Monday, May 24, 2010

Rewind to Vacation

Where did the last week go? It simultaneously seems like 10 minutes and 10 years since we returned from Vail, and I’ve been a bad little blogger and not posted a word about it. I guess the time in between was filled with dinners, season finales, a wedding, baseball, and some valiant efforts to refresh some stagnant areas.

How’s this for awesome? Who knew Einstein hung out in Vail?


Vail was absolutely gorgeous, and the weather was pretty perfect. We spent two days in Denver, then two-ish days in Vail, then one more night in Denver before returning to the Humid Reality that is our daily lives. While in Denver, I got to spend 20 blurry minutes at the Fancy Tiger (so blurry was I with tired and hurry that I didn’t take photos … I really am a bad little blogger), which I immediately fell in love with. They seem more sewing-centric than knitting-centric, but their fabrics are adorable and I would totally shop there for fabrics if I ever needed them. They had a great selection of yarns, and Dear even picked out a couple of hemp-based yarns for a future beanie. They had some fibers upstairs, and what I was really excited for: needle felting kits. I know these are relatively easy to come by, but they make their own starter kits, one of which is an anatomical heart. I don’t know why I found this awesome and endearing, but I did, and I quickly bought one Heart Kit to make two hearts, and one Owl Kit to make two owls.

My first attempt at needle felting was met with only one accidental stab in my thumb (minimal bleeding, none on the owl) and a warm-and-fuzzy at the satisfaction one gets when repeatedly stabbing a sharp object into fur makes something stupid cute.

Hobbit and Herbert

Most of the time we spent in Vail was spent a) walking through Vail Village, b) swimming in the heated pool, c) drinking, and d) playing Cribbage. Much in Vail was closed because we hit it at that two-week period between Ski Season and Summer Season, but I liked seeing the Village when it’s totally empty. Very picturesque and quaint at parts, modeled after small German villages … which, of course, I love.

That Sunday was Dear’s birthday, and we went out to meet a couple friends of his that night. The Bartender served the most clever Birthday Car Bomb I have seen, and probably inadvertently started a new Birthday Tradition for us.
From left: Sock-in-progress, shot of Jameson/Bailey's, half-pint of Guinness. Knitting at the bar bonded me with the Bartender (a crocheter).

In this picture: my sock-in-progress (a tribute to the Yarn Harlot), the car bomb shot, and a candle cleverly placed in a beer mat. It was lit by the time Dear came back from the bathroom.

As for the beanie that I finished for Dear’s birthday … a simple enough pattern (2x2 rib done on straight needles, then seamed up one side), and the yarn was a dream to work with (Spud and Chloe sweater in olive green) after the Great Colorado De-Tangling.

This took four seconds to create and over an hour to un-do.

The hat came out fine, except his next one will definitely be done in the round. I didn’t want to mess with circulars on this trip (I don’t know why), but the seam came out less-than-pleasing (to me). Still looks cute on him.
Here are some more scenic photos of the drive and of Vail, simply because they make me happy.