What I knit this weekend
In the packing up for the trip I realised that my better half’s wooly hat was in San Diego. Since we didn’t know what to expect when we got to Guerrero Negro, I thought it better I knit him a new one before we went. I cast on the night before we went and was finished in a day almost- I knit it in the car on the way to Guerrero Negro, Baja California. I used Peace Fleece since I’m pretty sure I won’t use up all of the yarn I bought for the Central Park Hoodie. The Pattern was Kim Hamlin’s Kim’s Hat from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I’ve used this pattern before to make several hats, and all of them for gifts. Nick (my better half) also has another hat pretty much the same but different wool and a bit shorter. This time I wanted to make sure that it fit him snuggly and also that it was long enough to cover his ears (he gets colder there than anywhere else apparently).
**Changes to the pattern**- I knit it for the 22 1/2″ size but on size 6 needles (for the brim) and size 8 for the main part of the hat. It’s a bit tight but it stayed on through a high speed boat ride and lots of messing around with whales! Also I only knit it to about 6 inches from the brim and began to decrease so it wouldn’t fit too long like the first time I tried this pattern. It fit perfect- pics to come soon!
I also finished the back of the Blanket Cardi and started on the front left side.
A few notes on Guerrero Negro:
It is about 550 KM from Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico- about an 8-10 hr drive on a two lane road. It sounds grim, but it’s not. It’s a well maintained road, and the only one connecting North and South Baja. It’s got gorgeous scenery particularly of late since we’ve had some rain here and the desert is green, yellow, and lavender with wild flowers and grasses. It’s beautiful. I’ll post some pictures when we have them!
We stayed in the Desert Inn in Guerrero Negro- a bit out of the town but nice in general, and took the tour of Los Caracoles, which had been recommended to us as the best tour for the whales. We were not dissapointed! There are plenty of other tours done by various hotels and co-operatives in the town as well. Apparently March to mid-April are the best times to see the whales since the newborn whales are more mature and more playful. After mid-April the grey whales begin their long treck to Alaska.
Filed under 2008, Blanket Cardigan, Finished, Gifts, Knitting, Nick's Hat, Projects | Comment (0)