Category: adventures

  • rhinebeck 2011

    I’m back! It’s been a pretty sleepy re-entry into my usual apartment and such – I had a great time away on my vacation, but unfortunately I suffered from an acute case of camnesia and have very few photos to show for it.

    We (boyfriend and I) flew down to NYC on Friday, and took the train out to Rhinebeck with Ysolda. The house we rented this year with friends was amazing! So huge, with a great kitchen, awesome view and comfy couches. Saturday morning was a bit of a rush as we had to get the Ravelry buttons to the meetup and were a bit stuck in traffic. It all worked out though, and I had a lovely day checking out all the barns and navigating through the crowds. I picked up a bowl from jennie the potter, and a fun sheepy mug.

    sheep mug

    And I saw kits for my Sweet Bunting Cardi! Super cute.

    sweet bunting

    Sunday morning we decided to go to the farmer’s market – this is the sixth time I’ve been to Rhinebeck and I’d pretty much never been able to explore the town! The farmer’s market is held in a parking lot, and is quite small but really cool.

    rhinebeck farmer's market

    rhinebeck farmer's market

    Managed to actually get a good coffee in town (as opposed to the fairgrounds coffee) and had a nice walk to town. The day was pretty long, and a bit warmer than Saturday – definitely calmer as well, in terms of the crowds. Sunday night was spent relaxing, eating, and doing a swap with my housemates! I actually didn’t buy any yarn at Rhinebeck this year, but I did come home with some from Wild Apple Hill Farms, thanks to Sarah!

    wild apple hill farm yarn

    Monday we took the train back to NYC, and spent the rest of the week walking, seeing the sights, and eating ever so many delicious foods. It was the type of vacation where you need a rest afterwards!

  • a bit of before and after

    Whew. Between working on setting up my new apartment, working at lettuce knit, working on my own stuff, and enjoying the summer food and general enjoyment, it’s been a busy month! The barest hint of fall is in the air, though it’s still pretty warm during the daytime, and I’ve been knitting bits and pieces on tons of projects.

    Time for some photos!

    Living room – before

    living room - before

    Living room – after, with my new chair from Design Republic.

    living/dining/front hall area

    sitting area

    Bedroom – before

    bedroom - before

    Bedroom – after

    bedroom

    Foods! Scallion pancakes with scallions from the farmer’s market – so, so delicious. The dipping sauce is stellar too.

    scallion pancakes

    Tiny peach pies! I didn’t have enough peaches for a full pie (because I’ve been eating so many of them) so I made a few minis instead, in a muffin tin.

    tiny pies

    Knitting? Sure. I’ve been nuts for a tubular cast on.

    In Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock:
    socks

    And in Malabrigo sock, too:
    tubular cast on

  • a hexagon blanket, for a wedding

    A long time ago, I bought a whole whack* of Noro Silk Garden Sock in two different colourways, both neutrals – one in black/brown/tan, and one in tan/cream/white. I set about making a blanket. I didn’t really work on it very often, just went on jags once in awhile. I took the hexes travelling with me to more than one place – Rhinebeck, TNNA in California, and the UK!

    the beginnings of obsession

    obsession

    crochet

    (Trafalgar Square!)

    piles of hexes

    Finally in June the yarn was all used up. I set about putting the hexes into their order for the blanket that I’d decided would be for some very good friends who were getting married at the beginning of July.

    organizing by shade

    I sorted them into piles by shade, then laid them out. The blanket wasn’t quite as big as I’d hoped, but it looked like a great size for the couch.

    darks

    I started with the darkest in one corner, then moved across to the lightest in the opposite corner, diagonally.

    arrangement

    It was a classic race to the finish! There was crocheting the hexes into strips, then the strips into a square; crocheting a border around the whole thing and then about 500 ends to weave in, plus it needed a good blocking. So you know what that means? No photos of the finished blanket! D’oh! I laid it out to dry the night before the wedding, packed it up the next afternoon and off it went. I was very pleased with it.

    I’ll have to ask Vivek and Gina to send me some photos of it in its new home.

    the first dance

    Meanwhile, it all begins again….

    hexes

    *edited to add! In this case, a whack means 8 skeins (4 of each), plus an extra skein of Tanis sock yarn to put it together with : )