Pumpkin Spice and many things nice

I'm not normally an orange person, but when I grabbed this skein a few weeks ago at Commuknity, I just about expected the scent of pumpkin and cinnamon to waft from it. The pink and blue sock yarn just about leapt out of the basket into my grubby little hands. I love the bubblegum colors that are in the other skein. Emy is the sock queen! She's knitting a new pair just about every time I visit CommuKnity. Her rave review of Sensational Knitted Socks convinced me that I had to have that book. The pink ball of Zarina is for more baby hats.


Not too long ago DH took a fun shot of me wearing Kiri to the debut of a family friend. I had flashbacks to the Debut movie while watching the dance routines. DH had never been to one, and was fascinated by the whole spectacle, including the 18 candles and 18 roses dedications.


I hate having to pick up stitches, but right before our trip, I had finally done it for the sweater sleeves. I'm into the second set of increases.

It was a fun and restful vacation.

- We went to the Morro Bay Harbor Festival.
- We visited relatives in SoCal, and met the brand new addition (for whom I made Miss Dashwood).
- There was a fantastic dinner with La (of Jenla fame) and the DHs at Claim Jumpers. Thanks for the stitchmarkers, La! I love them!
- I loved spending some quality downtime with the DH, sans puppies (who were in very good hands while we were gone).
- We shopped at Knott's Berry Farm. We love the jam and also tried some of the pumpkin fudge. Yummy! Next year, I might be brave enough to stay for Knott's Scary Farm.
- Tortilla Joes in Downtown Disney was surprisingly great food.
- Clam Chowder at Splash on Pismo Beach is the best.
- The Madonna Inn Mountain Cabin Room was worth it.
- The King Tut exhibit was worth the wait...buy tickets early, if you're considering it; thanks for the links Christie.
- Knitting. Lots. The DH's socks is what I knit during most of the vacation. But I also started on My So-called Scarf. It's such a fun stitch pattern! It's repetitive, yet at the same time, interesting. It's like watching a screen saver. I found it fascinating how it blended with the decor of our room at the Madonna Inn.
- Shopping at several LYS along the central coast and SoCal was fun. I found this awesome new Knitting Counter at the Alamitos Bay Yarn Company, Long Beach. I'm a little embarassed about the amount of yarn and knitting related literature I ended up with at the end of the trip. I'll be taking extreme measures at this point to keep the stash under control. I need to finish the WIPs and crank out the FOs. I'll do a follow-up post with my reviews of the stores I visited on this trip (so I can remember for the next time).





Finished Objects


Yarn: Lion Brand Pound of Love Acrylic
Needles: Denise #7 and Clover circulars #7
Pattern: Miss Dashwood from Knitty.com
Notes: The bobble border at the edge was a nice touch, but I think I'll just add a crocheted bobble border after the hat is done. It would be faster.


Stats
Yarn: Filatura di Crosa Zarina/ Color- 4000 (Lot 00300)/ 25 grams (1/2 a ball)
Needles: Inox #3 circulars
Pattern: Modified umbilical cord hat from S&B
Notes: I modified the pattern by casting on 96 stitches instead of the 60, due to the smaller gauge of the yarn and needles. It was a really quick knit in only four hours over two evenings.


Yarn: Bonkers yarn / Color-Obscure Rainbow / 2.5 oz
Needles: Inox #2 circulars
Pattern: Toe up pattern from Bonkers
Notes: My first pair of socks ever! I really need to knit looser. These barely fit, but will probably loosen after washing and wearing a few times.


Yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit Tweed/ Color- 107 (Lot 57779)/ 2.8 oz
Needles: Inox #2 circulars
Pattern: Toe up with short row heels
Notes: Socks for the DH knit while on vacation. The toes were too flat. I started with 26 stitches with a provisional cast-one. I knit 3 rows, then continued circularly and increased to 36 stitches. I short rowed to 16 stitches, and the heels were perfect for him. Never underestimate the amount of yarn needed to do a flexible EZ style sewed bind-off.

Thanks everyone, for the kind comments consoling me on the loss of Pogi. I appreciated the support and thanks for reading.