Slow Saturdays

Good Morning! The first thing I have to share with you this morning is that I did an interview for Deborah over at interrobang knits this week! You can check it out on her blog here, she frequently posts about some really interesting topics so you should run over there even if you don't want to read about me. I was super flattered when Deb asked me to kick of this feature for her. I had so much fun answering the questions she sent over, I hope you enjoy reading my ramblings. I'm looking forward to reading about more people! And if this is your first time over here, welcome!



This weekend, I have actual knitting content for you! I was finally reunited with a camera. I'm posting from my deck while trying to dodge baby raindrops and getting ready to go for a run. It's almost embarrassing how little progress I've made on my Wicker Cowl, but at least I can say I'm over halfway finished. The pattern calls for 5 repeats of the lace pattern but I'm confident I can squeak out 6.



One of the things I love most about lace is how it so naturally pulls fabric into interesting directions. I'm loving the rippled edge on the bottom of this thing.



This project is also my first attempt at using the Zephyr Needles from Knitpicks. I had a bit of a startitis emergency at one of the houses I was cat-sitting at, but realized that I was in the house of a knitter and found these. I was expecting them to be pretty terrible and sticky, but I've been quite impressed overall. The movement is quite good, without being too slick. I think they would be great for working with slippery silks, but there is one flaw that would drive me over the edge with smaller yarns.



You can see right through the needle to the other side, and consequently the other half of the stitch. This project has been pretty easy in terms of having to monitor my stitches, and the yarn is large enough that it's not a huge issue, but I can foresee that driving me bonkers on some projects.



With that, I'm going to finish my breakfast which happily includes tea made from the monster mint plant growing in one of my boxes. All this rain we got has turned it into a beast. A tasty, tasty beast.


It's a chocolate mint plant, and I highly recommend getting your hands on one if you can. It grows like gangbusters with almost no effort and, while I loathe mint tea 90% of the time, makes fab non-gag worthy tea. Do you have any favourite homemade tea ideas? Once the sun comes out I'm planning on making some minty sun tea, but I'm stumped for now.

Happy Saturday! And don't forget to head over to interrobang knits!

Nostalgia etc.

While I really shouldn't be complaining that it's raining outside, since there are forest fires raging in Alberta,  but rain combined with having a summer cold is making today a bit of a downer. My grand plans to go to the market and go for a run were squashed, so now I'm sitting in bed, nursing my cold and queuing up a handful of movies to make the day go by. First on the docket is Amelie.



I can't count how many times I've watched Amelie on a dreary day like this. While it really elicits nothing but good feelings, it always makes me miss traveling so much. I can't really believe that it's been 4 years since I got home from a 6-month backpacking trip with James, and the more time passes the more we're itching to go somewhere. It doesn't help that I feel like I'm the only person who hasn't gone anywhere recently. It's alright though, I can console myself with photos.

Napping on the beach in Soulac-sur-Mer, France
So with that, I'll pull out my Wicker Cowl and pull up my blanket and snuggle with the kitty I'm temporarily watching. I hope you guys have a sunnier Saturday!

A Small Victory

Even though this happened 2 weeks ago now, I finally got the photos from my race! My dad showed up and served as acting photographer for my team, which worked out great because the corporate photographer was a no-show.



I wore my barefoots, and was the only person I saw running in them. I was really surprised by that, since these things are taking over the world.

My heat started last..


And 25 minutes later I made it back in. That shot is pretty harsh, and has been burned into my brain in such a way that I'm super self-conscious about my running form now. Why is my arm all the way over there, and mostly, where did my chin go? I have one, honestly.

I'm pretty proud of myself for finishing with that time. I ended up coming in 26/75 which isn't too bad for a first race. I may or may not already be looking at some more this summer. I'll be back soon with some real yarn-related content soon. I've been away from home and the camera isn't with me, which makes posting about my crafts pretty boring. Now, I'm going to enter a food coma... my softball team had the end of season dinner which consisted of me eating constantly through the whole Boston/Vancouver game. So full!

Happy Friday!