Ten on Tuesday: 10 Great Songs from the Last Year

I didn't even blog last week's Ten on Tuesday: Celebrities You're Tired of Hearing About, since I didn't want to give those people any more exposure (hehe) and since I like Angelina Jolie (long brown hair, plump lips, loves her kids - we could be twins!). And this week I don't even know any songs from the last year. I mean, we fast-forward through the musical guest on SNL unless it's Madonna or Beyoncé or someone like that. Even then we might FF. I will definitely have something to say next week, though: 10 Favorite Things to Do During "Me" Time. Of course, the Top Five are "Knit".

Summer Portland Yarn Crawl

E.T.A. This is Portland, Maine. Keri's comment reminded me once again of the East Coast/West Coast Portland confusion.

We are going to spend much of the summer up in Bath, and I think Maine may be the land of yarn, at least the Midcoast region. Thanks to Ysolda's recent visit to the area, I am inspired to plan a Portland Yarn Crawl.

Here's what I have so far:

Tess' Designer Yarns: Home of beautiful hand-dyed yarns, the indie-dyer has a bricks & mortar store, which is great for me since I don't have plans to attend any of the shows where most people encounter this yarn.

Seaport Yarn: No, I haven't been to the Wall Street location yet, perhaps an NYC crawl in the Fall. From what I've seen on the interwebs, this is quite a venerable store.

Knit Wit: I visited this LYS last summer and really liked it. I have yet to knit up the yarn I bought (some GGH Wollywasch that I plan to turn into a Fairisle yoke sweater), but that doesn't mean I can't check them out again. The shop is in a neat neighborhood with other cool shops, a tasty cafe (can't remember, but it may be vegan), and a great antiquarian book shop for Nick.

Portland Fiber Gallery: Just down the street from Knit Wit, I visited this shop last summer, too. I'm not ready for a wheel yet, but in addition to wheels, looms, and fiber, they have dyes and finished yarn. If you can't make it to Portland, be sure to check out their Etsy shop for beautiful hand-dyed yarns and fiber.

Central Yarn Shop: They bill themselves as "Brand Name Yarns for Less", and it would be great to find workhorse yarns at discount prices. We shall see.

And Classic Elite seems to have some sort of office in Portland (Google lists them as Yarn Wholesale). Maybe I could convince them that they need me in some capacity or other: yarn tasting, tech editing, design.

Anyone want to join me? I need to document the Bath area LYSes, too, which also make for a good crawl. I'll have to start thinking about that NYC Fall Yarn Crawl, too.

Favorites

This is based on House Beautiful's Favorites questionnaire in the June 2009 issue. I enjoyed reading all the designers' answers and kept replying in my head with my own. What are your favorites?

flower peonies, roses, lilacs, violets, ranunculus, hydrangeas, freesia (I know! I can't pick just one)
sofa shape traditional three-cushion or comfy equivalent (though not one of those with cushions you get lost in) without too many Cheerios under said cushions
stationery leetle note cards from Paper Source
comfort food home-made Tollhouse cookies with a bit of Kosher salt sprinkled on before baking & sushi
lamp one of those beautiful blown glass ones from Simon Pearce - I've never been able to decide which shape/size I like best so am still without one (well, that and they aren't exactly free)
alarm clock Isobel and Penelope - I'd sleep 'til ... 7:30 without those girls
mattress a great one from IKEA whose name looks/sounds like all the other IKEA mattress names
bed pillow extra firm one with mostly goose feathers, not down
car color varies but always with that green dot on the side
everyday dishes I'd like to say my Tiffany Nature china [PDF link] (sadly discontinued) but we're not quite ready for that chez Purly (despite its being microwave and dishwasher safe and all), so Nick's bachelor dishes and the plastic stuff from IKEA that every family with small kids seems to have these days
color robin's egg blue
coffee table book The Natural Knitter
all-purpose glass "Working Glass" from Crate and Barrel, though I'm thinking of changing to CB2's Marta
soap Lush Sea Vegetable soap - sea salt, seaweed, lavender, lime - what's not to love?
ice cream B&J's Chubby Hubby or Peppermint Stick
towel fluffy white ones from LL Bean
chair Louis Ghost - I have no idea if it's comfortable but I love the shape and lucite-ness of it - even better is the little Lou Lou!
scented candle I prefer the no-smell of a clean house.
wallpaper toile, pretty much any toile
sheets white damask stripe since college, just keep replacing them when they wear out
cleaning supply Mrs Meyers All-Purpose Cleaner, Lemon Verbena or Geranium or Lavender
toothpaste Crest Whitening Expressions Extreme Herbal Mint - dumb name, awesome toothpaste
showerhead Speakman Anystream
vacuum Dyson - the yellow upright one, had it for years
lightbulb We've gone to CFLs for the most part, but I still like those "natural light" incandescents
coffee or tea Zabar's or Fairway's French Roast or the equivalent - the darker and richer, the better; one of my personal failings is an indifference to tea
kitchen gadget footed end-grain cutting board and Wusthof Santoku
workhorse fabric don't have one yet but expect to shortly, now that I'm getting to know my sewing machine
pen Pilot Precise V5 Extra Fine Rolling Ball in black
artist John Singer Sargent (wish he could have painted my portrait), Vermeer (what is there to say?), Van Gogh (oh, the impasto)

And a few questions that were oddly omitted from the HB list:

yarn Malabrigo Merino Worsted - such a joy to knit even if it might pill all over
needles Bryspun circulars and short DPNs, though I'm coming around on Addi Turbos for some projects
notion black sheep tape measure and silverplate leaf stitch markers (from Knitty City)

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Favorite Cities

I saw this one making the rounds today and decided to join in...

1. New York - my home now where there is always more to discover
2. Boston - my former home, it's such a great size, filled with history, culture, Red Sox, good food, yarn, and people
3. Chicago - my original home town: deep dish pizza, architecture, Lake Michigan, Cubs, family and friends, of course
4. Venice - so gorgeous; I visited in late spring before it started to get smelly but am pretty sure I would put up with the stink to spend more time there exploring and getting lost
5. London - history, architecture, culture, and I speak their language
6. Paris - beautiful
7. Gloucester, Mass. - my former home, too
8. Bath, Maine - my New England home with lobster, beaches, and our teeny, weeny house
9. St. Louis - home of my alma mater, the Arch, toasted ravioli, very thin pizza, a delightful botanic garden, and a lovely little art museum in Forest Park
10. Nantucket - the quintessential coastal New England town

Happy Mother's Day (and some FOs)

I hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day. We had a lovely time here in NYC - perfect weather (blue skies, sunshine, but still crisp and breezy), my parents came to visit for the weekend, and Penelope is starting to sleep through the night. Isobel was so excited to spend time with her grandparents, though she wasn't too keen on the idea of a day that was about mommy and not her.

A while back my mother mentioned that she would, after all, like a pair of fingerless mitts to keep her hands warm up in Wisconsin, so I decided to knit her the Wine and Roses Mitts from IK in the called-for yarn (Jade Sapphire cashmere 2-ply - yum!). They turned out very nicely, and she was quite pleased with them, particularly the color.


I sent those cable footies to my Grandmother not too long ago so thought I'd make her something a little silly. She does have a shawl, lap blanket, cap, gloves, and footies from me already, so there isn't too much more to knit for her as we head into summer. I hope she likes this little orange, which was great fun to knit (Franklin Habit's pattern over on Knitty). The orange yarn is leftover from her gloves, and the green is some Cascade Heritage. I would have preferred a hand-dyed green for a leafier effect, but it is still cute.


And I finally made a Hemlock Ring blanket for myself. Love it! I used some sheepy Lopi that the woman who used to own my old house gave me (I think she'd found it at the Transfer Station). The yarn is almost like pencil roving and had a lot of vegetable matter throughout, but picking it out sort of added to the enjoyment (I know, weird). I love the contrast between the lacey pattern and the serious, heavy-weight yarn.

Oh, I love that dirty water...

Boston, you're my home.

Well, not any more, but I do still feel very much "at home" there. It helps that Boston is such a manageable size. And it didn't hurt that we had a beautiful weekend! Nick's talk went well. Isobel had a good time with Peter (I was so anxious that something would go wrong because "going to visit Peter in Boston" was all she talked about all last week, which could have been a setup for grave disappointment). We went to the Aquarium (along with everyone else on their last day of April Vacation Week) and had dinner at Wagamama.

Saturday, we went to the Gore Place Sheep Shearing Festival with dear friends. Boy, was it hot! But we saw sheep being shorn, with shears, no less; dogs herding sheep and goats (so cool to watch them work); and checked out the fiber tent. I only acquired one skein of yarn: 880 yards of handpainted laceweight merino in the Deep Sea colorway from traveling rhinos (the site is being renovated, but they have a link to their nicely stocked Etsy shop). We dined in the Heights (of Arlington, that is) with the same dear friends (super-yummy pasta salad, properly boiled-in-beer-then-grilled brats, home-made hummus - dear but crazy, hehe), and Isobel told us she wanted to live there or at least sleep over. Added bonus of a pop-in from another dear friend. Then a quick dash to Windsor Button, where the choice was too overwhelming and the button "sandbox" not inspiring after a busy day. But some red yarn that might be enough for a ... thing for some dear people who make lunch from scratch might have been acquired. Time will tell.

Herding sheep
The shorn and the fluffy

Sunday we visited the Yahd and got Hahvahd t-shirts for the family before heading into Boston to visit the Public Garden. I got to take Isobel on the Swan Boats, which is one of those things I always imagined doing with my kid(s). I'm so glad we had a chance to come up and do it, on a perfect day, no less.
With the Ducklings in the Public Garden
Enjoying the Swan Boat

And I'm wearing my Tempest as I type - FO post tomorrow!

Better, Thanks

Thanks for the well wishes - I'm feeling pretty human! We're off to Boston early tomorrow morning - looking forward to seeing some dear friends. I have buttons to sew on my Tempest now from Mood Fabrics (yes, that Mood, for Project Runway fans), which I'll do on our way up there. I find car rides conducive to finishing work for some reason. Maybe it's being trapped in the car. I'm sure I'll have much to share on my return - in addition to the Sheep Shearing at Gore Place on Saturday, I hope to visit Emma's Pizza (yum!), Windsor Button, Yarns in the Farms, and Woolcott and Co. Have a great weekend!