Aloha!

Aloha! I know - it's been so long since I've posted on line. Best intentions, and all that you know. In fact, I thought I might just designate November as "NaNoWriBloMo" - i.e. - National No Write Blog Month", since I haven't written since (gasp!) mid-October.

Quick recaps:

1) Knitting - Yup: I've finished at least one project that I haven't shared yet & of course photos are on my computer at home. So - take my word that I finished "The Wonderful Wallaby". I knit a size 4, which really looked like a size 2. So - since I don't have anyone suitable for such a small sweater, I donated it to my children's school auction.

2) Non-Knitting: I took a sewing (gasp!) class at our local quilt/knit shop to learn how to make a Kuspuk (a traditional Alaskan garment). It is really cute & pretty darned easy to make. I've finished one for me, one for my 9 y.o (for their Alaska studies project) & have 2 more in progress. Photos to share upon my return home...

3) Vacation: The fam & I flew to Kauai last Sunday for a Thanksgiving vacation. It's similar to a vacation we took w/friends 3 years ago. Unfortunately we weren't able to coordinate travel plans with our friends for this trip. Fortunately we were able to travel with hubby's family. It's a nice treat as we haven't spent Thanksgiving together since we were in college.

Day 1: Day at the Beach

Fun in the sun. Iain's suitcase didn't make it to Kauai on the first day, so no swim shirt for him. Lots & Lots of SPF 50 sunscreen in it's stead. I think you can easily spot the Alaskans at the beach - glaringly white (yet healthy!!) skin.

We got up close & personal with a Sea Turtle - very cool! Throughout the day we spied several turtles close to shore in addition to 2 Monk seals.

Day 2: Trip to the North Shore

On our last trip to Kauai, we stayed mostly on the south shore & didn't venture past Lydgate state park on the east shore. We decided to drive north to the end of the road (literally!) to "see what we could see". We knew the beaches wouldn't be conducive to swimming (HUGE waves due to winter storms), so we opted for a hike on the north end of the Napali coast.

We only hiked about 2.5 hours & maybe went a total of 2.5 miles ??? Lots of up, up, up & after the previous weekend's rain, lots & lots of mud. Slippery conditions, but the views were spectacular. Just like Jurassic Park.

This is one of the caves/tunnels near the end of the road. Don't drink the water - Leptospirosis lurks within.

Knitting - the drive to & from the north shore took a few hours - a great opportunity to knit on my vacation project - Holidazed, the November RSC 2008 installment. I was able to finish the foot, turn the heel, & finish the flap before we returned home. It's a bit long, but not too big that I feel the need to rip back. I'm choosing to knit this from the toe up which has been a bit of a challenge. I'm knitting the 56 stitch size, meaning 28 stitches per needle (I magic loop). However - the pattern is a 8 stitch repeat. Hmmm - I know I haven't taught math in a while, but I'm pretty darned sure that 28 is NOT divisible by 8. Arghhh - so, in order to center the pattern on the instep, I used 2 stitches on either size of the 24 stitch (which IS divisible by 8) pattern as a 'frame'. I choose to alternate 2 rows of knits w/ 2 rows of purls for the "wing" stitches. So far so good - now that I'm on the leg, I've just adjusted accordingly & now use only the charted pattern. Here's what it looks like so far....

Well - the photo was taken in haste & only shows the pattern. Oh well - I'll share more later.

Okay - off to the beach!

Aloha!