Yarn Crawl Texture: My Take on Weekly Photo Challenge

This week’s photo challenge is Texture. I went to The World’s Most Famous Beach for our family beach weekend. Sand, surf, the roar of traffic up and down A1A outside the beach-front hotels, hugs from big and little ones, crisp hotel sheets on sun-exposed skin, seafood restaurants, and of course, a yarn crawl. I had to see what the local yarn shop The Ball of Yarn had to offer.

Family Futbol on the beach

Sunrise the first day

2nd day sunrise

sunrise the 3rd day

Speedway entrance

Daytona’s LYS

Yarn Crawl Haul

Sandnes Kashmir Alpakka worsted weight: spaghetti-size

Mandarin Petite DK yarn: vermicelli-size

Kraemer Tatamy Tweed DK spun in Nazareth, PA

Grayzie nuzzling my sand-infused callouses enriched with plankton from beach walking

The Mandarin Petit and Kashmir yarns are from their Swedish import rack, although they have a flag of Norway on their labels. The shop proprietor told me that they love Kraemer brand yarns, which are spun in America and were used in the Ralph Lauren knitted apparel worn by our Winter Olympics competitors. Isn’t it a small world after all?

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We Love Knitting. Even though it’s August

Summer loving knitting! Yes, we do!

Ethel is thinking of knitting this cool sock from Interweave Knit

 

Meanwhile, she also thought about these:

 

 

bamboo, cotton and acrylic yarn

and she worked a little more on this project

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lois made lots of progress on her afghan.

Lois’s afghan

Rachel started something new.

Rachel’s new project

I worked on the same project.

more squares finished

But it’s not boring! The blocks go fast, and I can’t wait to start on another beautiful color of Rowan felted tweed.

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Wednesday Not Knitting

I waited around for the knitters to show up Wednesday night. So far they haven’t.

But that is ok. I’m still feeling the effects of a long illness and a long road trip.

At this point, I don’t even remember where my knitting is…oh, yes I do. Going to go get it now.

Toasted cream cheese sandwich with cucumbers, carrots, sprouts and seeds from Serendipity Deli in Cary, NC

Continuing in the discovery of the vein of gold…as it pertains to food purveyors…I have become as the detective Hercule Poirot, in search of truthful, but manipulated by the wracking of the digestive process on my delicate constitution.

Here are a few dishes from the Posta Tuscan Grille in Raleigh.

House salad

Filetto entree (beef tenderloin)

Vitello (veal scallopini)

I didn’t show a pic of the breakfast buffet. But some of the offerings were notable: great, gleaming jewel-like blackberries the size of plum tomatoes, crisp-and-browned-on-the-outside, velvety fluffy on the inside biscuits with a savory herbed cream gravy, creamy cheese grits. Many different kinds of muffins.

This was our dinner from Saffire in Charleston, SC (room service: decadently romantic!)

BBQ Shrimp and White Cheddar Cheese Grits with Mushroom Hash

Sustainable Atlantic Catch (mahi-mahi)

our gorgeous accommodations

rest room

my erstwhile work station

A luxurious little haven in which to work, while a gentle rain fell and fog rolled onto the riverbanks outside.

Before we left town, I visited Persimmon Café on my yoga buddy Karen’s recommendation, and snagged some snackage for the road.

what was left of a giant Capn’ Crunch cookie

a special low-cal root beer from Wisconsin

I had a long, friendly chat with the proprietor about root beer and the fact that although the café is located inside a laundromat, its patrons have some very sophisticated taste in delicious and creative food!

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Oh, to Knit Like My Knitting Idols #5KCBWDAY6

Day 6 of Eskimimi’s Knit and Crochet Blog Week Challenge is to write about someone you admire, and about yourself in comparison/contrast. My knitting idols are my grandmother and her sister, Auntie Marg.

Margaret and Alice about 1917

When I knew them, I didn’t think much about knitting. They became my knitting idols much later, when I thought back, in amazement, of the things they knitted. Most vivid in my memories: the sacred afghan that remained on our couch for the purpose of keeping warm, while watching TV and slipping into Dreamland. We called it the “duggy-wuggy” (I do not know the origin of that term, so it’d be no good to ask! 🙂 ). It was light green, dark green, and gray. And possibly some canary yellow in there, too. It was about 4 1/2 feet long by 2 feet wide and had fringe on both narrow ends. Thick cables coursed down the length of it. It had a fabric backing that was a dark gray-brown wool crepe, very slinky. My dad took a nap on the couch every day when he got home from work. I aspire to that, too. I’ve had couch blankets, lap quilts, throws, on the couch…but none so awesome as that duggy-wuggy!

Next memory is of the baby layette items after my daughter was born. I’m sorry to say I don’t have a single one of these left. They were so classic, and so delectable. A yellow cardigan with raglan sleeves, with a matching white and yellow Tyrolean hat with a little pompom on top (not frilly, in case she turned out to be a boy, but yellow, so she could still wear it if she was a girl). Knit-stitch booties with a satin ribbon to tie. A white ripple-effect baby blanket. A white crocheted jacket and bonnet, with a satin ribbon tie.

I can picture in my mind, the two sisters looking at each other with purposeful ambition, whenever a new baby was announced.

Auntie Marg, c. 1929

Here is my great-aunt, wearing a shawl that she undoubtedly made. Aunt Margaret never married; she lived with my grandmother in a house full of cats.

As for me, I guess my leaf didn’t fall far from the tree, but to compare with their expertise….I still have a long way to go! And I’m still searching for that plain baby cardigan and hat set pattern!

Me, Bob, and Mom

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Knit at an Angle, the Staging #5KCBWDAY3

Eskimimi Makes has some genius ideas for blogging…
At Wednesday Night Knitting, we played around with Day 3’s concept, photographing our projects in a totally different light.

Cycling with Scarf

Ethel’s scarf, staged as blowing in the wind.

(Actually, Rachel was holding it up with a long crochet needle behind-the-scenes).

behind-the-scenes view

oatmeal chocolate chip cookies on the side

Rachel ripping

Meanwhile, Rachel was busy with a seam ripper. All needlework welcome!

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We Knit in Peace!

Watching Mars Attacks while finishing up the knitting blog post. A Tim Burton movie always heightens my perspective about anything. I can only gaze in wide wonder…wow!

smug Pauly reveling in the lap of Ethel

Lois looking at Ethel’s Vikings book, an early Mother’s Day present

Ethel’s magnificent knitted scarf

Kerrie’s pedicure

Kerrie’s daughter made a rainbow loom bracelet for Ethel

New mag shows loomed robots, penguins, phone cases

Ethel and new outfit

and new glasses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the time passed quickly

 

I went back to knitting and Martian mayhem.

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A Beautiful Day for Knit and Crochet

Tomorrow is May Day, today was beautiful, and in the evening we celebrated …

trees budding

intoxicating smell of Confederate Jasmine

new growth

new tendrils reaching

lush foliage

tree in bloom

Lois was crocheting a new shawl

I was almost through with the back of the Sophie tunic

Jerilynn and Ethel pressed on with their projects

We had a pretty productive last day of April!

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Miles to Knit

Stopping by to knit on a springy evening…

Tricia, starting a scarf to match

matching mittens and snood

Lois and her Crocheted Shawl

Ethel and cape

Sadly, Rachel’s knitted potholder-in-progress met with foul play

And my Sofie Tunic was a victim of cat sabotage

But Ethel was able to fix them both!

And now I can sleep in peace! Thank you, knitting friends!

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Needle-cushions, and what next at Knitting?

Wednesday night and we were knitting nicely…

Tricia’s mittens and snood

Tricia knitted beautiful sparkly white mittens and a matching snood.

Tricia’s snood in process

I love the needle-cushions she bought at JoAnn’s.

Lois and shawl in double crochet

Lois worked on a shawl in a woolly Lion Brand yarn (color: Ruby).

Jerilyn knitting

Jerilyn worked more on her beginning knitting project.

slouchy beanie

I finished the cabled slouchy beanie.

Next time: maybe a little woodworking?

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