In June and July, I . . .

--Spent two lovely weekends in Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania.  The first was for my birthday (the hotel had this *amazing* (ginormous) cupcake waiting for me), and Mr. Bullet came along too, which was such fun!  The second was a mid-summer getaway with a friend.  The weather was lousy both weekends, but I always love going there. 



--Hosted a Steelers-themed bridal shower for one of my good friends.  Look for pictures of that soon.

--Celebrated my niece's baptism.  She howled the whole time--had the whole church laughing. 

--Started the new "Street Level" feature here, which will showcase the D.C. streets that Yellow House Knits sweaters are named after.  It's been really fun to prowl around the city and explore some of the streets I previously knew in name only.  I can't wait to share them all with you.

--Survived my very first (and hopefully only!) derecho.  I'm not usually scared of storms, but WOW this was something.  And the damage was astounding.  Luckily my power didn't go out, like the rest of the District, so that was a good thing.  

--Got sucked into the Olympics.  Every year, I swear I'm not going to end up glued to the TV and every year I end up scheduling two weeks of my life around swimming, gymnastics, and diving.  At least I get a lot of knitting done!

--Basked in the heat! I know most people hate the D.C. summers, but I love the heat of summer. (I could do without some of the humidity though.) So this summer, which has been exceptionally hot, has been great for me! 

Street Level: East Capitol Street

For the next edition of Street Level, I thought I'd stay a little closer to home.  I ventured over to East Capitol Street, which is just blocks from the Yellow House.  East Capitol Street radiates from the Capitol out to the eastern edge of the city, where it continues into Maryland.  It and the other Capitol Streets (North and South), form the framework of the city's geographical quadrants.  East Capitol divides the eastern two quadrants of the city (Northeast and my own Southeast). 

East Capitol Street is a quintessential Capitol Hill street.  It is primarily residential, with a sprinkling of businesses mixed in, mostly of the type that have been around forever.  Many of the houses are large, gracious red brick townhouses, with a fair number of original wooden structures as well.  It's a street with a real sense of history.

Tangerine Tango Reminder

Yesterday, I posted Pantone's fall colors, one of which is Tangerine Tango, which also happens to be Pantone's color of the year.  So today seems like a good time to remind everyone of the offer to save 10% on a sweater featuring tangerine.  (More details here.)  If you're not the type to come up with your own sweater design featuring tangerine, here are a couple of options from the existing collection.  To take advantage of this deal, email yellowhouseknits[at]gmail.com and mention this offer. To take advantage of this deal, email yellowhouseknits[at]gmail.com and mention this offer.

Pantone's Fall 2012 Colors

Need ideas for a custom sweater for fall?  Have a look at Pantone's fall colors for 2012.  And what GREAT colors they are!  The jewel tones are amazing!  Those bright colors look especially fantastic on babies and little kids.  They're a particularly nice change for infants, who often get trapped in the pastel rut.  And, I'm super excited that I have yarn in all of these colors.  So email me at yellowhouseknits [at] gmail.com if you would like to see one or more of these colors in a fall sweater for your little one!

Inspired Baby Showers

Are you hosting a baby shower? The blog Hostess with the Mostess features some of the most gorgeous baby showers.  You're sure to find some inspiration there.  These parties look like so much fun--love the casual elegance! 

 

Nostalgia for Lunch

I have kind of an odd fascination with kids' metal lunch boxes.  The kind that were popular in the 70s and 80s (back when my mom packed cold Kentucky Fried Chicken for me--thanks Mom!) and featured brightly colored pop culture icons.  So no wonder that I love the Taking America to Lunch exhibit at the Smithsonian American History museum.  And next time I'm in Columbus, Georgia, I'll definitely be stopping by the Lunch Box Museum.  Maybe I love them most of all because they really childhood innocence--those days when the most important thing to worry about was remembering to bring the empty lunch box home to be refilled the next day. 

I think this collection of vintage lunch boxes is pretty cool. 

(from Apartment Therapy)

And I found these great lunch boxes on Etsy, all from CEB Collectibles:

Color Inspiration: Neither Here Nor There

Color Inspiration is back! I've found a replacement for my beloved Picnik, so I've been able to resurrect Color Inspiration. And I think this painting by Ryan Schneider is a great start for the new Color Inspiration. The painting is called "Neither Here Nor There." I think the combination of plum and the blues and greens is really sharp. If you wanted to make a more feminine version, you could add the pale pinks, but I really like this unisex version (or maybe it's even better for boys).

You can see more of Ryan's work, with so many wonderful bright colors, on his website here.

Yarn Obsession

I've been playing around with some pictures for my About Page on Etsy.  It's turning out to be quite a project, but I'm excited about what I have in mind.  I wanted to spotlight the gorgeous yarn I use.  Good yarn makes all the difference with handmade sweaters.  There's just something so wonderful about this super-soft merino wool.  And those fabulous candy colors!  Don't settle for anything else!

Street Level: Klingle Road

As you've probably noticed, YHK sweaters are named after streets in Washington, D.C.  Some are major throroughfares through the city and others are little more than back alleys.  I thought it would be fun to explore those streets and share my experiences doing so.  So I'm embarking on a new series called Street Level.  Street Level isn't meant to be an exhaustive portrait of each street, but rather to show you what caught my eye as I walked and drove the streets of D.C.   

Where else to start but Klingle Road, which was the first sweater that I made available in the Etsy shop. 

Klingle Road has been the subject of vigorous debate in D.C. for many years.  The street once connected the neighborhoods of Mount Pleasant and Woodley Park, which made it an important East-West connector.  But a portion of the road was closed in 1991 due to damage caused by storm waters.  Since then, any number of factions have argued over the merits of rebuilding and reopening Klingle Road.  Today the portion at issue remains closed and is now known by some as Klingle Valley, though the debate rages on.

Lime Swirl

I'm really into these blue/aqua and lime green buttons.  Of course, a quick spin through the Yellow House Knits collection confirms that I'm really into those colors generally.  But I think the color combination and he slightly irregular shape would really jazz up a sweater.  I'm seeing them on a little boy's sweater, but I think they'd also be darling on a girl's sweater. They would be fantastic on a sweater knit in these same colors (maybe a cardigan with blue and green stripes?) or on something in a contrasting color (maybe a red and orange?).  Let me know if you have a different idea!  I'd love to create something with you.