Manos del Me

So, I have to begin by pointing out that the DOW dropped 777 points....crazy depressing. And by depressing I mean Depression. So, in true "the economy is bad, so I need to be entertained" form, I went out and bought more yarn today. Whoops. In my defense, I've had a rough couple of days. I won't go into detail. More importantly, I found the greatest LYS (local yarn supplier for all you who don't know the lingo) EVER. Really. After reading some Northern Virginia Ravelry forums, I noticed that a great deal of people were talking about a store called Uniquities in Vienna. So, today, I was feeling tired and a bit down when I decide to go to Knit Happens and buy yarn...but failed to remember that its closed on Mondays until I reached the doorstep. So with my GPS-enabled phone in hand (it's a lifesaver, let me tell you), I decide to take the opportunity to check out Uniquities before it closed for the day, as I knew it was about a 20 minute drive. It was awesome. It had everything I could possibly want in a yarn store and more. Lots and lots of stock, helpful people, and even prices that were a bit lower. I'll definitely be back. I've fallen off the wagon, folks. But you know...with yarn. So check out what I got.


The Manos del Uruguay (shown in the kelly green color) is some of the most beautiful yarn I've ever seen. They also had Noro, but that will have to wait...

So, on Sunday I went with my mom and Blake to the Crafty Bastards show, and it was great. The only disappoint was that Stitch DC pulled out at the last minute (that's what she said) and I didn't get to see my buddy employee (dealer) person. Oh well. Pictures!




The free tote and the Make zine tshirt! The people from Craft zine were there too, and it was great to talk to them.


My mom checking out the goods.

An especially cute craft. There were so many talented people there. This particular piece is made by Beth B. at Tiger Flight (tigerflight.etsy.com, but she has her stuff on magpiedc.etsy.com for the time being).

Other notable sellers that you should all check out:

• LoyaltyandBlood: Created by David Denosowicz and Maggie Doyle. Screen-printed t-shirts and totes, and awesome charm jewelry.
  
• Folktale Fibers: Some of the most beautiful handspun yarn I've ever seen. There's not much on her etsy now, but she does have an option where you can pick your own colors and she'll spin you up 4 oz of lovely falkland sheep goodness.
• Chris Creatures: Lots of amigurumi stuff, including sushi made into karate fighters, adorable refrigerator magnets, and basically the cutest stuff you've ever seen. Oh yeah, and Chris is pro-Obama. Awesome.
• Block Party Press: Really beautiful, whimsical, and folksy jewelry and accessories. I am personally madly in love with her honeycomb necklace...just in case any of you have inquiring (and gift-giving) minds.
• Final Approach: Seriously one of the coolest ideas ever. This seller takes reclaimed suitcases and bags and makes them into works of art. I think his etsy is empty because he had everything at the Crafty Bastards show, but shoot him an email or add him to your favorites. You'll be glad you did.
• kg + ab: Simple, clean, and lovely decorative items. This includes sculpture, dining ware and wall art. Once again, no items for sale right now, but check out the seller's previous stuff for a basic idea of the aesthetic.
  
• Sofia Masri: Sofia handmakes ornate and stunning porcelain jewelry, and it was quite hard to get my hand on the purse strings and not buy some of her lovely earrings. This store is up and running, so check it out. Also check out her other store: Poopsie.
• Jenny Jen 42: You can see Jenny's stuff in the above picture with my mom holding the pillow. This seller does some great things with felt appliqués and fabric. It makes me want to start using appliqués....all the time...on everything I own.
  

I hope this will inspire you all to come to DC for the great craft fairs and stores here. I'm going to save money for next year's fair and buy allllllll kinds of awesome stuff. It'll be ridiculous. I can't wait.

How 'bout that debate, huh? I'm excited to talk about it with my SnB group tomorrow...over German beer! Yes!

Bigger is better

Ok, so, it's been awhile.. I always think about posting, but then I think, "nobody reads this, so blehhh"...but now I'm thinking that I don't give a fuck who reads this and I'm going to log my thoughts in it anyway and catergorize this task to a very full folder in the back of my brain: self-indulgent ramblings. And speaking of indulgence, I have some news on that front; I have been buying yarn like crazy lately, and although I think I need to calm down until I actually complete a couple of projects (they're all xmas gifts), I think I'm going to be buying this today:


It's called "Magnum", and rightfully so. I'll refrain from the multitude of penis jokes I could make here relating to the above mentioned name, but you should know...it's amazing (I have it in a deep and peacock-y bluish-green). It's super bulky, comes in great colors, and softy silky woolly goodness. I just want to buy a bed made out of it. I'm so into chunky yarn lately...I think's because super chunky knit scarves are coming back in style, and I want to make them. Lots of them. Specifically, a free pattern that can be found on stitch dc's blog designed by the amazing Marie Connelly: http://stitchdcblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/cabled-scarf.html

When it's done, it looks like this:

I love it. It will knit up so quick! The bad thing is that I've already planned out my other knit gifts, so if I made this, I'd be making for moi, so I would feel EXTRA bad buying this yarn and the size 19 needles needed to make it. And yes, I said the words "cock", "penis" and "magnum" in the previous paragraph. Maybe that'll up the google hits that I get on this blog...GENIUS.

Ok...so I wrote half of this blog yesterday without finishing it, and I did end up buying that skein of yarn....it's insanely pretty. And I love Stitch DC in Capitol Hill. Everyone is really nice, especially this lady named Lauren who always helps me wind my new yarn and who seems really cool.

TGIFriday, right? My mom is in town and I'm really excited about the things we have planned. Here goes:

• Watching the debate tonight (if it even happens) and throwing rotten tomatoes in the general direction of John MCCain/Palin
• Ordering AMAZING Thai food from this place near my house whilst watching said debate/whatever it's going to be
• Getting my KnitPicks order in on Saturday, which has some lovely xmas gift yarn inside
• Doing something awesome on Saturday in the area? Probably going to see Ghost Town (I heart Ricky Gervais)
• GOING TO THE CRAFTY BASTARDS SHOW with my mom!!!!!! I'm going to take pictures, and update them on here next week sometime. I hope I miiiiiiight be able to afford something...even if it's small. Or at the very least get the vendors' etsy info so I can save up and buy later.
• Maybe going to the DC SnB @ Teasim on Sunday after my mom leaves if I can make it.

Oh, and speaking of Stitch N Bitch, I went to one at this great bar on U St on Tuesday night, and had a really awesome time! We drank beer and talked shop and politics, and everyone was awesome, liberal, and intelligent, and funny. I will def be going to it every Tuesday, and perhaps their meetings at other locations on Sunday and Thursday nights. I love knitters. They're just better people. :)

The Office last night was AWESOME.

Hopefully getting out of the ol' orafice today early to hang with my mom in the city a bit before we go back into VA. We've eaten at a couple great places that I highly recommend if you haven't already been:

• Biddy Mulligan's: In Dupont circle, actually inside the hotel my mom was staying in. Obviously Irish, and good.
• Clyde's of Georgetown: In Georgetown (duh), fancy district, and this place is apparently a staple of the area. Seafood was delicious. Best thing we got was the Crab Tower appetizer and the Lobster Bisque. Good lord it was good.
• Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe: Also in Dupont, a bookstore AND a cafe. There are a few of these types of places in DC. All we got was Riesling wine (I think the brand was called "Naked" and it was some of the best I've had), a combo appetizer aptly named "sharezies", and dessert. It looked good, and tasted even better. I will come back to this place many times over.
• Po Siam: The Thai restuarant in Alexandria that mom and I have eaten at before, and loved. The curry dish was great, and the restaurant itself is clearly a place that someone takes pride in...and they deliver to my house. Awesome? yes.

Of course, I don't usually eat out this often, but since my mom has been in this week and we've stayed in the city, we've eaten really well. I'm already sad for her to leave, because my mom makes life fun and great. She's the best mom in the world.

Anyway, enough of that. I've been knitting lots! I think I'll post pictures of my progress another time, when I upload my Crafty Bastards show pics. So...lots more knitting stuff to come.