Vacation Knitting plus Signs of Spring

I am back from the big cities!! (New York and Boston, to be precise.)
While there, I did many things, though I would be lying if I said that knitting and yarn stores did not play some small part in my enjoyment of both.

Beginning in the beginning, there was New York, where I mostly worked on my current shame sock (shame because I bought the yarn under the influence of yarn fumes in Webs on Super Bowl Sunday, and because even though I am annoyed with almost everything about it, I find myself wanting to buy yarn with the same girly-girl colors that I swear I'm really not that into).

Here is the sock on the beach at Coney Island:


Here it is with the rides behind it:


While at Coney Island, my friend Thomas and I got see the Coney Island Polar Bear Club plunge in:


After Coney Island, Thomas and I made our way back to Manhattan, and for me, on to Purl!



Credit where credit is due: Thomas took all the pictures with me in them. Note my awkward/crazed expression -- I was trying to go for an "Oh my god I'm really here!!" look -- a large part of my getting into knitting last year was through reading the purlbee, through which I've learned a ton about technique, inspiration, and all things knitting related. That, in combo with Last Minute Knitted Gifts, the book by the owner of Purl, Joelle Hoverson, is why seeing Purl felt as though I had reached Mecca!! (You know, in a yarn and commercial sort of way.)

I even got to meet Whitney of Whit's Knits, a feature on the purlbee -- she's an amazing designer with a great, down-to-earth yet beautiful aesthetic. Look at her stuff and get inspired!!

Jumping ahead a bit, I finished the mystery knitting:


This hat was my train knitting -- it is destined for J, and is a very belated Christmas/Birthday handknit. On St. Patrick's Day, while I knit this on the train from NY to Boston, the various conductors gently harassing people for not wearing green thought that it was amazing. I like it, too. I had little idea how stretchy two by two ribbing can be, and also little idea how much knitting a sportweight watch-cap (two strands of laceweight merino together) would require -- the fold-over cuff offers a lot of warmth, and the 11 inches of the hat offer a lot of lee-way for how much doubled up wool you want!

Specs:
Yarn: Knitpicks Gossamer (lace weight merino) doubled, in discontinued colorway Leprechaun (fittingly enough). You cannot imagine how bright these greens are until you see it in person!
Needles: Size 4, Addi-Turbos from my mother's needle stash

The new knitting projects -- jumping the queue, and I just don't care --

Whit's Knits Mary-Jane Slippers -- My Ruby Slippers!




Specs:
Yarn: Brown Sheep, Superwash Worsted, in Red Wing colorway. Bought at Windsor Button in Boston (one pointed yarn purchase, if there ever were!) -- the staff that day were super helpful, so don't pay attention to the one-star reviews they receive if you look the store up in a Boston yarn store search on google.
Needles: Size 6, maybe?

I am liking the pattern, and I'm understanding garter stitch better than ever with this. I think I've finally figured out how to pick up dropped stitches in straight knitting, something that has always turned me off of straight garter stitch projects.

And finally:



A little something something for me -- a small scarf in fluffy brioche stitch from Barbara Walker's second stitch dictionary in Blue Sky Alpacas' Silk Alpaca yarn, in colorway Papaya.
Luscious yarn, saturated coral color. Bought at Purl, and dearly loved already.

Here's to making it into Project Spectrum's "Fire" period, with two weeks left!!!