we are jonesing . . .

Posted on Posted in designing, lace/shawls, projects

you know, it’s SUCH a shame that so much beach space is devoted exclusively to surfers—i mean really??
all that empty sand anbd no one but surfers can tread on it . . .

bummer, huh?

on our last day on the west coast, kim and i went to ocean beach to walk around, peruse second-hand shops, and look at the water. we may have had another blondstone moment, hehe, groan.
hey, i don’t need more yarn and the shop was just sitting there . . .

on the way home we decided that we probably shopped a little too much on this trip and maybe next time we’d go back to our regular schedule of exploring outdoor destinations (however, we did NOT return the jewelry we bought, haha).

when we got to the house we found david hard at work on his wrap—he’s making pretty good progress, actually, but struggling with a few things (everyone will sympathize): remembering not to make YOs when switching from knit to purl or vice versa and remembering to keep the flow going from stitch to stitch so as not to get mixed up about where he is (pausing can really screw you up). also, telling someone right away when he has a hole instead of knitting ten more rows.

with two of us there to help correct mistakes, his project stayed the course. i think he’s very well over the beginning hump. now he just needs to practice and keep going each day. hopefully, he’ll decide that a good time to do this is late at night while we watch TV (that’s the best time for me to stop and help him).

chica helps out wherever she can—she has developed a considerable fondness for david on this trip, while remaining cozy with me, too.

which brings me to the fact that we have not really seen kade’s animals on the blog during this trip—so sorry. that hour after school turned out to be our lazy hour—good for napping, right kade??
and with dark falling sooner in winter than in summer, we got shut out for several days. he has several cool new animals, too . . . next time, i promise we’ll do it (i’ll be going back in may or june).

i did manage a nice shot of his new wall aquarium, which was a christmas gift. it’s round and hangs on the wall; his fish are stunning.

yeah, instead of running all over the property taking pictures, we enjoyed some after-school TV and knitting. which i made a LOT of progress on (travel is usually great for knitting, yay).

since i completed both the eliza mitts and the LOVe shawlette AND got them blocked, we got kim to model them for us on our last afternoon, in the olive grove near her house, where there is a gorgeous field of sage.

don’t they look nice after a bath?? i just love how blocking and reshaping smooths things out.

as far as i know, there are still kits available for the eliza mitts project, which will include the pattern and a skein of woolen rabbit’s new “lucent” yarn in colorway lady slipper, a perfect spring flower blue.

valerie from yarn4socks emailed the other day to say that due to popular demand, she opened up 15 more spots. if you tried earlier and couldn’t get one, there may be one now (i’ll wait while you go check it out . . .).

i love how the photos turned out—doesn’t kim look stunning? we were there right at sunset and at one point, kim was lit up like a stage star, but i can assure you, it’s all natural.

it was a wildly productive afternoon and fun, too.
plus it was two-fer; we shot both projects in one session, yay.

(in comments or on ravelry, she might try to downplay how gorgeous she is, but don’t let her get away with that).

what i need to do while i’m home is buckle down and get the shawlette pattern written up and into the hands of our lovely test knitters.

for our last night in san diego, everyone was present all at once for dinner, which was really nice—i love eating at a table full of family.
afterward, we settled in for a last evening of knitting and chatting.

i had finished up my monkey bread hat the night before and it fits just right—i love it. it’s a little poofy, but not as much as a beret.

but not tight either. it’s should trap plenty of warm air around my head, yet not flatten my hair too much. the lofty, lightweight mink/cashmere DK from great northern yarns gives it lots of shape without extra weight

after these pictures, i gave it a bath; we’ll assess the full effect once it’s completely dry and the yarn has bloomed (it’s laid out in front of the heat register now).

with that done, i went back to work on the matching scarf, which i had cast on, but not really made progress with. the work on this goes really fast—it’s a loosely cabled fabric on a larger scale.

i worked on it during my last evening at kim’s and then all the way home on the plane—it’s mostly mindless, but requires enough attention to keep me energized and enthusiastic.

easy enough knitting to take advantage of the view from my window

as we flew away from the sand and sea and toward the snow-capped mountains and plains. brrr, was i really in paradise just a few hours earlier?

by the time we landed in ohio (to LOTS of fresh snow and cold—we already missed san diego by then), the scarf was past the halfway point. i put on a couple more repeats last night before bed

doesn’t it look luscious?? omg, you should feel it—there are no words.

i chose to knit mine luxuriously wide, to keep me warm during my winter travels (cookie and i are going to scotland in february and we are scaring ourselves silly about how cold it might be—neither of us is hardy that way). i could use this as a wrap if i had to . . .

there will be a narrower width included in the pattern as well, for those who like a more reasonable about of fabric around their neck.

and lastly, i know my sock mojo has been somewhat absent, but i want to assure you that it’s not completely missing . . . i’ve been finishing up stray socks to make complete pairs. i have too many single ones lying around, which is a big waste and makes my life feel cluttered.

i took this pair of roger socks on my trip and got pretty far along the second leg; i think it’s just about the right length now to start the heel. who knows, i might finish it this weekend when i go to teach in kirtland, OH.

this pair is knit in a new yarn from lorna’s laces, to be released soon. the yarn has outlast fiber in it, which helps regulate your skin temperature, so conceivably, these could help keep my feet warmer. i should try to get them done for scotland, eh?

so now i’m home . . i’ve got patterns to write and packing to do for my big trip that starts in a week. i also have more news from TNNA, but am still sorting through it all to make sense of it before i post—maybe tomorrow or saturday.

have a good friday eve—tip a glass to the coming weekend.

31 thoughts on “we are jonesing . . .

  1. Did you notice how the traversing cable in the scarf mimics the first pic that you took out of the airplane window?

  2. Hmm, I spent a semester just north of Edinburgh and the weather there was absolutely balmy compared to the U.S. northeast. Perhaps the coast moderated the temperatures? I saw green plants in February. Maybe you’ll luck out!

  3. wonderful post. You sound so happy and relaxed. Beautiful photos and gorgeous knitting. Your posts have been a lovely break from all of the coverage of the floods in my city. We are fine, we were lucky, and knitting has kept me calm. And your blog has been a little jewel for me. All my Scottish friends tell me how wonderful Scotland is, I think you are right to be concerned about the cold. Your scarf will do the job I think. Thank you for sharing.

  4. thank you so much for these beautiful sharings – you have no idea how wonderful it is to see what you are up to – your design life and your personal life which you are kind enough to share! Kim looks gorgeous and THIN! Hey! What’s up with that? David looks intellectual and absorbed …and you appear lovely and creative and I do appreciate being brought along to CA when the weather is so intense in the northeast! Thank you!

  5. NEOhio is much colder than Scotland! But it is a cold damp so you’ll be happy to have your wrap with you! In Edinburgh be sure to visit K1 Yarns. It’s a lovely little shop with made in Scotland yarns. I purchased some Shetland and angora blends for little scarves and hats. Yummy. http://www.k1yarns.com/

  6. Where can I get the pattern for the Eliza Mitts? I’ve tried but can’t find it.

    They’re gorgeous!!!!

    Thanks!

  7. Boy, those snowy mountains are a real reality check, aren’t they? Glad you had such a wonderfully fun and productive trip! Love the beret/scarf – it looks soooo soft and warm.

  8. Love the hat and scarf-can’t wait for the pattern! And I have plenty of GNY in stash for it. @ Maureen-I also noticed the similarity between the scarf and the mountains/hills!

  9. Scotland! Pack me in your suitcase, there’s a police officer in Glasgow I’m slowly trying to woo into marrying me 😉

  10. Beautiful mitts and beautiful photo shoot!

    (I believe the Surfing Only” sign applies to being in the water, not on the beach itself, because for safety they don’t want some innocent bather conked on the head by an incoming surf board….)

  11. I love the new scarf pattern, darn it! It seems that every post you make, there’s something else that I want to knit. And I don’t have enough hours in the day! (My husband would probably add, ‘don’t you have enough scarves?’, whereas you and I both know that there’s no such thing as ‘enough’ when it comes to knitwear, right?!) Have a lovely weekend.
    PS It’s not so cold in Scotland now, just very wet!

  12. Anne – i grew up in Maine and have also lived in Ohio (Bowling Green, where I did my graduate degree) and Montana — all kinds of winter environments. And, I lived in Edinburgh, Scotland one winter — you are going to be fine! I think winter in Ohio was the closest to the one I experienced in Scotland. It was damp and cold, but the grass remained amazingly green underneath the snow most of the winter. I’m so envious of you and Cookie!

    I’ll be thinking of you in February when I attend Maine’s Spa, Knit, and Spin where I plan to select some of Woolen Rabbit’s yarn to make your Leaving sweater!
    — Cate

  13. Kim IS gorgeous, and so are the knits she’s modeling!

    David’s wrap-in-progress is pretty gorgeous too.

  14. Love the mitts and the shawlette, but the hat and scarf have me breathless! WOW!
    And you are so right about pretty Kim and her modeling.
    Way to go, David! Keep up the good work.

  15. Looks like lots of knitting progress on this trip. So pretty – as always.
    yea – Bummer about the beach – right? (heeheehee)

  16. Can’t wait for my Eliza kit. I signed up as soon as i heard about it. I love the Roger socks and that colorway is gorgeous.

  17. Fantastic projects. Scotland in February will be fine – long range forecast from the Met Office says “average temperatures, rain, and possibly snow”. It’s unlikely the temperature will be more than a couple of degrees below freezing at night – bring woolies, and remember the Scots have a natural remedy for the cold – Whisky!

  18. From one happily-married woman to another: Anne, your husband could star in a knitting calendar. I’m just saying.
    -Helen J.

  19. The shawlette does look stunning on Kim. It is gorgeous. I was hoping for more jewelry pictures. The yarn you used for your hat and scarf does look soft and yummy. I think I do have to go over to their site to buy some.

  20. Anne, please share with David that I am impressed with his excellent progress on his knitting project. I will inform my dear Dave that he has some catching up to do….his knitting mojo has waned. The shawlette is beautiful, and yes, Kim is a truly gorgeous model/person…as are you. Have a grand time in Scotland!

  21. kim is gorgeous, you are gorgeous, david is gorgeous. and so are the knitted garments. gotta make me one of those czbled scarves, extra wide just like i love them!
    welcome home. ugh.

  22. david is adorable and you are kim and gorgeous! and so are the knitted garments. gotta make me one of those czbled scarves, extra wide just like i love them!
    welcome home. ugh.

  23. I love the Monkey Bread Hat! I was just lamenting this week about my lack of a hat that doesn’t flatten my short poofy hair but isn’t as big as a beret. I have a woefully small head that looks like it’s being eaten by most berets. Your hat is perfect!

  24. Don’t you just love it when children and dogs love your mate? It’s a compliment that always warms the cocklcs of my heart. And your hat has just the right amount of poufy. Have fun in Scotland.

  25. There is nothing more heartwarming than a man, a dog, and knitting. Great shot of the 3 of them.

    If you’re going to Scotland, this might be a great time to break out the qiviut and make some mittens. I made some for myself and love them! For extra warmth, wear a pair of lightweight gloves and wear the qiviut mittens over the gloves.

  26. A little too similar to already existing patterns on Ravelry, like slochy braid hat and cabled beret.

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