A delightful, soothing, and downright gorgeous finished knit has appeared in Ravelry feed! Safiyyyah’s Highway 29 Halter !
You can see her project details on Ravelry here.
♣ ♣ ♣
Meanwhile, I’ve got a summer thing just off the needles too.
A new forthcoming design for summer is most definitely here,
with spells of high heat and endless blue skies.
August is such a stale time of the year. No cool breezes, no moisture, perpetual aqua blue skies, and a lot of anxiety about wildfire. The grasses stand crisp and golden, and so picturesque, but really it is just in suspended limbo until the rain comes, there in the bleaching hot sun day after day while even the moss in the forest turns brownish and, like the grasses, is frozen in lifelessness for months.
Mid August is even more stale than when the month arrived, and by the end of the month I am usually quite fried, dreaming of verdant countrysides in far off lands.
I have been thinking about my knitting trail, and ideas. So far it’s just staked out and haven’t walked it very much, but I need a grand plan, and I need ideas. I was hoping for some from you readers.
Now I will make myself a fresh iced coffee and wait for a little conversation to begin…
My latest design “Highway 29” is named after the main road running through Napa Valley from Napa to Calistoga. This old highway is dotted with wineries and famous restaurants enough to make you dizzy, plus some added hot-spots where we locals trek to frequently, beginning in the north end of the town of Napa getting sweet around Yountville, then Oakville, Rutherford, St Helena, and continuing clear on up to Calistoga. As a local, coming down off the mountain from Oakville Grade when I am going upvalley, I often stop at the very unique Oakville Grocery , founded in 1881, just an old rural ‘backroads’ grocers of a bygone era, is now a highly trafficked stop-off for locals & tourists alike, with an exceptional coffee bar & deli for drinks, gifts & goodies-to-go. Until recently it doubled as the local post office, now it offers…. um…. wine tasting…
I believe my nieces and I were talking about Oakville Grocery & Post being the inspiration of forthcoming Autumn design, and second in the Napa Valley Collection.
After Oakville you pass a bunch of wineries, and then of course, St Helena where I often knit-in-public or meet friends at Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Company, as its the coffee shops I seem to be most familiar with, loving to knit and visit with friends. After that it’s a stretch of countryside to Calistoga with places such as Bale Grist Mill, founded in 1846…
a working renovated grain mill which is popular for historic reenactment parties and has old-time live music often (one of the bands is my brother & sister-in-law, my nieces dad & mom) , offers tours & grinds corn to sell. It is in front of the entrance to the Bale Grist Mill where these photos were taken for Highway Halter, on the old wooden fence,
The favorite photo spot in recent couple of years for my nieces is Castello Di Amorosa, a medieval Tuscan castle transplanted stone-by-stone in recent decades…
Ah, but it is here at ‘ The Castle ‘ where you’ll recognize the stone from merely the carriage house where we actually have many of our photo shoots…
Right off of Hwy 29, this carriage house is at the entrance to the castle gate, erected more recently I think to use some left over stone & brick perhaps, and it houses the ground-keepers tools & provides a place for the chauffeurs to park, and I think some offices devoted to castle business. Here some shots from this spot…
Passing more breathtaking scenery, one finally lands in Calistoga as if by accident.
This is the town from which you may recognize many backdrops to my nieces & my photo shoots. For example, the left on above photo is Brannans Restaurant, and right across Lincoln Street is the mint-green bank building we have included many times…
But there are many photo memories of Calistoga and not enough room to post. Anyway, enough of all of this Highway 29 – turned to- Memory Lane, and all the treasures found along the way… and now it is time for Highway 29 Halter which I’ve just written a pattern for, and which my nieces do real justice to ! In previous post I talk about the significance of naming the latest design “Highway 29” , which really is a possibility to start a collection…. I mean, if I’m going to really go through with it… anyway, my nieces seem to think we should. If not the name-sake for the design will stand on its own. We will just have to see what comes.
You can find the pattern for this design on Ravelry HERE .
… or click the Hwy 29 road sign to arrive at the pattern page.
California Highway 29 road sign in Napa Valley
Well folks, I was full of doubt about how the halters would work out , and I’ve been working on them for about a month, starting clear back from this post. I knit and reworked several times from the original. But, this morning I was transcended from any doubt when my beautiful nieces breathed life into them, I must say, I was completely taken by surprise~~swept off my own feet even!
Yesterday we met in Calistoga, at the Roastery early in the morning, and talked over our chai & lattes, and after warning my nieces that this design is surely not to fit or even look good, they finally disappeared into the ladies room to change into them, and emerged, beaming with relief as much as my own, and they actually loved them!
((Oh, and not like it needs mentioning, but have you noticed how Miss Thirteen has completely over-taken Miss Sixteen in height!))
We excitedly cruised Highway 29 coming back from Calistoga toward Napa, trying to race the sun before it got too high and hot, stopping at Castello de Amorosa, and then looking for very ‘California’ looking places along side the highway on the way back, we stopped to photograph from the roadside, on the old lichen covered wooden fence at Bale Grist Mill, and on the stone wall and in the vines of V Madrone Winery.
Here it is, Highway 29 Halter, Miss Sixteen & Miss Thirteen are very excited about this design and think its the best yet!
We decided to name this (yes ‘we’ , apparently they are as keen now on being a part of the design naming as I am) design after the main highway which ambles up northwest of the Napa Valley, and furthermore, it could possibly be the first of a collection. So here is Number One from Napa Valley Collection…. “Highway 29”.
The pattern is practically written already, so in the interim of showing off the photo shoot and presenting the pattern, will be a day or so of last minute pattern assembling.
See you with pattern and all the intricate knitting details next…
California Highway 29 road sign in Napa Valley
Done & dusted with something I’ve been working on for a few weeks !
Jenjoyce Design 