The Things We do for Love

This weekend we went over to the coast to see Horsey Girl in a horse show at her camp. It is always a beautiful drive and this time was no exception. We got to the camp, hiked the huge hills to the stables and arrived in time for the show. The show was supposed to be from 12:30 - 4 but didn't start until after 1 and went until after 5 p.m. No problem you say, premo knitting time right? WRONG! Horsey Girl takes offense if you knit during a horse show. She thinks that means you aren't paying attention. Even though she isn't in the ring all of the time - only for her events - you aren't allowed to knit. You must admire the horses at all times. So in the name of love I did not knit during the show even though I could have gotten so much done! It was not a total knitting loss though - before the show we stopped at Fengari - a cool little yarn store in Half Moon Bay and got some great yarn. Pictured here is some gorgeous Malabrigo - perhaps I'll make it in to a hat . . . . .

Yes it Really Is that Bright!

At the beginning of the summer I came across a pattern on Knit Picks for these tote bags and thought they were adorable. I immediately put everything else aside and started one for Miss K in this neon shade of green in Katia Sonrisa. The yarn is a very fun color and I think that the bag is turning out really cute but the only problem is the yarn is rough so I can't work on it for long periods. I've decided to use the yarn doubled which makes it even more coarse. Of course I'm not following the pattern exactly so I need to decide how big to make it. Also it has some fussy little i-cord draw string closure which I will make to pull it shut but it seems that it should have a strap or something don't you think? Seems odd that you would carry it around by either carrying the entire thing in your arm or trying to hold on to some drawstring i-cord. Any ideas?

Are you?

Do you knit alone?

Have you ever felt you should cut down on your knitting?
Have people annoyed you by criticizing your knitting?
Have you ever felt guilty about your knitting?
Have you ever knit first thing in the morning (as an “eye opener”)?

Do you knit to forget your problems?

Do you knit when you should be working?

One “yes” answer suggests a possible knitting problem. If you answered “yes” to more than one question, it is highly likely that a problem exists. You could be - ADDICTED TO KNITTING! In either case, it is important that you see your LYS owner right away to discuss your answers to these questions. He or she can help you determine whether you have a knitting problem and, if so, recommend the best course of action.

Hello, my name is Allison and I think that I'm addicted to knitting hats. I'm blaming Hollis. Ever since I started knitting those hats for the Relay for Life I just can't stop! They are so quick and easy. So fun to use up yarn or a small skein. Who doesn't need a hat? Really, I can stop at any time - just one more hat!

What to do - What to do!

Given that I haven't yet learned how to knit while reading I am facing a conundrum. Knit or read? Read or knit? What to do, what to do.

Some Actual Knitting

I HAVE been doing some actual knitting when not floating around the Alaskan seas. I've started a sweater for the little man and so far it is fairly mindless knitting. It is rows and rows and rows of 2x2 rib until I get to the interesting part around the chest and sleeves. But that's just what I have been needing these days. So except for the part where I actually turned around and knit back on a row rather than completing it and created a big hole, things have been going well. I am excited to get to the chest though where I will be making an intarsia crocodile (or at least I hope I will!) I'll keep you posted.

All Good Things Must Come to an End.

Well I suppose all good things must come to an end and so has our wonderful Alaskan vacation. First and foremost - a public THANK YOU! to wondeful, magical Granny (aka my Mom) for taking us on this amazing cruise. Mom is turning an undisclosed age this year and this was her traveling birthday party. But instead of us getting her a gift - she gave us the gift. It was truly wonderous. Our last Alaskan stop was Juneau where we went whale watching and were lucky enough to see three humpback whales traveling together. Apparently that is a very unusual sight. The little man loves whales and so he really enjoyed it although he was sad not to see any Orcas. Apparently they only show up every 2.5 weeks and had been sighted only 4 days earlier. We also saw the Mendenhal glacier which is the most visited attraction in all of Alaska. I was intrigued to learn that there is no way to get out of Juneau other than by air or sea. The people of that fair city have no way to escape by car. Our last day at sea we traveled through the gorgeous inside passage. We ended our vacation with a day and a half in Vancouver and had absolutely awesome weather. We visited the Acquarium (again no Orcas but some fabulous Beluga whales), Granville Island and spent some time on the beach. Vancouver is quite a lovely city. Finally we have returned home and are doing our best to unpack and wash the loads and loads of laundry. I leave you with my niece's quote which I was unwilling to post until we had safely returned home. When we arrived at the ship she looked at it, her eyes got big and she said, "that ship is HUGE - it looks just like the Titanic!" Next post - some actual knitting content!

Next stop Skagway.
We had to get up at the crack of dawn (but of course it's already light there) and board a boat which took us to Haines. Interestingly, from Skagway to Haines via roads is 330 miles but via boat it's less than 1/2 hour. Pretty wild! We visited a wildlife sanctuary which was a lot of fun. We saw wolves, moose, lemmings, a pine martin (shown below), porcupines and millions and millions of mosquitos! Then we returned to Skagway and did some shopping in the quaint little town. And the best part? I found a yarn store (thanks Lisa!) and bought some Qiviut. It is unbelievable expensive so I only bought one skein but it is true Alaskan yarn and is amazingly soft. It is from the under wool of the Arctic musk ox. Definitely something you don't find every day. I can't wait to make something out of it. Skagway is an adorable little town that looks like an old west town.



Next stop - Junea!

Glacial Experience

Next stop was the Hubbard Glacier. It was really cool (literally as well as figuratively. You enter a sort of bay that is almost fully encircled by hills and just an opening at the mouth to sail in. The entire bay is filled with ice chunks(some floating and some which appear to be fixed) and the captain didn't know how close we would be able to get. We got within 2 miles of it (which apparently is pretty close.) The Glacier is at the end of the bay and is surrounded by beautiful tree lined hills. What I found hard to understand is that those hills are not covered with snow. How is it that an ice mountain can remain when surrounded by normal hills? It was quite cold though and we even got to see some ice breaking off the glacier and falling in to the sea. The Glacier is an amazing shade of blue which I wasn't really able to capture in these photos. Sort of an icy turqouise. All in all an amazing experience.

Greetings from Alaska!

You may be wondering why I had you get all packed and then just left you sitting in the hall waiting to be picked up for the trip. Well unfortunately there have been serious techinical difficulties with the internet connection on the ship. I'll fill you in on what we've done so far. We flew to Vancouver just for the night before boarding the gorgeous Serenade of the Seas. The ship is nothing short of AMAZING! A huge floating party basically with more to do than you could ever find time for. We have fabulous meals (and yes - we've been eating dessert), spa services, work outs, theater, SHOPPING, and lots of whale sightings. The little man wants to spend all day long looking for whales. The girls pretty much want to spend all day long shopping but they are looking forward to the rock wall which we haven't done yet. Today we went to Icy Strait Point. To be honest - there really isn't a whole lot there but it is quite pretty and we took an 8 mile bike ride on the Hoonah trail. Our guide was hysterical. She explained how in her tribe you are either a raven or an eagle and ravens must marry eagles and eagles must marry ravens. She also explained how everyone has a big family. Therefore she concluded that everyone is either taken, her cousin or in her words, "butt ugly". Thus leaving her discouraged in the dating department. Not what you'd necessarily expect to hear from a bicycle tour guide. Tomorrow we sail through the Hubbard Galcier - I can't wait - it's supposed to be incredible. Hopefully I'll be able to share it with you. Sorry for the short post but I'm tyring to get it all in before the internet crashes again. Sadly - very little knitting has occured but there is still hope!