weekend things

It's so hard to believe that another weekend has passed, and that another month is almost over! We had a few days last week that were in the high 80s-low 90s, and that did not feel very fall-like. But this weekend has been chilly and damp, and with the changing leaves, it's beginning to feel very much like autumn. So much so that I had to cast on some fall socks:

The yarn is from Knit Picks Felici in the colorway Maple Leaves

I wound each skein into pretty little balls that Susan B. Anderson calls Everlasting Gobstopper Yarn Balls. It was fun to do! and I think they look really cute :)


I've knit a lot on Brie's socks. The pattern is Faux Cable Socks by Jen Lucas.

This is our second swap together! I'm keeping the photo in black and white so something will remain a mystery for her (I am really bad at keeping secrets!) :) it's so much fun knitting and putting together a package for a knitting friend! and it's equally fun to wear hand knit items from a friend; I cherish them.


This sock was finished during the weekend:

it's Crazy Zauberball in colorway 1701 Parrot. I decided to use an afterthought heel in order to not disrupt the color flow. My last pair of Crazy Zauberballs has a distinct line where the colors change after the heel, and it kind of drives me nuts! I got the idea from Dani after she knit a pair of Crazy Zauberball socks the same way.

This pair is part of another knitting swap! :)

and probably the most exciting thing that I finished is a super duper old WIP!

Uhhhh, I started it in December 2011... haha!! It's been through at least one house move, saw me graduate from college, and it became insanely jealous when I abandoned it to learn how to knit!

Its purpose was to use up acrylic remnants because I had so. much. acrylic! Picking it up again after years of not crocheting was interesting, but it all came back to me pretty quickly. I am glad the pattern is simple! (it's Lyn's Round Ripple). Ultimately I only added about five rounds before deciding it was finished because I had had enough! I would say it's an oversized lapghan, if such a thing exists :) I am going to gift it to my aunt for Christmas and I think she will like it.

And the rest of the acrylic is going to be donated.



I hope everyone has a great week! x

Socks FO sho!

Happy weekend, friends!

I'm sipping a cup of coffee on the couch while I write this, Scott is playing his new game, Destiny, and Berny is snuggled between us. Today is his birthday! He's planned a game of golf and lunch with his parents, but I think if he could have it his way, he'd continue on playing Destiny all day ;) He is hooked. (I'll join them for lunch but not golf, because I don't play hehe)

I have finished two pairs of socks recently.

Pattern: 64 stitch vanilla pattern with modified Eye of Partridge heel - OAAT
Yarn: Zwerger Garn Opal Hundertwasser in Wintergeist  
Needles: 2.25 mm Hiya Hiya Sharps (looove) 32" circular


I knit on these a lot during our recent vacation, and then they were purse socks after that. I knit the second sock's foot a little longer on accident...it's because I keep changing where I want to start the toe decreases! Sometimes I wait until the sock is past my little toe, sometimes before... inconsistency!

I love Opal!! I've acquired a nice little stash of it and they will all become vanilla socks :)



The second pair I finished just in time for Scott's birthday! I had a heckuva time washing and drying them without him noticing though. I had to be really sneaky :)

Pattern: 72 stitch vanilla pattern with Fish Lips Kiss Heel (toe up!) - TAAT
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Multi Sock in Edgewater
Needles: 2.25 mm Addi Sock Rockets 40" cable


I really, really, really enjoyed knitting with Lorna's Laces! The yarn itself is wonderful, but oh! then the colors!! They kept the interest going :)

That's it from me, I hope you all enjoy your weekend!! x

summertime madness!

Holy moly, friends, I'm still here!!!

 

We got back from vacation mid-August, but getting back into the groove of life was tough! ...I've been meaning to blog for weeks. We spent a little over two weeks camping through the Olympic National Forest, the Oregon coast and Redwoods, and visiting friends and family the entire way. It was a ton of driving but we had such a wonderful time and it really was relaxing. I'll consolidate this post into a Best Of, with lots of photos :)

One of the coolest campsites we stayed at was somewhere south of Tillamook, OR. We pitched the tent under this huge tree:

the tent under the tree

And directly across camp was a waterfall!! It fed into a fast moving stream and was so loud that we didn't hear any other campers. This was one of the rare places that we stayed two nights in because it was so nice. Though, I will not forget that it's also where I peed in the bushes and came out with thorns in my butt! Horrible and embarrassing, it took half a day to realize it wasn't itchy from a rash but because of still embedded, teeny tiny thorns. Scott had to tweeze them out... not one of my finer moments!

Clockwise: 1. I read The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare - it was very good! 2. Our MacGyver "glass" for drinking whiskey because we forgot to pack one (it's the bottom of a beer can) BTW best whiskey ever! 3. Scott's socks have heels 4. car knitting :)

Two places I really enjoyed seeing were Enderts Beach in California and Devil's Punch Bowl in Oregon.

exploring Enderts Beach

Enderts Beach is supposed to be a fantastic place for tide pools. Unfortunately we didn't hit the tide right, but we still walked the beach a little ways and found some cool things.

Clockwise: 1. BEAR PRINTS!!! It was a little freaky to see them but still cool 2. a neat rock 3. another neat rock: I found a heart stone! 4. Scott 5. more little bear paws. It seemed like there was a mama bear with two cubs 6. starfish on the beach

It was about a mile walk down to the beach, with flowers and blackberry bushes lining the sides

The blackberries were everywhere! The morning that we went to Enderts Beach, we had just packed up camp without eating breakfast so the blackberries hit the spot! Until we saw a huge banana slug on the berry bush...and then counted thirty more!!!! If you know me well, you know I hate slugs of all kinds! So it's safe to say that I didn't eat anymore blackberries that day.


The Devil's Punchbowl was really neat! There's a small opening in the rock that you can walk through to reach the inside:

Inside the Punchbowl

Looking into the Punchbowl from another side

Of course, the Redwoods are always stunning:

 We had great luck with the weather, it only rained on us once and the rest of the time it was sunny and warm. The only car trouble we had is still undetermined, but seems to have been a leak in the radiator which was solved by adding more coolant plus a gel that stops up leaks.

The scariest moment of the trip was the last night we camped, in eastern Oregon. We were somewhere between 4000-5000 feet up on a mountain when a storm decided to light up the night. It was close to one a.m. and I woke up to flashes through the tent, then the soft rumbles of thunder. It freaked me out for several reasons. There was lightening but no rain; we had passed through a large portion of forest earlier that day that had been ravaged by fire; I couldn't see the lightening because I was in a tent; and we're on TOP of a mountain in a lightening storm. So I ran to the car. I thought we might be driving for our lives, I was really that terrified. It passed a few hours later and then it poured - which was the first time camping I was ever thankful for rain!


One of the best parts was meeting friends! It was sheer luck that both Vanessa of Lynai Yarns and Scott and I were in Crescent City on the same day. Neither of us live there, she was visiting family and we were passing through to our next destination. It was also perfect timing that led Anna of the willow nest and I to meet! Both ladies have been very good friends to me on Instagram, and I feel like we've known one another for so long! It's sad that we all live so far away from each other, but I feel incredibly fortunate to have met each of them!! We also visited one of Scott's friends, my brother and his wife, and one of my best friends who moved out of state ♥

Haystack Rock

Thanks for reading!! x