27

Neill and I got back from Washington DC on Monday -- what a fabulous trip. Not only did we get to hang out in an awesome city, but we got to spend time with his sister, go to a friend's wedding, and see several friends of his I either had never met or never spent time with. It cooled down after a couple of days, so I even got to take Arisaig out on the town. Res Completa report soon!

Another fabulous part of the trip was getting to take a little tour of yarn shops in the area. Such a nice husband, Neill patiently waited while I browsed and perused at length in two yarn shops in Alexandria and one in Georgetown. I put aside my usual anti-stashing, can't-buy-yarn-unless-have-a-specific-project-in-mind rules and got some nice souvenirs:

The gorgeous pink yarn is hand-dyed laceweight from Springwater Fiber Workshop, the dark grey is hand-dyed wool and tencel from Springwater as well. At Knit Happens, I picked up the lighter grey (Harrisville New England Shetland) and the orange hanks (hand-dyed by a local lady and named after the neighborhoods in DC -- mine is Lincoln Park). I took this picture on the way to Stitch DC in Georgetown, where I obtained some electric pink bamboo, some beigey silk with kelp fiber (!), and their very last hank of Claudia's Hand Painted (to go with my lone hank of lilac Koigu for some stripey socks). All three shops contained maybe the friendliest people ever. At Knit Happens, I met a nice girl who was sitting there knitting with one of the employees -- she engaged me in a conversation about Art Fibers in SF and told me to ask if I had any questions about the yarn in the shop. And she didn't even work there!!! I love knitters.

For my airplane project, I took Gretel, by Ysolda Teague. I actually finished the slouchy version on the way back, and tried it on and...well...it engulfed my entire head. I should have used a lighter weight yarn. Anyway, I ripped it back and will make the medium-sized version, which I have almost finished.


Today I am 27 years old. And I just realized that I am wearing the same exact top I wore the day I turned 23. I can't believe that was 4 years ago. I had just moved to San Francisco a few weeks earlier and was attending grad school. I went to class that day, then flew to LA to have a party at Flint's with my friends. I could have sworn that I saw my major college crush (my freshman year Classics TA) in the airport. I had bought the top a month earlier in Singapore, when I had scored $250 plane tickets because no one wanted to go there because of SARS. I can't believe that was 4 years ago either. That was an adventurous year, and it was fun, but I think I'm having even more fun as a married homeowner with a steady job. It's just crazy how it all goes by so fast!

(At 1, with no hair.)

(At 23, with my Greeks at Flint's)

(At 26, with my man)

(At 27, writing this post)