Knitting in New Zealand

I finished the Mini-Tulip Skirt during our trip. (Iris demanded mommy and me butt-skirts when she saw mine.) As you can see, it looks super-cute in 2/3 scale. Altering the pattern for a smaller size is not a problem. But, I rarely make the same pattern twice because it bores me. Hence, there are more mistakes in the second version than the first.

Iris wants you to see the front of the skirt, too.








She was so excited, she was inspired to put on a fashion/yarn show the last night of our stay in Auckland. There was an embarrassing amount of yarn at that show. I brought an overly optimistic selection of projects to knit during the trip, and I kept adding the the stash during our travels.

I bought 1.2 kilograms of 1o ply felted merino for a sweater for Mark and 150 grams of merino/cashmere for Iris and a shawl pin for myself at the Woolshed in Akaroa. (Prices are 25% cheaper at the store than on-line, but no airfare required.) I also bought some handpainted super-kid/merino 2 ply for a small shawl at Masco Wools in Auckland.

I showed great restraint at several other yarn shops. But then I found a store with a pile of Bamboo/Cotton and Corn yarns in Roturua at fantastic (by US standards) prices. Restraint went out the window. Mark looked at my bag and told me that I was responsible for packing the yarns for the flight home.

One of our hosts, Geoff, selected some cobalt blue merino/possum fur yarn near the beginning of our trip, in Akaroa. I knit a scarf-size Clapotis for him. Note that it matches his eyes.

Our second to last day, we visited downtown Auckland and his office. His job is to fund alternative transport projects to entice kiwis out of their cars. How cool is that?


He is also the enabler that showed me Masco wools.

Happy New Year

On 31 December 2007, we hiked through a lush rain forest to reach the toe of Fox Glacier. We even climbed a bit on the glacier.


Afterwards, we drove to Lake Wanaka. New Year's Eve in Wanaka is like spring break. It was a madhouse full of adolescent and young adult mating rituals. Luckily, the young people left after sleeping off their hangovers and we had a lovely New Year Day enjoying the lake.

Notice that my child has her back turned to the lovely scenery and her nose buried in a book.

I used to think that the cutest, most empathic and perceptive pharmacist in the world is Jeff at the Redondo Beach Target. However, John at the Aspiring Pharmacy at Wanaka comes pretty close. (Mt. Aspiring looms over Lake Wanaka and the town of Wanaka is the gateway to Mt. Aspiring National Park.)

I started out our trip sick and got sicker, despite the stash of drugs that my doctor and I had prepared for most common ailments that beset me. We all enjoyed our 20 days in New Zealand tremendously. Stay tuned for more photos of scenery and food.

7 hour layover in Fiji

We went to Fiji and all we got was a photo of Iris in front of the Hard Rock Cafe sign.

We also visited a supermarket, saw a sunset at Port Denaru and ate yummy Indian food before heading back to the airport. We would have preferred to have gone into the town of Nadi instead of the resort area, but it was past 6 pm on a Sunday night and everything in town was closed.