarn is Olympic from Artful Yarns. It was the color range that caught me – deep pinks, a little purple, melon, and the strands are really different, too, giving the yarn a lot of texture. The pictures don’t do it justice, unfortunately.

The second is a simple pullover sweater from a pattern in Ann Budd’s The Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns. I am adapting the pullover with a rollband color and cuffs, but I tried to give it a little shape at the waist. We’ll see how that worked. The yarn is TLC Cotton Plus, a cotton and acrylic blend that is really nice for inexpensive yarn. I like the stretch the acrylic gives this yarn because cotton can be so stiff to knit. I bought it quite a few years ago because I really liked the color combination, very springy, with blues, purples, greens, yellows, all tempered by white.

The big birthday

Most of my college crowd is turning 40 this year. Myself included, although I am the last to turn that corner because my birthday is in December. I guess that makes me the baby!

Heather’s birthday was supposed to be a surprise but her family had to tell her because they feared they would not get her over to the Inn. She did not know who was going to be there or any of the details so I think she was surprised. It was so much fun seeing my friends, yarn shopping with Deb, the complete change of scenery I needed so badly.

When the party was winding down, we got a group together to go to a small club nearby to hear some live music. Heather’s older brother was leading the charge as we were not that excited to go out, but out of support for Heather, Deb and I soldiered on. The club was jumping, surprising for a beach community in Maine in late March, packed with people. We squeezed our way through the crowded bar and dance floor to an open space to watch the band. And it slowly started to dawn on Heather, Deb, and I that we were in the movie “Cocoon.” Everybody, including the band, was 60+, dressed up, coiffed, metroed out, on the dance floor, singing along from their tables. I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time. God bless the baby boomers. It was poignant with Heather turning 40. I realized that age is relative and it was kind of fun looking like high school kids crashing the party. (And I met the mother of a blogger that Heather told me about a couple of years ago, so if you’re reading, HI!)

I truly believe that my life gets better as I get older, but there are some milestone birthdays that make me cringe. Well, maybe that word is too strong. They make me stop and think about where I am. (And then I cringe.) Twenty-five was the first one, then 30, and now 40. I surely don’t feel anywhere near 40. When I turned 39 in December I decided this was going to be the Year of Sarah. Nothing is holding me back, and it is all topped off with my trip to Turkey in June.

Just yesterday, a new colleague, Melanie, mentioned that she is turning 25 in October and she is a little bothered by it. I could so relate, I remember how hard it was to turn 25 because I did not feel as mature or accomplished as I thought I should be. I remember now how desperately I wanted to get away from my life at that time. I felt so trapped in my job that I loved but was going nowhere and trapped living with my parents in RI. And that winter was a record snowfall so that was making me miserable. Alas, there were lots of good things too, like I had room to quilt at my parents house, I really miss that, and I had a car so I drove all over to see my friends far and near. And it was that desperation that got me to move to D.C. and that is all good.

Around DC

It is Yoga Week in DC so here is your chance to try yoga for the first time or to take advantage of a bunch of free or $5 classes around the metro area.

FilmFest DC starts in a couple to weeks, too. I spend way too much time making a spreadsheet of the movies I want to see.

Brush with fame

2008-03-23T21:06:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I was volunteering at the Constitution Ave. information desk at the Museum of Natural History. The place was mad, people, the tourists are back with a vengence.

But it is always fun to meet people from around the country and to help them enjoy the Smithsonian and their trip to DC. No, I really mean that.

At one poing there was a lull in the crowd pouring in the doors. I happened to look up and who was coming through security but Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck and their adorable daughter. (She is cute as a button.) I did a double take for sure when I saw Jennifer, who was looking straight at me. It took few seconds for me to put it all together - I looked at her, then I noticed hubby, and then I got all flustered. I made eye contact with Jennifer Garner!!

It was so exciting to see them, and I am not big on celebrities. She is very pretty, much cuter in real life than on the big screen, and not as tall as I thought. And Ben has mastered the art of hiding his face under his ball cap. I would not have even given him a second look had I not seen Jennifer. They completely blended in with all of the other families in their jeans and sneakers. Unfortunately they did not come to the desk to ask me any questions, like where the butterfly exhibit is or where could they buy IMAX tickets.

I did not blow their cover but I did tell the woman who was working the desk with me. She darted off to catch a glimpse and then returned to text her friends. We were grinning ear to ear the rest of the shift. They are in Washington, D.C. because Ben is shooting a movie. Word on the street is that Russell Crowe is in town, too. Now THAT would be cool to see him.

What is this fascination our society has with celebrity? I was surprised by my giddy reaction, even a little disturbed by it.

Baby sweater

2008-03-19T21:14:00.004-04:00

I just finished knitting my first-ever baby sweater. It is so cute, I giggle every time I look at it. This is for my friend at work who is due in June with her first baby. Not knowing what the sex is, I chose this gender neutral and oh-so-hip Granny Smith apple green Lion Brand organic cotton. The pattern was free, too.

I see so much cute baby stuff to knit but I have not had the opportunity to make anything because no one in my close circle is having babies, I think they are all done with that! So this was really fun.

Don't miss the holiday tomorrow

2008-03-09T17:46:00.002-04:00

Monday is National Napping Day. The first Monday after daylight savings starts is cause for cele-napping! So close the office door, curl up on your keyboard, and take a siesta.

Speed Cameras on Conn. in MD

2008-03-01T16:10:00.004-05:00

Beware of the traffic cameras on Conn. Ave. coming in the District. I have gotten 2 speeding tickets the 2 times I was on that bloody stretch of road in the past 6 weeks. What gives? I am not a reckless driver, I am simply keeping up with the other cars. So if everyone around me is also getting these tickets, cha-ching Montgomery County, Maryland. Kripes. I am ticked off.

Here's where they all are.

Inspiration Found

2008-02-20T19:44:00.006-05:00

I was browsing around the magazines at Border's while Madison was here and saw the Spring Interweave Knits on the shelf. I was psyched because I saw 2 projects that I really like. Just my speed: simple, little frill, fitted, minimal.

Here is Mirabella

I am picturing this in a heathered gray, silver if you will.

And Auburn Camp Shirt

I am picturing this in a sage green or a lavender purple with some texture. This is knit with a wool silk blend so I will check out my color options.

Like I have the money for this! Every week I remind myself how expensive this year is going to be - already! I have my trip to Turkey, Madison was just here, my 40th b'day in Charleston this fall, the annual pilgrimage to York Beach right after Labor Day, I would like to see my friend in NYC again. All wonderful reasons to spend money, and not a penny will be wasted, but this is all happening in one year. When it rains it pours in my life. Never fails.

And I have so much fun stuff to look forward to! Just no eating out this year and I have made a pact with myself not buy any clothes for 6 months.

So side-tracked

2008-02-16T14:52:00.001-05:00

Gosh, I get so side-tracked. I haven’t really been knitting in a couple of weeks mainly because I don’t have a new project to work on that excited me. I started a sweater that I am not all that thrilled with. Do you find starting a new project daunting? I have so many things I want to make I get overwhelmed with where to begin. And then finding the yarn. And then swatching.

I am so impressed and inspired by the knitting blogs I visit. Keep is going, knitters! I will back with you soon.

My niece Madison is coming to visit me today. She is flying here from Maine, all by herself, and we are going to do Washington, D.C. I love playing tourist in my hometown. I am blogging here.

And I booked my trip to Turkey! I am so excited. I am leaving on June 9 for 13 days with Rick Steves, to guy from PBS. The tour is just my speed, a little rugged, lots of walking, eating in local places, “through the back door” as Rick’s traveling style is.

Finished sweater and felted bags

2008-02-03T17:55:00.001-05:00

As promised, some finished projects.

Here is the top down raglan. Came out great, I love the sweater and the yarn. It is a really nice fit, not bulky. And it was so easy to knit. This was my first sweater with buttonholes and they were not nearly as scary as I thought they would be. I started the holes a few inches from the neck.

And here is the after pic of the buttonhole bags I made for my cousins. (I had a before picture...somewhere. In my zeal to keep my computer free of extraneous files I must have deleted it. Ugh.) This is my second felted project and it was so very different than the french market bag. The buttonhole bag yarn is doubled so the felting took 2 wash cycles. I would guess that they shrunk about 25% during the felting process. The Lamb's Pride bulky has a fuzziness to it that I did not like in the finished bags. I have a feeling it will leave a lot of lint behind. But the bags are really cute and my cousins love them.

I fixed my laptop!

2008-02-01T22:14:00.000-05:00

I am back among the living! I am so proud of myself, I fixed my laptop! Girls, the men in my life who know computers were so turned on by the fact that I removed the LCD. All by myself. (The directions on the Dell and Assetgenie sites were the real heroes here.) If you’re looking for a new angle, give it a try (wink wink).

After doing some trouble shooting on the Internet and talking to a few people I decided I would try to replace the LCD and see if that was the problem with monitor. After first getting a bad LCD and determining that the video card was working, I finally hit pay dirt. The replacement LCD that arrived today worked. Hallelujah! I was jumping up a down with gleeeeeeeeeeeeee.

It is such a relief to have access to the Internet at home again. I am planning my trip to Turkey so having the web when I want it, and not just at the office, makes life so much easier. It begs the question <>

So, yes, I booked my trip to Turkey. Another great moment this week. I am going with Rick Steves’ tour company. The speed of the tour, all of the warnings about each of us having to carry our own bags (meaning no infirm people or prima donnas), and the “through the back door” theme of his trips are what sold me. I have been watching Rick tromp through Europe on PBS for half my life!

I don’t leave until June, but I am thrilled that I finally have plans. I was waffling, complaining about not finding a tour company that suited me, cursing my friend who backed out of the trip last week for too long. So I finally just did it, jumped on the Internet and booked. In about 2 minutes I had dates and an itinerary. What a great weight lifted off my shoulders.

Now to find a plane ticket for under $1,200. Ugh.

I have some knitting projects to catch up on. Check back over the weekend.

Red Scarf Project update

2008-01-10T09:06:00.000-05:00

I was so happy to finish my first Red Scarf Project scarf, all ready to squeeze the second one out before the Jan. deadline. But I just found out on the Web site that the project is closed for this year. Scarves will be accepted from Sept. 1 through Oct. 15, 2008. Oh well, I am glad the project is so successful.

Now I can start on a new project although I find starting something new daunting sometimes. So many ideas, where do I begin?

Other exciting news is that I hope to get the new LCD for my laptop today so I can try to replace it and get back online at home. I love when I can figure things out on my own -- and save myself $250!

Happy New Year

2008-01-08T14:55:00.000-05:00

My home computer is down, I had a snail in my watercress salad at lunch, I saw some (freak) woman in flip-flops today…

But things are good. Once I replace my laptop monitor I will be back with pics of my new top down raglan that came out so excellent. The yarn is a great silk wool blend that has the stretchiness and body of wool but it is so light and springy.

Happy New Year!

I heart Doris Day movies

2007-12-15T17:15:00.000-05:00

Sweater Progress

I finished the first sleeve last night. This is a really great pattern if you are looking for a
cardigan. It is easy to follow and you can alter the length and width pretty easily to fit you. And trying it on as I go is great for getting the right fit and the right sleeve length.

Movies
I watched "A Touch of Mink" last night, starring Doris Day and Cary Grant. I love Doris Day movies. She's plays the innocent young single woman from the midwest trying to make it in New York City so well. The blantant sexism is this Doris Day movie in particular was both funny and disturbing. In 2007 we look at this type of movie very differently than men and women did when the movie was made in 1962. One big shocker for me was Cathy (Day) and Mr. Shayne (Grant) going on vacation together and they weren't married. This movie straddles a lot of social mores and was probably racy when it came out. There are a lot of things that made me scratch my head, but the biggest one was the fact that she called him Mr. Shayne!

What's the point, really

2007-12-06T21:33:00.001-05:00

Ok, fair warning, my snark is continuing today.

In today's mail I got a Christmas card from my older brother. Nice gesture, his way of reaching out (we don't really talk), it's all fine. But it wasn't in his handwriting! What's the point of sending cards if you aren't even going to sign them yourself?

As crazy as it sounds, I hope that he hired someone to sign and mail them. Because the only thing worse than that would be if his icky girlfriend did them for him.

Oh, sweetness, we need to talk...

Knitting and snark

2007-12-01T17:52:00.000-05:00

Here's the progress on the Top Down Raglan.

This sweater is customizable: buttonholes, shaping, sleeve length, body length. I bought this yarn (Queensland Collection, Katmandu DK) when I was in Nags Head this summer, $7 a ball, and I love the color and feel. It is wool, cashmere, and silk and feels perfect for this cardigan. I am breezing along. The pattern is really easy. This is my first foray into buttonholes and they aren't nearly as scary as I thought they would be. I bind off 2 stitches and then cast them back on the next row.

I took a drive to Frederick, Md., today to poke around and do some Christmas shopping. There are some really nice stores in the downtown, art galleries, restaurants, coffee shops. Its fun to browse.

One present for me was "I Bitch, Therefore I Am." Have you seen this new theme of books and cards? The writers use images from old advertising from the 50s and 60s, mostly of women coiffed, pearled, and high-heeled, in the kitchen beeming with joy over the fact that they are cooking and cleaning for their families. They are paired with snarky, sarcastic, histerical captions. They are the funniest things EVER. And they don't get old, no matter how many times you read them. Another really funny line is by Anne Taintor. Here's one example of the snark:

It reads the tree wouldn't be the only one getting lit this year

When I was with my college friends this summer, Becky introduced us to these books. We were laughing so hard, tears rolling down our faces. The husbands didn't really get it, and the kids were perplexed at what was making all the ladies so hysterical.

Do I really need another scarf?

2007-11-16T10:58:00.000-05:00

I have finished my open wave lace scarf, and I love it. The pattern is unique, which I always look for in a scarf, although I would not call it lace necessarily. And the colors in the yarn look pretty cool. I think I might try this pattern with a solid color yarn, it will probably look very different.

I am also working on a couple of buttonhole bags for Christmas gifts. I started the second one watching “Ugly Betty” last night and should be able to finish it by the end of the weekend.

Movies
I saw "American Gangster" last weekend to celebrate my friend's birthday. We tried to go to bowling at Lucky Strike but there was a 2 hour wait for a lane. Whatever! The movie was very good, great characters and storyline. A little violent, though. "The Kingdom" was the same: great story but pretty violent. Is it me, or are the movies getting violent again?

I always wonder where the movie producers get the cars and other paraphernalia, like office equipment, clothes, shoes, from the period of the movie. Like the late-60s and early-70s depicted in "AG." It is so important to the telling of the story.

What kind of oil are you gulping?

2007-10-08T18:52:00.000-04:00

From Ideal Bite, a reminder of how we can all do something small for the environment.

Creating that plastic bottle of H20 you chug after a workout involves water pumping, bottling, plastic manufacturing, label printing, shipping, store refrigeration, and advertising. And that's before you drink it and throw it away.

On the sticks

2007-10-06T18:46:00.000-04:00

This is a fun scarf I have been working on here and there. I bought this yarn (Koigu Kersti Merino Crepe) in Asheville over the summer knowing I wanted to make a scarf. I thought that would have been something along the lines of this Zig-Zag scarf, minus the color change, or something similarly diagonal. I did not really like the way the color of this yarn was working, but I did want something more daring than a straight rib because I really like this yarn and wanted to do it justice.

This pattern is called open wave lace, from The Complete Book of Knitting by Barbara Abbey. I found this book a few years ago at a used bookstore for $2.00 and it is such a great resource.

On a completely different note, I was downtown shopping today after my volunteering gig at the American Art Museum and saw a shockingly ugly cross dresser. It was like your father put on a pretty turquoise flouncy skirt, matching sleeveless blouse, the sneakers he wears when he mows the grass, your mother's ugliest pink lipstick, his handbag, and he's ready for a day downtown. If you want to dress like a woman put some effort into it please! Besides my freight, I had a very good shopping day.

NYC Weekend

2007-10-03T22:12:00.001-04:00

I tried out the newest cheap bus to NYC, DC2NY this weekend. It was comfortable, only $40 round trip, the stop is a block from my office parking garage, so it all worked out beautifully.

My friend Del moved to Conn. for a new job so I went to go see him for about 24 hours. We had a blast tooling around the city. I think I finally figured out the subway which is such a bonus. We hit the Metropolitan Museum and the roof deck where there is some art and drinks! And a great view. We had dinner at an African restaurant in Harlem that night. He was thrilled to see so many Africans around, being from Nigeria and all.

On Sunday we did not get a very early start so it was a little rushed. We stumbled upon Artie's Delicatessen in the upper West Side for some breakfast and then rushed around the Natural History Museum for about an hour before having to get back down to Penn Station so I could catch the bus back.

New York is such a wonderful place. Activity abounds, and the culture of the people who live there is amazing. So much fun. We are already planning my next trip when we will explore Soho, Tribeca, and Greenwich Village.

Why do I get such pleasure from throwing away his toothbrush?

2007-09-21T14:30:00.001-04:00

I broke up with Doug this week. We weren’t going in the same direction so I had to end it. He wanted a casual relationship dressed in a serious relationship’s clothing. Kind of strange, actually, that was a first for me. Nice guy, he just needs a little time to get his new life formed. I told him pretty much right off that I am looking to get married. Not to him necessarily, but that is the goal. Casual if fun, but I am done with it. No hard feelings.

But I get such pleasure in throwing away the toothbrush. Wonder why?

Gift knitting

2007-09-01T11:19:00.000-04:00

I am planning on making some felted bags for Christmas gifts this year. My experiment with the French Market bag was a success this summer so I will continue felting. There are so many neat things out there including these flower embellishments. People are so clever. I am always amazed and inspired.

This time I am going to try the Buttonhole Bag from Mason Dixon Knitting. Here is some yarn I bought when I was in vacation in the Outer Banks a few weeks ago. I like the heathered colors, I think that will give the solid felted fabric some depth and interest.

K-Mart ad sends the wrong message

2007-08-24T11:32:00.000-04:00

Have you seen the back-to-school ad from K-Mart? The little girl is going to do well in the new school year because her clothes look so good. The little boy is going to do well because he has a backpack for all of his books.

What’s up with that? These messages of materialism and girls needing to look the right way to do well in life start so early. It is very discouraging.

It is still summer, people

2007-08-21T17:22:00.001-04:00

Why is it that the first time the temperature drops below 70 degrees in this city everyone pulls out their winter clothes? It makes me laugh, every summer. I saw dark jackets, sweaters over long sleeve shirts, and what could have been wool pants on the bus this morning. Don’t worry people, was have a lot of 90 degree days ahead of us!

I am back from my vacation to Asheville and the Outer Banks (N.C). I had a wonderful time, saw so much great fine art and crafts, bought pottery and jewelry and a quirky painting in Asheville. Relaxed on the beach and saw some beautiful scenery on the Outer Banks. The 1,863 miles of driving was worth it. But you won’t see me behind the wheel for a little while. I love my car, but we have had enough together time.

I also did some yarn shopping, at Yarn Paradise in the Biltmore Village in Asheville, and I stumbled across this neat little yarn shop in Manteo, in the Outer Banks, called Kimbeeba. I found some nice (read: cheap) felting yarn there for some Christmas presents I am going to make.

My test of the mini clapotis is a success I think. So successful that I am considering making the full size version. Is it too much red, though, at full-size?

Summer Vacation 2007

2007-08-06T18:05:00.000-04:00

My solo adventure to North Carolina starts Thursday morning. I will be on the road by 6 AM to reach Asheville by mid-afternoon. Part of the trip will be on the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway which starts in northern Virginia and goes all the way to the Great Smoky Mountains. I will have plenty of music to listen to and David Sedaris’s books on CD to keep me entertained. I do not do well on long car trips so I think this will be my biggest challenge. I get bored and antsy holed up in a car for too long.

I am keeping myself free most of the time to explore the city of Asheville but I have booked a half-day whitewater rafting trip on the Nantahala River and I found a couple of yoga studios. My first stop Friday is a massage to unkink after the long drive, I expect it to take 8+ hours. Asheville is home to the Biltmore Estate, home of the Vanderbilts, and I am feeling more of an obligation to visit than any desire so that will be Plan B on Sunday. It looks interesting for a couple of hours which does not justify the $40 admission fee. I think I am going to have the most fun wandering around visiting the shops and art galleries and trying all of the different restaurants I have been reading about in downtown.

After 3 full days in Asheville I jump back in the car for another 8 hour drive, due east, to Nags Head in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Ahhh, the beach. To me nothing is more relaxing than a chair and an umbrella on the sandy shore. Everyone in this area (Washington, DC) goes to the Outer Banks but I have never been.

My biggest angst last night after finishing all of my laundry and burning some CDs was what knitting projects to bring. I am still plodding along with the ballerina wrap sweater, I am mid-sleeve-#2, so I am definitely bringing that. But I want to bring something else. I swatched some sock yarn I bought last year for a possible go at the mini-Clapotis reworked by Yarn Dreams. It’s a possibility. I like the colors, vibrant for a winter scarf.

When it rains it pours

2007-07-27T18:33:00.000-04:00

This week has been a whirlwind of social activities. When it rains it pours! Does that happen to you? I met Kani, from IntellectConnect, on Monday at the Four Courts; dinner at David Greggory with my friend Linda who was here from Florida for a few days; Wed. I bailed on MeetUp; Thurs. is yoga night. Tomorrow I volunteer and then go to the Walters with Christina. Sunday I am meeting Young Dave, finally, for a beer.

The Highlight

The trip to Gettysburg last Saturday with the Capital Hiking Club was so much fun. Our guide, Larry, was a wealth of information. And there were other Civil War buffs/experts on the hike who added even more information.

All of the people in our group were so pleasant and easy to talk to. Ages ranged from 10 to 70-ish, men, woman, singles, couples. In the end I am so glad I went alone. I had invited the Craiglist girls but no one ended up signing up. That group is getting on my nerves, but more about that later. If I had been with people I knew, I don’t think I would have mingled. So alone can be better.

And I even got a date out of it! Bonus. I was totally not expecting that.

Tonight I am off to Sears to buy a new garbage disposal. My glamorous life!

Knitting

I posted the before and after dimensions and pictures of the French Market Bag to Flickr (see the box in the right column). I would say it shrunk about 25% in the felting process in the washing machine. I have a feeling it won’t shrink so much when hand-felted. But I need to do some experimenting.

First Felted Bag

2007-07-20T20:41:00.001-04:00

Knitting

Here’s my finished French Market Bag. Isn’t is cool? I am really excited about this felting thang. I am thinking Christmas presents.

Here’s the before picture so you can see how much is shrunk. Pretty dramatic.

When I was in RI last week I used my mother’s washing machine to perform my first felting experiment. I would say it was a success. I feared that the two purples that I chose were too subtle next to each other but they aren’t at all in the finished piece.

While this whole thing was easy to knit and the felting is cool, the shape of this bag is not going to be that useful for me I don’t think. The sides aren’t really that high and the straps aren’t long enough.

But next time I will know how to alter the pattern. I also think the next time I will hand felt which will give me more control. The washing machine was pretty rough and I left it in about 8 minutes, a little longer than I had wanted, but I got distracted watching “What Not to Wear.”

Love that show. And the few episodes I caught when I was getting my fill of cable TV at my parents house featured very willing and cooperative participants. Sometimes they are awful, kicking and screaming through every step, from new clothes, to hair, to makeup. Jeez, they are making you over, have fun with it.

Dating

Well, I think I am inadvertently online dating again.

In my daily scouring I regularly saw a post on Craigslist for Seeking Intellectually Curious Who Love Fine Arts? Have you seen it?

So I click on the above mentioned post to find intellectconnect.com, a new free online dating and friending site. I questioned whether I was smart enough for these potential dates. But I jumped in (I think the FREE was the hook I needed), created a profile, and then kind of forgot about it. Until I got a response a couple of weeks ago from a man who seems charming, nice, looking for friends, likes cultural pursuits, lives nearby in Woodley Park. So we are meeting next week for a beer.

I say inadvertently because this past spring when Gabriel just simply stopped calling and returning my calls, after a year of dating, I decided to take a break. So my focus has been on meeting people to do things with, like hiking, museums, going out to dinner, all the things you do with a boyfriend but without the complications of actually having to consider another person. (Yikes that sounds selfish. But you get my point.)

So I met that group of women on Craigslist and I have become involved in MeetInDC and meetup.com, and a few other things. And it’s all coming together, the work is paying off and I am meeting some new people and have some fun things on my calendar.

Like tomorrow I am going to Gettysburg with the Capital Hiking Club. I have never been to a Civil War site – shame on me, living in the South and all. I don’t know anyone on the trip, but that’s part of the adventure. I have an introverted personality so I have to force myself to do social things by myself. This will be a good exercise for me.

Just for laughs, I recently trolled around match.com, the old stompin’ ground, and all I saw were the same old faces, reading the same old profiles (“I am comfortable in a jean and a tux,” “I SCUBA dive and climb mountains, all in the same day,” “Looking for my soul mate as long as she looks like a super model”) so I give up on the online dating scene.

I had fun over the many years on match, met tons of men, went out on tons of dates, but I am done with that.

Speed Dating Virgin

2007-07-09T18:31:00.000-04:00

My friend Corey tried speed dating for the first time last night and he is hooked. He is already setting up the next venue, insisting that I go with him.

Have you tried it? Was it worth it? Did you meet interesting people?

Tell me what you think. I am actually considering it. I really have nothing to lose.

And Rob Brezsny keeps telling me to reinvent myself every week this year.

Bookmark review

2007-07-08T22:44:00.000-04:00

Every once in a while I check in with my lengthy knitting blogs bookmarks. If there hasn’t been an activity in a couple of months I delete it, knowing that is will be replaced by something equally as entertaining.

So here are some of the highlights of this evening’s tour:

A quilt made out of leftover sock yarn at Mya Finari Posts

SaunShine has moved to NYC to follow her dream of fashion design

I always enjoy seeing what the Knit Smiths are up to

Ysolda is so eloquent,

I’m still in love with the fabric that the Rowan Bamboo Soft makes, even if the splitting is a total pain in the arse. But it feels like a much loved, well worn t-shirt.

Sweaters for Squirrels – this is good for a guffaw

I am disappointed with the Daily Knitter, the new site from Interweave. There isn’t anything there, really, that I have not already found somewhere else. And the free patterns are weak. I will give it a little time, but if there’s no improvement in the depth of content .

This finished Sunrise Circle Jacket is gorgeous, such attention to detail, such a great fit.

Happy 4th and a day off in the middle of the week

2007-07-04T12:19:00.000-04:00

A day off in the middle of the week is weird. Last night I kept thinking it was Friday.

I got my fill of George, Brad, and the crew last night when I went to see Oceans 13 in Georgetown. And the added bonus was Julian Sands! I remember falling in love with him watching “A Room With a View” at the Copley Place movie theater in Boston when I was in college. The strong silent type gets me every time. Throw in an English accent and I am putty.

I had heard that O-13 wasn’t very good, the story was flat, the acting was OK. But I really liked it. Granted, if the actors were all average looking I probably would not have liked it so much. There is something about a well-dressed man, you know? Even an OK looking guy can ratchet it up a notch by wearing clothes that fit and are stylish.

I am headed down the The Mall this evening to see the fireworks. In the 12 years I have lived here I have never been. Crowds are not my favorite thing. But I also feel like I need to do it once in my life. I will just do my yoga breathing and I should be fine.

I can actually see the fireworks across the street from the St. Alban’s church property. There is usually a pretty good crowd over there every July 4th at 9 o’clock. But it’s so far away, it is nothing like being there. And I love fireworks.

Vida is muerta.

2007-07-01T12:43:00.000-04:00

Or at least crooked. The needle layed across the front shows how crooked it is. Yikes!

How did this happen? Could it be the reverse stockinette? I am scratching my head. I rinsed it in water and blocked it but I am not convinced that will solve my problem. I am going to query the KnitList. They know just about everything about knitting. (Amazing wealth of knowledge on that listserv.) And I really don’t want to start the front if I have to change something dramatic to make it symmetrical.

I bought some sale yarn from elann.com this week. This Highland Peruvian Wool (in Dusky Purple and Wisteria) is for my first French Market Bag (free pattern here). I have been wanting to try felting for a long time now, but I think my block has been a lack of a washing machine that I can control (I use the machines in my condo).

I know I can hand-felt but the machine looks a lot easier. So in a couple of weeks I am going to R.I. to see my parents, and celebrate my mother’s 70^th b’day, so I am going to try it out on her machine. Now the pressure to get the back knit in time. I also hope the colors aren't too subtle. I didn't want to the obnoxious color-scheme route because this bag is kind of large.

There is a nice gallery of finished bags here. Too bad the blog owner isn't still posting finished pics.

I also bought Berocco “Hip Hop” on sale for $5.25 a skein. I love the colorway of this yarn, my pictures don’t do it justice. I might try felting a swatch of this to see what happens to the colors, if they melt together in an interesting way, or not.

Fun in D.C.

Yesterday was Smithsonian day. It’s Folklife Festival time here in D.C. and I had more fun than I thought I would. I did my regular volunteering gig in the morning at the Freer Gallery and stuck around, got some lunch – ugh, 30 minutes in the Mekong Delta food line – which took the edge off the maddening food line, and hung around to listen to some live folk music.

I heard some great bluegrass (Whitetop Mountain Band) and got my fill of all types of Irish music including my favorite Highland pipes. Robert Watt was great and very dramatic with his bald head and funky glasses. Four Guys and a Dog were great, too, go see them if you can. Fun, lively, toe-tapping, people out on the dance floor, they had the tent rocking.

Out of 50 million single women

2007-06-25T22:56:00.000-04:00

These “find your perfect match in one week or less” shows infuriate me. I couldn’t watch more than 27 minutes of “Science of Love” on NBC tonight before shutting it off. The producers make women look like weak, squeaky, I-need-a-man-to-have-a-fulfilling-life creatures. (And let’s not leave “The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette,” or “The Age of Love” out. Are there anymore shows on the networks that I am missing?) Are they so desperate for a date that they have to go on national television, and, often times, drag there cookie-cutter families along for the ride?

For drama, there is always the element of woman versus woman where the competing women putting each other down, criticize, and make judgments about people they don’t even know. And the men think they can find The One on the first (blind) date. They all come off looking so sad and pathetic.

Where does Kelly Ripa’s husband and host of the show get off saying that out of 50 million single women in the United States, the scientists found the perfect match for football player guy? I was not in that pool of possible winners. Were you?

These shows simply perpetuate the myth of Prince Charming will sweep me off my feet and everything will be perfect. But worse than that, these few women that appear on these shows make us all look ridiculous.

One of DC's hidden treasures

2007-06-23T16:44:00.000-04:00

I have found one of DC’s hidden treasures, the tower at the Old Post Office Pavilion at 11^th and Pennsylvania NW.

Corey and I were eating lunch there today after visiting the National Gallery. Corey noticed a sign for a Tower Tour so we checked it out.

First of all, and most importantly, it’s FREE.

And the view is amazing. You can see so much of the city. I bet it rivals the Washington Monument. We saw the Shrine, the new baseball stadium, the airport, Roslyn, a gorgeous view of the Lincoln Memorial, all along The Mall. It was awesome, you must visit.

In other news

A man after my own heart, the Mayor of San Francisco is cracking down on single-serve water bottles:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19378595/site/newsweek/

Welcome Summer

2007-06-22T22:35:00.000-04:00

It was a beautiful night to welcome summer at Alliance Française La Fete de la Musique. Can you get over this weather? Three of the C-list girls and I went to sip wine and listen to a wide range of music. It was fun, mixing with French-speaking people from around the world. Two of the acts played outside which was lovely.

Knitting

I am still ripping out the Tivoli top. All of the decreases are now causing me to pull all of the ripped out yarn through on stitch. It’s maddening so I only do a few inches a night.

Elann.com is having a sale on some wool, $2.25 a ball, so I am going to knit up a French Market Bag (free pattern from Knitty) and bring it to R.I. when I go in July to felt in my mother’s washing machine. I don’t have control over the cycles on the machines in my building. Amanda’s squatty sidekick is another cute (free pattern) bag I might try - and I am also thinking Christmas gifts. I am dieing to felt! And the color selection of this sale yarn is huge.

Young Dave Follow up

When you last read, Ellen McCarthy, writer for the Post, responded to my request for Dave’s email, after I saw him in last week’s Weekend Section. She did not have his email address so she called him, above and beyond the call of duty, and told him I had gotten in touch with her and she gave him my email. As the days drifted by I thought I would not hear from him. Et viola, yesterday he send me a sweet message. So it was good to hear from him and my goal was completed, simply to say hello, glad you are doing well.

I love making my own pizza

2007-06-19T19:28:00.001-04:00

with my garden-share plum tomatoes, all red and ripe

and the oregano and basil, fresh from the window-sill, all green and fragrant

But pounding out the dough sucks. Is there an easier way?

Young Dave cont'd

On Saturday I told you about my finding an old flame in a story in the Post Weekend section. I wrote the writer, Ellen McCarthy, to see if she could put me in touch with Dave. She sent me a delightful response on Sunday, explaining that she did not have his email address but she called him to get it. Apparently he was excited to hear about me after all these years and took down my email address. And Ellen wants the scoop!

This is all so funny. I truely just want to say hello, glad you're doing well. And I so appreciate Ellen's kind response. I am too quick to assume people don't care.

That’s right, garden tomatoes

2007-06-17T18:47:00.000-04:00

Again this year I am participating in Community Supported Agriculture, which is organic, locally grown produce. I pick up my weekly share from Stoney Lonesome Farm on Thursdays in upper NW. It usually goes for 18 to 20 weeks.

This is week two and the share has included spring mix lettuce, turnips, radishes, red and green peppers, sugar snap and snow peas, garlic scapes, braising greens, and tomatoes. That’s right, tomatoes. There is a neighboring farm that grew them in the greenhouse this winter.

Last year we were inundated with Swiss chard and I was bracing myself for it again this year. But luckily so far no chard, hip hip hooray. There is nothing worse than giving away a chunk of your vegetables every week. I scoured my cookbooks and Internet last year, looking for interesting ways to disguise, errr prepare, the chard. But every time I ate it, it tasted like dirt. DC Food Blog is now wondering what to do with all of the greens in the share, too.

I wasn’t sure what to do the turnips, but then I remembered this dish I have made before with carrots, potatoes, red onions, turnips, some spices and lemon juice. It is so good, I am glad I had a reason to make it. Love me some root vegetables.

Young Dave?!?

2007-06-16T16:24:00.000-04:00

So I was flipping through the Weekend section of the Post a few minutes ago and I came to the feature story about all the ways to meet people in D.C. when you are feeling at a loss for friends or people to do stuff with. I can relate, that is how I met the Craigslist girls (we have our second date tomorrow, btw). I glance at the picture of the two outdoorsy looking guys and read the caption, “A few years ago, Dave Connolly, left…”

What?

Young Dave!?! Yup, that’s him alright. In all of his youth and cuteness.

I got back up off the floor, caught my breath, wiped the tears from by eyes and dove into the story about Dave’s quest to meet people in D.C. I could tell the story myself. He had these two friends that recently had married and moved to Seattle and he talked about them all the time. He really missed them – I wish I could remember their names. I think they started w/the same letter.

A while back I met Dave on Craigslist and we dated for a little while. He was much younger than me, about 10 years, so I dubbed him Young Dave so my friends could remember who I was talking about. I remember watching “The Ring” with him. That is the last horror flick I have watched. He was so sweet, but the age difference was pretty evident. He was probably 25 at the time.

But I would love to say hi to him, see how he is doing. I emailed the Post reporter who wrote the story and asked for his email address. What do I have to lose?

Another small-world DC story.

Pain in the lily pad

2007-06-13T18:50:00.000-04:00

Knitting

I have spent a good amount of time this week frogging my Tivoli (free pattern from Grumperina) that I finished 2 years ago. Unfortunately it loosened up a bit after I wore it a couple of times and became way to big, gapping under the arms, the cap sleeves falling over. The funny thing is that I get many hits to this blog from the picture posted on Grumperina’s site (sheesh, look at all those tops). So I feel like I am misleading the people who look at my creation. And now it is half-ripped out. But I do plan to reknit the top because I really like this yarn. The frogging is a pain in the lily pad though, because of all of the decreases and binding off. I am almost past the neckline and sleeves. Then it will be smooth sailing on the ball winder.

Movies

I watched a great movie this weekend, "Don't Move." Only a foreign film could have a woman (Penelope Cruz) fall in love and have a long-term relationship with the man who rapes her. It sounds horrible, but the story is compelling. The characters - the guy, the woman, his wife, a daughter - are great, all sympathetic in their own way. And Penelope Cruz really shows her talent as an actress in this role. She sheds her beauty which I think gets in her way in her roles.

The Postmortem

2007-06-09T10:28:00.000-04:00

The first date went really well, thank you. There were 5 of us so the group size was perfect for talking. We met at Lebanese Taverna in Pentagon City, and sat outside. Alexis, Melissa, Carol, and Kristanne were great, low-key, interesting, friendly, and smart so we had plenty to talk about. I can't wait to get together again.

I think timing and karma play a role in these things, but I would recommend posting or responding to a "meet some new people" ad on Craigslist. I think there are a lot of people out there looking to make some new friends but aren't quite sure how to do it. Carol, who posted the ad, told us she had gotten many responses to the ad, more than she had expecteda. And when I told my 50-something friend at work, she was all over the idea.

I have a first date tonight

2007-06-08T16:01:00.000-04:00

with a bunch of new women I met on Craigslist. I answered a post seeking women in my age range who are looking for people to do stuff with. “No whiners or attention mongers.”

That would be me! So about half of the group is meeting tonight at Lebanese Taverna at Pentagon Row for some hummus and chit chat. (The irony is I was there on Monday for lunch with a vendor. So my annual trips to Pentagon Row has doubled to two. My world is so small sometimes.)

I am looking forward to it, actually. My group of friends has dwindled as people have moved away, gotten married, and/or had kids. While I don’t mind doing things alone, it’s just not as fun a lot of the time.

Maybe my friend-life will be more successful than my love-life is right now.

You know DC is a small town when

2007-06-06T19:00:00.001-04:00

you see the same tourist-family at the Millennium Stage that was getting on your bus the evening before, most likely headed to the National Cathedral.

We were at the Kennedy Center last night enjoying

Melody Gardot
Part of the VSA arts 2007 Start with the Arts Family Festival
This 23-year-old award-winning singer and guitarist—whose multifaceted musical talent has drawn comparisons to Cole Porter, Billie Holiday, and Nina Simone—performs music with her quartet from her debut album Worrisome Heart.

Click here to watch the video archive.

She and her band are so talented. I would call it lounge jazz, moody, soulful, melancholy. Unfortunately all of those you-will-never-understand-or-deserve-me love songs got me thinking about Gabriel. Shake it off, girl!

They got a standing ovation, something I have never seen before at Millennium Stage.

Knitting

World Wide Knit in Public Day is June 9^th. The Creative Knitters Guild will be at Glen Echo Park, in Maryland, from 10:30AM to 3:30PM, celebrating. Sounds like fun, I will try to get over there.

I was in NH and Maine this past weekend of the annual Simmons Girl Reunion Weekend. It is always so much fun to get together with my college chicas. We have been friends since our first week at Simmons. We all lived on the same floor and have maintained this bond for more than 20 years now. It was like God had a plan to bring us all together.

So I made a stop at Charlotte’s Web in Exeter, NH, and bought this yarn (Tahki Stacy Charles “Bunny Print,” merino, alpaca, acrylic). The shop was so nice, and completely overwhelming. It happens to me all the time! I bring some ideas of what I want to knit and the gauges of the projects and my head starts spinning. So many options! I never know if I should pick the yarn for the project or a project for the yarn.

My plan was to knit Clapotis using this yarn, but I think it is going to be to heavy. We'll see how that works out.

Miss the Cicadas?

2007-06-03T21:29:00.000-04:00

Now starring in the Chicago area!

http://dailynightly.msnbc.com/2007/06/chicagos_cicada.html

I was equally grossed out and amazed by these things when they were in DC a few years ago. I have an homage to them at work. I have started covering my office door with origami cicadas. Some people see it immediately and others look at me like I am a little odd.

Here's a video on how to make origami cicadas:

Origami cicada

I was startled when I saw this video. This woman is my twin! Freaky.

FO

2007-05-28T12:51:00.000-04:00

Why I got a bug to finally finish the Sunrise Circle Jacket when it is humid and in the upper 80s I will never know. You can see all about it here.

Are you SURE it’s not July?

2007-05-27T22:11:00.000-04:00

It feels more like Fourth of July than Memorial Day in Washington, DC today. What’s with this heat and humidity??

I went down to see Rolling Thunder before meeting my friend Del this afternoon to hit a couple of museums. I was pretty amazed by the number of motorcycles, and all the leather and American flags. I watched for about 45 minutes, went into the African Art Museum and then over to Natural History to get some lunch, and they were still running up Constitution. (I was hoping to see a bike like the ones on American Chopper. I love that show.)

One of my favorite spots down on the Mall is the Ripley Garden, on Independence Ave. between the Hirshhorn Museum and the Arts and Industries building. It is really gorgeous, lots of flowers and plants, and it’s shady and there are places to sit. It is like a little oasis.

I found another really cool place to hang out today, too, the Portico Café at the American Art Museum . It’s on the second floor, outdoors, overlooking G Street. There was a lovely breeze and great people watching. They have light food, like sandwiches, sodas, coffee, beer, wine, and even hard liquor. Next time I will bring a date – the museum is open until 7 pm.

Del and sat for more than an hour, cooling off, nursing my Sierra Nevada, talking about him having kids, my desire not to have kids, his next job, the obstacles people blame for their lot in life, the new girls he met this weekend. We cover all of the bases when we get together. So it was a great day all around.

And I have another day off tomorrow. Awesome.

Will pie be the next big thing?

2007-05-26T13:16:00.000-04:00

I went to see "The Waitress" yesterday afternoon – our office closed at 3 o’clock for the long weekend. After getting past Felicity (Keri Russell) playing a troubled, depressed woman, and Jeremy Sisto as an abusive husband, I ended up really liking this movie.

It’s not the Southern chick flick that you might think. But it was moving and honest and the characters were interesting. Including Andy Griffith who was great.

I wonder if this movie is going to make pie the next big thing?

And I watched "Roman Holiday" last night, too. Such a cute movie. And Gregory Peck is the sexiest man ever.

Knitting progress

So here is the progress of Ballerina Top and Vida. Could these projects look any more different? Cool, subdued purple in wool and bright and brash turquoise in cotton.

My left wrist is remembering how cotton can be hard to knit in that it does not give like the wool yarn does. But Vida is interesting because it is a reverse stockinette, giving the fabric a really nice pattern to a solid color.

I am altering the pattern a bit on Vida. I am making the knit side the RS, although the pattern shows the purl stitches as the right side. Why go to all the trouble of reversing the knits and purls only to hide the way the twisted knit stitches look? I did learn that the twisted, or reverse stockinette, is often used w/ribbon yarn, which makes a lot of sense. I have found that ribbon yarn can look messy when knit. I think using a reverse stitch makes if lie flatter and it looks neater and more defined.

It is taking me longer to knit, though, because knitting and purling backwards is awkward. And the cotton is so stiff. But I would like to wear it this summer so I better get cracking!

I am making the sleeves for the Ballerina Top longer than the pattern is calling for. And now I am wondering if the sleeves will be too wide because I did not spread out the increases for the prescribed 13 inch sleeve that will be a 20+ inch sleeve now. So I will see how that works out. I have frogged this yarn about 4 times now, what’s one more trip around the yarn winder! (I am soooo glad I bought that thing last year.)

Austin Stories

2007-05-23T19:45:00.000-04:00

I just returned from my annual business trip to Austin, Texas. If I am counting right, this is my seventh time visiting and the city gets better and better every year. One of my colleagues who was on the trip w/me had lived there for a few years, and she had a car, so she played tour guide one evening which was fun. We visited the Whole Foods mother ship, and she pointed out the original store which is now a store called Cheapo. How ironic.

BBQ and Mexican were also on the itinerary. Ironworks and Gueros and fit that bill very nicely. I also got to visit my fave Middle Eastern restaurant, Marakesh, and get my fill of their wonderful hummous.

And to top off all of the great food, weather, and fun we had, my wish for a button-bag came true.

Three years ago I was coveting these handbags made out of buttons, found at Tesoros, a funky store that sells crafts from developing countries. But the $58 price tag scared me off. Last year, I visited again, hoping they might be marked down for some crazy reason. Nope, not a chance.

Monday afternoon I made the annual pilgrimage, because I always find cool stuff, and admired the bags, wondering “How hard could it be to make one?” Then I wandered to the back room warehouse sale. Lo and behold, button bags, marked down! They all were damaged in some way, but still totally useable. So here she is! Not the color scheme I would have chosen, but for $19, I will take it. I am so happy.

See, patience pays off.

There are great restaurants in Austin, and thankfully not many chains. Cute shops too. Does anyone remember the show “Austin Stories” on MTV?

Great Show!

2007-05-19T17:07:00.000-04:00

A few friends and I went to see Angelique Kidjo on Thursday night, what a blast! She has so much energy, and the crowd was really pumped to see her. Everyone was on their feet, at their seats and in the aisles, by the end of the evening. Even the middle aged white guy sitting in front of me. The bonus was that Oladele was able to get tickets for $15 because he is a student at GW.

I stumbled across her music one day a few months ago when I was trying to figure out I Tunes. (I need a 13 year-old in my life to help w/these things.) And then a few days later I saw an ad in the City Paper that she was coming to Lisner.

The Washington Post gave a good review and a well-written description of the performance. She is going to be at Strathmore Hall (Rockville, MD) in the spring if you are interested.

Oladele and I will be there!

Evil Plastic Grocery Bags

2007-05-16T19:33:00.000-04:00

Quite a few years ago I happened to catch a short film on PBS about ways to create less waste. It really stuck with me because it is so easy to do and over the course of a life-time we can all effect how much waste is created and even cut down on the production of plastic bottles, bags, and other containers.

Two of the consumer products that annoy me the most are water bottles, especially those little ones – are they a pint? – and plastic grocery bags. They are prolific in our society, and most likely used once and tossed into the landfill for all eternity. I go out of my way to bring my repurposed convention tote bags to the grocery store (and I like the 5 cent refund). But I often get caught w/o a bag if I drop in on the way home from work or if I happen to be walking by. I grit my teeth as the cashier double-bags my two items, knowing the bags will soon be at my house looking for a new use. I have grappled w/keeping a plastic bag or two with me but they are not easily stuffed in my bag along with my wallet, bus pass, knitting needles, umbrella, and other assorted items.

But I had a brainstorm the other day. I thought, I need a small container to stuff a bag into, something I can reuse. Et viola, I found two perfect containers. On the left is a mint container and on the right, a pill container.

I also prefer this to recycling because I don’t really trust that the grocery store is recycling the plastic bags that get returned and by reusing them, the store is using fewer and will then in turn buy fewer so the manufacturer will produce fewer bags. This is also in accordance with the waste hierarchy, something I did not know existed until about 10 minutes ago.

One other tip the film gave, that I use every day, is to use less. For example, the next time you are squeezing shampoo into your hand, use half the amount you normally use. If that was enough suds, use half the amount of shampoo the next time, and the next time, until it was not enough and go back to the amount you used the day before. Over the course of your life you will throw away fewer bottles and also purchase fewer bottles, saving money and creating less waste. This can be applied to soap, conditioner, cleaning products, toothpaste, hair styling products, and so many more things that we use every day.

I gave up, onto something new

2007-05-14T18:40:00.000-04:00

After really struggling w/reading the Ivy pattern, and ripping it out, twice, I gave up. I was so frustrated that I stopped knitting, which made me even more unhappy. I will go back to the KAL and longingly admire the finished sweaters. It is a beautiful pattern, and maybe one day I will have the skills to complete it.

Meanwhile, I found a similar wrap sweater, w/a pattern that I can handle. This is the ballerina top from Debbie Bliss's Cashmere Collection. I have gotten some serious knitting time in yesterday and today because my back is strained and I am practically immobile. It is so frustrating! The weather is gorgeous and I am stuck inside. I have taken a couple of short walks which are painful but will help me feel better in the long run.

2007-05-14T18:28:00.000-04:00

After really struggling w/reading the Ivy pattern, and ripping it out, twice, I gave up. I was so frustrated that I stopped knitting, which made me even more unhappy. I will go back to the KAL and longingly admire the finished sweaters. It is a beautiful pattern, and maybe one day I will have the skills to complete it.

Meanwhile, I found a similar wrap sweater, w/a pattern that I can handle. This is the ballerina top from Debbie Bliss's "Cashmere Collection." I have gotten some serious knitting time in the past couple of days because my back is out. I can't imagine what I did.

Ivy but not rashes

2007-02-15T18:13:00.000-05:00

Ivy is coming along nicely

I am concerned that the lumpy looking section of the back of the sweater will not smooth out when I wash and shape the piece when I am finished. When I frogged Sorbet, the yarn was all crimped from the stitches in that piece. I did not wash and straighten it out the yarn before starting Ivy.

Now that I have started a second ball, it looks so much smoother and neater. This will be a lesson learned. I am not going to stop now. If I have to pull it all out at the end, so be it.

V Day

Valentine's Day was really nice. I haven’t had a Valentine in a long time so it was fun to be able to participate this year. ;)

Gabriel came over for dinner. I cooked Cornish game hens for the first time and they came out great. Here is the recipe from Epicurious.com. I also made garlic mashed (Yukon gold) potatoes, green beans, and kale w/apples and curry.

It was very low key, fun evening.

Until the topic of my rash came up. Again.

I have pityriasis rosea, a gross-looking but not contagious (or itchy or anything) rash on my torso, stomach, neck, and arms. It is nothing to be concerned about and will go away in a couple of months or so. Well, Gabe is convinced I need to go on a fast to stop eating carbs because they are contributing to my candida. Since when do carbohydrates have anything to do w/a yeast infection? Where does he come up w/this crap?

Old German wives tales I think. His grandmother's cure for everything when he was growing up was an anema. I guess that explains a lot.

The doctor also gave me an RX for a topical cortisone cream which he is pleading with me not to use. I appreciate his concern for my well-being but he has gone way over the top. I have read up on my rash and feel very comfortable with my doctor's prognosis. He doesn't believe her, because he says she is a lacky for the drug companies and the only reason she prescribed the cortisone is because she ultimately gets a cut. Paranoid much?

In all of his beauty

2007-02-09T19:55:00.000-05:00

I am back after a long absence. What have I been up to?

I knit three scarves for the Orphan Project. They sat around waiting to be mailing for weeks and then I was racing out of town and remembered I had to mail them. Therefore no pictures. I am so glad to work on that project, this is my second year.

· My current project is Ivy from the fall 2006 Knitty. I have had Cashsoft sitting around for more than a year and this is the perfect yarn for the project. The cables threw me at first, but they seemed to come together as I knit each row. I am pretty psyched, actually. Last year’s knitting resolution completed.

· Reunited with Gabriel in October and things are going well. I am really happy. Last fall I was thinking about him a lot so I got up the nerve, after much angst and hand-wringing, to email him. Just to say hi and to apologize for just walking off that day he broke up with me in the middle of my sailing class. And he responded almost immediately, to my surprise. Two weeks later, it’s Saturday afternoon, I am home, talking on the phone to my brother in Maine, and out of the blue there is someone is calling me from the front door of my building (the buzzer rings to my cell phone). To my shock it’s Gabriel. I race around, change my shirt, brush my teeth, and go down to see him, trying to catch my breath as I casually walk out the front door.

And there he is, in all of his beauty. Wow. Shock.

We have been seeing each other regularly, but not constantly, ever since. He threw me a lovely birthday of hiking at Great Falls, Mexican food, a soft-kiss (finally), an emergency Red Cross crank radio, and amazing sex (we move fast).

· Cranked up the yoga to two classes a week. Tranquil Space is about two blocks from my office so I have no excuse. My colleague was going on Mondays at lunch time so I started going with her (thanks Charisse). It was just the push I needed. I appreciate the discipline of Iyengar yoga that I have been practicing at Unity Woods because it makes my flow classes at TS that much more enjoyable. I know most of the poses and it is empowering to understand how to get into them. And I am learning more from the different teachers I see weekly. It’s great, I so recommend yoga to everyone. It is so much more than stretching. That is a difficult message to get across to people. But if I can get one person to try it for 6 months, they too will see.

Happy New Year

2007-01-02T11:34:00.000-05:00

To pickup where I left off a few weeks ago, that blue scarf was looking great, but I ran out of yarn. I really thought I had bought 2 balls, but I guess not. Or maybe I will find it buried somewhere one day. Ugh, so much time wasted!

So that scarf turned into this one, which is part of the my charity knitting for the Orphan Foundation of America’s Red Scarf Project. I had originally thought I would have time to knit this scarf for my office secret santa to replace the blue scarf, but when it came down to the wire I did not have the 3 hours I estimated I needed to finish it in time.

I love this pattern, though, so I am using it for the third scarf I am knitting for Red Scarf here:

Remember that scarves are accepted throughout the month of January ONLY.

Happy New Year everybody. My holidays were great and I celebrated whole heartedly. With the office parties, my birthday, traveling to Rhode Island for Christmas, spending time with my parents, and then a few days off to recover from it all, I am ready to get back to my normal routine.

Living across the street from the National Cathedral brings an interesting viewpoint to now my second presidential funeral. After the obscure and rather limiting security during Reagan’s funeral and seeing the ugliness that reigns in some people in my building, I have decided to stay inside and watch is all on TV. I have the day off, maybe I will try to figure out the MP3 player I got for Christmas.

Secret Santa

2006-12-10T13:25:00.000-05:00

I am participating in our office-wide Secret Santa this year. The fun starts tomorrow and culminates on Friday before our holiday luncheon. Luckily I picked the name of a colleague I like and have known for a while so this will be fun.

For the final gift and Secret Santa-reveal, I decided to make a simple scarf with some yarn I bought a while ago. I found this interesting pattern in “The Complete Book of Knitting,” by Barbara Abbey called diagonal ribbing or chevron.

I am thrilled with how the scarf is coming together. It’s a simple pattern that looks really nice as a scarf because it works on both sides of the scarf.

Gingerbread houses

2006-12-03T20:10:00.000-05:00

There is a Gingerbread House competition (through Dec. 10) at the Darnall’s Chance House Museum in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. There were adults and children's entries, and the kids were far better than the adults in my opinion. The kids were so creative with the subjects they chose, like the "Christmas Bath" entry, and how they used the candy and other foods to build their creations. These two were my favorites (kid above and adult below).

A few years ago a friend of mine, who is an avid baker, hosted a gingerbread house making party. She baked the gingerbread and cut out the parts of the house, and also made the royal icing to hold it all together (amazing stuff, it’s like glue), and the guests brought the candy decorations.

It was such a blast. Once you start embellishing you can’t stop. Just when you think you have run out of ideas for how to use licorice or gum drops in fun and creative ways, another idea will pop into your head. When I was looking at the pictures I took yesterday I noticed things I had not seen before, like how one of the houses is partially made out of Fig Newtons.

Other happenings in D.C.

There are a couple of interesting photography exhibits at the National Museum of Natural History.

Nature’s Best Photography Exhibition

And Transitions: Photographs by Robert Creamer which isn’t photography as you think of it. This artist uses a scanner to make his photographs. It was fascinating. There is a video of him in his studio. The subject matter is natural objects like plants and flowers, but he turns them into totally different looking objects.

Knitted Christmas Trees

2006-11-29T20:10:00.000-05:00

Here are some easy ways to move past the stress of the holidays:

And of course there is always knitting.

I am working on a pair of socks and trying to finish seaming Sunrise Circle jacket. I always blow seaming out of proportion. It’s really never as bad as I think it’s going to be. And it is one of the most rewarding parts of a project – bringing all of those extraneous parts together to make something wearable.

I love these knitted Christmas trees! The Crafty Modster is very clever.

It’s worth a trip to NoVa to visit the craft store to buy some cheap, tacky yarn. Hey, this would be fun to make for my Secret Santa at the office, depending on who it is.

Am I getting old, or is there really nothing on TV? Programming is so lame. The same shows are on every network channel, just repackaged and on different nights.

So how do you get rid a guy that won’t go away?

A while ago I was seeing Chris. His behavior warranted not seeing him anymore, but I still get these random emails from him. “I was thinking about you….Hope you are well…” crap. Sounds nice, I know, but no, he’s not. I want to reply and tell him to leave me alone. Corey tells me to just ignore him.

I hope you caught Charlie Brown tonight

2006-11-28T21:24:00.000-05:00

For me, A Charlie Brown Christmas puts me in the Christmas mind-set. I guess it harkens back to watching it as a kid. It was a special occasion, I think my mother even made us popcorn, when Charlie Brown, Rudolph, the Grinch, the Little Drummer Boy, Heatmeiser, and all the rest came on.

I hope you didn’t miss it this year. Yes, you can watch it on DVD, at any time of the year, but that doesn’t make it special.

Rethink your holiday gift giving:

http://www.yogajournal.com/views/1443_1.cfm?ctsrc=nlv233

Knitting and Retirement

2006-11-24T19:33:00.000-05:00

My parents are contemplating retiring with in the next year. That is such a scary thing – my parents are getting old. They are in very good health, they drive, get around just fine, but it is sobering to know that they are getting old. My role as daughter is going to be changing.

Part of my current daughter-role is Reality. This summer I gingerly, because I never know what kind of reaction I am going to get at any given moment, asked my mother, what she had planned for retirement.

Oh I don’t know. I would like to learn how to knit.

This of course both excited me and scared me. Knitting is a great hobby, she must see how much I like it, her mother and sister were big knitters years ago, she lives in a cold climate so knitted wool stuff will come in handy, she has 6 grandchildren, and me, to make things for.

And then I though, how many scarves and sweaters will she be knitting with all of this free time? Egad.

What else do you have planned? What have you always wanted to do but couldn’t because of time, kids, whatever?

Oh, I don’t know. I am happy here.

I stressed the need for some kind of plan to fill the days and left it at that. The tension in the room was rising which was my cue to change the subject.

Luckily my father’s doctor frowned on the idea of retirement when he had his last appointment. She explained to my father that he needs the daily mental and physical stimulation to keep young. I was glad that a neutral and trusted third-party spoke up because they will listen to her. And now my mother is bringing up the topic which means she is thinking about it seriously.

So this Christmas I am going to give them a few books about how to retire. Surprisingly there are a lot of them! I can understand their lack of creativity. Their generation (they are the Veterans generation among demographers) so they worked to provide for their families, that was their identity, and they enjoy it. When we talked this summer about work and retirement they told me they enjoy getting up everyday and going to work. I am the opposite. I like my job, but I don’t look forward everyday to going to work. I can’t wait to retire!!

They really don’t have activities they do regularly for fun. Hobbies are so important! So hopefully they can develop some things they want to do for what the French all the third chapter. (Isn’t that a great expression?)

And I am going to start collecting patterns for sweaters I would love to make but know I will never have the time.

Knitting and Yoga

2006-11-22T12:37:00.000-05:00

In the past few months I have noticed a change in my overall well being. I feel good all the time, even when I am bothered by things like work or family or boys. I have been working on my “things” in my own way, with my attitude being the number one adjustment. And I think it is all coming together, after years of work.

My entire adulthood has been a series of ups and downs that I had gotten used to. In my twenties I knew when things were going well that soon enough that would change. I have had periods of mild depression that I recognized and dreaded when they would come on. But it wasn’t anything serious and I knew it would pass like all the times before. It was mainly triggered by my hormones – I definitely suffered from PMS (as did the people around me!).

Over the last few months I have had a lightness that I have attributed to my ongoing yoga practice and a couple of chakra workshops at Spiral Flight.

And the light bulb just went on a little brighter when I read this:

http://www.yogajournal.com/dailyinsight/112206.html

So now I can add knitting to probable cause for my new lightness.

It’s hard to describe and when I try to tell people what yoga has brought to my life it starts to sound hokey and new-agey. I am not that AT ALL. But I really believe that yoga has taught me to remain centered and opened up my energy centers. This has not happened overnight and it is gratifying to know that all my inward focus is paying off.

New rule

2006-11-15T20:54:00.000-05:00

Metro voice

I had to ride both the subway and the bus home this evening because of meetings across town. Man, I don’t know how people ride the subway every day. I guess you develop a bubble to insulate you from all of the rude, inconsiderate, clueless people out there. Give me the bus any day!

Nothing protects you from inane conversation, though.

I think the new guy in charge of Metro should introduce the practice of using “Metro voice” when riding public transportation. That way we ALL don’t need to hear about the boy who is courting you and all your friends are asking about and why hasn’t he asked you out yet (giggle giggle) and we spent all of Saturday evening together and no, nothing happened and I am not going to ask him out first and it would be nice to bring a date to my office holiday party that is coming up on December 8th.

Ugh. Tone it down.

Here’s how Metro voice works.

Picture in your head the one person in your life you do not want to know anything about your personal life. This could be a boss, parent, landlord, freak you see at the Starbucks every day.

Now, when you start up a conversation while riding Metro, or any other form of public transport, either in person or on your &*^@! cell phone, picture that person sitting right next to you and alter your volume so as not to share every painful f*cking detail with that person and all of the hapless victims of your boundary-less life. (Must have been a millennial sitting there. It will take me a lifetime to gain even an ounce of patience for that group.)

Got it?

As a child you learned “inside voice.” Look how handy that has become in your adult life.

digital photography for dummies

2006-11-06T18:22:00.000-05:00

I wish I could take better pictures with my digital camera. I was going to share my finished sock but the pics were lousy. The colors weren’t doing the yarn justice and the angle of my foot wearing the sock was a little weird.

I have also started my holiday knitting. I am being realistic with it being November already.

And I bought some pretty nice yarn for cheap at AC Moore for the Red Scarf Project. I think I will get 2-3 scarves done by January.

Now Norma Knits has created the Red Scarf Project blog. She puts it beautifully:

This is a project that touches my heart in a very big way.

The Orphan Foundation of America sponsors this project if you want to read more.

So instead of knitting projects, here is a pic from yesterday. I took a walk along the C&O Canal, I think it’s called the Capital Crescent Trail. I picked it up in Georgetown and walked to Fletcher’s Boathouse (and got to pee in the woods, yay!).

Lovely day.

Booo

2006-10-30T18:05:00.000-05:00

It being Halloween and all, I thought I would share one of the scariest things I have seen in a long-ass time.

Click here if you dare.

Why are so many people visiting my blog all of a sudden?

2006-10-28T23:32:00.000-04:00

I went to the Dupont Circle Arts Festival earlier today. I even motivated myself to walk down there and back (about 6 miles).

It was a great time, I saw some really nice handbags, jewelry, fiber, paintings, pottery, and photography, and I bought a few gifts. No knitters though. That surprised me.

I don’t think the vendors who were literally blown away were too psyched. The dark clouds cleared to reveal the gorgeous sun and warm temperatures, and brought blustery wind that was knocking over stuff without warning. What a shame! Many were packing up early in the afternoon.

Red Scarf Project

And thanks to Wonkette for the mention in her blog about the Red Scarf Project. She has a lot more eyeballs than I do. When I saw the major spike in my traffic it startled me!

Send warmth and encouragement to America’s college-bound foster youth

2006-10-27T16:00:00.000-04:00

The Red Scarf Project is gearing up again this year.

The Orphan Foundation of America needs thousands of handmade scarves to put in their Valentine Care Packages they send to parentless youth attending college. Your handiwork will truly be the personal touch in these packages and bring students the encouragement they need to move forward and graduate to a brighter future. For over 25 years, OFA has provided funding and family-like support to foster youth in transition.

Guidelines to participate are at www.orphan.org/red_scarf_project.html

At the bottom of the page is a free Lily Chin scarf pattern, too.

How could I have missed “dominant male seeking submissive female”?

2006-10-26T22:15:00.000-04:00

I don’t usually go on and on about my pathetic dating life, but I just had to share the emails I received today.

I few days ago I winked at Bobby. He’s cute, tall, interesting, lives nearby. When I got an email response from him I was surprised because of the lack of action I get from men that I initiate contact with.

So I sent a short, cheery message explaining myself a little more, asking a few questions.

Today I got his reply with my morning coffee:

Subject: Re: Re:

Thanks!

Got a question. Did you see my tag line saying I'm a Dominant male seeking a submissive female?

Just wondering,

B

Uhh, no, I guess I didn’t.

I have to say it flustered me a little.

Dominant male? Nope, definitely missed that in your headline.

After the initial shock, a small part of me kind of wanted to play along because I know nothing about this behavior. But I don’t think I could fake it.

So I am just going to ignore the whole situation. And laugh every time I tell the story.

*************************************

Later on in the day I get this little ditty.

Subject: hello sweety

Hello
how are u doing ,i'm david by name i dont mind telling me yours,
i'm looking for a serious relatioship, a person that will care for me and loves me.when i was searching i go through your profile it was really making me amazing and so good i now decided to give you message ,i will like to know you better. if you dont mind you can add me to your messenger my own user is david4lovers08@xxxxx.com

Mind you, anyone who starts their communication with me using words like sweety, sexy, beauty, hottie, etc. is automatically put in the hell no category. It is a huge turnoff for me.

If this is all that is out there, I will take a pass and sit on my own couch waiting for the next Netflix movie to appear in my mailbox.

Two scarves done

2006-10-16T12:52:00.000-04:00

I finished two scarves in the past week. Just in time, it has gotten pretty chilly in D.C. I love scarves because they liven up the long cold winter.

I love these both and they are so different.

Here is Geometric Scarf from Vogue Knitting “Scarves,” published in 1999. This yarn, Schoeller and Stahl “Limbo,” is really gorgeous. It is a soft wool and hangs really nicely. I would definitely seek this yarn out again for a project.

It took me at more than a year to finish this scarf because I got so confused by the pattern. It sat for many months from my frustration. But I picked it up again in August, determined to figure it out and finish it for this fall.

I think my knitting skills were not advanced enough when I started this thing, but over the course of a year, I learned a lot and felt I understood the way knitting actually works (rather than just following a pattern).

This is Diagonal Block Scarf, also from Vogue Knitting “Scarves.” I had some yarn (Inca Wool) that I wanted to use because I love the color.

On a whim I gauged the yarn and found this scarf to try, not really thinking I would finish it because I felt like I was just playing. But the entrelac was easy to knit and pretty neat looking so I forged on and completed this a couple of days ago.