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!

Sick

What's a post without a picture?
Isobels' shrug in action, along with her mittens for this winter.
Man, am I sick and tired of being sick (and tired). I have a Sassymetrical to show you, all finished for my sister knit from Romney Ridge Farm's merino/mohair blend. And I just need buttons for my beautiful, blue Tempest, but that would involve hauling myself somewhere other than Isobel's school, and I'm just not quite up to that. Luckily, Penelope only woke up once last night. I'll be back when my lungs and sinuses clear up with pictures of lovely FOs. Maybe there will be a few more by then!
P.S. We're coming up to Boston next weekend (someone is giving a talk at Harvard on Friday) and are probably going to the Shearing Festival at Gore Place on Saturday. Want to join us?

FO: EZ as Pi Beret

Pattern: Mine with help from the über-clever Elizabeth Zimmerman (July's Pi Shawl from Knitter's Almanac -- if you don't have it go get it, now!) and the indefatigable Barbara Walker (Miniature Leaf II from A Treasury of Knitting Patterns -- another indispensable book for knitters) [Ravelry link]
Yarn: Bliss in Periwinkle from Blue Moon Fiber Arts (sadly discontinued), a sport-weight blend of 70% angora and 30% wool; 100 yards, and I used pretty much all of it
Needles: US6 DPNs and US10 DPNs and 24" circular (I'm a loose knitter, so you might need to go up to a US10 1/2 or US11, if you knit tightly)

Isn't it pretty? It's like a cloud. In fact I'm considering sewing a little comb into it to keep it in place when it's windy. I've been wearing it on the crown of my head, like all the hip, young girls here in NYC, rather than down on my forehead like a beret. Or I might weave some elastic into the headband.

This is a beret from the top down, starting with an i-cord "tail" and increasing based upon π (Pi) as explained by Elizabeth Zimmermann in July of Knitter's Almanac. With this fuzzy yarn I wanted a lacy pattern (a solid hat in angora would be a little oven!). This is how I made mine:
With smaller needles CO 3 stitches. Work i-cord for 1".
Round 1: Kfb 3x as for i-cord (6 st.).
Rd 2: Knitting onto three larger DPNs, [kfb, k1] 3x (9 st.). Join to work in the round.
Rd 3: Knit all stitches.
Rd 4: [K1, yo] 9x (18 st.).
Rds 5-7: Knit all stitches.
Rd 8: [K1, yo] 18x (36 st.).
Rds 9-12: Work Miniature Leaf pattern 1x. (See table below.)
Rds 13-14: Knit all stitches.
Rd 15: [K1, yo] 36x (72 st.)
Rds 16-28: Work Miniature Leaf pattern 3x.
Rd 29: Knit all stitches.
Rd 30: [K1 yo] 72x (144 st.)
Rds 31-38: Work Miniature Leaf pattern 2x.
Rd 39: Knit all stitches.
Rd 40: K2tog around.
Rds 41-end: K1P1 around until ribbing measures 1". Bind off in rib. Weave in ends. Block firmly to open up lacework.

Miniature Leaf
In the round, knit rows 1 and 3.
0=Yarn over
^=Slip 1, knit 2 together, pass slipped stitch over

			0	^	0	row 4
0	^	0				row 2