Monday, July 10, 2006

Back and busy

Wow, it's been an amazing July so far! Right after bf and I got back from our fantastic roadtrip we celebrated his sister's wedding and spent time with all the family that came to visit; I also enjoyed a long lunch with a lovely blogger from NY and I've been knitting and trying to sew. I'm still so full with impressions so I better start from the beginning. But there might be a sequel to this post in case I can't concentrate long enough.
The roadtrip was amazing and I'm still experiencing a sort of reverse homesickness for that nomadic lifestyle. Lava Beds National Monument is an amazing place in the north eastern part of California which no one ever seems to have heard about, hence the area lacks chain stores and strip malls and feels forgotten. While it may not be too interesting for the standard roadtripper, it's a fantastic playground for geology lovers like bf and myself. Lava flows, caves and lava tubes, a mountain covered in black glass (obsidian), hiking on wilderness trails with no one else around, except the occasional jack rabbit, kept us happy and if we'd realized just how busy the coast was going to be, we'd have stayed here the whole time.
Here is the view from a fire tower, that white peak is Mt Shasta 200 miles to the west.
LavaBedsNM

Yours truly on top of the most recent lava flow which happened 800 years ago.
TopOfLavaFlow

Crater Lake. Pictures don't do it justice. The water is the bluest blue you'll ever see.
CraterLake

Old Coca Cola ad on a reststop off Interstate 5. The little guy looks crazed.
ColaAd

Our last days were spent on the Northern California coast. It was so busy and everything booked, we were quite overwhelmed being surrounded by so many people after the solitude of the first days. But we always manage to find an emtpy spot, like this beautiful beach to watch the sunset.
AgateBeach

The time flew by as it always does when you're having fun. Back home, we got ready for bf's sister's wedding and I made her a guestbook incorporating the wedding colors red and gold. Never mind that I added a touch of patriotic pride with the black cloth (it wasn't intentional, but nothing else I had matched the paper ;-))

138_3898

I didn't knit as much during the trip as I thought I would, there was too much to do and see. When I'm camping, I always fall into a cycle of going to sleep at sunset and getting up at sunrise. Knitting has become a late in the day activity for me, something I do after work, I've been reserving my lunch breaks for reading which I've neglected for a long time. But my socks got finished eventually. Made of lovely Sundara yarn in 'bisque', I've renamed them Ambrosia socks, inspired by the colors of some store-bought Ambrosia salad (first time I've heard of and last time I tasted this concoction, in case you don't know it either, it's fruit and lots of whipped cream mixed together.) Though the salad didn't sit well with me, the socks do. I've knit them toe-up with a pattern made up of knits and purls on US1's, and finished them with a picot bind-off. They fit so well, but I really loved that the water was crystal clear after I washed them, just like the red Sundara yarn I used before. It makes me feel better knowing that the dye isn't absorbed by my skin.
AmbrosiaSocks1
AmbrosiaSocks3
Buttercup is still sulking in the cupboard and I've yet to email KH about the mistake. Indulging my procrastination skills I have thus another project in the works, Kiri! I'm using 3 balls of KSH in 'bleached', a bunny white which unfortunately is discontinued. I'm already through one ball, it's such an enjoyable project, my first lacy shawl. How can I knit sticky mohair in the middle of summer? Thank you, coastal climate! While our days are warm and sunny, the nights are chilly in my basement lodgings. It's the perfect yarn cellar.
Mmh, my brain is getting fuzzy and yours probably too, but there is still more to tell, about my blogger lunch, lovely mail from Finland, and free fabric....though unlike PBS who makes me wait another week to find out what's happening on Miss Marple and the Moving Finger, you'll get the second part tomorrow :-)

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those pictures are amazing! And those socks look great too! I've got another shoes and socks picture coming up soon, too! That guestbook is awesome as well. We need to hang out again, too. But with the rate I'm going right now, that might not be til after my race =(

Terhi said...

Lovely socks, Steph! And the photos, and the shoes! :-D The combination of red/pink/orange and turquoise looks so nice.

Anonymous said...

welcome home! the socks are absolutely beautiful! lovely, lovely pattern. and very, very cool shoes!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you're back!!!! I'm always *so* inspired by what you're currently working on or have recently finished.....case in point, never wanted to knit a clapotis until I saw yours, and now I'm on my last skein, racing towards that final point - even followed your minor 'modifications' as I liked the size & look of yours so well!!!

Krawuggl said...

Sind das tolle Fotos, den See find ich vor allem wunderschön, da möchte man gleich eintauchen. Obwohl mir das Foto mit der Steilküste ja auch gut gefällt. Das macht es mir gleich schwer, bei unserem Urlaubsziel zu bleiben. Schön, daß du so eine herrliche Zeit hattest, und dabei auch noch so fleißig warst. Und jetzt wart ich natürlich gespannt auf die Fortsetzung.
Liebe Grüße, ich hab´s auch nicht vergessen, es ist schon unterwegs,
Suzi

Anonymous said...

welcome back! great pics and I love that guestbook you made! I may have to con you into making me one whenever I get married. ha married! yeah right

Anonymous said...

brillant blues in those photos make me ache for fresh air and hiking and adventure. love the socks and the shoes. please tell, wherever did you find the shoes?

Beth S. said...

Those socks are incredible! It's amazing what you can do with just knit and purl stitches--no lace or cables, just plain old k and p. Stunning.

Anonymous said...

Love the socks. Your trip sounds amazing--that lake is stunning. Have fun settling back into normal life.

Anonymous said...

Pretty pictures! and pretty socks! I'm glad the yarn didn't bleed! (sigh of relief)

cauchy09 said...

Beautiful socks! I have some of that yarn stashed; it's good to see how it knits up.

Anonymous said...

Look at those lovely socks! At let's have a moment of silence for those beautiful shoes.

Anonymous said...

Those socks with those heels was an eye jerker. Kabam!

Pip

Pipandtom.com

Carol said...

oooh, what a lovely vacation! i just got back from a quick camping weekend in humbolt, but didn't make it to agate beach this time. and pretty socks!

maritza said...

Glad you're back and that you had a great vacation! The guestbook you made is beautiful. I love the colors.
Also, I love those socks. Gorgeous! Great pattern, and I love how it really shows off that yummy yarn.

Not An Artist said...

Great photos, and cute socks!

I've been taking a "Rocks for Jocks" course and its cool to see a real photo of crater lake & wizard island after reading about them in the text -- your photo is way more compelling that the dry diagram in the book!

ofpinsandneedles said...

Your holiday looks amazing! Thank you for sharing the wonderful photos.

The book is beautiful; your Bf's sister must have been very pleased.

Melissa said...

wonderful photos! absolutely beautiful! i would love to get out to that part of CA sometime. My fiance actually spent time at a monestary near Mt. Shasta about 10 years ago. That's amazing you could see it from 200 miles away. Guess I'm just used to the Jersey flat land!

Lovely socks. I just love Sundara's yarn too!

Unknown said...

Welcome back Steph :-) So did you get a new cameral? Those pictures are awesome. The crater lake shot is my favorite.

I haven't been knitting buttercup too. All my stitches doesn't add up after armhole decreases. Getting really frustrated so I decided to work on something else instead.

Anonymous said...

cute shoes... (such distraction from the beautiful pictures from your roadtrip)!!

Kaisakaisa said...

The sceneries in the pictures look stunning. Camping and hiking are my favourite things too. I get your point about too many people. It's quite hard to get in touch with nature when there's a big crowd surrounding you and all you wanted was a bit of peace and quiet.

And mail from Finland, how exciting!

I love the socks - the picot edge, the stitch pattern and the colour. And the shoes. Such great shoes.

Carola said...

Oh, lovely socks, I have to agree, it's magic what you do with k and p stitches. The vacation pictures are great, thanks for sharing. Good that I am going outdoors in a couple of days, too. Otherwise I would be very envious.

Amelie said...

thanks for those wonderful pictures! The one from Crater Lake is soo beautiful..

KnittenKnots said...

Beautiful pictures AND I love the socks!!

Chris said...

Crater Lake is stunning - thanks for sharing.

Cute socks!

Anonymous said...

Like the shoes!!!!!