Fo: Quick and Dirty Cardigan

Nothing I'm really proud of, but I whipped this up in the time it took for the sun to go down and for a chill to set in. I love little cotton sweaters in summer, but I hate working in cotton, so I usually just go out and purchase said sweater. Cotton yarns feel ropey and tough and inflexible in my hands, and some cottons are better than others. This was not one of the better ones.

It used up about 600 yards of heavy-ish cotton yarn. It took it forever to dry when I blocked it. It's just an easy, throw-on sweater with 3/4 sleeves.

Sox on the Beach

What better way then to escape the November chill than to fly down south and spend the weekend at the beach?

Actually, I can think of lots of better things. Like dental appointments and getting ingrown toenails righted, but no matter. The weather was beautiful and I cast on for some socks.



They are the Lenore Socks. I'm using a skein of Socks That Rock lightweight in the "Blackbird" colorway. This was a sock club mailing from last year that was paired with a pattern from Cookie A. I thought the pattern was too complicated for me to tackle as a travel project, so I cast on for this one instead. I love the color- there's green and purple and reds and blues all mashed in there, but very subtle.



I cast on two at a time, and I actually have the heels turned already. They progress very quickly, and have a simple lace pattern that is fairly mindless.



Which is good, because sun tends to make me woozy when paired with a few stiff drinks, and I didn't really have the concentration thing going on.





I also made it to the Morikami Japanese gardens. How wonderful is that?

FO- Anastasia Socks

All this handpainted yarn is getting to me! I love the way it looks on the skein (oooh, colors!) but a lot of times you have to do the most simple of sock patterns in order for the whole thing to not give you a headache. I'm starting to like plain, solid colored sock yarn.

Yet, here I am, with a whole bin full of multi-colored sock yarn. What is a girl to do?


This was a skein from last years BMFA Rockin' Sock Club. I liked the pattern by itself, and I was okay with the purpley yarn, but when I started knitting, I was quickly overcome with doubt. The lace pattern got lost in the dark stripes. I frogged those socks and found a new pattern for the yarn.

I found the Anastasia pattern by Minty Fresh. The simple spirals worked well with variegated yarn while not putting me to sleep.


I cast them on during a weekend trip to Sag Harbor while waiting forever for a table at brunch.

By the next weekend, they were done.



I did these toe-up, two at a time on 2 circs. I was really happy with the pattern/yarn combination.



There is something oddly compelling about spiral patterns. Once I start them, I feel as though putting them down for a break would somehow interrupt the spiraling process...so I just keep going.



These are destined for giftdom. I won't say to whom.



The specs:
I used 1 skein (360 yards) of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight in the Pepe Le Plume colorway.

Needles were 2.25mm (US 1) circulars- the Addi Lace variety. I am going to need to rave about these in a future post as they are my new favorite sock needles.

These are part of my A-Z stashdown. I have two more skeins of BMFA lightweight to knit up- I saved my favorite colorways for last.

The Camaruge

On the south coast of France in the Rhone river delta is the Camaruge. It's an enormous mosquito-filled salt plain and marsh.





It's noted for being a bird habitat, especially to PINK FLAMINGOS!







Hundreds of them. This pleased me to no end.







The first time I saw them fly by, I had to laugh. They looked so unlikely to be suspended in the sky like that.

Most of the land in this area was the protected Parc Naturel Régional de Camargue, but there were some nifty nature centers and trails. Mostly, the ferocious local mosquito kept this from being a leisurely pleasure walk and more of a harried slap-dance through the bush.

The region has a lot of salt-producing plains (a lot of French Sea Salt comes from this area) and delicious black bulls (the restaurants in nearby Arles specialize in gardiane de taureau) that they breed mostly for the bloodless bullfights traditional to the area.





They weren't really something I were going to test my bravery out on.


phare de la gacholle

There were amazing remote beaches. This one we walked 4km to get to.



It was like a moonscape.



Not too many other people had decided that taking a 4km hike to the water was worth a day at the beach, so it was declared a naked beach. How fun is that?

The water was amazing, by the way. Bathwater warm and gentle surf made the brutal hike worth it.

There were lots of pretty Camaruge horses to be seen. There are feral managed herds running free, but it's also the only domesticated breed of horse in the area.





The foals are born brown or black, and gray with age.






These guys were glossy and fat living on the bruised fruit from a farmstand.



I did get some knitting done during all this running around:



It was so hot and sunny there, the idea of ever wearing any knitware again was absurd.

Vacation. Again.

I have some catching up to do methinks. I'm on vacation this week and knitting up a storm- a good way to spend a day at the beach. Or, um, several days at the beach. One thing that never ceases is that I never, ever get sick of just sitting on the beach. If I have an ocean to stare at, I probably wouldn't get any real work done at all.

















I'm so relaxed I don't even know how I can be sitting upright right now.

Memorial Day

We spent a beautiful weekend in Eastern Long Island.




Sun, sand, surf. Good friends. Good food.






The weather was perfect for sleeping outdoors, and waking to the chorus of birds each morning was amazing.




© Cheryl Pawlowski



© Cheryl Pawlowski

It made everyone have a collective sigh of, "Ahhhhhhh...Summertime" with a blissful smile.

Also, I cast on for a pair of socks. It's the only project small enough to fit in my bag when I'm traveling and I couldn't resist.