Oh yes, she shall cave

I finally did it, after obsessing for the last couple months on Nouveau, I purchased my yarn in the exact colorway from the shawl version in the book....Jasmine Tea....yum.

Remember Nouveau from my project list? It is from Jo Sharp's Village and is listed as Advanced.....CROCHET! My crochet skills are fairly elementary, so this should be pretty interesting. But hey, I love how this shawl looks, so stained glass....so perfect to wear to a fall wedding.

Need I obsess anymore? Well, at least until my yarn arrives....

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair....

August in Iowa would not be complete without a trip to the state fair. I had to make it out for a quick trip this year (if not only to have my annual corn dogs...yum).

Here is the infamous butter cow. This year's butter cow was accompanied by a butter Superman (since the new Superman is from IA....woot woot)! What do you think of the mutant pumpkins?

Plethora of Knits

So, not too many knits made it out of the suitcase for the hot temps in T & T. I did however sport the Lace Stitch Shrug on the airplane ride down to Trinidad. Here is a peek at how she looks:



Lelah stayed inside the suitcase, the wool (no matter how soft Rowan's Cashsoft is) didn't agree with the heat rash my fair skin was acquiring. But for the requests of seeing Lelah actually on, here she is!

As far as knitting while on vacation, socks were the perfect answer. I am using KnitPicks Sock Memories in Carnival. The pattern is from Nancy Bush's Knitting on the road and is my 2nd pair of Conwy's.
After a 6 hour layover in Houston, sock #1 is done. I just cast on for #2 at knitting group last night. It is nice to have friends to knit with...don't you all agree?

Back from the land of Trini's

Hubbs and I returned from our vacation to Trinidad & Tobago. We had a very full week there, full of lots of sightseeing and fun in the sun. The weather was sooooo tropical (and by tropical I mean hot and humid). I think that we should have taken a tip from the locals on carrying a hankerchief everywhere to wipe the sweat off of our faces. Let me tell you, sunblock, bugspray (it is wet season afterall), and sweat is quite the combo.

But seriously, what a lush green country. We spent the first part of the week in Trinidad for our friends wedding and the second half of the week in Tobago (which is more of the resort/vacation island). Here are some pictures and highlights from our trip!Here is the view from our hotel in Chaugaramas, Trinidad. The perfect Marina spot to park your boat as you sail around the islandsThis is from Maracas Bay on the north side of Trinidad, where we let the Caribbean Sea drift over our footsies
A lovely view above the Port of Spain at Fort George
We hiked to the Blue Basin Falls one day, this was one of my favorite parts of the trip
Sometimes you can find the most beautiful things by accident. We found this as we were driving near Arnos Vale and had lost our wayOver in Tobago, there were many lovely bays that we saw. This first picture is of Englishman's Bay which is along the north side of the island.
Here is another stunning bay. This is Parlatuvier Bay, which is a popular picture in guidebooks because if its perfect crescent shape.
I will leave you with a sunset view from where we stayed near Store Bay. These are the kinds of pictures that I like to have near my desk to remind me of moments in paradise.

(Knitting content will return after I get down from my vacation high)