2012's Great Gold Coast KIP Hunt

The third annual Great Gold Coast KIP Hunt starts on Saturday, and I've started training for the big event. Tuesday I spent time knitting at the public library. Today I went to the movies with a friend, and I was able to get a little KIP time at the theater. Too bad neither of these will count for the hunt.

Knitting at Day Break

7 am, watching the sun rise as I sit on the beach and knit.

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The first stripe of my Special Olympics Scarf.

Adventures of a KIP Hunter

Becca had off from work today, so the two of us went off together to gather up a couple of KIP locations for me. I'm one of the founders and moderators of the Great Gold Coast KIP Hunt, and yet I only have logged in four points so far this week.

I had an overdue book, so we started off at the library. I was good and only choose one book to bring home with me. Not that I really was trying to be good. It's just that I still have "A Game of Thrones" to read this week, and I really just wanted to sit and knit in order to get my point. I found a nice, comfortable corner where I managed to finish the pink ruffled scarf. I got a lot of compliments on it, too. Once the Flamenco scarf was finished, I started right in on a scarf for the Special Olympics.

Our next stop was across the street for lunch at the Gardens Mall. I sent Becca off to Starbucks for some coffee, first, which gave me a chance to sit and work on the Special Olympic Scarf. After lunch, we sat in the food court while I worked on my second sock (my "purse project").

After eating, we felt adventurous so went decided to head downtown. We caught the trolley at CityPlace, earning a Public Transportation point for me in the KIP Hunt. The ride was nice and breezy, and we saw some really interesting art along the way. I only managed to get one picture, since my hands were busy with the knitting and I couldn't put it down in time to pull out the camera.

We rode the trolly to Clematis Street, where I got to knit at the Fountains. This is one of my favorite places to bring out-of-town visitors, especially if they have children. I do not recommend knitting in the fountain; it's much more comfortable to take advantage of the lounge chairs on the nearby patio.

After a while we got bored watching the kids play in the water and since we hadn't brought towels with us (which meant we really couldn't join them), Becca and I decided to go off and find another point. We figured in such a history-rich location as downtown West Palm, it shouldn't be hard to find an interesting historical location.

We found a playground! There were no children around for me to entice with yarn, but at least I got a picture. I got a lot of knitting done, too, since Becca refused to help me down from the jungle gym. What a brat! She knows I'm afraid of heights! But I had my knitting to keep me occupied, so I wasn't too worried. I knew that she would get bored before I would. Sure enough, she ended up helping me down so that we could continue our exploring.

By the time we found our historical location, the old county courthouse, it was closed. It's a shame, too, because there was a sign advertising their current exhibit - The Barefoot Mailman. Now that I know how to get to the old courthouse, I'm going to have to make a trip out there to see the exhibit. Today, I settled for knitting on the front steps.

Then it was back onto the trolly, to head home.

Except, we didn't really go right home. There was a Michaels along the way, so I stopped to check out the yarn. (I behaved myself. Mostly.)

I actually got to knit more than I planned at Michaels. They had a Make It/Take It class that was just getting started when we arrived, and Becca decided it was her turn to have fun. So we stayed while she made a duct tape wallet.

Tomorrow, Becca has to work a double shift so it's just me. I'm thinking the beach. Or maybe the zoo...

Yarn It!

I spent the day with my mom at Yarn It! for the opening celebration of the Second Annual KIP Hunt. We had a really nice time, socializing with everyone and knitting. I mean, how could it be anything but a great day?

The Great Gold Coast KIP Hunt

Knitting in the Park  - 2/26/2011

World Wide Knit in Public Week starts tomorrow morning, and I hope everyone is ready to present yarns. (Sigh, even I have to admit that was a pretty poor pun.)

Anyway.

As part of the WWKIP, we are celebrating the Second Annual Great Gold Coast KIP Hunt. The official list has been posted (well, I'll be finished by the time you read this) in Ravelry. The object is to knit in as many places on the list as you can, taking a picture at each location. Then you post the pictures on Ravelry to get points. Whoever gets the most points, wins. And there are really great prizes!

Wednesday's Works in Progress

I would have thought that being out of work I would get a lot of knitting done. Instead, most of my time has been spent working on applications and trying to get major housecleaning done. The only real time I've had to knit is when I'm sitting in the car, waiting on my daughter. So I've been able to get a lot of my Sock Blanket done. And I've been working on a pair of toe-up socks. This is left-over yarn from the Yoga Monkeys, and I wasn't sure how much I have. Hence the toe-up instead of my preferred cuff-down socks. The pattern is just a plain vanilla sock, since the self-striping yarn doesn't really need a fancy stitch pattern. It's hard to tell from the picture, but I'm almost done the gusset on one of the socks, and will be turning the heel very soon.

When I do get to knit "for real," I've been working on my February Lady Sweater. This has been sitting around for a while, and I'm not sure why. I love the combination of handspun and Malibrigo yarns. Because I only had a couple of skeins of the Malibrigo left, I decided to put the body on hold and do the sleeves. Then I'll go back and knit the body until I run out of yarn. (It's going to look much better once it's finished; it's very difficult to wear a sweater properly when it's still on the needles.)

And since I'm talking about knitting, if anyone is interested in joining the Second Annual KIP Hunt we are now taking sign ups in Ravelry. The hunt is our way of celebrating World Wide Knit In Public Week, and it is open to everyone regardless where you live. The Hunt was a lot of fun last year, and we're hoping to make it even bigger and better this year. Please come join us!

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Blanket Update:
103 squares in 102 days
(Status: Managing to keep up with daily square)

One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats. (Iris Murdoch)

I have decided that I have gone completely around the bend. The nice men in white might as well come along and fit me for one of those snazzy jackets with the arms wrapped around the back. It would go really well with the little treat bag I've suddenly started wearing on my belt loop.

By the way, if you have a bag of treats snapped on your waistband, it isn't a good idea to sit in the middle of a group of puppies with your knitting bag. I wanted a picture for the Great Gold Coast KIP Hunt. (Remember, I told you about it Saturday.) One of the locations on the hunt list is "school." Originally I had figured that I would just take a picture at work. But since tonight was Puppy School, I had the brilliant idea to knit there for the Hunt. Just in case anyone else thinks that this is a good idea, let me point out a couple of things:

• Puppies like bamboo dpns better than metal dpns. They like them enough to steal them out of your purse. Apparently bamboo dpns make really nice little chew toys.
• A ball of yarn is almost as much fun as a tennis ball.
• When playing keep-away with several puppies, a ball of yarn is not a good keep-away object. The yarn tangles everyone up, and it isn't a pretty sight.
  
• Owners of puppies tend to be very excitable. Especially when a game of yarn-ball-keep-away is initiated.
• A sock project bag is easily confused with a treat bag. And that confusion is lessened only after all of the puppies have had several chances to taste the sock to be sure it isn't hiding a treat.
• It helps to have a sense of humor when puppies are nibbling on your hand-knit colorwork socks.
  

Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save. (Will Rogers)

I managed to get a couple more locations for the Great Gold Coast KIP Hunt today. First I drove all the way to Jupiter, hoping to snag a bonus point by getting a picture of David at Burger King. Instead, I just got lunch (plus one "fast food" point). Then I drove to the beach, hoping to get the beach point in the Hunt plus a photo for my Virtual Vacation Swap. Instead, I drove around and around the parking lot before giving up -- there just weren't any parking spaces left. So I ended up at the mall. At least there was air conditioning and Starbucks, so life was still good.

I've decided that it is very strange being without children. The first couple of days was fun. I could eat what I wanted, and do what I wanted, and I didn't have to worry about being somewhere that they wanted me to be. But the novelty has worn off, and I'm starting to feel lonely. I have a new admiration for my mother and my daughter, both of whom have been living on their own for years now. It's the little things, like figuring out how to cook dinner without having enough left over for the rest of the week, that has me baffled. (So far I've been coping with that by bringing leftovers for lunch to share with my student.) I imagine that I would eventually get used to it, but I can see myself spending a lot of time sitting on the couch by myself knitting to audiobooks. I will probably also spend a lot of time at Starbuck. But then again, I already do that.

Thank goodness my son comes home in five days. So I should probably enjoy myself while I can. Besides, tomorrow my mom and aunt will be visiting me. (Maybe I should just give up drinking wine when I'm alone.)

Before beginning a Hunt, it is wise to ask someone what you are looking for before you begin looking for it. (Pooh's Little Instruction Book)

Today was the first day of World Wide Knit in Public Week. To celebrate this, my friends Paula and Jennifer have been helping me plan the Gold Coast KIP Hunt. I had gotten the idea from the Yarn Harlot, and thought it would be a wonderful way to show that knitting is appropriate anywhere, with anyone. Luckily, people seem to agree with me and we have several participants for the hunt. We've also gotten some really great prizes. Naturally, as an organizer, I can't win any of the prizes. But I'm going to play along for the fun of it.

To start off the first day on a great note, my sister and our friend Josie drove up from Boca and we spent the afternoon at CityPlace. Originally our plan was to have lunch, and then to knit for a while. It was a good plan. A very good plan, as it turned out.

For lunch we went to Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger. They have the world's best onion rings, in my opinion. Plus they have egg creams, and I love egg creams.

Then we decided to hop a ride on the trolley to Clematis Street to check out the waterfront park. By then, my niece had joined us (she had been to the Norton Museum on a field trip) and she took over the photography. Thank goodness, because it left the rest of us free to knit and enjoy ourselves.

I hadn't been to Clematis Street since they finished the new piers. It's really nice. They now have three public floating piers, with benches and umbrellas all along the way. It's a wonderful place to catch a breeze while you knit or read or just enjoy the scenery. Cathy can attest to the "wheeee" factor of the waves. (We didn't tell her that it was the floating pier at first. Instead we let her think that she was even more unsteady on her feet than normal.)

We did eventually make our way back to the trolley, just in time to watch the band set up at CityPlace. Unfortunately, by the time they finished their "check, check, 1-2-3, check" over an hour had gone by and it was getting pretty late. We only stayed to listen to a couple actual songs before giving up and heading home.

All in all, it was a very good day. I hope we get to do it again soon.