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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Knitting on the Beach... The Needle(s) has landed...


Despite my love of for this area and my deep appreciation for the sea and the beach, I must admit to having less than stellar feelings about cold water, sea or not. Although we are on the East Coast of Africa , hence a much warmer current (Indian) than the West Coast (the freezing Atlantic), the water here is wayyyyyy too cold for my liking. So it happens that every year, I need to psych myself up to brave the frigid waves and do my annual "swim". The verb "swimming" is used here with a great deal of artistic licence, my foray into the great blue being more of an attempt to stay upright against crashing waves as I slowly advance ....one numbing foot after the other. Gerry and Aliki use wetsuits to keep out the cold, but Emmanuelle has no cold temperature sensors in her skin, and will dive headlong in, rain, shine, hurricane, icebergs.... regardless. As I mentioned before, the sea is very treacherous here, and a rip can take you out towards Australia within a heartbeat. Yesterday, despite the presence of several lifeguards, it took my friend Pete and his daughter being towed out rapidly , to realize that there was a powerful current and that people were getting stuck way out, unable to make their way back in to shore. Pete and Emma were fine...he grew up on the beach, so these things are taken in his stride, but the lifeguards had to go in an rescue several people.
I have made a rule about our kids swimming...we always have a lifesaver bouy or two and a pair of long flippers when we go to the beach.
So, back to my swalk (:) *swim/walk)... I went in as far as my neck , patted myself proudly on the back for a job well done! and went and sat wrapped up on a deck chair on the beach.
Now for the good bit...my knitting :)

Remember when I wrote about the Knit Companion App?...I have modified and set up a charted pattern for Poppy Socks, and all I needed on the beach, was my iPad and knitting....happy as a pig in mud! The Poppy socks started with me seeing a colour scheme that I really liked...a sky blue/turquoise/greeny variegated blend with scarlet next to it...so I dyed up some sock yarn and fiddled with the pattern for a bit. I started with a plain toe, but changed it so that the poppies start straight away. Hopefully this test knit will be fine, and as soon as I am done, I will put the charted pattern up on Ravelry. I have been using the Red Lace Chiaogoo's...these are fabulous circs! Go out and buy yourself a pair as a New Year's gift...you're worth it ;)

Yesterday I went for a long walk along the beach. It was still fairly early and there was a light breeze and some cloud cover....lovely stuff! I was just thinking about the New Year...it's responsibilities, planning, debating...I feel like it's always a time to start something new, set yourself a challenge, try something different...Not really a New Year's resolution necessarily, just a new outlook on things...
I have been thinking that perhaps I should do a Project 365...perhaps a photo a day? Do you have any plans/ideas/challenges?

Enjoy the day folks!
♥Heidi

10 comments:

  1. What a way to spend the holiday! I also have a problem 'swalking' :-) Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.

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  2. Those socks look gorgeous my friend! I hope you are having a wonderful holiday:)
    Love to you
    Linda

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  3. Oh Heidi, that beach looks sooooo inviting!!! What I wouldn't give for a good long walk along its sandy shores....sigh....on the New Year's front, on Jan 1st I'm starting the Great American Aran Afghan which is a bit of a challenge in itself. I've had the wool and pattern for a couple of months now but decided on Jan 1st 2012 to start! Wish me luck and see my progress on my blog if you have time. x

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  4. I am setting myself 2 big challenges for the year as well as smaller projects. I want to make 2 blankets, one using your african flower in pastel colours and a tree of life blanket. I know I will get fustrated with a long project so I am going to break them up with smaller projects so I get my finish fix. I am giving myselt the year for the 2 of them.

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  5. ........|___|.....
    ........|000|.....
    ........|000|.....
    ........|000|......
    ........|000|....... PROSPERO AÑO NUEVO!!!
    .........\00/........ QUE TENGAS¡¡¡MUY FELIZ 2012!!!
    ..........\0/.........
    ...........||.......
    ...........||.........
    ...........||...... ...
    ........._||_.......
    ¡*ALEGRIA*SALUD*AMOR*!
    (¸.•´ (¸.•` * ¸.•´¸.•*´¨)(¸.•´ (¸.•` * ¸.•´¸.•*´¨)

    UN ABRAZO GRANDE ☯
    C@

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  6. Thanks for visiting everyone...
    Hey Linda, see you in a few days my friend!
    Laura, I have actually eyed the Great American Aran Afgan myself, but I must admit that I get bored so easily that I doubt I could get through more than a block or two...I will definitely keep an eye out on your progress :)
    Susan, I think those projects will be spectacular! Perhaps use a slightly heavier yarn (?Aran) for the AFH blanket...it will go quicker...do you have a blog? It would be great to see how things progress :) Have you learned to join hexagons as-you-go? That will also save you loads of time, making progress quicker :) What colours are you planning to use?

    Happy New Year to you too Charlotte ! Thanks for visiting here everyone :)
    Happy New Year to you all :))
    ♥Heidi

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  7. Wow, jealous!! And the socks look awesome. I always like to knit socks on vacation too. Happy new year!

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  8. Hi Heidi :) :

    I'm really looking to seeing that finished red poppy pattern.. It looks wonderful. I am also on Ravelry, but not there often. I think I need to change that, soon :) :) Will your pattern be free or available for purchase?

    OH, I live on the central coast of California...and most of the time the water is cold...but even so, I love it. You know what?//....I'm going to try knitting by the ocean, too...and have my dad take a photo. That would be a great idea :) :)

    Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather :)

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  9. Loving those socks, looking forward to that pattern :-) I hardly ever go in the ocean these days. One of the cons about living in the tropics is that you can't swim in the ocean and when I go to visit family in Sydney the water is way too cold so I know exactly how you feel :-)

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  10. Like the pattern. Hate the rip tides.

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