Pattern:  Stravaigin
Designer:  Christina Campbell
Yarn:  The Woolen Rabbit Sporty Kashmir
Colorways:  Natural, Butterscotch and Mancave Blue

Stravaigin is a Scottish word that means to roam or wander around, often for pleasure and frequently with no particular destination or aim in mind.  This pattern was Christina's knit/walk along pattern for last year and I love it!
This was my first real colorwork knitting other than a few small items I have made over the years.
I was determined to do this without having the cowl pucker with my tighter tension and I was SO happy with how it came out.

One of the other colorwork items I have knit was a little rabbit dress designed by Julie of Little Cotton Rabbits and I will share it soon. 
This tutorial really helped me immensely to understand the importance of consistency in how you catch up the floats.  Like Julie I also knit English style, holding my yarns in my right hand, although I can see how much easier it would be to hold each strand in both hands.

  Already I am thinking of my next colorwork piece so maybe I will give it a try, even though I have yet to be able to get the hang of knitting continental.  Who knows…maybe this time it will click. 😉

Another thing I did this time was to cut the yarn in between color changes instead of carrying it up the back of the cowl.  I didn't want to have my usual sloppy bump that this can make.  The downside is there were a lot of ends to weave in when I was done, but the reward was a much nicer finish both inside and outside.

All in all this was a fun exercise in learning something that I had always avoided because I thought it was too hard or fiddly, but I actually enjoyed it!  I love the meaning behind the pattern name as well and I look forward to when I can get back out and walking again.  It's been a long snowy winter here with more snow due this weekend, but seriously it has to come to an end soon, right?  When it does, I will be Stravaigin along….

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Last weekend Ken and I had planned on sneaking away on Labor Day for one last trip to the ocean, but I had forgotten that I had promised Hannah a day of school shopping on the same day, so we postponed our beach day at Wallis Sands State Park until yesterday…and what a day it was!

The waves were HUGE!  Unlike the gentle waves we encountered at South Beach on the Cape, the waves were fast and furious as it got closer and closer to high tide.

In addition to the waves were the non-stop winds..and it wasn't necessarily a warm wind.  Another sign that autumn is on it's way, but the sun was bright and warm however, so we stayed. We spent a good amount of time walking along the water and watching people enjoy the high surf.  I love feeling the pull of the ocean and sand on my feet when the tide is high.

As late afternoon approached and the sun disappeared behind a big cloud, it was time to pack up..brr…it was chilly.  We took a quick drive over to Rye State Park and could see the impending storm line heading in our direction, so we turned around and headed into Portsmouth for dinner. 

….I could not end a post about a visit to the ocean without a picture of my favorite little beach friends, now could I?  These sea birds were enjoying something good that the tide was bringing in for them to eat.
  I'm not sure that there will be many more beach days, but for sure we enjoyed this one!