Koolhaas - A Day at the Beach (and Park)

I finished Koolhaas this weekend! I won this yarn in a bet with Ronald a couple of months ago during fantasy football (my team beat his - yeah, that's right). We went to the Needlecraft Cottage and I picked out this gorgeous skein of malabrigo in Autum Forest. I tried knitting a Coloromitry with this skein but didn't like the way the colors pooled. Here you can see how the green and brown pool but it's not as bad - in fact I like the way the colors sort of spiral around the hat.

I had a heck of a time with the first decrease round. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong until I realized that I was reading "K2tbl" as Knit two together through the back loop instead of just Knit two through the back loop. I will say that this hat required a lot of concentration in general. Next time maybe I'll learn how to cable without a cable needle . . . I knit Koolhaas for my brother who turned 31 on January 11 . . . ooookay, little late but he'll love it (well, he better if he knows what is good for him!).

So today is Ron's birthday! The big 36! We did whatever he wanted . . . which meant we woke up early and went to the beach - no big surprise there. While he surfed I wandered along the sand and took photos of a few of my WIPs and FOs:

Ron points out where he's going to sit once he gets in the water.

I'm quite proud of the top view - all the pretty decreases that I labored over!

Noro Sock in its natural environment

I LOVE this sock yarn. I love the way the colors transition from greens to blues to browns. I think these are going to be perfect for camping especially - wooly and warm.

After the beach we had breakfast at St. Tropaz in Encinitas (super good outdoor cafe) and the weather was PERFECT - a balmy 70 degree day. We did a little shopping at the mall (I bought a pair of sunglasses but I think they are too big for my face . . . cripes!) and then because the weather was too nice to go indoors we went to the park where I worked on my second Noro sock and contemplated my next project. Ron fell asleep, as he does:

So. . . I actually SWATCHED (I never do that!) for my next major project . . . I've decided to knit a 3/4 sleeve version of Wicked (with or without front pocket - haven't decided yet). I'm going to use Cascade 220 in a pretty heathery purple:

My gauge came out spot on so I can move forward with the pattern . . . but FIRST I have one more small project I want to get out of the way for February . . .

Oh! And I almost forgot . . . I saw my mom this weekend and I got my poncho! There WILL be photos coming - stay tuned you will not want to miss this!