Reactions to Knitting

The Love Knitting Blog  posted a funny article about others reactions to knitting. As someone who knits in public often, I have heard almost all of them. One that I feel should be added to this list is: “Omg! How long does that take you?!?” I get it people are curious. At this point these reactions don’t phase me. Often times I suggest that they take a stab at it. 😉

What are some of your favorite reactions to your knitting?

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The Land of Ladybugs

Warm sun and clear skies was the forecast for this past weekend. So FH (future husband), myself, and two friends headed south to the San Bruno Mountains for a hike. In addition to our great views, we also encountered what felt like millions of lady bugs!  Since ladybugs are lucky, I hope good fortune is headed my way ;). Overall, we made it 8.5 miles round trip. My feet were killing, but it was all worth it. Nothing like getting to enjoy a little nature.

What did you get to do this weekend?

An Adorable Moment

As a child I loved Mister Rodgers’ Neighborhood. I don’t know what it was about him that had me so interested…maybe the soothing calm voice? My favorite part was his routine of him coming in the house and putting on a sweater. I am a sucker for a good ol’ cable knit cardigan (even then!) and I have to say Mr. Rodgers had some great ones. Here is a video of Mr. Rodgers showing off his collection of cardigans. The sweetest part of it has to be that his mother made them all of him. How adorable! Just goes to show how much hand-knitting can mean to your recipients.

Happy Friday Everyone!

Business As Usual

The highlight of the week has to be my new needles arriving. I ordered a 47″ fixed circular needles (US size 1) from Knit Picks last week and they arrived on Tuesday. I selected these specifically to make socks two-at-a-time. If you haven’t heard of or gone on the Knit Picks website you need to get there ASAP (plus there is a sale going on!). I like the affordable needles and other tools they offer. Nothing beats knitting needles for around $5 a set.

My first two-at-a-time endeavor will be… the  Business Casual Socks by Tanis Lavallee. It has been in my queue for awhile. I got out my leftover Cascade Heritage Sock Yarn (in Mustard) and got to work. The pattern calls for DPNs, but I really don’t like using them. So I decided to try Two-at-a-Time Magic loop.The guide on Jimmy Beans Wool has a video and written instructions. I love that internet videos are so readily available for all things knitting (yay technology!), but sometimes videos confuse me.  The added visual support of written instructions is super nice. This method was a little tricky. It took me about 30 minutes to get my socks cast-on and to complete one row. I think the tricky part was managing the rather long circular needle. Since you are using two balls of yarn and the longer circular, things can get quite tangled. However, I got myself straightened out and now I have almost the whole cuff completed!

I can’t wait to see how these socks come out. Check back for progress!

Bamboo Therapy

The smooth glide of wood

I relish repetition

Wool calming my mind.

Enjoying my wool and bamboo needles lately. Sometimes one has to pick up a fuzzy ball of yarn and enjoy the simplicity of stockinette.

Urban Hike in San Francisco

One of our new favorite things to do on the weekend is take an Urban Hike. What’s an Urban Hike you say? Well it is a long walk through the the city landscape. Since San Francisco has lots and lots of hills it feels much like a hike minus the wilderness. This weekend, we hiked from Twin Peaks to Golden Gate Heights Park and then back home. Usually hikes include us walking for about 5-6 miles and then ending up a local bar or restaurant to “rehydrate” our bodies. The hikes have been a really nice activity. Not only to they give us some exercise, but it is a great time to chat and explore our city.

The view of East San Francisco and the Bay

View of West San Francisco a top Golden Gate Heights Hill

What were you up to this weekend?

 

WIP Wenesday

Last week I got started on a new sweater for spring. My One-Way Tee is going well. This is a great knit for watching interesting TV shows. It is basically stockinette aside from the lace panel. Therefore, I pretty much can knit without looking until I hit the stitch markers. I made the executive decision to knit the torso in the round rather than in panels as the pattern states. I know by the time I finish this project I will not be in the mood to do much seam sewing. 

 I am loving this color. Originally, I was going to go with the lime green color as shown on the model. However, when I was at Stitches West and found a giant cone of peach colored yarn,  I knew that my sweater should channel springtime. Since this yarn choice is worsted weight rather then DK I ended up swatching and found out that a US size 6 needle was most appropriate.



Can’t wait to show the finished project soon! 

Spring Florals

I blame Michael’s Craft Stores. If they didn’t send me multiple emails a week advertising glorious sales then maybe I wouldn’t have this desire to craft excessively (haha). Due to these emails, I headed to Michael’s on Friday to indulge myself a little. I ended up staying out of the yarn section, but did wander into the floral section. Once I walked down the first aisle I knew I was in trouble. The colors of the beautiful spring blooms had me entranced. Pretty spring pastels have that affect on me. 

Why was I in the florals section you ask? Well as I am in the early stages of wedding planning, I am beginning to realize how expensive it is to host a wedding reception. One of the most expensive (and non-essential) items is flowers. A little research on the internet lead me to the possibility of using silk flowers. Since florals were 50% off at Michael’s last week, I decided to take a stab at making an arrangement and see if I liked the look of the silk flowers.

Here is my finished result:

Not too bad huh? 



I used a foam cube, wire cutters, and silk flowers (hydrangea, peonies, roses) to create this piece. I took maybe 20 minutes to cut all of the flowers and arrange them. I love how it adds a bit of spring time to our dining table. After having it in the house for a couple of days, I am still on the fence about using fake flowers at my wedding reception. I think it is the fact that I love real flowers so much that using fake ones feels like I am cheating myself. Good thing I have a year to figure it all out.



 

What are your feelings about fake florals? Are they a “yay” or a “ney”?

Sunday Funday

An advantage to living in a major city is the ease of access to a variety of activities. There are always about 5 or 6 events going on each day in San Francisco and the surrounding cities (Berkeley, Oakland).  This morning we woke up, hopped on the bus, and went the de Young Museum.  Set in Golden Gate Park, this fine art museum is housed in a pretty funky looking building. 

Once we got into the museum, there was so much to see. It was a serious sensory overload. My eyes were practically rotating out of their sockets looking at all of the pieces. We viewed art from just about every corner of the world (hold your cursor over the pictures to see captions).

Outdoor Sculptures

Rescued Firewood from Alabama

Nigerian Art

Eskimo Ski Goggles

“Petunia” by Georgia O’Keefe

Mask from Papau New Guinea

The museum also has an observation deck on the 9th floor of the tower. We had a nice 360 degree view of the surrounding areas, however, Karl the Fog was rolling in so our bay view was limited.

There is nothing like getting out an being a tourist in your own city. Often times we get too set in our routines and forget to get out and explore a little. ~ This world is too big to leave unexplored. ~

Did You Know…

Knitting Fact: Until recent history knitting was primarily a men’s occupation. Knitting is thought to have originated amongst Arabian Sailors. 



In many non-western cultures men still primarily do all the knitting. Check out these men in Peru.



I would love if my fiancé would knit with me. Maybe then he wouldn’t comment about my knitting is an addiction. However, I do know one thing… I most certainly wouldn’t share supplies! 😊