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Reykjavik, Iceland

Hubby knew how much I wanted to visit a yarn shop and so when I woke up in our little studio apartment he already had a shop all scoped out. Soon we were on our way to Storkurinn in downtown Reykjavik.... Much of the yarn was something I could buy at my hometown yarn shop but I found buttons for my Lopi Icelandic sweater (soon to be knit),  Lopi yarn for mittens and a mitten book which will keep me busy! After our visit to the yarn shop, where Hubby was the best yarn husband and relaxed in a chair by the front door, we went to the Viking museum in old Reykjavik. The tenth century Viking longhouse was found in 2001 and is the oldest human made structure in Reykjavik. In the afternoon we drove thirty minutes outside of Reykjavik to the Raufarholshellir Lava Tube. This lava tunnel was formed over 5,000 years ago. It is 4,500 feet long and is the fourth longest in Iceland. It is privately owned and was closed 2016 due to vandalism and garbage accumulation in the tube. ...

Northern Lights Socks

While on the plane to Iceland I dubbed these socks the "Northern Lights Socks." Although they were quickly completed our dream of seeing the Aurora Borealis remains unfulfilled. There were only two clear nights and those nights were nothing but star filled. Pattern: Ugly Duckling Socks Yarn: Deborah Norville Serenity Sock Weight and Opal Sock Colorway: Chili and Burgandy Needle Size: US Size 1

Blue Lagoon

We were on the road before day light the next morning and on our way to the general area of the famous Blue Lagoon. It is quite popular and we had made reservations for the afternoon so didn't want to get lost. It actually was quite easy to find and so we were able to do a little sightseeing in the area. We drove along the rugged coastline and found a place to park and discovered it was a park. The parks in Iceland are seldom marked and not taken care of as we do ours, with signs, outhouses and park rangers. This park did have a metal observation area with a sign cautioning about the rouge waves. We made our way onto the icy platform and began taking pictures. About every tenth of fifteenth way was spectacular, I had taken enough photos and it was another rainy and bitingly windy day so I turned to return to the car when... Hubby let out a scream. He'd been hit by a bone chilling wave from the North Atlantic Ocean! Without a change of clothing we were happy to have ...

Seljalandsfoss and Vic, Iceland

We hiked up a slippery path to stand behind the cascade of Seljalandsfoss as it thundered into the pool below.   Handknit Lopi sweaters vary in price from $250 - 350 US. We went as far as Vic on this rainy and windy day. Vic is a small town which is the southernmost town in Iceland. The day we were there the wind was howling and the black basalt sand would pelt us in the face every few minutes. Offshore lie pillars of basalt rock. Although they were not there at this time of year, Puffins nest the cliffs west of Vic.

Iceland 2019

We arrived in Iceland at 9am in the dark and remained in the dark until dawn which was around 10:30am. Even though we couldn't check into our apartment until 3pm, I was all for finding our new home away from home and then heading out for new territory. Hubby, however,  just wanted to head directly out from the airport on our first adventure. Where? Just go! After some false starts we were able to get on the same wave length and head in the direction of a pretty cool area of Iceland. Pingvillar National Park is where the Vikings established the first democratic parliament in 900AD.  Sessions were held at this location until 1798. Pingvellir (Parliament Fields) is where small individual chieftains would make decisions affecting all of Iceland. The breaking down of law and order led to Iceland being ruled by Norway in 1798 until Iceland regained it's power in 1843. The park lies in a valley that marks the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. ...

JFK 2019

Hubby and I had a seven hour layover at JFK before the final leg of our flight to Rekjavik. I spent hours knitting, listening to podcasts and walking. I'm always on the look out for fellow knitters when we travel but I was surprised when I caught sight of a spinner! I asked her if she was a knitter and she responded that she was really was a spinner who had been told to knit so she could experience the flaws of her yarn but her true interest was spinning. I said I'd decided I was a knitter who hated to take time away from that hobby to spin yarn. Martha gave me several pieces of good advice about spinning on my Louet which I've vowed to try. We spent the next half hour visiting as though we were old friends and parted with each others email addresses.
For years Hubby has been resistant to any knitting for him. In the past I had knit a few things for him including a sweater I made many years ago which won second place in the county fair (I was young and chose to enter the sweater without weaving in all the ends. Go figure, I didn't think the judges would look at the wrong side of the sweater! The day I picked up the sweater I wove them in.) However, with the trip to Iceland looming in the near future he began to think about how the entire family enjoys their wool socks and are always happy to receive more.  He now has three pairs to pack in the suitcase and is a hand knit wool sock convert! Pattern: Vanilla Socks with a Fishlips Kiss Heel Yarn: Opal Der Albschaferweg Colorway: 9417 Hirtenhorn Needle Size: US Size 1