another knitting blog

Let the Festival Begin!

Part of the reason Christy is such a good friend is that she knows when to give me a good kick in the butt to bring me back to reality and when to just give in and humor me. For instance, she agreed to go to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival with me last week and didn't complain when I insisted on taking a hundred pictures of everything that caught my eye. [Wait until she finds out how few of them I'm going to use].

To me, the most interesting parts of the festival this year were the exhibits from the country of Oman.

Here's a short introduction from the festival's website:

"The Sultanate of Oman lies on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula facing the Arabian Sea. This position at a crossroads between Asia and the Mediterranean Sea has created a complex culture drawing on the country's Arab roots as well as its long-standing contracts with India, East Africa and the Middle East."

There were many interesting examples of the crafts and customs of the region.

One woman perfumes the garments of another with frankincense before a procession and performance.

These women are weaving baskets in the desert camp. They are wearing veils that resemble masks. The foot of the woman on the left is dyed with a henna-like substance.

For a closer look and some pictures of other craftspeople, take a look at my Washington DC photo album.

If you'd like to know more about Oman, here are some informative links:

• The CIA Factbook on Oman


• The Lonely Planet guide to Oman


• A photo diary of one man's trip to Oman and Dubai

at long last...knitting

Behold, the mystery socks revealed [as modeled by CMP].

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill SuperSock (Indian Summer colorway)

Pattern: my own

Recipient: my good friend Christy

These may be my favorite socks yet.

The reasons:

1. I love this yarn. Both the color and the texture are amazing.
2. I designed them exactly the way that I wanted them. I used my usual short-row heel, but tried a wedge toe this time--I like it. The stitch pattern starts right after the cast on and continues all the way down the toe.
3. I knit them for one of my best friends who came all the way from Texas to visit me and we had a great time. She is definitely worth the effort and I know that she will appreciate her new socks.

In fact, I like these socks so much that I've started a slightly different version for myself out of another colorway of the SuperSock and I'll probably knit myself another pair just like Christy's eventually.

[As I said, we had a great weekend; and, yes, there are pictures--lots of them. I promise to try and be better about mixing in more knitting content with all the photos].

totems

Until I have some new sock photos, I will once again menace you with pictures from Vancouver.

How long ago was I there? More than a month ago? No matter.

This set is from my visit to the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia.

My friend Christy arrives tomorrow for a weekend visit. Yay!

We have some fun things planned like the Folklife Festival, the Washington Monument [oh no, not more pictures of the tall, pointy thing], and dinner and a show.

still no knitting content...but there are cats

When my family came to visit recently, my father didn't come too. He did, however, send some nice things like home-baked cookies and a copy of this little book: Bad Cat: 244 Not-So-Pretty Kitties And Cats Gone Bad. Very funny.

In a similar vein:

• The Silly Sleeping Pose Olympics


• The Amazing Cat Collection


• Kitten War!


• Yoga Kitty

In personal news: I've decided to go back to yoga classes for one last semester before I leave town. I really did enjoy it once and my health is fairly stable lately. I'm going to give it a shot and see if I can get back some level of fitness. I'm so doughy.

Actually, there is knitting content I could be presenting; however, it's the finished mystery socks and they can't be revealed until after they are presented on Friday. After that, there will be pictures of the socks on the feet of the recipient herself.

Knitting content on the way!

knitting? what's that?

Today, instead of photos of my trip to Vancouver, you get some touristy-type photos from DC.

Some of my family was here for a visit this last weekend. The entire time--while the temperature and humidity were often in the 90s--the A/C in my apartment wasn't working. Today--just in time for things to start cooling off--it's working again. Whew!

The visit was pretty good, if you overlook the beastly heat, the day I locked my keys in the apartment, and the day I forgot my wallet at home.

Saturday was monument and memorial day. Sunday was museum day. I've added some pictures from both days to my DC album.

Now that all the anticipation from the family visit is over, I've developed a rotten summer cold. It's so wrong to have a sore throat and a stuffy nose when it's so hot out. I think I'm just about ready to cough up a lung.

Why this obstructed picture of the Capitol? Because the things in front of it are the preparations for this year's Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Yay!

it's too darn hot

See, I knew I hadn't reached insanity levels with the sock yarn yet. There's room for at least a few more skeins.

Today will be yet another hot sticky day in the DC Metro area. This weather is supposed to continue straight through the weekend.

Perfect timing. I have family coming to visit tonight and staying the weekend. I've taken today off to clean up the apartment. The AC isn't working.

No AC?! Ugh! What's more, the repairmen can't come until tomorrow. Perfect! There's nothing I love more than doing mother-approved housework in hot, sticky weather.

Finally, just when you thought the Vancouver pictures were done, today I add some pictures to the Vancouver album in honor of my friend Christy.

A lady never tells

Usually, a lady never reveals her age, her weight, or how much sock yarn she owns.

But, since Natalie asked, I'll tell you if you promise to keep it just between you and me.

I would estimate that I have enough yarn to knit approximately 30 pairs of socks.

That's not so bad, right? Surely, somebody else out there can beat that. Anyone?

And it's not as though I'm only hoarding it. Socks are being knit. I finished a pair out of the Regia Cotton today.

And even though they've slowed to a trickle, the reworked 'Go With the Flow' socks are progressing as well.

Hey, I finished a pair of socks today! That means I can start another pair tonight!

Meet Me at Mayorga

It followed me home, I swear.

OK, that's a lie. Yes, I bought more sock yarn.

But really, I didn't have to go out of my way to do it. Kate and Paula from Woolarina had a big tub of yarn at the last meetup for 'labeling'. How could I pass up the opportunity to pick up this yarn I had been eying on the website? It was fate.

And speaking of the meetup, you'll notice that I've added a section of links for the other meetupsters who also are blog babes. In addition to Paula and Kate, there's also Chelsea, Lara, and Sarah.

I enjoy this group immensely. I'm happy that we've decided to meet twice a month now. We'll still be at Mayorga on the third Wednesday of the month at 7pm; and, we'll be adding another day (either Tuesday or Thursday) of the first week of the month. Yipee!

Finally, here's a little bit of mystery knitting.

Here's a hint: It's a sock.