sweetgeorgia

Honeymoon in Hanalei

After the wedding, we had less than 24 waking hours to get everything somewhat in order so that we could leave for our honeymoon. We chose Kaua’i, Hawaii for our honeymoon. I’ve only ever stopped over in Honolulu but I’ve never been to Hawaii. Honestly, I always thought it was kind of cheesy, but that could be from a distorted image I got from watching too much tv. But Kaua’i could not have been more beautiful and enjoyable. The entire island, while being overrun by wild chickens, also smells entirely like plumeria flowers.

This island is the furthest Hawaiian island and is over 5 million years old. Since there are regulations in place that prevent any building from being taller than a coconut tree, it feels very lightly inhabited. Everywhere you look, all you see are coconut, mango, avocado, and guava trees, mountains and water. There’s a one-lane road circumventing the majority of the island. The last quarter of the island coast is not accessible by car… You can only get to the Na Pali Coast by hiking deep into it or taking a boat around the outside of it. And if you want to get to the beach on the Na Pali coast, you can’t land your boat onshore, you have to drop anchor far offshore and then swim in. Just the kind of isolation that is perfect for a honeymoon.

We rented a small condo in Princeville on the North Shore which worked out much more economically than getting a hotel. The neighboring tiny surf town of Hanalei was home to one of my favorite surfers, Andy Irons, who tragically passed away at 32 last November. Everywhere along the road to Ke’e Beach were tributes to AI. Broken surfboards that had been painted with messages to honour his memory.

The North Shore of Kaua’i gets great big swells in the wintertime, making it popular for surfers. Around the same area, there is a little beach we visited called Tunnels. It’s the spot where Bethany Hamilton was out surfing and got her arm bit off by a shark. She’s the girl who ended up writing a book about it, and now it’s been made into the movie, Soul Surfer. All about getting back up after you’ve fallen (or survived a shark attack). But at this very spot, we got to enjoy the calmer summer waters and went swimming with a bunch of sea turtles. And that’s how I celebrated my birthday. Not with candles, but with sea turtles.

Now, it’s true, it’s hard for me to break from working. I was all relaxing and enjoying the sun and trying not to think about work when we stumbled upon this little shop in Hanalei called Hanalei Strings (Ravelry group here). I kid you not, this shop sells ukeleles and yarn. I cannot think of a more delightful combination.

AND, on top of that, the store owner, Karen, is also a dyer and she and her friend Alicia dye yarns inspired by the colours of Kaua’i. They dye everything from cotton and bamboo to silk and wool in both synthetic and natural dyes. In fact, they even incorporate some of the island’s iron-rich “red dirt” and hibiscus flowers into their dye pots. I got to spend some time knitting and chatting with the owner. They are so easy going and relaxed. The shop is always full of music and knitters. I was sorely tempted to buy a uke but then remembered that I should be spending more time with the guitar I already have.

The rest of the days were spent hiking to the Hanakapi’ai Falls (an 8-mile hike in some pretty nasty muddy jungle), surfing at Poipu on the South Shore, and eating. Before we headed to Kaua’i we heard that spam was big in Hawaii. We’d seen it on Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods and Anthony Bourdain’s show. I was all convinced we were going to taste spam musubi but we could not find it anywhere except for a couple sad, slimy-looking rolls at an ABC store (like a 7-11). But apart from the spam, we did eat poi, saimen noodles, plate lunches and kalua pig (pulled pork). And the freshest, juiciest papayas and pineapples I’ve ever had in my life. I’ll do another post on the food, most definitely.

Here, I’ll leave you with a Kaua’i sunset. Not being guests of the hotel, we snuck onto the cliffside lawn of the St. Regis hotel in Princeville one evening and watched the sunset. The sun slipped behind the horizon and it seemed like nothing special. But a few minutes later, the sky turned this intense flame gold and violet. Stunning to say the least.

Sock Summit 2011

A mere 24 hours after returning home from my honeymoon, I was back at the airport, on my way to Portland for the incredibly popular Sock Summit. Who knew that something as specific as hand sock knitting could draw nearly 6,000 knitters from across the country to Portland? I didn’t go to the first one two years back… I can’t recall why. But after hearing how “amazing” it was, could I live with myself if I let a second Sock Summit go by without seeing what all the fuss was about?

I arrived on Thursday morning at PDX. The flight from Vancouver to Portland was a mere hour and 30 minutes. But then waiting for the hotel shuttle took me another hour and 30 minutes. That was a rough start, but made so much better by the fact that I randomly ended up sharing the hotel shuttle with Stephannie from Sunset Cat, a technical editor and designer. Turns out Stephannie and I knew all sorts of people in common and we hit it off quite well. It lessened the frustration of feeling like I wasted my morning sitting outside the freezing cold airport terminal.

Going to these knitterly events always makes me a bit nervous… it’s like the first day of school. I don’t think I’m going to know anyone and I figure everyone’s already going to be hanging out with their friends and that it’s going to be all awkward and weird. And it was. A bit. Just at the beginning.

It was just before lunch and my class with Amy Singer was going to start in the afternoon. I knew I had to eat. But I wanted to make the most of my brief Portland experience. I’d heard so much about the incredible Portland food carts, so when I saw a girl with a sign that said “GOIN’ TO THE FOODCARTS 4 LUNCH ” I just knew I had to follow her. Turns out, she is Natalie, one half of the “Cloudy with a Chance of Fiber” podcast AND she is a Portland-native. Strangely, I felt completely comfortable getting on public transit without a map or direction, following someone I had just met. She was going to lead me to amazing food. I (and Kathy and Heidi) followed. Natalie was great to chat with and we even recorded some of our conversation for her podcast. You can hear the episode, plus an interview with Maia of Tactile Fiber Arts on her site or off iTunes.

Amy Singer’s class in the afternoon was like dessert. It was a scoop into the Knitty.com editor’s mind to see what she sees and learn what she likes or doesn’t like to select for the Knitty issues. The class was called “Making the Next Monkey” and gave great insight into how to get your pattern submission selected. Students in the class got to informally present designs that they were considering submitting or had already self-published, just to get a reaction from Amy and see how it might fair in the selection process.

My second class, “Kids’ Socks” was on Friday morning with Sandi Rosner. Sandi is a knitwear designer, technical editor (for Twist Collective among others) and teacher. I found her teaching style quite practical and hands-on. She began by getting us to ask her the questions we have about knitting socks for kids and she wrote them all up on the board. As the class progressed, she answered each and every one of the students’ questions. And at the end, she walked around the entire room (maybe 25 students?) and gave each student some one-on-one help with their sock pattern. I learned new tidbits and confirmed other bits in my brain… now it’s time to actually put that knowledge to good use.

The rest of the time I spent trekking through the supermassive marketplace. I know there are lots of knitters who were blown away by the Sock Summit… the list of teachers, the classes, the vendors, all the crazy auxiliary events like the Sock Hop and the flash mob… but honestly, I think it was simple, practical things that made it for me. Just silly things like how they offered free WiFi to all the participants or how the lighting in the marketplace was not merely adequate, but actually bright. Overall, my gripes with these kinds of conferences is that the rooms are always freezing cold and that there’s no good food within walking distance. I got a lead to go to a Japanese-run grocery store for sushi but the offerings were seriously sketchy. Raw fish at left room temperature? Eww.

I’m happy I got to go and meet so many fellow dyers and knitters and would love to go again. The Sock Summit crew seems to have this event organization business down pat. They captured the spirit of everyone from the technical knitters to the social media/twitter knitters to the nerd audience (Sockgate anyone?) as well as the crazy Rockin’ Sock Club membership. Something for every kind of sock knitter.

New York Stories

Visiting New York for the first time was an experience so heavily laden with expectation and promise. New York is bursting with things to do, see and eat — each one needing attention and priority. For better or worse, I’m not a guidebook reader and often that results in me landing in a foreign city without a clue. I really enjoy settling into a place by just people watching and wandering but we did ask ex-NYC residents and friends about their not-to-miss lists. We visited as many as we could and hopefully I have a few to add. These were my little discoveries.

Industrial Strength

New York is on aesthetic steroids. Everything is just bigger, brighter, flashier, grungier — whatever you want, they’ve got and more.

AllSaints Spitalfields in SoHo filled me with so much post-apocalyptic styled happiness… An entire wall was lined top to bottom with antique Singer sewing machines (there are 493 of them), referencing “Spitalfields” — a historic textile area in London. They had giant wooden bobbins tacked to the wall above the change rooms. I adore the heavy industrial feel of their space which contrasts with the soft, worn sweaters in unexpected shapes and textures. Tiny little details like miniature deer antlers used as clothes hooks just made me giddy.

Lightness and Charm

For every instance where a random harried stranger brusquely bumped into me on the street, there was an instance of something absolutely charming about New York. I know this might be more of an Anthropologie thing than a NYC thing, but as a Canadian without Anthropologie, I feel like I’ve just discovered some of the loveliest displays I’ve ever encountered.

The stylist was just getting started on installing this window… hand applying coloured tags to the dress form.

And oh-so-random, we walked into the Anthropologie at Rockefeller Center and there was a little Dixieland jazz quartet playing in the entrance. There just happened to be an art show opening for a group of artists from New Orleans and we got to partake of their cocktail-sized beignets!

Also exquisitely charming is the new Purl SoHo. You can see all the photos of Purl here. But this is by far my favourite one. The display at the very front of the shop has samples of their patchwork fabric in embroidery hoops. Who knew that Purl carried so much embroidery stuff. And Ozark Handspun… that yarn is so fun.

Inside/Outside Space

The most beautiful thing in New York has to be Central Park. What a retreat from the world. A huge patch of calm in the middle of a very intense city. If I lived in New York, I’d definitely be a runner. Most definitely. We saw the park covered in snow and watched young families toboggan down gentle hills into haystacks. We walked through about two-thirds of the park… for several hours… until our legs couldn’t hold us anymore and we limped back to our tiny hotel room, frozen but happy.

From what little I experienced, I felt that personal space is at a real low in New York. Living spaces are tiny and they squeeze people out into the streets which are crowded and rushed. Even our hotel room — the front door couldn’t open all the way since it bumped into the bed at about 65% of the way.

There’s a scene in the movie Valentine’s Day where Anne Hathaway and Topher Grace are having dinner and the restaurant goers are all so tightly packed that she accidentally drinks out of her neighbour’s water glass. We had that same squished and clausterphobic feeling at Socarrat Paella Bar on our last night in NYC. The paella and sangria were delicious and worth braving the minus zero weather to get there, but the concept is maybe not my style. The restaurant is very small and long with one long, communal table down the centre that seats at most 12 diners (if you arrive at a busy time, you’ll just have to wait). You get seated directly opposite your fellow dining partner and so the entire evening is spent (literally) rubbing shoulders with strangers and unintentionally eavesdropping on other people’s conversations.

For another dinner we spent 95 minutes, packed like sardines, waiting for a table at Ippudo. The ramen was pretty darn good and I really enjoyed the food, but the unpleasantness of being pressed against the cold entrance door by thirty other hungry, cranky diners really diminished the experience for me. I don’t know how people manage to eat in NYC… maybe they just need more ramen shops.

And I sort of understand the need for places like Central Park and even the tucked away Secret Burger Joint. It’s just the need to escape.

Daily Bread

I hear there’s something about New York or Brooklyn water. Something incredible. It’s the reason that apparently the bagels, crusty breads and pizza crusts taste better. While not confirming or denying the legend of the water, I had some of the tastiest bakery treats I’ve ever had on this trip.

Clinton Street Baking Co. was recommended to us by several people. Maybe because they knew of my love of breakfast food or maybe because they knew that Clinton Street Baking Co. undeniably makes the lightest and fluffiest blueberry pancakes around. Not being quick enough to buy the cookbook at the cafe, I researched a bit online and found people trying to recreate these pancakes. One of the secrets to success may be whipping the egg whites separately and folding them in at the last minute. Another secret is possibly using cake flour instead of regular flour. I don’t know. All I know is, we left mere days before PANCAKE MONTH, dammit.

Amy’s Bread in the Chelsea Market was also worth the visit. The spicy grilled cheese sandwich was full with cilantro and fresh tomato and made a memorable breakfast. And since my eyes are bigger than my stomach, about 20 minutes later we stopped at Sarabeth’s for super creamy tomato soup and a heavenly almond croissant. Chelsea Market being the location where the Food Network films Iron Chef America (among others) is bound to be teeming with delicious bite after bite… I found it hard to leave.

We missed so many restaurants and places (sadly, I missed visiting Brooklyn General and the second floor of the Met), the only way to rectify the situation is to go back. Soon.

Live from New York

Spectacular. Satisfying. Sumptuous. I’ve stopped writing full sentences. Being in New York this week has sparked something like a mini explosion in my head … all this extraordinarily inspiring “activity”. Whether it’s scrambled eggs or pizza or shopping or architecture or whatever… it just seems like everything in New York has the volume turned up and polished to a gleaming shine. I’m really happy we had the chance to run free through the city this past week, eating our way through each little neighbourhood.

I’m also very grateful to have had the chance to speak at Knitty City on Thursday evening. The store is warm and full with such an amazing community or “family” feeling to it. And of course, it’s great to meet the knitters I’ve only ever known virtually!

The afternoon before the “Young Designer” talk, I got to meet and chat with Maria from Subway Knits and record a little something for her podcast. Hopefully we’ll be able to hear a little bit of that soon!

Today is also the first day of Vogue Knitting Live and throughout the Hilton, there are old and new Vogue Knitting magazine covers blown up and arranged with dress forms and yarn samples. It’s been a busy, scheduled-packed day that started with a design class at 8:30 am with Mari Lynn Patrick. She has personally written over 12,000 knitwear design patterns in her incredible career and showed us gorgeous, finely finished knit samples that date back to 1973.

Nicky Epstein gave a lunchtime lecture about her design work over the years and 30 minutes later, I was running off to my afternoon class with Debbie Bliss that I shared with Pixie Purls, the designer and photographer behind Petite Purls. It was great meeting and chatting with Brandy/Pixie… strange how meeting old school knit bloggers feels like reuniting with high school classmates… you kind of know them but just haven’t connected in so long. It’s a good feeling. Later at the market preview, Sooze from Knitty City snapped a pic of me bumping into Jared from Brooklyn Tweed for the first time.

Honestly, the most wonderful thing about seeing all the so-called Knitterati is just seeing how different and unique everyone is. Everyone is just doing their “thing”… whatever it is that they love to do. And they do it in their own unique style. Back to back classes with Nicky and Debbie showed me how incredibly different their personalities are… and their knitwear designs express their personalities perfectly. Something for everyone. I love it.

Tomorrow, I’m in the Yarn Harlot‘s speed knitting class. Off to sleep off my reception night vodkas and late night “secret” burger.

Just arrived in Toronto and wanted to say hello!

I’ve just landed in Toronto and even though I lived here for ten years prior to highschool, not a single thing looks familiar! Time to take a walk about and see how everything has changed.

I’m only visiting Toronto for three days and on Wednesday evening I’ll be visiting Lettuce Knit in Kensington Market. If you’re a knitter or spinner in Toronto, I’d love to meet you… last week, we shipped two massive boxes of yarn and fibre from the studio to Lettuce Knit — yarns and fibres that are new to the shop. AND I brought an entire suitcase of handknit samples and handspun yarn. Everything from intricate lace shawls (I blocked two of them yesterday afternoon) to cozy sweaters and I’m excited so share them with you. I hope you’ll join us!

Wednesday, November 24th from 7 pm to 9 pm
Lettuce Knit
86 Nassau Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5T 1M5

http://lettuceknit.com/