Mini Break!

To (badly) quote Bridget Jones: "A mini break isn't just shagging, it means true love" (or something like that, I am too lazy to break out the DVD). Two years ago, G and I went on our first mini break to Williamsburg, Va. He has a lifelong friend who lives there and we visited. It was our first overnight excursion and the first time I met two of his best friends.



Fast forward to this past weekend and we were back. His same friend hosted a gathering of the whole crew: five guys who've been friends since middle school plus five wives. Those with kids shuffled them off to grandparents for the weekend. It was a great time. First of all, Williamsburg is really pretty this time of year; flowers were in bloom and the weather was gorgeous. We stayed at this lovely inn right next to the historical section. Our room had the best canopy bed. I now heart canopy beds.

Highlights of the trip include a poker game that I did not win, sadly. I made some bad betting decisions. Oh well, the losers got to console themselves with cheese cake and a fire pit out back. And it cooled off at night enough for me to break out Fetching!

And we will not soon forget the Presidential Museum of Heads. Ok, I can't remember the museum's actual name, but it was basically giant cement heads of all the presidents, right up to the current one. It was on odd and surreal place. But what cool Project Spectrum pictures! These pictures do not represent any political bias. I basically just took pictures of the heads I thought looked coolest.







I brought along a sock to knit, but honestly didn't get more than a few rows knit on the drive down Friday before it got dark. Yesterday during the drive home, I spent most of the time reading to G from the Idiot's Guide to Buying and Selling a Home. We are at that stage! We have an appointment next weekend to look at homes with our agent. We've been talking, talking, talking about doing this and suddenly, bam, we're taking action. And now of course I am really excited and impatient to get in a house!

We're looking in Baltimore County mostly, especially the two P-villes: Parkville and Pikesville. G lived on the city side of Parkville and really liked it and we currently live very close to Pikesville and also like it. Of course we need to do tons of research about other towns and neighborhoods. Where do people like to live? We're looking pretty modest: a three bedroom home with 1.5 baths (or more!) in a place where there are lots of people with young children (we're not there yet, but are headed that way, I suppose), maybe a park within walking distance? Ideally we'd like an actual house, but we might change our minds and look at rowhomes too. There certainly are a lot of cute ones in our area.

I've started to get hooked on the various HGTV home buying shows, which leads to jealousy: a cute five-bedroom house with inground pool in Mobile, Ala., for $264K?!!!

Since the market has cooled down a little bit, I know we can take our time (our lease is up in July), but I also know that I am going to see something that I love and want it RIGHT NOW!

Good thing I have a respectable stash; I think my yarn budget will soon be smaller.

And speaking of stash: it was recently enhanced at swap hosted by the lovely Kirby of Yarn Coffee. The swap was on March 10, but I've been pretty busy with work and never got around to photographing my haul. It was a really good swap!



I came away with some sock yarn. And some Knitpicks. Some Lambs Pride. And some mohair. And a cool needle case!

Oh, you thought you saw some Noro, did you? No, that wasn't from the swap. See, I had to stop by the LYS on my home to buy needles for Fetching and this found its way to me. I am planning a felted tea cozy. I just love this Noro colorway.





Not bad at all! Plus it was a fun afternoon. Kirby served us yummy wine and cheese. And she has this really cute apartment that got me wanting to actually hang my pictures and tidy up.

New Love and Podcasts

I have a confession: I am kind of glad for the nasty weather we are getting here in Maryland today. It's been sleeting almost all day (and now, I think I see snow). True, I don't have to go anywhere or drive anywhere. I am all cozy in my office with a cup of tea and my new love. My Fetching mitts!









I know I am late to the Fetching party. But I jumped all over this pattern last summer when it showed up on Knitty. I just had all these other projects in line to do first. Then a few weeks ago I finally bought yarn for Fetching. And last Sunday I finished knitting and starting blocking my Rachel sweater. And I wanted a QUICK project. Something I could wear on my upcoming trip to Wisconsin. So I cast on. And finished the first mitt Monday night. Then cast on for the second on Tuesday and finished it Thursday. I didn't knit at all on Wednesday. So basically it was two evenings of knitting per mitt for me. And I am NOT a fast knitter. But oh! the gratification! Oh the love!

But you see it was 80something degrees here on Wednesday. I thought I'd finish the mitts and pack them away until next Nov. But then, a last blast of winter hit (and hopefully it'll be a short blast, I am not crazy enough to want this to last! Though it would be nice to wear that sweater just once ...).

Anyway, the astute will note that I am not, in fact, in Wisconsin. My work trip was canceled because the meeting I was to attend was postponed. There have been some insane shake ups at work this week that I will not talk about here. (I don't like to talk about work on this blog because you never know who's reading.) So I worked feverishly all weekend to finish my sweater to bring to WI and then the trip was cancled. Just as well, I would have stayed up really late seaming Tue. night. Sadly I had planned to get together with L (who conviently is in WI now) for yarn store crawls and salsa dancing. Oh well. We'll have to get together when she's back in MD.

Today is the perfect day for listening to knitting podcasts, something I've wanted to do for awhile. And I can't figure out why I haven't until now! True, I don't have an ipod, but I use itunes all the time. I had a lot of busy work to do today, perfect for listening to podcasts. So I've been sitting with my peppermint tea and my Fetchings and listening. I really enjoyed SticksandString by a man in Australia. What other podcasts should I be listening to?



Here's the details on my Fethcings:
Started 3/11
Finished 3/15

Yarn: 2 balls of Debbie Bliss aplaca silk (this is NOT the yarn the pattern calls for but called for a similar gauage. Note on this yarn: the alpaca results in a "fuzzy" finished mitt, not the most suitable for the cables. And it does split a bit. But it is very soft yarn and feels very nice and on my hands.)

Needles: size 4 DPNs. The yarn calls for a 7/8 but this pattern is worked at a tighter gauge. And since I knit loose, I used an even smaller needle than the 6 the pattern recommends.

Modifications: I added one cable repeat to the cuff. And I made the thumb longer. I have a fair amount of yarn left over so I could have made them longer still. But I think this length is good. They are truly hand warmers, not arm warmers.

I am now planning to make Dashing, because I think my Fetchings need a beau.

Thanks to Jody for this amusing diversion! You google your name + is and get all sorts of fun things. I added my editorial comments after each one.

Theresa is all over Regina and Saskatoon promoting Something Is Expected! (I love saying "Saskatoon!")

Theresa is now on MySpace.

Theresa is a childhood friend of Ryan Atwood, and the two have engaged in an "off and on" relationship, which came to a halt upon Ryan's departure. (Don't tell my husband)

Theresa is home to Widmer Cheese, which is one of the few places that makes brick cheese using real bricks. (Well ... I do like cheese.)

Theresa is a coach and flexibility expert in the field of competitive athletics (not so much)

Theresa is Deceiving Jared is Down Right Disgusting. (wow, that's harsh.)

Theresa is trying to reassure Whitney that Chad really does love her. (Sounds like I live in a soup opera.)

Theresa is now back working in office administration, but is looking around for a job as a network administrator. (ha ha ha!)

Theresa is originally from Southern California and started her TV news career. (I was actually born in Northern California, Sebastopol.)

Theresa is also involved with Swirling Records' CDs, Soap Sessions. (oddly enough, I felt really dirty during this project.)

Theresa is clearly not practiced at dating, works hard, has some brittle edges (again, way harsh!)

Theresa is the most sought-after baby-sitter and dog-walker in all of East. (I am very proud.)

Theresa is often too tired to cook dinner. (Thankfully, I have a nice husband who sometimes cooks too).

Theresa is sarcastic. (guilty)

Theresa is now working on a Comparative Genomics module. (huh?)

Theresa is also a featured artist with the Grammy Award winning Paul Winter. (That was fun, but dddly enough, I am more proud to be the most sought after baby-sitter and dog-walker in all of the East.)

Theresa is probably the most poignant voice in American. (that's American, not English!)

Theresa is dedicated to the cultivation of Comfort. (For sure! Long live sweatpants!)

Theresa is "unusually" pretty. (Why thank you!)

Theresa is an ethnohistorian, with a Ph. D. in Anthropology from Rutgers University. (again, huh?)

Theresa is the best character on Passions. (that explains the soap opera vibe earlier.)

Theresa is very obviously not someone who follows the crowd. She spent time in France touring wineries and talking to many people. (Yes, I really have done this. I was in France, I toured a winery or two and I did talk to many, many people.)

Interweave Knits Redesign

I subscribed to IK in Jan., just a little giftee for myself. I started stalking my mailbox at the end of Feb. after I saw reports on line that people had received it and that it had been *gasp* redesigned! OK, that gasp was sarcastic. I work at a magazine that has seen three redesigns in seven years and I don't think we ever heard a peep from our readers. I think we received a few "like the new look" emails, but that was it. (Of course our readers are sooo totally different, it's not really a fair comparison), Still, I was really surprised to read the very, shall we say, passionate, things about the new look at IK. Some hadn't even seen the new look and, yet, were up in arms.

I think it is a really good redesign. It still looks like itself, just better, which is what a mag redesign is all about. You don't want to look so radically different that people don't recognize you.

I know many have emailed and called IK to voice their displeasure, so I decided to write that I liked the new look, for the most part. This is what I sent:

"I know there's been a lot of talk on the Web about your redesign. I figured you probably haven't received as many "pro" comments so here is one (with just a
tiny bit of constructive feedback tossed in!).

I really love the three column treatment for pattern type. This is SO much easier to read than two columns.

And I like that the patterns are all grouped together. It makes finding them later very easy. And they look very nice. I am sure publication design-wise, it is hard to make a pattern layout look "pretty" but you did! Plus, I noticed that the patterns "jump" less, which is a huge plus!

I do miss the full page photo for each project. And I miss the old models. They were all so beautiful and at the same time they seemed so friendly. Some of the new
models are a little blah (but not the cover girl, she's gorgeous!), but perhaps that's better for a knitting magazine. They don't compete with the patterns.

While I like the patterns all together in the second half (or really, third) of the magazine for second, third, and even fourth readings of the issue, it makes the first read less enjoyable. One of the things I dislike about many craft magazines is that halfway through it, you've seen everything (except for perhaps the last page, "last look" article). With the old Interweave Knits, I got to savor every page as I read
it the first time. So, I wonder if there is a way to sprinkle a bit more "new" content throughout the issue instead of front loading it? (Maybe just a little bit
more info about the designers or a slightly longer pattern intro? Perhaps a quote from the designer about the design's inspiration?)

I am still a very happy reader.

Thanks!

Theresa XXX

p.s. Beautiful staff projects in the Spring 2007 issue!"

And I couldn't talk about IK without congratulating Eunny on her new job! I am really looking forward to the Winter 2007 issue.

My knitting news: There is seaming in my future. Maybe I'll have a picture of a sweater on here soon!

Many Updates

I don't know what happened, but somehow it's been a couple of weeks since I updated the blog (not counting my rant earlier this week).

First, I need to thank Jody for helping me figure out new Blogger. I finally have oneof those cool Flickr things in my sidebar. Of course, now I need actually add more pictures to my Flickr account ...

During the past couple of weeks, I have "written" at least three posts in my head, but never got them down on paper, er keyboard.

I meant to write about the fun time I had in Feb. hanging out
with
these
amazing
knitters
for yummy food and yarn shopping...

This blue/green Debbie Bliss alpaca silk is my loot from that day. I am going to make Fetching.



Then, I was going to tell you about the great time I had with G at a Nils Lofgren show at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Va. It was a great acoustic show. I even knitted for a bit before the show and just the tiniest, tiniest amount during the show. :) At the Birchmere, it's general admission where you sit at tables. So everybody gets there early to get in and get the best seat. Like two and half hours before
the show even starts. So, even after dinner, I had a lot of knitting time.

I was probably going to blog about the snow, but now the weather is beautiful and springlike. We actually have our backdoor open. Has spring officially sprung in Maryland, or can we expect one more cold spell?

I am almost, almost done with my wool sweater. I fear I may have missed my chance to wear it this season. Unless, unless I can finish it this week and wear it in Wisconsin, where I am sure it will be cold enough.

I am heading back to the main office again in mid March. And the cool thing is L will be there too visiting her family. We have already made plans to visit at least one of the cool yarn shops in Madison.

I will actually be in Wisconsin over a weekend but my parents are going to be in Connecticut visiting my brother there. So I'll have a weekend to visit other friends, or go down to Chicago and see my brother and his tiny baby. Well, the word is
that O is not so tiny anymore. He takes after my brother who was a very chubby baby. Oapparently gets really grumpy when he is hungry. Funny, Matt does too, still.

It would be very cool to spend the weekend in Chicago. Matt and company live downtown, right across from Navy Pier. It's a fun spot.

And, as you see, I've been taking lots of blue pictures.

Why?

Why do the fashion police LOVE Nicole Kidman so much? She could wear poop and they would rave about her brave fashion choices. I should disclose that I have never liked anything that she wore to the Oscars. It's all blah, blah and blah. But this week, she was praised for wearing something that Charlize Theron was raked over the coals for wearing in the past. And during this week's Oscar Fashion Police on E!, those cats said that Kate Winslet shouldn't have worn such a pale green dress, because she is so pale herself. Hello?!!! Nicole Kidman is so pale she is practically translucent! And yet she usually wears the palest, most blah mother-of-the-groom colors like lavendar (when she isn't wearing a wedding dress like she did at last year's Oscars). Hey, at least this year, she wore a vibrant color. But I DID NOT like that noose thing around her neck. At least they acknowledge their bias. The Fashion Police (Debbie and the two Js) did not like Kirsten Dunst's Chanel dress (gag) but said that they would have loved it on Nicole Kidman. What??? I don't know why this bothers me. But it does.

Why does it seem like I didn't make any progess on my husband's 2 by 2 ribbed sock cuff during the four hours (plus a couple hours of red carpet coverage) during Sunday night's Oscar broadcast?

Why won't new Blogger let me post a picture to my sidebar with a link embedded?

Why can't I figure out how to customize my freaking sidebar in new Blogger?

OK, I do know why the Nicole Kidman stuff bugs me. The fashion police like her b/c when she wears a dress, they can just look at the dress without any woman getting in the way. She is a hanger (and I don't just mean b/c she is so very thin; she doesn't seem to have much of a personality; there's no spark there). They can get all geeky about the couture dress. But a dress should never wear a woman. It should never be the main event. I confess, I love to watch all the red carpet shows. I flipped between E! and the Rivers on TV Guide Channel just so I could see all the clothes. But I like dresses that make the most of the beautiful women wearing them. Take Salma Hayek. Nobody is ever going to miss her for the dress. Yeah, she's got amazing curves that couldn't be hid if they wanted to be. But she has so much personality; she is so vibrant. You're going to notice her and then notice her dress. The way it should be. I fear it is the opposite with poor Nicole. Honestly, I saw a red dress walking down the carpet and then realized it was on Nicole Kidman.

Project Spectrum Update

I finished the first sock for G! And it happens to be blue, so I am half done with a PS project. I must say, I am not rushing out to start the next sock. This one took me about a month. Blah. But it's pretty, isn't it? G loves it.







I also finished the back of my green sweater. I saved the front for last. Yes, I have been avoiding the short rows. It is not the how to that worries me, but the placement and how many to do. What if I end up with cups coming out the side of the sweater or at the top of my books, or just under them (which would give me sort of a four boob effect, wouldn't that be attractive?)? When I took the short row class at Stitches East, I think the teacher said that you just need to do a couple of rows of short rows. But I am "luckier" than the average girl in that area so I kinda doubt a couple will be enough for me.

So, I have two things I should be working on. But of course instead I want to start a hat, wrist warmers, something lacy and a tea cozy (I really do. I drink tea every day and I want it cozier!).

Ah, nice lazy day. I have the day off. But not because it is snowing with freezing rain forecast for the evening commute. Considering I telecommute, that would be pretty funny. No, I get a comp day for the weekend work I did in Aruba. Sweet! I didn't even sleep in. Ten years ago (probably even two years ago), I would have slept til 11:00 then watched E! for hours. But now I don't want to miss any of my precious day off! Of course, when I say I didn't sleep in, I should disclose that I normally wake up at 9:00 because I work in the next room on CENTRAL time. Thirty minutes is plenty of time to get up, wash my face, make my tea and yogurt and be in my desk at 8:30 in Wisconsin. Tee hee hee. I love it.

Oh, and I updated my blog template. I was tired of the green. I had started calling it "eek green" cause it was so bright and clashed with so many colors. I played around with new Blogger today and I like some of the new features.

Socks on the Beach

I knit socks on the beach in Aruba last week. I mostly worked on G's sock made from C*EYE*BER Fiber handdyed yarn in "Ocean mist" that I bought from the Cloverhill booth at Stitches East. Matches the background nicely, doesn't it?





I also worked on this sock in a DK weight on size 3s. Cause, I love G, but his feet are BIG (well, to be fair they're not that much bigger than mine) and it took me a month to finish one sock. I am loving the sock on size 3s. It's like "speed socks."



Aruba was lovely. The water was amazingly turquoise and warm. The sand was soft. We got sit under these beach huts called "palapas." We got to see beautiful sunsets and had some amazing dinners. In fact, the main restaurant at our hotel (Raddison) was recently named the "best restaurant in the Caribean." But G and found that it wasn't even the best restaurant in Aruba! It was a very good restaurant, but we had much better service and much, much better food at three other places. We ate lots of good fish, some fried yuca and plantains (I could have had a whole meal of these! Wish I knew someplace in Baltimore to get them) and some yummy island drinks. But I only had one mojito (my favorite drink); somehow our hotel was out of mint that week.

We didn't really explore the island. Since I was working every morning and early afternoon until Thursday, I just wanted to relax on the beach after work. We did explore the area restaurants though, which made me happy. When I travel alone I don't always have the energy to venture far from the hotel and consequently end up eating in the same boring hotel restaurants or room service. I like when G can come along on work trips. He plans out our meals.

Oh and he got us a couples massage. It was wonderful, well mostly. It was the kind of massage where they do the quick, pounding with their hands on your legs and arms for part of the massage. And I have a bruise on my leg! And I had to pee for the last 30 mintutes (including the stomach massage part!) so I had to concentrate on holding it and not enjoying the last bit of the massage. But afterwards, I did feel so relaxed and loose. G loved his too.

The other big thing about Aruba was the iguanas and lizards. G was obssessed with them. They were everywhere (G even saw some swimming in the pool on our first day!). He had fun tracking them with the camera and he got some good shots.





They got a little too close for (my) comfort during lunch. I seriously thought this guy was going to jump on our table.



The first night there were two cats begging at dinner (the hotel adopts any feral cats that adopt it and has them fixed and feeds them, but like any cat anywhere they were trying to scam more food) and later in the week we dined with iguanas.

The other wild life that G was obssessed with were the comerants. He tried to photograph them just as they dove into the water.

(I must say we have good wild life sighting luck on beach trips: we saw tons of dolphins in Delaware, whales in Maui, seals in Cape Cod and now iguanas!)

I have lots more photos, but for now, I'll leave you with a shot I call "Water, ahh..."

Uniquely Me

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 7 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

My first name is common enough:
There are 406,457 people in the U.S. with the first name Theresa.
Statistically the 137th most popular first name.
More than 99.9 percent of people with the first name Theresa are female.

But my last name is rare:
There are 5,009 people in the U.S. with my last name
Statistically the 6,885th most popular last name. (tied with 52 other last names)

But if I go by my maiden name, then I am not so unique; there are 73 of us. That's cause there are 53,994 people with that last name in the U.S.

But then I checked my friend L's name and it said there were 0 people in the U.S. with that name. In fact, my OTHER friend L doesn't exist either, according the site. So, it seems howmanyofme.com is not very accurate. Either that or it can't process Russian names.

A Tangled Skein Now Open!

The Hyattsville store, A Tangled Skein opened in late Jan., I am told (thanks annonymous commenter!). The Web site is up too.

Now, G and I just need to find time for a trip to Franklin's. This weekend he will be busy writing a paper. And Sunday night we are headed to D.C. for a show (I can't remember the name of the singer right now, Alexis something or other) with his aunt. Of course, Hyattsville is on the way to D.C. ... We might need to take a break and have some beer and yarn. :)

A write up of my trip to Aruba is coming soon.

Packed and Ready to Go

Well, I'm not technically all packed, but I am getting there. Tomorrow G and I are off to Aruba. Believe it or not, it's a work trip for me. Every year my company hosts a conference someplace tropical. So I will have to work, but I'll have some free time too. G has already made dinner reservations a few nights and he is going to use his birthday money to get us a couple's massage at the hotel's spa. We're going to have it on Thursday after my work responsibilities end. What a treat!

How many knitting projects do I need? I was thinking of just bringing two socks but leaving my sweater. The sweater would take up more room and it might be too hot to work. On the other hand, the five hour flight would give me plenty of time to work on it.

Last night I also stocked up on magazines for the trip. It's time to catch up on fashion mag reading.

I can't wait to be kniting on the beach!

Then when I return, I'll be cheering for the Bears in the Super Bowl! Go Chicago! Last night my mom asked me if I remembered where we were the last time the Bears were in the Super Bowl. Somehow I remembered that we were at a pig farm in Iowa. We lived in Dyersville, Iowa when I was a kid and some of my dad's patients had a pig farm and had us over for the game. Somehow that stuck in my memory. I guess it WAS the only time I watched the super bowl on a pig farm.

"See" ya in a week!

Project Spectrum and 2007 Knitting Goals

I joined Project Spectrum this year. I think I have enough yarn and fabric to participate.


In Feb/March for blue, white and grey: maybe a gray or two blue hats (perfect way to use up the baby blue yarn I got). Or starting a blue sweater, or a blue tank top. I could also do something with the cream (which is after all almost white) alpaca that I have. Could start my Tess socks in the blue, purple, green color. And if I don't finish, they would transition me into April/May.

April/May (green, yellow, pink): work on a lace shawl for my mother with yarn that has pink and green and maybe yellow in it. Also could start a pink lace shawl for me. Plus finish up those Tess socks.

June/July (red, black, metallics): start a red vest for my father for Christmas or his birthday. Also use my goldish mohair for leg or arm warmers (I think there is an armwarmer pattern in One Skein that would be perfect). Also could make a red hat and red fingerless gloves.

August/September (brown, orange, purple). I have some brown Manos cotton. But I might want to use it before Aug. Well, of course, I'll want to make a little summer sweater with it before Aug., but it is likely that I won't get to it, especially if I really do even a few of the above projects.

Oh, but the perfect Project Spectrum project will be this entrelac tote bag with colors from almost every section that I want to start soon.



When I look at the list of projects that I want to complete in 2007, I think I have them mostly covered in the above list. And, I'll be working on gifts that I wanted to do for last Christmas (ok to be honest the Christmas BEFORE last). If I finish, I may give them away before next Christmas. I just want to actually finish a couple of gift knits this year.

While I am on my 2007 knitting goals, I also want to learn to do two socks at a time, do toe up socks, do a cable project, use some of my stash (but not knit ONLY from stash), attend Maryland Sheep and Wool (sadly I've been out of town for the past two years. But so far, the calendar is clear that weekend), and attend more knit meetups and knit nights. I really enjoy the camaraderie of knitters. I may need to work smarter on those days. But I know I can do it, I just need to do it more often.

So that is it: a nice solid list of projects and goals, ambitious w/o being impractical.

Catching Up

So, it's been awhile since I really posted anything. I was mostly just lazy. Well ... I was traveling at the beginning of January. And I was sick with a nasty cold for about two weeks. But mostly I just didn't want to upload pictures. I don't know this is such a pain. It really doesn't take too long but I always put it off. I thought of doing it every day for the past few weeks, but I always decided to knit instead.

The good news is I have two projects to show!

But first my Christmas haul. I know it is a little after the fact, but Christmas was good to me, knitting-wise.

My mother-in-law did good. I got a beautiful wood swift from a Washington-based company called Dragonfly Turnings and With Wood, Naturally and a ball winder. Yeah! I spent a couple of days after Christmas winding up a lot of my stash.







She also got me some luscious yarn: three skeins of alpaca from Connecticut-based Twin Gate Farm in a color-way called "Crap Apple." Yum. And she got me three balls of baby blue yarn to make something for my nephews and another ball of different kinds of yarn wound together to make a open garter-stitch shawl. I may work on this and then give it to her for Christmas next year.

From my parents, I got three knitting books (OK, I picked them out so it wasn't really a surprise, but I was excited to finally get them).

And from my brother I got a gift certificate for Knitpicks. And I haven't redeemed it yet! I am waiting til I feel the urge to buy yarn. I guess that is pretty much all the time, but sometimes the urge is very strong and that is what I am waiting for.





So that is it: all in all a pretty good haul.

So since Christmas I have been working on the "Rachel" tunic sweater from Hot Knits (which has some cute patterns, but also a lot of stuff most definitely not hot. Maybe the "hot" in the title refers to how wearing the sweaters will make you feel, cause a lot of them are big, bulky things). I am done with the sleeves and almost done with the back. I using Cascade Eco. So far pretty easy, but as you can see I saved the front for last. I figured that by the time I get to that part I'll have done the math to figure out where to put the short rows. And now that the temps have dropped in Maryland maybe I'll actually finish it and be able to wear it. (We had snow over the weekend, just a dusting but it was pretty. Also a little odd since earlier last week G and I had our windows open all night it was so warm).





And a sock for G with hand dyed yarn.





I had two great knitting group outings this week. On Saturday, the Baltimore Knitting Meetup met at Teavolve in Fells Point. Teavolve was fun and I talked to some very cool knitters. I really like that group because I always meet new people.

And last night I hauled myself out of work a tiny bit early to go to the Columbia knitting group, which is always fun and sometimes wild.

So people are excited about A Tangled Skein. If I hear anything about when it is opening, I'll post about it.

New Yarn Shop in Hyattsville

Last month, G, L and I went to dinner at Franklin's in Hyattsville. And G noticed a sign in the building across the street that said ... coming soon A Tangled Skein (or Web?) ... yarn shop!

While, Hyattsville is not next door. And there are at least six other yarn shops closer to me, this new one will be especially nice. You see Franklin's is one of G's very favorite places on Earth. It is a micro brewery and pub (with really good food). When he was in grad school, G lived a five-minute walk away and credits about 10 of his current pounds to Franklin's beer. It is actually a cute place: It's very bright, has nice tall ceilings so the smoke isn't too heavy. And it is has a cute "general store" that sells old fashioned candy, cute little toys, more beer and random stuff. It is at the intersection of Gallatin and Route 1. And now, across the street, it appears there will be a yarn store. I always like going to Franklin's anyway, but once that shop opens, I think I may be suggesting we spend the afternoon in Hyattsville: lunch at Franklin's, a bit of shopping while G sits in the bar (I'll drive of course), maybe a movie at the Greenbelt theater that shows "art" films. Good times. I wish I knew when it was opening. I couldn't find anything about it on google.

p.s. I am knitting, will post about that, and the cool knitting stuff I got for Christmas--I've just been too lazy to upload photos--later today or this weekend.

Merry Christmas!

Tomorrow G and I are off to Connecticut to spend Christmas with his family. I must admit, I am having a hard time this year not going home. I love Christmas with my family. It's very cozy. We're a big family: eight not counting the spouses and kids. But that big circle of people creates this wonderful, cozy, intimate space. And I miss it. I miss the whole season: baking with my mom (my favorites are the gingerbread cookies with just a touch of frosting), shopping with my dad for my mom's presents (an annual tradition that we didn't do this year for the first time in a decade); going to church on Christmas Eve; listening to Christmas songs (mom starts them early); watching White Christmas and It's a Wonderful Life. After church and a yummy dinner on Christmas Eve, my brothers and I would help my mom put out the gifts. With six kids, that took some doing. There were PILES and piles of presents. I have no idea where she hid them all. Getting up early on Christmas morning and opening our stockings (all handmade, see mine and Geoff's).
The stockings are my favorite part. Dad makes tea and hot chocolate (I like mine with cinnamon and chili pepper!). Then we opened presents until noon. When I was very little we all just opened our gifts at once. But then we decided it would be more fun to take turns. But with eight, that took forever. Then we went to all opening one present at once, showing, and then moving on to the next.

A typical December evening at my parents': my dad is playing Christmas songs on his keyboard in the living room. My mom or brothers are cooking dinner, another brother is reading in the living room by the tree. Maybe the youngest is watching a South Park Christmas specials. It's idylic without being cheesy. Everybody is happy to be together. Doesn't mean there isn't any arguing or fighting, but no one doesn't want to be there. No one is affecting that "holidays suck," "families are all dysfunctional" 'tude.

But we grew up. My married brothers started going to their wives' homes for Christmas. We all live too far apart to do Christmas Eve w/ one side and Christmas day with the other. So now it is my turn to go to the in-laws and I am not happy. I have been kinda pouting. I don't like that I won't be spending Christmas with MY family for the foresable future (you see, Thanksgiving is our big day and I never want to miss that either, so doing an every-other-year thing is not an option. Unless we could do Thanksgiving AND Christmas at my family one year and then just Christmas at G's the next. But that probably won't fly. :)

But then I remember that this is my first Christmas with my NEW family, my husband. And we can create our own traditions (borrowing heavily on mine, of course. We'll see if any of his make the cut. By the way, I am not really this shrewy in person. His family is lovely and I'm sure I'll have a lovely time.). For example, I am going to continue the stocking tradition. My mom made G a beautiful stocking this year and gave me mine to bring home, plus gave us a bag of goodies for them. I managed to stuff both stockings by closing my eyes so I wouldn't see what was going in mine. I am going to bring them along to CT, and G and I will open those in the morning before we go downstairs, just the two of us. And for the past two years we copied my family's tradition of decorating the tree on a Friday night with a fun dinner. Another cool new tradition: last weekend we had a fabulous holiday feast with a turkey and this amazing stuffing, cranberry sauce and a yummy pumpkin cake. (We were trying out our new covered roasting pan, a wedding gift.) We decided to cook this meal every year in mid December.

So, I do look forward to our new traditions, but it is lonely thinking about not being with my family.

Ok, on to knits. I finished G's scarf. Even blocked it. Here it is ready to be wrapped up.



And I finished the first sleeve for my sweater. I started with the sleeve, so I still have a ways to go, but this yarn knits up fast. It is Cascade Eco, 100 percent wool. I like it. Hope it doesn't itch too much.



And here's a spot of cheer. I opened my door to find a box of the best chocolates in the world from a work associate. Yeah! As you can see I've already dug in.




Merry Christmas everyone!

Mid Week Update

I have three projects on needles. One is a Christmas gift for G. It is almost done and I can probably show it here, but just in case.

Also, I tracked down a very special gift for him today. He'll be so surprised! I can't wait to pick it up and see his face when he opens it.

I am also working on a hat w/ some stash yarn. It seems to be going OK. But it is really hard on my wrists. I think it is the combination of really rough yarn and wooden double pointeds. It is a fight to get the stitches off the needles sometimes, even though I am using bigger needles than the yarn calls for.

The third project is a sweater. In truth I started this sweater a couple of months ago but wasn't getting gauge. Well, I was getting gauge, but didn't like the gauge. I am just going for it now, who cares. It's my first sweater.

Saw the winter Knitty is up. I really like the red and pink hat on the "cover." But colorwork is very down on my list of things to learn so I'll probably never make it.

I am taking Friday off this week. I get to take a "comp" day to make up for the two weekend days I worked in Arizona. Yeah. I plan to do some shopping and then actually mail gifts on time.

And then on Sat., G and I are going to see Damien Rice in D.C. I am very excited about this show. I got the tickets the day they went on sale and apparently they sold out very quickly. I think we are going to do dinner in D.C. before. I need to check into restaurants. The show is at the Lincoln Theatre (normally, theaters in the U.S. that spell it theatre annoy me, but this one looks so pretty on the inside that I'll let it pass) on U Street, near the Ethiopian place we went last time. So we might eat there again. But I would kind of like to try something new too.

Sad news: my coworker B (who works in the Wis. headquarters) is moving to Seattle. He and his partner had been contemplating it for awhile, but decided to make the move after Wisconsin voted for a marriage amendment in Nov. This saddens me. He is a great coworker and will be missed. And I am sad that my former home state passed that amendment. I always brag about how great Wis. is (it's got a amazing library system; you don't have to pay $1 per reserve like you do in Baltimore County!) and now I feel like I can't brag as much.

And my college roommate, who currently lives in Alexandria, is moving back to Madison. This is less sad, because I'll get to see her on my fourish trips back to Madison each year. We'll probably end up seeing each other as often as we do now. But I am still sad cause we always talked about doing things in the city that we didn't get to do yet. Last winter we met on a Sunday at the National Gallery of Art and had a blast and talked about doing more museum days. And I really wanted to spend a day in Alexandria with her on a nice spring Saturday. It's great news for her and husband. He got a wonderful new job. They'll be so close to her parents and be able to buy a whole house for LESS than the teeny little apartment they live in now.

So, it's been an emotional week. It was really bad the other day when I got teary while watching a CVS commercial. Dude, the pharmacist went to some guy's home after work to cut his pills cause he wasn't able to. How could I NOT get teary?

hee hee hee. Now it just makes me laugh at how sappy I am.

Back from Arizona

I was so happy to arrive home late on Wednesday night. Phoenix was beautiful, but I didn't get to go outside during daylight until Tuesday afternoon; I arrived there on Saturday night.

I was exhausted and very dry! I couldn't moisturize enough. There is the tiniest possibility that G could someday be transferred to Phoenix. I don't think I would like it much. It is just too dry!

But the mountains were beautiful. This is the amazing view from my room. And it was warm enough to sit by the pool on Tue. afternoon, which was lovely.



My room was nice. All the staff got upgraded to suites. Check out my bedroom. And my sitting room. :) Seemed like a waste to have all the space just for me.





I had a yummy sushi dinner with my coworkers one night. We went way off property so we could relax and not worry about attendees lingering around.

I did a lot of knitting on the plane there and back. Almost done with G's Christmas gift. I'll be able to finish it up when he works late this week.

I started a hat over the weekend to have something to knit while he read Catcher in the Rye to me. It is one of his favorite books; he used to teach it as a high school teacher. He's got a voice for radio (reminds me of Garrison Keillor) and reads very well. It was a lovely way to spend a Friday evening.

The Road to Tibet

My brother and his girlfriend are doing well in Tibet. Here are some pictures they sent of their students, a gathering of monks and somewhere on the road from China to Tibet.







They've both been sick a lot but seem to be on the mend. Good.

He said he recently used a washboard to wash his clothing for the first time in his life and got some blisters. Hmmmm... they've been on the road for more than a month. Did he really have that many pairs of clean underwear? Ewwwww.... Seems that his girlfriend (our sister-in-law's youngest sister) has been more diligent about clean clothes and has the blisters to show.

So far this is my favorite story. In his last e-mail, he wrote: "I’ve never seen such competition for selling yogurt, until now. In 'Yak Square' (that’s the real name of it) these old ladies, looking half asleep, set up their bowls full of yogurt and wait for an interested customer to come by. Then all of a sudden they spring to life and bombard you, shoving their bowls of yogurt at you, all shouting and probably saying something like 'This yogurt is made from the finest yak's milk.' Our friend Loyo, who helps us get our groceries does the negotiating and we just stand back and enjoy the scene."

I miss him but love getting the emails and finally seeing photos. It is amazing what they are seeing.

A Gift for Me!

Look what my (blogless now, but hopefully not for long) friend L made for me! It is the Wandering Aran Fields capelet from Wrap Style.




Isn't it beautiful?

It was perfect for my trip to Arizona. I often get cold on the plane or extremely hot. So I wanted something to wrap around my shoulders that wouldn't be too bulky and that I could easily take off and put in my purse.

Check out the beautiful cable work:



I love the color; I love the yarn. It is from knitpicks, one of the alpaca blends. It is wonderfully soft.

And it isn't the first knitted gift from her. She made me this scarf from Scarf Style for my birthday before last.



L was my roommate when I moved out to Baltimore. We made a good team: she took out the garbage, I made dinner (OK, not every night). We would sit and knit in the evenings while she told me funny and sometimes horrible stories from the vet clinic where she works. We watched Love Actually and Pride and Prejudice (the long, BBC version) like once a month. I miss our girly nights. We still have them, but now they are planned in advance. I miss the possibility that every night would turn into a girl knit night. (Don't misunderstand, I love my husband and being married to him; I wouldn't trade him for more girl nights, ever. But it is possible to love what you have and miss what you had. I am sure anybody who is a parent gets that!)

L is also incredibly generous: witness the incredibly beautiful hand knitted gifts above, but also, as one of the personal attendants at my wedding (I didn't have bridesmaids), she took tons of pictures at my reception with her digital camera. She doesn't think twice about staying overnight to take care of a sick friend, sick friend's child and dog. And if one of her friends needs a place to crash, she'll open her home to them and their pets. She has taught me a lot about being a good friend.

Thank you, L! I love you dear. Sorry if I made you blush. :) Can't wait for shopping tomorrow!!

My Brilliant Husband

My talented and handsome husband won second place in the Baltimore City Paper fiction contest! Don't mind my bragging. I am just so happy for and proud of him.

Read the story here.

Thanksgiving Recap

First, a finished object!! My socks are done. I love them.



Lately I feel like I've been running from trip to trip, hurrying to get my laundry done and squeeze out a blog post before I leave. I am only just back to normal after my Thanksgiving trek home. Laundry is drying on the folding rack and it had better dry fast because tomorrow I am off to Phoenix for a work trip. I've had a reprieve from work travel for a few months, but now it picks up again. I do enjoy most of the travel, but this Dec. trip I take every year is rough: when I return home, Dec. whizzes by and I am always a step behind, getting my tiny Christmas tree up and shopping and don't even think of baking.

But, I will have lots of time to knit on the ONE small present I am knitting this year that I can't work on at home.

I knit a lot last week on the drive to and from Wisconsin. Thanksgiving was wonderful. In my family, it is not just a day. It's an four-day event. On Wed. my mom bakes the first turkey (she needs two huge birds to feed 40some people). G and I made the cranberry sauce. Ok, I just stirred it once; it was his project. Wed. night is the first family dinner with my grandparents and brothers and sometimes an aunt's family who came in early.

Then on Thursday, the crowds trickle in. Or usually come all at once and you kiss like 20 people in five minutes. My mom's four sisters and two of her cousins and all their families come for the weekend. Another turkey is cooking, plus potatoes and stuffing and gravy and all the other stuff. Everyone pays $6 for eight changes on the football pool grid (I didn't win any cash this year; in fact I haven't won since college, when the $8 was a HUGE windfall!).

I got to hold nephew number one. He was tiny and adorable and slept a lot, except for each time I held him when he was fussy. But we discovered that G has "the bounce" that puts babies to sleep. Good to know.

Baby O and grandpa taking a nap:



My brother came w/ my niece M. My sister-in-law and the other baby boy stayed home to rest w/ her mom. Little M is not yet three and is already a world traveler. She's been to Canada, of course (seeing as she is half Quebecoise), Japan, France, England, I'm not sure where else ... So, she does fine on the plane. And it was her first trip with just Papa. I don't think she even noticed that her maman was not there. After all, she had an entourage of my younger girl cousins for the next three days. At almost all times there was a group of five girls surrounding her. She loved it!


So, Thursday is spent eating (mostly), napping, watching football, catching up with relatives, playing games and more eating.

A few of my younger cousins knit. In fact they are the ones who started the knitting craze in my family. One summer vacation two middle-schoolers taught all the women how to knit. Here's two working on scarves:



Then on Friday, we have leftovers for lunch and then about 34 of us (we lose a few to basketball tournaments, naps, work) trek to the a movie. This year it was Happy Feet. We arrive at least an hour early to get in line. And when they open the doors, we are that annoying family running to save three rows of seats. Happy Feet was cute; G could not stop laughing at it. He hasn't seen a children's movie since, probably, he was a kid. "It's about a penguin who tap dances to get more fish!" he kept repeating.

Friday night dinner is always chili and another soup. In the past I've made tortilla soup, but this year it was my uncle's hamburger soup. My aunt J makes the chili and homemade butter (she does this with her kindergarten class; I don't know how, but it is tasty!).

After dinner some of us played a very fun game called Mafia. One person narrates the game and designates a few people to be mafia and the rest townspeople (with a doctor, cop and vigilante for good measure). The mafia know who each other are, but everybody else just knows what they are. Then you have town meetings where you try to decide how is bad and then vote to execute one person. This could be a mafia or a townsperson. You don't really know. Then everyone goes to sleep and the mafia wake up to kill a townsperson. And it goes on until there are just a few people alive and the winners are the group that dominates: if there are more mafia alive; they win, etc. Google it for more info. It is fun and a good game to play with adults and kids. And good for new people to get to know the family. It was G's second Thanksgiving with us, and he did really good w/ the adults, but the little girls were all one to him until playing Mafia. Now he can see them as individuals, instead of M's entourage.

Saturday is usually shopping for the women and sports-watching for the guys, but G and I left on Sat. since we had to drive home. We packed up our car w/ tons of wedding gifts and were able to bring everything home except a mixer. Don't have counter space for it anyway.

I did a lot of knitting and (finally!) finished those socks! I like them and I liked doing socks, but I think I am going to take a break from them for a bit to work on bigger projects.