Saturday, August 2, 2008

Knitting at The Beach



Steve is away this week on business, so Mr Puffy and I headed down to sleepy surf city San Clemente, California to enjoy the late summer beach weather. Besides surfing, San Clemente has some great shops and this week I found the cutest shoes for Fall! More specifically, they will be prefect with the skirt that I'm knitting. See how well they go other already!

I'm knitting the Bell Curve skirt which is a free pattern I found on Knitty (Ravelry link). I've been thinking about knitting a skirt for some time, but was leery of knitting one with wool as I recall having a wool dress that was a little too clingy for comfort. Now that I think about it, I think there must have been some acrylic in that dress because it had just awful static electricity. In any event, I think this skirt should be okay as the "yarn" I'm using has a firm almost metallic feel and it is knitting into an interesting fabric with a nice drape. The yarn is Zoe (25% viscose and 75% nylon) manufactured by Artfibers in San Francisco and is worsted weight. My only complaint with the pattern so far is that the "star" design is a little uncomfortable to knit as you have to K5Tog. But I'm knitting very loosely when this stitch looms on the horizon and that helps considerably.

As I mentioned at the start, San Clemente is known as a surf city and so I've seen my share of surfing. But, I had never seen this before. What is happening is the surfer is hanging on to ropes while being pulled behind a jet ski and and when the surfer is set up on the wave he lets go and really zips along the wave. I can not tell you how much coordination this maneuver requires. I've seen a lot of surfing ~ whisper ~ most of my neighbors aren't very good ~ but this fellow was quite good and fun to watch. The best surfing is actually at Trestles Surf (technically just south of San Clemente) and if you would like to see some decent surfing, here's a link to a surfing video shot at Trestles.





Not being terribly well coordinated (balance wise) I enjoy body surfing where you just let the water carry you along. The waves continuously roll in one after another and makes for marvelous body surfing. I don't even mind all the sand that accumulates in my swimsuit from this activity.



But, as everyone knows, you shouldn't go swimming by yourself and Mr Puffy was having none of it. I kept saying, doesn't it look like fun in the water? He didn't move a muscle. I would hate to think he was faking being sleep when he knew how much I wanted to go in.



Speaking of shoes, did anyone hear about the earthquake in SoCal last week? It was minor, but I felt the earth move. When this happens it always re energizes me on disaster preparedness. And, since I'm in my car a lot, I carry in the trunk an old pair of tennis shoes and a light tote in which I have a few incidentals should I suddenly need to walk to shelter. For myself, even in a nuclear attack, I would need to moisturize having very dry skin. My tote therefore has moisturizer, water, a few nutrition bars, and some toiletries. I'm also thinking about tossing in a skein of sock yarn for good measure.

Cuz, these shoes aren't taking me too far in a disaster.

17 comments:

t does wool said...

okay-these shoes rocked my world when I saw them...and you definitely had better pack some yarn in that kit!!
Mr. Puffy does look suspiciously faking it-LOL;cannot wait to see the skirt!

CelticCastOn said...

just yesterday I was thinking about knitted skirts!!! Its going to be wonderful, and those shoes OH THOSE SHOES!!!! You didn't happen to pick an extra pair up did ya?? :)

kasiaiscarly said...

cute shoes!

mr puffy is so uninterested in the beach, huh? my pair walk along the surf back and forth. zoisa barks at the waves as they break and jimmy ray concentrates on making sure no water sneaks up on him and gets his feet wet!

Monika said...

Very pretty shoes! I like your beach pictures with the waves and all, but Mr. Puffy's pic is the best. He looks comfortable and I'd like to snuggle up beside him.

jillian said...

Those shoes are something else! So cute.

knittingdragonflies said...

Would might not get far in these shoes but you would be lookin good! I would like to be lying with Mr. Puffy in these pics, he has the right idea.
Vicki

Windyridge said...

I think I saw you favorite that pattern in Ravelry. It looks like it will be very nice and I love the shoes.

Firefly Nights said...

You made the shoe photo at the top of the page look just like a fashion shoot. It must be lovely in San Clemente.

I thought about you when I heard about the earthquake. I didn't hear much about damage, so I thought you were probably okay. Sorry I didn't get chance to e-mail you about it.

Mr. Puffy looks like he knows where his priorities are. Too much work to go surfing, even though the photos are really pretty of the waves.

SissySees said...

Please don't tell Mr Puffy, but I do think he was upstaged by those shoes. SIGH! I wish I could still wear beauties like that...

More similarities abound. I keep two spare dog leashes and harnesses in my vehicle, two doggie blankets and very large "beach blanket". The Knight carries a couple of doses of his medications in his truck, and perhaps I should at least put some of mine in my purse...

The photos allowed me to almost hear the surf. I should put up a counter on my blog; only 8+ weeks until we are FINALLY back at the beach house!

amanda said...

The beach looks beautiful. Ah.

Those shoes are rockin'!

Hilary said...

Oh my gosh, I LOVE THOSE SHOES! Where did you find them? That flower clasp is just too cute. And they'll go perfectly with the Bell Curve skirt!

Anonymous said...

The picture of your skirt in progress and shoes is breathtaking. But, I must admit, I LOVE the picture of Mr. Puffy. I wish it was posted on Flickr because I'd like to include it in a mosaic for the ABC Along. I'm planning to do P is for Pets.

I agree with the others, you should include sock yarn in your "just in case kit" (that's what I call the few things that I keep in my car).

Anonymous said...

Cute shoes! And yes, they would definitely look really cute with a flirty skirt. Cute Mr. Puffy too. :)

Tracy said...

Hi! Thanks for stopping by--so nice to meet you and Mr. Puffy! He is sooo cute...and how clever he helps you knit ;o) Your beach looks incredibly inviting *SIGH* I have never been surfing, and in fact not a strong swimmer at all--LOL! I've been knitting some years but have not knit a skirt. Look forward to seeing yours when it's finished! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE those shoes...Happy Days :o)

Ally Jay said...

definitely not the kind of shoes to let you run away from anything, but they sure are cute. Love the heel and strap detail. I think you are pretty brave to knit a skirt and can't wait to see what it looks like.
Would Mr Puffy pretend to sleep? How could you think such a thing. He was just building up his strength.

raining sheep said...

pardon me while I swoon about those shoes and the pictures of the gorgeous water and sunny weather. I just bought a cute little skirt that would look perfect with little strap shoes like that.

Smashgirl said...

How can you not fall in love with Mr. Puffy! I sometimes walk my girl Lucy on the beach trail so if we ever cross paths I'll be sure to say "hi"!
Your knitting is awesome, do you sell your things on Etsy?