Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Hi Honey, I'm home!

Yes, I am still alive. Sorry I have been slacker blogger lately. I actually wrote a big long post last week, but I never finished it. So it has been deleted and I'm starting all over!

I just got home from a brief jaunt to the beach.
surf's up
Bethany

My family has been going to Bethany Beach, DE for over 20 years. I love it there, though it has gotten ridiculously crowded. My parents rent a house on the Salt Pond, which is bay side. It's about 5 minutes from the beach, but the Salt Pond is pretty in it's own right.

This is the view from my bedroom.
view from my room

For some strange reason, I got to be in the master bedroom. It had a balcony overlooking the pond, and this:
aahh the jacuzzi bathtub!

Why yes thank you! I will take the bedroom with the great view and the gigantic jacuzzi bathtub that overlooks the pond!

Staying with my family for any length of time is stressful, but I did manage to have some relaxing time to myself. There was shopping:
Sea NeedlesKnitty Gritty

I love Sea Needles. My family has been going there for years - primarily because they have a huge needlepoint/cross stitch selection. It's a cute little store with a nice variety. However, their sock yarn selection was not terribly impressive. Also, I went there with the intent of buying yarn to make Mariah from Knitty, but I couldn't find anything I really liked. Actually, I found some Cascade 220 in a really pretty charcoal color, but they only had 4 skeins of it. I did buy a skein of Austermann Step sock yarn, but I won't show post a picture because it is probably going to become a gift....

Knitty Gritty in Rehoboth was a nice shop too. I had never been there before. They have a lot of Cascade yarn, but sadly, not the pretty charcoal I am now going to obsess about. Their sock yarn selection was pitiful. I don't know if they just needed to restock, or what, but I was not impressed. But the shop itself was nice.

I also went to the Spinning Wheel in Fenwick (which does not seem to have a website.) There was an incredibly sweet woman working there with whom I chatted with for a very long time. I bought a pair of needles there, mainly because she was so nice. They have lots of Patons yarn there. Not much else.

When not touring the local yarn shops, there was much seaside knitting going on. In some lucky twist of fate, my new IK showed up in the mail the day before I left. (Hooray for Lolly, whose Project Spectrum got a nice write up!!! Hooray for Eunny for her two way cool lace articles!!!) I took the magazine with me to the beach, and had the foresight to pack up some yarn. So I cast on for the Swallowtail Shawl using some laceweight that I dyed at the class I took at MD Sheep and Wool.
sandy shawl
swallowtail shawlswallowtail shawl on the beachknittin' on the beach

Yes, I took a lot of pictures of it! I'm really excited to see how this turns out. The colors in the yarn are very vibrant, but I think it will be ok with the lace pattern. We shall see! This will hopefully be a Christmas gift. (look at me... thinking ahead!)

I also worked on the never ending Jaywalkers. I sooo want to be done with these silly socks!
Jaywalking in Bethany

I don't know why I'm not done with these yet. They are taking FOREVER! I'm tired of working on them. I'm bored of working on them!

I am actually headed back to the beach again this weekend. So hopefully there will much more beach knitting.

Last week when no one was looking, I knit up Mr. Stegs. (opens a .pdf file!) There are pieces of Mr. Stegs on my desk right now waiting to be sutured together. I started to assemble all the pieces, but the stuffing is showing through the knitting in a most unflattering way, so I think I'm going to have to line him. That may be a project for tomorrow and I will post pictures soon.

I have to get my entries together for the Howard County Fair. They have to be submitted at the end of the week. I'm taking the chicken, and maybe my Flower Basket Shawl. I love my FBS, but I'm worried that it's a little small. I am also contemplating taking a crocheted elephant that I made a while ago. But I think I can only enter one stuffed toy.

Well, I'm off to work now, so I shall leave you all with a few more beach shots!

wish I was here!nosy gullHottie lifeguard on the beach
(umm... Yes I did take a picture of the hottie life guard!)

5 Comments:

Blogger Amie said...

Ahhhh.... I lived right in that area (well, 15 minutes north of that area) when I learned to knit. The Knitty Gritty was my first LYS and I just got all nostalgic at that pic of it. Is it still run by a cute little man? I've heard that it's gone way downhill since I left, but I don't think I should be blamed entirely. It was lovely when I was there, and so cool and dark and cozy after the sunny boardwalk.

9:32 PM  
Blogger Diane Doran said...

Wow, you've been a busy girl! Glad you had so much fiber fun at the beach. I can't believe it's already time for the fair.

7:18 AM  
Blogger Stacey said...

Ahhh - I miss Bethany! It's only been a few weeks since I was back, but I want to go back!

I totally agree on Knitty Gritty in Rehoboth -they had nothing when I was there either.

I'm so jealous you are going back!! Soak up some rays and take a dip for me!!!

10:45 AM  
Blogger aija said...

Wow, jacuzzi bathtub abnd knitting on the beach! Sounds like a great time :)

2:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wo-how, what a great beach! Gosh, I'd so love to be there right now, it's so gorgeous! So good to hear that you had such a fantastic time and got a well-needed break - and thanks for sharing these most amazing pics! And you've certainly been a busy knitter too - great!

4:18 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home