State Avenues

I'm about to confess something that I probably shouldn't because it's a little bit embarrassing, but hey, people confess all sorts of things on their blogs.  So here goes: I have a secret fascination with the streets in D.C. that are named after states.  I have been actively trying to find them, and I know all sorts of interesting little facts about them.  Not to bore you, but here are some examples:
--All but two are Avenues.  Ohio Drive and California Street are the exceptions.
--Georgia Avenue used to be a little street in Southeast D.C. (which is now Potomac Avenue).  It was relocated to Northwest when a Congressman from Georgia lobbied for a more impressive street for Georgia.
--Florida Avenue used to be called Boundary Street because it was the northern boundary of the City of Washington back when the City and the rest of the District, Washington County, were distinct.

Not too long ago, I decided to document my search for the state streets by taking pictures of all of them.  (I told you it was weird . . . )  I obviously want to have a set of 50 when I'm all finished.  I've got about 10 already, most of which are pretty close to my house.  Tennessee was this morning's accomplishment.  Of the others, I know where most of the streets are; it's just a matter of being in the right place with a camera and traffic conditions being such that trying to get the picture won't cause an accident.

But for a few states, I don't know where the corresponding streets are.  If you know where I can find any of these, please let me know!
--Arkansas Avenue
--Illinois Avenue
--Iowa Avenue
--Mississippi Avenue
--Montana Avenue
--North Dakota Avenue
--Oklahoma Avenue
--Oregon Avenue
--Texas Avenue
--Utah Avenue

My Unexpected Saturday!

The inspection for my car expires tomorrow, so I had blocked off the better part of the afternoon to take care of the inspection. In my experience, the inspection station in Southwest D.C. is one heck of a cluster. Typically, the line snakes for blocks before cars are funneled into a parking lot of lanes for inspection leading to the inspection bays. No joke, the past two years, I've had to wait for more than two hours. So, figuring that today is the last Saturday in February, I guessed that the back-up was going to be particularly bad. I steeled myself for a long wait and even brought a knitting project to keep me busy.

So imagine my surprise when I pulled up and there was no line at all! At first, I actually thought maybe the inspection station was closed because the place was so deserted. But, it was open, and I pulled right up to the inspection bay. Start to finish, the whole thing took 8 minutes. What a nice surprise!

Finding myself with a whole lot of extra time on my hands, I went to the Fish Market at the D.C. waterfront. I just love the waterfront area. To me, it's one of D.C.'s hidden gems. It's one of the few places in the city where you don't feel like you're in The Nation's Capital but rather in some little port town. The fact that many tourists don't find their way down there doesn't hurt either. So I got a cup of seafood chowder and some fried clams and sat in the sun and watched the sea gulls. It was a lovely way to spend my Saturday afternoon.

Much better than sitting in line waiting for my car to be inspected.

Treasury Feature: The Color Wheel Called

Yellow House Knits is currently featured in this lovely treasury curated by spongetta.  I'm flattered to be included in such a beautiful collection.  Speaking of beautiful, spongetta, aka Betsy and Sara, have some very striking pieces of their own.  I particularly love their striped shoulder bag.  See for yourself: http://www.etsy.com/shop/spongetta

Smart and Trendy Giveaway

Smart and Trendy Moms have announced their Spring Giveaway.  The Giveaway starts March 1 and runs through April 1.  There are tons of very cool prizes available--most for moms and/or kids.  I'm neither, but I would love one of those Flirty Aprons!  Check it out!

Next to Normal

I'm a bit of a Broadway junkie.  Particularly Broadway musicals.  In fact, I LOVE them.  So whenever my work takes me to New York, I try to arrange my schedule so I can see a show.  Often, I'll just see what's available at the very last minute.  Since I need only one ticket, it's usually pretty easy to get good seats to something.

Well, I was in New York yesterday for an unexpected trip and decided to see Next to Normal again.  I saw it for the first time about six months ago and just adored it and thought it was time to see it again.  Sometimes I think I appreciate a show more the second time because I can sit back and enjoy it rather than having to worry about following the plot. 

Anyway, Next to Normal is not the "traditional" Broadway musical.  The story is about a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effect that her illness has on her family.  It's not a light subject, and the show recognizes that, but the music is just incredible.  And there is a significant plot twist that I never saw coming.  Alice Ripley is breathtaking as the mother and so deserved the Tony she won for this performance.  One of the reviews described the show as "agonizingly beautiful," which is a perfect description.

The Next to Normal website (http://www.nexttonormal.com/) has a nice sampling of the music, though--as with most musicals--I don't think you can really appreciate it until you actually see the show.  (Be careful--it's one of those websites where the music starts blasting right away so maybe not suitable for work!) 

Girls' and Boys' Clothes

There was an interesting discussion in the Etsy forums last week about why clothing for girls seems to be much more prevalent than clothing for boys.  A couple of sellers said that they find that girls' clothes sell better, which I've found to be true, though parents of boys piped up and said that they buy lots of clothes for their little boys.  Other sellers that people are willing to spend money on girls' clothing.  Also true, in my experience.  Still others said that girls' clothes are more fun to make, which is definitely true!  A lot of great color combinations have a slightly (or overtly) feminine vibe to them, even if there's no pink to be found, whereas colors for boys are much more limited.  Plus the trim offerings are way better for girls clothes--buttons shaped like hearts, flowers, lady buys, cupcakes, and so on.  Sure, there are airplanes and firetrucks for boys, but really well made buttons with those more intricate designs are a lot harder to come by.  Not to mention that girls' clothing can have ruffles and bows and other pretty little flounces that just don't work for boys' clothes.  So, like a lot of people who make clothes for kids, I naturally gravitate toward sweaters for little girls. 

Of course, we can always go the unisex route.  Most bright colors--red, aqua, yellow, orange, green, and purple--look great on boys and girls.  So do most neutrals--browns, whites, and grays.  So for baby showers, unless the mom-to-be knows the sex of the baby, I usually recommend some combination of bright, bold colors.  But sometimes the mom-to-be knows she's having a boy and the sweater needs to look like it's for a boy.  So I'm making a conscious effort to make more sweaters that are more properly characterized as boys' sweaters.  Here's an example of one. 

Knitting for Grown-Ups

People often ask me if I knit sweaters for adults. The very first sweater I ever knit actually was for me, and I still wear it--and I still get tons of compliments on it. But it's so old that I don't wear it very often. I'm always afraid that it will fall apart while I'm wearing it.

Today, I focus mostly on (much) smaller sizes and knit adult sweaters only occasionally. (As a reminder: Top 10 Reasons Why Knitting for Babies and Kids is Better than Knitting for Grown-Ups.) But there are lots of very talented sellers on Etsy who do knit sweaters for women--and men. Here are some that I think are especially lovely. Click on the pictures to go to the sellers' Etsy stores.

"Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it."

So last night, I got home from work at 12:30am (it was a long day) and turn on the TV for just a few minutes so I could unwind before bed. And what's on TV but Anne of Green Gables! There are a few movies that suck me the minute I see them on the screen (Miss Congeniality, Fletch, Vacation come to mind as examples), but when it happens, I know I may as well just commit to watching the rest because there's no way I'm going to "turn the TV off at the next commercial." Not only is "Anne" one of those such movies, but it's on much less often than the others, so I knew it was going to be a really late night. But what a GREAT movie! There I was until nearly 3am watching Anne dispair over her red hair and admiring her dress with "puffed sleeves" and sobbing when Matthew dies. I love the movie all by itself, but every time I watch it, I remember reading the book with my mother when I was in second grade. It's a really nice memory!

Even now that I'm in my 30s, the book remains one of my all-time favories, though I still wish Anne and Gilbert didn't wait so long to get together!

And, I do think it's good to occasionally remind myself that tomorrow really is always fresh with no mistakes in it.

Adopt A Dog

Anyone who's even glanced at this blog knows that I ADORE my dog, Bullet. I adopted him from a shelter more than 13 years ago, and it was one of the best things I ever did. I love animals generally, but I think dogs in particular are such wonderful creatures. They truly are man's (and woman's) best friends.

I volunteer at the Washington Humane Society on occasion--not nearly as often as I'd like on account of my restrictive work schedule--and I support WHS financially. I am in AWE of the dedicated staff and army of volunteers who give so generously of themselves to make the shelter run and to find good homes for all of the cats and dogs (and goats, ferrets, rabbits, snakes, and other animals) that come through the door.

Every time I volunteer, I fall in love with a new dog. It's probably a good thing that Mr. Bullet doesn't much like other dogs because I would take them all home with me if I could. I would be the crazy dog woman with a house full of barking dogs!

All of the dogs below are currently available for adoption at the Washington Humane Society. In the future, I'll post additional dogs looking for their forever families. If you've brought a dog or cat home from a shelter, thank you! If you haven't, how can you resist these faces?

One of Sweet Fancy's Favorites!

I was browsing through Fallon's lovely blog, xxsweetfancyxx.blogspot.com, and saw a Yellow House Knits sweater featured as one of her Etsy Favorites. What a nice surprise! If you want to see it live, act quick because Etsy Favorites can be fleeting!

Check out her great pillows in her Etsy shop: www.oiive.etsy.com. I LOVE the house pillows--so much that I'm thinking of having one made of the Yellow House. Since it's a tall, skinny row house, I think it would be absolutely perfect.

P.S. How cute is Jasper the dog???