DisKnit: Backwards towards Aran Success

I'll begin with this lovely picture to let you know I succumb to the lure of buying wool today on a beautiful spring-like day in Washington:


then, I'll go back to last night when the newly formed Dupont Circle SnB group convened in Capitol Heights, Maryland for more intense revels than our restaurant's meetups allow. For example there was this:

There was no picture alas of the lovely guacomole that I made, or the cupcakes, or the tequila and punch. But they are happy memories. And I got to meet this little creature: a glider:


And best of all, I finished the Aran during the party, as documented by a picture taken by Laura. I wonder if I should make the sleeves longer . . . perhaps I'll wear it a whole day first. The advantage of having taken so long to finish it that I am okay with continuing to adjust it.


Meanwhile Curtis continues to like to pull out all his toys:

Notice the iguana, the whale, and the octopus. He's quite eclectic in his taste.

May those of you who care about the rite of the Superbowl find satisfaction.

k-brow: fall from grace

I didn't really make any New Year's Resolutions this year, that I shared, anyway. Certainly a resolution to suffer no dog guilt (a central theme in my 2007, as in Wracked By) is one I'm trying to stick to. I guess Death By Vinyasa is another habit I'm trying to build, and on that one, I'm starting to see results. Oh, I'm not thinner or more flexible, but after 3 weeks of 2x/week yoga, I'm starting to feel a wee shard o' bliss instead of agony in those endless rounds of saluting the sun in that crowded gym studio. Last night, I actually felt myself getting a wee bit stronger! So Death By Vinyasa is self-gratifying, at this point, though the big pile of yoga clothing catalogues that seem to be piling into my mailbox these days is just damn annoying. But more on the annoyance later.

I didn't exactly say it aloud, okay, maybe to Blogless Michelle or Acornbud, but I was trying hard to knit from stash and not buy yarn for the coming year. Yeah, you say, let's see her maintain that one... I can practically hear DisKnit snorting her bourbon on that one. She knows, baby, she knows. I was good for exactly 15 days of 2008. I resistedKai's on-sale hemp at Aloha Knitters one night. The next week, I turned down an opportunity to buy some lovely Wollenmeise from Bockstark, who was selling it at a tempting price. My excuse for that was that I was a pretend sock knitter and a struggling lace knitter at best, and so I got out of that one. But Little Knits sent me an email last week advertising astonishing prices on Cashmerino Aran, that coveted, next-to-skin-soft yarn, the one that I've been fantasizing about for so long. I caved so fast...ordered up 13 skeins of the stuff. Don't ask me how I arrived at my numbers, but it cost about $39 per bag, and yeah, yeah, I know I've gone and added more green yarn to my already-abundant collection of green yarn in my stash, but this was true penny-pincher mentality ("I'll never find it again so cheap!!") and the options were orange and fuschia, and I figured a woman can never have too many green sweaters, right? Behold the gorgeousness that is the Cashmerino Aran:

I hope I don't fetishize it to the point of not being able to knit it up without considerable angst.

This is what the Pali looks like today, up the road from our house. I left for work in it, Kailua enjoyed it through my work day, and I came home in this punishing drizzle. The rainbow is cheering, if a bit faint, up here. Still, it's a nice sight, even if the punishing drizzle meant that the dogs had to do with some very feeble excuse for exercise. I brushed them and we played outside a bit, and then I've retired back into the house to wash some dishes and sort through mail, looking for tax documents


Lastly, Cricket has informed me that in spite of my apparent lack of dog guilt in 2008, he is still able to muster a grin at the faint appearance of sunshine.


Happy Hump Day!

DisKnit: Casting About for a Theme (not found)

Since my gift knitting is either on hold or off to recipients, I have decided to embark on some selfish knitting. I have Elizabeth Lavold's second book and decided to do a tank from it with a lace pattern. In a knitting and worldly tragedy , my version of one of her sweaters was stolen from my car -- I'm sure they thought my laptop was more valuable, but it was damn sad to lose a wearable, self-made sweater (the design was this one: http://www.ingenkonst.se/sjc10_e.htm)

The sweater I've embarked on is:
http://www.ingenkonst.se/sjc17_e.htm
I'm using a dark red apalca yarn from KnitPicks which I hope I have enough of. I have naturally converted it to the round since the shaping is identical. Are any of you out there as committed to knitting in the round as I am?

This long weekend has been pretty slow for me -- my social circle in Washington DC is very small -- but I did go bike riding up Rock Creek to Maryland -- the first time I've ridden my fancy road bike in DC. A couple of riders checked the bike out, which is always satisfying.

Today, Columbus Day, the intrepid CurtEye (Curtis in latinate) and I went to the Vet. Shocking bill since it was guilt trip so I bought all the frontline and heartworm medicine from them. I always feel on a first visit to a vet I must buy stuff from them before I go off to other cheaper sources. In Sacramento, the prices weren't that different than the discount stores, but clearly NW DC vets need to charge a lot more to afford their prices. Let's not even talk about how much the mole removal is going to cost, and the fact that I have to do it on the day after Turkey Day. But at least the guilty conscience about neglecting the dog is over. It just means that there will be no clothes buying or yarn buying for me.

Reading report: Finished Miles and Me by Quincy Troupe. Good, but I didn't learn as much about Jazz as I wanted. I think I need to read Miles: An Autobiography by Troupe instead. Last night I started a book on Beethoven. I'm obviously on a learn some more about music kick. I have no musical training and a poor voice, but I'm intrigued by the process and the social construction of it all. But I'm obviously going to have to go to the library tomorrow and return my current books and get something else. Suggestions welcome?

Cooking report: nothing to speak of, though I bought some nice apples at the farmer's market on Saturday as well as asparagus from Chile or somewhere. Gym Report: have to go see the foolish trainer tonight and say she's not much use. Self-discipline is going to be the rule.

K should be recovering from jetlag and capable of posting soon, she'll have to provide the amusement since I don't think I've managed much of it today.

L from DC