Wooly updates

Where to begin? My husband and I just returned from a weekend visit to Cambria for our 2-year wedding anniversary. We're finding it increasingly difficult to leave at the end of every trip, for we find our longing to find a way to STAY is becoming stronger.

Anyhow, here is the Central Park Hoodie. I started this on our summer road trip to Vancouver and knit the back, fronts and most of the sleeves in the car! I made the second smallest size (don't have the magazine next to me...was it 34 1/2?). The yarn is Cascade 220 in a jade-like heather, and like many other knitters out there who have done this project, I bought nearly 2 skeins too many!








My husband took these photos in Cambria this morning as we walked along the bluffs. Many locals take their morning walks along this trail -- what a beautiful way to wake up.

Second, a quick shot of the Hermione POA hat from Charmed Knits. This photo was taken in the yard behind our motel in Cambria. I made this with the awesome Malabrigo (Geranio colorway) that I bought in Boston this past April. I've still got some of that Malabrigo left...hmm...


We went to the animal fair, and all the animals were there...
(Some perky Border Leicesters)
The LA County Fair was awesome. We made some sheep friends,
(the cutest little Suffolk in the world, with my cutie Dear!)
and some goat friends,

and we saw a sheep shearing demonstration. This guy wrangled a 200+ lb Suffolk and sheared it in under 3 minutes. I've got a little video of it I may put up. He let me take a bit of the fleece he sheared from it (the fleece, he said, was too low a grade to charge for it -- apparently even good Suffolk fleece tends to be made into pillow batting) so I could experiment a bit with it. I was amazed by how oily it was from the lanolin -- seems like when you touch the fleece when it's still on the sheep you don't feel that much oil. I brought it home and showed it to Cat, who reacted in the strangest way -- she couldn't get enough of it, as though it was catnip!

I've since washed the fleece (and a TON of lanolin came out), but I don't have any hand carding equipment, so I'm still trying to figure out what to do next.

Well, that's it for now. Here's a llama:

See you next time!

Coming soon...

Photo shoot of my completed Central Park Hoodie!

Updates on the Cobblestone Pullover for my dear!

Pictures of the Hermione Hat, Norah Gaughan's Stag Bag, and more!

A review of my trip to the LA County fair to see the sheepies!

...when I get my computer back from the shop. :(

Final road trip update

Internet access was either unavailable (Klamath Falls, OR; June Lake, CA) or ludicrously priced (Reno, NV: $7 an hour) on the last few days of our road trip, so sorry for the lack of updates! When we got back to LA, we were a little tired. The trip was wonderful, but because we were constantly doing things, it wasn't terribly relaxing. Well, June Lake was relaxing, I guess...

Anyhow, Klamath Falls, OR was a typical victim of suburban sprawl. Our motel was on the old downtown side of town. We ate at Wong's Restaurant, which looked like it hadn't changed much since 1941.

We couldn't figure out where all the people were until we hopped on the highway and went another mile south and found the Walmarts and Dennys. We did go bowling that night, which was good times.

On our way back into California, we wandered through a marsh preserve, with more ducks and pelicans than I've seen in my entire life. We also went to the Lava Beds national park, where we were able to wander through a subterranean cave.



The stop for that night was Reno, NV.

Reno is remarkably small. You can walk the entire downtown strip in about 5 minutes. We stayed at the Circus Circus, which had walkways connecting the casino to two other hotels. The casino resort was an interesting contrast to the more rustic, nature-based places we'd been frequenting the past few days, and we've found that an overnight stay in a casino hotel is just right for us. Enough time to take in the sights and see the attractions, maybe hit the buffet. Any more than that, though...well, the cigarette smoke starts to get to ya.


Last stop was at June Lake, CA, one of our most favorite vacation spots. Sigh. Kayaking and swimming in June Lake, visiting the Bodie Ghost town,

hot chocolate at the beautiful Gull Lake, grilling in the evenings,

and...a BEAR at our cabin site.
(Can you see it? Hint: look for its eyes.)
How much better does it get?

Well, after this post, I guess this blog will be going back to its regularly scheduled programming. Since this is a knitting blog, I suppose I will start posting pictures of the project I started on the trip: the Central Park Hoodie. Thanks for reading!

PS. More Bodie photos on my Facebook album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19240&l=de1b2&id=668045780
and some more road trip photots at: http://ucla.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19239&l=11eca&id=668045780

O Canada

O tired. Spent 3 hours at the border today to get back in the US. But I've got a few updates to share. Here's the border crossing into Canada at the Peace Arch:



We arrived in the little mountain town Squamish two days ago. The town was an interesting blend of logging industry, new pricey condos, natural wonders, and cute little shops. We stayed at the August Jack Motel, which was like stepping back into 1973.



Yesterday we went to Victoria, which was a crazy trip: 2 hour drive to the port, 1.5 hour ferry ride (although the boat was really fun), 1 hour bus ride to Butchart Gardens (which were impressive -- and popular), another 30 minutes to downtown to see the Parliament building, and all that in reverse to get back to the hotel.



We uploaded a few more photos here, too:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/complainr/

Oh, here's a major restaurant chain in Canada:



Insert your own obvious joke of choice.

Photos!

Ok, I think I figured out this Flickr thing at last. This link should take you to the photos!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/complainr/

In other news, I finally got a glass of iced tea. I was beginning to think the state of Washington had it in for me.

Wandering around Seattle was fun. We saw the Pike Place Market, which was an awesome visual overload.



Fresh fish,


fresh flowers,


and lots of yummy food.

Later, we took a ferry over to West Seattle and back. Good times. Tomorrow we cross the border!

Day 2: Oregon Vortex, Eugene, and Day 3 pt 1: Seattle

Just made it to Seattle. Our motel room has a certificate on the wall for the "Motel Trespass Program", and I'm not really sure what to make of that. Also, I've discovered that it is really hard to get a decent glass of iced tea outside of So Cal. What's up with that?

Anyway, yesterday we went to the Oregon Vortex...it's like the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot. People seem to get bigger or taller, glasses seem to roll uphill and so on. We got a few weird pictures...see for yourself!

Eugene was pretty interesting...similar to Santa Cruz, lots of hippies and college students, only a little more "low prole." Good Chinese food.

Woke up early this morning to go see Mt. St. Helens (which erupted a scant 4 days after I was born, kthx). The museum there was really good, had a decent documentary running.

Off to go see Seattle. Be back later. Enjoy some pictures: Day 2 and 3!

day 1 photos

I've uploaded them to Flickr...and I have no idea how to link over to them. So let's try this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11341136@N02/sets/72157601434212616/