Personal: September 2005 Archives
So now that I've finished some basic housekeeping, it's time for me to select some travelling companions on my trip to Maui. My goal here is not to be too over the top. After all, I want room left in my suitcase to bring back a sizable amount of Kona coffee. If you've never had fresh Kona in Hawaii and you're a coffee lover, well, you haven't lived yet. There is almost nothing better for breakfast than fresh Kona and fresh pineapple... especially when combined with an exceptional eggs benedict preparation and an open air restaurant.
Mmmmmm.... I can almost hear the waves and feel the breeze. Soon. Soon. Soon.
So what's going along for the trip? It's all about scarves and socks, friends.
1. Artisan Merino from NZ. A lovely yarn I got in a trade from Emma. What could be more appropriate for a trip to an Island in the Pacific than yarn from New Zealand. It's a little bitty skein combined with a nice lace pattern. Should keep both brain and fingers occupied, especially when combined with my iPod and a couple of good audio books. Though I'll probably switch it to my Denise needles, just to make it more airplane travel friendly.
2. Opal Rodeo Socks. Interestingly enough, this yarn also came in a trade from Emma. I've completed the first sock and have actually cast on and started the second sock. These socks have also been a bit of a revelation for me. I love the tubular cast on, but it takes too much energy for me to overcome the inertia of casting on a second sock. I'm thinking it will be back to my Twisted German Cast On for socks in the future. I love the happy colors in this sock yarn and now that I've gotten my second tubular cast on out of the way it should be pretty smooth sailing. Apparently others like the colors in these socks, too, as I can't go anywhere with them and not have someone ask to look at them! Should make for a nice airplane or beach project. I even have a chance of getting these finished, I think.
3. John's Trekking XXL Socks with Bosnian Toe. I've been working on these socks -- er sock -- for way too long. My wonderful husband certainly deserves at least one new pair of socks every year, don't you think? Especially when he actually picked out a sock yarn that is not grey and does not have a completely regular pattern. I'm not sure why I've been so lazy about getting these done except that they are just for big man feet on small needles. I'm not optimistic about actually finishing the pair while we're in Hawaii, but if I could just complete the first one, I'd comsider that a major inertial victory.
>4. Hand Dyed Autum Leaves 2 BFL. I'm thinking that I really need to take some of my own hand-dyed yarn to Hawaii. It wasnt't hard for me to find a pattern that worked well with the idea behind the yarn. Barbara Walker to the rescue again! Can anyone guess which pattern I picked? Just a hint, it's out of the second volume...
Can You Guess What Pattern I'm Using?
5. Habu Textiles KSH-like yarn. After being reminded of the Quick Lace Scarf by yesterday's post, I'm going to work on one for myself. How could I resist this cute little bundle? Certainly it will be easy on my suitcase!
As per usual, I suspect I am being rather over optimistic about what I can accomplish, but I always like to balance that with having a lot to choose from. And since I don't plan to go yarn shopping on Maui (I haven't bought any yarn since MS&W and I'm hoping to keep this resolution going until at least Christmas given the size of my current stash). I want to make sure I have enough goodies with me to keep me entertained. My Denise needles will come with me, as well. They're nice and lightweight and easily fit into one's luggage and don't arouse airport safety problems.
You're probably wondering why there's no mention of spinning fiber and spindles here. I've given that a lot of thought and decided that it's probably best to leave these things at home. The fiber takes up more space than I would like and spindles are not airplane compatible tools, by my reckoning. So I'll use this vacation as an opportunity to get back to bonding with my needles, knowing that my good fibery goodies will be waiting for me when I get home. That said, I did get a little spindling in while washing clothes for our trip.
Oh, and I also got my computer "packed" and ready to go. No trip would be complete without a good complement of computer game entertainment. And I've got, for me at least, all the major areas covered. In the Strategy category, there's Civ III (how else to take on the husband in the quest for world domination?) and Railroad Tycoon III, to cover my adventure gaming needs I've got Myst IV: Revelation and URU: Ages Beyond Myst (with all expansions and upgrades) in preparation for the arrival of Myst V (it should be here by the time I get back from Hawaii), and of course, I could never leave home without a few entries from my favorite genre, role playing games, hence Neverwinter Nights (also with all the trimmings) and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. LIke the knitting, only a few are likely to really get engaged, but I know for sure that if I left one at home, that would be the one I want...and what else are nice, fat laptop harddrives for?
Something about going on vacation makes me want to get everything in order. The change of the seasons has a similar effect on me. As I feel the fall weather coming to not only visit Chicago, but to stay, I have the desire to clean my desk and create an open work surface for myself. I want to look at my nearby book case and see something that makes me want to pick up my books and use them. Have a beautiful storage space like you can only find in one of those TV reality redecorating shows on the day they do their reveal.
I will spare you pictures of my desk and my bookcase. However happy their relative cleanliness makes me, I doubt it will provide anyone else with the same level of satisfaction. However, good knitter and drop-spindler that I am, facing an 8 hour flight to a an island in the middle of the pacific ocean, I'm starting to think about just what fiber and tools I will take with me. And of course, that takes me to my sidebar, as I think about all the projects that I have started but seemingly abandoned over the summer. I'm sadly amused by the section I created "waiting for summer". Now that summer has come and gone, these projects will probably wait a bit longer. Clearly I was not very motivated to get a lot done this summer on the knitting front. I'll blame the spinning bug on that one. But the spinning bug and I are pals, so it knows that I'm casting blame with a wink.
So Saturday morning, sitting down with a cup of coffee and a cool breeze floating through my house and some beginning-of-fall sunshine floating through my windows, and a wonderful vacation on the horizon, I'm starting the process of evaluating the things in my side bar.
The first thing I always like to start with is making sure that those things that I finished but just haven't moved to my gallery get moved there. This is where I can give those finished projects a last salute or, now that I've had time to live with them, drop them into the gallery wondering what I was thinking. This batch of projects gave me a nice stroll down the memory lane of Spring 2005
This project was meant as a gift for a co-worker. She got it much later than I had originally planned, but in perfect time for her fall trip to Moscow. This project come out of a book I quite like, Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. It got a very nice response, so I will consider it to be one of my success stories. In fact, I may make one for myself out of some lovely pale green Habu Textiles yarn that seems very similar in consistancy to Kid Silk Haze. One thing I love about going into Nina's on Division is that she carries quite a few yarns from Habu. Last time I was in I found one that was somewhere between thread and lace weight that had stainless steel in it!
To be honest, I haven't worn this sweater as much as I would like. By the time I finished it, there wasn't much cool spring weather left in Chicago and while the Eponge is a cotton boucle around an elastic core, it just wasn't all that airy a fabric when knit at the density called for this sweater. The fabric does have a nice texture, though and is easy on the skin, so, hopefully, this pullover will get a better hearing now that fall is approaching. I also have a dirty little secret when it comes to this sweater... I still haven't woven in the ends on the inside. So technically this project is not really finished. But knitting is not always about absolutes.
This is another item that has received more admiration (from me) than wearing. Even laceweight scarves aren't really summer wear here in Chicago. But the colors are perfect for fall and I will be packing this scarf to come with me to help give me a little extra warmth while on Maui. One thing we discovered while on the Big Island was that Hawaiian nights are wonderful but can be a little cool. I'm hoping this will be the perfect thing to take the edge off for me.
And that pretty much wraps it up... (except for the rainbow dyed pearl-barred scarf and my blue hawaiian scarf which I've blogged about recently enough not to give them another hearing at this point and which, given my general blog-maintenance laziness, never even made it on to my in progress list). Definitely a contrast to last summer where I remember having quite a few more projects finished and at least one pair of socks!
So now I have done the blog equivalent of cleaning off my desk (I also retired some buttons from some old knit-alongs that I've long since finished or will never finish), and it's time to start letting the feeling of open desk space help me figure out where to go next and what possibilties I want to take on. And maybe what things will be in my carry-on bag on the airplane....
