C in DC

So I compiled photos from everything I’ve blogged about so far and put them in convenient categories you can access at the top of the page. I’ll try to be good about updating, though I can’t promise you anything.

Growing up in the middle of nowhere on a busy road, we never got trick or treaters. Then there was college, followed by an apartment-living phase where all my neighbors were single young people like myself. 

Now that I’m living in a real house in a real neighborhood with real kids, this will be my first year handing candy out to trick or treaters. Considering how much I love Halloween, this is a huge deal!

So even though the neighborhood kids stole my pumpkin, and are probably responsible for the disappearance of my recent knitpicks order, I still want to be the house that has the good candy.

 I know damn well I can’t be trusted around Reeses’ cups, so I made myself a diversionary cake. It’s rich, it’s chocolate-orange, and it’s so good I might forget about the existence of Halloween candy altogether.

Here’s my finished Urchin. Taking pictures of the back of your head is tricky!

C said that my ball of yarn was scary, and I can understand why– it’s the sort of yarn only a knitter could love. The bumps, blobs, and fuzz, which some might see as ugly, translated to a feast of textures and  for my fingers to enjoy. Tactilely, it was a very satisfying yarn to work with.

 As far as the pattern goes, I thought the contruction was pretty interesting; it took a while for it to actually start resembling a hat. The entire time I was praying I didn’t run out of yarn, and I had to omit a “wedge” because I did run out, but the yarn is stretchy enough that I can still get the hat over my head.  

I’m in! It looks very….time consuming.

My screen name is engineergirl if you want to friend me, or whatever it is you do there.

I hardly ever make Indian food, but whenever I do I wonder why I don’t do it more often.

Chicken Tikka, curried vegetables (pumpkin, carrot, cauliflower, tomato, and green beans), Raita, and fragrant rice.

I had a close call when I was trying to get the grill started for the chicken. The grill wouldn’t ignite, so I had to use a lighter, which caused a giant flame to leap out into my face. Yikes! My hair’s a little singed but I still say the chicken was delicious enough to be worth it.

In lieu of any knitting-related posts, here’s information about an event that I think a lot of knitters would find interesting:

Tuesday, October 23, 2007, 7:30 PM

National Geographic Society Headquarters

1600 M Street, NW
Washington, DC, District of Columbia 20036

Years ago in the Peruvian mountain town of Chincero, a young woman noticed that few people her age were learning traditional methods of weaving. Concerned that this rich legacy would be lost forever, NILDA CALLAÑAUPA mastered weaving Andean-style with a backstrap loom, then began teaching the method to others. Now the director of the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco, founded in 1996 to preserve and promote indigenous Andean weaving, Callañaupa has organized collectives in nine towns that support weavers and help market their works for a fair price. In this introduction to the world of Andean weaving, this extraordinary woman, whose new book, Weaving in the Peruvian Andes:Dreaming Patterns, Weaving Memories, will be released this fall, shows how the textiles of Perú reflect the heritage and geography of their mountain birthplaces.

Tickets: Member: $15/Non-Member: $18

Homepage

http://www.nglive.org

If I didn’t have French class tonight I’d go. If anyone does attend this, please report back on how it was!

Umm, just ignore what I said about finishing that sweater by now. I’m really close, though.

 I did make a cake this weekend:

I wish I’d had the patience to get the fondant a little smoother and decorate it with sugarpaste flowers, but otherwise I’m pretty happy with how it came out.

 This is quite possibly the girliest thing I’ve ever made.

Here’s some pictures I took at the Solar Decathalon last weekend. It was really crowded so I wasn’t able to see most of the houses, but it’s nice to know I’m not the only person who wanted to spend a Saturday afternoon thinking about photovoltaics.

The houses will be on the Mall for a few more days. If you’re in the DC area and haven’t seen the decathalon yet it’s definitely worth a look.

This has been done since Monday but I didn’t get a chance to take pictures until now.

I love my bedroom! One of my favorite things about it is this picture rail I rigged up a couple weeks after we moved in:

 Pictures rails are great if you….

• Have a lot of pictures to hang in a small area
• Don’t want to put a lot of holes in your wall
• Want the freedom to move pictures around easily
• Want to pretend you live inside an art gallery

You can buy a picture rail system, but they are expensive. To make your own for considerably less, you will need a long strip of wood and fishing line or thin wire. I went to Home Depot and got a strip of white molding that matches the molding around the doorways.

Drill holes in the wood strip at various intervals. The number and spacing of the holes depends on how far apart you want the pictures to hang, and if you plan on moving things around or adding more later.

Thread wire or fishing line through the holes you want to hang pictures from, and cut a little longer than needed. I laid my pictures out on the floor, in front of the wall, to decide how they should be arranged and where to thread the wire.

Mount the wood strip to the wall, close to the ceiling. Make sure it’s capable of supporting whatever you plan on hanging from it.

 Attach your pictures to the wires and hang them at various lengths. Small mirrors and other things are also fun to use. You can hang one picture directly below another by attaching its wire to the one above.

And you’re done!