Rabble Rabble

Brian and I attended the rally to restore sanity. We only caught the last 10 minutes of it because we really didn't anticipate such congestion on the metro. I'm glad we went because I saw a lot of hilarious signage and I put a lot of effort into making/carrying my own. As the title of this blog may lead you to believe I am a fan of south park. May I present the sign:




It was well received by people who knew what it meant. Some people did and some didn't, but the ones that did would rabble when they saw it, so a lot of my day was accompanied by the sound of rabbling which was highly amusing.

I finally finished staining the deck (yes, the one I started several months ago), voted, and yesterday I turned 27. I had a nice Birthday and am enjoying my new kindle even though I don't have much time to read with the impending holidays.

Puttin' in work

I have been spending every moment of spare time making things for the impending cold. Yesterday I decided to officially give up on craft store yarn. It's just not worth it. I'm spoiled by the local luxury yarns and don't' care that I spend more on each project. I'd rather give something well made with good quality materials than put so much effort into something and have it last only one season. This happened after I bought 9 skeins of two types of yarn and both of them sucked in too many ways to describe here.

So, time for project pictures!

Finished cabled scarf:




Two of 3 hats. Darker/multi colored cabled items do not photograph well. They look better in person.

Black one for Brian:



Multi-Red. Intended for my Mother but it was too small for her big Texas hair. I will try to give it to someone for Christmas? Not sure who yet.




Otto is a nosy little creature

My plants deserve an honorable mention. This giant dendrobium cane came out of nowhere. 2 months ago it was a teeny tiny little cane and now it has dwarfed all of the others and should bloom soon. I didn't expect that.





So, that's pretty much it. I'm leaving out a bunch of stuff going on in life but I really don't feel like acknowledging that my root canal last week failed and I'm on day 9 of being in pain, and that our water heater is leaking all over the basement and has to be replaced ASAP.

I'd rather think about my projects, luxurious fibers with which to create garments, thriving plants, and my adorable sleeping dogs.




The end.

An exciting development

*drum roll*

I have finally tried cables. They were much more simple than I anticipated and I am beaming with pride about this new discovery.

Last week I had to run a work errand to Bethesda and I had a lot of time to spare so I visited Knit+Stich=Bliss on Wisconsin Ave. I really didn't intend to buy anything but I found the most beautiful baby alpaca yarn by Plymouth. I have made a few things with this and I think it has become my favorite fiber. It's thick, but not too bulky, knits up quick, and is oh so soft. The colors really grabbed me. I had to have it. I bought it with a person in mind but not a particular project, and the more I thought about it the more I really wanted to make something different that would show off the hand dyed quality. It's working up very quickly and I memorized the pattern so I have been able to work this scarf without really thinking about it. I may need more yarn, which means it will be the most expensive item I have made thus far...




I wish I had a better picture. I will take one when the project is finished.

As I work through this project I have been thinking about the quality of the things I have made and whether or not they will hold up and how they are received by the people that I give them to. I have only been doing this for a year. I still feel like an amateur and when I give things to people I feel like a little kid giving someone macaroni art. Am I crazy? I guess we all experience doubt when it comes to the things that we make by hand.
I look at this project and I see the things that I have done wrong and where I need to improve and I wonder if I will ever really "get it"

When I started doing this a year ago I really didn't think much would come of it. I just wanted to make something and in all honesty I figured I would get tired of it and give up after a month or so. But I wanted to make something and feel like it had a purpose. The more I did it the more I enjoyed the process of starting something with little knowledge of it, working through it, and finishing it. It is a good feeling.

Home sweet home

Picture post....


I visited family this past weekend and stopped by to check out my Mother's impressive summer garden. It was larger this year than I have ever seen it before. I think now that I'm an adult I can appreciate the slow pace and the simple pleasures of country life.

The house where I spent most of my life has been a work in progress for as long as I can remember. No matter how many improvements are made to it the house still looks and feels a hundred years old.



The Garden!

20 tomato plants, 5 types. Eggplant. Cucumbers. 4 types of squash and zucchini, 4 types of hot peppers. Green bell peppers. Red bell peppers. Pumpkins. Sunflowers.



My mom is not big on pesticides or damage control. She lets the plants do their thing and it usually works for her. This dill plant lost the fight to these parsley worms.



This week I gave my coworker the blanket I made for her baby, who will be here in a few short weeks. Here is the finished blanket.






Finally, my current project. A "wave scarf" with Plymouth Trabajos Del Peru Merino wool. A gift for an old friend.

Deck restoration week 1

Restoring a 20 year old weathered deck is hard work.
This deck had never been sealed, stained, or treated in any way. It has withstood the elements for 20 years completley unprotected. This project is a testament to why things should be maintained rather than restored after years of abuse.

So, here is progress after week one. I haven't stripped the rails yet and hope to do more of that during the week if I have enough daylight and energy.



I hope we can get it done in 3 weekends max, but that timeframe is really dependent on the weather. There is so much surface area to cover and I'm not even trying to do the steps off the deck. Maybe next summer.

Closer!

We finally purchased some pieces of furniture for the living room upstairs and the time has come to accessorize! This is my favorite part.

I've got my eye on a few things. Today I am obsessed with one item in particular. A lamp. I need this lamp to live. It is not in my budget to buy this lamp, though I could buy it with a credit card. I never splurge on anything and I certainly never use my credit card for such things. Oh! I don't know what to do.

This is the lamp. My lamp. I love lamp.



Brian likes the lamp but is adamantly opposed to buying it because it is made by a company owned by Donald Trump. To him, giving money to Trump would be "like buying something from Mel Gibson!"
It is beneath him to buy home accessories from people that he thinks are annoying celebrity whores. However, we're not buying a lamp from a murderous dictator so it is easier for me to ignore the name. *sigh* what to do....

Finished project

Here it is!







He seems to really like the hidey spot in the corner.

The plant will be transferred to a vivarium false rock planter when I get some organic dirt for it. The sand may come later. It's only sold in 50lb bags and I can't commit to that much sand yet. It's hard to tell if he likes it since reptiles aren't expressive, but I think he does, he has been running all over it and is more active than he was before.