I promised many people to stay in touch once I left DC and so here I am.

My move to Portland was completely uneventful; a true blessing considering today’s airline problems. I arrived with a plan in hand, one where I had to find a place to live as soon as possible. I had emailed three places before I left DC and was able to see all three within 48 hrs. Me being the detailed and anal person, I had to have something settled before the weekend was up since I was due to start at my new job the following Monday. Now you would think that Portland is an easy city to rent in, oh no, not at all. In fact, Portland is a HOT rental and buying market and the most desirable places go within a week if not a day.

So, here I am with three places to check out in 2 days. I go to the first place and fall in absolute love with it! The whole deal was sweet. The second place sucked and not much more to say about it. The third place was, shall we say, a joke. See if you want to live close in to the city you have to pay serious $ for very little, sort of like NYC except Portland is NOT NYC. Nope, not at all. The owner was asking $600/month to share a 570 sq foot “apartment”. Funny. So, I decided to go with the first place and live on the other side of town.

Mission accomplished within 2 days of arriving, and now I just had to get ready for my new job, new city, and new commute. Settling into the new job and company has gone very well. In fact, I love it. Everything about it is exhilarating and refreshing. The city is just the right size, with just the right amount of people, and so fun to roam in. Before I left DC, I decided to sell my car and settle into Portland as a public transportation user. I take the bus and train every day into work. Isn’t that great! Well, I love it and most people understand why I do it, but there are a few out there that stare at me and think that I’m crazy. Crazy. Ha! I’m able to spend at least one hour reading and relaxing, while others sit in cars inhaling fumes. Oh, and I walk at least 2 miles per day. I may be crazy but man I’ve never felt so great in my life!

Fast forward to today. Work is good. Portland fucking rocks. Steve is arriving soon and we signed a lease on a house. Ahh…yea…Remember when I said I had found a place to live? A week after agreeing to rent the perfect room in the perfect house, I get a call from the hubby saying he was moving to Portland much sooner than expected. So, I scrambled and found a house within 1 day. I saw an ad for a gorgeous house in this great part of town. We move in May 1st! Yippeee!!

Where’s the knitting in all of this? None. I haven’t found a groove yet, and I still need to locate a knitting group. It will happen, though, all in good time. But I did get to see Yarn Harlot speak last week, and I met a few knitters there. Portland is full of knitters, shops, and events so I’m sure I will meet a cool group soon enough. I tell ya though I miss the mighty KHers and late night! Miss them tremendously.

I’m heading home tomorrow night to spend a week wrapping up the house, and help settle things before the big move. I’m looking forward to visiting with family and friends, and hanging with the hubby and cats. Don’t ask about MDSW, let’s just say the family has other plans for me and the house move requires my attention. Sad.

I casted on for Aberlady last week while sitting at KH. There were quite a few F words thrown out as I casted on 384 STITCHES. Before the cast on, I did a swatch and got about 8.5 stitches per inch, which is not what it should be, but I will live (cover your ears Elspeth). I figured knitting in the round will generate tighter stitches than knitting flat, and there’s always blocking to fix issues. I will also check my gauge after the band and see if I need to drop a needle size.

Which brings me to my next gripe. WTF is wrong with needlemakers? Why do they all have to create their own version of US 2s? For example, here’s what the major needlemakers consider a US 2 in mm:

- Crystal Palace - US 2, no mm stamp or specification ANYWHERE. I measured mine and it’s 2.75mm.

- Skacel Addis (site is not working) - US 2=3.00 mm, sigh.

- KnitPicks, fixed circulars - US 2=2.75mm AND 3.00mm. Yup. You get to pick your version of US 2s.

- Inox circulars - US 2=2.75mm. Inox make this clear and obvious on their package.

** Of course, this is not a complete list of makers. But, this does show the most common needles one can find at your LYS. So, what is the correct answer? What is a US 2 needle? Well, according to Wikipedia, a US2 is 2.75 mm NOT 3mm. I know there are differences between US and Britain, and other countries but please people just pick one system and stick to it. I vote for metric only.

Happy Times

Moving on to happier times. Here’s the beginning of Aberlady:

I’m using a thrifted sweater’s yarn. I picked up a charcoal merino sweater from Goodwill for $5, and got loads of yarn! The photo doesn’t really pick up the color accurately but believe me when I say it’s a pretty heathery black.

The fun continued this weekend as I tinkered with my new old sewing machine! I got a Kenmore 1030 off Freecycle and it’s a beauty! I just need to pick up bobbins and a bobbin case, and hopefully I’ll be set. I can’t wait to start sewing up some projects. Oh and for you sewing mavens, this is a 1976 model, made in Japan! SWEET.

Now for some laughs. I’m spinning up some roving that I’ve had in my stash for the last year or so. Before I started spinning, I predrafted my roving and put it in a plastic bag by the spinning wheel. What follows is evidence of my cats’ crazy condition. I call it fiber love. My cats have a thing for roving, they love all of it. They will lie on top of it, knead on it, jump into the bag with it, eat it, and attack it. All of it in the name of fun and love.

Lobo sniffing the roving

Lobo licking her paw after touching the roving

The bag can surely fit the two of them

Pikachu loves just sitting on top of it

The wonderful Schacht company has released a new spinning wheel geared towards beginners and those that want to carry theirs around more easily. It’s name is Ladybug. See how cute it is!

I heard about this new wheel while reading the Violet Rose blog which is maintained by Jane Patrick, aka Mrs. Schacht. The wheel has been out for several months but I haven’t seen much buzz about it. Anyone have one? Ravelry has a few posts but not much info yet. It sounds like the wheels won’t be available to shops until next week. UPDATE: Boogie just reviewed this wheel.

As some have heard in the DC/MD/VA knitting/spinning community, Springwater is closing. The *entire* store is basically on sale, and eventually all of their teaching equipment will be sold off. As soon as I heard the news, I headed down there to offer my support and reserve three spinning wheels plus a drum carder. They have Schacht, Louet, Kromski, Majacraft, Babe, Ashford, and maybe a few other makers. I reserved a Schacht (yes, I already have one but if the price is right I can’t pass this up!), Ashford, and Majacraft. I’m leaning towards the Majacraft and Schacht but now that I see Schacht has new portable one I may have to go with a new Ladybug. Oh decisions.

Yesterday, while visiting Springwater I helped them out by purchasing more fiber. I got 13ozs of purple merino top, and 13 ozs of white cashmere/merino top. Both are divine! I’m thinking of collecting wild colors and making my own tweedy yarn.

I have a gazillion projects swirming in my brain. GAZILLION. I need to win the lottery and devote my time to crafting, traveling the world and taking care of animals. During my long drives to work and back home, I start to daydream and think about the things I want to make and what I need to make them. Wanna see?

1. Knitted bag a la 1920’s style with beads, lots of beads! I’m thinking less floral style and more geometric. Like the Bauhaus movement, or something Art Nouveauish.

2. Thrummed mittens. I have loads of fiber that I could stuff into my mittens. I want them to be colorful using a traditional pattern. Maybe a pattern out of Folk Mittens.

3. Fair isle sweater. Yes. Please. I need to get over the fear of knitting with more than one yarn in hand.

4. A vibrant quilt with a strong ethnic base. I’m thinking Japanese quilts. I would love to make a quilt with modern lines, Japanese themes and colors. I started my research yesterday by picking up a few things, and today I found Quilt Ethnic. FABULOUS. This weekend I bought this book, Japanese Quilt Blocks to Mix and Match:

5. A beaded headdress from Diane Lane’s character in The Cotton Club. Do you see a theme here? I wish I had the wardrobe of a 1920s flapper girl.

What I can’t figure out is how I will get all of this done when I have to work! I guess working gives me the luxury to afford some of these things but still, can’t I just win the lottery?

So Steph and Erin have thoughts on my top 5 singer/songwriters. It seems Patti Smith is not as cool as I thought, Neko Case deserves a higher listing, and so on. Now I have to revise my list not because of influence from others but because I missed Daniel Johnston!!!

My new male singer list:

1. Neil Young

2. Bob Dylan

3. Elliott Smith

4. Johnny Cash

5. Nick Cave –> Daniel Johnston

Rules for the Mimosa Music Top 5

1. List 5 singer/songwriters, and yes, you can do two lists. One for female and one for male.

2. The musicians are, for the most part, solo artists not part of bands. Kim Gordon doesn’t qualify ’cause she’s better known as part of Sonic Youth, and same with John Lennon or Paul McCartney.

3. They don’t have to be contemporary.

4. Tag whomever you want or not. I just want to read about your musical tastes.

I’m tagging Erin, Steph, Lisa, Becky, and Lolly. What are your faves?