So without further ado, I present my first half-fingered mitts. Unfortunately by the time I got around to knitting the mate, I had forgotten the way(s) in which I had improvised on the shaping of the flap that covers up the fingertips, so they don’t actually match. Luckily, my mom found that to be charming and is wearing them anyway. What do you know!!

They’re made of  a cerulean merino wool made by Karabella. It’s super soft and I loved knitting with it.

If I can find some better pictures of these, I will add them later.

I’ve been so busy doing FUN that I’ve been off of the internet, or at least off my blog.

I’ve FINALLY finished cleaning out all my in-progress knitting projects, so I’ve got a lot to report on that front. I finished these a little while ago, but I am PLEASED to present my very first complete pair of socks. It only took me about a year, so my next step on the socks front is DEFINITELY going to be learning to knit them two at a time!

So, to learn how to knit socks on my own, of course I turned to the internet. I found a really fabulous knitter who has started a series of sock tutorials with really detailed photos and step-by-step instructions that guide you infallibly through turning your first heels and closing the toe in a way that leaves no trace of any hand-knitting. She’s awesome, and these tutorials are great. What’s better than a handmade gift with no evidence of its handmade-ness but the love that went into it!

I actually started these so long ago that I can’t remember the specs of the yarn, but I know it was sock-weight, and came in a ball that was intended to be exactly the right size to complete a pair of socks.

They are wool, and the yarn was self-striping. Definitely an interesting color combo. Haha.

I was inspired in late summer to build a container garden.

I bought two 12-ft. lengths of waterproof recycled material planks, and had them cut into four 1.5-ft. lengths and six 3 foot lengths. I also bought the flat, tray-like part that is designed to sit under a windowbox or something.

I got a small holly bush, a small azalea, one daisy, one mum, and one rosemary plant.

I assembled (with some help and a power drill) the box from the planks and in the center of the bottom, where I was a plank short, I substituted the tray.

After the box was assembled, I filled it with one bag of large rocks, 1 bag of organic gardening soil, and then planted my plants, filling in on top of them with a topsoil mix.

Watered diligently, let it get rained on, and everything is thriving!

I took these pictures of my first daisy bloom over the course of a few days as it opened up.

If you look again at the first photo, you’ll see that this daisy has a friend blooming now, and even the azalea bloomed a single flower off-season just to thank me for planting it! Mums are an annual and mine has gone on and petered out by now, but I’ve been trying to think of what should replace it, or if I should even bother at this time of year. I suppose I could go and ask the people at Garden District (which is where I got my other plants — with a Living Social Deal!).

Recently though, I saw:

Marnie Stern at the Rock and Roll Hotel!

Die Antwoord at the 9:30 Club!

and…

The Blow at the Black Cat!

(You  can’t see here, but there was a smoke machine and an industrial fan making her look totally ridiculous and awesome at this moment.)

All these shows were totally radical and I really enjoyed them.

It’s been a while!

I went to Milan.

I went to Afghanistan.

(wasn’t really allowed to take any pictures…) but I stopped in Dubai! (This is the new tallest building in the world, btw.)

I wore myself out.

MY APARTMENT IS CLEAN.

I’ve been practicing doing math. I’ve been researching things that I want to do. I’ve been planning time with family, and time with friends. I’ve been taking ballet classes (more to come). I’ve been obsessively searching for accent jewelry pieces that do not make me feel generic. I’ve been adjusting to the cold weather! And generally enjoying myself.

I’ve started a new sweater. While the last one (for sister) was a lace pattern and very lovely, the lace pattern was large, the stitches were large, and the entire project was actually, if you can believe it, easier than it will be for me to complete this sweater in a very basic stockinette stitch with a raglan shape. Oy vey. I swear, it will be more difficult to finish, if only because I haven’t been giving it the time. Hopefully with some time riding in the car to family functions like Thanksgiving and Christmas, I might come close to finishing the body before New Year’s? It’s only pathetic because when Spud and Chloe did it as a knit along on their blog, it only took a couple of weeks, and that was ages ago, and I think I started around when they did! Nevermind that I had to stop and start over again.  I’ll post soon about this sweater alone and more about the knitalong — which is still available online even if those who were actually knitting along have long since finished.

Anyway, I am excited to be blogging again!

It is intensely hot.

It has broken 100 degrees more often than not lately, and today, though the temperature will not actually rise above 95, the humidity has increased significantly. It’s wild! It’s crazy! It’s unbelievable how hot it has been! Summer is great! But holy guacamole! This is nuts!

Awesome things from summer have been cook-outs and new friends and baseball games! I finally made it to one at Nationals Stadium, but I have to admit my preference still lies with Camden Yards. Oldie but a goodie. It’s so good. But Nationals Stadium does have Bens Chili Bowl working to its advantage.

One week after my first Nats Stadium experience, I managed to see the Nats play the O’s at Camden Yards and the O’s swept the series so I think that sealed the deal. A pretty grim match-up but baseball games rule no matter what, even when it’s 100 degrees and you’re in the beating sun and literally melting into a puddle, actually no not then, but almost every other time. (We moved to much less expensive, much more in-the-shade seats within an inning and a half…) Point being: BASEBALL IS FUN!

I have this new bocce ball set that I am really excited about — I’ve been waiting and waiting for exactly the right time to break it out and break it in, but it’s been SO HOT! Impossibly hot — impossible for bocce anyway. Bodily contact with anything other than the hardwood floor has been downright uncomfortable. There’s nothing for it. Even the A/C is no match for the humidity.

Yesterday my friend visited and though I have no photographic evidence of this, I will go ahead and tell you all the things we did to cool off. We went to a museum (the National Gallery of Art), we ate spicy foods (not logical, but yes delicious), we went to the pool, and we drank iced coffee in Busboys and Poets.

The pool was awesome because we used to think that when they blew the whistles and everyone got out, that everyone had to get out. I actually asked, and it turns out it’s adult swim, which means that I don’t have to get out! That was really great.

Other things I’ve done lately to cool off in this crazy bigger-picture heatwave (many weeks this has gone on, with few interruptions of nice sub-75-degree mornings, and infrequent but sometimes-cool breezes) include the following delightful things.

PUSH-UPS!!! Childhood memories abound!

Anyway, that was awesome.

My friend who visited, upon arriving in the apartment, promptly informed me that my consumption of grapes was all wrong, and then put all my grapes in the freezer, which was also awesome.

I’ve been meaning to finish knitting my first pair of socks (I still only have one…) and a pair of mittens (I still only have 1.75…) but touching yarn is so uncomfortable that I can’t really bring myself to do it. I’ve been reading a lot, which has been nice. The long weekend was great. We watched fireworks from a friend’s rooftop and had a really awesome panoramic view of all the fireworks – legal and otherwise – all over the District and surrounding cities.

Please enjoy these photos of our breakfast. YUM!

coffee and beignets

biscuits and vegetarian gravy (w/ mushrooms) and caramelized grapefruit with brown sugar and mint

eggs rothko - brioche with egg over easy under melted cheese, with candied bacon and a broiled tomato

requisite table-top portrait - sisters

Unfortunately, the buttons don’t photograph well but I love the way they look on the sweater. I was afraid of using anything that would look to homemade, or anything that would look too antique-y, and these are exactly the same color as the yarn and completely blend in unless you really try to notice them and then they are nice and shiny and pretty without being distracting or tacky.