earlier this month, we went on a camping trip to France. (at Lac de Pannecière in Corancy. which is, to be precise, part of the Morvan Regional Natural Parc. so gorgeous!)
it's becoming a little tradition of mine to cast on a pair of socks before we leave on vacation. (socks are the perfect knitting project to take with you on vacation; small, portable and quick!)

so some days before we left, i cast on a pair of vanilla latte socks with fortissima mexiko yarn from my stash. it's been a while since i knit socks with selfstriping yarn, and i thought this yarn was perfect for the pattern.

also, my boyfriend likes to fish, so when we can, we go to a place where there's a lake. evenings are best for fishing so we spent many evenings at the lake, fishing/knitting until dark, drinking a beer and enjoying the view in the meantime.

 

we also went to visit a little town called Vézelay, mostly to go and see the abbey (which is pretty amazing), and in one of the tiny, uphill streets, we discovered this yarn shop from "la Ferme du Val Dampierre"... ♥

the shop was full of sweaters, gloves, afghans, gloves, hats, mittens,... all hand knit with yarn from their own farm! they also sold yarn, and i had the hardest time picking something to take home... i was in (yarn) heaven!! (i know that's breaking my not-buying-new-yarn rule. but i couldn't leave without buying something.)

(also in the shop: a cute little dog, shy at first but so sweet. not for sale though.)

i purchased two balls of alpaca yarn (sock weight). ooohhh these colours... this is without a doubt the prettiest, deepest burgundy colour i've ever seen! i paired it with a pretty teal colour. i love how they look together. this yarn is also ridiculously soft... i'm thinking about gloves...(combining the two with some colourwork, maybe?)

so... after a week of relaxing,  we're back to work and once again full of energy!

 don't you love vacation? how did you spend yours?

♥

ahh, today is the first day of my vacation and although the weather is sunny, i felt like sharing a blogpost first. :) featuring the first baby knits of the year! (maybe there are more to come, i don't know. depends on our baby-making friends and family i guess ;))

for the first couple that was expecting a baby boy, i made an aviatrix hat and some booties. i used the brightest blue i could find (i really LOVE this colour) and finished with a white button. i really enjoyed knitting the aviatrix hat, it was a bit challenging (first time knitting short rows) and it turns out SO cute. the booties were knit using this pattern, but i made them with a p1,k1 ribbing to match the hat.

 

 

 i also couldn't resist crocheting a tractor, perfect for boys, no? 

it's not as perfect as i want it to be, but i think it's cute nonetheless.

and for a sweet baby girl i made the same set, but in grey.

to make it a bit more baby-like, i combined the grey with a soft yellow button. 

(ooh boy, do i love that button!)

 hmmm, i think baby things are my favorite things to make (next to socks, maybe!).

small items (which means: quick finish!), colourful, and so, so tiny and cute!