I am beginning my long trek to the eastern region of our fair country at approximately 6:55 pm PDT this evening.... and I'm so excited!! I hope I'm prepared, I feel prepared, so I should be prepared. We will see about that. I have about an hour after I'm done with work to figure it all out before heading to the airport. I have three skirts and one dress packed for the trip (along with a couple pairs of jeans). I'm anxious to experience a New England Fall!! Of course I will be toting along my chunky malibrigo cabled scarf I have been diligently working on. Hoping to get it done while I'm in New York, because I have someone special in mind I would like to give it to!! I will also be bringing along some fingerless mitts to work on - a project I started during the rainy part of June, but quickly dropped as soon as the sun came out. Fall in New England is the best time/place to pick them up again =)
So. I've been planning this fabulous trip to New York City and Providence, RI to see family. I'm pretty excited. I leave the night of the 18th .. I think ... whatever next Tuesday is, arriving at LaGuardia at 9am on Wednesday, staying with my grandparents in Manhattan, traveling up to Providence to stay with my cousin for the weekend, then coming back to stay in New York until I fly back to Spokane on Tuesday the 25th. Whew! Yes, I'm pretty excited. I've let family know I will be around their neck of the country, but have no solid plans yet. I am actually hoping to enjoy a quiet, relaxing trip. If that's possible in NYC, I am determined to find out!!
Oh! And about my sudden occurance, I'm thinking that Manhattan *should* have some pretty fantastic yarn shops :) While I am accustomed to the down-home feel of the yarn shops in my neck of the woods, I am curious to see what an uppity SoHo shop is like. Does it have an extra measure of sophistication? Do they have more greyish colors? How much more expensive could they possibly get in the world of specialty yarns? Are there coffee shops near by? Are they extra artsy? I had more questions pop into my head earlier, but I've forgotten.
Another thought for now... Starbucks bags work well for carrying some of your small knitting projects around. Gave me an excuse to go buy some really expensive coffee :)
I made it into a scarf. I finished the knitting part about 6 months ago. It's been wallowing in the chaos that is my room ever since then. Just got it out today to block and finish. Since it was only about half a skein, it's a pretty short scarf, so I attached a button to make it come together and I love it! Going to wear it tomorrow with a grey t-shirt :) perfect for my favorite time of year - Autumn!
I used the scrunchable scarf pattern I found on Ravelry - the hyperlink to the orginal pattern doesn't seem to be working though, so here's what you do:
Cast on a multiple of 3 sts (plus one on each edge for a selvage. I slipped the selvage stitch at the end of my rows to make it smoother) The pattern repeat is just K2, P1 - on both sides. Because you are working with an odd number of sts, you get a column of knit sts, a column of purls, and a column of moss st. It pleats itself and its reversible, but its very flexible.
This got me thinking of how much I really love the color yellow and a certain poem by Emily Dickinson and a certain sunset from one of the best sunset spots in my geographical area, Spade's Mountain watchtower ~ Enjoy <3
Ok. I will be the first to admit that I'm probably the worst blogger ever. and the worst knitter ever. Now that my unintentional 6 month knitting sabbatical (yes, I was shocked when I counted it out too) is over, I believe I should be better. My excuse? Well, the weather got nice. And anyone who knows anything about the Inland Northwest knows that when that occurs, you best take advantage of it. So I've been taking every opportunity to go on little mountain adventures and bigger trips across the ocean to Hawaii, etc; and the rest of my free time has been wrapped up in editing pretty pictures from all those adventures. Plus, I have not figured out how I'm going to organize my stash!!!! It's still in boxes behind the door of my room :| Soooo.. I'm thinking my 2011 knitting wishlist will be pushed to 2012.
I'm starting fresh. and - my re-debut project isn't even on my list.
It's a pretty simple cabled scarf, using some lusciously chunky Malibrigo yarn (in "Red Java") and has been just the thing to get me back in the mood of Fall knitting.
In light of all this, I would also like to take this opportunity to honor a dear friend of mine who recently passed away in a tragic motorcycle accident. RPD patrol officer, Jonathan Franco of Rathdrum, Idaho made every effort to bring joy and encouragement to everyone around him, usually by the severe overuse of Facebook smileys and Facebook "likes". He was quite the adventurous type and most definitely inspired and encouraged that trait in me as well. He took a keen interest in my knitting aspirations, complimented my work and said it was good that I was so industrious with my hands :) He even asked me, "why is yarn so darn expensive?..." and effectively dodged my response inquiry of "what expensive yarn have you been around lately?"
He was a man of faith and integrity who really took the time to get to know you as a person. He loved well. He received love well. He opened his heart and his home to everyone. He was one of those people you could talk to about ANYTHING without fear of judgment or harsh rebuke. You could ask him ANYTHING and expect an honest answer, although it was sometimes indirect or sprinkled with humor, as appropriate :) ... One thing that I noticed looking back on our correspondences, was how much he encouraged qualities in me that pointed to my identity in Christ, and affirmed me, showing me that I could have confidence in who God made me to be. That encouragement is now helping me be strong in the face of his loss. He was a curious individual, unabashedly asking me my thoughts on deep theological matters as well as pointed questions on the specifics of my personal testimony. That man definitely left this earth knowing more about me than I ever learned of him. I only knew him for 10 short months, and I believe changed my life for the better; I stand either babbling nonsense or awkwardly speechless with the people who knew him for years - I appreciate their grace & patience with me in that. I had the privilege of hangin' out with him with a friend the night before the accident.. We discussed various topics like our thoughts on the Healing Rooms, "heart checks", wireless routers, guns, our personal baptism experiences, artistry & the heart of God, and spontaneous road trips. Good stuff.
God knew I needed that.
He knew I needed a friend like Jonny.
Jonny is greatly missed among his friends, family and community.
Yes, I'm aware that's a bit of an understatement.
Jonathan Mathew Franco | November 30, 1983 - September 24, 2011
