(AMES)
I promise, I have not abandoned the blog. I love the blog! I’ll be back with fun things and pictures and other stuff post-bar exam. So, you know – Spring.
(aya here)
Poor neglected blog. Perhaps we should have named it that!
I believe that I left off with my new shawl-knitting addiction, which has continued unabated. In fact, the addiction may have taken an even deeper root with in me.
There’s been Citron:
And Daybreak (which I don’t like how I blocked, and have since reblocked to be a half circle):
Then there was my second Simple Things, which was a great pooling mess, and greatly loved by its recipient:
And my favorite shawl. My Flourish, which I just finished off this past week, and which I’ve already worn several times.
The picture doesn’t do it justice. I need to get a better picture outdoors, which maybe I will try and do today. The colors are gorgeous, and there is not a single bit of pooling in there. This was made using some light worsted yarn from Miss Babs, that I picked up at Rhinebeck in October.
While all this shawl-knitting was going on, I also managed to kick out a few Christmas gifts as well. My favorite being the clock cozy that I made to go with the zombie clock that I got my friend Jen. Really, it was perfect. She loved it.
I also made my niece a pair of socks. Non-wool, because she’s allergic (the tragedy!), and super-long to accomodate her large foot (size 11!). These socks got dubbed “The Knitted Present of Doom” because they SUCKED to make. 2×2 spiral-rib tube socks, about 20 inches long each:
These socks totally pushed me over the edge, and I made the decision that socks will never again grace the Prezzie Pile. Too much pressure. Here on out, the Prezzie Pile will consist of hats and mitts and all things non-sock.
There were a few other things that I knit up as well…a couple of hats, an ornament for my Christmas tree, a baby hat, and a reboot of my favorite socks that died back in 2010.
Now I’ve got a second mitten to knit, and I’m trying to decide what shawl to knit next. I’m also in the process of knitting up some large swatches (8×8) to frame and hang up. I picked up some cheap yarn in colors that coordinate with the colors in my living room, and they’re going to be hung up along the stairs.
So, what have you been knitting?
(aya)
I totally slacked off and never posted the rest of my trip. Maybe someday when the mood strikes, I’ll get back to it. Right now, I want to show you pics of the pretty shawl that I just finished. I’m in love.
Before it was blocked:
During blocking:
And blocked:
I am very happy with it!
Off to Rhinebeck next weekend, I’ll try and remember to post pics from that!
(aya)
Okay, it’s been a while….but to continue the vacation….
So, I last left off with us sitting on a bus, leaving Florence and trekking up to Venice. It was a long drive, but worth it. We made it to the hotel around 6 pm or so, had a bit of time to get our stuff off to the rooms, and then headed into the city proper.
There was a gondola ride planned – and how could I resist? Yes, it’s tacky-touristy, and the gondoliers are jaded, but it had to be done. We set off in about 8 gondolas, for a whirl around the grand canal….
Two of the other gondolas in our group. The gondolier on the right was actually on a cell phone most of the time.
You can see the water line on this building, to see how flooded Venice has become in the past. Definitely wouldn’t want to live on the first floor in any of these places!
And possibly not the second story either.
After the gondola tour, the group was heading out for a planned seafood dinner, which several of us decided to pass on. Instead, we went in search of pizza and beer. Our first pizza in Italy! The bier was damn good too!
So, that’s the end of the 4th day, actually. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel, where a group of us hung out in the bar until about midnight. Bright and early on the 5th day, we were up and out early, to catch the ferry to San Marco Piazza.
By the way, it’s typical of me to take really off-kilter self-photos. I sort of revel in them, and it’s my thing. :D
Anyway, the ferry to San Marco was a blast. It was already getting pretty hot out that day, and it shows in the hazy photos.
San Marco Piazza!
The day’s plan included an outdoor walking tour, and then a tour of a Murano glassblowing factory. After that, we had from around noon until 6 pm free to wander, and then it was off to Burano for dinner.
The tour guide was sort of boring, and hard to understand, so a lot of us weren’t paying much attention. Plus, it was really freaking hot, and she had us standing out in the hot sun. So, I have pretty pictures, but not any stories about them!
This is San Marco Church
The piazza. It was still early, so not as crowded as it would be later in the morning. Freaking birds everywhere, though!
The Bridge of Sighes, under renovation. I do know the story of this one. It was the bridge that prisoners were lead across, on their way to being sentenced to execution. It is said that as they crossed the bridge, they took one last look out over Venice and sighed.
The neat thing about all the construction/renovation work (throughout Italy) is that they didn’t have ugly scaffolding around the works-in-progress. No advertisements, no warning signs. They try to blend the stuff in – so here you see sky and clouds. In other places, they would put of these semi-sheer sheets that had the image of the buildings on them, so that it was almost an optical illusion. It was pretty neat.
After the guided tour, it was off to the glass factory:
The guy was making a pitcher. After he made it, he stunned us all by breaking it, in that bucket to the right there. The store had stunning stuff! I didn’t buy anything while we were there, but I ended up dragging my sister back, later in the day, to buy myself a small vase. I don’t have a picture of it, but I will take one soon, and post it. it was an expensive little vase, lol!
After this, we were left to our own devices. The group broke up, and we set out to wander.
Creeps me out how the statues on the top of the buildings all stared down at us!
The whole city is made up of bridges, which you can see in the background there. Just these little 8-10 step bridges that you crossed over, to another section of the city.
By this point in the day, it was around noon, and Venice was starting to get overcrowded. I don’t deal well with crowds, for long periods of time, so at this point we played “let’s get lost in the city” and whenever we reached a crossroads, we would always go the way that was less crowded.
Venice is a WONDERFUL city for just getting lost in! We twisted and turned throughout the city, wandering deeper and deeper into the less touristy areas. Little streets were more like alleyways, which would suddenly open up into little piazzas, or squares. Some of them would have outdoor cafes.
As we turned the corner on one, all of a sudden I saw a hand waving at me, from behind a big outdoor fan. Turned out to be Dan and Leslie, sitting down to have some lunch, and they invited us to join them.
It was a nice little breather! Another pizza, and some soda, and we were off on our separate ways, to get lost in the city again.
By this time it was about 2 pm. Blazing hot and completely packed with people. We decided to wander back to the main street along the canal, in the hopes of a breeze and a place to sit in the shade.
While my sister was off browsing in the stalls, I thought I’d go sit at the water’s edge, and dangle my feet (which by this point had completely developed cankles) into the water. When I got closer to the water, I realized two things. First, that the canal’s water was completely filthy and gross, and second, that the waves were a bit much.
I opted to camp out a bit away from the water, leaning against a lamp pole.
We spent the rest of the afternoon just hanging out in the piazza, people-watching, and it was a blast. At around 6 pm, we all gathered to hop another ferry, over to Burano for dinner.
It’s a riot because between all these little islands, they have ferry lanes. Just like driving on the highway.
As we were ferrying over to Burano, we’d pass these little sunken mini-islands, that at one time were only large enough to hold one building. Unfortunately, as time has gone by, the water has risen, and some of them are partially submerged, and crumbling away. It just amazes me that people live with such history, and with such old and new things jarringly up against each other. Italy fascinated me, it really did.
Anyway, it was off to Burano for dinner. Cute little fishing island:
Half the table was made up of Mormons (who don’t drink), and we had a birthday boy with us, Eddie, so we all passed him our after-dinner shots of Ameretto. He seemed to enjoy them!
We had a little time to walk around afterwards, so we did. My sister didn’t realize at the time that I’d 1) had a bit too much wine, and 2) that I’d made this face. Heh.
After our little walk, it was back to the ferry, to head back to the hotel.
Goodbye to Venice. :(
In the morning we were off to Orivietto and an overnight stay in Assisi.
Monday the 13th:
My flight out wasn’t until 6 pm, so I spent the day putzing about, and hanging out with the boys, whom I’d deposited off at my parents’ house the day before. We lucked out on our flight to Rome – it was a direct flight, and the plane was half empty. I ended up being able to snag two seats to myself, in the row behind where my sister and I were supposed to sit. We were the lucky ones on the trip – everyone else had at least one layover, and some had to take three different flights to get to Rome! My sister drugged me, so that I could try and get some sleep, but I only ended up only sleeping for about an hour and a half on the flight.
Tuesday the 14th:
Our flight got in an hour early, at the lovely time of 6:50 a.m. It took us about 7 hours to get there. We ended up having to wait for all the other flights to arrive, so that we could meet up with our group. By about 9 a.m., we were gathered and heading out to the bus. there was another group arriving, but not until later in the afternoon, so we were shuttled over to the hotel, and left to our own devices until dinnertime. Most people decided to stay in and rest, but a few people decided to stay up and explore a bit. Andrea and I decided to head into Rome to explore, with a couple of people – Stephanie and Terry.
(I will apologize right now because the new pop-ups for fb suck at copying urls, and flickr is being a b*tch right now and not letting me link easily, so my pictures may be a bit fuzzy and small.)
We took a taxi, and went to check out the Colosseum:
We saw the Forum:
We saw the Pantheon:
And we saw a building that we found out later is referred to as The Wedding Cake. It’s this big white monstrosity in the middle of the city, and we couldn’t escape it.
From the first day, until the day we left, it was sunny and hot. Barely any clouds were ever seen, and I think it only rained once, overnight, the whole time we were there. I probably spent about $75 euro in water while I was there. But I must say, I didn’t burn, I’m sporting quite the tan, and my hair got really light while I was there.
After spending the whole afternoon exploring, the four of us grabbed a taxi back to the hotel and met up with the group for dinner. By the end of dinner, I was desperate for either caffeine or sleep (I had the worst headache), because I’d pretty much been up since 8 a.m. the day before, with only 90 minutes sleep in there.
So I drank some italian coffee. black. It was harsh.
On the drive back to the hotel, after dinner, the bus driver Giulio (who rocked), swung through the Vatican so we could see it at night, all lit up, without the crowds. Dudes. We literally drove right into the piazza. It was awesome.
After that, we headed back to the hotel, where I crashed and burned at 11 pm. Wake-up call was at 6:30 the next morning.
Wednesday the 15th:
Up bright and early. Well it was early, but all I wanted was coffee. I had to settle for what they called “cafe americano” and a latte (steamed milk) and I put them together with a bunch of sugar. Wee little cups, I think I drank about 4 of them.
After breakfast, we were off to explore the Vatican!
We started at the Vatican Museum, and saw such unbelievable architecture. We explored for a couple of hours.
Then it was into the Sistine Chapel, where I totally got yelled at “NO PHOTO!” by the guards because I snuck this photo. Sadly it came out blurry because I was trying to sneak it on the down-low.
It’s amazing the color and clarity of the ceiling, since they cleaned it. They left several spots untouched, and I can’t even fathom how dingey it was before they cleaned it. How anyone saw it before it was cleaned was surely missing out. It was simply stunning!
After the Sistine Chapel, we were off to hang in the Piazza again, where we saw St Peter’s:
And since it was Wednesday, The Pope was doing the mass outside!
And check out how AWESOME my camera is. Pope up close:
Big honking Pope ring!
After the Vatican, we stopped for a late lunch, then it was off for a tour inside the Colosseum:
It was amazing. I wish we’d had more time to explore.
One of my favorite pics:
After the Colosseum, we could either take the cab back to the hotel, or get dropped off to explore on our own. We decided to take one of those hop on-off busses with Cathy and Chuck, and explore some more of the sites. We were left to our own devices for dinner that night.
So, off the bus, onto another bus (double decker, we sat on the top to catch a breeze), and we took off to see the Trevi Fountain:
And then took off on foot to find the Spanish Steps:
Then we stopped to have an adult beverage and a snack. I opted for an italian birra (beer) and some melon and prosciutto. OMG one of the best combos ever!
We meandered around a bit more, until about 8-9 pm, stopped and had some gelato. Of course, each of us ordered something different and sampled each others’. This was a trend that we continued for the rest of the trip. Almost every day we had gelato, and every day we tried something different and sampled each others’ gelato. YUM.
My old camera, which I decided to take with me when we went into Florence, crapped out on me that day. It started vibrating and shutting off, and I have no idea what happened to it. It works fine now. I’m blaming the heat.
We went to the museum and saw the statue of David, and it was unbelievable! Sadly, there were no pictures taken of it. :( I do, however, have a picture of the duplicate that was made to be put in the place of the original- it was originally outside in a piazza.
After that, we headed over to see the Duomo, which was part of the spectacular Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore.
The basilica:
And the Duomo:
Next up we walked around the piazzas, checking out all the sculptures that were outside. Stunning town. I wish we’d had more time to wander on our own, but we were only given about two hours.
And in that two hours, we decided that an adult beverage was called for. We started out with four of us, getting a drink, and ended up with a bunch more folks from the group:
Me and Andrea:
Cathi and Chuck:
Leslie and Dan:
Trish and Robert:
…and Stephanie and Terry also joined us, but I didn’t get their picture.
After that, we all went our separate ways, until we had to meet up around 6 pm, over by one of the churches. Where the vendors kept harrassing us to buy some canvases from them. Most of us declined, but Bob felt bad and purchased about 10 of them.
Oh, did I mention that the woman, Keri, who was our tour guide, is married to Richard Paul Evans? He’s an author that’s written a ton of well-known books (none of which I’ve read..)? They lived in Italy several years ago, and now she guides three tours a year. This tour her husband and son came with her. Here’s Rick:
After we all gathered, it was off to check out the city from a hillside overlook. Pretty stunning, huh?
After Florence, it was off on the bus again, to head towards Pisa for the next morning. We stayed in a cute old hotel in Montecatini that night. After dinner, we were left to our own device, which meant a stroll to the double-decker carousel, gelato, and hanging on the patio with some of the group.
The next morning, bright and early, we went to Pisa.
Just a little crooked. And this is it after it’s been fixed. It used to lean more, lol!
After Pisa, it was off to the bus again, for a semi-long drive to Venice. We got there a bit before 8 pm, and the pictures of that will have to wait until the next installment!
(aya here)
I thought I should put a post up, since I’ll be gone for almost two weeks. Sadly, the camera is packed, and I have no new pictures for you. I will say that all I’ve been knitting on is the second coming of my Favorite Zens, so because of that, I will refer you to this old pic, since the new sock looks exactly the same, except a bit longer in the leg. One sock down, and one to knit on when I get home.
For my trip, I’ve packed this yarn:
Some good ol’ Cherry Tree Hill, in Fuschia. Yeah, yeah. Doesn’t look fuschia here. But it is! I’m thinking it’ll be a simple pattern, since it’ll probably stripe a bit. I hope it stripes, and doesn’t pool. Possibly a simple 4-row repeat. I’m thinking the yarnover cable pattern for it. I originally had two skeins packed, but let’s be honest. I’m going to ITALY. There will not be much knitting that gets done.
ITALY.
Can you believe it? After six months of waiting since I booked the trip, I still cannot believe that it’s happening. Tonight. I leave tonight. Unreal.
I’m all packed and ready to go. The boys are at my parents’ house – they were brought over yesterday, and the place is so empty without them. My parents are so completely and totally going to spoil the grandbuns, I know! I’ll get to see them this afternoon, before I leave. I’m off to get a mani/pedi this morning, and then I’m just going to chill with the boys until it’s time to leave for the airport.
While I’m gone, one of my favorite peeps is going to have a birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMES! I hope it is a sparkly happy wonderful day for you. I loves ya! <3
(ames)
OK, I promised and now I deliver. Well, at least I deliver in part, as there are pictures that still need to be taken and uploaded and all that crap. I am absolutely going to spring for one of those Eye-fi memory cards that Addie told me about ages ago.
a. A Sock
So, aya gave me a skein of Madelintosh Sock in I believe the Fathom colorway. It’s a gorgeous skein of deep dark blue that desperately needed to be knit up now now now, and not left to age in the stash. I decided to go with a simple pattern that would also take me a step closer to a personal goal: the Cable Rib Socks from 25 Favorite Socks. My goal is to knit every sock in this book, and this one, when finished, will bring me up to six. Hm. I thought I’d knit more than that. ANYWAY, I have finished one sock, and it is cosy snuggly perfection. It is also extremely difficult to photograph, and frankly, Buddy didn’t make it any easier.
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b. Yarn and d. a gushing review
I recently spent a few days back in Chicago, and by “a few”, I mean “three”. My trip was very brief, but I managed to squeeze in a couple of hours at Windy Knitty, an absolutely charming LYS in Andersonville on the North Side. I made a special trip for this, because it’s owned by my dear friend and knitty girl, Mandy P. Andersonville has a strong Swedish heritage, and Windy Knitty’s blonde wood and open spaces fit right in. I mean, it doesn’t scream IKEA or anything, but it definitely has a put-the-fun-back-in-functional feel. I loved it. And I especially loved the opportunity to spend some time with Mandy, and I will have to visit for longer next time, so I can see ALL my knitty girls.
And of course, in between gossiping and chatting and catching up – I shopped. Mandy’s got a great selection, with a nice focus on local Chicago artisans. After much deliberation, I finally settled on a lovely pinkish-purpleish skein of sockweight by Fleur de Fiber.
(I also did some shopping on State Street, but let’s not go into that.)
And that is all for now! I am sleepy and have a very long day ahead of me tomorrow.
(ames)
Coming attractions to this blog include:
A sock
Yarn
Pictures of my bitcherie
A gushing review of a LYS in Chicago run by my friend Mandy
Fluff from Mom’s trip to Maryland Sheep & Wool
Hey, we have WIPs in knitting, why not in a knitting blog, right? :D
(aya)
I’m in a knitting funk. I am not enjoying any of the things that are in progress, and I am lacking the motivation to cast-on for something else. You should inspire me by showing me pretty pretty pictures of your WIPs and pointing me in the direction of a pattern that I should knit next. Oh, and also decide which yarn in my stash I should use. kkthx.
(aya)
I’m fully caffeinated and ready to type away! This was Hell Week Part 1 at work. I’ve been working on a beast of a project at work for three months now. Actually, this project was so big that it was broken into four child projects – two of which got assigned to me, and another of which I’m peripherally attached to. Next Fridays the deadline on them all, and I finally managed to get one document out the door this week, ready for review on Tuesday. The peripheral one is being reviewed on Monday. The other one assigned to me, also due Friday? I haven’t even started yet, ha ha ha! I am so screwed. Somehow I will manage to pull it off, but it’s going to be a close one, I’ll tell you that. So next week will be Hell Week Part 2.
In the meantime, however, I’m going to revel in my weekend. I’m getting my hair straightened tomorrow, and I’m very excited. Jackie is doing this thing called “Pravana Perfection” on it. It’s supposed to straighten my hair for three months, and it’s not supposed to be bad for it, like that keratin treatment one (which uses formaldehyde in it), because it’s got some amino acid stuff in it instead. Straight hair without the daily fuss! Woo!
Also on the slate for tomorrow, Busta’s former owner is coming to visit. She’s awesome, and she misses him so much, the poor thing. He’s going to love all the attention tomorrow, that’s for sure. He’s been prettied up for her visit. Busta’s a lot like Pigpen from the Peanuts, except instead of a cloud of dirt, he’s surrounded in a cloud of loose fur. The boy has shed massive quantities of fur NON-STOP since I adopted him last September. I brushed him tonight and had to clean the brush out four times before I was done. And guaranteed, if I brush him tomorrow, I’d get another 1-2 brush cleanings in.
Also on the docket for this weekend is some planting. I need to get my herbs started – I should have done this weeks ago. But with the OT that I’ve been pulling at work, I’ve just been too tired to devote time to it. Also, I have to transplant some stuff that Sonia gave me. I have a young cherry tomato plant to re-pot, as well as some sweet peppers and thai basil. I’ll actually have to go get a big planter for the cherry tomato plant. the herbs that I’m going to seed are: genovese basil (it’s got a nice peppery smell to it), green pearl parsley, dill, mesclun (okay, not an herb, lol), arugula (also not an herb…see I’m learning gardeny things), lavender, and spearmint. All stuff that’s rabbit-friendly, which is why I started growing herbs two summers ago.
I suppose that I should also clean-up my back garden/patio area, if the weather cooperates. Let me tell you, it hasn’t been lately. Mid-May, and we’re still averaging 40s in the morning, and mostly 50s and 60s during the day….if we’re lucky. It’s been rainy and cold and pretty much dreary for two months now. I am ready for summer!
There hasn’t been too much knitting going on here. I finished a single sock, and am not at all pleased with it. It’s fun Trekking XXL yarn, in sort of a fall colorway, but I made the mistake of doing a short-row heel instead of an afterthought one. Wrong move. I suck at short-row heels, and I don’t enjoy them. I have big gaping holes along the short-rows, and BLEGH. The second sock is most definitely being done as an afterthought heel. I’ll have to break the yarn, to get it to cooperate and line up with the first sock, but so be it. Remind me to never even contemplate a short-row again! See?
Lord, my leg is pale there.
