A House!

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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.