Walnut Cheeks

Dear Seller,

Hi Seller, this is Buyer.  So, before our final walk through tomorrow, I thought I'd let you know that I've been visiting the house regularly and watching the progress on the roof, and it looks fantastic.  I am especially fond of all those sharp corners on the  fascia and rafter tails - so much nicer than the crumbly corners from before.  It looks great:

I know you've been working on moving the rest of your things out and we'll see what's left tomorrow, but I wanted to remind you of a few things in the yard that you might have overlooked.  Let's start the list with your tie-die curtain on the porch - wouldn't it be sad if you forgot that?  

And, don't forget your rusty (but trusty?) little bike and push mower - I'm sure you'll want those in your new home:

Oh, and your mini Adirondack chair!  How charming, you'll most certainly want that!

If somehow there weren't room for you architectural selvedge, I'd be happy to adopt this funky triptych, but let's make sure you have space for the other stuff, m'kay?

Good.Better.Best

Holy smoke - I'm closing on my house in one week.  One week!  Today, my realtor sent me an email that instructed me to: "call the seller, he wants to leave some stuff - you have the right to refuse junk."  It was a bit of an odd call to make, I had some suspicions about what he might like to leave behind - I was right on two, and surprised by one (sadly, not the Morris chair).

Here's the good: an ancient fridge.  See it there on the left, here in my future basement?

The seller assured me it works and says that they plug it in every winter to store apples and carrots.  Sure, cool, whatever.  I sort of figured that we'd wind up with this (sounds like there's a long-standing tradition of sellers passing on this fridge to new owners) - it's a royal pain to get out, now it's my royal pain.  My parents wound up with an upright piano that was too big of a pain to get out.  A piano is certainly a better bargain than this beast of a fridge, but it is what it is.  I can see how this might come in handy around the holidays anyway.

On to the better: a twin bed.  Yup, that's it there on the right.

The seller says he built it and that there are drawers.  Sure, cool, whatever.  Also a beast to move, yeah, yeah.  We have a cobbled together twin bed...okay, it was an air mattress on a frame that dump you on the floor if you roll around too vigorously.  That lived in my craft room and was fine for the apartment, but this will be better, well, sturdier anyway.  Let's hope the mattress isn't stinky.

Okay, here's the best: the dining room set.

The seller went into great detail about how they clean the upholstered chairs with an organic cleaner once a year and spray them with a 3M product.  I was pretty surprised that he wants to leave this - and pleased, as we have a dining set, but we don't love it and I've been dreaming up ways to keep it's scary wheeled feet from scraping the dickens out of these floors.  Yes, I will certainly be happy to inherit the dining set!  I can't tell if it has any leaves and expands or not, but there are six chairs, so I'm hoping that it does.  I thought it was funny that the seller also apologized for the ugly pendant light over the table.  Yeah, it is pretty ugly, isn't it!

Sounds like the seller is making the big push to get moved out this week, and we'll be doing our final walk through on Monday.  Cross your fingers that the roof is done, the fascia is back up, and the trim is painted for close!

Like a breath of fresh air

What a delightful re-discovery I made yesterday: Jane Brocket's new blog.  Ages ago, my bookmarked link pulled up nothing, and I thought she'd gone away to the world of print and the blog was gone for good.  I'm so glad she's still sharing her pictures of candy colored socks, stunning flowers, and mouth-watering baking.  As I clicked through months of old entries, she reminded me about a wintertime hobby I'd forgotten about for a while: forcing bulbs.  Life with cats (read: JOE) has required me to abandon some indoor gardening pursuits, but the idea of a fragrant hyacinth in the middle of a Minnesota winter - in my very own house - makes me swoon for the snow a bit.  Timely, as we have more coming tomorrow.  

Want to see some of the great windows I'll have in the new house for growing bulbs this winter?

Front windows - facing east, all of the other light in this room is coming from the five south facing windows that run the length of the house. 

My little kitchen - yes, the green alone is sunny and cheerful (a bit of a strange choice with the rest of the house, but fine for now).  I love a window over the sink.  When we first walked through the house, we noticed that the neighbors have a corresponding window over their kitchen sink.  Wonder if we'll be friendly and wave to one another?  Tonight, when we stopped by to see the progress on our new roof, it smelled like they were making soup.  People who make good smelling soup must be nice neighbors, right?

We are hoping that this room will be our bedroom and we'll have this nice view of a tree lilac to wake up to.  The room is a bit wee, but I think we can make it work.  

And some day, we hope to finish the attic and make this space a nice, roomy, master bedroom.  Until then, it will be a nice quilting, guitar-playing, guest-rooming sort of place.

Before I go - wondering what I knit on yesterday?  A mitten.  I know, all of that sweater talk and I go and knit a mitten.  One down, one to go!

Already!?

Winter boots, I didn't think we'd be seeing each other again so soon.  Thanks for being there on that icy sidewalk.

Wenny says: Manda, it's cold out, see how I'm holding a foot up to keep it warm?  Don't make me have to alternate, let's GO already!

The strange dichotomy of fall as seasons co-mingle.  I know winter will win, I just was hoping for another few weeks of changing leaves and crisp - not quite cold - days....

If I were ewe...

A Finn?  I've never heard of these Finns, but now I'm certainly curious now, thanks to this quiz courtesy of the fine folks promoting Clara Parkes' The Knitter's Book of Wool.   I'll be curious to see this book when it comes out, I had mixed feelings about The Knitter's Book of Yarn: the content was just fine, and certainly interesting, but the artistic decisions with regard to how the garments were photographed really irked me.  I remember all of the models were dressed "catholic school girl" style and posed with desks and chairs out in fields.  What?  Can we please stop infantilizing adult women - especially in a book marketed towards an adult female audience?  I returned it to the library and didn't look back.  Here's hoping that the artistic director for TKBoW has a different vision.

So, these Finns, I'm intrigued.  I recently finished the Kiri shawl that I've been working on for ages, and I haven't been able to lose myself in a new project yet.  I'm half tempted to start working on Hannah Fettig's Featherweight Cardigan using the cones of Gems Pearl I picked up on clearance last spring.  I'm intrigued by the idea of mindless stockinette, and an open gauge with a fine yarn.  And, assuming I knit like the wind, this would be a perfect fall color:

Then again, I do have two sleeves done on my Ardent Cardi, and I hate to leave a project half finished....  I started on the back and a few fiddly errors slowed my progress.  I may shift my attention to one of the fronts for some faster gratification and see if that ups my motivation on this one, I do love the idea of the finished sweater, especially in my oh-so-soft magenta tweed:

Whoops, there goes the timer and I have to go tend to some brownies!  I'm temporarily absolved from having to choose a project for the time being!  We'll see how the spirit moves me post-brownie!

October? Already!?

Let's just skip the apologies and excuses this time and get right down to what's been keeping me so busy lately.  It's this:

A little pre-purchase fascia face-lift.

This sweet little house will be our new home at the end of the month (cross your fingers that our closing goes smoothly, of course).  We spent quite a bit of the summer getting ready for house hunting and buying and I'm really delighted with the house that we finally settled on.  Really, there was no settling at all, we knew immediately that it was the house we wanted, after that, I think we spent a few days settling into the reality of making this big, grown-up, expensive decision!

Here's the very first thing I loved about this house:

"Who kisses the joy as it flies, Lives in eternity's sunrise."   -William Blake

Sure, the flowers are looking a bit parched, but this poetic window box charmed me.  We'd seen a lot of houses at this point and a lot of hideous things - like the front yard hill that someone decided would be more manageable with a layer of concrete over it - and this small touch spoke volumes about what sort of people owned this house.  Thoughtful people.  People with taste.  With old houses, you tend to think a lot about what kind of care a home received in all of those years prior to your walking through the front door, and there's a lot to be said for details that hint at some love.  I know, it's only a window box and I've already shown you a picture of the scaffolding that's up so the rotting fascia and old roof can be replaced, so there are things that didn't get done for this house over the years.  

Built-ins galore!

See?  There are some updates that didn't happen for good reasons.  I can't tell you how many places we saw that had lost all of this original detail work in some way - it was ripped out, painted, broken....  I've always wanted a house with this sort of character and history, and this house has it.  It was built in 1925, and has all the great things you want in a Craftsman home of this vintage - really solid construction, efficient and clever use of space and lighting, and details that make me swoon:

It practically begs to be bought by a knitter.

So, now you know.  This is the first time I've shared anything about the house publicly - it's so exciting!  For a while, I felt like it was too soon, you know, just in case everything fell through, but we're getting closer and closer to our closing date and things are going so well, that it feels okay now.  The reality of all of this is starting to sink in and lately one of us will turn to the other and say, "Oh!  We're moving!  We have to pack!"

A cottage in the city.

So, we're off to hunt for boxes on this rainy weekend.  We've had some good and chilly fall weather lately, which lends itself well to dreaming about that fireplace in our new living room.  Mmm, can't wait!

Hello out there?

I know, I know.  I've been a really, really, REALLY bad blogger.  You know what it was?  The winter.  No sun,no light, and consequently no opportunities for fun photography.  Without good pictures to share, what fun is it to blog?  

So, I survived the long winter, my first back in Minnesota in four years and spring is here.  I'd forgotten just how fantastic spring feels after a long winter - and how quickly everything starts to green up again.  It's been just wonderful to take the dog on walks, open the windows, sit out on the porch....

Like my chairs?  Another great dumpster rescue mission!

Chris and I have been dreaming about a house of our own lately and have started the enormous process to make that dream a reality.  Nothing really to report at this time other than the anticipation of an eventful summer ahead.

It seems high time for a peek into my knitting bag - I toted all of my new yarns and projects out on to the porch for a little photo session this morning and I just love how complimentary everything is together:

Unfortunately, wearing this many handknits together might be a tad overwhelming.

These yarns are destined to become three future projects: that bright pink tweed in the bottom of the frame was purchased with Kat Coyle's Ardent Jacket in mind.  I'm really excited about this yarn - it's Jo Sharp Silkroad DK tweed, and I've been lusting after it for ages - this color in particular.  It's a bit washed out in this picture, but I've noticed lately that it is the exact same shade as a crabapple tree in bloom - that wonderfully rich, deep fuchsia.

The gold yarn came from the sale loft at Depth of Field Yarn in Minneapolis - it's Gems Pearl, and it was one heckuva bargain (see how quickly the Minnesotan in me comes back!?) - I had an idea for it when I bought it, realized that it wouldn't work well, and now I've got no specific plans.  It probably wants to be lace, and something like a shawl, but I'm not sure yet - I've got lots of it, this could be really fun.

And the purple hand-painted yarn, came from the Shepherd's Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival a few weeks ago.  No real plans for this yet either, but my pal, Kim bought the other two pretty skeins that this vendor had and we're thinking about a knit-along of some sort.  Some other highlights from the Wool Fest:

Learning to use a drop spindle to make yarn - fun, but I wasn't hooked.  (thanks Michael for the photo!)

Cashmere goats - where it all begins....

These guys were LOUD!

And finally, a peek at what's on the needles.  I've got a few finished projects from the winter that I need to photograph and post - good stuff all around (but I'm enjoying a lazy week off and I still have bed head - so, no modeling for me just yet).  

Aprés Surf Hoodie, coming along.

I surprised myself with this choice a little - it's not something I'd normally knit, but Ravelry convinced me - everyone who makes it looks fantastic in it, which cannot be said for all patterns, and, I love knitting lace, so it had to be done.  Check out the finished look on the Interweave Knits Preview.  I was really clipping along and the numbers for the shaping were all spot on and then something inexplicable happened and now they're off.  I'm trying to decide if I care - if it's off, it's only going to be by about a half of a centimeter, so it's not THAT big of a deal.  (So, I probably don't care.)

And, the Kiri Shawl has re-emerged:

Kiri, squashed up.

I thought I'd screwed up the stitch pattern on this and in a fit of frustration, I stuffed it into this Walker bag and forgot about it all winter.  Then, I was looking for something easy to knit on and pulled it out again to see how bad my error was.  Turns out, nothing was off at all - it looked great, so I figured out where I'd left off and started up again.  I love the steely grey and though it looks like a mess now, when this is blocked, it's going to be fantastic:

Kiri, about halfway there.

So, that's the latest.  I'm going to grab a homemade granola bar (yes, it really is worth it to make your own) and head back out to the porch to see what project speaks to me today.

NaKniSweMoDo...Oh no!

Sooooo... I'm not off to a great start on my sweater-a-month goal.  I suspected that my knitting speed wasn't quite at this level, but I thought maybe it could be.  Oh well.  How about an amended goal?  What if I make it my aim to finish a project each month?  I like finishing things - almost as much as I like starting them!  For example, I started and finished these mittens for Chris in January:

A knitter's sweetie simply should not have have to walk around with cold hands!  I whipped these up one weekend when I realized that I hadn't made anything more than a pair of socks for Chris and that he didn't have a good toasty pair of mittens.  Now he does.  And now we can hold hands when we go for walks because his hands aren't in his pockets anymore.  So satisfying in so many ways.

My Kaino vest is coming along - I've got the back and one side finished.  I'm hoping I can make some good progress on the other side this weekend and have it all wrapped up before we get too far into February because my next project is waiting in the wings:

I was out doing a little vintage treasure-hunting this week and I'm pretty sure I squealed with glee when I found this goody stuffed in the bottom of of a bookcase displaying an impressive collection of old perm rods (I'm sure there's a blog out there somewhere where that find will be worthy of its own squeals...).  Anyway, I figured the odds of finding a complete kit like this - un-knit and featuring not only a super cute pattern, but real wool yarn for $10.00 - is a one-in-a-million kind of thing.  There was a second kit, but the pattern was so dated, and the yarn was SO acrylic, that I pretended not to see it.  

I weighed the yarn when I got home and I don't think the original knitter even knit a swatch - it's all here:

I will be very interested to compare what knits up from the instructions to the sketched sweaters - reading through, it looks like a good match, but you never know, this isn't charted, so it's a bit of a challenge to visualize.  I like the idea of the cardigan, but I'm not convinced that the front cabled edge won't curl like mad and look terrible (oh, how I wish it wouldn't, that scalloped edge is so charming) so I figure I'll start with the back or a sleeve and see how it all comes together and decide on the front later.  

If you've got any ideas about when this might have been sold, let me know - I'm guessing mid-60s based on the sketches, but there aren't any dates and Bernat's website is all contemporary - no vintage info.  A BIG hint about age can be found here in the size chart; which is also a fascinating reminder of how very far retailers have taken vanity sizing over the years, oh my:

Off to a good start!

The back of the Kaino vest is coming along quickly and I'm loving how the recycled yarn is looking.  It's very nearly untwisted, but made up of maybe a dozen two-ply twisted strands.  Every now and then, one is broken (perhaps I was too vigorous in my unraveling...) but knit up, it's hardly noticeable.  

This is coming along so quickly that it's given me an idea about how to strategize a year's worth of sweaters - I'm thinking that alternating something easy with something challenging will be the way to go - if I finish up with this quickly enough, I can buy myself some time on February's project - for example.

Joe-Joe thinks this is smart.  Or maybe he just wants to help - hard to tell:

Well hello 2009!

Last night some friends came over for a low-key New Year's Eve - we ate curry, played games and chatted up the last few hours of 2008.  After we toasted the new year, we started talking about resolutions and I casually mentioned the NaKniSweMoDo (or National Knit a Sweater a Month Dodecathon) - this:

 

Everyone said - oooh, aaah, what a challenge - 12 sweaters!  And though I was half joking, I started to wonder if I could do it?  I thought, you know, I bet I could.  I've got a bit of yarn in my stash that's been wanting to get knit up and there are a few projects that I've been lusting after....  And I like this idea of thinking about a sweater for each month.  Yup, I'm in!  Let's go!

For my January sweater, I'm going to knit Norah Gaughan's Kaino vest (Ravelry Link) : 

I'm picturing this worn with a slouchy-collared t-neck and a wide belt.  Mine will be a heathery green - remember the Land's End sweater that I unraveled?  I think it's perfect.

So, check back for updates - I'm hoping that participating in NaKniSweMoDo will help me with my other resolution: to blog more, I know I've been lazy.  

Time to cast on!  Happy knitting everyone!