Weekend Update

These 3-D, multimedia artworks can be found at the shop, Nuts and Bolts, where I teach in Woodland Park. The gal who makes them uses fabric, natural wood and other pieces from the forest near her house, and floral bits and pieces. They are really something to see. (click on the pic to embiggen)

The rest of my weekend was spent working on finishing the kid cardis so they can be mailed next week. One has to make the big trip across the ocean, the other two only to the Midwest. I understand from the two families that the weather is still calling for sweaters so these will be right on time.


Duckers is enjoying his job as a model for the cardis and matching kerchief. He will be modelling the peacock one this week before these are shipped off to Missouri for Easter wear for my nieces. I can hardly wait for the pictures.

I hope you had a fabulous weekend!

Knitted Flower Class

My knitted rose class was lots of fun. We all used different yarn can came up with different looks for our Tea Rose pins. It was interesting to see how the different yarns created a different feel and texture for the flowers.

And it was fun to discuss the variety of ways that they thought you could use the flowers to embellish clothing, baskets, picture frames, et al.

We have more flowers and ideas to explore thanks to Nicky Epstein's book Knitted Flowers.

One of my class participants showed off her very cool scarf that she bought and all of us decided that it would make a great stash buster project. May have to have a knitalong for this project.

I hope you are planning lots of fun things in your world

Finally Moisture but not "Storm of the Year"

Even though the storm that just rolled through has been called The Blizzard of 2009 by the local media, it did not produce as much snow for us as I had hoped for. The wind was vicious and with the snow it was difficult to drive in. However, I think the overall snowfall for CS was 4-6 inches, mostly in stripes of up to 2 foot drifts with bare spots to compensate.



My favorite part was the view into the parking lot where all the cars had their "eyebrows" up. It was very fun and practical. It helped keep the windshield wipers from freezing to the windows.




I had the opportunity to utilize the remote access to my office and work from home Thursday afternoon and today. I am grateful that I have the option.


It was a good shot of moisture that we have needed all winter. I hope the Spring Storms continue for the flowers' sake.

March is National Craft Month: Learn Something New

What new technique do you want to learn? Do you want to learn new knit stitch patterns? New crochet patterns? New card making or scrapbook techniques? Now is a good time to learn something more in-depth or completely new. I saw that Joann's and Hobby Lobby are both offering demos on Saturdays in March, there is still time to experiment with a new craft or add knowledge to your favorite.


Or you can take a class at one of the yarn shops or even a tour of what videos are offered on You Tube. For example: Cat Bordhi has the funniest video on her Hungry Stitch technique to keep the wobble out of your SSKs. She has several others and so do many other knitters. I rely on one in particular to refresh my memory of how to do the Moebius Cast On.

Even though I love the ease in which I can find instructions and videos on new and different techniques, I still think going to take a class is a great idea. Not only do you have the instructor right there in front of you to ask questions and discuss variations with, you also have other folks who are interested in learning and sharing their ideas which adds a whole new perspective to your experience.

I recommend to anyone that finding something you enjoy doing and learning more about it will add enjoyment to your daily life. I hope to hear news of your creations in the future!

Weekend and Kid Cardi Update

This weekend was dedicated to a belated St. Patty's Day celebration, complete with traditional dinner with the folks. The addition to the meal was a White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake courtesy of my brother in Missouri. He had sent some interesting dessert mixes in the Christmas box this year and this is the first time I had to try one of them. The pie was yummy (thanks bro') and so was the dinner (thanks mom). Then we watched the Madagascar Penguins extra DVD. It was very funny.

While I was there I showed Mom the progress on the kid cardis. I have two or three done except for button and end weaving, and the last one is almost ready to go on the big needle for finishing.

I am enjoying knitting these kid cardis so much. I just wish this pattern came in my size. I may have to do some designing of my own to figure out how to do one in an adult size. That will be like Pam Wynne who refabricated the pattern for the February Lady Sweater that is all the rage over at Ravelry. It came from Elizabeth Zimmerman's February baby pattern in her Knitting Almanac. Pam designed it to "fit a grown-ass woman" and it is lovely. I have plans to raid my stash and get started on a practice one soon.

The rest of the weekend was spent watching movies, airing out the house with all windows open while the weather was warmish on Sunday, and setting up to start the matching kerchiefs for the girls. At first I thought doing them in stockinette would make a nice fabric to embroidery on, however about 10 rows in I realized that it will roll up and not lay nicely so I ripped it out and started on a garter stitch version. This does not lend itself to having embroidery on it, but I have an idea to add decoration to them. I will share when I get the first one done. I think it will be cute and may add the matching deco to the sweaters as well.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

First Day of Spring or Spring Has Sprung

Happy Spring to everyone! I hope you see the flowers popping up soon. I hope we see some moisture here on the Front Range in Colorado. Fortunately, the news report today said that we have enough in the water reserves and the mountains have had an average snow accumulation for the year.

I wanted to share some Spring trivia with you to celebrate the Vernal Equinox. First, and I think most important, is the answer to a question that has puzzled me most of my life - why does the date for Easter change year to year? I finally found the answer, and here it is: The date of Easter is calculated as the first Sunday after the First Full Moon on or after Vernal (March) Equinox.

Now that does not seem too hard does it? I wonder who had to do the math to figure out how to create that calculation.

Now, on to less mentally taxing trivia:

Around March 21st, the earth's position in its orbit around the sun places its equator in line with the sun. This time period is called the "vernal equinox" and is the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. "Vernal" means spring and "equinox" means equal.

An emerald represents spring, rebirth, hope, peace, and tranquility.

Though baby birds are born with the ability to sing, they must learn the songs of their species. An isolated baby bird will learn simple songs, but not the complex songs of its species. A bird must hear in order to learn. Only a few birds can sing the songs of other species. The mockingbird seems to be the best at imitating the songs of other birds.

An area along the California and Oregon border produces 95 percent of all bulbs grown in the world for the potted Easter lily market. They produce more than 11 million bulbs annually.

On March 14th, Pedro and I saw the first robin in our front yard. He was very excited and chattered away at the bird that is almost the size of his favorite outdoor friend, Squiggy the squirrel.

I hope you are all planning fun outdoor activities for the good weather ahead!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I am still looking for a sock pattern with four-leaf clovers in it. Maybe my next year I will have a pair knit to wear for St. Patrick's Day.

Just some trivia tidbits to share about the Day of Green:

Green is associated with Spring. The three-leafed shamrock is a traditional symbol because Saint Patrick used it to represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as one entity. The first time St. Patrick's Day was celebrated in America was 1737 in Boston.

Wearing green will bring you luck so go out and show your green today!