woolly bottoms

our baby is coming soon! 

i've been making woolly diaper covers

from a pattern found in a vintage book.

they are so simple

and so fun to make, i wanted to share. 

perhaps you have a baby to knit for too!

below modifications and the 'recipe'.

using worsted weight wool and size 6 needles, cast on 100 stitches.

knit 2, purl 2, for approximately 6 rows.

then work an eyelet row:

k2, p2, k2, yo, p2 tog, repeat to the end of the row.

work 6 more rows of rib.

change to garter stitch and begin decrease as follows:

k2, k2tog, knit to the last 4 stitches of the row, k2 tog, k2.

continue decreasing every other row until all stitches are used.

fold together like this

sew ribbing together

then seam the point until half the space is

 left for the leg openings.

 crochet or icord a chain, drawing through the eyelet holes

 done! 

i made tiny knitted leaves for this pair, for another pair, pom poms.

these bottoms measure 7 x 9 inches. i don't think any of the numbers

are terribly important, but i think the cast on amount needs to be divisible by 2 (for the ribbing)

i made a very small newborn pair and cast on 84 stitches. as soon as baby arrives,

i'll have a better idea of how these fit! for now it's fun to experiment.

(leaf pattern found here)

 we're here in mendocino still. i'm happy to have finished this pair so 

i could take photos on our 'driftwood cottage' table. 

and have time to start making another. :)

xxx lori

traveling

hello from california's central (and northern) coast! we are traveling, on a road trip (and boat trip). this adventure is a bit different (for us) and is actually three adventures in one. part one and two are complete (mission accomplished!) and so the most fun part, part three is left, which we are on right now!

part one ~ 

a few hours up the coast, san simeon ~ we spend the evening watching the surf, the sunset and eating fish and chips, and waiting for friends to arrive.

next morning, we all head north to big sur

 in big sur, we cart and carry one kayak, two paddleboards, paddles and several days of equipment and food over a mile down to the beach

making preparations

there they go, can you see the 3 of them out at sea? i watched and made my wishes for nearly an hour, and then slowly began the hike back alone.


part two ~

on my own in big sur i went to my favorite place, nepenthe. such a beautiful day! i ate lunch, knit and watched three acorn woodpeckers and one stellar's jay in the tree directly in front of me!

this is the bathroom at nepenthe. the art painted on the walls is so lovely, everytime i see it it's a thrill. 

 went to the henry miller memorial library next

found a couple books and a tote

 at the hotel (one of the books, and the tote, and knitting!)

 another day i went to hearst castle

 even though i've taken all the tours a few times, i could take the upstairs tour a dozen more (or even more!). the library is amazing. each guide offers something a bit different too, different stories and anecdotes. this time i learned that first lady grace coolidge was once trapped in the elevator. when she was finally found and asked if she were okay, she answered yes, she could yodel and she had her knitting.

part two and a half ~

the adventurers arrive! they'd kayaked and standup paddleboarded 36 miles of big sur coast. returning safe, healthy and happy = successful adventure.


part three ~

patrick and will head back to their homes and families

and now, time for chucks and my adventure together. we spend time with the elephant seals

central coast zebras, and then head north...

to san francisco

then marin county

our bed and breakfast came with chickens  :)

this place!

heading further north still, point reyes seashore

point arena lighthouse, mendocino (we are in the top of the lighthouse!)

and because this happened nine years ago today, we are staying at our favorite place on the entire california coast to celebrate...

here. we'll be back soon, there is so much to share about mendocino and magical alegria!

thank you, as always, for coming along! xxx lori

october

hello! how are you? i hope well! all is very good here, a bit of equipment complications, so more iphone photos. thank goodness for the phone! here a few things happening lately...

owl arrived, for a new sweater

 loop & leaf, our local yarn store started carrying woolfolk, i think this beautiful fiber would like to be a shawl

early one morning, a couple hours up the coast

 my husband and his friend had a new adventure

i was the driver. after dropping them off, they paddled home...

everything went very well, except for one small incident a couple days later, which necessitated (me) driving again, this time on a loooong rural road, at night, in the pitch dark. i was a little unnerved, until i saw this sign  :)

(lerwick, shetland islands, photo by kathy cadigan)

in celebration of wool week, ashley yousling of Woolful invited kathy cadigan and i to her blog. if you'd like to see gorgeous shetland photos by kathy visit Woolful here.

i made a halloween costume for a friends new baby. a wee caterpillar  :)

and another diaper cover, this one for my new (grand)baby. 

i made a pair of socks. these were knit with sport weight, extraordinarily soft, organic merino wool.

raverly notes here

i made another pair of socks

these with the prettiest hand dyed fingering weight wool (raverly notes)

east coast | west coast met and families become fast friends (my girl was here for a week!)

and, SO EXCITING! this arrived on saturday, The Lonely Planet Traveller magazine (november 2014), with my photo. a thrill. thank you LPTM. i love this magazine!

thank you so much, taking time to visit here. between working and travelling, and computer problems, i've been on my phone mostly (instagram). hoping to sort everything out soon and go a 'visiting around blogland! take good care friends, see you soon! xxx lori