Simple interests

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On the shores of Lake Huron, my eight year old nephew and I have a conversation.

Hankonarock0308

We decide, he and I, to walk up and down, scrambling all round, in and out of the water, and between us, gather the most beautiful rocks on the whole beach, and then make an art installation of unparalleled beauty.

Ourartrocks0308

I think we did.

Goodrocks0308

Then I knit on a sock.

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It was a very good day.

136 thoughts on “Simple interests”

  6. I can’t believe how much Hank has grown up! It seems like the last time we saw him, he was a preschooler. Good thing WE all stay the same age, right? 😉

  9. I’m a rock person too. Lake Superior has such outstanding ones – similar to those in your “installation.” I always say that it’s like being in a jewelry store and everything is free.

  10. a) I cannot believe Hank is 8.
    b) I adore the image of you and Hank scrambling about to collect rocks.
    c) The rocks are beautiful (Clearly you and Tina are friends- rocks- socks- patterns)
    d)I also adore your relationship with kids. My hope is that you and Angus get to meet. I know babies are your thing as they are mine AND 7 is pretty great.
    e) 3 year olds are birth control.As are 5 year olds (Duncan, Angus’ little brother- who is SO cute- which is the only reason he is walking the earth)
    f) Knitting them both sweaters in Waterloo colors. Yes, my children the Bumble Bees.
    g) Enjoy your vacation!

  11. Very beautiful rocks. Very beautiful sock as well. I love the colors. Hope you have a great vacation 🙂

  18. Recently, (on my 50th birthday), I was showing off the rocks I had collected in my pocket. My 13 year old son said, “What are you, four?”
    The only person who understood was my four year old nephew. When I showed them to him his response was, “awsome”. The next day he tracked me down and said, “Let’s have a look at those rocks. We spent a good quarter of an hour sorting and picking our favorites.
    Fifty is a good time to be four.

  19. Hey,I know those rocks! Those are of the Rockus Indigenous Great Lake-us family.
    When I am old, I will be the weird lady traipsing the shoreline of Lake Michigan, donning hunched back and floppy hat, picking and licking rocks.
    Yes, I lick rocks. But only the dry ones. ‘Cause they need it.

  20. What beautiful rocks – I had a collection of lovely rocks gathered on my travels throughout the States & my former husband stole them during our divorce! When we took the grands to the Dells, we went to a shop where you bought large buckets of dirt which contained one (very small) semi-precious stone & lots of others that were just pretty. They had troughs with running water to simulate what gold prospectors did. You dumped some of the dirt into a sieve & washed it in the running water to find what it contained. It turned out to be one of the most fun things we did there. I love the way your sock looks like the rocks & water & sky!

  21. Rocks are a good thing. My husband collects one from each of our travels and presents it with much grandeur.

  25. I love the stripey rocks. When I’m at the beach, I’m always picking up the stripey, sea-smoothed pieces of shell.
    The sock’s looking pretty good too! (Now you should let Hank take some pictures of you along the shore, too!)

  27. Wow…what an awsome way to spend the day…out in the sun with those you love! Enjoy the rest of your vacation…the memories knit into those socks will make them a pair to treasure! They are beautiful.

  31. Hey, you have a commenter to licks rocks. I totally admire someone who admits that. In addition, you knit beautiful yarn into socks. And you and Hank are artists. What a great day.

  32. Beautiful rocks, beautiful knitting, beautiful day…..ahhhh….glad you’re having a beautiful vacation!

  33. You are such a good aunt!!!! and.. Hank has had quite the growth spurt since we saw him last on your blog. I love it when you mention him in your “adventures”. Have a great holiday, Stephanie.
    Anita

  34. Wow! Hank has seriously gone through a growth spurt! I love reading about the Aunt/Nephew things that you guys do. I just absolutely love being an Aunt. It’s so much fun and your nieces/nephews actually like that you’ll go and be goofy with them, unlike your children. Of course, then your children walk away somewhat disgusted to their aunt who then takes them away to go and do something goofy with them LOL! You just got to love it. The sock is lovely and so are your rocks. I’m glad that my family isn’t the only one with the rock fascination! Hope you have an absolutely wonderful vacation!

  35. I remember making rock castles when I visited northern California as a kid. I’d drive my parents crazy picking out all the rocks I liked and making them bring them back to the hotel with us so I could wash them and love them and promise they’d be mine forever. Fortunately for my parents, children can be fickle about such things, and I was no exception, so the pretty rocks were merely relocated to the last beach we visited.
    Also, that sock yarn is beautiful.

  40. Thanks for your inspiration–I needed that on a Monday morning getting ready for work!

  41. What a great day to spend at the shore. Awesome.
    Enjoy your well earned vacation.

  42. I’ve been known to collect a few rocks in my time and I can say that is the most beautiful collection I’ve ever.
    Time spent at the shore with children is so special. I plan to carry my nephew off to the beach very soon!

  43. Aside from the fact that the blue is not QUITE as bright in the Great Lakes as in that sock, I love that the rest of the sock mimics the colors and speckles in the Rocks. Beautiful!

  44. Beautiful rock collection/display! You and Hank did a fantastic job. Plus the colors for the sock suit a day at the beach.

  45. Those rocks…well they rock! As well as the sock…Please, what is the yarn and colorway? Ahhh vacation!

  46. There is nothing like spending the day on a beach with a child. When I lived in Nanaimo, our favourite thing was to go beachcombing. I never took knitting, though. Just the playpen, the diaper bag, the snack bag, the towels, the beach umbrella, the sunscreen, the cooler…Once we forgot about the tide coming in. Our baby in the playpen nearly washed away. Beautiful Lake Huron Rock Sock! Is Hank wearing his sunblock?

  47. Rocks from the big lakes are great!
    Sock knitting in the summer is great!
    Question: I’m reading your post at 7:40 a.m. ESDT and the info shows you posted 6 hours ago; whatever were you doing up at 1:40 a.m.???? I was sleeping soundly after two tractor pulls this weekend (and sneaking a few rows of socks in).

  48. I haven’t seen any Great Lakes rocks for 20 months (moved south) so thank you for the memory reminder-spent many hours collecting rocks just like them………sock is stellar, too, btw!

  57. How perfect that the yarn sock matches its environment. Great camouflage!
    Little known fact: yarn socks are quite adept at hiding themselves from predators (eventual recipients) until they reach maturity (their knitters have finished them) and they are released out into the wild (given away).

  58. I can’t believe Hank is 8 already!!
    And your rocks look just like Lake Superior rocks, which my 7yo collects. We keep a bowl of them on our coffee table, and regularly change them. We also have a treasure shelf in his bedroom where he keeps his “best” rocks, and he has a window sill on the front porch he can put rocks on, too.
    We have a lot of beautiful rocks in our house.

  61. I normally don’t comment because you have thousands of commenters but I had to comment today on your beautiful (well, handsome) nephew and the wonderful sculpture you two created.
    I love the sock yarn and agree – it should be called Lake Huron Freedom or something.
    I read you every day – and really enjoy your blog, even though I am a spinner but NOT a knitter (I am a weaver). My daughter is the knitter so she does what I want if I bribe her enough.
    Keep knitting – keep writing!

  62. Hey! I recognize that yarn (and a big thanks for not ‘Harlotizing’ her). It looks gorgeous all knitted up, like sky and sunsets and wonderful days spent at by the lake. My how that little man has grown… but I bet the ball winder still enchants him (it does me.) Enjoy the sunny days and your trip across the pond. All of North America will miss your caffeinated life-force. Do come back. C

  63. Socks on Rocks!
    Nice how the socks happen to match the rocks:)
    And your Hank is getting BIG! Might have to change his name to Hunk pretty soon:)
    PS- enjoy our (shared) Great Lakes— they are amazing:)

  65. Oh, I want to be there with you! Is there anything better than the lake shore on a summer day, and an 8-year-old to show you how to enjoy it? And that sock yarn is the perfect color for the environment! I want want want want it!!!! Please tell us what is is!

  67. 8 year old boys are the best, they think everything is great, including their Moms and/or Aunts.
    I have a collection of rocks, from BC, carried them home to Ontario 25 years ago.
    Enjoy your holiday.

  68. That installation is wonderful. And it looks like the sock belongs right there with it. That is lovely yarn. I third (70th? the request for more information about what it is!)

  70. I’m pretty sure that when I started to read your blog, Hank was…*gulp*…FOUR. And obsessed with your ball winder.
    Now look at that lanky thing. I will never stop being amazed at the growth rate of children.

  71. These are the hours when one feels like the wealthiest woman on Earth.
    Thank you for sharing Hank and your rock adventure. (Not to mention the amazingly colored sock!) I am now determined to get away to water for even a week-end, very soon, with my own dear ones. And I shall need appropriately colored sock yarn to pack in my bag …
    Happy Vacation,
    ~ Dar

  72. I misread your second to last caption as “Then I knit on a rock”, which is probably exactly where you did knit.
    Leaving for my own rocks and water.. .

  75. I love Lake Huron especially the Georgian Bay! Some years back my husband & visited Toronto & came back to Wisco north around the lakes & stopped in a town that I think was Midland. It had a smallish light house that was for rent & the rocks indeed were very pretty. On the road to the light house there were some very large rocks in the water that looked like the backs of turtles & I have a pic of my husband leaping from one large stone to the next- I caught him in mid-air!
    The sock colors are indeed a very good match for the water polished stones. I have a nice collection of Lake Superior rocks as well. Have fun on the rest of your vacation!

  76. Isn’t it funny how as children we loved to collect pretty rocks and we never outgrow it. One of life’s simple pleasures yet it can occupy us for hours.

  77. Need That Yarn. Need.
    Very fine rocks indeed. Have fun. It’s gonna be 103 F here today.
    Enjoy some cool for me, will ya?

  78. I’m taking my son to US Virgin islands soon, and while he learns to scuba dive, I’ll be on a chaise in the shade knitting socks. I’m sure we’ll come home with rocks and shells, because even as a teen, he still brings me beautiful things on the beach.
    I think that is why we collect yarn – it imitates the natural world that surrounds us, and we reorganize it into art.

  79. The company of young people is beyond compare. I still treasure the memories of serious talks about soap bubbles, running through fountains (does one attempt to stay as dry as possible or get as wet as possible in the least amount of time?), and the relative merits of dark stripes in light stones vs. light stripes in dark stones, among other wonderful topics.
    BTW, the fountain question discussion conclusions seem to be age- and ambient-temperature- related… 😉

  82. It amuses me that poor Hank, a child most of us have never met in person, is still victim to the “Oh how you’ve grown” syndrome that possesses grown-ups!
    I’m 31, and a visit to my grandmother’s church still brings out the same. At least mine is limited to a few old friends of my grandmother, who still want to pinch my cheeks, and not thousands of knitters worldwide!
    It amuses me more that my first thought was, “That can’t be Hank, he’s too big!”
    Enjoy your vacation, and enjoy your nephew. How he’s grown!

  83. What a wonderful way to spend the day! I am guessing the sock yarn is Mega Boot Stretch 707.

  84. Those rocks are truly beautiful. My boys (8 and 11) and I live near the beach and love to go in the fall and winter, when no one is there, and collect beautiful rocks. We take them home and I use them around the plants in my garden. They make gorgeous mulch. The boys often bring me pretty rocks to add to the collection after a hike with their grandmother. It may be weird, but I cherish those rocks more than any other gifts, and they’ll be in my garden for the rest of my life, even after my boys are grown and gone.

  86. Just be aware that there is no repeat in that yarn, so you are gonna get second cousin socks, not even brothers.
    I love rocks too.

  87. My town is on the shore of Lake Huron … so exciting to think that you might be somewhere close by! (I won’t get my hopes up; it is a very l-o-n-g shoreline!) Having just returned from a week in Muskoka where I was eaten alive by bugs, I might point out that one major advantage of this stretch of “cottage country” is our relative freedom from biting insects. But that’s off-topic … hope you and Hank and the rest of your family continue to have a wonderful vacation!

  90. Nothing, but nothing, can compare to time spent on the Great Lakes. I hate it every single time I have to leave my family’s place on Lake Erie, even if I know I’ll be back in just a few days. Happy Vacation!

  91. This is another affirmation of “The best things in life aren’t things”. Hope your vacation continues to “rock”….

  93. Oh mo gosh, he’s getting so tall! Or were you sitting down when you took that picture?
    I love that you guys made a rock sculpture, and then left it for others to enjoy. When we went to Hawaii, the kids were very disappointed to learn that we were not allowed to take stuff off the beaches and bring them back home. Until I suggested the coral creations, as we called them. They hunted down the coolest shaped ones, and made very interesting designs in the sand and combined them with pieces of driftwood and rocks and whatever else they could find. And we took pictures. They ended up having way more fun I think, knowing that they were making something for someone to enjoy tomorrow. They kept talking about who might see it, and what they would think, if they thought maybe elves made it. The best one they named the Coral Castle. You did name it, right? Make sure Hank names it.
    Sock, nice job. I love socks. That yarn is very pretty. I’m so glad you’re having such a nice time in nature. Enjoy the time with your family.

  94. I don’t know if anyone else mentioned this — too many comments to read through and I’m on my lunch break = limited reading time — BUT there is a cool children’s book by Sheree Fitch called Pocket Rocks (a really good story about the magical, mystical powers of Special Rocks, and how they transform and empower a little boy.
    A good read with a message by a Canadian author

  96. Love that sock yarn! What is it?
    Lake Huron is So beautiful. I stayed at Manitoulin Island once and loved it – way out at a campground on the end. Lovely place. Thank you for the prompt about the TWIST Collective. I didn’t know what it was although I’d seen the site (during countdown) a couple of times. I already bought 6 patterns! (I’m somewhat, but only somewhat, embarrassed to say)
    Have a lovely vacation….

  97. The sock matches the lake & stones… and I can’t believe it, but I’m knitting socks using the exact same color of yarn hehehe.

  101. Hi Hank, Hi Stephanie, would’ve loved to have been there for the pleasure of the rocks. Yes. I do collect rocks. Those are some wicked beauties.
    I also love Jaynette Ponnay’s comment.

  102. Dear Hank,
    We like to arrange rocks on the lakeshore, too. Maybe one day your Aunt Stephanie can bring you over for a playdate. Mom says that the three of us together might reverse the Earth’s polarity, though. Do you know what that means? We don’t.
    Have fun on your trip!

  103. Since we can’t all be there with you (lucky for you!), like many others I’d like to know what yarn you’re using…so we can overwhelm the creator/vendor with orders…

  104. That is possible the most beautiful sock I’ve seen yet, in one of the most beautiful places in Ontario. Lucky you.

  105. Your sock looks like your day. The colors in the sock just match the photos! Another art installation of unparalelled beauty.

  109. My goodness, is that Hank? Fine rock art and the yarn color seems inspired by Lake Huron.

  110. What better way to spend a sunny day at the shore than sharing it with a nephew! That’s a day he will remember forever! That’s what we Aunties are for!!!

  111. I too spent time on Lake Huron (Hammond Bay, MI) this summer! I had a blast with my family and I hope you and yours have a blast too. These are the old (old) days, enjoy.

  112. Beautiful art — both pieces! And interesting, how the one echoes the colors of the other. Have a good vacation!

  114. On one of our trips to Ireland, I collected a whole bowl of rocks from the coast in Wicklow–they sit in a crystal bowl on my dining room table. But my husband was less than thrilled about hauling them home, expecially when I put them in HIS suitcase!
    But I love them. (And him!)
    Congratulations on a day well-spent.
    Abby

  115. What a beautiful post! There is nothing more fun than spending time with a child at the beach. You and your nephew created beautiful natural art. Thank you for sharing.

  118. The socks and the rocks are both so pretty in almost strikingly similar ways: the way they form a natural pattern of colors flowing in and out of each other.
    I can’t believe how big Hank has gotten! Does he still like the color pink? 🙂

  121. I love the rock formations you created! You can always find such beautiful specimens on the shores of the Great Lakes.
    Isn’t it great the way the sock yarn resembles the works of art by nature herself?

  123. Your installation is gorgeous, and I love that the sock incorporates the colors of the day.

  124. I love Hank’s random appearances. He’s growing right up! Enjoy your time away! I want to believe you are all in Ireland. And I’m not really sure why! ; )

  126. Beautiful!! If you get a chance, you and Hank should watch a film called “Rivers and Tides” about environmental artist Andrew Goldsworthy and his amazing work.

  127. Sounds like one of those about-perfect days to me. And good grief, that nephew of yours is just shooting up! Why do kids INSIST on doing that, anyway?! Don’t they realize it makes us say stupid things, like, “Gee, you’ve sure grown, haven’t you!”
    (I’m about to see about ten of my holy-smokes-how-big-is-this-family-anyway nieces and nephews in a couple weeks. I’m trying very, very hard to remove such phrases from my brain and replace them with something less-lame, like, “S’up?”, which does not mean ‘sup’ as in to eat, but apparently has a double meaning of “what’s going on with you?” and “I am not COMPLETELY lame.” Or so I’ve been told by cooler kids.)

  128. I used to bring my knitting on airplanes, but here in the states we can’t bring pointy objects on board anymore. So, lucky you.

  130. Could you put up a high-res copy of the ‘good rocks’ closeup, please? I’d love to use it for desktop wallpaper at work.

  131. Lake Huron has the coldest water of all the Great Lakes, if I remember correctly. We were young when we went swimming in it, but I remember it being fah-reezing!! Love the rock art.

  132. Lake-side vacations are the best! Beautiful rock collection. Funny thing: I spotted you on a repeat of “Restaurant Makeover” this morning, you and Hank!

  135. Those are amazing rocks. They look like something you would buy in a gift shop. How cool that you sock matches the earthly beauty!

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