K is for Kayak

John gave me a kayak for Christmas. I named it Matagorda Bluebird.

His kayak is named Spot after the spot on the tail of a redfish. We enjoy exploring the estuaries, bays, lakes and beaches of Matagorda, Texas in our boats.

John has his boat rigged up for fishing, with every conceivable device known to a kayak fishermen, except a GPS fish finder, which will be coming one day, I'm sure.

I take a simpler approach and pack lightly, usually bringing water, snacks, camera and sometimes a sock on the needles...you know, just in case.

We recently paddled our kayaks across the mouth of the Colorado River to the beach on the other side. We call it The Wild Beach. The fishing proved to be good off the jetty and I had the entire beach to myself to search for shells. Without our kayaks, we wouldn't have been able to get there as it is not accessible by car.

We've had lots of fun kayaking together and I look forward to many more paddle trips in the future. This is possibly the best Christmas present John has ever given me...although, there was that spinning wheel the year before...

Curly Purly Soakers

I knit two more soakers for my friend at church.

I read on one of the Ravelry groups that it's good to have 5-6 soakers in each size. The addition of these two bring the total I've knit to five in the newborn size. I gave them to my friend last week and she was thrilled.

It turns out I finished just in time too. On Monday, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy weighing just over eight pounds. I probably better get started on some larger sizes.

The Curly Purly Soaker Pattern

16" circulars US 3, 5 & 7 and US 3 DPNs

Patons Classic Wool Merino in Denim Marl

Nature Spun Worsted Weight in Salmon

and

Lion Wool in Midnight Blue

An Old Friend

I aired out Optic Waves Shawl at the beach this weekend.

It hasn't been out of the knitting bag since early May, but I intend to reacquaint myself with this project starting today. I suspect it will be like getting together with an old friend after being apart for a long time--a few awkward pauses in the beginning, but then quickly back to comfortable conversation.

I'm halfway through the recommended 27 repeats, though I may stop before that. Knit to size, this shawl will be 80" in length, which is probably too long for my 5' 4" height.

Time to go break the ice with my old friend, picking up the conversation right where we left off: repeat 14, row 1 of 12.

Before I leave though, a few pictures from the weekend.

West Jetty

Pool at Low Tide
or
Very Large Shoe Print

Setting Sun

Successful Fisherman in Silhouette

Almost a Match

You may recall I ran into a couple of snags with these socks: a stripe that was short changed in the dye process and a break in the yarn. This required a bit of extra work on my part to get the stripes back in sync.

The right way to fix the problem would have been to back up to the spot where the color began to veer off track and rejoin the yarn in the correct sequence. I didn't feel like tinking back though, so I guesstimated how much wider to make the stripe I was on to get the rest of the stripes below that point to match. Looking back, this was risky and could have turned into more work than just fixing it the right way in first place, but luck was on my side. The stripes match perfectly in all but this one spot.


My Almost Matched Socks
Yarn: Online Supersocke 100 (45% Cotton, 40% Wool, 15% Nylon)
Color: Summer Color 793
Needles: US 1 (2.25 mm) DPNs

This basic sock is knit on 64 stitches and features a 1x1 ribbed cuff, stockinette leg and foot and my favorite short-row heel and toe.


And though I had some trouble with this particular skein of yarn, I still recommend it for warm weather socks. The cotton/wool blend is just right for my climate.


Also, it's the only sock yarn I've ever knit with that can stand up to machine washing and machine drying. That's a big plus when it comes to a pair of summer socks.

Using Up the Leftovers

After I knit these booties, I searched Ravelry to see what I could do with the left over yarn. I came across this quick and useful project.


Pattern: Water Web (free) by Amie Gavin Glasgow
Yarn: Tahki Cotton Classic
Color: Blue 3818
Needles: US 6 DPNs

One thing that threw me a little about the pattern is the use of the asterisks in row 1. They are used instead of quotation marks to emphasize this part of the instructions, not as an indicator to repeat the actions contained within. I didn't realize that at first and kept wondering why I couldn't get the stitches to work right. It took me a while to figure it out, but after that everything went smoothly including the decrease section.

I ended up using every inch of left over yarn, so naturally I needed to replace it with more.

A stash of Tahki Cotton Classic is born!

Family Photo Album

This weekend, John and I traveled to Oklahoma to visit our son Matt and celebrate his 20th birthday. We stopped in Fort Worth on the way to pick up our daughter Robyn. Her husband, James, couldn't come because of work and we sure have missed him. Matt's girlfriend, Carly, was able to join us after work on Saturday.

We've had fun, but now it's time to say goodbye. Usually after a visit like this, I get home and realize we forgot to take pictures of everyone. But, this time I have several nice shots to add to the family photo album.

John

Carly

Me and Robyn

Matt--The Birthday Boy

J is for Jetty

The jetty in Matagorda, Texas on a peaceful day.



A long pier leads to the huge slabs of granite that break the waves before they reach the shore.



Birds often congregate on the calm side of the jetty in Matagorda.


Though this jetty is the one we visit most often, I've seen and photographed several other jetties on our travels.

Walking the jetty in Port Aransas, Texas just before sunset.



Moss covered jetty in Atlantic City, New Jersey.



Fishing from the jetty in Freeport, Texas.


Have a great Memorial Day weekend!