Three For Me

I've been a selfish crafter recently. All my knits are for me! I started knitting the Hylestad pattern. I only had to rip once to switch from a grey to a white. The grey didn't give me the contrast I needed. Luckily I still have a pile of whites to choose from after the whole Sheep May Safely Graze debacle.

My Joyeux Noel socks are coming along great too. Have I mentioned recently how much I love Stray Cat Socks' yarn? Yes? Well, I'll say it again. It is vibrant and wonderful to knit with.

This week I also cast on the most anticipated knit of this year, my Arrowhead Cardigan. I've been talking about this one for ages. So much so that Connor started asking when I was going to cast on. It is an oversized cardigan (the smallest size is 49.5 inches/ 126cm) that I am resizing to be a more reasonable size. Rather than have a cardigan that has 14 inches/ 36cm of ease, I'm going for 6 inches/ 15cm of ease. After talking to my friend Carol, who is an excellent tailor, I'm also adding side vents to help me move more freely. I was really inspired by Rachel's version of the cardigan, so I also am also going to add closures to mine. I really hope I can be wearing it by Christmas, but I've never knit a sweater so fast. We shall see.

I'm also proud to show off what should have been the last of this year's gift weaves. Of course now I've thought of more people who need to be covered in wool, so I might make a few more. 

But back to the gifts at hand. These scarves are made out of yarn I've been hoarding for 5 years now. It took me all this time to find a way to show off the yarn in a way to convey the subtle color changes in the ocean around Big Sur. I even had to learn a new-to-me skill! Weaving. The warp is the beautiful yarn from Anna Gratton, but I ended up using yarn from Lost City Knits for the weft. 

Is anyone else making gifts this year? Wha kinds of things are you making?

Honeymooning

I know you are all wondering, "Did she finish the shawl?" I'll put you out of your misery. I did. But I won't have pictures to share for a bit longer. Just know that it looked great.

So Connor had kept the honeymoon a secret. He asked my boss for a mystery number of days off and took me to a mystery location. He did well. We spent three days in Carmel and Big Sur. 

On one of our stops we walked down a path to the ocean. I leaned against the fence and took in the view. Then I looked down.

And saw that there was poison oak everywhere! I somehow managed to miss it all. Even the sprig that was right between my knees.

Connor had never been to Big Sur, so I volunteered to do the driving so he could enjoy the view. We stopped by classic Big Sur locations such as Bixby Bridge.

We popped by McWay falls as well. Some kids hopped off of the path to see if they could find a way down. (terribly illegal) I don't think any of them knew what poison oak looked like. They might now.

It was a lovely three days and it was pretty tough going back to reality (work, responsibilities, etc.) But Connor and I have been hard at work making the apartment comfortable and improving our cooking. Now if only I could fit a little more knitting into my life!

Luckiest Girl In The World

Yesterday a mysterious package was left by our door. Usually mysterious packages aren't for me, but when I picked it up I was surprised to see my name on it. In my usual calm manner, I ripped the package to shreds only to find the most wondrous skein of yarn.

Remember when I went to Big Sur last month and said, "But just look at the color of the ocean. I want to find some yarn in that color." Well, Kiwipurler did, and she had this skein dyed for me in the colors of the ocean by Big Sur. Let's take a moment to review. Here is the ocean around Big Sur.

Here is the skein of yarn. I'd say it is a perfect match. Kudos to Anna Gratton for her amazing dye work. The yarn base is 40% silk/30% mohair/ 30% wool. It's 4ply, 200g and she's named the colorway Jade. 

I am the luckiest girl in the world. 

Exploring Big Sur

Despite living no more than 2 hours from Big Sur my entire life, I'd never been. I'd wondered if everything I'd heard about it was just hype. Turns out Big Sur really is wonderful. The views are great and I wish I could have captured it the way Mum and I saw it. We went to Nepenthe for lunch and ended up in the best seats in the house. The picture below is what we gazed at from our spot. 

We ordered the two house specials and split them. So yummy. Then we had a glorious chocolate cake.

We stopped by McWay Falls, which use to fall directly into the ocean. There was a landslide in the 80s and a bunch of silt built up the beach in the area, so the falls now fall onto the sand. But just look at the color of the ocean. I want to find some yarn in that color. (Actually, I might have some in that color. I'll have to go stash diving soon.)

And as if the day couldn't get any better, we saw a huge number of whales swim by. Mum and I weren't sure if they were Gray Whales or Humpbacks, but there sure were a lot of them. Unfortunately I only had a 50mm fixed lens with me, so I couldn't get a better picture of them. I've put in an arrow to point out the whale's back.

On our way back I got the all important jumping picture by Bixby Bridge. It was a good day indeed.