Stitch DC

There are so many awesome things about traveling...seeing how other people live and work, eating at new restaurants, exploring cool neighborhoods, and maybe most importantly, stepping out of your own little bubble and realizing that there is so much out there to experience and enjoy.  It's refreshing to return home with new perspective, new ideas, and maybe even some new appreciation for what you have.   

A favorite part of my travels is looking up area yarn shops and seeing how the locals knit. I dream of one day being a yarn shop owner myself, so I really enjoy seeing the variation from shop to shop and tucking away little ideas for "some day".

A recent trip to our nations capital gave me the chance to visit Stitch DC - a lovely shop that was bursting with inspiration. Nestled in Capital Hill, Stitch DC resides in an historic row house on 8th Street SE and has some great neighbors - hip restaurants, trendy baby stores, organic markets, etc. 

Inside, I met Marie Connelly: shop-owner, pattern-designer, book-writer, knitting-blogger, you name it.  Master of all things knit, crocheted, and quilted.  And on top of it, a super nice person!  I was excited to hear about her recent book, The Expectant Knitter - a book that I can't wait to have on my bookshelf (they, unsurprisingly, had sold out at Stitch DC).  With all of the babies and new moms around me, this will soon be a bible in my knitting library.

Aside from a lovely, neat, organized selection of great yarns, this shop has a wall of quilting cotton which is a brilliant addition. Sure, it's handy for the quilting classes (one starts October 9th!), but how about all of the other uses for fabric in the fiber world? Who wants to make an extra stop at a giant chain craft store when all you need one yard of cute cotton to line a knitted handbag?  Not me!  It's like having to go to the grocery store - oversized, obnoxious, and full of old acquaintances who want to chat - for one last pesky ingredient after you've enjoyed a morning at the farmer's market collecting everything else.  So THANKS Stitch DC for believing in one-stop crafting!  Now will you just open a shop in Connecticut?

The shop also has a beautiful, cozy classroom in back, another super-cool feature...

My Stitch DC purchases included:

• a yard of mint green fabric with a pattern of cars, trucks, and traffic signs sketched about...sounds cute but chaotic?  You're right.  But I'm using it to line this Art Lace Bag by Teva Durham, and the pattern itself could easily be summed up with the same two words.  Perhaps so could the District of Columbia?
• two skeins of Spud and Chole Superwash Sweater yarn in Turtle - a perky emerald green that I couldn't live without.  I've been curious about Spud and Chloe but haven't knit with any of their yarns. Not sure what I'll do with my Turtle yet...maybe knit something from The Expectant Knitter?

Thanks, Marie and Stitch DC for adding a little lot! of inspiration to my trip.  Will be sure to stop by again next time I'm in Capitol Hill.

xoxo.

Pacific Grove

Yikes!  I guess I've had Blogger's Block! A whole month with nothing to share??  One would have thought that May 2010 was a horribly boring, uncreative 31 days of my life.  But actually, it was quite the opposite.  I have been knitting up a storm, and have even taught myself to crochet (although that was technically a June event...more on why it's been classified as an "event" later). 

A highlight of my May was a trip to California to visit some very special friends and celebrate the upcoming delivery of a very special baby.  Here are the deets:

Pacific Grove, California - "PG" to the locals - is the hometown of my wonderful friend C. (who happens to have an *amazing* food blog).  I've been so lucky to have C. on the East coast for the past 7-or-so years - her friendship is a true blessing in my life.  I've also been lucky to have the opportunity to travel to "PG" once or twice to see her 'hood and celebrate some important events. If you've never been to PG or the Monterey peninsula, you should probably just stop reading right now and hop onto orbitz or travelocity or kayak.com or...something!  You are totally missing out.  It's beyond ridiculously gorgeous...blue water, rocky coastline, abundant succulents of all shapes and sizes.  And the people - creative, friendly, open-minded.  I mean seriously - take a look:

Heaven!

PG is also home to Monarch Knitting and Quilts, a great yarn shop nestled into downtown with a huge supply of cool stuff.  C. has asked me to knit/crochet her a pair of these, which she found on etsy (twist my arm!!) - they are baby versions of these knitted Uggs...and are so irresistable. Her little girl is going to look so freaking cute sporting these things!  I like the crocheted version MUCH better than the knit version (hence the crochet "event" that pretty much consumed my life last week) and have been committed to producing them with perfection since I was charged with the task.  I'm happy to say that after several botched attempts, and a few sleepless nights, I finally have a finished product and can now call myself a (beginner) crocheter!  (And certifiably OCD).  I will post the pics in a few weeks, after the mini-Uggs have been gifted to my dear C. (and baby Peaches).

C. and I spent some time together at Monarch the morning of her baby shower and she picked out the coolest yarn for these booties.  It is made by women in Bolivia and distributed by a non-profit called Frog Tree Yarns - a company which imports eco-friendly, fair trade, hand crafted items from South America, primarily Peru and Bolivia.  Their website tells their story - check it out, and ask your LYS if they carry their stuff.  If they don't, they should.  We found a blue-ish gray sport weight Alpaca which worked out perfectly.  C. also picked out some adorable buttons that give the booties a girlie twist but keep them funky. I can't wait to post the pics!!

The trip to Monarch was only one highlight of my California adventure. I got to spend lots of quality time with my friend P., who recently relocated from Boston to Santa Monica (and whom I miss dearly), and C.'s baby shower was beautiful, fun, and so darn creative!  Her friend A. hosted the event and is brilliantly creative - (check out her stationary company) so the shower was full of clever details.  So inspiring!  The icing on the cake is that I even got to make a pit stop in Chicago (thanks to an airline snafu) to see N. and baby Lilah!!!  What a treat!!!  I'm still buzzing...

I certainly didn't think that this blog would evolve into being all about baby knitting, but that's just where I'm at right now I guess (er...I mean where my friends are at! Don't get too excited yet Mom!!)

I'll leave you with this:

xoxo.

The Yarn Garden

Big trouble!! I've stumbled upon a new LYS (local yarn shop)!! And it's awesome and adorable. It's called The Yarn Garden and is on Elm Street in Meriden, CT. If you weren't looking for it, you might not see it - it is literally tucked into a cottage-like home in the middle of a quiet neighborhood. But what a gem! It is cozy and friendly and is chock-full of scrumptious yarns. They also have a huge library of patterns that are nicely organized. I've been there twice in the past week and have picked up some really good stuff!

1. simple knits for cherished babies - by Erika Knight

I have a lot of preggo friends...and am loving knitting baby stuff. This book is a staple for baby-knits and I'm excited to tackle some of the patterns inside.

2.  Baby boutique by Plymouth Yarns - soft and silky, but still durable (and machine washable!).  I'm using it to knit a super cute sweater for one of my BFF's baby, who is on the way :)  I'll post the pattern and photos when I'm all done.  I don't want to ruin any surprises!

3.  Namaste - If you are looking for a hip, trendy way to carry around your knitting stuff, check out the bags and accessories made by Namaste. I bought a cute carrying case for my dpns called the mini cozy, from the "Cali collection'. Love it!

4.  You might die when you see how cute these baby booties are - Toddler Merry-Jane and Toddler Moc-a-soc.  I can't wait to start a pair.  I bought the patterns at The Yarn Garden, but you can also buy them online and they'll be delivered to your email in 24 hours, in a PDF file.  This is a great way to order patterns.  You can save them on your computer, and print them when/if you need to.  A good way to knit green!

Thanks Yarn Garden! See you again soon!