I finished my mittens! I love how they turned out. They are sure to help keep my hands warm on those chilly New Zealand winter days. I spun the yarn out of merino wool and silk. Soooo soft and lovely.
With the extra yarn I knitted myself a matching scarf using my own pattern. I didn't have a whole lot of wool left, so I wanted to make something lacy and somewhat open to make the bit of yarn I had go even further. It worked!! What I came up with is a simple lace pattern scarf using sport or worsted weight yarn. The lace portion is only one row and is worked back and forth on each row. Very simple!
To make the scarf yourself, I have put together a pattern for the Simple Lace Scarf.
Enjoy!
Pattern for Simple Lace Scarf:
SKILL LEVEL: Easy
SIZE: 5 inches wide (length is up to you)
MATERIALS
1 skein soft sport weight or worsted weight yarn (I used my own handspun yarn)
knitting needles, size 6-8
INSTRUCTIONS
Cast on 21 stitches
Row 1-6: K1, P1* repeat till the end of the row, ending in knit.
Lace Row: K1, P1, K1, (P1, YO, K2tog)5x, K1,P1,K1
Last 6 rows: K1, P1* repeat till the end of the row, ending in knit. Bind off.
xoxo
Talia Christine
This morning we received some gift vouchers in the mail from some friends of ours. We took a quick look online to see some of the things the store had and went straight to the store (after a delicious breakfast) to pick up a few things for our future house.
And wowee did we walk away with a few things.
We were in luck! The store was having a fantastic sale and we walked away with more than we bargained for!
We got:
1 pizza stone
1 cupcake baking tray
(2) 9" round cake baking pans
(2) bread baking pans
1 Springform cake pan
1 Square cake pan
1 Bundt cake pan
1 Super large casserole dish (I love this one)
6 Mini pie pans (for meat pies, oh and other stuff I guess) (I super love this one)
Oh! And the lady at the store gave us two free shopping bags to carry away our spoils in. SO nice. :)
It was SO fun and so lovely picking stuff out together and deciding on which things to get and which things to leave for now. It is so exciting dreaming our lives up together.
Until next time.
xoxo
Talia Christine
I've begun work on a new project to keep myself busy (and warm)!
I have 1 and a half mittens finished! I love them so far.
What are you working on?
xoxo
Talia Christine
We made it to Australia! After 4 airports and a 14 hour flight from LA to Brisbane, we made it to Sydney safe and sound. We'll be here for 5 days to visit friends and family before we make our final stop in New Zealand (I can't wait!!).
Yesterday, I was feeling soooo sick and jet lagged, but after a good night's sleep I'm feeling right as rain and ready to go. Tonight we head to the Blue Mountains for a quiet getaway, which I also am very much looking forward to.
It's freeezing here! (Okay, it's not too cold, but there's often not heating in the houses so it feels a lot colder.) I am wearing two pairs of socks and a scarf. It's so strange to get on a plane in the middle of summer heat to arrive in winter!
More updates soon!
xoxo
Talia Christine
P.S. -- Ok. I'm still feeling a bit scatter brained. This is not the best post I've ever done.
For our honeymoon, Phil and I decided to drive across the country on an epic road trip. We drove from San Antonio, Texas to Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada (where we met) to visit friends. From Canada we drove down to the Oregon coast, through the redwood forest, and to the Grand Canyon.
Part 2: The Drive to Canada
Phil and I left Gruene, Texas to make the trek to Canada on June 28th. We made the trip over three days, driving across the Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washtington, and finally Canada. We drove, on average, 14 hour days. It was beautiful and exhausting. I thought it would be completely grueling but it wasn't too bad. I was enjoying the company of my best friend, having just been married a few days earlier, and we had a great time.
We saw some incredible little towns. I would have loved to stop for longer and take more photos. Here are a couple of my faves.
(My other favorites were photos we took with our Instax and have not scanned into the computer yet.)
Road Trip Day 1: Drove 729 miles (=1173 kilometers) through two states from New Braunfals, Texas, through the Oklahoma "Panhandle" and on to Springfield, Colorado.
Road Trip Day 2: Drove 796 miles (=1275 kilometers) through two more states; from Springfield, Colorado, all the way through Colorado and Wyoming to Billings, Montana.
Road Trip Day 3: Drove 792 miles (=1275 kilometers) through three states and a province; from Billings, Montana through Montana, Idaho, and Washington, onto Kelowna British Columbia. Happy Canada Day!
Check back soon for more updates on our trip and photos with friends!
xoxo
Talia van der Wel
My new favourite nail polish colour right now is light pink. I'm in looooooove. I like that it isn't loud, but soft and romantic and clean looking. Mmmm.
Love love
Talia
For our honeymoon, Phil and I decided to drive across the country on an epic road trip. We drove from San Antonio, Texas to Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada (where we met) to visit friends. From Canada we drove down to the Oregon coast, through the redwood forest, and to the Grand Canyon.
Part 1: Gruene Texas We started our trip from Gruene, Texas. Gruene is a little historic town filled with antique stores, cute shops, restaurants, and the coolest little general store. We stayed at the Gruene Homestead Inn, an amazingly little bed and breakfast, for two nights. It was the best!!
They had the cutest little lopsided cat. Her name was Sneakypie.
(I asked and she was lopsided due to a stroke some time ago. She is okay now! She was as cute as could be)
Breakfast was my favorite I think. (Okay, breakfast is always my favorite) We rearranged what time we left for our road trip to make sure we got to have breakfast at the inn again. A-MAZING!
Our time there was so nice and so special. We relaxed. We stopped by an antique mall and bought a belt buckled for the mister. We had dinner on the river. It was perfection. After our two days there it was the open road. We were on our way to Canada.
More on our trip soon!
xoxo
Talia Christine
This morning I woke up very early due to some painful cramps. My body ached and I couldn't sleep. I angrily and carefully got out of bed and went downstairs for some pain killers, a cup of tea, and to throw myself a pity party. As I sat downstairs with Bieow Bieow on my lap I checked my email in silence and felt pretty sorry for myself. I looked through the photos of our road trip and enjoyed the not-so-distance memories we shared on the road. My cramps weren't as bad. I began to miss Phil. I walked back up stairs to find my husband sleeping peacefully. I sure love him a lot. I climbed back into bed and curled up next to him. As I lay there drifting back off to sleep I kept thinking, "Cramps or not, I am the luckiest girl alive."
(photo of Phil sleeping on our road trip)
It's true. I am the luckiest girl alive.
xoxo
Talia
I am officially Mrs. van der Wel!
We had such a beautiful wedding. I am so thankful for all our family and friends who supported us and celebrated with us, near and far.
It was a perfect and beautiful day that we will remember forever. I couldn't ask for anything more.
We went on an epic road trip for our honeymoon. We went from San Antonio, Texas to visit friends in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.. drove down through the Oregon coast, to the redwood forest, stopped by the Grand Canyon, and back to Texas. I will post lots of pictures and more on that tomorrow, but for today we are recovering.
I love being married. I get to be with my best friend all the time.
xoxo
Talia Christine
P.S. - These gorgeous photos were taken by my good friend Courtney Santos. Thanks, Courtney, for all the beautiful photos! We love them!
