Cruise Vacation - The Recap

Hello!! ~ insert frantic waving ~

We've been back home from the vacation for a couple of weeks and I STILL feel like I could pack up and do it all over again. Thankfully (pun intended) after we landed home I got right on a plane for 2 days of work travel, then home again for the Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving was very quiet for us this year, and that suited us just fine. We are traditionally all in the turkey feasting and family gathering and over eating and random napping. No one can do triple servings in a kitchen like me and my momma! Not this year though...we spent such a lovely time with both grandmas, pops, an aunt and some family friends that we felt pretty well caught up on the family gathering part. As for the overeating and random napping? Check, and check! Got plenty of that in too on the cruise.

Here is a smattering of the vacation photos (trimmed from the 499 I stuffed into the camera). There's a slide show at the end if you feel like pouring a cuppa' and taking a saunter through the journey with us.

Our shore stops were in Puerto Rico, St. Thomas (my favorite), and St. Maarten. As you probably know, when you arrive anywhere via cruise ship, your experience of the destination spot can be somewhat "canned" - all mapped out for you from the minute you disembark until the time you set sail again. That is,of course, if you're NOT traveling with MY husband. We've cruised three times now, and not once have we gone the traditional "excursion" route. Hub loves to find local people, chat them up, and score some sweet tips and deals on tours, where to eat, and where to shop. Our experience is all the richer because of it.


One of the biggest pleasures I had was seeing the girls in a constant state of wonderment. We are so blessed that their stamina and their charm allows us to take them ANYwhere and we can be confident that they'll have a good time, and spread the smiles. It was really a treat to expose them to so many new things.

The "get up and go whenever you please" factor of homeschooling totally rocks!

A close second on the Lasting Memory scale was seeing my mother-in-law go from someone who hasn't left her home state in 30 years to someone who now calls me every other day to ask what I've found out about our NEXT family cruise (watch for it, December 2009!). She so thoroughly enjoyed herself that she came home and was on a veritable CAMPAIGN to get every last family member within 100 miles to start putting their pennies together so we can all set sail together next year. Cuteness!

If you think you might be into round-the clock service of fresh, delicious food, twice a day turn down service in your room, back-to-back days of island hopping, first class workout facilities, super service staff, and freedom to do everything or nothing for days on end - try a cruise. And if you do...I want to hear about it because apparently, it has now become our annual family tradition, and I'm always open for some great travel tips :)

Click right here to be linked to a slide show with many more pictures!

Travel Tales & Clapotis Countdown

Just a quick update to say that all is well in the (not-so) frozen north. In an event that can only be attributed to the power of a child's wish we landed safely on Thursday right in the midst of the first snow of the season. As we sat on the tarmac for an hour and a half waiting for things to be de-iced and cleared, my two little munchkins were the only ones on the plane clapping and squealing at the white powdery wonderland. Apparently the first snow fall brings about other feelings for residents here.

A view from the plane just before landing
Knowing that this first snow wouldn't hang around long, we did all we could to take advantage of it. A quick thrift store stop produced ski pants for the girls to wear so that sledding and snow angels filled the major part of our first 2 days.



That can certainly wear out even the heartiest cold weather adventurer.


As for me - I'm fighting the urge to hibernate by committing to a very tight gift deadline. I cast on for my second Clapotis while traveling here last Thursday, and I intend to have it finished by the time we're packing up to leave on this coming Sunday. Why the rush you ask? Well, I want my darling aunty who is feeding us and putting us up all week to have something warm and woolly to remind her of our stay (and hopefully bribe her away from her plan to keep the girls here with her after we're gone, which she has already threatened to do). My calculations say I need to knit 39 rows on it per day for the next 5 days to reach this goal. Knit mojo don't fail me now!


Clapotis #2 in Cascade 220 HandDyed Yarn, Color is Indiana Summer
Knit on KnitPicks Circular US Size 8(5mm)
I hope your week is going well too! No need to send warm thoughts our way, we're quite cozy and comfortable wrapped in hand knit goodness and enjoying the blessing of uninterrupted family fun time. Well ok, some warm thoughts would be nice - if it's not too much trouble.

More pictures later this week or when we return!

Look! Islanders in the snow!

Stitches Midwest Recap

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Stitches events, these are large annual knitting conventions that are held at 3 different locations around the country, and sponsored by XRX, the company that publishes Knitter’s Magazine, hundreds of knitting books, and puts on annual knitting course retreats called Camp Stitches. The events take place in the spring, late summer and fall in the West, Midwest, and Southeast. Some of the event involves what you might expect from a convention – vendors fill booths from one wall of the convention floor to the other and they have colorful and tempting displays of yarn, raw fiber, needles, spinning wheels, and drop spindles. There is also a huge amount of knit and crochet wear accessories – buttons, purse handles, shawl pins, and beads – oh my! A feast for the eyes. To supplement the eye candy, there is brain candy too. Talented teachers and knit celebrities teach 3 and 4 hour classes covering everything from the basics to the most advanced techniques. Since this is a widely promoted event, you just don’t know who you might run into, take a class with, or learn from. It’s a delight.

This year, I chose to attend Stitches Midwest, and decided to do it right. See, the first time I went – I was a very new knitter and I fell into ALL the pitfalls you would expect. I bought WAY too much yarn (that’s to be expected, it nearly climbs into your bag the instant you pass the registration desk); I bought on impulse, so I got one and 2 skein wonders that I still haven’t been able to align with a project (but goodness me, they are pretty); I didn’t take any classes, which meant that once I got home, I didn’t know much more about knitting than before I went there. There was one thing I did right though, and that was to attend with friends, but also reach out to complete strangers. It was a great time of affirmation that this is not in fact a strange hobby, and that the diversity of my knit sibs is a great thing to behold. So this year, I did what I could to do a little better and to relish the experience even more because of it.


I registered for two classes – Advanced Finishing, and Overcoming the Fear of Cutting. I can’t say enough good things about my instructors Margaret Fisher and Nancy Bush (yes that Nancy Bush). It was a major bonus to know that I could now understand the techniques that were being taught to us, and it was a joy to see the lights go on for my classmates around me, just as they were going on for me too. One of these days, I’ll share a couple of the techniques I learned with some more photos so that I can pay forward what I gained from that experience. Fiber celebrity sightings were plentiful too. We had our photos taken by Franklin for his 1,000 Knitters project, and we were fortunate enough to get bumped in line by Sally Melville and Nancy Bush - hey, who wouldn't let them get cutsies??


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As for the yarn buying? Well – let’s be honest, this trip was planned since February, and the yarn budget was outlined and secured even before food and transportation were considered. Did I buy more yarn than last year? Nope. Did I buy more sweater quantities of good stuff this time? Yep. Did I buy with specific projects in mind and check quantities, content and gauge? You bet. Did I completely indulge and succumb to some pretty scrumptious goodies that I have no idea what I'll do with? Come on people, I’m a knitter. I will say this, I’m writing this on the plane on the way home, and I think that whether or not my hubby is actually going to come and collect me from the airport is going to depend on whether or not he takes a peek at the old checking account before he leaves out. If you don’t hear from me for a while, I’ll be at Gate C12 fondling the yarn in my carry-on. ETA: Made it home, but the unpacking was done covertly. I'm no fool.



Another benefit of attending Stitches Midwest is that the Chicago area and surrounding burbs are a GREAT distraction from yarn overindulgence. We met up with a few other friends, locals and out-of-towners and enjoyed some of the sites and tastes of the city. Fabulous breakfast at Anne Sather (see the featured menu item from my last post); a picnic in Millennium Park listening to Mahler’s 5th symphony; a long overdue return trip to Chix with Stix to hang out with KK from the KnittingHelp Forum; and the best chicken wings I have ever eaten (bring on the cornbread, please) at Famous Dave’s BBQ.




The icing on it all was sharing it with KR, who is a wonderful travel buddy, navigator, and roomie. She surprised me with the most gorgeous shawl pin for my CPH while I was distracted by some Rowan Big Wool. Thanks Kat!



What else can I say, except, if you can plan for it and attend one of these, I highly recommend it. There is such an instant and genuine kinship that you could just stroll around for hours admiring people’s projects, or you can sit and knit at a table of complete strangers, and not feel strange about it in anyway, or you can fill your days with classes and courses for the things that you’ve always wanted to try but haven’t.

As for me, my 14 month yarn diet begins now. I feel really happy with what I brought home, and I’m going to commit to turning it into things that I will love even more. If it works out well, I’ll be attending Stitches East in Baltimore next fall. Maybe I’ll see you there?

Full Disclosure

Hello all, I'm blogging "live" from Chicago, IL...home to one of the great knitting events, Stitches Midwest. My girlfriend and I came for a long weekend to take some classes, buy some yarn, see the city, buy some yarn, visit with friends from my past, buy some yarn, and eat some great Chi town food, then buy some more yarn. I'll have more to tell once I'm home and things are settled a bit, but for now, here's a photo glimpse of our trip so far (all photos enlarge on click):

Back out here very soon. Be well!

Knitty's Amy Singer & Lettuce Knit Loot

I keep getting these great reminders of why traveling for work doesn't entirely suck.

First stop - Tim Horton's Doughnuts - a Canadian gem!

I crossed the Canadian border last weekend and found a fiber haven - none other than Stephanie's infamous hangout, Lettuce Knit in the coolest, very hip(pie)st part of downtown Toronto. What a treat! I had this on my Sunday plan just as soon as I found out I'd be traveling to TO (which was 2 days before the trip by the way), but here's a photo review of some of the unexpected treats that awaited me there.


Green Art


Lettuce Knit Yarn Shop

Denny, TO's coolest LYS owner

Upon entering the store, I overheard a a fellow knitter and Knitty fan, Julie talking with another person in the store. Julie was just so sweet and modest that when I saw who it was she was talking to - I realized the source of her shyness. Knitty's Amy Singer was in the house! After some chit chat and some truly admirable patience(we'll get to that in a minute), a great little story unfolded.




The story behind Julie's patience is that when she very modestly introduced herself to Amy, and Amy greeted her immediately like an old friend, I could see a HUGE photo opp awaiting us, so I offered to be the photographer (knitters, bloggers, you know how this works.) Well, wouldn't you know it - my camera batteries picked that very second to crap out. But I don't give up that easily. Julie was getting this picture, and if I was lucky, I'd get one too. It took me 3 trips to 3 different stores and alot of running down the streets of mid-town TO to get them, but batteries were procured and photos were taken. I didn't post Julie's photo here because (duh) I forgot to ask her permission to do so, but she has my blog address now, she'll let me know ;)

Knitty Buddies

So, the only thing that could come a close second to meeting Amy Singer in person, is NEW YARN!

HandMaiden Ottawa

My first Manos del Uruguay!
Traveling for business and pleasure - such a welcome combination when you're a fiber fan. As a Canadian citizen, there's a special place in my heart for Canucks who love the yarn and the needles. If you've never been, I highly recommend a visit - tell them I sent you!

Travel Tales / Super Saturday

Yesterday I returned from a 7-day trip away from home. Another one of my classic leisure/business combos. I found out that my friend Gia was going to DC for a conference and so I hitched a ride with another friend of ours from New Jersey into DC. We had a good time catching up and exploring some places in the city. We also spent some time with another couple of friends and their adorable baby Zora. Korey and Kishanna are expecting again this fall and it was great to see them.

DC festivities on a hot Saturday afternoon


The lovely Ms. Giavanni


Tunde & I with my knitting in public on World Wide Knit In Public Day


Kishanna, Korey, and little Zora

From the knitting bag, 2 main projects kept me company during the trip, the Forever Jacquard self-striping socks



and sock #2 in the Sangria Sock pair. Because the blue socks have both my KnitPicks size 1 (2.5mm) circulars in use, I ordered another 32# size 1 and will attempt to complete this sock using the Magic Loop method. My status over at the Stashalong depends on it. Wish me luck!



How are things in your neck of the woods?