Back from Italy!

I'm back from from my whirlwind trip to Italy, and I must admit it was amazing! My DH and I did some fun tours, and a few ports on our own - which was good because all the power was out in Gibralter when we were there! Talk about bad luck! 

Much more to follow, as it stands I'm getting over something buggy (I refuse to believe I'm sick, so please don't even mention it!) and I have a crap-load of pictures to slog through. Over 1500 photos and videos, to be more precise!

Surprise Vacation to Italy!

I had a great craft post planned for today, but the last 36 hours have been quite a whirlwind for me! My DH found a wonderful repositioning cruise to Italy, that leaves in less than two weeks! So, craft plans must be put on the back-burner as I try and get all of my pre-vacation planning packed into a super short amount of time!

We're heading to the Mediterranean on a cruise ship, my favorite way to get to Europe. Everyone flies these days, but I actually revel in the 6 short days it takes to get from Florida to Madeira, Portugal. I wonder what it must have been like for my own family, who came to America from Norway about a hundred years ago or so (I think, Jenn - do you know any more???) Their voyage would've been much longer, on the order of weeks or months at sea; but the open oceans hold such a wondrous majesty to me. To see the night sky from the middle of the ocean is a thing of beauty. 

So I ask a favor of all my international readers! I'm headed to Funchal (Madeira,) Gibralter, Cagliari (Sardinia,) Rome!, Livorno, Genoa and Monte Carlo (Monaco!) just before the tourist season starts, in about 2 weeks. Is there anything I shouldn't miss? How about craft supply shopping, is there fabric or yarn shops? I'm also looking forward to shopping for leather in Italy, where's the best places to go?

Also food recommendations are totally appreciated! I usually have trouble figuring out what to eat when abroad, more because I'm not familiar with the local cuisine. Thanks so much!

Quickie Check-in!

aka - what I'm up to!

I wish I'd gotten around to organizing all of my pictures into a pretty blog post, but I just haven't been able to get to it, unfortunately. 2+ weeks of dirty laundry is a lot to get through, not to mention I haven't had a stitch of good food in my house all week. So, why the post? I wanted to update all of you, my good blog buddies, briefly, with what's up with me!

• Planning a paper tutorial that'll be super fun and relatively easy! (The biggest secret to cutting thicker paper is a very sharp knife... more on that later.)
• Redesigning my blog and logo - yeay! But also, kinda (very) scarey!!! Think more refined, but not too traditional - like mid century modern furniture!
  
• Designing a whole new career for myself, and I'm so lucky and proud to be working with a very good friend on it! OMG, so not ready to spill on this one yet!
• Shelving the book plans for now, I'm still trying to collect projects and patterns, but I don't have the right contacts to pull it off in the high quality style that I'd really like to. Maybe later...
• Working my way through the 700+ rss posts in my feed, I have to apologize that I haven't been able to comment on as many as I'd like yet!
• Finding all of my old high school friends through Facebook. This I have to admit, I find both super cool and a little creepy - all at the same time. Huh.

What's new with you guys? I'm totally thinking about another contest to bring you lurkers out of the woodwork again! What kind of prize or contest really makes you comment? I must confess, I always feel like I have such a small chance on the big blogs, I don't really bother trying anymore!

Sorry...

... no feature this Friday - I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow! I was hoping to have a bunch of posts lined up and ready, so I could just schedule them to publish, and not leave the poor blog empty for the next couple weeks. But, it just didn't happen that way... I have a bunch of ideas for posts, and even a few already written, but not a lot of pictures of any of it yet. So, when I do get back I'll have lots of fun stuff to share!

I was even thinking I had so much fun doing my last contest, that I should have another round or two - so if you missed out on the last one, or just didn't win it - you'll get more chances! So, stay tuned for a mystery fabric stash giveaway, a bath & body themed gift-box and maybe more!

A great big thanks go out to all of the wonderful commenters recently! You've all been so sweet, and I haven't had the time to thank everyone personally; but I hope I can remedy that after my trip. So, thanks again! You guys are great!

WIP Wednesday - Tiffany & Co. Empire

I must admit - I was so hurried to start this project, I actually bought the wrong yarn for it! Haha! For some strange reason (that still escapes me, because I questioned the needle size,) I thought this project called for Lorna's Laces Shepard Worsted, instead of Shepard Sport - which is in fact, the real recommended yarn.

So, needless to say I was pretty upset with myself when I realized that even though the yarn had arrived, I couldn't cast on for this delicious little knit t-shirt. I spent a little while feeling sorry for myself, and then I wondered if I had anything on hand that would fit the bill. Surprise, surprise - I did!

I bought 8 balls of Sirdar Snuggly last summer, when the Stargazer Kimono pullover came out in MagKnits*. I knit both of the sleeves up fairly quickly, but then realized I didn't like the side-ways knit construction of the top. My sleeve edges were too tight to function as a bodice top, and so I let it all sit in a bin for over a year. When I realized that the Snuggly might work for this, I dug it out and swatched immediately. Another huge surprise - I actually got gauge with the reccommended needle sizes! I almost always have to go up, and so I was a little shocked when I checked it and then double checked. Hehehe.

I was a little worried that my cast on was a bit too tight, and it probably is. Next time, I'd go up a needle size for the long tail cast on, then go back down to continue knitting. I'm not sure if I'll add the ruffle at the neckline or not; but I am planning on lengthening the sleeves to just above elbow length. I may add the ruffles to the sleeve edges, too. We'll see...

Now I'm thinking it's too big, but the tricky bit is, there's no size in between small and medium, and I'm a 32" (under) bust. Ugh. It means I'll have to rip back to just below the armholes, and start decreasing. I should do some math so I know just how many stitches I'll have to get rid of. The I-cord empire waist should be 16" (for me,) and this one measures 19" laid flat right now. Oy.

*Yes, unfortunately they're closed now, and they didn't even keep an archive up. Ravelry is a good resource for finding old Magknits patterns, otherwise the best method for obtaining unavailable patterns is to contact the author (if you know their name.)

My Hawaii Cruise - Part II

The volcano caldera was incredibly beautiful (and remember, it's toxic gas!)

The second half of my Hawaii vacation was just as great as the first! Our third port was Hilo - and we took a helicopter tour out to the lava fields. Not less than 3 people working for the tour company told us how much they'd rather be surfing, swimming or just out that day the weather was so nice. Normally that side of the island gets a lot of rain, but we were lucky enough to get sunny most days, and only partially cloudy the rest - no rain (except for the last couple days at sea, on the way back.)

So, here's the caldera, the opening that the sulfuric gas seeps out of. Boy, it was hard to photograph because it was such a bright white. I wish I knew more about my camera settings, so that I could've compensated for that more. I got more good shots of the smoke than I thought, though. This one (to the left) is my favorite; we were pretty far out yet, and I got the macadamia nut fields in the foreground with the caldera in the back. They line the nut fields with those taller trees to help break the wind, so they get better crops. I thought they were cool, all square & perfect compared to the rest of nature's organic shapes.

Lake of lava, shaded by a very convienent cloud.

Here's the lava, and boy was it flowing that day! (We took the tour Sat. Oct 13th.) We got to see lots of red lava, and I even got some good pictures of it! The movement of the helicopter made it difficult, and a few came out blurry - but overall I'm happy with the pictures. We also bought the dvd of our tour, and when we were re-watching it I caught some vulcanologists walking along the active fronts! Talk about scary! (The quality wasn't super great, but I can try and get a screencap if anybody's interested!)

Later that day, we also went to a tropical botanical garden. It had this horrible ramp down into the park, and then back up out (at the beginning and end,) that really did a number on my knees; but I enjoyed the walk around anyway. Thank goodness our tour guide recommended the insect repellent - only my husband got bitten, and it was only once. Mosquitoes love the taste of me, so I was pleasantly surprised to come out unscathed. The flowers were absolutely gorgeous... they came in all sorts of tropical variations, and all colors. The orchids were by far my favorites, although I didn't see any cymbidiums that I recognized.

Aren't they amazing? I love the confetti spots!

The next day we went to Honolulu, and my wonderful husband found me a fabric store! I just couldn't leave Hawaii without Hawaiian fabric, (and a pattern for my own Hawaiian quilt!) and even though I got a lot, it was so cheap! After that we walked along Waikiki Beach, and it was so nice to walk along the water. The sun was very bright and the tide felt so nice. I'm glad I picked up a new pair of aquatic sandals before we left, I wouldn't have been able to walk so far barefoot - it was fairly rocky with only broken shells and coral.

Diamond Head over Waikiki Beach.

After that we went to June's Gelato, which tickled me pink since I thought gelato was a mostly European treat. Vanilla bean might sound plain, but it hit the spot after a fairly long walk along the beach. We were in Honolulu until 1AM, but we didn't bother trying to do anything else, I was pretty tired after 5 port days in a row. Normally I like a couple days at sea to recharge a little.

The gelato place was towards the left, and the ship is on the right.

About a day out the sea from Honolulu, we found out there was a medical emergency on the ship, and that we'd have to turn around and go back. Fortunately, the passenger made it to the hospital in Honolulu, and was doing well; but it put us a whole day behind schedule. We charged back over the Pacific, at over 24kts (which is really fast for a giant cruise ship!)

If you're interested, check out my flickr collection for more of my vacation photos! Thanks for looking!

My Hawaii Cruise - Part I

The vacation started out a bit rocky, as we found out at the airport that there was technical problems with the plane we had tickets on, and were put on standby (along with 50 other people.) Then the lady at United's customer service found us flights through Los Angeles to San Diego, so I was relatively relieved. But later, when we got into LAX, we found out that American Eagle's terminal was not connected to the rest, and we'd have to take a shuttle… oy. So we did that, but then my husband realized he'd left his phone at security; so he had to take the shuttle back to the main terminal, pick up his phone, and catch the next shuttle back to me. By then, I was seriously worried that we'd miss the 2:05 flight; but we ended up making it, and got on the ship about 4pm. (Just fyi, if we'd missed that flight there was a good chance we'd miss the ship and have to take the 6+ hour flight to Hawaii to catch up with it.)

Sailing out of San Diego.

After all that, it was a pretty great vacation. The seas outside California were particularly rough, but overall I think the Pacific ocean was much calmer than the Atlantic, (I did a transatlantic cruise a couple years back, and it was really rough.) It took 5 days at sea to get to Hawaii, but I'd much rather do it that way than on a plane. Can you tell how I feel about commercial air traffic yet? Heh. I got a new haircut, and my first hot stones massage on the first couple at sea days; and they were awesome. I can't tell you how amazing it was to stare out at the sea while I was stressing about my hair, another story for another day, but sufficed to say my new 'do rocks! (Think Dr. Reed from Scrubs, lots of long layers and long swoopy bangs to the right. I'm a strawberry blonde, though.)

My fingers were so-so "coral," this seahorse left me after a minute or so.

We visited Kailua Kona, Hawaii first and went on a tour of a seahorse farm. It was super hot, and I got super sweaty, but it was a really fun experience. The little suckers are so amazing. They sort of fly through the water, like little submarines surfacing and diving with little fins on their back for forward propulsion, they move them really fast, though. I must admit, I've never wanted an aquarium before… but having a seahorse wrapped around my finger made me want one of my own. Both soft and strong, it felt a little strange but cool too! I've heard saltwater tanks are hard to keep up, though. I'll just have to buy Hansi's pattern, I guess!!! (Aren't her patterns incredible!?!?!?!)

Isn't this a great picture? My husband shot this one of our ship, the Serenade of the Seas.

Later that day we went on an evening cocktail cruise, which was really beautiful. We went up & down the Kona coast at sunset; although my husband and I kept joking about how we'd never get back to the ship in time for departure, it seemed like we were going so slowly on the way back. We were about 20 minutes late getting back, but didn't miss the ship - thank goodness! I should've known better, though - they don't serve very good liquors on those boats, and I really like the top shelf stuff (Chambord, vanilla Absolut, Grey Goose or Ketel One vodkas.)

The scenery of Maui was breath-taking!

Next up was Lahaina, Maui and I must admit that I was most taken with the scenery of Maui. Spectacular valleys, slicing through the tallest island I think I've seen… it was simply amazing. We did another tour there, and went to the Iao Needle park, a tropical plantation and the Maui Ocean Center. I have to sadly report that my camera battery died before the Ocean Center, so I don't have any pictures of it; but it was amazing. So many salt water species, we saw tons of different fish, enormous manta rays and a tiger shark, jellyfish, sea turtles, eels and so much more.

Iao Needle (on the left,) is a 1,200ft cinder cone, and really stunning if I do say so myself.

I did get a few pictures from the tropical plantation, we took a tram tour there and I got the most amazing plumeria lei. It was so fresh, it really cooled the back of my neck off from the heat of the sun. I'm so glad I got it because I'm really not into the plastic ones. Too cheesy for my taste! Here's a scenic view from the plantation. At the state park we saw kids jumping off from a bridge into a pool below, about 20 feet or so. (I'll try and get that pic in my Flickr set.) The water was so cool & refreshing though, I stuck my feet in at a shallow spot. The path loops around the park, and it's a great mixture of scenic heights and shady paths. It all smelled so incredible, hibiscus and plumeria (and more, I'm sure!)

Maui in the afternoon, and our killer balcony!

Next up, I'll share the second two ports, Hilo and Honolulu, and the last few San Diego pics. Stay tuned, because we took a helicopter tour over the lava fields, went to a botanical garden and walked along Waikiki beach. (Oh yes, and then there's all that fabric I teased you about, I'll share that, too! :D )

Thanks so much everyone who's been reading & commenting lately, I know I haven't been very crafty (except for knitting,) and I feel rather bad for it. I was so blown away with the amount of quality content in the 2 weeks I was gone; and I must also apologize for not being able to comment on as many as I'd like. After going through almost 500 posts, I just didn't have the energy to hit "post comment" a hundred times. I'm really trying to work on that, and I look forward to stopping by all of your pages to leave you sweet thoughts and kind words. Thanks again!