The Sock's Oregon Vacation, part two

Oh yeah, so the sock got to go on some outdoor adventures, too. (I've been busy finishing sock #2, so cut me some slack on my blog slacking, please!) Even if it had never left the yard, it would have been content with some beautiful foliage.


Calla and St. F


Hydrangea


Stargazer Lily


Not only that, but it also got to go the Oregon coast, in Pacific City. It was gorgeous, we didn't get rained on (!), and the Pelican Brew Pub is right on the beach. We had the Doryman's Dark Ale and the Tsunami Stout, if memory serves. This was right after watching the doryman land on the beach.


The beautiful, yet chilly, Oregon coast


Surfers!

Apparently, this is the stretch of Oregon coast that has the most shark attacks.


The sock watched from the car as we hiked down to Crater Lake later in the week, but it did enjoy the view as we drove around the rim.


Wizard Island in Crater Lake


Crater Lake


Llao bait


And last, but not least, it enjoyed the starkly beautiful landscape of the high desert near Bend, Oregon, while those less claustrophobic than I enjoyed some of the local caves.


High Desert


So Brave

It was a truly, truly wonderful Oregon vacation! Good company, good coffee and beer, good food, and lots and lots of fun times, inside and outside. And sock knitting time, we mustn't forget that!

The Sock's Oregon Vacation, part one

Though I neglected to actually photograph the sock while it was being knit on its very own spectacular Oregon vacation, rest assured that it was shown a really good time. Scenery and out-of-doors amusement aside (check back tomorrow!), the sock was almost certainly spoiled rotten in its share of delightful entertainment.

First, there was a very, very romantic wedding, on a dinner cruise up and down the Willamette River in Portland. The ceremony was so sweet, and then there was dinner and dancing while the sun set, the stars came out, and the night skyline lit up.


Romance

Then it got to go to a fantastic concert. The Weepies played at Mississippi Studios. It was a good show, and a very charming space, and yours truly was complemented on her "fashion" x2.


Good Music, Cool Venue, Horrible Picture.

The sock also got to help host a fantastic party, with terrific food, beer, and Oregon summer weather.


Great Party!

It looked on helplessly while berries were devoured.


Blackberries and Raspberries In-Season!

It watched another hand-knit work the party.

Ribbed Shrug from Interweave

This is the Ribbed Shrug from Interweave. Made longer than specs, but still only used a little over 2 balls of Paton's Katrina in Limon. I can't remember what sized needles I used, but it wasn't close to the pattern recommendations, and I started over about a million times. This yarn is really stretchy and weird, but nice in the end. Just be warned with substitutions! Use something stretchy! Consider this my FO post on this shrug. I actually wear it a lot. It gets lots of double takes in public places, which I kind of like, and it also makes a nice scarf when you don't want it on your arms. I call it "my arms."


Arms again.


Good arms, bad picture.

The party went pretty late. It's a good thing there was firelight!


Fire Circle.

Things got a little crazy.


Four Eyes.


Eeeeeew.

Even I think that's a little bit gross.


Colin Looking Crazy.

That's when the sock took a hint and went to bed.

It's not afraid of late nights, though. Especially when kept awake with espresso martinis. (Oregon is so amazing.) And when given the not at all trivial pursuit of watching the women thoroughly and severely dominate two teams of men in Trivial Pursuit. Twice. Two women achieved 12 pie pieces for 5, I believe, that were won by the men. Ouch.


The Victorious Moment.

Come back tomorrow for the sock's outdoor Oregon adventures.

Sockapal-two-za Update!

Finally, I am back blogging again! I don't know why I haven't really been doing it. Maybe it's because I've actually been knitting a lot instead. I've got enough FOs backlogged that I have more than ample blog fodder for several days. Sigh. We'll see how it goes now that I'm back in the saddle.

The most pressing matter, though, is to finally do a Sockapal-two-za update. I'm one of those making Alison nervous by witholding proof of progress. But progress is indeed being made! My 10-day vacation in Oregon was lovely, providing me with a lot of sock knitting time and the sock with lots of stunning scenery. Oddly, though, I never remembered to take a picture of the sock with the stunning scenery. So they'll have to be side-by-side here. I also bought my sock pal some postcards from the places I spent time in Oregon. Iowa's postcard array is embarrassing. If it doesn't have pigs or corn in the picture, it doesn't exist. If this yanks yer chain, so to speak, go read my Iowa State Fair entry on Iowa Chicks Knitting for lots of photos. There's even knitting content as it shows the knitting entries' display.


Sideview


From the top


Close-up


In action


Josie takes a closer look


Josie approves

Anyway, as I said before, I'm using the Bejeweled colorway from No No Kitty Yarns. The mini-mock cables that I was planning to use with the Sunshine Sock pattern didn't show up that well, so I switched to the River Rapids sock by Sockbug. I kept the mock cable for the ribbing, which works well. I think I almost could have used one skein for both socks, but since I wasn't sure I started a new skein for the second sock. It's striping a little bit differently, but not dramatically, I don't think. I just didn't want to have to start a new skein mid sock and have the switch happen then, since it is handpainted. I'm down to the heel flap on #2, so I think I'll be done by the end of the coming weekend! I've started gathering a few nice things to throw in the package with them, as well. I'll put a little bit of the leftover yarn in for fixing if necessary, and then I want to start a toe-up pair of the same pattern to use up the rest of the yarn!

I think I'll start showing the sock's tour of Oregon tomorrow!
Cheerio!

My New Favorite Guy

Here's a quickie, in case I don't get my next post done. Sorry I've been gone so long.

My new favorite guy (the dog I mean). Make sure you watch the videos. I'm in crush.

http://skateboardingbulldog.com/

Ok, so The Trickster can't skate, has a low sperm count, and suffers significantly from sleep apnea, but shiver me timbers, at least he makes a cute pirate (see the banner, if you don't believe me).