Ranger Sarah

Obligatory End-of-Year Post

2012-01-09T20:04:00.000-05:00

Wow, I just blinked, and seemed to miss the appropriate window for posting end of year mosaics. I guess that's just too bad because here are 2 more for you to feast your eyes on. These are guaranteed to be the best you've seen!*

*This is a lie.

Looking back, I didn't finish too much knitting this year, possibly because I learned to spin about halfway through the year. It kind of doesn't matter though, because after 10 years of knitting, I don't need any more hats or gloves or socks. My favorite project was my Haruni shawl, mostly because it looks the most impressive and I'm totally going to kill the lace shawl category at the fair this summer. Oh yeah, this is a throwdown. Bring it, lace knitters. Bring it.

I finished 51 books (16, 218 pages; yes, I keep track of that) in 2011. My top 5, in random order, were Someone Knows My Name, Unbroken, Kindred, No Way Down, and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. I'm not setting a goal for 2012 because I will fully admit to choosing books with less than 200 pages towards the end just so I could exceed 50. And sometimes I just want to close my eyes on the bus instead of reading.

I've never been much of a resolution person, but I do have 2 goals for this year. One is to take my dumb cell phone with me when I go upstairs to the living room each night. Generally what happens is that I leave it in the kitchen, 2 floors below, then someone calls me, and then it beeps every 15 minutes. I'm totally cool with ignoring the beeping, but it seems to get on Jason's nerves (can't really blame him.)

The other is to establish a craft gifting stash. Knitting and sewing are hobbies, which means that I do them only because I like doing them. I also like making things for other people, but I hate the deadlines. I have deadlines at work, and imposed by outside forces such as the government (taxes, car registration, etc.), so I really don't want to connect them to my hobbies. Hopefully holiday and birthday presents will be made far in advance so that I don't hate December so much next year.

This is the last sentence where I say something positive like "Here's to a great 2012!" So pretend I said that.

Christmas Knitting Revealed

2011-12-29T14:36:00.000-05:00

Now that my knitted presents have been received, and I have sufficiently detoxed from the winter holiday portion of the year, they can be revealed for all the world to see. A friend got this little flamingo, which was a fiddly as hell to make. At one point I had one stitch on each of three double pointed needles, and was trying to balance them in a little pyramid on my leg as I knit.

The little dude ended up pretty cute though, so it was worth it. The pattern is free, if you need a flamingo in your life.

This next sweater was made for another friend's baby, who was born only 4 days ago. The parents wanted to keep the gender a surprise, so I went with a neutral orange -- turns out the baby is a boy! The pattern is Baby Sophisticate, and it's also free. I did make a lot of modifications to the sweater due to using a different yarn, and in response to a lot of comments saying that the sweater turned out too long and skinny. Details are on my Ravelry page if you are interested in such things.

Finally I made Anchors Aweigh for my brother. I ended up making a ton of modifications to this pattern, and because I was the first person to post a finished project, I put extensive notes on my project page. I also added a windstop fleece lining, which isn't in the picture because my sewing machine decided to hate me, and I had to borrow my mom's on Christmas eve.

I am now basking in the possibilities of non-deadline knitting and spinning, and realizing that 14 pairs of knitted socks is really just not enough for one person to own.

Bah Humbug

2011-12-19T18:03:00.001-05:00

This year I just can't get into Christmas. I don't care. Maybe it's that we had a busy fall--we went on 2 trips and hosted 2 family visits--or that it hasn't gotten very cold yet, or that it seems like we just had Christmas, but we haven't put up any lights, set up the tree, or baked any treats. I'm only about 3 inches into the third stocking I'm making (I made 2 last year). Really, I just want it all to be over so that I can go to a store without 4 million other people being there. Bah humbug, I know. I don't even want to do any crafts.

It's a good thing I started planning back in September, because 3 people are actually getting handmade gifts this year. Too bad I can't show you, yet. So instead, let's talk about spinning. Ok? Ok.

One of the lovely ladies in my knitting group let me borrow her Ashford Traveller wheel. Because I already had been spindle spinning, it didn't take me long to get the hang of it. It was so fast! I didn't have to stop to wind the yarn on!

Now I have reached the part where I eat my words. I know you've heard me say, "I'm not getting a wheel, they're too expensive! I don't need any more hobbies."

I got a wheel. (Actually Jason got me a wheel. Which he purchased from a link I sent him in an email. Kind of like how my engagement ring was purchased... what? I'm not a control freak, I don't know what you're talking about.) It's a Fricke S-160 double treadle.

Frickes don't win any beauty contests, but they get the job done. If any of you are considering getting a wheel, here's why I choose this one:

Price: less than $400. There are very few wheels in this price range, and this one had most of the features I was looking for.
Ball bearings = fewer points to keep oiled
BIG bobbins (although they are plastic and most don't seem to be 100% level. These are the exact same as the Majacraft bobbins, however, and those wheels will cost you a lot more.)
Delta orifice: no need to fiddle with a hook
There are five, count 'em, five drive ratios! (These are kind of like gears on a bike. The bobbin and flyer will spin faster with less treadling the smaller you go.)
Treadling is smooth, and the wheel is quiet. The only sound comes from the brake band whirring on the bobbin.

That blue fiber that shows up in all the pictures is 8 ounces of merino wool that I'm spinning into a 3-ply fingering-ish weight. It is taking for-ev-er.

Here is a bonus alpaca for anyone who just read that post and had no idea what I was talking about.

Finished: Haruni Shawl

2011-11-12T19:59:00.000-05:00

So I knit this shawl, and I wanted to take a picture of it so I can show you my skillz. First I took it outside, but this ended up as a lesson in perspective. I promise my hands are not the same size as my head in real life. (or maybe they are...)

Ok, but you can't really see the pattern. How about a real-life pose?

Hmm. Maybe I'll take it inside and lay it on a white comforter, so the pattern shows up more.

Blegch. It's all weird and dark. How about hanging it up on a shelf?

Ok, we're getting there. So close... ooh, the window!

Yay! You can see it now, right? Just combine all of these pictures in your head, and that's what it looks like.
(Pattern: Haruni. Yarn: Malabrigo Sock in Persia. Needles: size... 4... or 5? who knows, really) This is a contender for my favorite knit yet. Because I have so many uses for knitted lace, mostly.

Home Improvement: Kitchen Progress

2011-11-02T10:17:00.000-04:00

I had hoped to post a fabulous "look at my kitchen before and after, which I accomplished for $0 and in only one weekend" post, but since I live in reality and not in DIY magazine land, this is what you get. When we moved in 2 1/2 years ago, the kitchen wasn't bad. The previous owners had already replaced the floor and painted the gross 80's oak cabinets that every builder insists on using. The countertop was off-white laminate, and stained and scratched.

This is how the kitchen looked when we bought the house, with off-white cabinets, silver handles, visible hinges, and black appliances:

Right away we bought a new stove, as the old one was, well, old. About a year later we got a new dishwasher, after the old one started laughing at us and just spat back out dirty dishes rather inconveniencing itself by actually cleaning them. [I should also note that this is the second stove and dishwasher we got, after both were broken when they arrived. This actually worked out to our advantage because they brought us a more expensive, stainless interior dishwasher the second time around, for the same price.]

This summer I got tired of looking at the off-white cabinets and painted them all again a brighter white (Benjamin Moore White Dove). You can see the contrast with the countertops below:

We also took on what proved to be the most frustrating, terrible project ever: replacing the visible hinges with hidden ones. There was no way to level the hinges, so we had to drill holes into the cabinet faces, basically blindly, and hope that the doors were level. If not, we had to start all over again. I wanted to stab myself in the face, and I'm sure Jason did too. But it looks good! We also replaced the silver handles with black knobs (which we got for free from my parents, who replaced theirs with stainless steel knobs.)

Next we ripped out the countertop. This is an accurate description because the countertops had been glued down (!?!?!). Also apparently it had been used as a trash can by someone in 1984 (see Twix wrapper below.)

Now we have black granite countertops and a new undermount sink and faucet! When I went shopping for them, the first salesman I consulted told me that black countertops in a kitchen would be "deadly." He also referred to me as "young lady." Blerg.

Moving forward, obviously the torn drywall and old caulking stuck to the wall need to go. We're going to tile the backsplash ourselves, once I actually make a decision on the tile. I like all of the examples below, so I should probably actually drag myself to a tile showroom to see how much this stuff costs. I also need to paint the black kickboards below the cabinet (I knew something was off but didn't realize what until I looked at the last photo below), frame the window with molding, replace the old vent hood, replace the fluorescent light, and probably paint. Have you ever read If You Give A Mouse A Cookie? I am a home-improvement mouse, and I have been given a cookie.

Source: fireclaytile.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Source: cococozy.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Source: inspirationfordecoration.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Source: houzz.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Finished: 4 Socks

2011-10-18T22:22:00.001-04:00

Over the past few months I've finished 4 socks, and by a huge stroke of luck, they match up into pairs! Funny how knitting works out like that, almost as if it has been planned. The first pair is Spring Forward, which you all should definitely knit, because it's a great pattern. And if you can't knit, oh well, sucks for you. [If you don't knit, please tell me, what do you do while you're doing something else? If you watch a movie, do you just sit there and watch the movie? Please explain.] I used Tess' Designer Yarns Super Sock.

Next up are the socks that would not die. I divided the yarn in half by weight, and started knitting from the toe up until the yarn ran out. I'm pretty sure that each night, small gnomes unraveled a few rows and wound the yarn back onto the ball. That's the only explanation for why these took over TWO YEARS to knit. That, and they were knit on size 0 needles. Members of my knitting group can attest to me frequently groaning and whining, "Uggghhh I don't even WANT these socks anymore." I hate you, socks, and will wear you all the time just to spite you. [The yarn is Schoeller+Stahl Fortissima Socka Cotton Color.]

To my brother-in-law, who says I never look at the camera when I take pictures of finished knits: I totally was looking at the camera in every single one of these pictures.

Spinning FO: Caribbean BFL

2011-09-26T20:06:00.000-04:00

Back in May, at Maryland Sheep & Wool, muchadored helped me pick out my first "real" fiber, something nice to spin after I got the hang of my spindle. This is BFL from Misty Mountain Farm, in "Caribbean". I divided the fiber by weight into two parts, and spun a fairly thin single.

I plied the singles together using my super-awesome and slightly-deadly-looking homemade lazy kate. This piece of high-tech machinery was constructed out of a shoebox and 2 metal skewers. I was hoping the pointy ends would keep the cat away, but apparently she's not as dumb as I thought (or maybe she's dumber than I thought.)

Then, all of my plied yarn was wound onto another homemade contraption, my PVC niddy noddy. (Why do yarn tools have such silly names?) If you were wondering if a 10-foot section of PVC pipe can fit into a Mazda Protege, the answer is "yes." And if you also were wondering if you can cut PVC with a wood saw in your living room, the answer is also "yes."

Ta-dah! I ended up with over 300 yards of fingering-ish weight yarn. I'm thinking about knitting these fingerless gloves. Jason thinks that the next logical progression from spinning my own yarn is raising my own sheep, but he knows that we don't have any grass in our yard. Duh.

Yosemite

2011-08-31T13:17:00.000-04:00

Forever ago (one million years in internet time, or 2 months in human time) I went to California. My mom, sister, and I (girls' trip!) looked at many large and interesting items, mostly in Yosemite National Park, a.ka. The Death Trap. There were many completely unimpressive views, like this one:

Yosemite Valley

There were also some really small trees that were frankly pretty stupid to look at. We have like, 5 of these in our backyard at home.

We stayed overnight in Curry Village. I was a little bit nervous about staying in a canvas tent because bears love me. If Yellowstone was about a 7 on a scale of 1 to "definitely you will die of a bear attack", Yosemite is a 10. (But only signage wise. Actual bear murder-wise, Yellowstone is currently ahead 2-0 this year.)

The next morning we got up early to hike the Mist Trail. If I give you only one tip for visiting Yosemite, it's to get up early. We were up and down by the time the stroller/flip flop/funny hat crowd started in. The trail is kind of odd. The first segment is fairly wide and paved, and continues up to a bridge below the first waterfall, Vernal Falls. After that, things rapidly take a turn for the rugged, which is nice, but is not really posted anywhere. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but many people seem to saunter up the paved portion and think, "no problem, I'll keep going. And take this stroller, tripod, backpack, and small travel refrigerator with me."

Then you come to this: a stone staircase, about 4 feet wide, with a sheer drop off at one side. Because we were here in June, water was pouring off the waterfall like a torrential downpour, and the stairs were slick. There were portions where I hugged the wall a little as I climbed. My sister and I were both completely soaked by the time we reached the top.

We decided to come back down via a secondary trail, and that was a good decision. We got to see Vernal Falls from above, as well as avoided having to walk down the slippery staircase on the non-wall side. The only downside to this trail is that it is several MILES longer than the straight-shooter trail up.

We drove out via the Tioga Road (towards the east), where there was a ridiculous amount of snow for it being late June. (I know this picture doesn't show a lot of snow, but it was still piled several feet deep along the edge of the road. I had to stop and touch some, because for some reason I expected it not to be cold. I don't know why. It was cold, of course.)

Our next stop was Lake Tahoe. I was expecting it to be more of a sleepy mountain town, but it was more like Vegas-lite. While the lake was beautiful, it was freezing cold. I mostly stayed on the beach in the shade as not to mar my translucent complexion. My sister tells me that it's much more crowded in the winter, when all the coastal Californians visit to enjoy the snow. If anyone wants to come to my house during winter and "enjoy" the snow, you're welcome to, as long as you dig out my car.

We rounded out the trip with a visit to the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose (completing a giant 700-mile circle.) If anyone ever accuses me of having a home remodeling addiction, I refer you to to this house. The owner, Sarah Winchester (also 4'10", a fact that the tour guide really played up as if she was some sort of freak show, when I was standing right there being 4'10" the whole time) built on to the house for 38 years, adding staircases that went nowhere, doors that opened out to a drop off, 47 fireplaces (but only 17 chimneys), and 160 rooms. It's basically a maze inside, and pretty neat to tour if you get the chance.

Aaaaand then I came home. The end.

Scarf Parade

2011-08-25T16:22:00.000-04:00

A while ago I realized that I was a slow knitter, and that if I wanted new warm things to wear in the winter, I best get started while it's still warm out. That logic makes sense, until you get the part where it's 100 degrees outside and you're stuck with a lapfull of wool. So, no sweaters here, but it's looking like my neck will be warm, at least, and protected from vampires!

First up is the Cotton Seeds cowl, if I can even call it that. I did cast on the proscribed number, but after about 10 rows I gave up on 205-stitch rounds of seed stitch. Even though I tried to keep at the stitches straight when I joined in the round, I ended up with an unintentional double-mobius. Oh well, it's hard to tell when it's all scrunched up anyway. The yarn was a gift from a friend (and a non-knitting friend at that!) and is Manos del Uruguay Wool Classica. This is what it looks like looped twice around:

And three times around:

I would show you 4 times around, but no one was around to revive me after I fainted due to constricted blood flow to the brain.

Next is the Boneyard Shawl, which I actually finished back in (coughcough) February. While those dinky shawlettes that are all the rage in knitting-land can be cute, they don't really cut it when it comes to actually providing warmth. I used two whole skeins of Cascade Heritage Paints sock yarn.

And stylishly thrown around my neck like all the kids are wearing scarves these days:

Finally, there is the Greyhaven cowl, which is eating my face!

I survived. It's made out of Berocco Ultra Alpaca that I bought in Little Rock. I also did an extra repeat for maximum scrunchability.

All of this should not be taken to mean that I actually want it to be cold. I am so OVER cold. I am over snow. But apparently the climate does not take my wishes into consideration (although it should), and so I will cocoon myself in knits until I emerge, pasty white, sometime next April.

County Fair

2011-08-15T10:52:00.000-04:00

It's funny that I lived in rural Kansas and New Mexico for several years, but never went to a county or state fair. (I DID go to the Roswell UFO Festival though.) Several members of my knitting group have entered items in the fair in the past, so this year I thought I'd give it a go myself. This is ironic because of how non-competitive I am. (Yeah right! I WILL BEAT YOU ALL.) I may have done a little happy dance when I saw this:

I wrote about my spinning here, and the socks have yet to be blogged. I'm not sure who won this category, because it was combined socks and gloves. But when I find out, I will go to her house and steal all her yarn. (Not really. I don't know where she lives.)

Next year, should I enter the toilet decorating contest? This was a hit among the kids who were passing by. "HAHA it says POOP."

Next we took a turn through the animal barns, and saw these three little pigs.

And this cow. I was not aware cows could bend their necks like this. Also, cows are really big; I also was not aware of that.

The poultry barn featured more kinds of chickens than I ever knew existed, and a little incubator where you could watch newborn chicks. We almost saw a chick hatch, but got tired of waiting for him to break through the shell. Come on chicken, time's a wastin'!

A little further down were many stands where you could actually eat the adorable animals you just saw!

After that, you could take a ride on something that would (a) probably kill you, or (b) make you throw up your deep-fried oreos.

Finally, there was Sampson the GIANT HORSE. A dollar, really? Don't these people know that the internet exists?

Next year: Best in Show. I'm coming for you, purple ribbon.

Kindle Case

2011-07-23T13:00:00.000-04:00

With temperatures around 100, I've been forced into my house cave, i.e., the basement. Ooh, can we start that? Let's call basements "house caves" from now on. Anyway, as you know in my house cave is a craft bunker, where it is a lovely 70 degrees. I've been wanting to make a cover for my kindle for a long time, because the one it came with was totally ineffectual. It had no mechanism for actually holding the kindle in the cover. Dur.

I used this tutorial, which is intended for an iPad, so I did change the measurements. I also added a third layer of batting.

It is actually quite sturdy, and I would totally put it in a bag and not worry about anything happening to the kindle.

And yes, I have a Kindle 1, which I got only 3 years ago, but makes it practically ancient in technology years. It works fine though, so screw you planned obsolescence!

From Sheep to Yarn

2011-07-10T12:00:00.001-04:00

Every week I think to myself, "I should really take a break from the library and read some of the books I actually own." And then I go check out 12 books, again. Recently I stopped worrying about this, because reading is fun for me, and it's dumb to make arbitrary rules about hobbies. So what does this have to do with spinning? Well, for about two years I put off spinning because "I didn't need another hobby." Then this May, I finally decided that that was a dumb arbitrary rule, and bought a spindle and some fiber at Maryland Sheep & Wool. I already have enough dumb rules in my life, like "show up for work on time."

I bought 4 oz. of cheap-o fiber as practice, to get a feel for the spindle before moving on to the good stuff. It's "wool", the scratchiest, bumpiest wool imaginable. I'm glad I started with it though, because I got a lot of practice pulling out slubs and making joins.

I wound my singles onto a single bobbin at first, one I also got at Sheep and Wool (for $1.50!). It is from Cedar Throwing Mills in Scranton, PA.

I split the singles onto 3 bobbins, by weight, which turned out not to be a great decision because my single got progressively thinner as I spun. The majority of the yarn is 3-ply, and the leftovers were navajo plied, resulting in about 220 yards of yarn.

About halfway through the process I got a new spindle: a 1.9 oz. Golding Tsunami. I LOVE it and would highly recommend Golding. (Take a look at their spinning wheels - one of these actually costs more than my car did.)

Now I am on to my second project, some BFL (Blue-Faced Leicester, which unfortunately does not actually have a blue face) from Misty Mountain Farm.

Strawberry Season

2011-06-16T12:31:00.000-04:00

One thing that we did not have in New Mexico was pick-your-own farms. (Unless you wanted to brave the desert and pick your own tunas [tunas are prickly pear fruit; it's fun to say "Want some tuna jam?"]). So, for the past 2 years I have made it a point to go strawberry picking. This year I went all out and picked almost 9 pounds.

Most of those became freezer jam, which I'm hoping will last me through the year. I mix it with plain yogurt, in a jar, and then try not to let people see because that is such a hipster thing to do. I also made this cake, which turned out perfectly, I highly recommend it. No picture because we scarfed it.

The deck garden is now producing! I always have to laugh at those saving-money tips that suggest "Grow your own produce on your patio!" This will not save you money. This will be the most expensive produce you have ever eaten. My two containers of pea plants yielded about a cup of peas. You could buy an entire bag of frozen peas for what the seeds alone cost.

I have tons of lettuce. Lettuce is magic - you cut the tops off, and more lettuce grows back! It's like the Medusa snake head of nature. Ok, in this case, you might actually save money. You will also still be hungry, because no matter how healthy eating a salad for lunch makes you feel, you will be hungry again an hour later.

The peas have since been replaced with morning glory seeds. I don't know if this is the right time to plant them or not, but there's always an element of not caring that creeps in right about.... now.

Never Stop Knitting

2011-05-27T13:44:00.000-04:00

Recently, it came up in conversation that a friend thought I had stopped knitting. Well, as it turns out, I never stopped knitting; I just stopped finishing things. Here's the current lineup of what is on my needles (and spindle and hook.)

Spring Forward socks: I cast on for these immediately after Sheep & Wool in a moment of renewed knitting motivation. Surprisingly, it's kept up, and I'm almost finished with sock #1. It also helps to have really tiny feet. (Yarn: Tess Designer Yarns Super Socks)

Haruni Shawl: I don't have much of a yarn stash, but the stash I do have is largely made up of sock yarn. Shawls it is! I'm slowly plugging away on this one; do any of you knitters feel that shawls get slightly less exciting each time a row gets slightly longer? (Malabrigo sock)

First spinning project: Two years ago I learned to spin on a borrowed spindle, but at the time I didn't want to start any new hobbies. Whatevs. I bought myself a spindle at Sheep & Wool this year, along with some really cheap practice roving. I also got some nice BFL roving, but I'm saving that for when I get my singles a little more even.

Lakeside Knee-highs: I can't even remember when I started these, and this sock has been sitting in this state for quite a while now. I considered ripping it out and using the yarn for something else, but it is pretty good looking. I'll just let it sit around for a while, reminding me of my failure. (Knitpicks Essentials sock)

Crocheted granny square blanket: Inspired by Attic24's colorful blankets, I ordered 12 different colors of wool yarn. I'm using this tutorial, and so far have about 35 squares. It'll probably take me the rest of my life to finish this, but when it's done, it will embody awesomeness.

Rocky Gap, Maryland & Pennsylvania

2011-05-19T12:25:00.000-04:00

A few weekends ago Jason and I went to explore the "skinny part" of Maryland (aka Western Maryland), and nearby Pennsylvania. Of course, because this happens on all of my vacations, it rained most of the time. Because I know my luck, I planned ahead and bought myself a new rain jacket. Go me! We stayed at the Rocky Gap Resort near Cumberland, Maryland. The hotel is actually in a state park, which is great: we could just walk to trails. And also a random cemetery in the woods:

Even though it was raining, we decided on the Evitt's Homesite Trail, which would take us through a canyon and up a mountain. This trail was marked "difficult", but it wasn't really. There was a 1000' elevation change, but it was spread out over many miles. There's no way this was actually 5 miles, like the trail map claimed. If you add up the numbers on the signs, you get more like 6 or 6.5. So, who knows. After hiking down into the canyon, we crossed a small stream. There was a pretty impressive waterfall leading from the dam enclosing the lake, but it was hard to see through the trees.

The trail was marked quite well, with white blazes on what seemed like every other tree. This is a far cry from a lot of western trails that use rock cairns, which cause you to panic every time you see a small mound of stones. "Wait, is that a cairn? Or a pile of rocks? OH GOD I AM GOING TO DIE THE MOUNTAIN LIONS ARE GOING TO EAT ME."

Then, all of the sudden, we were in Pennsylvania! We walked to another state! Here I am hugging the Maryland side of the Mason-Dixon line, which I took to add to my collection of "people hugging Mason-Dixon markers." Right now there is only one other picture in this collection, taken in Delaware, but we're working on it.

Hmm, how about proofreading your signs before making them and lugging them up a mountain? Can you spot the error?

The next day we decided to act more civilized (i.e., shower), and drove up to Pennsylvania to see Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. I can't really think of anything funny or cynical to say about this house (other than you really have to have some balls to build a house over a waterfall) because it really was pretty impressive. I loved the walk-out from the living room down to the water... but see how close it is to the waterfall? Super dangerous! They don't allow photography inside, but to me it seemed like this house was built for small people. Sign me up! Also, extremely humid. The whole place was very damp, and the upholstered furniture gave off a musty smell.

So, Cumberland, Maryland? Totally like this.

My Kitty

2011-05-16T20:20:00.000-04:00

For my 13th birthday, my parents got me a kitten, who we named Snickers. We brought her home in a laundry basket in the backseat of our minivan. For the first few weeks, Snickers stayed in my room, and would wake me up in the middle of the night, mewling for me to pick her up and put her on the bed. When I went away to college, Snickers stayed with my parents, and I looked forward to seeing her every time I went back home.

Yesterday morning Snickers passed away at the age of 17. She was a sweet cat, and I can't think of anything mischievous that she ever did (unlike my cat Kiska, who added eating all my pepper plant seedlings to her list of misdeeds this week). She was quiet and sneaky, but always left reminders of her presence on all of our clothes in the form of long, white hairs. Thanks for spending your life with us. We'll miss you, Snick.

Home Improvement: Craft Room

2011-05-06T14:50:00.000-04:00

Jason always gets after me for saying, in regard to the house, "I love the colors, I'm not changing any of them!" and then proceeding to change them all. I have now repainted the entire basement. No matter what I say, I will never be "done" decorating the house.
The final room was my craft bunker (so-called because it is in the basement and does not have any windows). The green on the walls and the florescent light made everything look sickly. In incarnation one, I had a Target bookcase that literally fell apart, and a kitchen table for a workspace.

Then, I got a larger Ikea desk on craiglist from a guy who was moving to Norway the next day. I don't know, maybe in Norway your neighbors will scoff at you for owning Ikea stuff. "Sweden? Really Erik? Have some self-respect."

The panels on the bottom were straight-up glued to the wall. I have no idea what was going on there. I did a ton of cutting in and priming.

Before you have a heart attack that I painted something gray instead of a bright color, remember what I said about this room not having any windows? I don't want to feel like I'm sewing in a coffin. The walls are Martha Stewart Whetstone Gray (color matched to Behr), and the white is off-the-shelf Behr white in semi-gloss. It took 4, FOUR coats to cover up the dark green.

I replaced the light, as you saw in my previous post, and covered a bulletin board (more on that later.) The result is a craft bunker that I actually want to be in, and will be a pleasant place should we ever have to take cover from a tornado.

Gardening

2011-04-24T11:15:00.000-04:00

Finally. This past winter seemed like it never was going to end; last year, I started planting flowers the first week in April. Now it's almost May and our Kwanzan Cherry tree out front is just getting around to blooming.

The deck garden has now reached critical mass. I've bought so much dirt over the years that I worry about leaving it when we eventually move. I love you, dirt. [These are not all the containers I have. There are 3 more bins on the opposite side of the deck, plus several more pots waiting in the wings.]

Sprouting now are peas and lettuce. I know my lettuce is all clumpy and crowded, but over the years I have found that it's best not to try very hard when gardening. Just throw some seeds in there and water every once in awhile. Seriously, if you coddle plants too much they will laugh at you and then die just to spite you.

The hostas are popping up as well. I know that some people irrationally hate hostas; at the garden center this weekend I overheard a woman ask, "How about these?" when pointing to some, and the other person responded, "Ewww, no." You try growing anything in clay soil in a completely shaded area, and I guarantee you will also develop a love for these leafy plants.

The tomato plants I started indoors will be transferred into larger pots soon, as well some peppers. (At least I think that's what they are. Not labeling things just makes it more fun.)

It Always Takes Longer Than You Think

2011-04-14T20:15:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has ever done a home improvement project knows that it always takes longer than you think. This is why I start laughing hysterically every time a real estate agent suggests that someone "just take this wall down" on House Hunters [apparently I have been watching too much House Hunters lately.] Chances are that wall has electricity and plumbing running through it, and is inhabited by a small homeless man with squatter's rights.

So, silly me, I thought I could "just replace that light fixture." After painting my craft bunker, I took down the round fluorescent light and found this:

Who paints a ceiling orange? No really, please tell me. [A crazy person, that's who.] Multiple theories were tossed about as to the use of this once completely dark-orange room, most of which involved human organs and illegal activities. I try not to think about it anymore.

I tried to paint over it with the color marked on the previous owner's paint chip collection as "ceilings", but that color was anything but "ceiling." I really didn't want to paint the entire ceiling, so I jumped at Jason's suggestion to paint a design over it.

Flash forward, and I am cutting giant snowflakes out of newspaper. When I got one I liked, I taped it to the ceiling and traced around it with a pencil.

Then I just filled it in with an artist's paintbrush with the wall color (Martha Stewart Whetstone Grey.) Huge props to Michelangelo, by the way, painting above your head is hard.

April Readathon: Update 3

2011-04-09T19:04:00.003-04:00

Pages read so far: 152

I finished Revenge! I also read a chapter of A Room With a View (E.M. Forster) as a palate refresher and to make myself feel smart. As an actual palate refresher, I made some crustless quiche for dinner. Now, because it is really quiet in here, I am moving on to the movie watching portion of the Readathon. I just invented this portion, but trust me, it's real.

Soon, back to regularly scheduled knitting and painting things content.

April Readathon: Update 2

2011-04-09T16:04:00.000-04:00

Pages read so far: 92
Of note: I have been to the gym and made this tasty (but cold) strawberry and pineapple smoothie for lunch. No chores have been accomplished, but I'm on my way down to start my laundry. (I know you were on the edge of your seat about that one. "But what about the dirty clothes, Sarah, WHAT ABOUT THE CLOTHES??")

I'm continuing with Revenge, which is a retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. It swings wildly between boring and fascinating, and is currently hovering on gruesomely murderous. I will probably finish it today, just to give myself a sense of accomplishment. Why won't it be warm so I can go outside and spray paint stuff? (Hint.)

April Readathon: Update 1

2011-04-09T12:02:00.002-04:00

Surprise! I am readathoning. I guess I could watch like 400 episodes of House Hunters in which 24-year-olds buy 2,500 square foot houses for $7,000, and feel bad about my house that is not good for entertaining, but hey, how about something different?

So almost 4 hours into this, not much reading appears to be happening, so this might just be a day of "Look at all of the boring stuff Sarah does on a Saturday when left to her own devices". So far I have read 40 pages. I started out with David Rakoff's Half Empty, which seems like the book of my dreams. Negativity and pessimism are my expertise! But I just can't get into it. I think I was expecting David Rakoff to be David Sedaris, which is not proving to be the case.

On to Revenge by Stephen Fry, which I am only reading because, Hello, Stephen Fry! Have you seen A Bit of Fry & Laurie? (Bonus points for Hugh Laurie.)

Now the TV has been turned on magically by elves, and I am watching the Cherry Blossom Parade. I also need to go to the gym and then swiffer (I love that "swiffer" is a verb) the pollen-and-cat-hair covered floors. And maybe I'll go to the thrift store. In short, not read while "doing" the Readathon. I may also watch a French movie, which is TOTALLY reading, you know, the subtitles.

Finished: T-Shirt Quilt

2011-03-27T12:20:00.000-04:00

I actually finished this quilt on December 31, but it has been in constant use since then because we live in a freezer. Now, on March 27th, the cat is still huddling next to the space heater, and I'm still in my winter coat (which I sometimes wear while cooking dinner. What? I'm tough. Heating is for losers.)

This is my favorite way to make t-shirt quilts: Use a 12.5 inch quilting square to cut out the central design (super easy when you use a clear template), and iron each square to some light fusible interfacing. Otherwise, the material will shift around while you're sewing. Then, cut 2.5 inch strips of sashing. Sew together. If you were really dedicated, you could finish the quilt top in a day.

This took me a year to finish (no, no, not of constant work. 5 days of quilting plus 360 days of procrastinating) because quilting is my nemesis. I bring it on myself by using thick batting and choosing a quilting pattern with tons of right angles. I think it turned out great, but I will never quilt something like this again. Thin cotton batting it is from now on. I'm too old for this.

Finished: Kitty Pi Bed

2011-03-04T14:30:00.000-05:00

You know how when everyone has a kid they're always like, "Look how awesome my kid is! I know everyone always says that, but my kid really is awesome."?

How about I just show you these pictures and let you decide if my cat really is awesome or not? Also coloring your decision will be that she is super lazy, scratches our chairs, whines for food, and is terrified of raccoons. She is also adorable, so what does that equal, like average awesome?

Anyway, I made her this bed. The yarn is wool and is from Finland and I knitted it on really big needles then I put it in the washing machine to felt it. If you are super into details you can click here. It's Friday! Look at my cat! Time go buy dirt for my deck garden.

Out.

Finished: Knotty Gloves

2011-02-17T08:20:00.000-05:00

I seem to have an ongoing trend with my knitting, in which I finish seasonal items during an inappropriate season. I now have my first pair of gloves, just in time for it to be 73 degrees. (Not that I'm complaining about that.)

People who don't knit, upon learning that I knit, often ask how long it takes me to finish a project. The answer? I have no idea. I started these gloves in December of 2009, and knit most of them during an insane Lost marathon, in which I watched over 100 episodes in 3 months. Then I stopped because gloves are so. freakin. fiddly. Are you aware, for example, that we have TEN fingers? Look at your hands; you'll think "10? It doesn't really look like all that many." Then, try to do ANYTHING 10 times. Say your name 10 times, fast. Do 10 push-ups. Give birth to 10 children. Still think 10 isn't really all that many?

I do like these gloves. In fact, I might even love them. I have freakishly tiny hands, and never in my life have owned a pair of gloves that actually fit. Usually the figures just curl over at the ends, giving me crazy monkey hands.

The stats: Yarn = Tess Super Sock & Baby (Purchased at MD Sheep & Wool 2009); Pattern = Knotty Gloves (free on Ravelry); Needles = Size 1 double points (from a thrift store, but I think they might be Boye). Raveled here.

Interesting fact: Through these gloves I discovered that what I always believed to be size-2 needles were actually size 1. Twist!

Home Improvement: Shower

2011-02-12T19:11:00.009-05:00

A few months ago, I got an IM of doom from Jason: "Something is wrong with the shower. It's leaking through the floor." Sigh. Eventually we figured out that some of the 26-year-old tiles were coming away from the wall, and water was getting behind them, running into the bathroom below. Luckily Jason figured this out almost immediately, so we didn't have any ceiling damage to deal with.

So, you know me. We could have just patched the tiles, and that probably would have fixed the problem; but that's not how I roll. New shower time!

Again: you know me. Why pay someone to do something you can do yourself? I think at this point Jason was groaning, but with all that "in sickness and in health, in demolition and renovation" stuff, he sort of had to go along. Before, the shower looked like your basic builder-grade installation from the 1980s.

Then it looked like this:

And finally:

(Yes there is a sock on the showerhead pipe.) At this point money was pried from my cold, stingy hands, and some guys showed up to finish the job. Overheard conversation:

Russian tile installer: I like these subway tiles.
Korean tile installer: Oh yes, American housewives, they love subway tiles.

Um, thanks?Drum roll....... the after:

At some point we will have to install a shower door, because the shower curtain gets sucked into the shower when the water's on. But right now we're just happy to have a working shower, and one that makes you feel like you're in a castle.

Upon seeing the final product, I said, "Wow, that shower is way too nice for this bathroom." (Remember, the rest of the bathroom looks like this.) If you give a mouse a cookie...

Trippin'

2011-02-09T14:00:00.001-05:00

I ordered the seeds for my garden (a.k.a The Deck Farm) this week. This is truly the best time of year for gardening. In my mind, my garden is a lush oasis that provides a bounty of vegetables, and it is always 74 degrees and stink bugs don't exist. I have totally forgotten about the time last summer when I picked a green bean and a green squishy worm was burrowing into it.

If I lived in a fairy tale (or in that commercial where all the cat food is spik ed with LSD), I would have an awesome witch garden where all the fruits and vegetables were the wrong color. This would be possible because these things actually exist.

Pink Blueberries (image source)

Blood Oranges

Purple Green Beans

Apple Green Eggplant (image source)

Purple Broccoli (image source)

Red Pineapple (Photo © Flickr user hellochris)

Black Tomatoes (image source)

Purple Carrots

If you want read about more, click here.

Patron of the Arts

2011-01-29T11:00:00.000-05:00

I would like to tell you a story. One day I saw these colorful and cheap paintings in someone's kitchen on Design Sponge (incidentally, our kitchen is also painted that exact shade of yellow). So I looked up the artist, Steve Keene, and found out that he paints assembly-line style, and has made over 140,000 paintings to date. He also sells 5 paintings "that kind of range from large to medium" for only $21. SOLD!

A few weeks later, nothing had arrived, so I was beginning to wonder if I had fallen for some sort of scam. Then the doorbell rang. Jason went downstairs, and came back up with this.

Yeah. Looks like a lot more than 5 paintings, huh? So I started unwrapping layer upon layer of plastic wrap and brown paper. It was at this point that Jason asked me if I had bought a brick of marijuana. (We've been watching a lot of Border Wars lately.)

All told, I unwrapped 29 paintings. You read that right: twenty-nine. What am I going to do with 29 paintings? Especially ones that have zero straight sides and are made of heavy plywood scraps. Here's one with the cat for scale:

For now, they are sitting in grocery bags until I come up with a plan. Which I will do while hanging out in my house which has been hovering around this temperature (on the left):

Beginning

2011-01-08T11:11:00.003-05:00

We've started our first "real" renovation project. There's no coming back from this! If all goes according to plan, I should have after photos in a few weeks.

So Long, 2010

2010-12-31T10:00:00.001-05:00

I'm sure you are super interested in my obsessive record keeping, so here goes! In 2010, I read 46 books (1 less than last year), for a total of 14,945 pages. The worst book was definitely The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. Don't waste your time. My best book discovery of the year was Roald Dahl's books for adults. I didn't know he wrote books for adults, but they are funny and entertaining (and not for kids. Unless you have some sort of diabolical plan to warp their young minds.)

I also had the unofficial goal of reading from as many countries as possible (book setting, not author nationality). I made it to 15, which is less than 7% of all the countries in the world. That's a pretty pathetic showing, so I'll keep working on it next year.

I don't have a specific goal for next year, other than to actually read some books from my "to read" list on Goodreads. Right now it stands at 186; I've already requested a few of these from the library, so I'll get at least 3 read before I wander off as usual. I know the covers are too small to read, but look at the pretty colors!

As for knitting, that showing was kind of pathetic. I didn't knit any sweaters this year, but finished 2 pairs of socks, some gloves, 2 stockings, and a shawl. Perhaps I could learn to knit and read at the same time?

Have a great New Year! I will be sitting on the couch, watching a movie possibly featuring people with British accents, and will most likely fall asleep before midnight. Work hard, play hard.

Once again, it is Christmas

2010-12-25T11:49:00.008-05:00

In my overly-rational holiday mindset, I (we) didn't put up the Christmas tree this year. I don't really get nostalgic about anything, so it seemed like a lot of pointless work to haul everything up from the basement, wrestle the lights onto the tree, and pull out all the ornaments, just so the cat would have something to mess with. I know. Glass half empty.

But, I did decorate the mantel, and it seemed just as good as a Christmas tree. [I still need something permanently above the mantel, a mirror or painting. Still searching.] I finished knitting 2 stockings, which I thought represented a commendable engagement with the holiday. The pattern and the navy blue yarn came in a kit from Knitpicks, and I bought the red yarn (Knitpicks Telemark) separately. I also have some green yarn for a 3rd stocking at some point.

We also decorated the outside of the house in order to disguise our scrooge-like tendencies from the neighbors. The mini lighted trees were an after-Christmas score last year. I think I got 12 trees for $6 or $7. We had to buy the wreath on the chimney this year for full price, which caused my cold, cheap heart to skip a few beats.

I did get a great bean tower as a gift this year, and let me tell you, next year's deck garden is going to be epic.

San Francisco

2010-12-02T10:20:00.000-05:00

At the end of October we went to California for my sister's wedding. I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but California is very far away from Maryland. We got up at 4am for our flight, and landed in California at 10am (Pacific time). This lead to a lot of confusion. What time is it? Where am I? What just happened? So, then we went to Muir Woods. We had tried to visit during our trip last year, but Muir Woods suffers from the most horrible parking affliction I have ever witnessed. There are lots of tall things there. I'm pretty sure they were trees, but then again, I was pretty much walking dead at that point. Either way, they made me feel short. Well, shorter.

We then continued up the coast to Point Reyes National Seashore, where we stayed with some friends of ours, who live and work in the park. Sure, it was pretty, but let me tell you about the sandwich. The most amazing sandwich ever created. By noon we were on our 3rd meal of the day, and stopped at a random roadside grocery store/deli. We bought a turkey sandwich, and proceeded to devour it while sitting in the car. Jason said, "Wow, this sandwich is really good." I said, "Oh my God, it is!" I'm not sure if it was starvation or California-hippie-organic-fresh-happy ingredients, but that sandwich will forever live in my food memory.

We saw this lighthouse. It was very windy and I almost died. Not really, but that would make the story a lot more interesting.

Then came wedding preparations: nails, hair, yarn purchasing, the usual. I don't have any pictures of that because I was in the wedding, and assumed they were paying the photographer big bucks for something.

We walked on the beach (in Bodega Bay) and saw these really gross sea monsters. They are some sort of plant life, but I found them to be quite terrifying. They look like intestines, or brains, or just something that could attack you.

Also there is apparently some sort of large bridge in San Francisco that people like to walk on. The views were nice, I'll give it that, but in all these pretty pictures the loud, stinky, dangerous 6-lane (or 8-lane?) highway has been carefully edited out.

And then we flew home, scarfed some Chipotle at the the airport, and were happy to be home in our own house, amply stocked with lots of TV channels, comfy couches, a feline, and craft supplies.

Fall Mantel

2010-11-03T18:00:00.000-04:00

Miss me? I was in California, but secretly so you wouldn't break into my house while I was gone. More about that later.

Before I left I became obsessed with decorating for fall. I even when to Michaels twice, even though I have a rule not to go to Michaels between September and January, due to the assault of fragrance that will knock you over if you are even within the vicinity. Even driving by I got a little dizzy.

What was I talking about? Oh yeah. Here's my mantel, completely with fake pumpkins and leaves. But they're good looking fake pumpkins and leaves, right? In fact, I might even call them "faux". The sticks are real though. I got them from the woods.

The only thing I made was the felt garland. All I did was cut circles out of felt and stitch them together with embroidery thread.

Even though capitalism wants me to think it's Christmas already, 'tis not! My fall decorations will stay until after Thanksgiving, thanks very much.

Readathon: Update 4

2010-10-09T17:58:00.003-04:00

Total time spent reading: 5hr 50min
Total pages read: 186
Currently reading: A Proper Education for Girls by Elaine DiRollo (finished!); The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray; The Girl Who Played With Fire

Whew, I don't know about you all, but this whole reading for 6 hours thing is getting a little tough. I'm bailing. Yesterday a friend invited me out for dinner tonight, and I couldn't really say, "Um sorry, I have to sit in my house and read by myself." I know sometimes I perplex people, but you have to draw the line somewhere.

In other news, Kiska says, "Why are you wasting time reading when you could be getting me some of that cat food with gravy out of the refrigerator?" I'm pretty sure the cat is a magical creature who can consume gravy and then manufacture it into hair, which she will then get everywhere possible. Can't deny the beast.

I might be back for another hour after I get home tonight - but if not, happy reading to all of you who are stronger than I, and a huge thanks to all the wonderful cheerleaders who left me comments today.

Readathon: Update 3

2010-10-09T15:36:00.002-04:00

Total time spent reading: 3hr 50min
Total pages read: 114
Currently reading: A Proper Education for Girls by Elaine DiRollo

So, I went to the gym, ate lunch, and took a shower. I read at the gym and while eating, but I couldn't quite figure out how to read in the shower. I'm almost done with A Proper Education for Girls, so I'm going to keep plugging on that one. The book is just OK, and I even already looked in the back to see what happens, which I hardly ever do. It's dumb. But I'll finish anyway.

Also, as a public service announcement to all you short girls out there, they have short-length black workout pants at Target. I've already bought 2 pairs, and I didn't have to hem them. Go now and stock up while the gettin's good.

Readathon: Update 2

2010-10-09T12:42:00.004-04:00

Total time spent reading: 2hr 40min
Total pages read: 69
Currently reading: The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

I'm moving along much faster now! Must be because I brushed my teeth and put a bandanna on my head to conceal my hair, which was sticking straight up when I woke up this morning.

This hour's mini-challenge is Show Me the Books!, hosted by Crystal. Here's my bookshelf, which I've shown here before:

Next to my side of the couch is the pile of books I'm currently reading.

As long as I'm posting pictures, here's what's currently in the knitting basket. I'm making new Christmas stockings this year, and this is Jason's. Mine will be a different color and pattern. I always gripe every year about how stores seem to be putting out Christmas decorations earlier and earlier, but that rule does not apply to knitting. Knitting takes time, people!

Well, I'm off to the gym - but don't worry, I will keep reading there.

Readathon: Update 1

2010-10-09T11:08:00.002-04:00

Total time spent reading: 1hr 40min
Total pages read: 35 (told you I'm slow!)
Currently reading: The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

Although the readathon technically started at 8am, I didn't get up until 9, when someone's tiny dog decided to have its own bark-a-thon outside. I'm trying to get through a chunk of The Girl Who Played with Fire today because I have to take it to my sister at the end of the month. She's read the first in the series and is patiently waiting for me to finish. The thing about this book, though, is that it takes so long to read! No skimming allowed, and you have to pay attention to every sentence. Also, Swedish names have a lot of v's and k's in them. I'm not sure if that has to do with anything.

Even though Jason is not doing the readathon, he's currently reading The Truelove by Patrick O'Brien. It's number FIFTEEN in a series that he just started reading this year. Apparently reading opposites attract, because I can't read less than 5 books at a time, and here he is plugging through an entire series, one book after the other. Show off.

The cat is currently not reading anything, because she does not know how to read. At least that's what she has us believe.

Readathon

2010-10-02T11:21:00.003-04:00

For years I have wanted to participate in Dewey's 24-hour-readathon. A few years ago I was a "cheerleader" (and won a big box of scary books from Hachette), but I was working freelance at the time and couldn't give up a whole day to reading. Finally, this year I signed up! The readathon is on Saturday, October 9th, and starts at 8am eastern time. I won't be reading the whole 24 hours, because I am old now and have to go to bed early. I'm amassing a buffet of books to choose from, and I'll be reading at will. I doubt I'll finish any entire books, but I do hope to move some bookmarks around. Oh, and you may have noticed something in the bottom left corner of the photo above. Wait, let me get closer:

It's my new computer!! My 5-year-old Dell recently became inhabited by the devil, and alternatively laughed at me and mocked me every time I tried to use it. It took me several months to build up the nerve to buy a new computer, because I hate spending money. Jason and I frequently have conversations that go like this: (him) "Why don't you just buy it? We have $$ in the savings account." (me) "That money is not for spending!!"

If any of you are also joining the readathon, let me know.

Finished: Catherine Socks

2010-09-10T09:25:00.000-04:00

I've got a fall vibe going on, no? Too bad when I took these pictures my outfit consisted of cargo shorts and a tie-dye shirt that I only use for painting. I had to scurry off the deck right quick before the new neighbors noticed my crazy-person outfit.

And you want to make a comment about my shoes? Go ahead: a friend informed me that red shoes are only for "children and whores" and Jason asked me if my feet were going to curl up underneath the house. It's ok, I just know they're just jealous.

The socks? The pattern is Catherine, the yarn is KnitPicks Stroll, and these socks took EIGHTEEN MONTHS to knit. There was just something about the pattern that made me want to stab myself in the face. I was never able to memorize it despite repeating the 8-row pattern 46 million hundred times.

But now I have another pair of socks! And there was much rejoicing.

Some thoughts for a Monday

2010-08-30T14:53:00.005-04:00

1. Let's all just stop having this conversation: "Oh my! It is 95 degrees and 80% humidity outside. We are all going to die!" "But oh, I lived in [insert name of southwestern locale here], and it was 110 degrees outside every day! I am impervious to heat." "But that was A DRY HEAT."

As a public service, I am going to settle this debate once and for all. They are equal. 95 degrees + 80% humidity = 110 degrees + 20% humidity. Consider the matter closed. We are all equally tough.

2. If you feel the need to drag a rolling backpack or briefcase back and forth to work every day, then perhaps you should invest in some organizational courses because you clearly have too much stuff. Your desire to take your hoarding on the road is going to kill someone one day. When there are 1,000 people behind you on the escalator standing approximately 4 inches apart, that 5 seconds you take to bend down and re-extend the handle of your oversized commuter bag undoubtedly leads to the person behind you leaping frantically to avoid the inevitable stampede at the bottom of the escalator. One day that person behind you is going to be a 95-year old holocaust survivor with a cane, so think of how bad you'll feel when she gets crushed in a metro station after fighting so hard to survive the Nazis.

3. As long as we're on the subject of public transportation, I would like to take this opportunity to point out that standing closer together will not load the bus faster. It's like the bus is a black hole, and as soon as the door opens, the crowd outside gets sucked into the vacuum. Apparently the more mass you have, the faster you get sucked inside.

4. Jeggings. Really? REALLY?

5. Fried butter is a real thing. We are all going to die [for real this time, not just like in #1].

Home Improvement: Basement

2010-07-27T11:30:00.000-04:00

During my junior year of college, my roommate and I watched "Trading Spaces" on TLC every day. Do you remember that show, when Ty Pennington was a carpenter and not completely nuts? Well, the designers on that show just loved to paint vertical stripes on everything; I'm pretty sure my house wasn't on that show, but the basement looked like it had been hit hard by Doug Wilson circa 2001.

The dark paint, dark wood stain, stripes, and underground-ness made it feel like a cave. Here are the before shots with the previous owner's stuff (I believe this was supposed to be a "man cave.")

If you've seen the pictures of the rest of our house, you'll surmise that I'm not a huge fan of beige or neutral paint. But in this situation, it was truly needed to brighten up the cave.

A coat of primer and 2 coats of "Wild Honey" on the walls, and 3 coats of paint on the bookcases, we now have this:

Painting that bookcase was a giant pain, but I think the results were worth it. I also spray painted the frames over the desk black (they were varying shades of brown), made 2 pillow covers, and new curtains. Even though I have a love/hate relationship with Ikea, I made 2 trips there for the lamp, bedding, rug, shelves, and chair cushion (the previous cushion had an unfortunate run-in with the cat.)

We also sprung for a new TV (the shelf the TV is sitting on was free from the trash; I'm not above dumpster diving) so this could be a secondary family room. It's so cold in the basement I have to put on a sweater in the middle of the summer, which is perfect for the 100-degree days we've been having lately.

I still need to paint the hallway (it's currently green), but it doesn't look horrible and I've been enjoying the break from painting. So it'll get done... eventually.

Household hints

2010-07-10T20:43:00.006-04:00

Years ago I came upon the book 1003 Household Hints and Work Savers: A Treasury of Household Hints to help you beat the high cost of living at my grandpa's house. It was published in 1948, and has many ingenious hints that could help all you ladies during these tough economic times:

85: To put attractive scalloped edges on thin cucumber slices, just run the tines of a fork lengthwise over the peeled cucumber, and then slice.

[My cucumber slices just have regular edges. I feel like such a failure.]

192: When it's necessary to cut marshmallows, use a pair of thoroughly clean scissors dipped in hot water to prevent the marshmallows from sticking together.

[I don't know about you, but sometimes I find that a whole marshmallow is just too much.]

216: If you drive a car, get in on the side nearest the wheel, instead of scraping along the whole seat until you worm your way into position, thus wearing out the seat of your fur coat.

[Well thanks. NOW you tell me, after the seat of my fur coat has already been worn out.]

225: Pack turbans (several to a box) with tissue paper. They'll keep their shape better.

[I have been having a problem with flat turbans lately.]

511: Freshen up your wax flowers by dipping them in alcohol and swabbing them off with a soft, small paint brush.

[Just what I needed! My wax flowers have been looking awfully tired lately.]

693: Cut out interesting illustrations from magazines or wallpaper, chintz or cretonne, paste them on the screen and shellac the whole thing for "tricky" and colorful designs.

[I'm bringing "tricky" back.]

751: When making long-distance telephone calls, place an "hourglass" egg-timer near your phone. It operates on a three-minute schedule and will warn you exactly when your three minutes are up.

[My frequent 4-minute long-distance phone calls have been a subject of strife in my marriage lately.]

That dream home of your own - here are a few ways to tell whether it's the house you want: 988: Is there enough lumber in the construction? Go up to the attic and measure the rafters, beams and studding. They should be close enough to make the frame substantial.

[Oh no! I forgot to measure the rafters before we bought our house!]

1002: You can tell whether or not the phone has been ringing in your absence by placing a piece of thin paper and carbon paper between the clapper and the bell. If that important call came in while you were out, the carbon marks on the paper will tell you so.

[I prefer the "missed call" icon, but this works well too.]

Finished: No-Purl Monkeys

2010-07-05T19:30:00.000-04:00

It's supposed to be 99 degrees today - perfect for some wool socks! I know you just want to look at the pictures, so here are the details: Wullenstudio yarn (75% merino wool, 25% nylon; color "Lipstick On Your Collar"); pattern No Purl Monkeys (just Cookie A's Monkey pattern, but knitting the purls instead of, well, purling the purls); shoes are Semira by Doc Martens.

Surfing for Inspiration

2010-07-02T13:00:00.000-04:00

[I first starting drafting this post in July 2009; it's time to finish!]

In a comment to something I posted last year, Charley asked about my inspiration file. (If I see an interesting picture online, I save it to a file on my computer.) She asked where I got my images from and if there were particular sites I visited.

Why, yes! Most of my pictures are decorating ideas, and a few are knitting & sewing ideas. I'm pretty sure all you crafty types know the usual suspects (Whip Up, Etsy, The Purl Bee), so I'll share a few of the decorating sites I frequent:

West Elm - A home decorating & furniture store
House of Turquoise - A blog focusing on decorating with the color (you guessed it) turquoise (if you click over and look at the sidebar, there are also links for blogs focusing on many other colors)
Young House Love
Making it Lovely
Centsational Girl
k.f.d. designs
Gennine's Art Blog
Country Living Magazine - I know, when you think of country, you can't help but imagine white wicker, checked fabric, and dried flowers. But, this magazine actually features some beautiful rooms, most of which I find way more accessible than those in House Beautiful, which frequently borders on crazy.

For a snarky take on decorating, check out Catalog Living.

If you love color as much as I do, check out Holly Dyment Design:

Finished: Citron

2010-06-16T15:00:00.000-04:00

What's that? A finished knit? I hardly know what one of those looks like these days. I finished this shawl a really long time ago, back when it was cold, and my hands didn't immediately turn into sweat factories as soon as I picked up wool.

The pattern is Citron, and I used Malabrigo sock in "Botticelli Red" that I bought in San Francisco last year. It was pretty fast and fun to knit, although it's somewhat small. When I have worn it, it has been bunched up around my neck like a scarf. (Which seems to be the preferred way of wearing shawls anyway, since this isn't 1879.)

The pattern is available free at Knitty; raveled here.

Basement Tidying

2010-05-31T15:00:00.000-04:00

Not all projects are glamorous. Along with the fun of choosing paint colors and scouring TJ Maxx for that perfect turquoise vase comes stink bug eradication, washing the windows, sweeping, vacuuming, swiffering (is that a word?), laundry, dishes, taking out the trash... and lately, cleaning the cave in the basement.

Our basement is finished except for one room, which holds the washer and dryer, HVAC unit, hot water heater, and a whole bunch of stuff that we don't really want to look at on a daily basis. My husband, while I love him dearly, is of the "close the door and forget it" mentality, while I (as you should have guessed by now) am of the lying in bed and thinking of new ways to organize things variety. The basement has been bothering me for a while, and a few weeks ago I took the time to organize it. Here are the before shots:

And after:

I actually only threw away two grocery bags full of trash - everything else has been rearranged (I always was pretty good at Tetris). I know, not super exciting... but still super satisfying.

Home Improvement: Bathroom

2010-05-20T20:49:00.000-04:00

Has anyone read this article? {LINK} What do you think? I read a lot of decorating and so-called "lifestyle" blogs myself, but I don't let myself feel bad about my house not being "perfect." As Sadie says toward the end of the article, blogs are not a true representation of reality. Before I take pictures of finished rooms, I always clean them up. To illustrate, here are pictures of the upstairs bathroom that I've been working on over the past few months.

Before, it was painted a color I can only describe as flesh tone. Plus, there were weird unpainted stripes near the ceiling and near the floor, which were probably intended to be artsy, but just left me confused.

Once we moved in, the bathroom started looking sad and lonely.

I painted the walls "Silver Drop", and Jason and I put up the train rack. The plate, candle, and lantern were TJ Maxx finds, and the print on the wall is from this great Etsy seller.

To illustrate my point above about blogs being an inaccurate representation of reality, here's what the bathroom really looks like, cat litter box and overflowing trash can in all their glory:

Spring!

2010-04-23T09:00:00.001-04:00

After this winter, I'm so glad it's spring. Having tons of primrose pop up unexpectedly in the garden was an added bonus!

My Desk

2010-04-14T10:20:00.000-04:00

Last weekend the sun came out, and I was finally able to climb out of the nest of quilts I've been hibernating in since December. Of course, the first thing I did was find some things to clean and organize (if you don't know me in real life, and if you haven't figured it out by reading this blog, organizing is one of my favorite pastimes.) My instinct is always to group like items together and then put them away into neatly arranged boxes. Generally, this works for things like tax returns and old photos, but it doesn't work for art supplies.

Half of my art supplies were down in my basement sewing room (henceforth known as "the craft bunker"), and the others were in drawers on my desk. I brought everything up so that I could have everything at hand while I worked on my journals and other experiments. I also covered a shoebox with paper and made some smaller origami boxes to hold my cork stamps.

Yes, I love art supplies. I recently acquired some nicer colored pencils and some watercolors. I also discovered that there is a Utrecht store right near my office in the city. This could be dangerous.

What are your favorite art supplies?

Living/Dining Room

2010-03-31T21:00:00.000-04:00

For months after we moved in, this room was completely empty. (Well, empty aside from the empty boxes and old furniture I was trying to sell on craigslist.) I tend to have a very exact picture of the furniture I want, and have a totally unrealistic price I want to pay for it. But, we now have a couch (bought on sale!), a table (on sale!), a side table and lamp, and chairs ($20 on craigslist, but still need to be painted). The "coffee table" is two of the $13 tables from Ikea, acting as a stand-in until we can get a real table. I like this one from Pottery Barn, but not for $400.

We also need a chair, and I like this one from Room and Board, but once again, I'm not paying more for a chair than we paid for the whole couch.See the nook over by the door? Ideally I'd like a bench, to make sort of a foyer/entrance area. Then I would like the furniture fairy to pay for it and deliver it to the house for free.

New Projects

2010-02-28T21:00:00.000-05:00

Because I currently have 4 work-in-progress knitting projects, 2 unfinished quilts, and 11 library books to finish, I thought the most obvious thing to do was to start a few more projects.

(1) I have decided to participate in the Pinwheel Sampler Quilt quilt along (links to individual blocks are on the sidebar), hosted by P.S. i quilt. I love pinwheel quilt blocks, and that someone else will be doing all the math for me! This will also be a good opportunity to use up a lot of fabric scraps. [Also check out the flickr pool.]

I already completed the first 2 blocks (there will be 16 for the quilt along, but I think I'm going to make a total of 25 for a larger quilt.) You can see them hanging on the wall above my new sewing table! My previous table was only large enough for my sewing machine, and so I still had to get down on the floor to cut anything. Now, I have ample space to both cut and sew without crouching down on the cold basement floor. Thanks, craigslist guy who was moving to Norway the next day and sold me your Ikea desk for super cheap [even if you took it apart wrong and now I have extra hardware].

(2) In 2008, one of my reading goals was to tackle the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list (current standing: 69/1001). This year, I've decided to try to read as many books set in different countries as possible. I'm not taking into account the nationality of the author, just the setting of the book. So far, I've visited 7 countries:

3) I did manage to finish one project. These are reusable snack bags that I made using this tutorial. My sister gave me a store-bought bag like these for Christmas, with the stipulation that I copy it and make one for her. She got the brown one, and the other went off to a friend.

I should have stayed in New Mexico

2010-02-08T18:58:00.010-05:00

On Tuesday night, a wet snow was falling, coating every tree branch. I was so enchanted that I went outside very close to my bedtime just to take pictures. Ah, snow, I thought, how romantic and beautiful you are.

On Friday, my office was closed as more snow fell. After a nice sleep, I uncharacteristically made breakfast not consisting of cereal. The name of this breakfast is comically difficult to write in a way that doesn't sound like murder or scandalous pregnancy.

I made a Dutch baby. I baked a Dutch baby? I ate a Dutch baby? Whatever; it was SO GOOD and you should make one for yourself immediately, using this recipe.

On Saturday, I was confronted with this:

The next day, after 3 hours of flinging snow onto piles taller than me, we had successfully unearthed 3 vehicles. And there was much rejoicing.

Projected accumulation is 10-20" for the storm coming tomorrow. We had about 30" this weekend, so if we get the maximum we'll have a total of 50" on the ground. I am 58" tall. I will be sure to wear a brightly colored hat so that you can find me.

FO: The Warmest Hat in the World

2010-01-24T20:32:00.006-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have done it. I have created The Warmest Hat in the World. (Don't worry, this isn't like a Highlander "There Can Be Only One" type thing. There are other warm hats out there.) I started with the Thorpe pattern, and then added a star pattern that I made all by my little self. I modified the earflaps as well; the original were a little too Roman gladiator for my taste.

I used 100% wool yarn from Finland - it was gifted to me without a label, so I'm using my powers of animal fiber recognition to guess. But, that wasn't enough - I also lined the hat with fleece. I used TechKnitter's tutorial, which I highly recommend.

---

Yesterday I saw a guy standing on a median holding a hand-written cardboard sign that read "Help for Haiti" and a ratty plastic can. I don't know what upsets me more, the fact that someone would use a disaster for his own personal profit, or that some people probably gave him money thinking he really was going to give it to Haiti relief. Yesterday I also saw a bus hit a parked car (which was illegally parked, so they sort of had it coming) and today I saw someone have a seizure at a bus stop. Ah, city life.

Some Things

2010-01-15T11:30:00.000-05:00

1. Someone stole my space at the train station yesterday morning, and then someone stole my locker at the gym. By "my" I mean I've been using the same ones for 8 months and therefore the entire DC metropolitan area should be aware and accommodating. You see, I always use locker 6, and if it's taken, I use locker 12. Today I had to use locker 16! Outrage!

2. Our electric bill for this past month was $300, and we weren't even warm! If I had jacked up the heat so that I could lounge in tropical temperatures I could at least comfort myself with the idea that it was worth it. But no, I eat dinner wearing my down coat and wear a hat constantly, even when I sleep. It takes 3 times as long to change my clothes because I have to wear a minimum of 3 layers.

3. The odometer on my car hit 88,888 miles yesterday. It was probably the most exciting thing that happened to me all week. Am I OCD about numbers? I'm so excited that our anniversary will be on 10-20-2010 this year, and I'm so glad my mom carefully planned (not really) to have me on 5-25, because 5 is the square root of 25. My house number is also a palindrome (and see item #1).

4. Twitter. What's up with Twitter? I understand the basic premise, but the whole # @ thing confuses me. I just think it all should be a little bit more organized.

5. I haven't knit anything in 2 weeks. But, this upcoming weekend includes a bonus day off, so the office printer, Ravelry, and I had a little private time this morning before everyone else showed up to work.

Home Improvement: Bedroom

2010-01-01T15:26:00.006-05:00

The first time I looked at our house, I knew that I would have to paint this room. The previous owners had good taste in color, but I think they went a little nuts with this green:

And hot pink curtains? I'm not sure how their eyes didn't explode out of their sockets every time they went into this room, but someone they managed to survive living in it with their vision intact.

I painted this room shortly after moving in, before we got the carpet replaced, so I had the luxury of spilling paint wherever I pleased. Here's a "during" shot, after the first coat of primer went up. (Proof that it has to get worse before it gets better)

I do not take responsibility for the leopard print pillow. Before we met, Jason bought several items from the previous owners of his house, and that pillow came with a daybed. The cat became obsessed with it because she obviously has very bad taste.

Here's the after. I stayed with green, but toned it down. See those two closets? They're both mine.

One of these days I'll get around to making a quilt for our bed. But until then, I have more rooms to paint.

Snow Day

2009-12-21T21:00:00.000-05:00

How awesome is it that I finished my one knitted Christmas gift back in November, and it has already been delivered, opened, and worn with pride? This is the Strangling Vines Scarf, made from Malabrigo sock for my mother-in-law (I swear the name of the pattern does not reflect my feelings for my mother-in-law. She is a very nice lady. Hi Sharon!)

Two weeks ago it snowed about 4", and was impressed enough to take pictures, having spent the past several years in the desert.

This weekend it snowed 22". This is the most snow I remember seeing ever. I didn't enjoy the hours I spend digging my car out, but I did get a day off from work. Sweet!

Also in the news, my Christmas present should be arriving any day now:

Finished: DROPS Cardigan

2009-11-25T11:00:00.000-05:00

Most knitwear designers come up with catchy names for their patterns so that when you say "I just finished my Jaywalkers" or "Look at that great February Lady Sweater" other knitters know what you're talking about. Not so with Garnstudio. They come up with impossible to remember things like "DROPS jacket in 'Eskimo' or 'Silke-Alpaca' with A-shape and ¾-long or long sleeves." (Ravelry link and pattern link) Way to cover all your bases there, guys.

I used Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Bulky, which is 100% wool and super warm, if a little scratchy, as wool can be. I used size 11 needles. This sweater turned out to be an excellent lesson in gauge. I made size L to compensate for my tighter gauge, and it worked out perfectly! I didn't knit the collar as written; it was a little too strangly for my taste. So, I picked up stitches all the way around the back and front pieces, and knit straight until I ran out of yarn (8 inches maybe?) I love the result!

I forgot to make buttonholes as I was knitting, so I crocheted loops for the buttons. One issue I haven't solved yet is how to keep the front piece that is behind the other from bunching up. (Does that make sense? The two sides overlap, so the side that is underneath doesn't have anything forcing it to stay flat.) I need to add a hidden button or snap, but I haven't figured out how to do that without it showing on the outside.

My hydrangea bush is also looking great this fall:

Two Socks

2009-10-25T18:21:00.005-04:00

Recently I finished two socks - unfortunately they aren't a pair. I've never had a problem with "second sock syndrome" before, but man, has it hit like the plague. I'm not even feeling motivated to finish these two pairs, I just want to start a new pattern!

First is my Catherine sock. I'm using Knitpicks Essential, which is nice and soft despite its price. We'll see how it holds up to my diabolical machine washing and drying routine.

I also finished one super-sock, which probably has the stitch count of a pair because I'm using size 0 needles. The yarn is Schoeller+Stahl Fortissima Socka Cotton Color. I decided to do a basic toe-up pattern here so that I could use up all of the yarn - I divided the yarn in half and just knit until I ran out.

Also, I took these pictures of my own foot without using a self-timer. Let's just say I have very good balance.

San Francisco

2009-10-11T16:50:00.016-04:00

Even though I lived in the southwest for a few years, I never went to California. But I should have, because California is so far away from Maryland. Seriously, I could have gotten to England faster. (It probably didn't help that we stopped in Tampa - which is decidedly not on the way to California - and Austin first, courtesy of the bus that is Southwest airlines.)

So we went to California; more specifically, to San Francisco and Point Reyes National Seashore. We were there for a wedding, and also to sponge off my sister, who lives in the city and provides free car rentals. Alacatraz Island came highly recommended, so I bought tickets in advance. (The park is free-Alacatraz is a National Park site-but, you have to get yourself there. Well played my friends, well played.)

The Park Service really plays up the fact that Alacatraz was one of the most hard-core prisons for the most violent criminals. I thought this notion was rather undermined by the fact that the prison seemed to have a lot of natural light, a library, a great view of the city, and the prisoners got to live in San Francisco for free. Do you know how much rents are in that place? Ok, there might have been some murders, but the tour focused a lot on a prisoner uprising that occured becauase the spaghetti tasted bad. Not exactly hard core in my book.

And, they had views like this:

After Alcatraz, we walked around the Fisherman's Wharf area. Although it was a little too commercial for me, I have to admit that the aroma coming out of Boudin was heavenly. They also have bread that is shaped like stuff - which is pretty impressive, if you have ever tried to make bread yourself. Also, the sea lions were totally awesome:

Sometimes nature freaks me out. Like, there are crazy huge whales that swim around in the ocean, and there are blubbery, slippery sea lions who bark and climb all over each other. I'm not necessarily scared of the animal itself, just blown by the idea that such a creature exists in the world. Don't even get me started on outer space.

The next day we visited the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, which claims to be "the oldest public Japanese garden in the United States!" I love when things claim to be "The Best" or "The Oldest", but with lots of qualifiers. For example, "the oldest zoo in the northern part of Ohio that also includes giraffes" or "the biggest fish ever caught on a Tuesday by a man with one arm". Here, look at Buddha:

I also visited the Museum of Craft and Folk Art. I say "I" because my sister and husband decided to do the more exciting activities of going to Gap and sitting on a bench, respectively. It was all for the best really, because one small gallery does not a museum make. I saw the "Open Source Embroidery" exhibit, which mostly I didn't get. (And I went to grad school for art history - so that has to say something.) In fact, there were moreinteresting things in the gift shop.

Then, we went to a wedding, during a "wind event". It only served to make the whole affair much more impressive - these people planned their own wedding. And when I say planned, I mean they bought the food and transported it, rented the tables, bought the alchohol, made their own table decorations, and the bride even had time to make some pumpkin bread for the buffet. Any of you readers who have gotten married, you understand how impressive this is. Also, they are tall, and I am not, which is why I'm not showing you any pictures of me, for I look like a garden gnome in them all.

On our last day we drove back to my sister's house, and spent the remainder of our time just enjoying the view from her balcony. I also might have bought some yarn.

Home Improvement: Kitchen

2009-09-07T20:28:00.006-04:00

Welcome to my kitchen! Once again I cannot take credit for the colors, or the checked border in the eating area, but I can take credit for picking out an awesome house! The previous owners had a retro kitchen, so the black-and-white checks don't necessarily go with our southwestern furniture, but replacing the tile is pretty far off my radar at this point.

I really like having an eat-in kitchen. I find I'm watching far less TV than I did in our old house, and doing more reading and listening to music while I cook.

Pretty much my favorite things are the license plates on the wall. (The blank spot is for Jason's New Mexico plate, once he gets his car registered in Maryland.) I'm also working on some paintings for the red wall, but I kind of suck at painting, so we'll see how that works out.

We're also shopping for a new flat-top stove and something to put the microwave on. Ideally, it would be nice to have something that would provide more counter space, but finding the perfect piece of furniture is ridiculously hard.

Oh, and new countertops, too. These ones are white laminate, and I don't know who picked those out, but they're pretty much the worst color possible. They're covered in stains and cuts. I don't know what's up with that black dishwasher either. I'm kind of hoping it breaks so I can buy a white one. And finally, we need to devise some sort of shelving system for the pantry. Now, the shelves only extend halfway into the available space, and there is a trash can and recycling bin shoved in there as well. The cut-out in the wall is great for puppet shows and drive-through orders, though.

Trail Journal: Maryland Heights

2009-08-20T08:34:00.000-04:00

Trail: Maryland Heights (Overlook Cliff Trail), Harper's Ferry National Historic Park
Date: August 15, 2009
Distance: 2.8 miles
Time: 2.5 hours
Elevation gain: about 1000', plus a 300' decent that you have to hike back up
Weather: 90 degrees, 60% humidity, sunny

Take a moment to assemble the above facts, and what you have resembles some sort of death march rather than a leisurely Saturday hike. (Except for the guy who was running the trail; clearly he was an android.) I'm not being dramatic when I say this was one of the most brutal hikes of my life. The terrain was so steep that I was leaning forward as I walked uphill. Apparently these people have never heard of switchbacks.

The upside was that I was not dragging a 9,000lb cannon nor wearing a wool uniform, which is what the Union Civil War soldiers did when building the naval battery on this mountain. Kudos, guys. How unfortunate that air conditioning was not invented in your lifetimes.

To get to the trailhead, you hike part of the Appalachian Trail, which isn't as cool as it seems when you realize that the trail is just a railroad bridge across a river filled with hundreds of drunken college students in inner tubes.

The whole point of this hike to reach the overlook, where you see:

At this point, I wasn't even all that impressed. I had drank a liter of water and didn't ever have to use the bathroom because of the intense sweat situation. The sun was beating down, and my view was being blocked by more college students (although thankfully these ones were not intoxicated.)

After making it back to the town of Harper's Ferry, we went into the John Brown museum. I didn't look at anything though, just sat in the lobby where the air was the coolest. I was obviously beat and cranky by this point, so we didn't look at any more of the the exhibits. History and extreme physical exertion do not mix.

I thought I was tough, but I can't handle August. All hiking is hereby postponed until October.

Finished: Ishbel

2009-07-29T20:20:00.009-04:00

Despite knitting becoming much more popular among younger people over the past 10 years, the majority of the population probably still thinks of little old grandmas sitting in rocking chairs knitting shawls. Well, I am under 30, do not own a rocking chair, and just knit my first shawl! And yes, my friends, it was awesome.

I have been scared of knitting lace pretty much since I started knitting, but after finishing my February Lady Sweater earlier this yarn, I was prepared to try something more complicated. Enter my knitting group, who rightly has formed aRavely group called "Enablers Anonymous", where, unlike other 12-step programs that focus on preventing you from doing something, enabling is downright encouraged. (Witness my recent spinning activity.) All I had to do was mention I was interested in knitting lace, and I inexplicably found myself holding a very long, pointy needle and a triangular diagram.

I chose Ishbel for my first shawl because the stockinette portion was super-easy, and decreased the opportunity for me to royally screw up. (Which I only did once - go me!) The yarn was a silk and wool blend I got at Maryland Sheep and Wool from a random booth - I can't remember the name, and it wasn't on the label. I used size 6 knitpicks options needles.

Because it isn't the 18th century, the shawl in action will most likely look more like this:

I know now why shawls are knitters' crack. The whole time you're knitting, you have an amorphous blob on your needles. Then, as if by magic (magic = blocking), the whole thing flattens out and becomes light and airy and beautiful and warm, even though it's full of holes. You suddenly want more and more, convieniently forgetting the three hours you spent ripping out an entire night's worth of work because you made one extra freakin' yarn over. And when you're done, you'll sit out in your yard wearing a winter coat and a wool shawl in 90-degree heat, trying not to let your neighbor see you, even though he smokes pot in his yard and drives a sketchy van.

Home Improvement: Office

2009-07-18T21:11:00.009-04:00

This is probably my favorite room in my house, and one of the reasons why we bought the house. I think this room was originally the master bedroom (it has a full bathroom and skylights), but we are using it as our office. The stairs go up to a loft, which the previous owners converted from an attic.

It's great to finally have most of (notice I didn't say all) my books in one place. Yes, I organized them by color. I like the rainbow effect against the turquoise wall.
My future plans for this room include curtains, a rug in front of the big bookcase, and maybe a different chair and reading lamp. Unfortunately I can't take credit for the wall colors, but I am glad the previous owners did all my work for me!

Next up: the garden.

Absence

2009-07-14T21:00:00.000-04:00

I'm pretty sure that you all have nothing better to do than monitor the status of my blog, so you've undoubtedly noticed that I've been gone for-ev-er. I have a good excuse: I am now the proud owner of a full-time job and a 1.5 hour (each way) commute.

I have to say, I find my twice daily train ride to be quite amusing. There is the rather large woman who takes up 4 seats and every day can be observed eating something that is no doubt contributing to the severity of her condition (most recently, a giant pixy stix.) On Fridays, the drinking starts early. (I have seen many people drinking single bottles of beer; did they plan ahead for that? At 6am did they put their beer in their lunchbox and then store it in the work fridge all day?)

Oh yeah, knitting. It has happened. I was racing along on my Drops jacket, until I realized that it will still be several months until I will be able to wear a bulky, 100%-wool sweater. So that sort of put a damper on things.

My Catherine socks have been seeing the most action. They are small and portable, and the design is interesting enough to keep me motivated. I'm almost finished with one sock... but again, wearing sandals everyday doesn't necessitate new socks.

I also started this plain 'ol sock, and I'm getting tired of typing this post, so just look at the picture. You'll get the idea.

Ishbel: I is making one.

(I am now spending inordinate amounts of time thinking about random grammar issues; this apparently has impacted my ability to construct coherent sentences outside of work.)

Settling in

2009-06-13T19:21:00.013-04:00

Is it wrong to want a vacation from moving? Unpacking was the easy part; finding places for all the things we unpacked is not so easy. It's also hard to put things away when your living room looks like this:
I'm pretty sure the cat is around here somewhere...

I've been tackling my long list of projects one by one. First up was to get my vegetables in the ground (or rather, in the dirt in plastic bins) because I got a late start this year. Beans, zucchini, green onions, and peppers have all sprouted. I'm excited to see these plants actually grow instead of withering and dying in 110-degree heat, like last year.

I also planted some flowers. I can sort of see how gardening might become addicting. Aren't the black leaves on this one great?

Here's the one room I have finished: my craft storage room. I'm not calling this my craft room, because I doubt any actual crafting will happen there because of lack of a window. On the walls I installed some eye screws and ran hemp string through them to serve as my revolving art gallery. I think this would be a really great way to display kids' art, since they seem to be mass producers.

In knitting (spinning?) news, last week my knitting group held its monthly spinning off-shoot. Just look at all those wheels! Somewhere many sheep are enjoying their summer haircuts.

Summertime

2009-06-02T12:27:00.006-04:00

Summer unofficially starts on Memorial Day, which this year also happened to be mine and Jason's birthday. Whenever I tell someone that my husband and I have the same birthday, they usually say something like, "Really? That's cool/weird/neat/a coincidence!" What it really means is that every year I'm going to have to make my own birthday cake. The conversation usually goes something like this:
S: What kind of birthday cake do you want this year?
J: I don't know, what kind of birthday cake do you want?
S: Are you going to make me a cake this year?
J: What? I have to make my own birthday cake?
S: What? I have to make MY own birthday cake?
And then I bake a cake, because Jason says something like, "You are better at baking than I am. Your cake would turn out much better." (Apparently a statement he intends to use to get out of baking anything until death do us part)

That was a long way to say that I made an ice cream cake this year, and even though it turned out tasty, next time I'll remember to freeze the cake before layering in the ice cream. (Whoops.)

Yesterday I went strawberry picking, and came back with nearly 7lbs. Half have gone into the freezer, and half will go into my mouth. (But not all at the same time.)

There was also spinning! For years I have put off spinning for fear of acquiring yet another fiber hobby. But, many of the ladies in my knitting group are also spinners, and they made me do it. I believe there were threats of violence. So, I borrowed a spindle and mooched some fiber, and got to work.Above are my first and second attempts - not too bad! But, man, is this time consuming. I don't know if I will ever become addicted to spinning, but I am glad to be learning. When we run out of oil and the rest of you are cold, I will be wearing cozy hand-spun-and-knit sweaters.

A House!

2009-05-26T15:36:00.004-04:00

Many of you who know me in real life know that WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! Tomorrow is closing, and we are moving in beginning at the end of this week. Yay, massive debt!

If you've been reading along dillgently, you know that I had a lot of plans for my new house, mostly in terms of paint colors. Much to my surprise we found a house that was already painted the exact colors I would have painted it. (Well, the dining area is only yellow, not yellow and teal. But, I'm sure I can find something teal to put in there.) There is not a white wall in the entire house! I'm planning on posting pictures as we get set up and I embark on the many projects that are already brewing in my mind, but I know you want a hint:

Trust me, it'll be more exciting this way. For a while now I have been keeping an inspiration file on my computer, where I save any images I come across that seem worth copying. I'm using this as I scheme. Apparently I like lots of colors, stick trees with few leaves, and collections of small things. Good to know!

February Lady Sweater (in May)

2009-05-06T19:23:00.005-04:00

When was the last time I finished a sweater? (I don't know either.) But my February Lady Sweater is finished!! I started it in January, but quickly got bored knitting the same lace repeat for what seemed like forever.

This was essentially my first lace project, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I had imagined. I think it helped that the pattern repeats were short and it was easy to see where I was in a repeat based on the row beneath. It has given me the confidence to knit something more lacy (I even prepared for that by buying some silk/merino fingering weight wool at Maryland Sheep and Wool this past weekend. And it's red.)

I'm really happy with how this sweater turned out. It fits me near perfectly, and isn't too short, like most of my knitted sweaters. The only modification I made from the pattern is decreasing 7 stitches on each sleeve (after picking up along the arm hole, as the pattern tells you to do) in order to make the sleeves more fitted - and I'm glad I did it. I used Knitpicks Swish (superwash wool) and size 8 needles. I made the smallest size, but I don't know how much yarn I used. It was something like 750-850 yards.

Cat approves.

Quilting Mojo

2009-04-27T15:13:00.002-04:00

Every once in a while I get a strong urge to make a quilt. (Don't we all?) The two quilts I have in progress weren't calling to me (one in particular because it is still in storage, in an undisclosed location.) A few weeks ago I armed myself with a 25%-off coupon for Joann's and went a little insane due to the fabric overload. After being stuck with the meager fabric selection at Walmart for the past few years, I was pretty excited to have access to fabric unrelated to John Deere.

This is a small quilt; I guess you would say it is baby quilt size. But, since there are no babies nearby, I will stick to my "small quilt" label. In fact, I started this quilt with the intention of giving it away, but I like it so much that event is not looking very likely. I don't really have any use for it, but then again, I don't really need anything I knit either.

As we begin month 3 in Maryland, the job search and the house search continue. I have become more patient as I've aged, which is paying off in this situation. I'm not one to compromise, and I know that eventually everything will work itself out. Meanwhile, I've been playing with paint colors using the Sherwin-Williams color visualizer. For the longest time, I wanted a cobalt blue kitchen. I finally got it, so now I have moved on to obsessing over a yellow and teal dining room. Whether or not I will eventually have an actual dining room remains to be seen, but it can't hurt to plan.

(And lest you think I'm smoking crack with my color choices, know that after I put the yellow on the walls, the color visualizer actually suggested teal for the accent color. Disregard the red on the walls in the background. Also, I would never put that style of furniture in a room this color. Think unfinished pine and Moroccan colored glass lanterns. Not that I'm a fan of pine in general... but I digress.)

Cherry Blossoms

2009-04-06T16:27:00.009-04:00

As new residents of the Washington, D.C. area we were required to go see the cherry blossoms. I knew it would be crowded, but figured I should drag myself over there this year so that next year I can legitimately make sarcastic comments about the invading tourists. I know it is probably illegal not to be impressed by the cherry blossoms, but I was just "meh" about them. For starters, I'm not a huge flower person, and in general I'm suspicious of things that a lot of people like. (For example, Twilight. Seriously? That book sucked. As does American Idol.) There were also a ton of strollers creating a nerve-wracking situation, what with the crowded path and lack of barrier at the edge of the water.

You should ignore me and look at these pictures instead.

Rock Creek

2009-04-02T23:16:00.007-04:00

A month ago, I moved from a house across from a pecan orchard populated by deer and wild pigs to an apartment 100ft off of a 6-lane road, next to a strip mall populated by constantly running air conditioners. While I am greatly enjoying the convenience of my city life, the "courtyard" at my apartment has proved to be sorely lacking in said "yard." Last week, we attempted to find some green space at the southern end of Rock Creek Regional Park.

First we walked around an old horse barn (old in age, but still in operation) - something I really enjoy about the east coast is the architecture. (In fact, I wrote my master's thesis on it! But I digress...) It wasn't even that stinky. Also, horses are huge and scary. People think they are cuddly and friendly, but seriously, those things could easily kill you.

Most of the trail was too close to the road for my liking, but there was one portion where the woods suddenly became scary. The sky was overcast, and the overarching mood made me think I might come upon a witch's house made of candy that she was using to lure children (which she would later COOK! Does anyone else find that fairy tale totally creepy?)

The bridge kind of looks like an old railroad bridge; the trail which runs on it is the Capital Crescent Trail, which was not the one we were on. (Another trail for another day.) We did figure out how to get onto the bridge though, because for some reason walking on bridges is extra fun.

We probably walked only 3 miles or so, but it was a good scouting trip that has revealed future potential. I've spent the past 5 years exploring the west, so now I hope to take on the east. I know that there are plenty of trails, mountains, and lakes to see - suggestions? (Do not suggest any mills. Long-time readers will recall the Mill Horror of '05.)

Finished: Ocean Socks

2009-03-27T19:35:00.003-04:00

Another pair of socks in the books! I started these sometime last fall, and dubbed them the "ocean socks" when I saw that their colors perfectly matched the underwater picture on the cover of the Smithsonian magazine they were laying on.

The yarn is Sockotta, and I used size 1 Knitpicks circulars (one of which bit the dust about 2" from the end of the second sock.) I didn't use a pattern, but just alternated 2x2 ribbing every 11 rows.

I'm not sure what is going through the cat's tiny brain, but she always has to be in the picture when I'm trying to take a picture of a finished project. I'm not sure if her attacking my foot means that she likes knitting, or hates it. . . or maybe she's just trying to pull some of the yarn out so she can eat it and I can pull it out of her throat later.

Notice the color of the carpeting in my apartment. White carpet in an apartment? It seriously stresses me out. I'm pretty sure every jar of tomato sauce and cup of coffee is secretly chuckling and plotting against me.

Traveling Knitting

2009-03-20T13:09:00.008-04:00

Last fall I knit a hat for my mountaineering cousin, who was planning a trip to climb a mountain in Mexico. Apparently this gave the hat a taste for adventure, because it was recently spotted on Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest mountain in the Americas!

The other guy in the picture, the one not wearing an awesome knitted hat, is my uncle (although not my cousin's dad... another one. I have a ton of uncles.) I'm glad I have such an outdoorsy family.

And if that isn't enough to swell my pride, the bunny I knit for my sister's birthday, now named Rupert, has taken to the trails in California. Most recently he visited Yosemite National Park.

Rupert apparently loves to hide all over my sister's apartment, waiting to pop out at the moment she least expects it. He even has a Facebook page to track his travels!

One More Ride...

2009-03-09T14:00:00.000-04:00

We have arrived in Maryland! Does anyone else think it's weird that it is pronounced "Mare-land" instead of "Merry-land"? (Don't worry, I didn't just figure this out. Just reflecting.) Before I completely left New Mexico behind, I wanted to take some pictures along my regular bike route, having been reminded by my sister that my bike route will now look very different. I'm thinking I won't be racing too many tumbleweeds 'round these parts.

After I leave the neighborhood, I rode down this street over the railroad tracks. There are usually cattle in the field to the left.

Next, I stop and visit some goats. I love their floppy ears!

This is the first time I saw this horse. Apparently it's perfectly normal to park your horse in your front yard in New Mexico.

Next, I rode past the train yard. The train blocking the road is a frequent occurrence.

I love these bare trees.

Finally, turn around at (yet another) train crossing.

Countdown

2009-02-12T20:32:00.005-05:00

When I found out we were moving 2 months ago, it seemed like I had forever to prepare. Now, I have two weeks! Luckily, we experienced a real estate miracle and sold the house in less than 24 hours. Movers have been scheduled, and I just returned from a scouting trip to our new city. We will be moving into a great apartment that is next to Trader Joe's and an art supply store! (Here, the nearest Trader Joe's is 4 1/2 hours away.) I also began my house hunting. While some may have been depressed after seeing what is in our price range, I thought the situation to be totally hilarious. It is difficult to explain, so I will just show you this.

That, my friends, is BLACK MOLD. According to the linked website, "The health risks associated with mold exposure include, but are not limited to: allergic reactions, irritation associated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), invasive disease, mycotoxicosis." Anyway, unless I want to live in a former crack house that may or may not cause my lungs to explode, we're going to start looking in some areas further out from DC. I'm pretty sure I saw some people stripping a stolen car across the street from one of the houses I looked at.

In knitting news, Joanne asked to see the inside of my Inga hat.

If you squint, you can see the pattern in reverse. Also, I have been working on my February Lady Sweater.

This was first a Cropped Cardigan with Leaf Ties, but after I separated the sleeves and knitted some of the body, I tried it on. The result looked something like a German milkmaid. I thought I should be running through the hills singing, "High on the hill was a lonely goat herd" and prancing around to polka music. I immediately ripped the whole thing out and started knitting the February Lady Sweater. I was terrified of lace, but it really is a whole lot easier than I thought. The pattern repeats are only 7 stiches, so I can finish one without getting lost.

Now for the hardest part... which yarns do I pack for my apartment and which do I leave for the moving van? I know, my life is so stressful.

Finished: Inga Hat

2009-01-24T15:12:00.004-05:00

This hat was my first foray into stranded (two-color) knitting, and I'm going to call it a success. I was fairly competent with the whole knitting-with-both-hands-at-the-same-time thing, but my technique was shot every time I need to twist the yarns together to prevent long floats. (Explanation for non-knitters: If there is a run of stitches just in one color, you have to twist the yarns over each other in the back so that there isn't a long strand of the opposite color on the back, since it could get caught on something. Like your ear.) I'm sure there's a way to handle the yarns for this, but that epiphany has yet to come to me.

The pattern is free and can be found here. I noticed that a lot people did not knit the whole chart, since the resulting hat would be super tall. I can't remember what row I started on, but I'm guessing it was somewhere around 20. You can see how the bottom of the first row of diamond shapes has been cut off. I wasn't a huge fan of the top decreases, since they resulted in a decidedly pointy shape.

You may be saying to yourself, "But Sarah, you have been complaining for months about how this hat was going to be too small, and yet you have managed to get it onto your head!" Ok, you probably aren't saying that, but yes, I have been complaining that the hat was too small. What you can't see in the pictures is the nice firm hug the hat is giving to my head. It did grow a little in blocking, but it will need to stretch out a bit more to be officially comfortable.

Oh yarn, someone always asks about yarn. The yarn is 100% wool and was a gift from a friend traveling through Finland. I'm pretty sure the label is somewhere on the floor of my trailer in Yellowstone, so that's as about specific as I can get. I used a size 4 needle, but I probably should have gone up to a 5 to eliminate the head squeeze of death.

Color Week: Plaid/Stripes

2009-01-16T15:28:00.005-05:00

FRIDAY: STRIPES

Today's theme for color week surprised me: stripes and plaids! I have very little plaid around the house, mostly nasty fleece blankets that really need a good washing. I found stripes on my couch, in my kitchen, and on our guest bed.

Today is, sadly, the last day of color week. I had a lot of fun hunting around the house for color, and this project has definitely made me more aware of the color around me. Although it is months in the future, I'm really looking forward to painting our new house.

Color Week: Pink

2009-01-15T11:00:00.000-05:00

THURSDAY: PINK

I'm not a pink fan, so I really had to look hard for some. Luckily, pink book spines popped out at me from my bookshelf. I love my pink scissors - they cut fabric and paper so smoothly! My mom always is fiercely protective of her "good scissors", and I totally understand. These stay on my desk, and my husband has been refused their use on occasion. (He wanted to use them to open hard plastic packaging!! The horror.)

Color Week: Blue, Purple, & Yellow

2009-01-14T14:14:00.009-05:00

I just found out that Curious Bird is hosting "color week" - the simple concept is to take photos inspired by a certain color each day this week. I'm a little behind, so here are my catch-up photos.

MONDAY: BLUE

Can you tell I have a thing for dishes? (And patterns, for that matter.) I have a plate collection, devised one day while in Pier 1. I saw a plate I loved, but I already had a whole set of dishes. Then it dawned on me: Who says dishes have to match? Since then, if I see a plate that I like, I just buy one. I've had to stop recently though, due to running out of cabinet space. But, one day I hope to have something like a china cabinet so I can collect superfluous dishes to my heart's content.

TUESDAY: PURPLE

I didn't think purple would be difficult for me to find, as it is one of my favorite colors. I even have a whole wall painted purple in my house - but as it turns out, it insists on looking brown in every picture. So, I had to go to my closet. Wow, I really have a lot of purple shirts...

WEDNESDAY: YELLOW

I'm not a fan of yellow on its own, but lately I have been painting everything orange/blue/yellow. I'm not really planning on giving up my love for Mexican folk art when I move away from the southwest, so I'm hoping yellow continues to appear in my home.

Tomorrow: Pink(!)

Year-End Wrap-Up: Knitting

2009-01-05T22:57:00.000-05:00

This has definitely been the year of hats. Out of the 16 projects that I completed, 8 of them were hats. I also finished 3 pairs of socks, a pair of mittens, a stuffed rabbit, one sweater, one shrug, and a little teapot jacket.

At the beginning of 2008 I decided to learn colorwork, knitting with two colors of yarn at the same time. And I did... but I haven't finished that hat yet, because as I said, I know it won't fit so I have lost all motivation. I only have about 10 rows to go, so hopefully it will be done sometime soon. The important thing is that I learned a new knitting skill.

I also discovered this (past) year that I love cables! I hope to knit a fairly complicated cable project in 2009, perhaps the Bayerische Socks. Having only knitted two pairs of socks for myself last year, I definitely need to remedy that situation. I have a number of great patterns in my Ravelry queue that are serving as motivation. I also hope to knit more sweaters, since I only finished one last year.

The great news about my impeding move is that I will once again be within reasonable distance of yarn stores, and will be able to attend Maryland Sheep and Wool this year! I also hope to join a knitting group again. I greatly miss my Delaware Knitters, who provided such great conversation and inspiration with their knitted projects. There's a lot coming up this year, and I am trying to look forward with excitement instead of stress.

Evangeline Mittens

2009-01-01T15:00:00.000-05:00

Christmas knitting revealed! When my brother's girlfriend started dropping some significant hints, like she needed new mittens and "always loves a handmade gift", I knew I needed to knit her some mittens. We've actually never met, but I am told that she is crafty, and that's qualification enough for a knitted gift.

For some reason there are TONS more fingerless glove patterns than mittens out there, so I decided to convert the Evangeline fingerless glove pattern to full-on mittens. Don't ask me how I did it, because I just did some random decreases until I looked right.

The pattern, which was originally published in the now-defunct Magknits, is now a free Ravelry download. I used Cascade 220 Heather, which is 100% wool. I had never used this yarn before, but now I understand why it is seen as a go-to yarn among knitters. It's sturdy and warm, and while it's not super super soft, its not scratchy like a lot of other pure wool yarns. I'm glad I bought a skein too many, so I can make something in the same color for myself!

Year-End Wrap-Up: Books

2008-12-31T13:07:00.000-05:00

At the beginning of the year, I posted a number of goals that focused on reading. Namely, I had a goal to read at least 50 books this year, some of those being selections from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list.

I am happy to report that I did not read 50 books this year: I read 61 (18,240 pages)! 16 of these were from the 1001 list, and added to the 3 short stories that were on the list, I have reached a total of 69 out of 1001.

For those interested, the books I read this year were:

1. The Modigliani Scandal - Ken Follett
2. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian - Marina Lewycka
3. Blueberry Muffin Murder - Joanne Fluke
4. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer
5. Holidays on Ice - David Sedaris
6. How I Live Now - Meg Rosoff
7. Lady Chatterly's Lover - D.H. Lawrence 8. Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys 9. The Hound of the Baskervilles - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 10. The Plot Against America - Philip Roth
11. The Post-Birthday World - Lionel Shriver
12. In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto - Michael Pollan
13. The Devil and Miss Prym - Paulo Coelho
14. Cavern - Jake Page
15. How Starbucks Saved My Life - Michael Gates Gill
16. Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - Amy Krouse Rosenthal
17. The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton
18. Crime Brulee - Nancy Fairbanks
19. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
20. The Monsters of Templeton - Lauren Groff
21. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers - Mary Roach
22. The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
23. The Spellman Files - Lisa Lutz
24. The Turn of the Screw - Henry James
25. The Devil's Highway - Luis Urrea
26. Howards End - E.M. Forster 27. Lolita - Vladimir Nobokov
28. Unaccustomed Earth - Jhumpa Lahiri
29. Shades of Earl Grey - Laura Childs
30. Color - Victoria Finlay
31. Eleven on Top - Janet Evanovich
32. The Edge of the Crazies - Jamie Harrison
33. Case Histories - Kate Atkinson
34. Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Reim
35. The Septembers of Shiraz - Dalia Sofer
36. The Tea Rose - Jennifer Donnelly
37. My Hutterite Life - Lisa Marie Stahl
38. Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
39. The Monk - Matthew Lewis 40. Casino Royale - Ian Flemming
41. The Blood of Flowers - Anita Amirrezvani
42. Running With Scissors - Augusten Burroughs
43. The Brief History of the Dead - Kevin Brockmeier
44. The Death of Vishnu - Manil Suri
45. The Monster of Florence - Douglas Preston
46. Eats, Shoots and Leaves - Lynne Truss
47. When You are Engulfed in Flames - David Sedaris
48. In the Company of the Courtesan -Sarah Dunant
49. The Gargoyle - Andrew Davidson
50. Panic in Level 4 - Richard Preston
51. A Fatal Inversion - Barbara Vine
52. The Geography of Bliss - Eric Weiner
53. Year of Wonders - Geraldine Brooks
54. The Curse of the Spellmans - Lisa Lutz
55. Summer - Edith Wharton
56. Bonk - Mary Roach
57. Friends, Lovers, Chocolate - Alexander McCall Smith
58. Thyme of Death - Susan Wittig Albert
59. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
60. The Return of the Soldier - Rebecca West
61. Coraline - Neil Gaiman

I usually pick one book each year that was my ultimate favorite. This year, I found it hard to choose just one - so I'll tell you some of the worst books I read this year. Topping the list would have to be Cavern - haven't heard of it? Yeah, for good reason! I also agonized through The Turn of the Screw, The Death of Vishnu, and Crime Brulee.

All right, fine! I'll pick a top five:
1. The Age of Innocence
2. The Tea Rose
3. Unaccustomed Earth
4. The Secret History
5. The Devil's Highway

Changes in the New Year

2008-12-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

There will be some changes coming in 2009 - the biggest one will be mine and Jason's move to Maryland in March! (What an oddly-shaped state, by the way.) House hunting has yet to begin, but we will be somewhat close to DC. While being able to drive to the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone has been beneficial, living in the middle of nowhere is not sustainable. I recently had to drive nearly 500 miles to get my car repaired, the nearest airport is two and a half hours away, and the nearest Target is longer than a 70-mile drive. While I won't be happy about the increase in traffic, I am excited to be near museums, restaurants, and shopping.

Crazy stuff about Carlsbad, New Mexico that I will NOT miss:

1) Having things thrown and/or shot at my house. Besides having a truck window shot out, we have had the garage hit by paintballs, eggs, and a beer bottle. The mailbox was also hit by a baseball bat. There really is a general lack of pride in the whole community. The very day an art exhibition was installed at the local library, it was destroyed by vandals.

2) Stepping in dog poop in my own yard. I don't have a dog.

3) Having to call the police on people shooting at the speed trailer across the street.

4) Being forced to buy nearly everything at Wal-mart.

5) Not being able to eat out on the weekends. I don't know why most of the restaurants in town have decided to close on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - it seems like an odd business model.

6) The majority of the gym's equipment being broken at any given time.

7) The community being completely unconcerned with the environment. Most people drive huge, unnecessarily large trucks. Also, because there is no recycling pick-up, most people don't make the effort to take their recycling to the drop-off center. Even then, the center doesn't accept glass or tin cans. (AND, people leave weird stuff there, like the satellite dish I saw today in the aluminum bin.)

8) There simply isn't anything of good quality here. This isn't a wealthy community, and so $4.99 all-you-can-eat pizza buffets will always thrive, and any gourmet pizza restaurant will fail. Oh Indian food, how I miss you so.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. I will miss my house, since it is cozy and painted colors I like. If anyone has any insider Maryland-suburb tips (like "stay away from that road, people will totally steal your hubcaps") feel free to spill! And is this really the Rockville Library?? If it is, I'm already in heaven. (Link to Flickr set)

Documentation

2008-12-26T23:35:00.010-05:00

I have been realizing lately that my life is quite extensively documented. Besides this blog and the thousands of pictures I have stored on my computer and in photo albums, I have a growing stack of journals. My first serious journal entry dates back to March 19, 1995, and contains the appropriate amount of teenage angst. While I do continue to keep a straight-up journal full of handwriting, about five years ago I started becoming both more visual and more compartmentalized.

I currently have 4 journals going: a regular writing book, a list of all of the books I read, an "inspiration book" consisting mostly of magazine and catalog pages, and another book that could probably be summarized as a travel journal. Here's a shot of my inspiration journal, which is pages from a magazine showing some particularly colorful courtyards.

My most visual journal is my travel journal, which consists of cut-up brochures, ticket stubs, and anything flat I can grab. It seems like I'm always sneaking things off of tables in restaurants. I also use this book for anything I feel the need to write down, like lists (including one of every ingredient in my toothpaste - there's some scary stuff in there), business cards, schedules, and quotes.

And of course, I need some pens to do all this writing. I particularly like fountain pens, and have been acquiring them over several birthdays and Christmases.

From top to bottom: the Preppy, Tornado by Retro 1951, Waterman (not sure what model), a Manuscript calligraphy pen, and a Pilot Varsity (a disposable fountain pen). It's hard to say which one is my favorite, because they all have separate qualities. I like writing with the Preppy the most, but it seems to not have very good quality ink (what can you expect for $6?) The Tornado has the smoothest line, but the line is quite bold. The Waterman also writes well, but it has a tendency to dry out quickly. Oh pens, how I love you so. I AM SUCH A NERD.

Do you keep a journal? And what is your favorite pen to use?

Double Take

2008-12-20T20:03:00.003-05:00

Have you all seen the cover of the new book Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn?

Is it just me, or do these socks look really similar to the Crosswalkers I knitted earlier this year? I would have thought someone had stolen my socks if the heels weren't different! (And if the cover socks were hot pink... but that's photoshopped I'm sure.)

Little Rock, Arkansas

2008-12-19T19:02:00.008-05:00

Part two of our "Christmas" travels took us to Little Rock, Arkansas. Yeah, I know what you are thinking, so let's just get the stereotype out of the way first:

It may be hard to see, but this man is wearing a santa hat made of orange fur and camouflage fabric. It was placed on his head by the owner of the hat, who showed up drunk to the holiday dinner cruise, and was the subject of much interest (at least on my part.) After much heckling from the piano player, the man gave up his hat, presumably to share the love.

The cruise, which was on a paddle boat (although I think the paddle was just for show), was actually quite nice. It was dark, so I only got pictures of the city lights.

Besides spending time with family, we visited the Clinton Presidential Center. I don't really care about Clinton, nor politics in general, but since I am "in the museum field" (one day) I still want to see as many as I can. The first floor of exhibits was mainly text, and you all know how I feel about that. I was surprised at how biased the museum was - I guess I should have expected it. All of the exhibits focused on all of the great things Bill Clinton accomplished in office (which I don't really remember, but probably I wasn't paying attention.)

The second floor was more interesting, as it contained a collection of gifts given to the president by dignitaries of other countries. There were a lot of art objects, like jeweled swords and statues. There was also this pretty cool Chihuly glass sculpture:

We also celebrated "Thanksmas", which is the holiday you celebrate if you can't afford anything besides Southwest's $99 fares, which are obviously not available during major holidays. We had another great feast, which included cornbread dressing. I didn't even know what dressing was (it's like stuffing, but not stuffed into any bird orfices) until I met my southern husband... but it was tasty. Mmmm.

Washington, DC

2008-12-12T16:16:00.008-05:00

Part 1 of our holiday travels brought us to Williamsburg, VA. Because we were so close to DC, we decided to take an overnight trip up there with the fam'. Stop #1 was the September 11th memorial at the Pentagon. Each person who died in the attack is memorialized by a bench, inscribed with their name, with a thin canal of water running underneath. They are organized by the person's year of birth, each row containing all those who were born in the same year. It was appropriately sad, when you remembered that each bench represented someone who is no longer with their loved ones.

The next day we spent a few hours at the Newseum, which is all kinds of awesome. There is a gallery of Pulitzer prize winning photographs, along with their stories, which was shocking, to say the least. There was also a large room containing newspapers commemorating every notable event for the last 400 years. I really enjoyed reading some of the colonial-era newspapers - they had such small type!

The museum also has a lot of "stuff" which is a quality I value in museums. You can only read so much wall text... I want to see the stuff. The museum contains the actual cabin that the Unabomber lived in in Montana. It has a totally creepy outline of his body, created by smoke diverted by his body where he slept for 17 years. (At least I think that's what it is... let's just all agree and be collectively impressed.)

There were also artifacts from other "crimes of the century," including the DC sniper, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the Waco cult. We saw an exhibition of photographs of presidential dogs, but I don't care about dogs. I do, however, care about knitting. I think this is Herbert Hoover's wife, knitting up a storm:

The entrance fee is steep at $20 (or $18 if you happen to keep an old student ID in your wallet, even though you graduated 2 years ago.) But, it was worth it, and I would definitely recommend this museum to anyone visiting DC.

I also headed over to the National Gallery of Art to see the Pompeii and the Roman Villa exhibit, because not only did I take a "Visual Culture of Pompeii" class in grad school, I also took "The Roman Villa." It was the perfect storm of art history.

This isn't the building the exhibit was in, but I don't like the modern architecture of the east wing... so look at the west wing instead.

Fun with Photography

2008-12-03T15:00:00.000-05:00

This Christmas tree was the bargain of the century. We bought it last year after Christmas for $8 (marked down from $79.99). We also bought most of the ornaments for 90% off, and then bought a few more this week from the dollar store. That's how I like to roll.

I set out to photograph the tree, but most of the pictures were boring. Blah fake tree, blah ornaments, blah lights. This sparkly ornament came out alright.

THEN... I kicked up the exposure time. This is what Christmas tree pictures should look like!

And this is what it might look like if the tree was on fire:

I'll be gone for the next 2 weeks on my holiday visiting travels. I will be expecting freshly-baked cookies upon my return.

Feast

2008-11-30T00:54:00.002-05:00

This was the first year that I didn't go anywhere for thanksgiving. Jason and I spent the day cooking, and then sat down and ate. The whole thing was pretty simple. These pictures are no good, but I wasn't about to spend time on photography when I had been smelling delicious food for the past few hours. I hope everyone had a good thanksgiving, and that no one got trampled in bargain-induced stampedes, like this man. (Seriously, what is wrong with people? And why do people who live on Long Island go to Wal-mart when there are so many other stores? When I move out of this town, I'm never going to Wal-mart again.)

The Art History Reading Challenge

2008-11-24T18:49:00.004-05:00

The Art History Reading Challenge

There are so many reading challenges floating around out there, and I have been tempted to join a few of them. Sometimes I even make a list of books to read for a particular challenge, but in the end I always decide that I don't want to feel obligated to a list. I tend to pick my next book based on my mood and how intellectual I am feeling at the time - and there is a certain freedom involved in plucking anything I want from my library pile or my overflowing bookshelves.

But, there is one subject I am always interested in, and want to read more of. Since leaving art history grad school last year, I feel myself slipping farther and farther away from the subject. Every month more art history books are published, and while I dutifully add them to my "to-read" list on goodreads, they tend to slip away because my library does not own most of them and I usually don't spend money on books.

So, in 2009 I've decided to host The Art History Reading Challenge. (Click on the link to sign up!) I am going to challenge myself to read at least 6 art history books next year, and whoever wants to is free to join me. This does not mean you have to slog through academic texts - there are plenty of fiction and popular nonfiction titles on the subject. So click on over and join me!

I hope to update the challenge site throughout the year with reviews, new publications on the subject, and works of art featuring readers. Here is my list I will read from next year:

1. Stealing Athena - Karen Essex
2. Luncheon of the Boating Party - Susan Vreeland
3. Making the Mummies Dance - Thomas Hoving
4. Art Held Hostage - John Anderson
5. Seven Days in the Art World - Sarah Thornton
6. The Bernini Bust - Iain Pears

Fall? Winter?

2008-11-23T16:05:00.008-05:00

I spent the morning dealing with this:

Actually I shouldn't say "the morning," because it was 1) after noon and 2) more like 15 minutes. We don't own a rake, as it is New Mexico and you generally don't have to rake up after cacti. But, our neighbors have a giant tree in their yard, which they allow to shed right into our yard. They really need to punish that tree for being so rude. Anyway, because we don't have a rake, I used my hands, ghetto style. I did see this cool stick bug though:

I don't have too many projects to report on, mostly because this time of year is super-secret Christmas present making time. There is a big yarn pile living on the coffee table, providing endless temptation for the cat. As you can see, the yarn pile is next to the reading pile, which I am also attempting to complete before the end of year.

Oh, I did finish another hat for my cousin, who specifically requested it. He's going to climb some ridiculously tall mountain in Mexico next week, allowing my knitting to travel the world.

Other than that, I have been making cooking plans for Thanksgiving. I bought my first turkey this weekend, so does that make me officially an adult? And what is up with a turkey breast being $15?

My new toy

2008-11-16T19:09:00.000-05:00

I got my Christmas present early this year. As Oprah said, "It's the Amazon Kinnndlllleeeeeeee!" It was because of Oprah that I got it early - she offered $50 off for a week following the show in which she gushed about it.

Now that I've had a few weeks to play with it, I thought I'd offer my thoughts, as the whole concept of e-book readers is either bothersome or fascinating, depending on who you ask.

What I love about the Kindle:

1. The screen is not the typical back-lit screen found on computers and cell phones. It is an entirely different technology called "e-ink", and is extremely easy on the eyes. While I can't say that it is exactly like reading a "real" book, it comes pretty darn close. I can read for an hour or more and not feel any ill effects on my eyes.

2. It has the internet. I don't travel all that much, but I imagine that the Kindle would come in handy if you were stuck in an airport and needed to check your email. If you were bored by the 200 books you have stored on it, you could easily download one of over 100,000 from amazon, for under $10.

3. You can walk around carrying hundreds of books. Of course I can only read one at a time, but this sort of hoarding isn't any different than stuffing my bookshelves at home with books I haven't read yet, or checking out ten books from the library when I know I'll only have time to read five.

4. I really like not having to carry around huge books. I am working my way through a physical copy of Pillars of the Earth, which clocks in at just under 1,000 pages. It's taken me over 5 months to get halfway through, partly because its annoying to have to hold the huge book open. I have Les Miserables, Anna Karenina, Don Quixote, and Gone with the Wind all on my Kindle, and it still weighs 9 ounces.

Things I will learn to deal with:

1. The internet is really slow. I have found it is much easier to download books to my computer and then transfer the files via USB to the Kindle. The New York Times had an article recently on the Kindle, in which the author writes that it is basically not a cool device. It's not in color, it doesn't blink or show movies or allow you to chat with your friends. But, it does do what it is designed to do, and it does it well. It is a reader, so any qualms I have about the slow connection speeds are really just peripheral.

2. Because the screen is smaller than normal paperback books, I feel like I am constantly turning the page. Particuarly when reading dialogue, I have to hit the "next" button nearly every 15 seconds.

All in all, I really like the Kindle. It certainly won't replace books, particularly those I can read for free from the library; its just another way to read, and I'm all for that. If you are the type of person who spends a lot of money on books, then the $9.99 bestsellers from amazon will really save you money. And if you are the type, like me, who is really into reading books published before 1930, there are plenty of sites that allow you to download these books for free. (Manybooks.net has over 20,000 free books in Kindle format.)

If you want something that whizzes and dings, then you should probably get an iPhone. If you are a reader and want something that will enable your habit, then you should get a Kindle (or another e-book reader -- Sony has a popular one.) I think this would be particularly useful for people who travel a lot or commute on public transportation.

So, do you want one?

T-Shirt Quilt

2008-11-11T19:30:00.005-05:00

My t-shirt quilt is finished! This is my 4th completed quilt, and probably my favorite so far. It doesn't have the intricacy of some of my others, but it is definitely the coziest. It is extremely warm, perfect for curling up under on the couch. Warmth has increasingly become necessary because I see turning on the heat as a sign of weakness. (Thanks, Mom, for forcing that into me over the freezing years. When it gets below 60 degrees inside I'll start considering it.)

As far as quilts go, this one was super easy. I used a quilting square (a 12-inch piece of plexiglass) to cut out each square, then I ironed some interfacing onto the back of each so that they wouldn't stretch, as t-shirts have a tendency to do. Then I cut out some 2-inch strips and sewed it all together. (Hardly any math involved!) I didn't buy enough fabric for the backing, so I ended up grabbing whatever green fabric I had on my shelf and sewing that in. I machine quilted the whole thing, which probably took the longest, and finally hand-sewed the binding on.

Jason has already given me a hint that he wants one too, judging by the large pile of t-shirts that recently appeared on my quilting table. I usually need a quilting cooling-off period though, after the trauma of trying to shove an 8-lb, 20-square foot quilt through my sewing machine. (I even had to set up a fan because I was sweating so much with the effort.) Quilting: just as good as running a marathon. (Ok, not really.)

Trail Journal: Devil's Hall

2008-11-07T21:28:00.010-05:00

Trail: Devil's Hall (Guadalupe Mountains National Park)
Date: November 5, 2008
Distance: 4.2 miles
Elevation change: 400'

Just because we left Yellowstone doesn't mean we've stopped hiking! Yesterday we drove the 50 miles or so to Guadalupe Mountains National Park (in Texas) in the hope of getting a glimpse of a tree or two that was not green or yellow. (The trees in town have changed color... they're all yellow. Not very exciting.) I've hiked this trail before, but it was 4 years ago so I was interested in seeing it again.

Most of the trail follows an extremely rocky wash. While there wasn't a significant elevation gain, there are a lot of boulders to scramble up and around.

We started out in the early afternoon, but we were on the wrong side of the mountain, which cast a big enough shadow that we were in the shade the entire time. It also was windy and colder than I expected. It is November, but so far it has yet to dip below 65.

There were some brilliant trees (made more brilliant by my saturation manipulation.)

At the end of the trail is its namesake, the Devil's Hall. You climb up some natural rock stairs and walk through a neat rock hallway.

It was nice to get outside and see something other than desert and cacti, and get a little taste of fall.

What I'm Knitting

2008-11-01T19:20:00.006-04:00

From sitting-around-the-longest to most recently started:

1. Inga Hat, in 100% wool from Finland. I'm so close to finishing this one, but I don't have much motivation because I'm sure it won't fit. I started this hat mainly to learn fair isle (knitting with more than one color), and because its still summer here, I don't have an imperative desire to finish another hat.

2. Socks started out of desperation when my yarn took forever to arrive from Knitpicks. I'm going to rip out back to the ribbing and make a more interesting design with these. It's a generic cotton yarn I got really cheap at MSW '06. Also, low down on the motivation list until I finish off some bigger projects.

3. Leaf-tie cardigan in Knitpicks Swish. Except it won't have leaf ties. This is going pretty fast.

4. Socks for Jason, who has giant feet. Well, maybe just relatively giant: whatever the difference between a women's 5 and a men's 10.5 is. The first sock will be finished today.

Mini Shelf

2008-10-26T18:18:00.006-04:00

I was born with a desire to organize. Things that do not have a specified container annoy me; I have an incoming mail basket, a magazine basket, bookshelves, and many plastic storage containers. Where there's not a container, then a pile will do, as long as it's neat and stacked by size. So, this scenario has been annoying me for a while:

This is the "hot drink" area of the countertop, which is highly respected in our house due to Jason's love of coffee and mine of tea. Everything was just stacked up, and so if I wanted something from the bottom, a lot of unstacking and re-stacking had to occur.

I came up with the idea for a little shelf, which of course did not exist in reality. So, I decided it would be easier just to build something than to scour the earth looking for the perfect mini-shelf. I got some pieces of what might have been hardwood flooring at the hardware store, and using my ghetto carpentry skills, constructed this little shelf. (Ghetto in that sawing was done with a handsaw, and construction was accomplished with a staple gun that shoots nails.) As a result, the shelf isn't all that straight or level, but I took this picture from an angle so that you wouldn't notice.

Of course I had to paint it yellow, orange, and blue, because I paint everything yellow, orange, and/or blue. (Also notice the colors of the stacked cups next to the shelf. Apparently I'm in a color scheme rut -- but at least everything matches.)

Happy Anniversary!

2008-10-20T19:01:00.007-04:00

Yesterday was my and Jason's first wedding anniversary! (I agonized for hours on how to write that sentence grammatically correctly. I still don't know if I'm right.) I'm not a huge holiday celebration person, and I knew that I didn't want to exchange presents, so I was originally at a loss on how to mark the occasion. Dinner out wouldn't be anything special... here we have the choice of Mexican restaurants or Chili's, many of which are not open on Mondays. (In fact, it seems like the restaurants here are never open. Not a very good business model if you ask me.)

I love baking, so my wedding cake was one of the aspects of wedding planning that I was really interested in. Unfortunately, the wedding cake that I got was not what I had described to the baker. I told her, "I would like a very simple cake with a beaded icing border around the edges, where the layers meet each other." The florist was going to provide flowers and artfully arrange them on the cake. Well, the florist forgot the cake flowers, and the baker ignored me and put these hideous icing swags all over my cake.

I realize that its not the ugliest cake in the world, but I had a vision that was not fulfilled. So, each year on our anniversary, I'm going to bake a cake. A really good, tasty one. Hopefully a lifetime of cakes will make up for that one ugly one.

This year I decided to go for taste rather than decoration. (After all, two people eating a multi-layer wedding cake by themselves would not be attractive.) I made a carrot cake out of the King Arthur's Baking Companion, which is the best carrot cake I have ever tasted. With cream cheese frosting, this cake is almost evilly good.

Read-A-Thon!

2008-10-18T23:09:00.005-04:00

Many of my readers are knit-bloggers, and in fact most of the blogs I read are knitting blogs. But there is a huge, friendly community of book bloggers out there, and today they are banding together to read for 24 hours straight. It seems like such a fun event, so because I couldn't devote a whole 24 hours to reading, I signed up to be a cheerleader. I've been visiting different reader's blogs throughout the day and leaving comments to encourage them (and keep them awake.)
If you have time, stop by Gargantuan Books and leave some friendly comments for some of the super-readers.

For being a cheerleader, I won a prize! I was randomly picked to receive a box of 10 brand-new "spooky books"! Free books? A very good day indeed.(Cartoon from Savage Chickens)

I'm a Little Teapot... I mean, not really

2008-10-18T11:00:00.000-04:00

I've never thought of myself as the type of person who would knit a tea cozy; and yet, I did. (Although I prefer to think of this as a "teapot jacket.") My mother-in-law gave me this little teapot for my birthday this year, and I thought a little more insulation might make the tea stay warm longer.

It's basically a garter stitch rectangle, with crocheted loops and wood beads for a closure. I made sort of a huge button hole for the spout to go through. I know, not too exciting, but all of my other knitting looks like blobs right now.

Stupid Wind

2008-10-14T20:38:00.010-04:00

Well, the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta was just not to be. The weather did not cooperate, and so the balloons were unable to launch. It also seems that death followed me from the Grand Canyon, because another sad death was reported at this year's Fiesta. (Coincidentally this same accident also happened last year, killing a California woman.) Pretty much all that went up into the sky were kites.

But, Jason got a Navajo taco, and was quite happy about it.

We did get some shopping done; its always fun to be in the big city. Albuquerque has two stores you must check out if you are ever there: Jackalope and Talin Market. Jackalope is sort of a world-trading type of store, with cool things from India, China, Mexico, and many other countries. It's fun to step inside and be assualted by all sorts of colors. I just discovered Talin Market on this trip: it's an international grocery store, and every isle contains food from a different country. (Insert angelic songs.) So tasty - there was even an entire room devoted to tea! If you live in a city this might not be all that exciting to you, but considering I live in a town that contains nothing but Mexican restaurants and a Walmart, this was heart-palpitations-inducing stuff.

-------

Back to the Grand Canyon - I ended up walking more of the Rim Trail, which proved to be pleasantly deserted (between Pipe Springs and Mather Point.) There must have been a fire at some point, because the trees were bare. It was a pretty neat atmosphere. Here are some more pictures: