Spring is in the air, flowers are blooming, and birthday season is just beginning for our family. This week we celebrated Patrick’s birthday. A nice dinner at Marinitas, the local restaurant which we’ve decided sells the best margaritas in town, was the perfect place to celebrate mid-week. The celebrations continue for the other March babies this weekend, which should be fun.
Center Depot in San Anselmo: a nice treat after a morning walk
I’ve been eyeing the Center Depot in San Anselmo for months — I drive past it right when they open after I drop my son off at school in the mornings. It is located about a mile from downtown San Anselmo, and I keep imagining myself stopping by with Patrick or one of my friends after a brisk morning walk on the weekend. (We’d deserve it!) I find the little camper truck super charming. Plus, the fact that it’s located in a less commercial section of town makes it even cuter.
You can get bubble waffles, Italian sodas, a.k.a. “sparklers,” doughnuts, hot cocoa, and espresso drinks out of the little truck. Lucky me, I couldn’t believe the place wasn’t packed with students from the high school, which is just a few blocks away, when I got there. I was able to get a table to enjoy my mid-morning treats.
Have you tried bubble waffles? They are so fun to eat. If you were the kind of kid that loved popping bubble wrap, bubble waffles are for you. Eat them while they’re hot to get the best experience. It was a warm day when I stopped by, so I ordered a “Plain Jane” waffle and a sparkler called the “Maui Sunset,” a refreshing mix of guava and pineapple flavors. You should definitely stop by and try these waffles if you are in Marin!
Oh, and of course, the maker in me couldn’t resist the idea of trying to replicate bubble waffles at home someday. So, I’ve tracked down a bubble waffle recipe and the equipment I’d need if I ever do that. But I think I’m better off sticking to the brisk walks in the morning before indulging in these fine treats!
Bedford Pullover – Done!
It’s done! My new Bedford pullover is in my closet (nicely folded, by the way).
Never use a hanger to store your knitwear unless you do it this way, or you’ll end up with stretched-out sweaters!
The sweater was pretty easy to make, but I must admit there were some sections where I wasn’t sure if what I was doing was right.
A few notes on this pattern:
- This is considered an “adventurous” beginner pattern, and I agree with the description. It is an easy 4-row repeat, and because there are no increases or decreases in the body, the knitting up to the sleeves is super easy.
- If you memorize the 4-row pattern repeat and know how to read your stitches, this will be a breeze. After knitting the sleeves, I realized I had completely forgotten how to tell which row of the pattern I was on, and it took me a whole afternoon and some unraveling to figure it out. Lesson learned? The importance of keeping knitting notes!
- Purling is not as fast as knitting when you are an English-style knitter like me. An idea for speeding up the sleeves: knit them on the reverse, so you don’t have to purl?
- Knitting the sleeves in the round with double-pointed needles, and even with the magic loop method, left a visible line in the places where I switched from one needle to the next. To avoid this, I learned to constantly shift the place where I started to knit with the next needle, but I could knit the sleeves flat next time and seam them, that might be easier.
- The pattern has so many pages it can be a bit overwhelming. Don’t look ahead too much. Just take it one step at a time.
- There is a part where you are asked to break the yarn and rejoin it, but they don’t tell you that you need to slip some stitches in order to do that — or I misread the instructions, perhaps? I found it a bit confusing.
- Make a note of this: You need stitch markers to make this sweater, and I recommend the locking type. I started the sleeves using my favorite Coco Knits markers, but because they don’t lock, one fell off and I lost my spot while working on the decreases and it was difficult to find my way back to the right spot.
- The pattern asks you to cast off using Elizabeth Zimmerman’s bind off technique, which is helpful for other projects since it’s meant to match a long tail cast on. For a tutorial on how to do this cast-off, I recommend watching the Brooklyn Tweed video. It’s super straightforward. The only tricky part about this bind off is that it’s sewn and you need to estimate the length of yarn you keep to complete it, which can be nerve wracking. Just do as they say and add a bit extra. That’s what I did.
- I knit this sweater using Berroco Ultra Alpaca yarn in the Peat Mix color, and I love the results. It is SUPER soft and has a beautiful drape.
- I would definitely make this again using the same yarn.
That’s all for this week. Enjoy the first week of spring!