Creepy Ornament Party + Cute Doxies!

We got a late start on our annual tradition of creating ornaments this year. At last count, we were going to make one for each of our 8 years together. Last year we made a blue bird, fried chicken drumstick, pink snuggie, christmas tree, star, and yellow popple. For other people, I made a fly fishing vest, a leopard snuggie and a candy cane.

Our good pals came over last night for pizza, ornament making and eggnog spiked with Snap liquor. Mike rounded out our count of 8 ornaments with the creepiest elf ever (and boyfriend to Shona's scary ornament), and a sweet pink and white candy cane. Olivia made a cute ornament of her greyhound Salty, and inspired me to make canine ornaments for my cousins in NYC.

They have 2 rescue daschunds named Mr. and Mrs. Beasley. I adore my cousins and the dogs, so thought they deserved their own ornaments. Mr. B had a health scare too, so I thought this could cheer them up a bit.

Here are their names with some holly (inspired by ornaments my Mom and Godmother made with felt back in the 70s!).

And the back! I will not lie. I am damn proud of these ornaments. The colors are lovely, and they're just so cute!

I may have a few more ornaments left in me this year. Here's hoping!

Oh, and the fourth member of our group made his own creepy ornament to put Mike's to shame. It may have been my idea, to commemorate a Halloween costume that our friend made to document the trash and chicken bones that are constantly littering our street...

Ah, Christmas cheer!

Color Studies Quatro, Cinco y Seis

Life's been hectic the past few weeks. Changes at the job, but I'm looking forward to new opportunities within my workplace. Fingers crossed!

Short trip to New York City to spend time with my cousins.

Indiana to pay my respects to a wonderful women who will be missed dearly.

Florida for my bridal shower with family friends. My mom bought me a silly crown to wear which made me extra happy, since I love hats. My best friend truly went above and beyond!

Sandcastles and an open air Jeep ride with my favorite two year old little boy and best friend. Practiced my Spanish, which is vastly improving with the help of said two year old!

Lots of time with my adorable Mom and Dad.

Happy hour in their neighbors garage. He rolls up his garage door on Friday and Monday afternoons, for "Bumper's Happy Hour". How cool is that? I got to drink out of the Holy Grail cup, and wear an iron key around my neck to be officially sworn in. I love my parents' block.

Met my amazing photographer for our upcoming wedding! We just click (no pun intended).

Flew into Ft. Lauderdale at 5AM, and got a wedding cake and some inexpensive flowers by 1PM!



Baby shower and Derby Party yesterday in Philly.

Today: blissfully lazing about the house writing thank you notes!

I think I'm back on the grid now...

P.S. I put some color studies in here since I was camera-less.

Ex-Mullet House Proud Patron

The year I turned 24, I became interested in cooking. Prior to that, "cooking" throughout college consisted of late night, post-party blueberry pancakes, variations on ramen noodles, or Hamburger Helper if we were feeling fancy.

We lived a block away from the Waffle House (lovingly nicknamed the Mullet House), where they'd let us drink unlimited coffee for as many hours as we needed to study. Our record was nine hours. One of my proudest moments during this era was reading Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness in one sitting. That's a lot of coffee, folks.

After many of my cohorts moved out of Bloomington, I got my first apartment and started cooking. Going to the Waffle House alone is a path to self destruction of which I wanted no part.

So I cooked. Mainly, one salmon dish I could make decently over and over, until I couldn't eat it anymore, and then some new ones that I can't remember. Mom was called often, advice and cooking times were given, and some things were not meant to be eaten.



Today, I consider myself a pretty good cook, but I enjoy following recipes. I'd rather trust the experts with their cultured palates and honed skills so that I don't end up with wasted food and half eaten experiments.

I go through phases where I totally dig cooking, or can't bear the thought of heating up soup. Though one thing remains constant, my seven year old love of cookware and kitchen aisle goods. That said, the Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer has been eclipsed by the glossiness that is Staub's 5 Qt. Round La Cocotte in Aubergine. The enamel glows. The rich warm-purple has a depth that has been in my head since I saw it in Smitten Kitchen in December.



Material things have been on our minds alot recently, especially since we registered for our wedding. There are so many things that I don't need. For us, it is a panini press or appliances that we may use once a year, and get irritated with it taking up space the other 364 days. I'm sick of replacing coffee makers and crappy knives. I'd rather take good care of the things that we do get.

I'm trying to be more conscious of buying things that we really like, won't get sick of, and that could possibly last a lifetime. What I love about good design is that you can enjoy something even when you're not using it, just by looking at it. Like this purple object that I obviously have a huge crush on.

I must go before I get a restraining order from Staub.

P.S. La Cocotte sounds much more sophisticated than Dutch Oven. As seen from my Mullet House references above, I believe I can use some more class, and less...

Happiness is....

I was tagged by both Ambika and Andrea for meme type things. Like Ambika did, I'll combine them both and try to think of 10 things that make me happy. It would be a nice reminder to myself to get out of my Monday induced less than desirable mood today!

My list will probably border on the materialistic today. What can I say, we're living in a material world, and I'm a material girl....(please read that like Adam Sandler in Wedding Singer).



1. The perfect brown boots that I've been eyeing for some time now. They were more than 1/2 off and my mom treated me to them! Thanks, Mom.

2. Much needed new running shoes. They make me want to work out and don't make my feet hurt!

3. Happiness is how texting has gotten me in much more regular contact with my best friend. Our schedules are not in sync for regular phone calls, but texting works great for us. Plus, it lets me receive more photos of my favorite little boy.

4. Sonny! My godson makes me so happy. Just thinking of his laugh or seeing a picture of him brightens my mood instantly. He calls me "Meesa" and my mom "Lola" (grandma in Tagalog). My heart breaks in a good way every time he says, "MeesaLolaMeesaLola" on speaker phone.

5. New music. I'm in love with the song Dead Sound by the Raveonettes. I found it on the Whip It soundtrack, which is rather fun!

6. Working out makes me much happier. If the work day is stressful or aggravating, I can leave my aggressions in the gym, or work it out on the treadmill. I also enjoy just letting my mind wander and think out all the creative things I want to do. Endorphins are good.

7. New to me podcasts from The Skirted Roundtable. These three generous ladies have a wonderful set of podcasts where they interview famous designers and most recently, the Editor-In-Chief of House Beautiful, Stephen Drucker. He was such an intelligent and gracious man, that I'm subscribing to the magazine next paycheck! Oh, and he loves grilled cheese and is best friends with Ina Garten. The grilled cheese was all I needed to know, being friends with Ina was a bonus).

8. My new electric toothbrush. I am working on keeping my gums healthy, my dentist recommended it, and after 3 days, I'm a fullblown convert. I really need to protect my gums since I have a dental implant and don't want to waste the investment in my grill. Thanks again, mom and dad. If you're thinking of getting an electric toothbrush, I recommend the Oral B Sonic Complete S-320. I found one on Amazon for about half of what I've seen in the stores, and yes, it was new and in the plastic impossible to open stuff! (Try using a can opener for the impossible plastic stuff, it totally works!)

9. Citrus fruit! I don't want scurvy, and I find myself craving naranjas or oranges in this weather. I made a blood orange salad the other day, and it was delicious! I'd like to get my hands on some famous Florida Honeybells as well...we shall see.

10. Warmth! Being happy to have indoor heating (not to mention shelter), snuggly down blankets, hot coffee and a boy to hold hands with. Yay for coziness.

How bout y'all? Let's see your list? Tag yo'self before you wreck yo'self. (Excluding Susan. We know how she's scared of the memes! Kidding!).

xo, Mariss

P.S. Work is making me loopy today. Could you tell?!

Quilt for Gavin

The last thing on my 2009 To-Do List was to make a quilt for my friend's new baby. He was due January 1st, but arrived a little early, healthy and gorgeous.

This was the perfect opportunity to use a portion of the giant Box O' Fabric from Heather Ross. I love her fabrics, and they're perfect for new babies. No pastels for these artist parents!



A little bit of washing.



A little bit of drying. Some cutting and a lot of ironing. I kept it simple, and made 6" x 6" squares, 4" wide strips and 2.5" strips. Then I ironed it fastidiously, but didn't agonize over uneven lines. You know that I'm a lazy quilter!



I wanted to make sure that the colors were not all lumped together, especially with the squares. The strips were put together more haphazardly. I have a tendency to put certain colors together, so tried to break it up a bit.

I made it on the generous side, clocking in at 45" x 60". The front is pieced together with a thick batting and soft chocolate brown fleece. The green cordury edges are not perfect, but the new mama is not one to notice. So I let it go and didn't worry about it. Plus, I had a deadline! I was co-hosting the baby shower with friends.



She loved it, and I'm really happy with the results. The baby is using it already, I hear!



Happy New Year, by the way! Wishing you all health and happiness for 2010. Twenty Ten? Veinte Diez? Whatever you'd like to call it...

White Nest

When I was in school for interior design, we had grueling schedules.  One semester consisted of four all-nighters per week.  Needless to say, us students truly bonded.  

One of my closest friends in the program was Meg.  Completely talented, dedicated, detail oriented, and humble and fun as heck.  She's an uber-successful designer these days in Chicago, but also keeps up with her crafting.    

I just found out that she opened White Nest on Etsy.  Meg  combiness her attention to detail, excellent craftsmanship and refined taste to create these gorgeous and understated pillows.  

I really love the geometric design in the top one, and the subtle colors.  (I know that Marissa and "subtle colors" don't tend to go together, but my tastes are changing slowly).  

The flock of birds is cute. I like how it is a looser graphic of the birds, rather than so detailed.  It can read as a pattern or be a literal interpretation.

And lastly, stripes with a slight pop of her signature color, hot pink.  This is a classy lady who included a monochromatic candy bar at her wedding, complete with jars of hot pink sweets.

So go check her out, and tell her I sent you!  I realize that my opinion is completely biased, but trust me, she's truly that amazing!


P.S. Meg, you need a blog.  Get on it, girl.

Pom-Pom Rug + Blue Jeans Mojo

I always seem to meet such cool people through my pal Aimee. MB is no exception. I've only hung out with her a few times, but she's so down to earth, charismatic and full of life, you can't help but totally dig her at first meeting. Oh yeah, and she's travelled the world doing what she loves...producing television. It would be hard to like this lady if she didn't work her tuchus off and wasn't so darn nice! (wink)

Since we're both knitters, she let me know that her company, Junkdrawer Media, recently produced some Two Minute Inspiration videos for Lion Brand Yarn. I think these would be perfect for beginning knitters who may need a little extra encouragement or to help find ways to connect the dots between knitting a square and turning it into a gift.

Here's one of them below. Of course I had to link the one on pom-poms and embellishments.

They also have other videos on knitting and crochet that I didn't know about. I'm definitely interested in their crochet videos, since no matter how many times a friend shows me, I still cannot master a granny square. Videos can't get annoyed with me for needing to repeat the steps over and over!

In the video above, there is an actual rug made out of pom-poms. I think that my living room needs one of those pronto.

Congrats on a nice job, MB! I'm so glad that I scored one of your pairs of jeans at that clothing swap, so that some of your awesome mojo will rub off on me. (Insert scheming fake-evil laughter)

JC's Beef Bourguignon

Vegetarian friends may want to cast away their eyes. This meal was all about the meat!

Beef Bourguignon was one of those dishes I had heard about, but figured I'd never make it. My good friend Olivia though, being the excellent cook that she is, had been talking of making it for some time now. Then the book came out. You know which one, Julie and Julia. Shortly after, the movie with the phenomenal Streep and Adams. (Though I didn't like how Julie was portrayed as much in the movie, in her book, she's way less whiny, more charming and writes so hysterically, it will bust your gut). Needless to say, my interest was piqued.

This is how I found myself at the farmers market with Olivia to pick up a few ingredients to create this dish yesterday. We used the recipe that can be found here. I believe it's slightly altered, but pretty much the same as in Julia Child's book.



There were a lot of steps, but it was much more manageable with a friend, two sets of hands, and a brewsky each. We followed the recipe step by step, dried the meat off before browning (which really does help), and washed a ton of dishes. Olivia's husband walked in the door and said he could smell it cooking from two blocks away! I kept going on and on when the adorable pearl onions were sauteeing in butter with an herb bouquet. I had to cut myself off from exclaiming, "have you ever smelled anything so wonderful?"

We started at 4 P.M. We cut the cooking time to 2-1/2 hours so that we could eat around 7 P.M. instead of 8 or 9. In between, we made an apple crisp, roasted fingerling potatoes, a light salad with a medly of pink radishes, did a little bit of knitting (me) and piano playing (definitely not me).

The Beef Bourguignon was divine. We felt so accomplished sitting in our aprons after all the cooking, dramatically fake sighing and asking the guys to fawn us with compliments on the meal. We watched a tad bit of football while drinking a beer (in our aprons), which made us feel like quite the well rounded modern day women. Will I make it again? Certainly. Will I be willing to try out a more simplified recipe? Absolutely!

However, I'm more convinced than ever that I will add a Le Creuset 5 quart French Oven (in red) on my wedding registry.

P.S. Susan, this recipe is for you. Have at it, lady.

P.P.S. I forgot to draw the stewing beef. How inappropriate!

Bridal Tea Party

I wanted to share the first creative thing I've done in awhile! I'm so flattered to be the Maid of Honor in one of my dearest friend's weddings next month. This past weekend, I drove down to Virginia to host an English Tea Party for the bride with a few of her friends.

I wanted to create a favor for the guests, and used the Tea Party itself as inspiration. I purchased each girl a jar of local Delaware honey from The Reading Terminal in Philly. Is there anything prettier than the glowing amber shades created by sun shining through honey?



Then I selected three loose teas from Premium Steap, which is my favorite local tea shop. I was going to get a tea ball for all of the ladies, but instead, we stuffed them ourselves with tea bags I already had. Well, Mike stuffed fifty something bags of tea, and I stapled and labeled. He also helped me color hearts and labels! Mainly, because the bride is one of his favorites of my friends, but basically, it's because he's so sweet!



I finished it off with tongue-in-cheek, ultra cheesy rhymes. They were cutesy, but also explained what the teas were. Here's a sampling if you will:

"Let's celebrate the Bride to Be, With a cuppa English Breakfast Tea!"
"Our best wishes that they won't live in a hut, So drink some Black Tea with Coconut!"

It was hard to rhyme with Pineapple, but Lord knows I tried:
"Wishing them a life filled with love and laughter, Enjoy Green Tea with Papaya and Pineapple!" (I know...right?!)



All in all, it went well. Except for the poor gal that was grossed out by the thought of Wildflower Honey. Bless her heart. I told her she had my permission to give it away or throw it out! (wink)

Finnegan's Wake of Excuses

Yeah, yeah, yeah...took a "quick" 25 day break here. I missed you guys, if you're still around (wink). Me, quiet?! I know. But it happens each August, what can I do?

Without further ado, here are my excuses for not writing. Oh, and it's going to be long.

1. I've been attending green design events and tours in Philly after work and on weekends. I've been seeing such amazing things, and may (fingers crossed) be able to do some rooftop gardening. We shall see. The place that I originally wanted to help out with does not really need my type of expertise right now, but I'm still meeting some great people and enjoying myself. I'll just keep trying, persevering and keep learning.



2. I blocked my huge Pi Shawl and got to wear it to a wedding in Indianpolis! The groom is the little brother of one of my best friends. I adore her family, and it was so good to see them. We laughed and talked and had a wonderful time. To my delight, my favorite type of cake was served at the reception. It's Carvel ice cream cake with the wonderful chocolate crunchies, I know you were wondering.



There was an instance my friend's aunt and I raced to the dance floor and started an enthusiastic rendition of the Chicken Dance, only to realize that it was a traditional Polka song. We stared at each other sadly, half attempted to try the Polka dance, and walked away to our table full of folks laughing. It was one of the best moments!



3. I found myself visiting KJ in Brooklyn when she told me one Friday morning that due to some fluke, she had a free weekend from her busy restaurant schedule! This rarely happens, so I hopped in my truck to hang out. What a relaxing weekend of having nothing to do but walk around, talk and eat with one of my favorite people.

We watched the roller skaters in Central Park balancing water bottles on their heads and pirouette in hot pink spandex (jealously from the sides), saw turtles, witnessed the good deed of a fighting couple help a stranded canoer whose paddle had fallen into the lake, and ate like kings at the Shake Shack where KJ's friend is the manager. I mean do you see these ice cream sundaes that were brought out for us? It pays off being a hanger on to the foodies.

Coincidentally, we were sharing our table with a man visiting his daughter in NYC so that he could cross things off of his Bucket List. The new Yankee Stadium was on the agenda that day. Isn't that cool? In addition to being awesome, he works for our health insurance provider. His daughter works for Fitness magazine. So they were there on hand in case we had a heart attack due to ice cream overload. What are the odds? Although they were the lucky ones, since we shared our table and desserts with them!



4. I went to a super sweet baby shower for my friend Alice. I had an excuse to buy teeny clothes with little footie pajamas in the shape of dinosaur paws or featuring an adorable monkey that was incognito as a bandit. A bandit of bananas I guess. What else do monkeys steal? I won a blue ribbon for pinning the "baby" on the "bump" which I proudly attached to my new dress. We also enjoyed delicious cupcakes from Flying Monkey bakery. Mmm!



5. I took my cousin Cara to Key West for a few days. This means I can cross something off of my own Bucket List if you will. It makes up for the cruise that I promised I'd take her on when she was 16 and I was 24. In my 24 year old mind, that by the time she was 21 and I 30, I'd have enough money saved to take her on a little special trip. Ha! It's been the family joke for six years, but it was really fun to hang out and have this time together. Cue some cheesy music and a video montage of our trip...

I didn't have my camera, but the entire drive from the tip of Florida to Key West is breathtaking. It's a one way highway which has you travelling over miles of various bridges, including the famous Seven Mile Bridge, or small pieces of land that have water on either side. They had a heat index of about 105 degrees. It was brutal. So we alternated between the pools and the ocean, rode on scooters, attended a drag show, drank icy beverages, went on a sunset reggae snorkeling outing with people so hilarious that I wrote down things that they said so I wouldn't forget, and conducted our own Key Lime Pie tour complete with a 50 point scale. Our final winner was the Blond Giraffe's delectable pie featuring a cookie crust, tart filling and a lovely meringue. We even saw an endangered Key Deer on our drive home, and made sure to alert other drivers so they would not hit the cute little guy.

6. After the hullabaloo of the Key West trip, I headed home to Plantation, Florida for a week with my parents and to get down on some serious wedding planning. Thanks again Mom for letting me borrow your car. I know you don't think it's a big deal, but I really appreciated it!



7. On August 1st I got to wear a pretty party dress (not this one, but something similarly cute) because I was asked to be my nephew's Godmother! What an honor! I love that little guy so incredibly much. And although I'm slightly biased, he is the brightest, cutest, funniest, most mischevious, charming and flirty little bilingual boy that I know. No. Seriously.

Are you really still reading?! I adore you guys.

8. I haven't really talked about my wedding yet, but that's because I didn't want to do anything until I went down to Florida, picked a place and set a date. We knew we wanted it to be June or July of next year, to make it easier for many of our family members (and the groom) who are either in school or teach and work for schools. Also, this would allow enough time for my mom's sisters to possibly come all the way from the Philippines! So, we found a place that we are all really excited and happy about. And set a date (07.17.10). This was the second place that we visited, and all because of a chance conversation with one of my mom's incredible friends. Who is owed a thank you note immediately!



9. On Thursday of last week, my Mom, Aunt Marty and best friend, Brooke went dress shopping. At the second store, I wasn't going to try anything on, but Brooke insisted I try on a fun mini-dress made of crinoline that I was eyeing. While I was changing, she brought out a fun 1980s style dress that didn't make the cut, and then just one more. "Just try it on!" exclaimed Little Miss Bossy. She laced up this dress (I thought I hated a bit of lacing) which took about 10 minutes. After she was done, we knew! And the four of us were just discussing (over a huge lunch and more dessert!) how maybe we weren't the type of people to get that gut feeling over the dress, since we also weren't in the mood to cry... But then I came out and we all got excited. There was a bit of crinoline to kick around, but not huge, and I felt like myself! It was on sale, in my budget, and may be crossed off the list. Oh, and it's so pretty! Hee hee!

10. I am 99.87% sure that I've found the soldier in the Gulf War who was my pen pal for two years thanks to Facebook. We were asked to write to a soldiers in Mrs. Gelman's sixth grade class. Well, mine was a writer, the nicest guy, and wordier than yours truly (if that's possible). He wrote and typed these amazing letters that my mom and I would read. He'd send postcards from all over Europe, and actually made a big impact on what I would end up reading for fun in high school. Mainly long novels based in Russia and a love of anything Camelot related. Anyway, he was a really nice person who had an impact, and it will be nice to see where his life ended up, and which of those girls he ended up with. Ha!



So there you have it, my Finnegan's Wake length post of excuses. I'll leave you with a small photo of my journal which shows the edge of the Earth, and me falling off of it. It is also documenting a strange man that we saw advertising a new Laundromat, in the most outrageous three-dimensional get up, that we thought he was a Pro-Life person wearing a shirt showing the insides of a pregnant belly. But no, it's a washing machine. Bless his heart. It makes you love your job, doesn't it?

Glad to be back, Mariss

P.S. I have not resorted to writing emoticons on my blog, I just don't want to. However, please insert winks, smiley faces and big squealing noises in the appropriate places.

P.P.S. This post is dedicated to my friend Nicole. You happy now?! Ha ha ha.

Illustration for Knit-Knac

My friend Andrea at Knit-Knac wanted an illustration for her knitting blog, to reflect her love of sewing and knitting. She's also a very talented budding designer, in my biased opinion! The one we came up with is influenced by another bust I did awhile back.

We have her works in progress on her lovely headless model.



We wanted to showcase a chaotic medley of sewing and knitting supplies, as this is a multi-talented lady.



And lastly, the final result.



I really enjoyed creating this for my friend. She's a wonderful lady who makes me laugh so hard my sides hurt sometimes. I can't wait to see what she does with my drawing.

Alright, I'm expected in Brooklyn and better get going! Have a great weekend everyone.

What's in Your Knitting Bag?

Knitters and crocheters love to talk about what is in their knitting bags. Notions, random tools that they use, favorite stitch markers, you name it. I have always loved looking at the contents of others' bags, be it in photos on Flickr, or at my friends' bags in person. I think it's a combination of seeing what fun tools they have mixed with looking at the inside of someone's purse.



I asked my friend Regina (fellow Degenerate Knitter) to be my guinea pig. Happily, she didn't mind. She spilled the contents of her bag, sent me some photos, and I made her this drawing. Isn't it cute? She always has this great tin filled with rainbow colored stitch markers, nifty little odds and ends and buttons with witty phrases. This is the girl who gets stopped each year at Maryland Sheep and Wool because people love her t-shirts reading "Likes to Knit While Slightly Lit".

If you or anyone you know needs a custom illustration to document a special crafty project, or the contents of their knitting or crocheting bag, feel free to email me for pricing and a time frame. During my annual summer knitting hiatus, I still love to draw the related items (wink ).

Email: marissandrew (at) gmail (dot) com

xoxo, Mariss

Tortoise Shell Sunglasses Needed

Why does this pair of sunglasses from 1996 outlast any other pair I've purchased in the past thirteen years? They're my new favorites again, since my cheap ones keep killing themselves.



Philadelphia has been gorgeous. After the two sunless weeks, we've been treated to bright, cloudless days, and weather that is not too hot. I have yet to hit the beach this year, but I hope to remedy that next weekend.

I've been doing some reading, drawing, biking, walking around town and seeing friends. I'll show you some new drawings soon!

I was so sad to not enjoy a Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpet for the storming of The Bastille with the Degenerate Knitters, as Hostess Twinkies sponsored the event this year. That was nice of Hostess and all, but as Lisa pointed out, Twinkies just do not have the impact resistance that Krimpets have. The Twinkies exploded and smashed on impact, and were not one bit appetizing. I went home and made a microwave S'mores instead.

Hope you all had a great weekend too!

Catching Up

I keep meaning to write summaries of these weekend trips I've been on, but the words are not coming out. I am tired! Here's a quick map instead. The markers are from college, and I couldn't reach the second set with the more neutral colors, I'm just saying...that green is not my favorite!



I went to Virginia to visit wineries and celebrate Heather's 30th birthday!



There was Baltimore to attend Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, which I've written extensively about (you'll remember the funnel cake).

We went to Washington D.C. to attend my cousin Cara's graduation from GW. Mike and I visited the Smithsonian Native American Museum (amazing, need to go back) and the Natural History one. We also walked down the Mall, visited Abe Lincoln, saw the monuments, and got told by a sweet old man that I was humming a wonderful tune. (He was clearly lying, but sweet nonetheless!) I'll admit that I got verklempt by all the history while standing next to a huge President Lincoln. It was so humid Mike could not believe I come from Florida with all my complaining. Yet, when we were by the Lincoln Monument debating whether we had time to run up and see it, we agreed that he helped free slaves, and we could walk up the damn stairs!"



It was really cool to see things that I've seen as a child (we visited DC twice for 4th of July as a family), and see them as an adult. I still loved the minerals and gems, since I loved collecting rocks as a kid. The dinosaurs weren't too bad either.



This weekend I visited my family in Jersey to celebrate my cousin Meghan's graduation from Rutgers. She was Magna Cum Laude from the School of Engineering. I am so proud of both of my cousins! Aunt Pam made her famous garlic crabs, yum!



I may just make it up to New York this weekend to see some middle school friends. We shall see. The tolls are kicking my butt!

Silk Kerchief

I'm lucky to attend a weekly knitting circle at Rosie's Yarn Cellar, with a fabulous group of gals right near Square. Sometimes, I get to drool over the newest creation that Kate has whipped up if I get there early enough. To gush for a moment, that girl has got killer style.



In the case of her Silk Kerchief, the instant I saw it, I craved my own. Unlike my usual inclinations, I didn't want to alter it colorwise. I just wanted to recreate a bit of her magic. Those aren't even my colors. Where's the purple? The pink? The horror! But there I was last Wednesday asking Lisa for advice on what skeins of Noro were similar to what Kate had used.

Note I said "similar". Even my "neutrals" shown below have some vibrant variations...



I love that it's a simple pattern that makes sense. The stripes of natural whites and creams with whatever new color is appearing from the variegated skein, create a striking herringbone effect. I would not have thought to do that, which is why I'm glad that this talented lady thought it up for me.



But do you want to know my favorite part of the pattern? The skill level is rated "wicked easy".

What a sassy New Englander.

Maryland Sheep + Wool Round-up

This Saturday marks my third anniversary of waking up at 6am, driving 1-1/2 hours to Maryland Sheep and Wool, tromping through fairgrounds and giggling over the enormous size of male sheep bits. The Degenerate Knitters returned with a vengeance this year.

Once again, Regina wore a t-shirt ("Likes to knit, while slightly lit") that prompted 27 strangers to comment their approval. I said that I did not want ribbon fries, but chastised Lisa for not adding chives, helped eat half the plate and accidentally dumped the remaining cheesy fries on Andrea, which she promptly licked off her arm.

Oh, was there ever a classier bunch than this group from Philly? It was one of those times that I was damn proud to be from Philadelphia. Yet, we did not key anyone's car (though they may have deserved it), nor did we cut in line to look at yarn. We just made complete strangers guffaw because we are such a crazy bunch. I have proof.

I had goals this year, friends. They were:

Goal One: Visit Heartburn City, but to engage in fried foods with caution. For example, I split a funnel cake, forsaked the cotton candy, shared a lemonade, and pretended not to eat any ribbon fries. (Lisa, sour cream! Add the sour cream!)



Goal Two: Visit cute animals. Sometimes alpaca are shy, but this adorable little fella was a flirt. I think he tried to bite my butt. He's a baby though, he doesn't know any better!



Goal Three: Meet some cool people. I finally attended the a Ravelry meet-up in a barn, and we got to see whom I call our Knitting Royalty. Jess and Casey really are the nicest people, and the entire knitting community wants them to succeed! Which they are completely doing, in a humble, moral and conscientious way. I did end up speaking to Jess' mother for a few minutes (by the funnel cake booth) and told her what a wonderful daughter she had.



Goal Four: Only purchase something if it was something I really would treasure and use. This shot below is something that I did not buy, but this little booth will get it's own post this week. I did ask Lisa if this was something I could register for. Kidding!



Goal Five: Don't buy any yarn unless it's really unique. My one skein is in the middle. Regina bought 2 skeins of yarn, and hadn't even pulled it out of the clear bag by the time we were running towards the booth. It's from a new vendor called Creatively Dyed Yarns which is run by a charming ex-computer programmer / yarn store owner from Trinidad and Tobago.



Lastly, I'll leave you with this photograph of hand knitted caps from Peruvian artisans. In the caps below, they create is this wonderful pliant, supple texture that has just the right amount of weightiness. Two of the Peruvian women were at the fair and demonstrating their knitting.



Summary: When is next May? I'll bring the Tums.