I left for my trip to Trinidad in the beginning of February. Before I left, I tried to attend as many knitting-related events as possible. I figured that I might as well work on my Top Down Raglan Cardigan, because it would be straight stockinette knitting, and easily transportable since it was 1 skein of yarn.
So, here is a picture of it during knit night. (I forgot what night it was, as it is all a blur now)
The next morning, I found this big boo-boo on my Raglan decreases. Ummmm... did they spike my coffee at the shop? Geez!!!
So, the next step was to do this.
Yes, I got pissed off and frogged the whole thing. Since I Spit-spliced the yarn, this is a picture of two full skeins wound into 1 yarncake. I didn't think it would be possible on my regular-sized ball winder, but a bit of pissed-off-ness and vengeance helped to wrap it really tight. LOL!I met up with Deborah for some knitting therapy and was able to finish this Crochet Scarf for her before I flew out.
Aside from that, I participated in the Knitfiti event on January 15th at the Time Warner Building to help Jamba Juice promote their delicious steel cut Oatmeal. I was interviewed, and here is the VIDEO to prove it. It was so much fun!So we move on in the time scale to Feb 5th. I am on the plane in Miami, waiting for my connecting flight to take off. There is some oil spillage in the engine, and the plane is grounded for about 1.5 hours before takeoff. Luckily, I had my MMMMmmalabrigo laceweight yarn and some size 4 bamboo needles. 5 days later, this pretty Hemlock Ring exposed itself. I thought it would be difficult, but the pattern is very easy. It is not your typical plane knitting, but I only had 1 mistake and was able to fix it fast. The flight attendant said " you're not done with my shawl yet?" LOL!! A lot nicer than the other horror stories that I have heard about knitting while flying.
So, I put the knitting down for a while, because I decided that I want to make my carnival costume. So before I get into that, I want to explain a little bit about carnival. It is derived from the time of Colonists and Slaves in the Caribbean, and was the only day that they slaves had any freedom. They wore costumes to mock the slavedrivers and danced to drum music. It has evolved into a whole culture of music, food, fabulous costumes, competitions, and a big money-maker for the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. When you "play mas" (short for masquerade) you have the opportunity to pay for the privelage of being part of the parade for 2 days. My particular band, TRIBE, offered us an all inclusive package complete with a gorgeous costume, port-a-potty truck, mobile cool-down unit, premium drinks, breakfast, lunch, snacks, goody bag, the hottest DJ's, and top of the line security. Not to mention a sea of other masqueraders/hotties to dance with. However, it is customary with TRIBE that their band members wear the bikini tops for both Monday and Tuesday. Many people do that without any problems. However, I am a different story. Trinidad is Hot, Hot, Hot, and I sweat if I walk down 1 block. So, I decided to make my own outfit for Carnival Monday.The theme this year was Birds of a Feather, and my costume was the Hummingbird.... Hence the purple and green colors.
This is what I had to work with.
Starting the sewing.
1 hour later
Finally done
I just want to make one disclaimer. Although the costumes are a tad bit skimpy, what I see when I look at them is the beauty and the art and the craft of Mas-Making. It is such an amazing thing to see the amount of work and intricate detail that goes into making these fabulous costumes. Check out me and this depiction of a Brazilian Macaw
So, who is coming with me next year?
