Sneak Preview: Mrs. Jardine

   I am very excited to tell you guys about my newest pattern that will be released very soon. I am just waiting for my boyfriend fiancé husband (someday I will get used to that) to finalize a few more photos. But here is a preview for you guys:

   This sweater is a prime example of necessity as the mother of invention. The yarn store where I work, Passionknit, had just four skeins left of this gorgeous purple yarn (Madelinetosh DK in Vishnu). So I decided that I needed to come up with a sweater that would only take me four skeins. Of course the best way to make sure I had enough was to use a fabric that was very open. I picked out one of my favourite lace patterns, grabbed a needle one size larger than the yarn called for and got to work. The product was a loose open sweater that makes a great lightweight top for Spring. I hope you will like it as much as I do.

   While I knit the sweater out of a wool, it would also look great in a cotton or bamboo blend. Something even lighter would make it perfect for the warm months to come, though its hard to believe the crazy winter we have had in Toronto this year will ever loosen its grasp on us. We can only hope, and knit.

Day Four

This was a big day for us; we were going to do something we never really do: exercise. One of the first activities Alex suggested for our trip was going on a bike tour across the Golden Gate Bridge. This made me nervous for a couple of reasons. 1) I don't like heights and the Golden Gate Bridge looks like this:

2) We don't bike. I haven't been on a bike in years. This is not to say that I was afraid I had forgotten how, the statement "its like riding a bike" didn't come from nowhere. But I knew I would not be good at it. In addition to being tall that bridge is also long. I had a feeling this was going to prove to be a challenge for me stamina-wise. In addition the idea of a tour, where we were biking with other people made that whole bit worse. The idea that I might be out of breath, trying to keep up only to get to the rest spot to find a bunch of grumpy in shape people who were already bored of waiting for me by the time I got there never mind letting me catch my breath before we all moved on to the next part where I would quickly fall behind once again. I imagined them saying things like "Oh the Jardines are behind again, guess we will have to wait some more" in exasperated tones.

3) These tours are pricey, and the idea of doing something that made me nervous was one thing, but spending a bunch of money on it was adding insult to injury.

 But it was the one thing Alex really really really wanted to do. Now my cousin had been to San Francisco with his wife, and when he heard we were going the one bit of advice he gave me was if you bike over the Golden Gate Bridge take a tour. They had gone on their own and gotten very lost. They almost didn't make it in time to catch the ferry that takes you back to the city. Now my lack of physical fitness is second only to my complete and utter lack of a sense of direction. So I knew if a normal person got lost, I pretty much had no chance of getting there. So I was ready to listen to his advice, and spring for the tour, mostly.

   So Alex and I walked down to the water a bit after breakfast, and walked up to the first bike rental booth we saw. The young gentleman there was extremely friendly. He said his company did not offer tours, but that it was a very easy route to follow, and he would give us a map and walk us through it before we left. We were convinced. After all, I thought, I had Alex with me, and his sense of direction is actually very good. We also figured we had our iPhones, and in an emergency we could turn on roaming data and use the gps to find out way. I honestly don't know how I ever successfully arrived anywhere before turn by turn directions. So off we went.

   It was a long ride, and getting up to the bridge was super difficult. I wimped out and walked my bike a few times going up those hills. But it was nowhere near as hard as I thought it would be. And though the bridge was very tall, it didn't seem as scary as I thought it would. We made it to Sausalito, walked around for a while, and then caught the ferry back to San Francisco with time to spare. In the end this was my favourite day of the trip.

Remember Knitting...

  I originally thought this blog would be about knitting, not just an excellent chance to journal about my trip. So here is what I have been working on: a sweater for my husband, my wedding present to him and some socks. 

Pattern: Hugo by Veronik Avery
Yarn: Madelinetosh DK in Whiskey Barrel

Pattern: Hedera by CookieA with minor modifications for lengths and toe.
Yarn: Stricken Smitten Sinful Sock in Scheherezade's Sky
(this was from 2012 CookieA sock club)

   The sweater is turning out great. I even went whole hog, and did the tubular cast on the pattern recommends, which is a pain in the behind, but also makes a very nice edge. I will say that since this pattern is done in pieces, working back and forth for the tubular cast on was much easier than doing it in the round. I just found the hole thing less confusing. I will be modifying the sleeves for in the round anyways; I love the guy but there is only so much seaming I am willing to tolerate. 

   The socks are pretty. I started them just before the wedding because I wanted something simple but not boring in a colour that went with my colour scheme. The picture above is not a great representation of colour, but they are more purple than blue. The yarn came from the CookieA sock club, and I didn't want to make the patterns that went with that shipment. So I thought doing another CookieA pattern would be thematic. 

Day III Drive

    So I can't commit to a numbering scheme, I like variety anyways...

   One of the things Alex was most looking forward to was driving along the California coastline. So we rented a Ford Mustang, which apparently are all rental cars. And we drove twisty roads that had giant cliffs off the side and no guard rails even on the bridges. I was a wreck the entire time, and if it weren't for the few breaks we took to admire the scenery and take photos I probably would have passed out. But the pictures were gorgeous!

 

   But before we got to these twisty roads of death and the lovely vistas, we headed to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. As we were driving through a mostly residential area, I suddenly cried out "Yarn Store!" like a sailor calling out "Land!" I hadn't been in a yarn store in over a week through all our crazy planning and wedding stuff. Fortunately Alex knew exactly whom he had married, and without argument or question he found a place to park. 

   The Twisted Stitch is a lovely little shop. We found some lovely hand dyed sock yarn, some of which came home with me and some ended up as a gift for my maid of honour. 

   Pictures a little fuzzy, but one of those skeins is already gone, so thats the only one with all three. Then we went to the aquarium. There were some really great tanks with fish and sharks and jellies, but my favourite was this guy:

   He moved around quite a bit. It was awesome. 

Day 2 - St. Patrick's Day

   Bit of trivia for you: I was due on St Patrick's Day, and that is why I am named Patti. The other name my parents were considering for a girl was Clair, so I am eternally grateful to St Patrick. (Say Clair Waters out loud, yeah that would never get old.)

   Our big adventure for the day was going to the California Academy of Sciences, which was way more awesome than it sounds. The main attraction there was this huge rainforest exhibit that was filled with plants and birds and butterflies all open and flying around you. We saw this guy:

  There were also lots of creatures on display in smaller terrariums (terraria? if you took latin you know thats right) like these guys:

We also went on a bit of a shopping expedition, and rode the old fashioned trolley on the way back. We were totally holding onto the sides for dear life as the trolley rocketed down the steep streets of San Francisco. It was fun, but a bit scary at times!

Day One

   If the success of a marriage was based on the number of people that offered their well wishes, congratulations, and general positive energy, Alex and I would be set. The number of people who have taken the time to send positive messages our way has been staggering. I know I am not the first to say this, but knitters are good people. I wish I could address some heartfelt thank you's to each and every message that has come my way, but I think my fingers would fall off from all the typing. Also, when would I have time to knit? So I hope that many of you will find my thank you here, and I will continue to regale you about our honeymoon.

   We arrived in San Francisco very late the day after our wedding. We checked in at the hotel, and collapsed. In the morning we got up bright and early, something we do not usually do but 3 hours of jet lag that makes what feels like 11am actually turn out to be 8am will do that to a person. We had decided that our first day here would be for exploration only. We would not commit to any particular plan or activity, allowing us a break to just relax and take it all in.

   We found a beach!

   A little history: I grew up in Massachusetts, and my father grew up on the island of Martha's Vineyard, long before it was a popular tourist destination. Shortly before I was born my parents bought a small plot of land in Edgartown and built a little house. They hired an electrician and a plumber, but the majority of the work they did themselves. All this is to say that I grew up spending every summer on Martha's Vineyard, but not in the tax bracket you might imagine would align with such a childhood. I love the ocean, and living in Toronto I miss it terribly. People make a big fuss about this lake we have, but its not the same. Nothing smells like the ocean. Even this ocean, which is not the ocean I grew up with, filled the little hole in my heart that gets bigger every time I hear the word beach used in reference to a lakeside sandbar. 

   So we found a beach, a real ocean beach. It smelled like the beach. I immediately removed my shoes and put my toes in the water. There is nothing on this earth that feels quite as right to me as sand between my toes and ocean waves lapping at my heels. Eventually Alex pried me away from the water, and we walked around some more. 

   In the afternoon we took a ferry tour of the bay, and we spent the evening wandering around the tourist trap of Fisherman's Wharf. All in all it was a great day, nothing too involved and a leisurely pace. Very relaxing. 

History

I was wondering where I should start, and it hit me, the beginning, duh. Just over five years ago I moved to Canada to get my MA in psychology. I was following my undergraduate thesis advisor, and didn't know anyone else in Canada when I moved. Of course I met people at school, but I knew I needed to find my tribe, the knitters. Shortly after arriving and getting more or less settled, I signed on to Ravelry and looked for local knitting groups. The closest one I found was in a coffee shop at the centre of town, so I showed up one night. I ended up meeting that night the man who would be my husband, the woman who would be my maid of honour and the man who would be my husband's best man. That night I realized I would be ok here in Canada, I had found the people who could make this place feel like home. Here they are:

Emily, with knitting, a coffee, and her cell phone. That's her. (Maid of honour)

 Joel, I think he's got a cat there. It might be my Steven. Apparently we never photographed Joel much, cause thats the only picture I could find. (Best man)

And this is my Alex. Yup he knit that sweater himself. Sorry, ladies, he is taken! (Pattern is from a Patons classic booklet, and yarn is Patons Canadiana)

And just to be fair, here is a picture of me from back then as well. (That's a Rogue Hoodie I am wearing out of Cascade Sierra.)