my favorite yarn

25 things to do before I turn 26

It's a couple weeks shy of my birthday, but I wanted to get a head start on this list. I really loved the idea of it, so I'm making my own.  I'm cheating a little with 54 weeks, but anyone who knows me knows I love a good list.  May as well roll with it.   

1. learn to play chess. 

2. make something from Pattern Magic

3. post on my blog once a week

4. go bowling

5. make a lamp

6. sew a quilt for my bed

7. refinish my kitchen floors

8. go to the japanese gardens

9. fold 1000 paper cranes for Sean's next birthday

10. finally complete a knitted sweater

11. spend a weekend in a treehouse

12. reupholster my sofas

13. start a potted herb garden

14. save up for a new camera

15. find a great bicycle

16. build a piece of furniture with Sean

17. take a class at my local community college

18. wallpaper my bedroom

19. try a slow month

20. take a day trip to the coast

21. see the northern lights

22. make bagels from scratch

23. read five books recommended by friends

24. enlarge my favorite photo I ever took

25. register to vote

photobooth friday

I thought I'd come back with my first Photobooth Friday contribution.  Me and my friend Amy at the Matador here in Portland.  I think this fits the challenge this month, fools in the booth.

Well here I am.  I am such a bad updater. 

SO busy lately.  Always busy.  Especially the past two months.  Luckily, I have been partially accomplishing some goals.  I have been making friends, very good friends (see above) and they are a vital part of why I'm busy.  The husband and I have been doing very well not eating out and cooking more.  We still get lazy with Trader Joe's (it's difficult to resist), but at least we're eating at home and know what we're consuming.  We go out for brunch once a week, but eat in every other day.  My cousin David got married a few weeks ago and I took a much needed vacation back to Chicago.  It was lovely to be back in what I still consider my home.  It just felt effortless, which has unfortunately left me with some things to think about.  I love Portland, I do, but history makes a home in a lot of ways for me.  So I'll give it time.  It was good to be back, though.  I really miss it.  Project-wise I've been on quite a sewing bender.  Drafting some pieces from Pattern Magic Vol. 2.  Seriously thinking of starting a quilt/duvet cover hybrid.  Gardening is about to start full-time for us.  We have a ton of yard, both back and front and some landscaping is in order.  Right now we are "those people" who haven't even mowed their lawn yet.  I just want to yell down the street, "We ordered our lawnmower from Costco and it hasn't arrived yet!!!  We've never owned a house before!!!  We didn't have one!! Give us a break, people!"  That would absolutely make me the crazy neighbor, so I can't.  But I want to.  So maybe I am. 

Things I have NOT done: the great "finish my unfinished objects" plan.  Haven't even looked at knitting since I said it.  A scarf, Clapotis (which I realized has about 14 too many increases and that's why it's taking me forever), a sweater, three (different) socks that are about 2" from completion, a lace shawl, and the second of a very cool pair of mitts.  I made a ton of modifications to the latter and lost my notes.  I am such an unmotivated knitter right now.  Oh well.  It always comes back to me. 

I WILL update soon.  Projects underway!

so in the mood for this today

The mister and I went big time grocery shopping last night, one of those trips where you buy everything you want. We go all out every couple of months. We got a ton of fruit...I've been so in the mood for mango this week, specifically with salt + lime (also delicious with lemon and chilies). I also got some root beer popcicles and pirate's booty. Terribly exciting, that pirate's booty.

Starting next week, we're going to get bi-monthly deliveries of produce from local organic farms. I think it's a good choice for us. Until spring, we'll pair that with our usual grocery routine, then try to navigate farmers markets and other local options to make our grocery trips smaller and smaller. It will be a challenge to see how much we can buy locally and be satisfied. It raises the larger issue of bad habits and how we cling to them. Foods that are easy to prepare, that are not the best in terms of packaging, nutrition, or any number of things. I will say, at the end of the day I'm happier for the mango I ate, not the popcicle. We'll see how this goes for us.

note to self: I should make mango popcicles.

the evidence of creativity (or, I really need to be doing more)

There's a corner in my garage filled with boxes.  We just sort of shoved them aside because the house was put together and we didn't seem to be missing anything.  I spent a couple of hours today sorting through them and, well, I'm ashamed I didn't even miss these boxes.  At all.  They're filled with the evidence of my creativity.  Not anything specific, more photos of old apartments and postcards of art shows I've done.  Proof of a much more creative and vibrant life than I'm living now.  Making such a change in our lives this year has been liberating in so many ways.  I am so grateful to have a good job, a wonderful home, and a husband who makes me crazy in love.  Still, I haven't quite felt like myself.  A little bottled up and busy.  Time to do a bit of fine tuning.  I've been thinking about so many things lately.  How do I want to live my life?  How do we want to raise a child?  I want a creative life, everyday.  It's difficult to make, do, sew, draw, paint, glue, sing, knit, staple, style, visualize, and move in a way that makes you feel the most like you.  I feel like that came so easily to me in Chicago.  We had such roots there.  The upside to this is the inspiration from others.  Seriously, I am overwhelmed by this community.  From a realistic slow month, to seeing absolutely everything around you, to making lists and seeing what you did instead.  I see tons of jumping off points and that is the most refreshing inspiration of all.  Pow!  I'll sit down with a pile of vintage scraps and my gocco.  Go for a walk tomorrow morning and take some pictures.  Sort through my fabric for excellent skirt material and then, you know, make a skirt.  A dozen other things that will make me feel like me.   I just need to try a little and make the time.  I think I'm going to make a list of my own in the next couple of days.

(I really need to stop watching so much tv.  I still counts as television, even if I'm knitting.  Not half-assed "multitasking."  Seriously, I've tried telling myself that.)   

A big thank you to everyone on Flickr and the blog community in general for the daily reminder that the little things are what matter in the big picture.  Handmade, homemade.  Those things determine the quality of our lives.  I love seeing what you do every day.

well isn't that...

pattern: swell, from knitty 2006

for: me

yarn: glaciar del cielo, #74 (main body) aurora bulky in olive green (trim)

needles: size 5 addi turbo circular

time: January 27-29

overall: Well, this is the only thing I've finished since this past summer.  I've been working on five or six things, all sitting in my knitting basket without any real progress.  Necessity!  That's when something is completed.  I needed a lightweight hat, something cozy and not itchy.  Basically an indoor hat and this is it.  I had to rip out the last 2" of the first try.  It was way too short and barely fit on my head.  I added in an additional 1.5" and then decreased according to the pattern.  The hat is incredibly cozy and the earflaps are perfect.  If I were to make another, I would have added another 1.5" (to total 3" added total to the pattern).  It's a bit awkward looking because of it.  Regardless, I love how comfortable it is and my need for a cozy "house hat" is fulfilled. 

a note on the yarn: In my neverending quest to find perfect non-wool varieties, this will be my new go-to yarn.  The Glaciar del Cielo is incredibly similar to Blue Sky's new Skinny Dyed, but after much swatching, I've found this to be superior.  Blue Sky's is an absolute dream in skein form, but after winding and knitting, it doesn't hold up.  It collects absolutely everything from lint to dog hair to thread.  It's the worst.  It doesn't hold shape very well either.  The Glaciar del Cielo is fantastic.  Sturdy, soft, and gorgeous color.  The gray I chose has a bit of sea green to it...very unique and stands out.  I've already purchased seven more skeins for a lightweight sweater. 

I'm battling the knitting basket right now.  I'm giving myself to March to either finish up or unravel.  I'm excited to see the result of a year's worth of knitting.  Or procrastination.   

glow stripe mitts

I started these fingerless mitts as a test run for Rowan Cashsoft 4-ply.  There is a much larger project I'm planning for this yarn from the Rowan Classic Accessories, Book 20, so I'm happy there is a good way to try out the yarn and play with gauge a bit. 

The only issue I've had is with seaming.  I loathe seaming in every way, but because of the decreases, these are fussier than normal.  Once I completed the first of the mitts, I decided to start over and knit in the round.  So far, so good! 

Holiday preprations are going smoothly over here.  Cards out, lights up, menus being planned, cookies to bake, parcels to send.  The house is almost completely settled.  We've be extra-motivated since putting up the tree and all.  Sean and I are putting the finishing touches on our personal workspaces and rooms, but aside from that...we're done!

Happy December to everyone! 

new house

Well, hello again!  I really didn't mean for that gap to happen.  Practically two months without an entry??  Crazy and I swear I'll never do it again. 

I feel like I should make lists, mostly of everything I've done, am doing, listening to, watching, thinking about, feeling, reading, knitting, or pretty much anything else.  Two months is a long time.

I've been working hard at my day job.  It's not all-consuming like I expected and the people I work with are fantastic, intelligent, intriguing folks.  Every day feels solid and productive.  The company I work for hugely respects the work-life balance thing, so I work eight hours a day and five days a week.  The end.  It's a massive shift from the 50-60 hour work week I was used to.  It doesn't drain my energy or creative flow, so my time is my own after work.  Love it.

Doing: unpacking, organizing, wishing I was knitting more and screenprinting.  I miss making a big chaotic mess.  Loving the weather here.  Moody.  Unpredictable.  Straight days of rain.  It's breathtaking.  Wearing sweaters constantly is GREAT.  Trying to have style again.  A very limited wardrobe for a year makes me somewhat bumfuzzled at the sight of all my clothes.  I used to be able to put things together in an interesting way.  It's a pretty luxurious problem, so whatever.  It's fun.

Wishing: I was making new friends.  Non-work friends.  I wish I was exploring Portland more.  I want to be settled fully in our house before these things, though.  I want to feel as rooted to the ground as possible.  Everything should have a place and be rooted too.  After so much change, I'm really digging the pileup...nothing is going to happen, our plans are happening now.  I'm enjoying it so much.  I would like to meet some new Portlanders, though. 

Watching: fall tv is so lame and wonderful at the same time..."The Office" and so forth, but I still find myself so happy that Jim and Pam got together.  "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is new on the roster. Really funny.  Gave it a chance a year or so ago and felt it was so-so.  I was wrong.  "Doctor Who" on our Netflix.  Shamelessly devoted to it now, even with the Christopher Eccleston/David Tennant shake up.  I saw Stardust in the theater a few weeks ago and thought it was lovely.  Not perfect, but I'll take the happy ending, thank you.  Really it's a happy ending wrapped in a happy ending, topped with the same.  Just nice.

Radiohead's newest is the download du jour and can only listen to it with my headphones on.  I kind of ignore it otherwise.  Really sick of Feist--it's always on at work.  Blah.  Yes, she's French-Canadian and there's just something about that (or whatever), but I've already heard Cat Power, thank you, don't need to hear it again.  Sean found a band called Ookla the Mok and aside from that being a great name for a band, they penned a song called, "Stop Talking About Comic Books or I Will Kill You."  It's spot-on and let's just say Sean and I have had that conversation before.  Also substitute knitting for comics and we've had that talk too. 

The house: is a good fit.  I'm a homeowner.  I could just knock all the walls down.  Sure, the roof would cave in, but it's ours and it feels good.  It's very open and has a big backyard with an asian pear tree and gigantic yews that form a beautiful canopy over the back half of the yard.  The kitchen needs some work, but there is a dishwasher being installed as I write this.  It's a grown-up dishwasher.  It's super quiet and energy efficent and all stainless steel on the inside AND the outside.  Wow.  Seriously though, we haven't had a dishwasher in five years and thusly decided to get the one we wanted.  I'm really glad we did.  It just fun. 

That's it.  All of this, the house, my life.  Enjoyable and with consequence.  This is everything, it's here and what I wanted.  All the choices and the colors, the decisions and every iota is ours.  All of this, it's such a big, wonderful, lovely thing and I'm not looking back.  This is just so much better than before.  This is our future and it's simply gorgeous so far.

flux

1. I am getting my haircut today.  I'm doing it out of necessity, not passion and feeling and "holy crap, I'm ready to take scissors to it myself"-ness.  Frankly, it is for work and neatness, confidence and the illusion of maturity I feel need to project.  This whole month, I've been doing this really intensive training program for my new job.  Overwhelming.  To say the least.  I start my actual job-doing on Monday and this seemed the perfect/worst opportunity for the cut.  To be chic and commanding (worst case: botched and distracted). 

2. My lovely husband and I have found a house.  It is perfect and ours if everything goes smoothly in the next two weeks.  We offered, they accepted, inspection went well, and now we wait.  Until September 13th, to be exact.  I'm not crazy about the current state of the mortgage world, so even though we are hardly high-risk, have been approved and all, I'm panicking daily about losing our loan.  It's happened to a lot of people and I don't want to be one of them.  I really love this house.  But it's nervewracking.  And the constant stream of "....and when we're done putting in the skylights, we'll tear out this wall and re-route the gas line for a stovetop on and island, but only after we've replaced the bathtub, refrigerator, fence, and countertops....."  The most over-the-top planning and dreaming, the fun stuff, why we're doing this in the first place. 

Fingers securely crossed.  For haircut, for job, for house.  When I'm done, I'll be sure to post the inch of knitting I've done this month.  I've seriously considered knitting in traffic, just to get some time to myself.  I mean, obviously I didn't, I'm not a monster or anything.  Oh hell, I sure wanted to.  Right now, it's the show that never ends. 

PS: This is a little shout out to Barb and John, who let me, Sean, and our two dogs live with their family.  We all know it's temporary, but it's been a while since I've said thank you.  And sorry it's turned into a farce.  Babies and dogs and too many people for just one bathroom, tired days and sometimes not enough clothes on at the right time for some.  Which is painfully funny and horribly embarassing.  So thank you for being our fantastic friends who shelter us, feed us, and tolerate us being around, pretend our dogs don't drive you crazy or that we're totally interfering with your children.  I try so hard not to swear around them or laugh when Frankie says something amazingly inappropriate at the dinner table.  Bottom line, we appreciate everything you have done and are doing for us.  Every day, no matter what.  Well, really the bottom line is that we'll be gone soon and you'll have your house back.  Regardless, we couldn't have made this move without you. 

Sorry about all the dog hair. 

right before your very eyes

Candy sushi, my contribution to our friend John's birthday.  His wife Barb threw him a ninja karaoke-themed surprise party last night, which was incredibly fun and was actually a surprise.  Loads of people brought their kids.  At one point in the evening, John turned to us and said, "Our peer group has children.  When did that happen?"  It was the first time I've felt overwhelmingly adult.  I mean, I'm married and in the process of buying a house.  I'm an adult every which way it counts.  It's not that we haven't thought about it, or noticed how weird it is to think about having children of your own.  Being at a party and being really used to having kids run around their parents, who are your friends, is a terrifying thing to snap into.  Without realizing the gradual evolution along the way.  Like it happened all of a sudden.  Granted, I'm on the younger end of the peer group...but, hmm, I don't know.  It felt big and I wanted to say something about it.  It's a bit massive and dreamy and terrifying.  But ultimately lovely. 

violet's first birthday

Barb & John's daughter Violet turned one this past Thursday, with a party on Saturday to celebrate.  I sort of love that birthday parties of young children tend to only have adults in attendance.  It's such a good excuse to see people and eat snacks, don't you think?  It's much more fair to the children in a way...all the attention for Violet and her sister Frankie!

As for the particulars, Barb wanted to make a mushroom cake for her right from the start, so with a pretty clear-cut vision, we (cake*lab) set to work.   

The cap of the mushroom was carrot cake, the stem chocolate.  We used cream cheese icing (the most delicious of all icings) and Barb made violets by hand.  She's really talented with flowers.  I don't have any experience with them at all (cake building and overall vision are more my thing) and I'm glad to be partnered with someone who is skilled at that.  And other things, of course!  The vision for this cake was about 90% her, what with it being her daughter's cake and all, and I love how it turned out.

I really wanted to do cupcakes in addition to the cake, have them "sprouting up" everywhere.  We made teensy pennants for the cupcakes and, while being entirely over the top, they were pretty darn cute. 

I'm so happy with our progress as a team, we really do well together and our combined experience in different areas helps more than I ever guessed it would.  We know our strengths and embrace that, but still try to learn new techniques from each other.  We had a brief cake hiatus while I was doing intensive job interviews and Barb started working a couple days a week at a french bakery in town.  I'm glad to be getting back and doing more.  Stay tuned! 

PS: I have been working on three knitting projects, one being the Twinkle Shopping Tunic.  I finished it and while everyone always said they stretched a lot and all that...mine is too small.  Would have had a good FO, but I can barely squeeze into it.  Bummer.  Now I've got to start over.  It only took two days to knit, but still.  It's disappointing.  Oh, and I'm halfway through the new Harry Potter.  I'm not doing anything else until it's finished!