The long road to nowhere to see nothing!

You Know there is knitting in that bag no water but, awe who needs water.

Where are we?

( apparently I need water and knitting!)

I was in Kona this week. My buddies and I thought we would go to the farmers market. That lasted about 10 min. So we decided to go for a long walk and explore. Corrie said something about this mythical marina. (In her defense she said she didn't know where she was going) we found a cool beach and thought we could get there by hiking over the lava fields. That was fun. All in all it was an hour and a half before we found a road that could get us back 3 hours of hiking we found nothing saw a lot of lava and couldn't wait to eat. It was all worth it! Just shows the power of good friends and fun conversation! Next month I am off to San Francisco and Philadelphia. Aloha.

Ps if anyone has any good knitting suggestions for San Francisco, please send them my way. Just comment it will go right to my email.
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A beautiful story

Some of you may not have read this comment. I thought it was worth sharing.....

I met Dawn on a flight ( when my camera was broken, so no pictures) She and I had a great conversation about how knitting gifts can be a great way to transfer positive energy.


Hi there!

Dawn here with the blue scarf. Unfortunately that scarf is going to have to be mine now. It was originally for my nephew but during the trip I lost my dear mother. On January 2nd I sat by her bedside in Hospice and knitted as God called her home.

I kept talking to Mom about how I had just learned how to knit and had been working on evening out my stitches. As I knitted and talked I took the scarf and rubbed it on her hand for a little "Mamma love". It will be mine now, my nephew will get the next one.

Looking forward to following your blog and hearing about your travels. I hope to see you on another flight soon!

Dawn Geoffroy
Boston MA

Thank you so much for sharing This beautiful story. I am sorry for your loss ...but what a beautiful treasure you have, the memories and the scarf
My thoughts are with you

Biking in Kauai

Thursday my crew convinced my to go bike riding. I have never done this. I am so glad they did. ( I was hesitant due to the wind) I am so glad they did we all rented beach cruisers. It turned out to be a beautiful day. We even did a lttle surfing. Ha ha ha.
Enjoy the pictures
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The longest Flight to Hawaii I have ever done

This was my record for flying time. 7 hours 30 minutes. We were deadheading. ( Which means we were traveling as passengers so we could work our return flight. Our final destination was Kauai.
There was lots of time for knitting. Along with, two movies a nap, and a lot of recreational eating. You might be wondering what recreational eating is? Well, it is very dangerous. Its when you eat just because your bored. That's why knitting is so helpful! It keeps your hands occupied so you won't mindlessly eat. It is especially hazardous now ,since we sell junk food! ( Twizzlers are my down fall. I have perfected the art of eating a twizzler with no hands.... This takes practice and its not pretty!)
Back to my story. I just happened to be sitting in the stitch and bitch section of the plane( knitters are cosmicly drawn to each other)
First I met Pam she was working on a great bag ( I am going to buy the pattern ) http://www.yarnmarket.com/generate/book_reader.cfm?action=show_project&project_id=2450&product_id=4849

Then I met Kathy she was working on a very pretty classic silk cardigan sweater. (Beautiful color choice)
Me you ask...... Mostly Lanes sock(the other one) I would have been finished but I started over I wanted the strips to match. ( He's kind of a matchy guy!...said with love)
Any way after what seemed like all day strapped in an uncomfortable chair......Oh that's right it WAS all day! We finally got to Honolulu., ran though the airport and caught our connecting flight to Lihue Kauai. The whole crew went out for dinner to our favorite local restaurant Cafe Cocos.(In Kaapa) You can bring your wine, and they usually have good local entertainment( last night a wonderful jazz band playing old 40s standards) Oh and there chocolate cake is something I dream about ! So today I am off to adventure Kauai.
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Valley Of The Temples

So I have been a little remiss in my posting. Give a guy a break I do need to sleep and it was raining the last two days........
On Saturday my flying buddy Corey and I went on a great adventure. We were in Oahu (Honolulu). We set out for the valley of the temples. To see a replica of a 900 year old Japanese temple. We had no idea what we were getting in to we knew we just had to take 2 buses and it was on the other side of the island. You see the most interesting things on buses. On the second bus, the driver told us we would get off when we saw Mc Donalds. So we were driving and driving. ( Beautiful scenery). Kept commenting on how easy it was to take a great picture and Corey said "duh, it Hawaii" she has a point!
We finally arrived at the Mc Donalds stop after an hour( yes I said an hour! I would have knitted but I was too busy looking out the windows)

We were told to walk thru the cemetery and the temple was behind.

We came upon the Byodo-In Temple. It is almost magical and was completely unexpected. It was built in 1968. To commemorate the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. It was built completely without nails. As we approached we heard a beautiful haunting bell. It just sounded like tranquility. Byodo-in Temple translates. "Temple of equality"

The bell we heard is 5 foot high 3 ton brass bell.

The Buddha housed in the temple is 18 feet high covered in gold lacquer.
As you can see I didn't have to many problems getting a good picture.

It was a beautiful day and quite the experience. We could have stayed longer watching the koi swim., I would have liked to spend time knitting. (It would be a good place to work on a prayer shawl) .
Alas we had a long bus ride back. I will hold my memories of that beautiful tranquil place inside me.

As a after note I had mentioned that evening on the bus to our pilot what a wonderful day Corey and I had. As well as what a beautiful place it was. He said " as a christian, I wouldn't be interested at all" I thought what a sad person you are..............
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Working to Honolulu. ( or 7... oops... 9 hours to paradise)

I am off to the Islands again. (I told you people I was cold, last month)
We had a mechanical problem again. I do have to tell you we have a great team of mechanics and pilots who will not let us try to fly over a huge expanse of water with anything not quite right. Again, they gave us a new plane. While we were waiting my friend Edward took this great photo of the guys working on the rudder.
Our flying time was 7 hours those winds in the winter do make it .a long flight. Add 2 hour delay and poof, 9 hours to paradise.

Carol a fellow knitter made great use of her time. Look at the beautiful yarn she is knitting with. She is knitting a feather and fan shawl. ( You can tell her companion wasn't excited about being in the picture. ) Oh well I am here now and today we are heading to a buddhist temple. I promise the camera is in the bag.
Aloha for now!
A traveling knitter
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The Men's Knitting Class

February 8th and 22th I will be teaching. A men's knitting class between 2:00 and 4:00. The class is $40. This scarf is our first project. It can be knitted in any weight yarn. I knitted it in noro silk garden sock. The class is at Knit Happens in Scottsdale.

http://knithappensllc.blogspot.com/

February 8th and 15th

If you know any guys who are want to learn to knit, let them know! It is a great scarf. By the time you are finished you will have learned casting on, knit stitch ,picking up, and binding off.
This class was designed for guys who might fell a little intimidated learning in a female dominated craft.

Coffee Shop Knitting ....Again

Just thought I would steal an hour. Try and pound out some of this Rosebud shawl. I am knitting a solid one for the class I am teaching. at knit happens. I am knitting with Alpaca with a Twist socrates. It is cloud light and mmmm soft.
Just a quick update. Thanks to Nancy from Columbus for sending me the picture I took of her knitting on the flight( it was during the broken camera debacle) refer to Boston Columbus post.

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Happy Birthday Lane. (Or one down and one to go)

Ok, so I have mentioned my little HalfsHimers problem(you know - remember half the things half the time. This is the perfect example.......
A long long time ago(when I say this, I mean a year) I realized I had never knitted my dear friend Lane socks. I got to that imediately, bought some great new Kaffe Fassett sock yarn, and knew I had plenty of time to knit this simple pair of socks. I took them in my bag and just knitted when I had a little time. (No pressure I was way ahead of the game) then things happened, life got in the way. ......... Fast foreward to last week. I was talking to my partner, and realized I couldn't remember giving Lane his socks. I could remember knitting them, but all the rest was hazy. So I began to look in all my regular hidey holes. Hmm I couldn't find them( I must have given them to him surely) so I called and asked just to be sure. He suddenly asked " Did you get my email?" I said no and realized he sent it to an old email address I rarely look at. Apparently he had sent it asking about the socks I told him I would knit. Well now the search was on. I found it burried in the back of my closet(of course I said IT meaning half of one sock. ) ....................
So Happy Birthday FooLina(that's another story)
The other one is on the needles and will be done by the end of the week.
Your friend with HalfsHimers
FooLetta
Aka A Traveling Knitter


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The Long Long Flight to Honolulu

Friday I checked in at 10 am for Honolulu. All went well till we were next for take off, the captain called and said we had a pressurization problem and we had to go back to the gate. They managed to find us a new plane ( no easy feat! Who just happens to have an overwater qualified 757 laying around?So 3 hours later we were off to Hawaii.
I met a lovely lady named Wally who was busy working on a hat (always a good travel project.) She was a retired chemistry teacher and her husband was a retired chemical engineer (there is a lot of chemistry between those two)
We finally arrived in:Honolulu after being on a plane for 11 and 1/2 hours. Oh, but it was well worth it !
I was up early for a morning walk on the beach.
I have to tell you this little observation. I was walking past the International market and saw the ugliest mu mu I have ever seen ( looked like it was made with a shower curtain) I thought to myself. Who would ever wear such a hideous creation? 5 hours later I was given my answer. I was standing in line at the grocery store behind the women wearing the monstrosity. Laughing I thought somebody up there has a sense of humor!

Well, seeing as I was still tired I decided to just plop down on the beach and hang. I thought about knitting, but the song of the sun and sand lulled me to pure relaxation.

Ahhhhhh and Aloha

( The view from my Back!)

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Jessica Knits

Well we ventured to north Scottsdale today. I was able to go to one of my favorite shops. Jessica Knits. Its quite a drive, when I was a kid growing up, it would have been in the middle of the desert. As a matter of fact, as boy scouts we actually camped out there. It is quite urban now.
Jessica is the owner( you may have guessed) and
I feel lucky to call her a friend.
The store has an amazing selection of yarns. I was drooling over a silk blend Manos. ( Too bad I am still on my self imposed yarn diet, still trying to loose a little around my stash ) The store also has a huge selection of great new knitting books. I am always inspired when I get a chance to head that way.
So if your in the North Scottsdale area head on in to Jessica Knits and check it out you will be surprised by the warm welcome and cozy atmosphere and very knowledgeable staff
http://www.jessicaknits.com/

Whale songs in Maui

Maui never ceases to amaze. The weather was beautiful. I woke to a wonderful sunrise. I had tea on my deck looking at the ocean what a great spot for a little morning knitting. One of my favorite things in hawaii is the fragrant air. Just the smell can rejuvenate and refresh your spirit.
After some meditative morning knitting. I was off for a good walk. I needed to get my Grandma a little Hawaiiana for her birthday. (94 this year and still pretty sharp)
After my walk It was beach time. We are blessed to stay in a beautiful hotel right on the beach( it looks out on the island of Lanai and Molokai) I was especially excited to go in the water and listen to the whales singing. It is really amazing you can float on your back and just listen to their songs. After floating and listening I was resting on the beach. We were suddenly treated to one of the most amazing whale shows I have ever seen. A young whale of about 2 or 3 was breaching and playing about 500yards of the beach you could see his markings he was so close! He probably jumped completely out of the water over 30 times. What a blessing. So I leave you with a smile in my heart refreshed and in awe ....
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Flying the rest of my Boston Columbus trip

I left off yesterday with Boston... The next day we were flying Boston to phoenix to Columbus a very long day. It started bad when we arrived at the airport I realized my badge wasn't hanging around my neck. I assumed I left it in the hotel room downtown. I called work hailed a cab, as we drove off I realized it was in my other bag. So I told the guy to take me back paid my stupid fee( with a nice tip), ran to the gate, and we closed the door a minute early. What a way to start the day!

On the flight I had a great chat with a fellow knitter named Dawn. She was knitting a blue scarf for her nephew. She had a great theory how a hand knit gift was a great transference of energy! I totally agree. I always am thinking of the person I am knitting for and have fond memories of things we have done. That is why I wont knit for money. If I am going to put that much energy and thought in to some thing it is going to be for someone I love. My Mom and Dad always say wearing my hand knit socks are like getting a big hug from their son!

The next flight I met Nancy she was knitting a sock with XXL Trekking.( she was also knitting with the magic loop method that I can't wait to learn from my friend Chris, who is teaching it this spring at Knit Happens) She was knitting the mock crock free download from http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=50400220

This a great mock cable technique and its really easy! No cable needle necessary!

Nancy let me take a picture of her knitting with her camera and said she would email it to me so I can post it. She and her husband were on there way to the Rose bowl from Columbus. ( along with 3/4 of the plane.)

So now you are caught up I am packing for Hawaii . Yes don't hate me but this whole month I will be posting from Hawaii. I just am too cold so I decided to do the Hawaii flights for a month. There is not a lot of yarn options,( just a lot of knitting time) but I am sure I can come up with something , since now I have a CAMERA. Yes it came and we are back in action. A 5 mega pixel( i don't really know what that means ,but everyone assures me more pixels is good)with an auto focus. Look out I am going to be watching for you flying knitters. I will be sure and take lots of pretty pictures of the islands( I am flying to all 4 islands )

I have to get ready for Maui, may bag is going to be full of projects !!

Aloha

A traveling Knitter