moving forward

meet Tangerine the Owl. he came to live with me at christmas. cute, huh?

i think the whole month of december is a wash. the holidays are so time consuming and there are such a large number of other activities crammed into that time that the whole month gets swept away. with thanksgiving so close to december 1st tis year, it felt like a steamroller of holiday absurdity.

let's start the new year with my favourite bloggable thing... a list.

Holiday Highlights 2008!

1. successful knitting. i knit a cabled shell for my mother and a pullover for my father. they both fit very well, and each of my parents is very pleased with the result. you can see photos of them in their hand knits in...

2. Christmas photos.

Christmas 2008

3. i have also... practiced my hand at holiday floral arranging and being a good aunt (via hand knits). both of those items can be seen in the album as well. no pictures of Collin from me. i was too busy admiring him. i forgot to use the camera.

4. travel. i have been to ohio twice in the span of a month and to my hometown three times in a month. i hope this keeps me on Santa's "nice" at least through april or may. i get tense when i travel. going back to serious work is sort of a welcome change.

5. organized! in the midst of preparing for the holidays, i have been trying to get organized, clean out my needless stuff (who else owns 12 copies of the International Male catalogue? yes, it is for my job.), and map out my stash so i can knit it down this year. i have a lot of yarn, and some of it is intended for really big projects, so it looks even more ridiculous. must. knit. faster.

6. i also organized my thanksgiving photos. now you can see the trip rW and i took right here...

Thanksgiving 2008

7. happy new year! my new year's eve felt like 1945 (or something similarly quaint). rW and i walked down the street to a house party with friends who live around the corner. i baked an apple and pear pie and took it with us. (A+ pie crust this time!) i had wine and good conversation. it was a lot of fun!

January 2009 is going to be busy. rW and i both open shows. i am shooting a documentary in conjunction with the show i open in february. the inauguration is going to make the city wacky, and there will be a blogiversary this month.

i have a few projects i need to post about, but we are facing a slow down this month in the knitting department. hang in there with me!

wet but fun saturday

saturday was a very busy day. we will start with the top story.

my super-awesome cousin gave birth to her first child saturday morning. His name is Collin Thomas, and you can see the photos on his very own website (with commentary by his father, a man of eccentric humour.) which i am sure will have frequent updates of cuteness.

the family expansion was happening in cleveland, so here in the mid-atlantic, we had a pretty typical weekend on our hands.

rW and i took a trip out to Mt. Airy, Maryland to pick apples and a pumpkin. it was fun, and we took a bunch of pictures. i even did some knitting on a mitten in the car.

the only hitch in the day was some inclement weather. we got pretty wet, but it was worth it. the pumpkin we found is as perfect as any pumpkin i have ever had. it has one slightly flat side, but someone clearly picked it up off its side and set it upright before it finished ripening and turning orange because it doesn't have too much of a deformed side.

i sort of also wanted to take home one of the fancy bright orange pumpkins that were already picked, but i am happy with our guy. rW will have to name him because i am bad at that sort of thing.

here is an album of our countryside activities....

Pumpkin' and Apple Pickin'

later saturday evening i went to a cocktail party at my friend Jen's apartment. i met her new man (well, new so to speak, they have been friends for a long time, but they started dating this year.) and caught up with a few old friends.

all in all, fun and busy.

hhhhhelen hhhhhayes.

monday was the 24th annual Helen Hayes Awards. for non-DC folks, you can think of this 2 ways... the DC equivalent of the Tonys. or theatre prom.

it is a little of both.

the highlight of the awards portion of the evening was that Reefer Madness (which i designed last july) was nominated for 6 awards. it won 2 of them! Outstanding Director, Resident Musical and it took the biggie it was nominated for... Outstanding Resident Musical.

the party was loads of fun... as captured in the picture (taken by my gal pal Meghan). yes, i know... shock of all shocks, i wore yellow!

i was going to go with a long black evening gown, but it was pouring rain all day and i was not interested in mopping the streets of downtown DC. dress was a happy accident... as was my 1960s hairstyle.

oh, and ps... i have the most attractive friends ever.

it was all good. i stayed the right amount of time. i had the perfect number of drinks. i saw and hugged at least 80% of the people i wanted to see and hug. my date was awesome. i liked my dress. and i got to sleep in on tuesday! i didn't even have to be at work until 3pm. all of these = great time.

tasty holidays

on my way home to visit my parents for the holidays, i stopped off to visit my cousin and her husband. this was one of several high points in the out-of-town festivities.

yes, it really was that exciting! do not judge by how long it has taken me to write about it. there is a plan behind all that. you see, my FBIL (Fake Brother-in-Law) Mark is a total foodie and he writes a rather witty food blog called Eating Cleveland . so the food on that leg of my journey was a major focus (aside from the relaxing, visiting, and gifting) and he can cover it a heck of a lot better than i can.

i will keep it simple and say that we went to a rocking little place called Melt Bar and Grilled. they specialize in grilled cheese sandwiches served with many varieties of beer. this is the kind of food that will put you in a coma--in the good sorta way. read about our visit right here.

Adventures in Food Coma Part Deux

as if grilled cheese was not enough, the next day Mark made an amazing lunch before packing me off to my parents' house. now if you read his remarks on Melt, you will know that Jess and I are on opposite ends of the eating spectrum. no meat for me, and she is convinced that carrots can bite. so he had his work cut out for him when it came to feeding us the same dish. there is one thing she and i are in 100% agreement on... mushrooms.

meet Mark's mushroom tart... it was delicious, and happily he has posted the recipe. like many good recipes, it is flexible and a little different every time. you can throw in any sort of seasoning you like to make it special. happily, i was present for what mark and jess declared to be his "best tart ever".

it is very easy to make, but if you make the filling a day ahead, you will have an even more simple dish on the day you wish to serve it. the happy couple were talking over the many little tweaks mark made on this particular occasion, so i would say that you should have at this recipe with a flair for customization.

i can't wait to make it for myself! who wants to come over for dinner? yum!

too much to share

i have so much to share after my holiday trip to ohio that i cannot put it all into one post. well, i could, but it would be very long and tedious to download for some folks because this kitty likes to take pictures to share with the audience at home. this blog being primarily about yarny arts, i will start with the serious stash enhancement this holiday season brought to me.

i am well fortified against boredom during my upcoming yarn diet thanks to my generous friends and family! thanks, guys!


first we have a skein of Dream in Color Classy in the "Spring Tickle" colorway. (yes, i know i am obsessed with this green) this baby came from my pal madhatternalice by way of a gift certificate to The Loopy Ewe. smart man that guy.

i saw this over on wendy's blog, and i decided i needed to give it a try. it is labeled as worsted, but she has been able to knit it to a sport gauge for socks. on the hank, the yarn looks like a light worsted. very similar in thickness to our next friend....

this is a skein of Cherry Tree Hill Super Sock DK in the Fall Foliage colorway, also from my gift certificate to The Loopy Ewe. i bet you are noticing that i have ordered a lot of heavy weight sock yarns. well, yes. i currently have yarn for 11 pair of socks i will be knitting in 2008, and only 3 of those are not fingering weight.

i need something to change it up! a little instant gratification can be good for the knitter's soul.

this came from my dad. it is a skein of Plymouth Happy Feet i picked up at work when i bought his presents to my mum for him. call it a "finder's fee". only one skein because i am going to knit it up into the Purl Beret, not socks.

i am interested to see how this stuff is. it is very inexpensive (retails between $6-$7) and the colors are fun. i may have a new cheap sock yarn crack!


from santa in my stocking via my mum. this is a skein of RubySapphire Ruby Sock in the "Tamber" colorway. hand painted delight! it is wondrously soft and the color is one of my obvious favourites--pink and green combo. yum.



my mum and i went to her two LYS, and while out she bought me three skeins of Noro Kureyon. we don't carry Noro at the shop, so this is a little treat. i am going to use it in the Lizard Ridge afghan. i have a goal to knit one up for myself by the time i turn 30. gives me a couple of years to buy and knit all that yarn into squares.

from both of my parents--knitting books! we like to give each other books in my family. i got one for each of my parents this year, and they went a little crazy making sure my shelf got fuller too! i am very excited. i flip through them when i can't sleep. you know, the way people flip through the j crew catalogue.

kitty = big geek.


finally, a little gift to me from me. this is a skein of The Alpaca Yarn Co.'s Paca Peds in the "Harvest Time" colorway. my mum also got herself a skein of this yarn in their "Fireside" colorway. it was hard not to get that one for myself too, but i can live vicariously through her!

up next... the knitting i did while i was away! wheeee!

one more time...

with feeling.

i was tagged for the 8 Random Things Meme back on november 24th. i am a slacker. because this is the 2nd time i have been tagged for the same one, i am not going to tag other people, but i will link back to Donna who tagged me.

i apologize if any of these are repeats from before. i'm not up for digging to find my old post.

1. i am currently obsessed with shortbread cookies. in the past, i hated these things, deeming them "not real cookies" because they are not particularly sweet compared to say... chocolate chip. now i am in love, and i am very judgmental. for heaven's sake, shortbread should only have 4 ingredients. none of them should be corn syrup.

2. i don't like fancy coffee. in the last year i have learned how to order fancy coffee for my co-workers, but i stick to my plain jane small coffee with a bit of skim. i have learned because of this that people often insist upon treating me. compared to a $5 "venti" sugar bomb, my $1.65 coffee is cheapcheapcheap.

3. my fingernails grow stupidly. my mother tells me it is because i bit them as a child. hers do the exact same things, however, so i think it is an inherited "genetic defect". we joke about which "defects" i have inherited. from her: loss of keys, loss of glasses, fingernails, wacky laugh... there are others, but because they are jokes, i only remember them when my she says "oops. that must be another genetic defect you inherited from me. sorry."

4. verbosity is a genetic defect i inherited from my father. i hear it makes me a good story teller, but sometimes it gets out of hand.

5. i hate to wash silverware. just loathe it. no reasonable explanation.

6. i love to read signs. clever, stupid, silly, generally amusing, misspelled, you name it--i'm reading it. i like to read them out loud, and people tend to think it is strange. i dated a guy for awhile who shared this passion for sign reading. too bad we otherwise disliked each other.

7. before i became a costume designer, i used to sew all of the the time. now because i strongly associate sewing with work, i rarely do it just for fun. my typical personal output is one or two gifts per year plus one item for myself.

8. i am perfectly happy to sit and work on something in silence. sometimes i will lay on my floor in silence just to not be doing anything. it is sort of like meditation without a mantra. ha.


there it is. enjoy.

quilts ahoy!

so the show i have been up to my ears designing is Quilters, and when there are quilters about, you better believe there are quilts. here is the quilt that i designed with the set designer.

it was built by the lovely and talented Miss Mar and her assistant Katherine. these women rock. each of the 16 smaller pieces are removable (the big full quilt is revealed at the end of the show) and each is stunning.

go to her blog post on the project to see the full details because i have got to get to bed, kids. oh, and do click through to the post because she included a bonus of a truly lovely picture of her Hanukkah candles.

blogger's spell checker has given me three ways to spell the holiday.... jerks. off confusing us heathens for sport.

deck the halls

sunday night i put the tree up. i didn't do it last year, so i had to use my brain about where everything was put away two years ago. it went better than expected considering, and it was very fast because my friend madhatternalice helped me.

in fact, i think he was more excited about the tree than i was. i guess it is understandable. i grew up decorating a tree for the holiday and he didn't. and really, which is more exciting? the Maccabees? or bubble lights?

wow.
i may go to hell for that one. i'll redeem myself with a list....

Things I Learned Decorating a Tree With a Man

1. the concept of shaping an artificial tree to look more natural is entirely absurd if you think about it too much.
2. it seems like all men try to tie up the tree by stringing lights too tight.
3. if you have more than 10 Gone With the Wind ornaments, be prepared to be mocked.
4. the right cute ornament can melt anyone's heart. got penguins? how about a plastic canvas panda bear?
5. pink tinsel mini trees are not for everyone. but they are for me! (sorry i don't have a picture of it.)

anyway.
tree is up! it was educational and fun.
we were also supposed to watch Six Feet Under, but that didn't happen. only down side to the night. boo.

now that the tree is ready, i want to wrap all of my presents so that i can put them underneath and make it even prettier! i still need to finish my care tags for the knit things. but when i am done with them, the wrapping can begin!

i finished the garter loop through scarf yesterday. post about that soon!

gobblegobble

happy thanksgiving to all the other folks in the good old USA. to everyone else--hi! hear about our holiday! i had a low(ish) key holiday and a few adventures. more will come with the weekend. i think we need a bulleted list.

• my apartment is incredibly clean. i get to feel superior about this until january 1st when i realize i need to take down the holiday decor.
• i forgot to clean the blades on the kitchen fan, and i have decided that this will not dampen my sense of superiority over those who partied and visited all day. ha.
• my cousins called me. it was jess's number, so when her husband was on the other end of the line gobbling madly at me... well, needless to say it gave me a bit of a start. and a laugh.
  
• i lost my wallet. this caused me to call my mother... swearing and spitting. i was a regular pirate. without the eye patch. or rum.
  
• the nice vietnamese family that runs the beer/wine store found it and they kept it for me until my dumb ass figured out i lost it and came back. i am glad i drink and have a regular place where i buy my libations.
• i had dinner with one of my bestest friends who was also unable to make it home to the family. she and i have been pals for 17 years. that is right up there with family.
• we went to La Tasca downtown for tapas, which were bountiful. the highlight was a fried eggplant with amazing garlic cheese dip. we also had a pitcher of sangria and dessert.
  
• i work tomorrow. at the store. on black friday. boo. hisssss!
• holiday tree goes up this weekend! i'll post pictures.
  

for those of you that are traveling over the next few days, please be safe!

the past revisited

it has been a busy week and weekend! the album link below will take you to the photos i took at a wedding i attended on saturday. it was lovely, and i am extremely happy for the couple. i am friends with the groom from way back, and i am pleased to see him happy and with the right gal. check out the album to see wedding highlights including the cake being cut with my friend's military dress uniform sword!

Kent's and Dana's Wedding

earlier in the week, one of my college roommates was in town checking out a PhD program. we had a great time catching up, and she brought photos of her little boy with her. here is the cutie pie. i'm keeping my fingers crossed that he will be moving here soon because his mama may be going to school near me soon!

i like rice!

it is hard to eat an apple when you only have 2 teeth.

it's raining, it's pouring!

last night i attended a baby shower for my friend marietta. she is due in about three weeks, but her little boy, Max, may have to come a little sooner. apparently he has comfortably set up shop feet first. i'm still hoping he will be nice to his mom and adjust before his big debut.

the party was held at the home of one of marietta's bosses (she works for a theatre, you have a lot of bosses in theatre) and most of the guests in attendance were friends from work. one of her friends from high school who now lives in the area was also present. i was very happy to be invited since i don't work with her company all the time, but marietta has been one of the best parts of the time i do get to spend there.

i had a lot of fun. mostly because it wasn't a showery shower. i mean, we did the two things i think you must do at every shower 1. eat. 2. shower gifts and attention on the honoree. marietta is not a frilly person, so not having balloons, streamers, and games involving dirty diapers made of chocolate probably suited her just fine.

despite her non-frilly nature you will see from the photos that marietta has a healthy love of things small and precious. the baseball sleeper was a present from the hostess, and it brought out one of those "awww"s you only hear over babies or kittens and puppies.

another friend of ours who is expecting her second baby just two weeks after marietta gave her been there, done that wisdom in the form of toys and books that served her well with her first daughter.

i went for gifts that would serve her more a little down the line. i gave her two books: Where the Wild Things Are (his name is Max after all) and The Very Hungry Caterpillar (a favourite of mine when i was little). i also had to do some subversive clothing including the mom tattoo shirt picture below and a red onesie on which i embroidered a skull on the pocket. i went for bigger sizes because i am sure he will outgrow things in five minutes.

Baby's First Tattoo

Bad to the Bone!

congratulations marietta!

here comes the bride

oh, no no. not me. my friend of 15 years, puppyJ. she is getting married at the end of this year, and i am making her gown.

for reasons of her job, i won't be disclosing any more personal details about my friend on the blog. i would also ask that anyone whom i have spoken to about her or the wedding not use her real name or details in the comments.

the picture is of the two of us trying silhouettes at a david's bridal a few weeks back. i look silly, but puppyJ has her eyes closed under the box too. that was a heck of a flash!

this week we met for a design lunch and shopping for underpinnings. and thank goodness (and my design skills) we have a design! puppyJ wanted something very sophisticated but not too bride-y. i have to give her all the credit in the world--this girl has her head on straight about the wedding and what she wants out of her day.

the dress suits her personality and at the same time it is very functional for the day. it is perfect for dancing and hugging and spending all day on one's feet. the thing is like the best about the dress is that it is completely unaffected. puppyJ picked an evening gown style that she would wear out in another color for a special occasion.

i'm also a big fan of the beading. puppyJ wanted to do some color in her dress, but we both really wanted it to be subtle and classy. a scattering of purple and lilac beads will give it some pop and be very different from how we are seeing color in bridal gowns lately. exciting! here's hoping i can do a good job making it!

workin' 9 to 5

it has been a while since i really posted because i have been working a temporary full time day job at my graduate school alma mater in addition to my design work. my poor mum was bored the other day and she didn't have a blog entry to brighten her day! bad kittything!

to the left we see a hat i am knitting. it is a basic sockinette hat on circulars, but it is sprinkled with lovely pailettes. they are a bit hard to see in the angle of this photo; they are the funny dark circles. i did finish the pink and black scarf i posted progress photos of last week, but i will show the finished product with the finished hat. i decided to do the knit hat before the matching crochet number because my knitting needle set finally arrived on saturday, and i really want to wear this hat before it gets too warm.

in addition to the job, i have had a little fun this week. myself and about seven other gals had a clothing swap on monday night. it was fantastic. i gave away some wonderful clothes that i simply don't wear anymore, and i got brand new items from the other ladies. the whole thing is a free swap with the idea being that your nice stuff will find a good home and your embarrassing items will go to charity. it is the very definition of "one man's trash, another man's treasure". only, the men are women and the treasure is sometimes a pair of red leather Coach loafers.

yes, i gave away a pair of Coach loafers. they will live a far better life on the feet of my friend.

pictured to the right is an awesome bowling bag style purse another fabulous gal gave to me. i plan to use it as a medium sized project bag. it is nice and compact, but it will hold a lot of yarn. it will probably debut next week at the stitch 'n bitch i plan to attend next monday. that's right. stop the presses! two weeks of fun mondays in a row! slow me down because the fun is getting too crazy!