Milestone Meets with Tragedy

I started this throw in 2008 when I was still pretty much a novice knitter. I was a bit disappointed in the variety - or lack thereof - of yarns to use. Plus, the notion of picking up stitches was still very new to me, so I struggled a lot with that. So, I put it down and let it sleep for a while. A long while.
Then, one day, its Prince Charming (in the form of Ravellenics games - a knit along done with the Ravelry community while we all watch the Olympics) came along and gave it a good smooch to wake it up.
It was very happy to finally be out of the closet (not like that!! C'mon now.) and living life again. Especially when it got to witness the U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team win gold.

And at long last it was completed last night. Here's the SigO doing a bang up job modeling it for us all.

It was a bittersweet moment for us all. We were all happy it was finally complete, but unfortunately I completed it at about the same time John Orozco Olympic games came to a crashing halt due to misfortune on the pommel horse. The throw cried hideously. "Why oh why didn't you just leave me in the closet? Is this what I have to look forward to for the rest of my life? Witnessing moments of ecstasy followed by moments of tragedy? I mean look at this? It's crazy! Why? Why? Why did you bring me here?" to which I replied "For tea parties!" and it said "Tea Parties??!! Is that all there is?"

So, now my throw is on anti-depressants.

OK. I know most of my readers (all four of you) aren't Supernatural fans, so you've just been sitting there glassy-eyed during that last little bit. Not to mention, at least one of you is probably ticked off that the picture of the SigO is obscured by some stupid throw. So, I'll throw you a bone.

Ha Ha!! I bet you thought you were going to get some picture of him scantily clad. But you gotta admit - he's pretty damned cute even wearing my Rapunzel hat.

Quilt Odyssey 2012

Warning: Picture heavy post.

It's been a few years since I last went to the Quilt Odyssey. The last time I had plans to go I got stuck in traffic so bad my Mom got all the way from San Antonio to Houston (180+ miles) before I even got out of DC (20+ miles). I was so disgusted I swore I wouldn't bother again, but after a few years, I really started to miss it.

So, back in March I jumped on the registration and booked a room at The Annville Inn. I wanted the SigO to come along and I wanted a nice place for us to hang out when I wasn't at the show or in a class. This B&B is perfect and will be my hotspot whenever I'm in that area going forward. The room had the requisite jacuzzi and fireplace. Yeah, I know what you're thinking: "Fireplace in July? Are you nuts?!" But it's a four season fireplace - meaning it's not real fire, just pretty, pretty lights that kind of looks like fire and in the warm season you don't turn on the heating unit. Very 'mantic. The Inn had a theater. Yeah, I know, right? The room has a 64" TV and nice squishy recliners. The owners have decorated it with movie posters and cut-outs of movie characters. It was really cute. And, of course, there was a game room; although this game room was a lot more tricked out than most and came complete with a billiards table. The grounds were very nice. They've put in several gardens, including this rose garden

 and this sunken garden.

Also, the view from the back was magnificent.

And last and absolutely not least, they had a conditioned pool. By conditioned I mean it was nice and cool when it was broiling outside, and nice and cozy when it was chilly out. Which, when you spend as much time in it as we did, is quite essential as we were in it both day and night. And you would be too if this was your view:

Rowr!

We arrived at the Inn Thursday right around 4:00 and jumped in the pool as soon as possible. And stayed in said pool until time to go to dinner. Theresa (our hostess) had booked us a reservation at the BlueBird Inn that serves typical tavern food. We had a hell of a time picking from so many yummy, sinful choices, but we broke one of our rules and both ordered the same thing -- meatloaf and mash potatoes. I know what you're thinking - who goes out to eat for meatloaf and mash potatoes, but it was scrumptious. The meatloaf was made with beef, veal, and pork and both the meat and the taters were covered in a gravy made from an Indian Pale Ale. Quite yummy, take my word for it. After dinner, we went back to the Inn and watched The Village in the theater, then stayed up past midnight playing scrabble. My memory of this is that I won. SigO might remember differently if he had any memory of it at all. Snicker. That's what some good wine will do for you.

Friday I went to my class while poor SigO stayed behind to work. My class was meh at best. The course description was learning how to design log cabin quilts. We're not talking plain old log-cabin. George Siciliano is somewhat well known for his log cabin quilts and they're anything but traditional. Here are some samples of his work:

So, I was excited to learn how to figure out cool designs like he does. Instead, he gave us a bunch of papers with different log cabin patterns, had us cut out all the patterns and then told us to just use our imaginations to figure out some fun combinations. Nothing about how to actually make a design. For example, it might have been helpful for some pointers on which pattern combinations created which shapes and figures. Or the best combinations he'd found in his experience. Something. Some guidance of some sort. Not just, "here. go for it." I mean honestly, I can teach that. So, that was a bit disappointing. Also, one of the vendors I was really hoping to see in the vendor mall didn't come this year, so that was a let down, but luckily two others I do like a lot were there, and as one of my favorites is moving to the west coast and will no longer have a booth at Quilt Odyssey, I'm glad I was able to catch her this year. I also splurged on a new iron. This is one of those awesome steam irons that irons 1,000 layers in one shot. Yeah, I'm exaggerating, but it's a nice iron.

After class, SigO and I were back in the pool up until time to go to dinner again. This time, Theresa had made us reservations at Devon's. That was an exceptional meal, let me tell you. SigO started with a lobster bisque that I truly thought was better than what we get up in Maine. I started with Oysters Rockefeller paired with a Sauvignon Blanc. Very nice. He had steak with a side of asparagus for his main course. I had steak and scallops with a side of grilled artichoke with a parmesan sauce and a side of lobster mac-n-cheese. Yum Yum! Those steaks were perfectly done too. We both paired our main course with a Meritage. For dessert I had a banana-peanut butter crepe with rootbeer sorbet. SigO was too full, but I did force him to take a bite of mine as it was too good to not at least taste. Both this restaurant and the Bluebird Inn will be on the venue next time we go.

After dinner, it was back to the inn and back in the pool. That was sheer heaven, because we got to watch a storm off in the distance and got a little drizzle. Why is it so wonderful to get rained on while you're in a pool? We stayed out there well into the night, then went back to the room and soaked in the jacuzzi for a while. Honestly, how could you beat this weekend?

Well, let's not forget the main reason I go to Quilt Odyssey. The quilts. Here is a sampling of some of my favorites:

You can't tell here, but this is actually a miniature. Maybe 4" x 4".

 This one is one of George's.

 This one won an award - don't remember what, but it looks like a little piece of Delft to me.

 So did this on - the back on this one was as spectacular as the front.

 This one won best in show. There are words around the border - the words to the Declaration of Independence.

 I don't usually like red and yellow together, but thought this was nicely done.

 This one is reverse applique. It's hard to tell from the pic, but all the places in white are the background fabrics. In person, it looked like seed pods.

 This is one of my absolute favorites. I kind of cut off the goddess on the bottom - can you see the one on the top?

 Purple and green. Need I say more?

 This one is cool to look at - I've always loved a double wedding ring - the way you see both stars or circles.

 This is another absolute favorite.

 as is this.

 and we all know how i love orange and blue together.

 this was titled Abstract Seasons.

 This one is for you Doms - I know how you love orange.

 and this is a duplication of a famous fantasy painting - sorry, i don't remember the name right now.

So, as usual, lots of stunning work. And a wonderful time. I look forward to next year. 

Back in the Before Time

Yes, I'm catching up again. So, going back to my birthday:

12 May 2012. I turn 48. The SigO takes me canoeing at Mason Neck. We had packed a lunch of fried chicken (KFC - a decadence allowed very rarely), potato salad, beer, and desserts. We loaded the picnic onto the canoe and set sail (so to speak).

We hadn't gone far at all when we saw this nesting mother.

The Rhododendrons were in full bloom.

and the irises.

As we entered another section of the marshes, I began looking for a place to stop for a picnic. And mayhaps some other recreational activity. Not long after this turn in the river

we found this wonderful secluded spot. Perfect for birthday hanky panky. Oh. and lunch. SigO's comment on it all: "Canoeing is fun!"

Afterwards, we headed into Old Town Alexandria to my favorite local yarn shop where I limited myself to 6 skeins of fingering weight (hey! that's an accomplishment!)

And that was my birthday. A nice way to spend the day.

Fast forward to Memorial Day weekend.
The forecast for the weekend was mid 90's. And for once, the weathermen were right. Take that together with the abysmal traffic around here whenever there's a long weekend, and we decided we were only going to do little day trips. And one of those days was spent at a Renaissance faire at Lake Anna. It was my first time at a Renaissance fest since I left Germany, and trust me, they barely resemble each other. The last one I went to in Germany was in the village I lived in, which was quite old. That particular fest included unfiltered ice cold beer served in stone mugs and drank in a communal hot tub. FYI, Germans don't wear clothes in their hot tubs. Not even the public ones. But, really, I guess the one here in the states wasn't too far off that theme:

In addition to this scantily clad lad we sat across from a man sitting with his legs spread wide wearing a kilt that was way too short. I was really impressed by a lot of the costumes worn not only by merchants, but by visitors. This fairy was actually a merchant selling fairy wings:

I'm not sure what this guy was, but he seemed to love posing for pictures, so...

there was real live jousting

and we all took our turn at throwing hatchets. Only H-Boo succeeded in hitting the target and having the hatchet stay in the board. We all hit the target, but mine and SigO's just bounced right off.

Otherwise, we just sat in the beer tent, drank beer and listened to music. I tried Scotch Eggs. I can safely mark that off my list of things to try going forward. Blech.
So, that was a fun weekend.

Fast forward to last week. My family came to visit. My oldest brother, his wife, their daughter, and my middle brother. I ran them ragged. Or they ran me ragged. One or t'other. Whichever, the running began on Sunday. We wanted to see all the memorials, and I thought it wise to start with the ones tour buses don't normally stop at, so we parked our car at the Jefferson Memorial. I've seen that lots, but somehow always missed the George Mason Memorial. So here's a picture of La Femme (best niece ever) and me with ole George.

Walked from there to the Washington Monument,

followed by the WWII Memorial, where we all crowded in under TX. SigO and I each sat under our military branch. Of course, it was WWII, so the Air Force didn't exist yet. I had to sit under the Army Air Corps. Back in our slumming days.

then back over to the Tidal Basin for the MLK Memorial

and the FDR park (which is my favorite now)

then ALL the way back on the mall for the Smithsonian Natural History museum.
That was day one.
Monday, we headed out to Mt. Vernon. Scott and I had both been there more than once, so there was no point in seeing that again, so we dropped off the rest of the fam and headed over to the river where we set up some lawn chairs and just chilled out. It was great. I don't get to talk to the brudder as much as I'd like. Afterwards, we headed to the mall where they have an American Girl store, and I bought La Femme a new doll. That store is awesome. They have a "salon" where you can take your doll and get her hair styled. It almost makes me wish I was young enough to want one. OK, I kind of do want one. So, I guess it makes me wish I was young enough for someone to think it was appropriate for me to have one. After that, we went to the new Air & Space museum out by Dulles where they have the space shuttle.

That was fun. La Femme and I compared cartwheels. Hers are considerably more impressive than mine. And to close out the trip, we went on the world's longest night tour of DC's monuments. It was beautiful and the guide was very knowledgeable, but I have to say, any tour lasting more than 3 hours is just too damned long!
The Army  band was playing on the steps of the capital as the sun set. It was truly beautiful and somewhat moving when they played the National Anthem.

Turns out we didn't need to see the WWII memorial during the day as we had plenty of time to see it at night. It's really quite beautiful with the fountains lit up at night.

As is every other monument in DC. The Lincoln memorial is always beautiful at night

as is the Marine's.

It was a good visit. It opened my eyes to a lot of other places in DC that I still haven't seen, after all these years.
So, now we're all caught up. This weekend is the Taste of Reston. Should be fun. See you there.