SailingKnitter

LIGHTNER MUSEUM & SHOPS

Our mandatory "Get out of Florida" date of July 1st is fast approaching. We aren't used to having to be somewhere by a certain date so it is looming over us like a tax filing deadline. Why do we have to leave? Because the insurance on our boat is not valid south of Latitude 31 due to the risk of "named storms" (tropical storms) and hurricanes during the summer months. We need to have safe harbor which we've stated to the insurers will be in a marina in Brunswick, Georgia.

But, we're doing our best to enjoy our last few weeks here in Florida (just like we used to enjoy Sundays when we had to go to work on Monday morning). You just have to clear  your head of the thoughts of what's coming next and enjoy the present. Jonesy loves life in a marina and I like to Go-See-Do and be on the hook. So, where are we now?

We're almost north enough, but not quite - we are in St. Augustine Florida. This is an ancient city (at New World standards), the oldest in the Americas. St. Augustine is a tourist destination due to the historic fort and beautiful old buildings and of course the shopping and dining experiences aimed at tourists to grab their dollars.

LAUNDRY, A/C, WIFI AND LOUNGING

Now for us, it was a chance to meet new doctors (thanks Obamacare) update our meds, shop in (my first) Hobby Lobby craft store, and get our laundry done. We picked up a mooring ball at the City Marina and have been enjoying the sea breezes and chuckling at the tidal flows.

Usually, a boat will face into the wind which is why all the hatch openings face to the front of the boat. But the tidal currents are so strong here in the mooring field that our boat is pushed to face up "stream" regardless of where the light breeze is coming from. Thus, we struggle a little bit to get cooling air into the salon of the boat. We've experienced this before in La Paz, Baja California Mexico.

JONESY WALKS THE BEACH

 A wonderful solution is to leave the boat and go somewhere cooler! That's not always as fun and relaxing as hanging on on the local beaches. The City Marina has a very nice AIR CONDITIONED coin-op laundry area and Cruiser's Lounge complete with free wifi.  There we met some of the crew from the 170ft. sailing ship El Galeon which is a replica of the Spanish ships that sailed this area in the early 1500's. This ship is a real working ship - it really sails

While out riding the bus on our many trips around this part of Florida we've seen a pair of Sandhill Cranes and a Wood Stork. Yep, they were just right there on the side of the roads for all to see! The large cranes winter in Florida, then migrate to points north for the summer months. I guess these were stragglers (like us). The stork stays in the warm south year round. We see blue-tailed skinks everywhere. Their tails are so brightly colored it's hard to miss them.

WOOLWORTH'S "SELF SERVICE" Air Conditioned

Here's some nostalgia - check out these engraved door handles on a bank in central St. Augustine - Woolworth's! These days there isn't a single store to buy general merchandise in this area as all the buildings have been converted into art galleries, restaurants, bars, and tourist cha-cha marts. This old city has gone through many changes over hundreds of years; changing nationalities in its colonial days, the most exclusive and expensive resort hotels in the nation at one time, to apparently to having a functioning middle-America downtown. Now it is a tourist spot - what will be next?
 Knitting Content

Yes! I completed my challenge to knit 52 pairs of socks in 52 weeks. In fact I finished a month early. What a relief! Here is pair #52 which is knit with yarn donated by Tina in Vero Beach (Knit Picks Simply Stripes). I used the slip-knot cast on for this pair because 1) Tina introduced me to it and 2) it is very stretchy and neat.

DIFFERENT STRIPES

Now these diagonal patterning socks are from a brand new pattern from Linda Pahdoco that I test knitted for the Six Sox Knitalong Yahoo group. I love how they change the look of self-patterning yarns and they were really fun to knit.

Oh, and another pair of monster socks were completed. For these I stuck to yarns in the red/burgundy/pink color tones. At each change in
yarn I worked 2 rounds of simple 1x1 stranded color work.

And finally here are pair #53 which officially made me an "over-achiever" on the Ravelry group for the challenge.  Ha! I think that must be the first time I've ever been called that!

This last pair shown today was knit with a mystery yarn donated by Linda P. The pink/yellow/purple yarn was already very pretty so I didn't use any special stitch patterns and just knit a plain sock. This pair lived in my shopping tote that I carry with me everywhere. We spend a lot of time riding or waiting for the little Sunshine Buses so I get quite a bit of knitting done during our land travels. We've even got to know some of the other riders on the bus and had a nice beach outing yesterday with a local gal.

Yes. I do have more socks on the needles, but now that I've reached my 52 sock goal I am also joyfully diving into other fiberly pursuits. Like what?

Crochet! Hardanger embroidery! Tatting! I purchased a set of 4 bookmarks from Nordic Needle which provide a step-by-step guide to learn the art of hardanger embroidery. Each kit comes with the bookmark already made with attached lace, the needles needed, a needle treader, and both types of thread to complete the project. This is the way I needed a kit like this because I wouldn't have a clue as to what needle to use.

So, I've finished the first bookmark and am now working on the second one. The instructions are very clear and complete so I haven't had any problems (except for my own counting errors). I don't get to cut out the peek-a-boo windows for which hardanger is famous for until the 4th bookmark after I've learned all the stitches. That's fine with me - I think they are lovely just like they are anyway.

HARDANGER - COUNTED THREAD EMBROIDERY

We'll be dropping the lines from our mooring ball early Sunday morning for our 3-day trip up to Brunswick, Georgia. This cruising on the Intracoastal Waterway is low-key compared to ocean cruising. We get to stop in the evening and drop the anchor to rest instead of staying up all night on watch. There are no big seas to contend with either. Of course it still does take a lot of planning and chart studying and yes, we have to pay attention to the channel markers all day and not stray. We're liking it.

Life is good.