happy birthday, rW.

rW and I went to the Hirshorn for his birthday yesterday.

I took this picture of us in the Sculpture Garden. This sculpture has two way mirror glass doors that open and you can go inside. At least we think you are allowed to go in--otherwise why would it have a door and not be locked?

The day rounded out with stops at a record shop, vintage clothing boutique, a snack at Teaism, and dinner seated at the bar of our favourite local hole-in-the-wall.

There were also presents and a brownie with a candle in it at the bar. =)

low key yet very fun.

more birthday pressies

happy birthday to my cousin jess. it was last weekend, but now i can reveal the pressies i made for her because they have arrived.

i know dishcloths seem kinda lame, but they work. jess likes the handmade kind, and she doesn't like when i spend money on her so this is a good compromise. all four were made from the book The Big Book of Dishcloths: 99 Designs to Crochet. published by Leisure Arts. they are made from 2 partial skeins of Lion Cotton from my stash.

i got lucky stash-wise and cousin-money-annoyed-wise because i had navy and lavender in my stash already. they are an interesting color combination, but her kitchen has navy accents and she likes purple so i will say that it works.

happy blog-iversary!

i started this blog one year ago today. i know. i can't believe it either. who thought i would ever stick with this?

since this is ostensibly a knitting and crochet blog, i should point out that a year ago i didn't know how to knit. i taught myself while watching the Superbowl last year. i like to think that one of the reasons i have come so far with my knitting is this blog. when you have people to be accountable to, you make progress.

so what have i created in one year?

blog posts: 213

finished objects: 63

39 of those FOs were knit, 23 were crocheted, and 1 project used both knit and crochet equally. 13 of these projects were designed by me or otherwise pulled from my imagination (hard to call a seed stitch scarf "designed").

what were those items?

scarves/mufflers
8 knit, 1 crocheted

hats
7 crocheted, 5 knit

shawls/wraps/capelets
2 knit, 2 crocheted

sweaters/vest
2 crocheted vest, 2 crocheted sweaters
2 knit baby sweaters, 1 knit adult sweater

toys/whimsies
5 knit, 5 crocheted

(but to be honest on myself i counted all 12 thread crocheted snowflakes as one project. i wouldn't want to be accused of numbers inflation. ha.)

socks
6 knit pairs
no unfinished pairs or singles.

mittens/gloves
3 knit

bags/purses
2 knit

afghans/throws
1 crocheted

washcloths
5 knit and 3 crocheted

and in case you wonder how i have the time for all of this.... i make it happen. thatisall. i have been working a lot too, so it has been no small task. i have...

opened 14 shows, and i have 2 more designed and just waiting to be put up. i also got a part time job at my local yarn shop, and there was some alterations and stitching work in there here or there.

not too shabby.

hat-o-rama part two

i can now reveal the hats in their full glory with details, as the blue one has been gifted away to the rightful (blog reading) owner.

this will also give you some idea why i am tired of making hats right now. we can bring our count up to four for the month of october with these two darlings.

a sicko part of me wants to stay up tonight and finish number 5 so i can set some sort of silly personal goal. i'm not going to--too much other art must be finished before tomorrow evening.

the details....

Birthday Blues Hat
designed by kittything
pattern available soon (i hope.)

knit in Frog Tree Merino (1 skein #910, 1 skein #916, 100% merino wool) purchased at K+S=B on size US 7 Plymouth bamboo needles.

started: october 27, 2007
finished: october 29, 2007

i knit this for someone who is officially going to be old on saturday. (i am allowed to say it because he said it first. ha. and, you know.... my time will come soon enough.) that along with the color gave the design its name. but how can you be sad when you have such a delightful hat?!

when i wanted to start this project, i was a little annoyed. i bought the yarn because i fell in love with the dark blue and i had to knit something from it. i don't really wear blue. perfect for something one is to gift. okay... now tell me when it became a law of knitting that all men's hat patterns must be knit in chunky yarn?

i searched high and low, and finally in disgust i made my own pattern. remember how i questioned why anyone would ever knit a hat flat instead of in the round? yeah, well i knit it flat.

two reasons. 1. i would rather sew a seam than do fancy pants stuff to eliminate the "jog" in the color of the stripes. 2. my circular US7 was too big (24") and my double points were too small (5"). it was an hour of night well after any sort of purveyor of knitting needles would be open, so i bit the bullet and knit flat. i think it turned out pretty darn well.

ps- i am in love with my decreases.


on to friend number 2....

Tasteful Sports Themed Beanie
designed by kittything

crocheted in Frog Tree Merino (1 skein #905, 1 skein... um... brown, 100% merino wool) purchased at K+S=B on size "J" palm wood crochet hook.

started: october 11, 2007
finished: october 14, 2007

first, i apologize for the Freaky Anime Eyes picture. i have freaky eyes, and i try to minimize their strangeness in photos, but after taking 10 pictures of myself in this hat, i gave up. but this is an excellent illustration of why my ID says i have grey eyes and not blue. i don't like to fight at the DMV.

this is a husband-of-a-friend (he is also my friend) holiday gift. he likes sports. i like things that are tasteful, hence the tasteful sports themed hat. no loud and garish stadium colors here, folks! class and sophistication all the way, baby!

as you can see from the fact that i have now made three hats in the Frog Tree Merino.... i think it is spectacular! everyone should rush out and get some right now. i. love. it.

it is great for both knitting and crochet. it is soft, but it doesn't get too fuzzy. zero itch here, people. i also hear a nasty rumour that it felts well. i would never do such a thing to this lovely yarn, but i thought i should put it out there. oh, yeah... and have i mentioned that the colors rock?

alright, one more hat and then the holiday hat season will be done. i tend to make hats when i am home with my folks during the holidays--not this year. this year i think i will be back on my socks!

big fun, little foods, and even some knitting...

this was a fantastic weekend. i worked hard, but i also had a lot of fun. and i even nearly finished a knitting project! oh, oh!! and thehairyape came home on thursday!

first knitting...
these are cables that are part of my hand warmers. i finished the first one and i have more than two thirds of the second one complete. i ran out of yarn. they are supposed to take almost exactly 98 yards, with just scraps left over. i bought a yarn with 100 yards per ball, and i am out. boo. buying more on tuesday, so expect full details by the end of the week.

now... life!
friday i was in dress rehearsal for my current show, and after the rehearsal, i stuck around to play cards with the lighting designer, director, stage manager, and the program director. thehairyape showed up and hung with us. it was fun. i learned how to play "Up and Down the River" (also called Oh, Hell and Rat F**k) and we ordered in pizza and bought drinks so we wouldn't have to go out and spend as much.

on saturday i painted renderings for a show, and afterward i celebrated thehairyape's birthday. he had it while he was in Alabama, and a real celebration was in order.

we went out to Uni, a sushi joint in Dupont Circle. the meal was fantastic! we started with asian pear sake and edamame, for dinner i had a vegetarian variety selection (both maki and nigiri) and avocado rolls and thehairyape had the sashimi selection and crispy spicy crawlfish rolls. we finished up splitting two deserts--green tea ice cream and sake sorbet with fruit compote.
it was amazing.

i was especially impressed with thehairyape's dish. the presentation was beautiful, and the size of the servings made it well worth the price. he was also very pleased which made me very happy.

after dinner we did presents. i gave thehairyape a lovely black cotton velvet blazer with silk satin faced notched lapels, a set of black scrubs (he likes them for relaxing) and a logitech harmony remote. he liked all the presents very much. when he put on the jacket he kept petting it and saying "wow". he even said it was very rock and roll--mission accomplished!

today we went to brunch with Parents Of TheHairyApe at Jaleo in Bethesda. (they also brought Toby home! ya!) it was delicious, and his mum got to have her favourite--eggplant flan! thehairyape ordered fried marinated shark with aioli. i know, gross, but he liked it. afterward we went to the Container Store. all very fun.

i had a meeting this afternoon, and when i returned to pick up my car, thehairyape was setting up his new remote control. i stuck around to make sure it worked out. i was very worried when i bought it that either he would not like it, or it would not live up to expectations. well... with words like "wow", "awesome", and "amazing" coming from his lips, i knew i did a good job.

this weekend he is out of town with his family, and i am staying with Toby, so i'll have to put the remote to the test.