Feeling better...

With the help of my fabulous Shaeffer Helene, merino silk, that I got at Lovely Yarns in Hampden, Baltimore, when I went on that little adventure a week or so ago.
Also, I have to say THANK YOU for all the nice comments people have made, both here and on my LJ! I wasn't aware I had any readers left! I haven't been very active as a poster or a reader lately, I'm trying to remedy that.

I'd been meaning to make a My-So-Called-Scarf for a while now, and hadn't found the perfect yarn for it yet. They had a shop model made up with the Helene, and it was just about the most gorgeous thing ever, even in a colorway I didn't like! and they had ONE..SKEIN...LEFT. So I had to have it. And I'm very happy with that particular impulse buy ;)
Here's what she's becoming!


Also, I'm very excited about my silly little cherry tomato plant. It doesn't get quite enough sun, so it's very long and spindly, and is attempting to climb up to the next floor, but it IS making little tomatoes! Aren't they cute?!


For more Life Details, like about my visit to the amazing Baltimore restuarant Red Maple, and other current adventures and randomness, please go visit my personal LiveJournal here

BLARGH!

I wonder if laziness is related to depression. I mean, I'm happy with where I am in my life and I love my friends and my boyfriend and all that, but
I find it so hard to get motivated to do anything lately. When I'm here alone in my house I turn into a slob, and I don't enjoy it. I also think un-motivation is cyclical, because I sit here on the couch, thinking about doing creative stuff, and then I feel guilty because what I SHOULD be doing is the dishes, or the laundry, or the bathroom... and then I don't feel like it so I sit here and watch crap on tv or look at crap on the internet. And this is how my life seems to go since I graduated college. Sure i've had some periods where I was a little more proactively creative, like when I was working at the knitting store more, or when joe's home and we cook (we don't do it as much anymore), but for the most part, even when Joe is home we sit on the couch and watch movies until bedtime. NOthing gets cleaned, nothing gets created, I don't even knit so much anymore.
The only thing that seems to work even a little bit is company. We love to entertain and we like the house to look nice, so we get off our asses and clean up, but within a day or two it's back to being a pit.
Being messy really isn't what's bothering me so much though, I've always been this way. It's my total lack of motivation to paint or draw or do anything with my art materials. That's really it...I used to be messy BECAUSE I was too busy being creative to bother with cleaning up. Now i'm still messy because I feel like I should make stuff, but the passion isn't there, and then I feel bad about that, then I feel bad about living in such a mess.
Originally I told myself that this creative lull was just because I didn't have any space. Now I have the space, a whole extra room in which to work, and I just use it as a dumping ground for all our extra crap, and no matter how many hours I put into tidying it up, the clutter in there grows like mushrooms.
I can't even motivate myself to finish writing this damn knitting pattern for my scarf, I't 95% done, it's just not perfect, and not in the form I want it to be in (kits). I think i'm going to have to give up the kit dream though and just sell it from my webpage. I have about 3 or so other patterns i'm supposed to be writing up too... and about 10 started projects including some things I was hoping could be presents. I don't know what's wrong with me, I'm really not proud of this lazy slug who spends her evening eating baked beans out of a can for dinner and watching TLC, surrounded by dirty tea cups and over due DVDs.

On Long-Distance Love,...and Yarn, of course

This morning I got to talk to Joe for a few hours through Yahoo Messenger. It's great because you can use it like a phone and talk for free. We spent our time talking mostly about snakes, snake tanks, having a snake and alpaca farm and living off our hobbies (snakes and yarn, respectively), and then while we were thinking about farms we spent a good long while window shopping for houses. One thing that I do enjoy doing when Joe is gone is being online together. It seems silly, but we really have the best time wandering the net together; sharing houses, websites, youtube videos, girls we think are hot, etc. That's how we got through our three months apart before I moved to MD. We've decided to start saving/shopping for a house in Maryland, probably in Frederick county where it's still a little cheaper, and you can hav trees, or maybe a condo in Ellicott City (we saw some nice ones). Everything in Howard County is so expensive though :(

For once I had no plans today. Earlier in the week I tried to go to this yarn shop up in Hampen, but it happened to be closed that day, so I wandered around a bit and bought some lovely paper bits at this adorable little paper store instead. I didn't go back later in the week because they're only open till 5:30 on the weekdays I found out anyway. Thursday I went to see Bedazzled, the bead store Erin works at (totally wonderful and overwhelming), and Stardust and eat yummy mexican food. Stardust was wonderful, and it was hilarious going to a movie with Erin because she gets so excited she bounces up and down in her seat hehehe.

So after I got off the phone/computer with Joe I drove out to Hampden to see this yarn shop. Now, I don't generally think of myself as a nervous person. Conversely, I tend to be very relaxed and laid-back, but there are some things that totally stress me out. One of them is going (especially driving) to new places alone. This seems totally weird to me, as I lived in a country where I didn't know anyone or speak the language well, and took the train everywhere and I was fine.. well, most of the time. I definitely much prefer going places with people or meeting them there. But as anyone who remembers when I first got my car will tell you, driving places freaks me out. So, I went to this yarn shop, a place where I should feel completely at ease, and I pick up a skein and nearly drop it because I am trembling and feeling lightheaded. Weird. But I get over that by being overly friendly and talkative with everyone, and touching everything. I'd promised myself I was only going to spend $20, but of course I end up with one of the most expensive (if not THE most expensive) skein of yarn in the whole place (a 50/50 wool silk hand-dyed blend, my weakness), for $45 and a t-shirt. She threw in the pattern and pin I wanted for free ;) Then I got an iced coffee, some ginger cookies, a piece of watermellon and sat and knit my socks and chatted with the owner and an adorable little tattooed pixie for the rest of the afternoon. I do love yarn shops :) I'm a bit envious because the building it is in s exactly the sort of place I want MY knitting cafe to be in, in the same kindof neighborhood. ALso, she's only been there a year, and I've been here for 2 years, so I guess I missed the boat on that one ;) not that I have an extra 10k lying around that I could sink into a new yarn shop anyway, but i'm still jealous. It's a cute little shop too. They don't have nearly as much as CK, but they have a nice variety and some different stuff. It's always amazing how different every yarn shop is.

I was going to call around and see what people are up to tonight, but I really can't afford to spend any more money this weekend. So I will sit on my couch, watch either Gone with the Wind, A Very Long Engagement, or 300, and play with my new silk yarn, as I already know exactly what i'm going to make with it.
Sounds like a lovely evening to me :) Pictures of new stuff to come. Maybe. If I feel like it.

Also, you can't imagine how much I am loving this cooler weather. In fact, I am sitting on my deck typing this on my laptop right now!
As much as I adore summer, I think I am ready for fall.

Knit1 Tea 2 SWAP!

My two favorite things! Tea and Yarn! yay!
here's my questionnaire

Knit 1 Tea 2 Color Swap Questionnaire
Do you like loose tea or bags, or both – something you want to try?
both, but i like loose a lot. I'l like one of those tea flowers, but i know they're expensive and I don't have a glass teapot

What is your favorite kind of tea (Brand, flavor, variety, etc)? I like Oolong, Earl Grey, and green or white teas mostly. I like interesting herb flavored green, black or white as well, but i'm not a huge fan or straight-up herbal tea. or Rooibos, yuck. I also enjoy Chai.

Favorite color in regards to tea or one you would like to try? (black, green, red, and white) (keeping in mind that this is how this swap is set up).
green, red (oolong)

Would you say you were a tea pot kind of person or just a hot water heater kind?
TEAPOTS ALL THE WAY

What tea accessories would you like but have never purchases for yourself?
I want a tea pot that holds more than one cup. And a Tea Stick (straight tea strainer thing, look it up)

How do you prefer to be pampered? (examples: mani/pedi, bubble bath, yummy treat, etc). mmm fooood...
I also like smelly lotion/soap/bubblestuff

If you were a kind of yarn what would you be and why?
I would be hand-spun, hand-dyed merino-silk! Smooth and sophisticated, but totally funky and unique!

If you had to knit/crochet baby booties, a fun fur scarf, or a fair isle sweater, which would you choose and why?
Fair Isle Sweater: I like a challenge, and I like details and colors.

What other event would make you skip a tea party? (A garden party? A book club meeting? A yoga class? Opening night for a new action thriller? etc?)
Why can't we have tea at our garden/book/yoga party?
Probably a garden party though, I love gardens! Also love yoga though..hmm.. tough choice!

What treat would you consider essential at your tea party? (Sweet? Salty? Scones? Those petite pastry trays with a couple of all sorts of things? Little crust less sandwiches?)
COOKIES (I am a cookie-making fiend), and possibly scones. I <3 scones too.

When buying yarn for a project how do you choose - do you buy the one called for or do you substitute?
I usually sub unless the yarn called for is JUST perfect

What do you carry your knitting/crocheting in when on the go? An Alice in Wonderland hobo bag

Favorite movie to watch while knitting/crocheting?
anything Miyazaki (Howl's moving Castle, Totoro, Spirited Away..etc)

Are you a traditional tea cup kind of person or a mug type of person? Do you care if they match?
I have a HUGE collection of crazy mugs. They have to be comfortable to hold though.

Favorite childhood birthday party?
I had an Alice in Wonderland Tea Party, party, once, that was great :) Also, going horseback riding for a party was great too

Favorite type of scone and jam? scones: poppyseed or cranberry, jam: marmalade, blackberry

If you use candles, what is your favorite scent? yes..food, spices, flowers

If you could choose 3 people to have 'tea' with, who would they be and why? (famous or not, living or dead).
Oscar Wilde, Neil Gaiman, the Dalai Llama


You've been invited to a tea party, what 'props' will you wear (formal or casual)?
a crazy church-lady hat, lace gloves, and a fabulous dress and heels

Any allergies/preferences you have or are willing to admit to?
like I said, no rooibos. I'm not a fan of berry teas.

Anything we missed that you want your pal to know?
uummm... I like green, reds, browns, oranges... naturally dyed stuff too, natural fibers especially silk and alpaca.. and I SPIN. And I love goldfish. very much.