Early wishes

I know it's only August 31st. And, I know my birthday isn't until November 1st. But I've found something that I know I want for my birthday:


Or, at least, the materials to make it. I found this beautiful long cardigan, called the Mountain View Cardigan, by following my usual link-to-link-to-link clicking process. Who knows what I clicked on to get to her page, but I found it, and I like it. Just another knitter to follow, I suppose.

I even like the color of it. A grayish-taupe sort of color. Pretty with white, bright, or black underneath. Jeans or slacks, skirt or shorts. Winter or spring, anything goes for this one. I love the length she made it to--hitting right at the hips. And the extra extended cuffs add a great balance to the ribbed waistline. They would actually be really pretty as 3/4 sleeves too, I think.


(For future reference, for whomever finds the motivation or kindheartedness to coordinate a group-giving of the materials for happy birthdayness:

-Euroflax Sport Weight Linen (100% linen), 7 skeins, color 36 Natural
-US 4 (3.5 mm) double pointed needles (I already own enough of these)
-US 3 (3.25mm) double pointed needles, 3 pairs (I know they're ebony, which makes them expensive, and that's why they're on a wish list and not found at Hobby Lobby... "high end" is why I don't have ebony yet)
-Row Counter because it's hard to remember: was I on stitch 178 of row 213, or stitch 213 of row 178? Oh, now I've missed Tim encouraging all the designers to "Make it work!" because I was re-counting stitches for the 48th time... or, was it for the 84th time???
-Darning Needles, one set of three in that tidy green case)

It's going to be a rather expensive cardigan to knit. The ebony DPNs are on my wish list because they're a luxury and I will love them forever... but they're definitely not a "whim" sort of purchase. And on top of that, 7 skeins of yarn for $25/skein is pretty ridiculous! I did find a discount yarn provider here that offers the exact yarn--color and fiber--at $20/skein. I also found a site here that offers this yarn in 1/2 lb. cones at a discounted price. I'd need 3 of these cones vs 7 skeins. Getting the 3 cones would save you about $6, which is awesome if you ask me. I exhausted all other sites listed as discount yarn providers, so this was my best price. I've also considered other fibers that might be cheaper, but they're just not right for the sweater. So, I like the expensive stuff... what's new?

So now I have very greedily shared my way-ahead-of-time birthday wish list with you. Not that I'm expecting any of it, actually. This was, in fact, pretty much just fun to plan out. Plus, Carlton knows that this is pretty much a blatant hint slapping him in between the eyes... :)

Great news, everyone...

We're under contract!!!

A little starter home for a little starter couple, how lovely! We're looking at a closing date of September 30th, so things are gonna be moving quickly from now until then. We're sooooooo ready to be first time homeowners! Carlton is ready to have a computer room (no more computers in the living room). I'm ready to decorate a home (we still only have a door and two filing cabinets as a friggin' desk, Carlton's gross-ola blue-ish gray college sleeper sofa, and not to mention we're using our coffee table as a television stand, so sad).


We'll have a Christmas tree window right in the living room up in the front of the house (one of my requirements). We'll have a huge back yard for Vespa to romp around and bask in the sun. We'll have a walk-in closet and a kitchen that I can move around a little and fix up on a budget (because right now, the kitchen is funky and as soon as I get better pictures of it, I'll write all about its... quirkiness). There's also plenty of space and an extra bathroom for guests, so anyone can stop in overnight on their long drive down to Florida!


On an afternoon drive at lunchtime today, Carlton and I drove past the house. They're having a "Moving Sale" this weekend!!! I'm seriously considering stopping by tomorrow after church to see what items she's selling because she's got some great stuff... would I be able to keep the secret that we're the home buyers as I talk with her? I think her little hutch in the dining room might be worth the risk.

Happy Birthday to my Daddy!

I hope you've had a happy birthday, and we will see you soon! Love, Trisha

UFO: Unidentified Foul Object

Vespa was incredibly careful as she approached this terrifying object during our afternoon walk today! It was very rusty, very dirty, and apparently very scary.

She would sneak up "behind" it, leeeeeeeeeeean in as low and slow as she could, sniff once or twice, and jump back again as if it were going to attack her. Then, after a second of long-distance sniffing, she would slowly leeeeeean in again. Carlton reached forward and touched the lid on the ground with his finger and she looked at him in awe, as if to say, "Wow, Poppa, you're so brave, and kind of crazy!" Very funny!

A "Caution" tape worthy setback!

I haven't posted an update lately on the progress of the two special little baby dolls because... well... I've been avoiding a small problem.

When I started knitting in their little panties (changing colors from skin tone to underwear color and back to skin tone again), there was a small opening where the two colors separated from each other. I researched on how to avoid this problem, and have long-since found an easy answer to my annoying little holes of problems.

The way to avoid these little holes is very easy. But the way to repair the holes that already exist is totally heartbreaking: I must unravel and start again.

I know, I know, it's totally devastating. But it must be done! Otherwise these sweet little baby dolls will be leaking baby doll guts before their sweet mommies can properly break them in and introduce them to all the other playtime friends.

So, it is now a terrifying but necessary fact - we are reduced to this image:


I thought it only fair to share the entire baby doll making process with you, and that includes both the happy progress as well as the sad little setbacks. Baby doll guts are just so sad and depressing. But I promise, I'm working quickly to make these two little friends as quickly as my aching knitter's pinkie will allow!

I've gotta Rush Home with my great finds!

After ZipZip was dropped off at the Mother Ship for her annual checkup, I zipped on up I-75 north to Cartersville where my parents live. We settled into the house and I cuddled on pups Charlie, Bella, and (Vespa's sister) Shiloh before my parents and I decided to shop around the square before dinnertime came along.

We made dinner plans with the old neighborhood gang to meet at Moore's Market at 6:15, and because it was only 4:00, we had plenty of time to shop downtown before it was time to eat! My mom and I were first and foremost curious to see if our BY FAR MOST FAVORITE store on the square, Rush Home, was still open... and if she had anything left. (Rush Home is going closing its doors after many years of selling beautiful and well-made high end home furnishings and decorative accessories. I wish I could have helped her stay in business longer by buying from her full price items, but it was never in the budget! I actually made a point to let her know I was sad to see her close the doors, and that I wished I could have helped more in the past.) We made plans to shop at Rush Home first, and to then head on over the railroad tracks and under the bridge to see what the ever-funky and super-chatty Mrs. Richardson had left from her summer wonderfuls at Periwinkle. (I've always admired and appreciated her standard on ordering beautiful, trendy, affordable clothes that fit the average-sized girl!)

So, as it turns out, Rush Home was still open! To my utter delight, she had posted on the double glass doors at the front entry: EVERYTHING IN THE STORE 75% OFF!!!

Wait.

WHAT?!?

75?

%?

75% off?

75% OFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!

"Of course, there will be nothing left worth looking at," I thought to myself. And in we walked. There were plenty of gigantic commercial storage shelves, like, 10' tall. A few pretty napkin rings. A lonely bar stool. I spotted a pretty creamy white twisted wire tray and grabbed it. And then I spotted three coffe table sized interior decorating books. One was Frank Lloyd Wright designs. Score! Plopped those four items at the checkout counter and went back to find any other small treasures. And then I saw...
an armoire.

Not only was it a brand new, hardwood, sturdy, well-built piece of furniture, but it does quadruple duty! Computer desk complete with a pull-out keyboard shelf? Check! TV cabinet? Check! Open, adjustable shelves for folded clothes? Check! Drawers and a high rod for hanging clothes? Check! I made a call to the Hubster, and after a quick and painless "yes" from him I skipped my happy self up to the checkout counter with the armoire tag in hand.

After I handed over the plastic, the nice girl handed me my three books and metal tray, and I left a happy shopper. I felt so accomplished after buying my first piece of furniture! (Hopefully, we'll have a house to put it in soon.)

So, after all my excited stressing of the fact that I purchased everything from this high-end boutique home store for an astounding 75% off, don't you want to know what I paid?!? I knew you would.

Wright Sized Houses, a FLW coffee table book: originally $30, on sale for $7.50

(I know!!!)

Attention to Detail, a contemporary take on home decor: priced at $35, on sale for $8.75 (Woot!!!)

The New Classics, fresh ideas for rooms that endure: original price $45, on sale for $11.25 (You're so jealous, admit it!!!)


Pretty, sturdy, heavy, twisted creamy white wire tray: originally tagged at $85, on sale for $21.25 (This will be really pretty on a kitchen counter, a dining table, a desk, hanging on a wall, on a nightstand, or anywhere else I might decide to put it!


And, the armoire herself. She was originally priced at $1685 which was totally not affordable for us, even though it is sturdy well-built furniture. And a few weeks ago when everything in the store was marked at 50% off, it was still too much for us to spend out-of-pocket. I did take a picture of it then, so that was another reason I was so surprised and excited to see that it was still in the shop and marked down even more. Priced to sell quickly at $421, there was no way I could leave this pretty piece of furniture behind again! I deleted my original in-shop picture of the armoire, but I did find this stock photo of it on the store's web site (this really doesn't make it look all that great, but I swear it is in person!)

My grand total for the tree books, the tray, and the armoire was $469.75 plus tax! I've never been so excited about spending a mass amount of money before, so I'm thinking these purchases were wise ones. Of course, when we went into Periwinkle afterwords, my hands were in my pockets!

Ah, the Mother Ship!

After a long year full of summer days in Arizona, and the loooooong drive back to Georgia a couple months ago, it was high time for MINI ZipZip to visit her Mothership for a checkup. Tires were ready for rotation, and MINI also sent a special request to be inspected from bonnet to boot. (Yes, she's British just like all MINIs are, so bonnet (hood) and boot (trunk) are the correct terms!)

So, a tire rotation and balance was in line. Also, an oil change was scheduled. MINI told them she wanted new breaks, new break fluid, and new wipers all around (the desert heat ruined them!). It turned out that there was a recall on an exhaust mechanism, so that was worked into the schedule once we got there. Because of the exhaust mechanism recall, ZipZip needed to stay all day! So because I was already in Marietta, and because I didn't want to pick up the MINI at 7:00pm and drive 3 hours south back home to Moultrie, I made plans for a rental MINI and stayed the night in Cartersville with my parents.

Today I traded in the hideous mustard-yellow MINI rental back for my alluring Nightfire Red ZipZip and headed back to Moultrie. After a very nice and recharging lunch visit in Macon with Chelsea, I was home by 4:00 with new breaks, new wipers, a new exhaust filter, new break fluid, and balanced/rotated tires... all for free! Thanks, MINI, we appreciate the amazing customer service and comprehensive warranty!!!

P.S. Happy Birthday to MINI! It's 50 years old this month! The entire MINI Store was decorated 50th-birthday-style in celebration of the momentous achievement.

Cheater Art

Since house hunting has found its way into our everyday lives lately, I have had all ears (and eyes!) out for easy, quick, and inexpensive decorating ideas. (An Interior Designer doesn't always practice the act of being frugal!) I have been finding lots of cool finds by my stalker-like following of many blogs. So many people buy home decor items at yard sales! And... did you know that Salvation Army stores put everything on sale for 50% off? Every Monday??? I haven't been by our nearby Salvation Army locations yet, but the girls at work say they're quite organized, easy to shop, and have really nice/new-ish items for people and for houses. A perfectly good lamp for $5 on sale for $2.50? Sure!

One thing we didn't ask for when we got married was any type of framed artwork for hanging in our home as newlyweds. I'm an artist for goodness sake! I've got plenty of things piled in our closets here in our tiny apartment, they just haven't made it onto the walls. And I've also got plenty of inspirational images saved up for a rainy day. One of my most favorite decorating/crafting/artistic finds lately has been this fantastic little "Creat a Custom Paint By Number" program.


Jenny over at Little Green Notebook wrote a great entry about it as well, and posted a number of images she had lying around that would make for beautiful blobby paintings... go check her out!

What's your favorite cheap house decoration in your home?

Process Pending...

After a nice visit from the Jones parents on Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday of last week, Carlton and I have weighed the pros and cons of all the purchase options we have for a home that suits us best. We got great, detailed feedback from Carlton's parents as well as his grandmother. She took 3 days from her busy Atlanta realtor's schedule to visit Moultrie and provide us with her expert realtor's opinion on the houses we looked at... what a treat! Thanks, Grandmama!

A) While I was (and still am) absolutely head-over-heals in love with the cedar-brick house on Poplar Drive, Carlton and I felt it was still a little more space and maintenance than we knew we wanted.
Windows needed re-sealing on all the panes. We would be expecting to install a new ac unit for the house within 1-3 years (plus, with one unit for a two-story house, the upstairs was a bit warm compared to downstairs). Some of the cedar shingles were original to the home's 1976 construction and would need to be replaced.

And, to top it all off, with all that amazing, homey space inside, I would have a LOT of space to buy furniture for and decorate!

B) While the Joneses were in town we also visited a house that Carlton and I had not considered before. A house in the neighborhood of Moultrie meant we could be living next door to surgeons, lawyers, and even across the street from Carlton's boss! The house hadn't been lived in for two years and every. single. surface. inside the house needed to be replaced, knocked down, and uber-sanitized. Everything was original to the home when it was built in 1978, and it was grotesquely obvious! But it did open up my designer's eye and allow me to imagine: a two-story front porch complete with french doors opening from the two master bedrooms upstairs, a 100% total remodel of an entire kitchen that would allow for a walk-through butlers pantry from the dining room into the kitchen, etc, etc. Oh, come on! You know you love that eagle crest guarding the portico!

With such a great deal on the home, how could we frown upon the 2" lime green or cobalt blue shag carpet and wood paneled walls? Or, the psychedelic flower power wallpaper in the bathrooms? We would easily invest $100,000 into this house and sell it for a great, healthy profit. But are we ready for such a commitment? We hadn't looked at this house because we didn't really want a remodel project and this one was a remodel--literally--from the floor of level 1 to the ceiling of level 2.

And, even more so than the house on Poplar, I'd have 5 bedrooms, an office, a dining room, a breakfast room, and a living room to furnish and decorate after the renovations were finished! Whew! While it's probably the best investment we could make in Moultrie real estate, we're just not prepared for that level of commitment.

C) After weighing our options with these other two front runners on our list, Carlton and I kept coming back to a small starter home in a great neighborhood. It's priced well within our price range and allows lots of wiggle room if any emergency home repairs pop up as soon as we walk through the front door. It's relatively small, compared to the other homes we've considered, with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, a living room/dining room combo, and a kitchen with laundry room. The one car carport is narrow and... cozy, but it keeps the MINI sheltered, and that's all that matters! And a major plus is that we can afford to fence in the backyard for Puppa as well as buy furniture to fill the entire home, rather than one room at a time. I'm ready to nest! Y'all. This nasty blue-gray sleeper sofa's gotta go! While we haven't put in an offer yet, we're getting the official seller's disclosure notes as well as tax information and other documents for forewarning/preparation. Then, if everything looks good, we think we're ready to put in an offer! To keep anticipation levels high, I'm sticking to my recent teaser photo with this one and only offering one hint about the house until things are official:
How could we go wrong with this?!?

The Lamberth Review

This weekend my parents came into town. They arrived Saturday around lunch time and left this morning after a big, yummy breakfast at IHOP.

The Lamberth Parents came into town because Carlton and I are making serious preparations to purchase our first home! We wanted to get our parents' opinions on the houses we are considering because they will have a more critical and experienced point of view than we first-time home buyers have. We are concerned that we could make a quick decision and get stuck in a money pit, or be charmed up-front and end up hating a house we are stuck in. The way we see it, the more opinions we have, the more pros AND cons we will see for all of our options.

Because my mom is pretty much an expert on making a house feeling "homey" and my dad is pretty much an expert on making sure a house and all its elements are working like they should, we brought them in to take a look.


{Exterior} While my dad and Carlton examined the exterior cedar shake, brickwork, windows, doors, paint, and other functional/structural aspects of the house, my mom and I absorbed the charm of the house, its well-established landscaping, the back patio, and how it all tucks in so privately to the rest of the quiet neighborhood.


{Interior} One of our main concerns was the air conditioning in the house, especially upstairs where all the three bedrooms are located. (It seemed pretty warm upstairs compared to our normal preferences.) My dad's assignment was to examine any obvious surfaces, flooring, window and door seals, ventilation, ceilings, and exposed plumbing for imperfections or possible problems. I took my mom on a tour with Katrina, our Realtor. Katrina took us from room to room and pointed out the special features like ALLLLLLL the built-ins, the large kitchen with its beautiful new Corian countertops and tile floors, the walk-in laundry room, and all the hardwood floors.

And while Katrina pointed everything out, my mom gave me a mini-quiz on what I would do in each room, how I would make it all ours. Carlton would have his own office just off the living room, would it be his "man den" or a combo room with my sewing table as well? Where will all the books and accessories come from to fill all the built-ins? What colors would I choose to paint the rooms? It was fun to share my crazy-imagination ideas with someone!


While we ladies went over the perks of the home and shared decorating ideas, Carlton and my dad made note of some minor issues with a few windows and a spotty looking area in the ceiling of the kitchen.

In the end, the house got two thumbs up from both my parents. In our budget, compared to the houses we have looked at so far, this seems to be our best option... and it's not a bad one to have! Now we're awaiting the arrival of the Joneses this Tuesday, and we can't wait to hear what they have to say on Wednesday afternoon about this house as well as two others we're going to look at. I'll be sure to update then and make note of what they think!

Market Bag : Pros and Cons

A while back I posted a new knitting project and got started right away: the Market Bag. It's been finished for a few weeks now. For me, it's got its pros and cons.


Pros:
- I like the pattern I made for it. I wanted to get started on the Market Bag project quickly, and was too lazy to look the pattern back up on Ravelry. So, I started what I could remember for the base and just sort of made it up as I went. I worked in a simple M1 K2tog pattern and repeated all the way up to the top band. That M1 K2tog all the way around made the diagonal line pattern you see.
- The heavier the load, the longer the strap gets. This is kind of nice in my opinion, because a heavy load under your armpit isn't exactly easy to carry. If it's resting against your hip as you walk, it's much easier to manage.
- I experimented with my first ever two-color knit project. I love the simple pattern around the top of the bag, where the strap attaches.
- The needlework I did actually used a bit more yarn than the original pattern called for, but in turn, it made a bag that should be much more sturdy for heftier produce or whatever else the bag is used for.
- The poppy red color mixed with the creamy ivory is a very pretty and simple combination.


Cons:
- The bag turned out a good deal smaller than I had originally expected. I guess because the original pattern called for the yarn to be knitted together so that it wrapped around itself fewer times... and so each loop had more leeway (I made the same sized loops with more yarn wrapped into them so each loop has less room to stretch and move), the original pattern had more stretching power and could expand more. I was able to put 4 lemons, two bottles of V8, and two cans of veggies into my bag, but it still didn't seem as large as the photos showed for the original pattern.
- The top doesn't taper in to hold things in. The original pattern didn't call for any tapering either, so I didn't consider it. But if I were to fill the bag with a dozen peaches and drive home, the top of the bag would just spill over and the produce would spill out. Next time I would make the opening at the top smaller, or create a closure of some sort for it to stay shut until I say so.
- I'm not happy with how the strap attaches to the bag. If there is much weight in the bag at all (like the items I listed above), the strap really tends to tug on the top rim of the bag too much. I should have started building more structure into the bag in the areas that the strap was knitted out from. That way, the sturdier the base for the strap, the less stress there would be on the overall construction of the strap attachment. For now, the bag will do as far as small produce, or produce for two people, but it I wanted to actually use this at the grocery store, there would be too much struggle involved.

In the end, I think I'll probably use the bag every now and then but not as a primary shopping bag at the market. I would prefer something a little bigger, a little more sturdy, and overall more practical (strap attachment, size, etc). I've found one on Ravelry that seems to address these issues. What do you think?

Firstly, the handle-style straps are built right into the top rim of the bag, for a sort of button hole effect. The top and bottom of the bag are knitted in a seed stitch which is supposedly very sturdy and strong, and only the center of the bag stretches out (notice the cable knitting that flops over and bunches up to the left). The fact that only the center of the bag stretches should mean that the regular seed stitch top should naturally taper in enough to hold all those loose apples and peppers in place. Plus, all those colorful stripes are just plain cute. Once I finish with the dollies, I'll probably get going on this new market bag style. I'll keep you updated!

Mary Jane Close-Up

These two little baby dolls have turned out to be an extremely fun project to work on! I have enjoyed customizing them with their little undies, and have actually knitted down to their tippy toes by now. For both babies! Here's your next sneak peek: