The Land of Magical Realism

Name: Kaitlyn

Date: Feb 24

Current Location: Bogotá y Cartagena, Colombia

Hey all!

My last stop on my trip was Colombia, specifically Bogotá and Cartagena. I LOVED Bogotá! The mountains that surround the city are utterly stunning, and the clouds and mist rolling down through the trees was beautiful!

Cartagena is a lovely little city on the northern coast with loads of Spanish colonial architecture. The weather is hot and sunny, the beaches are beautiful, and there are flowering trees growing on nearly every street.

Colombia also legalized graffiti recently, and while some of it has the layered, “just-practicing-my-signature” feel, other pieces are absolutely gorgeous! I wish I had spent more time in Colombia, and I’ll definitely be going back!

And, of course, my trip wouldn’t have been complete without ducking into a local yarn shop!

Finished Projects

Summer Halo Tee from Drops

I DID IT!! I MADE AN ACTUAL CLOTHING ITEM!!! Please with a first attempt, but something went sideways with the sizing, as this is much wider than I’d expected. I kept it shorter when I realized how wide it was going to be and gave it a cropped look, which I think is mostly working, but I SWEAR I SWATCHED FOR THIS PROJECT!! I met gauge! I did!

…and yet…

Current Projects:

Whippoorwill Shawl from Carina Spencer

Still clicking away on this one. I’ve finally made it to the shaping rows for the frilly edge! …also struggling with gauge on this one, as it’s much smaller than I’d anticipated.

My fellow fiber people, we’ve really got to come to a consensus on what “fingering weight” and “sock weight” mean.

Flax Light Sweater from Tin Can Knits

I am THIS CLOSE (*holds fingers 6-inches apart*) TO BEING DONE!! I’m finishing up the last sleeve and then I will have MY VERY FIRST SWEATER!!

…just in time for hot Mid-Atlantic spring weather 🤦🏻‍♀️

Temperature Blanket

I spent the first two months of the year just tracking the temperatures in my excel sheet, and now I’ve actually started on my very first temperature blanket! (Behold, the terrifying peak of yellow in the middle of January, when it was nearly 80 degrees just a week after snowing)

This is a C2C Tunisian Full Stitch, and I’m going with a classic ROYGBIV color palette. I’m already hooked (no pun intended! Haha!) and planning other temperature blankets for my birth year, graduation year, the year I moved to China, the year I graduated university, etc. I cannot be stopped!

Casablanca Afghan from Annie’s Knit Club

I caved to the Instagram ads, you guys 😂. My sister generously bought this for me for my birthday, and I am loving the sumptuous colors and silky soft feel of their yarns. I feel like I’m crocheting with butter! I don’t even care that they’re 100% acrylic. Sue me, yarn snobs!

Up Next:

Back to the States to sleep for a month, then popping up to Canada for a (very) brief trip to see an eclipse!

See you all next time! ❤