Cold and breezy,....so I made a hat pattern in one day and wore it to bed that night. Brr!
This one is Chunky Knit Beanie, from a friend to knit with (link on the right). Free and easy pattern!
Paulette's Cap is complete. This is my first ever hat! Made for a friend at work who is going through chemo, I'm hoping this acrylic/wool/viscose blend will feel nicely on her head. Made from Patons Shetland Chunky Tweed in deep red on size 8 and size 10 circulars. I knit it in the round with no seaming.
It varies somewhat from the pattern because I did the first part of it on the plane and I modified the pattern rows a bit, but it adds variation!
T'was a good snowy day for modeling a hat!
this is the beginning of "Poppy". After seeing others do this one on Ravelry I was so excited to make it, and was delighted to have found the book: "Yarn Play/Yarn Play at Home", by Lisa Shobhana Mason, at my local bookstore on sale with this pattern in it. This sweater was created with the idea that you would use your leftover stash to make it. This is the body done in vertical striping with a main color and contrast colors added, and purl ridges added randomly. It is knit this way until you have a tube long enough to fit around your middle.
Then the yoke and sleeves will be added on top. In between wedding planning and such, and finishing that other hat, I am poking along. It is nice not to have to think too hard on this one and watching the colors change.
Arriving at San Diego we were greeted by lovely sunshine and a wonderful hotel on the Pacific Beach.
Pacific Terrace Hotel...
The view from our room was spectacular. Reminded me of being in Hawaii. We used to live in CA, but not on the coast. This was just super, right on the water and the sound of the surf was so relaxing. The sand was very clean. Tons of surfers out there. And pelicans too!
I love the look of palm trees. I think they are like woven art!
Looking up at the hotel from the beach. Looks like we are on a cliff, but we had stairs to get down!
So happy to be warm! Yahoo!!
Here's the plane project-a hat-which I was working on and now have it stuffed in a bag. It was making me mad and was supposed to be an easy thing to work on and I kept messing it up after joining in the round. After all the complex patterns I've just done, it cracked me up that I couldn't do this hat. Maybe later. 
Well never mind, we walked a few blocks into town and found the Starbucks, with outdoor seating and adirondack chairs and I was happy again. Besides, next stop was the yarn shop right in town across the street.
This was Needlecraft Cottage-full of yarn and needlecraft items. Unfortunately I only had about 5 min. to rush into this store. So I didn't buy anything there this time around though I eyed a few things.
Our second day, we thought the weather would be cloudy and rainy, but it was sunny again. We took a little drive up to Encinitas where I had looked up a few yarn shops.
My dear hub took a walk around the block while I went in to look at yarn at the first stop. He discovered a park nearby. I love the flowers that grow in the warm climates.
My first stop was the Black Sheep and I got a little bit of Noro Silk Garden here and looked around quite awhile. They had some nice yarns in here. I didn't see Cascade or Plymouth. But a ton of other varieties!
Next stop was the Common Threads and it didn't look that big from the street, but had rooms in the back. I would've stayed longer to linger over the wools, but had to move fast and grabbed some Berroco Palace in brown and a few Noro Silk Garden skeins. They had great walls of wools and I hated to leave. I was happy to find out that knitters make sweaters in CA too. Even though it's hot and they told me it's mostly for the creative outlet! I have in mind a sweater using both yarns I found today.
Some of my stash of the Noro Silk Garden from the day...
And the combination of my purchases in a nice little pile. I think the hat will stay in the bag and I'll start the sweater now!
The sights are many at Pacific Beach. Here's the Crystal Pier.
People actually rent the cottages out on the pier. We took a walk on the beach underneath it. I had never been underneath a pier.
Other sights you may sees are runners, boarders and the occasional older man dancing on his rollerblades in sort of a slow-mo Tai Chi type of thing along with music.
Restaurants are plentiful. We enjoyed this one -JRDN in the 23 Tower building.
Lemon brulee over blueberries in a tart...
The walls in the restaurant change colors and were very cool. This is actually us at our table reflected in the window...Kind of artsy, huh?
This was hub's favorite color change. It would make a great "screensaver."
Another eatery was in the Firehouse -actually connected to a real working firehouse! Outdoor seating was up on the deck, and that's where we ate.
Embarrassing to say, but the greatest thing we ate -and we had some amazing food on this trip-were these homemade little corn dogs! Everything at this place is homemade; the dressings, and sauces...You will just have to take my word on it or go try them yourself!
We had to try the coffee at the Pacific Bean, home of the World's Greatest Mochas. They were very good and had alot of types to try such as Ghirardelli's or mexican mochas...all the flavors you can imagine.
Every morning people lined up for breakfast at this place called Konos. They served cheesy eggs and potatoes and we went there twice.
This is very typical seeing the bikes people use to get around everywhere. And here's the breakfast. Very good stuff!
One morning we were also joined by a parrot, named Dry Rot, as he had once lived on a ship. He was very friendly and ate his own breakfast along with us and his owner. Never a dull moment for us on the trip!
The sunsets were beautiful and we caught one on camera here from the hotel.
Our last night we ate at this place -World Famous-since someone we met recommended it. The food was good, and it was a popular place. We ate outside in a covered patio and enjoyed people watching.
A local biker gave us a show as he did tricks on the cement wall...and then a fire torch juggler showed up and gave a show too, but those pictures came out too dark. It was a regular circus down there!
The real show stopper was the sunset...a nice ending to a lovely and warm trip.
Too short of a time away, and now it's back to cold Seattle again. I dug my fleece out of my suitcase... and my gloves. I hear snow is coming our way again. BRR!! Only one consolation. I guess that means it's still sweater weather!