Aloha!

Hi there! Boy have I missed blogging here!...and sewing and Flickr and reading blogs. Today I finally had to just "mark all read" in my blog reader to start fresh.

We are getting to the home stretch in unpacking thankfully! Here are a few sneak peeks of our new home.
Every time I think I'm getting down to the last few boxes more seem to appear!


This is the small third bedroom that will be the office/sewing room. I have all my fabric and sewing things unpacked but there are still a bunch of boxes with office stuff that are in my way. I wish they would magically  disappear so I can get to sewing!

*can I just say how disoriented I am with the new Flickr right now? Ugh!*

Oh and my hubby and I went to Hawaii for a week to celebrate our 10th anniversary early! We had enough AA miles but had to use them in May (our anniversary is actually in June) but hey, it was fine with me!

It was absolute paradise! We stayed on the northern coast of the big island which I highly recommend!

We also drove up Mauna Kea, the mountain where all the observatories are. At 13,800 feet it's not the tallest mountain ever but it sure feels like it when you're starting up it from sea level! It felt like we were on top of the world.


The waters were crystal clear for snorkling, the beach we stayed on was amazing, the sand was so soft and we had a wonderful time! What more could you ask for?

It was just what we needed to relax and unwind. Back to reality [and unpacking] now. :)

going just a little insane

Well, despite my best efforts, I'm scrambling to get all the last minute stuff done. It didn't help that we spent part of last week in Vail, CO to visit a cousin. We drove. That was a BIG mistake. Jack was ready to get out of his car seat after the first hour. Not good. He wasn't really impressed with the snow either although he looks like he's having fun in the picture. I think 15 months old is too young for such a long trip. Oh well, it sure was beautiful there!Unfortunately, this is all the knitting that got done on the whole 18 hour drive!!! (that's just one way)

Pretty pathetic. But, Jack is not a car sleeper and had to be entertained the whole time. You can tell it wasn't much of a "vacation" for me. My Berry and Bramble cardigan is "this" close to being finished. I really, really wanted to have it done for Christmas but it's just not going to happen.

I've also been busy with this last minute Christmas commission for a custom table runner:

Despite all of this I am really looking forward to Christmas! I love watching people open up gifts that have been thoughtfully chosen or made just for them.

Good to be home

Even though the weather wasn't ideal (rainy/snowy & cold) we had a wonderful time on our vacation!

Badlands National Park:

Lots of cool tunnels:Mount Rushmore:

I was able to get some knitting done too! I finished my Monkey socks. Aren't they LOUD?! I love them though...so soft and the pattern is great to knit!Pattern: Monkeys by Cookie A.

Yarn: Interlacements Tiny Toes in the Summer Fruit colorway

Needles: US #2

I had originally planned to start the Trystero Socks but as I was looking at the pattern I realized that it may be a bit complicated for vacation knitting. So I wound up some lovely earthy colored yarn for some simpler socks. This is some Yarn Pirate Booty Club merino/tencel sock yarn.

I attempted to knit these in the Nutkin sock pattern but the yarn was pooling ugly with #2 needles. I tried going down to size #1 needles but they were just too tight. So I ended up going with more stitches on the #1 needles in plain stockingette stitch. I think if I have enough left over I will make some matching baby socks for "Junior".

By they way, the pregnancy is still going very well! He's been kicking more and more frequently and Hubby was actually able to feel a little kick for the first time the other day. It's so exciting!

It's that time of year again!

VACATION TIME! yay!

Of course, you all know that the most important part of vacation planning is deciding what knitting projects to take. We are heading up to South Dakota to visit friends and Mount Rushmore so it will be a looong road trip, which means plenty of knitting time!

I'm really feeling the sock vibe right now so I think I will take mostly sock projects. I'm just a foot away from finishing my Monkeys socks so I'll definitely take those. And, it's not a sock project but I'll take my half finished Lace Ribbon scarf. I told myself that once I finish my Monkeys then I will allow myself to cast on for the Trystero Socks by Cookie A. I've been dying to knit these! the cable pattern is just so gorgeous and unique I think. I haven't completely decided on what yarn to use though. I think I've narrowed it down to some Plucky Knitter 100% BFL in "Grass is Greener" or my treasured Sweet Georgia sock yarn in "Blue Fig". I will take both and see what happens.And, just in case I get sick of all that fingerling weight yarn, I'll take some Lion Brand Chunky in charcoal for Kate the knitted cat. I want to copy this adorable version of it that I saw recently!

Well, I think I can check that off my to-do list now. I'm finishing up some little knitted gifts for our friends that we'll be visiting so I'll show those to you before we leave.

Needless to say, not much knitting got done

Actually, I've been back since last friday but what with all the unpacking and cleaning, etc. I just never got around to posting. And now, work is trying to swallow me up! ugh. I managed to get off on time today though so I think I'm starting to get caught up.

New Mexico was awesome! These are just a few of the highlights.

We camped in a tent the first three nights (we're extremely cheap) in the Red River area. While we were up in this area we did some off-roading on all the jeep trails they have in the mountains. It was beautiful! and a lot colder than I thought. It got down to freezing two of the nights. Then we visited friends in Albuquerque for a night and saw the petroglyphs at Petroglyph National Monument.

We then made our way back up towards Santa Fe and saw the "tent rocks" at the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. This area was really amazing! We took another day trip to Bandelier National Monument and saw the ancient cliff dwellings of the Pueblo Indians.We stayed 3 nights at The Bobcat Inn, just outside of Santa Fe. I HIGHLY recommend this place! It was very affordable, clean, quiet, beautiful, and the owner, who used to be a caterer, cooks the most delicious gormet breakfasts every day! I really didn't want to leave.

So there you have it! This is a great area for families to go too...so much to do, all within easy reach of Santa Fe. Of course, we here in North Texas have it pretty easy because it's only a 9 or 10 hour drive from here. Even with gasoline being high it's still cheaper than flying.

Now, I must get some knitting done! I only have 3/4 of a sock to show for the past week and a half.

One big sigh of relief!

You know why? because my vacation has officially started! woohoo!

As you can see, we're taking a road trip to New Mexico. And those are my special "vacation" socks that I already started with Interlacements Tiny Toes in the Southwest colorway (get it? Southwest. New Mexico). It took me a couple of tries to find the right pattern and needle combination but I've ended up with the Cable Twist Socks pattern from Hello Yarn. I'm really loving it so far!

Have a great weekend everyone and I'll catch up with you when I get back!