Everything else is progressing along nicely.  The tree has been removed from the backyard and everything is mostly cleaned up.  My brother is back and not as skinny as I had feared.  He brought beautiful photos of his safari trip which I will hopefully get to share at some point.  Grandfather is out of the skilled nursing center and staying with my mom.  I went up to Philly to get him last week.  He too is better than I feared, though my Mom and I are on a mission to feed him as much as possible while he’s staying with us.  Hopefully this also ends my round of last-minute, emergency(!) trips to Philadelphia.

Happy Monday everyone!

First, a tree fell on my new house.  Seriously.  There was a freak storm (some people are saying it was a tornado) that brought down a bunch of trees in my neighborhood.  Luckily, no one was hurt and there was no real damage.  Poor little Honey was home by herself and the tree hit the house right at the studio.  She was cowering in the corner when we got home.  Gratuitous tree pic below.  There are more on Flickr

Second, I have had this awesome yarn for weeks(!) and haven’t had a chance to blog it.  Priscilla, who took very good care of me while I was in Columbus, told the wonderful Mia that I wanted to get my hands on some Wollmeise.  Mia and I have similar tastes in colors, so she popped these pretties in the mail to me. Mia, you rock! Mmmm…Wollmeise.

Third, the Prince William Purlers.  Last Monday night I headed out to Manassas, VA for the monthly meeting of the Prince William Purlers.  This knitting guild gave me such a warm welcome and were so interested in the work of NFC and my inspiration.  I had lots of fun hanging out and I hope that everyone enjoys the yarn!  Thanks ladies!

Fourth, the Sock Club.  I went back and forth about it in my head and with a few knitters, and I’ve decided to do it.  This sock club is a bit different than the last one.  It’ll last for a whole year, but yarn packages will only come every other month.  Each package will include enough yarn for a pair of socks, a pattern, and goodies. The price for the club is $30/month ($180 for the full year) and each member will be billed at the beginning of each month that a package is shipped. If at any time someone is unhappy, that person can opt out of future shipments and not be charged for them.

The theme is a Walking Tour of DC.  Basically, the colors, yarns, and patterns will be inspired by people, places, and things I see while walking around DC.  One month might be inspired by a night at the monuments, and another by FilmFest DC.  I’m hoping the sock club will help me stay in touch with my DC roots.  The city is such a source of inspiration for me, and I don’t want to lose touch with that.  I have a very limited number of spots, so if you’re interested, head on over here and sign up!

And finally, a bit of a personal update.  My brother, William, has been in Nigeria since May and he’s finally coming home tomorrow!  We’re all very excited because while in Nigeria, he’s had malaria twice and lost more than 20 pounds.  So we want him back in the States where we can feed and coddle him until we’re all reassured.

Also, I’ve recently been travelling to Philadelphia to visit my grandfather in the hospital and skilled nursing facility where he’s been.  A couple of weeks ago, when we had a series of HOT days, he suffered a heat stroke and was taken to the emergency room.  While he was there, they discovered he had pneumonia too.  So, he’s been bounced back and forth from the hospital to a skilled nursing facility where he’s doing rehabilitation therapy (re-learning to do regular stuff like going up stairs).  We hope he’ll be released this week too and I’ll be going back to Philly to get him and bring him back to stay with my Mom.

So, if I haven’t been on Ravelry or checking emails as frequently as usual, I’m sure you all understand!

And random blackberry bush.  Also in the backyard.

And most importantly, the newest member of the family, Honey.

She is a 5 year old rat terrier rescue that I found on PetFinder.com.  And she’s a perfect studio companion who doesn’t want to eat the yarn (unlike the cats).  We have a nice yard for her to play in and neighborhood where I feel totally safe walking her at night.  Look for dog sweaters in the near future.  All in all, I’m happy.  Busy unpacking, but very happy.

Now, you may have noticed something significant. Something serious. A BIG change. I’m no longer an official resident of the District of Columbia. I’m back in Maryland, Mount Rainier to be specific. Before you start hurling epithets my way, let me reassure you, I’m still committed to DC. The District of Craftiness. The District of Awesome. Taxation without Representation.

First, I’m still walking distance from the DC line. I can walk into DC.

Second, I’m teaching a few beginning knitting classes in the Logan Circle neighborhood through Knit-A-GoGo. The classes are being held at my favorite cocoa bar, ACKC. These are beginner classes for now, but if there’s interest, I’d like to add some more advanced stuff. Maybe color theory and a workshop on knitting with hand-dyed yarns?

Third, the next incarnation of the sock club will focus on DC locations. Places that I love that are important to me. The Tidal Basin at the height of the cherry blossoms. The Botanical Gardens. Rock Creek Park. These are just examples. I’m still working out the particulars, but more information will be available soon.

And finally, my new neighborhood is awesome! I’m barely outside of town and I get a backyard, an artsy cafe around the block, a food coop, and a BOOMING community of artists. It’s hippie-town and I fit right in.

You guys will forgive me, right?

In the meantime, if you’re here by way of Ravelry, welcome!  I’d invite you to look around, but things are a bit messy.  If you don’t know yet, Studio Sock is the current “Featured Yarn” on Ravelry!

If you’re looking to buy some Studio Sock, there are a few options online.  Both The Loopy Ewe and Woolgirl are online vendors with Studio Stock in stock.  In the DC area, Knit Happens in Alexandria, VA has some and I’m delivering some to A Tangled Skein in Hyattsville, MD next week.

Now, back to dyeing!

All silliness aside, I do always wonder what happens to the yarn when it leaves me and goes to a store. Ravelry has made it SO much easier to see what people are doing with the yarn. Still nothing beats being out at a knitting event and seeing the yarn in action.

This photo is Maya knitting a sock out of the Studio Sock yarn in Capitol Hill. I spotted her in the same row with me at the Stitch N’ Pitch Nats Game. The game was lots of fun. I took some funny pictures and it was great to see all the folks from A Tangled Skein and Knit Happens all at once. Maya, I can’t wait to see the finished sock!

Tonight is the local Stitch N’ Pitch with the Nats. I’ll be there with girlfriend in tow.

A few yarn stores in the area have tickets. A Tangled Skein in Hyattsville and Knit Happens in Alexandria, though I’m not sure how many are left.

The photo is my contribution to the goody bags that Ellen of In Stitches coordinated. Miniature sock yarn skeins, each about 40 yards. Enough to swatch or use as an accent. Hope to see you there!

So, I’ve only been back from OH for a few days, and I’m already missing a few things. Ignoring the obvious stuff (Libby’s hospitality!), I’m missing the food. I know it sounds crazy to us East Coasters, but Columbus is a food town. There is tons of yummy food. And i sampled a LOT of it.

Most delicious dessert ever = Jeni’s ice cream. Seriously, ask other yarn folk who were in town. Awesome.

So imagine my surprise when I walked into Knit Happens this afternoon to pick up a project for the book and heard that Jeni’s was arriving. Packaged in dry ice. I’ve never been so happy to see UPS.

More of the ice cream goodness on my flickr page here: Jeni’s Set

I didn’t take pictures of us eating. Because seriously, not pretty. Mostly moaning and groaning and shoveling ice cream in mouths.

So, I’m finally back in DC! Columbus was awesome, but it’s great to be sitting and typing in my own little office with my cats by my side.

I had to post this pick of my little red car, a Fit named Trixie. She was stuffed with yarn, display racks, and fiber leftover from two shows. Libby is barely in the photo stuffing things in the front passenger seat

I did have good sales though since I initially shipped out two big boxes of yarn. Needless to say I got some interesting stares driving down the highway.

Check out the whole process of fitting stuff in the Fit: here

So I almost forgot to mention that on Thursday night, Libby and I attended the “Ravelry Unraveled” event through Knitter’s Connection. Jess, Casey, and Mary Heather gave an AWESOME powerpoint presentation on the past, present and future of Ravelry. Lots of cool stats, helpful hints, and cute pictures of Bob.

It was their first presentation like this, and they did a great job. Afterwords, we all went to the Surly Girl with Jen (pictured), Gerry, and Don for drinks, dinner, and hijinks! It was lots of fun and the three of them (Jess, Casey, and Mary Heather) are all great people to hang with and very humble about this crazy phenom they’ve created.