Friday Letters

Dear Weather Dogs-

From what I understand, you have a change in store for us, but it doesn't look like much of one, nor does it look like it will give us much in the way of precipitation, let alone snow. As you can see from the above picture, a weeping willow is leafing. In February. Seriously, I don't like to complain, but will you please bring us weather appropriate for the month? We need a little winter before we have real spring, not that we expect you to honor the calendar or anything. 

Dear Andi & Anne,

Thank you for having a contest, the contest in which I won a copy of Anne's Legendary Knits Vol. 3! I've known Anne a long time and I love her designs based on legendary people and fairy tales. 

I'm quite fond of The Little Mermaid Sweater and I am completely smitten with the Guinevere Shawl. I even think I have the perfect Wooly Wonka yarn marinating in my stash. 

The colors in the elegant Flora Mitts are a reminder of beautiful colors of spring and summer, seasons we all love (and miss!). 

 It's always fun to win, but even more so when the designs are something I'll knit (if I ever find time to knit again).

Dear Readers-

Please make sure you check out Volumes 1 and 2 of Legendary Knits. And, that you have a great weekend!

How To Dress

The weekend was cold, so very cold, but this knitter knows how to dress to keep the cold from penetrating through to her skin (and I'm sure you do to). I am always cold, believe me, my friends know this is true. In order to survive a weekend of cold that cuts like a knife, I need my knits.

During cold weather you will always find me in a pair of hand knit socks, but when I'm getting ready to leave the house on a very cold day, I put on my leg warmers. I feel like one the most fortunate people on the planet because this pair of leg warmers was an unexpected gift from CherylS back in 2008. Every spring before I put them away for the summer I check them over to see if they need repair and, then, I carefully give them a bath. I want to make sure my leg warmers are ready for action the following winter.

After donning my puffy down parka, I wrap an always-handy shawl around my neck. I wear a shawl as scarf, as it serve the dual purpose of keeping my neck warm when I'm out of doors but, also, of protecting my shoulders when I'm sitting indoors. 

I then on pull on a pair of gloves, in this case, a hand knit pair from Estonia, which I purchased from Nancy Bush a few years ago. And, since it's a very cold day, I pull a pair of mitts over the top. 

At this point, I'm ready to head out the door and into the cold. What are you're go-to items for staying warm? 

Friday Fun

Claudia took me back in time with her photo processing skills and my shawl and I were transported back in time when we could be one with the truck. How much do I love this photo? A ton!

Happy Weekend, friends! Winter has arrived in our neck of the woods, but where ever you are I hope you are cozy and warm!

Autumn Weekending

The weekend weather was about as perfect as you could hope for on a late October day. We took advantage of the warm and sunny skies as much as possible.

Friday night I stopped by my local community radio, KRCL, and met my favorite of all time DJ, John Florence. His music is my morning sound track and listening to him is the reason I makes it up at 5:00am. I felt a little star struck at meeting him, truth be told. 

Saturday Smith and I enjoyed date night in downtown SLC. We wander around looking at the street art (something we need to explore during daylight hours) before going to a concert of beautiful jazz  music by Cyrille Aimée. Fabulous. She and her band were just fabulous. 

Because the weather has stayed unseasonably warm, Smith worked in the garden most of the weekend. We picked the last of our tomatoes for the year. The leaves at been hit by frost, but the fruit clung on to the last minute. Garlic has been planted and other parts of the garden will be covered with mulch and put to bed for the winter. It's a process and one Smith enjoys right up until the snow flies. 

After errands Sunday we stopped by a place that shall remain a secret, and yes, I have something up my sleeve, but the golden grass was photogenic, so I'll share it here while I work on my secret. 

How was your weekend? Rhinebeck joy is in the wind and I can't wait to read about the sheepy experiences.

No Matter the Weather

Last year it snowed and this year it rained, but in neither case was the fun dampened. Hanging out with friends during our annual Alta Knitter's Retreat sometimes made for cozy situations, but a good time was had by all and that's why we're there.

Saturday, the skies opened up and the rain never stopped. We watched as clouds moved in to completely surround Alta Lodge in white. Within minutes the clouds  moved on up the canyon and our view of the mountains returned. By the next morning the rain had stopped and we were very happy to see it hadn't snowed and that the skies were showing signs of clearing. 

Sunday, as Kym and I left the retreat, we took a short drive up the canyon to catch sight of the beautiful town of Alta and the stunning peak of Mt Superior. 

Color was wide spread through the canyon and in all the places Kym and I visited during her stay. Silver Lake's aspens were shimmering with color.                                                                          

We visited Sundance, Cascade Springs, American Fork Canyon and all of it was full of the beauty of fall. The colors of the west are more gold and yellow, than the reds and oranges of the east.

In many places, the color was holding off, the green still in place, but knowing time was waning. 

We both wore our Germinate's all weekend, as we needed the added protection from the chill. We are knitters and we know how to stay warm. It was a grand weekend and I feel honored Kym returned to see more of Utah's beauty.

And, now on to ToT!

If you scroll through my books on Goodreads, you'll find few thrillers or suspense novels there, as it's a genre I rarely read. There are two I can put on my list and maybe you'll give me a few more "must reads".

1. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier- This is the first book that came to mind when the subject arrived from Carole.

2. Now You See Me by S.J. Bolton - This is the first in a the Lacey Flint series and it was frighteneing and I was kept guessing right until the end.

She Was Here

Kym was here and now she's gone and I'm left to wonder how five days could go by so quickly. 

Day One - We knew the weather was destined to change so we took the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of Red Butte Gardens (thank you Cheryl for the pass!). 

Kym in the Sagebrush House

Kym is as sweet, caring, and as engaging as you might expect, and we had a marvelous time seeing the sights and retreating at Alta Knitter's Retreat. There was a lot of knitting, even more rain, and constant views of beautiful golden fall. Hello October! 

Let the Sunshine

A friend asked if I liked having a smart phone, even though she knew the answer.I use it daily to take photos and post them on-line. I've learned many new techniques and which app to use that help to create the photo I have in mind. I learn more everyday. It's the doing that is the best teacher.

I am very pleased with the class that I took from Big Picture Classes. I learned to take into consideration the light, the composition, the background, and much, much more when taking pictures. On top of that, I get to decide which app to use (if any) to change the image into my own piece of art.

Sunflowers are filling the gardens, the sides of the roads, as well as, the flower stands. They're sunny faces are hard to resist.  Sunflowers feel like fall, look like fall, and they give me a thrill, as well as a chill. I love them so, but I look at them with a slight heaviness in my heart, as they portend the ending of summer.

Thursday Last Week

Instead of Weekending, I'm going back to Thursday night when Smith and I took a little road trip to Logan, a town about an hour and a half from SLC. The drive isn't very picturesque until the last 20 minute, when the canyon is filled with farmland nestled into little dales.

The reason we took the trip was to meet up with a friend who lives in Grand Junction, who had driven her 50 year old car to a vintage car rally in Logan. She's 10 years older than me and drives a 1964 Corvair, no air conditioning, no power breaks or steering, and no "juice", miles and miles just for the fun of it.  She's an inspiration. May I introduce Jean. 

She's the first person I ever met on the internet and we've been friends since 1998. It was 10 years ago I drove to visit her and blogged about it here. The next year I drove to Grand Junction again and, once again, shared the trip in a blog post. Th

This time she came to Utah and Smith and I had a chance to meet her son (who drives his own 1963 Corvair) and his family. We all went to dinner and chatted for hours. You might notice she has a wounded hand, but it doesn't stop her from doing the one of the things she loves, driving her vintage car. Like I said, she's an inspiration and I was very happy to see Jean again. 

As Smith and I drove home I took a picture of the sunset, but as you can see, I didn't capture much of the color in the sky. The subject of the first Big Picture photography lesson was light and I knew the sunset would give me a place to start. 

Given the tips on apps, and learning a few tweaks of the subject, I was able to create a more dramatic photograph. I'm playing around and trying a few other tricks to enhance my photos. 

The class has given me a little more understanding of what apps might work to create more interesting pictures than what I'd get on my own. The Big Picture Photography Project is going to be a blast. 

The New

I find it hard to make decisions. It takes me forever. I think about all the what ifs I do and what ifs I don't. I vacillate, hum and haw, back and forth, and sometimes, quite often, actually, I miss out on good opportunities. Sometimes I'm impulsive and just jump in, but not often.

The last time I just jumped in was the TTL Mystery Shawl, which worked out in my favor, although past history had more to do with that decision--as did the gradient yarn. The last time I hummed and hawed was when my friends wanted to knit another shawl.  We were talking about Germinate, which I did last year and LOVE, but then, as I was spending time looking over possible color selections, Kym mentioned Cactus Flower. The debate I had with myself over which shawl to do went on all afternoon.

After I'd placed my order with Kim, I debated even more over whether I'd made the right choice...on yarn, on color, and shawl pattern. The discussion in my head went on until the yarn arrived (a couple of days later) and then the discussion went on even after I purchased the pattern. I hate to admit it, it might still be going on.

ALTHOUGH, look at this luscious yarn...

The colors are darker than they look in the photo...deeper, richer, warmer. I'm feeling sure about my choice of Cactus Flower, but I have to admit, I looked through Kim's colorways to see which color I'd add if I went with Germinate.  A girl has to keep her options open.

On another note, I've had my smart phone just over a week and I haven't spent much time exploring its possibilties. However, I have signed up for an on-line photography class, The Phone Photography Project 2, which was recommended by Mary. I thought about it for a couple of days, but finally, decided the class was the best way to explore and learn smart phone photography. I'll be snapping pictures right and left, learning as much as I can, over the next month.

Ecstatic!

As in, jumping up and down for joy, ecstatic!! I am very fortunate to be one of the recipients of the Craftsy prizes Vicki awarded as part of her Ten for Ten Anniversary! For some reason (probably skimming over the give-away part at the end of her posts), I thought I had to sign up through Craftsy, which I never did.

Vicki took me on a trip down the memory lane of blogging. I remember her "Quit" and her travels (we were at Rhinebeck together in 2006), and the ups and downs her family has been through over the last 10 years. Plus, I remember all the beautiful hand knit projects she's created over the years, too! Parcheesi, baby stuff even before Junah was a twinkle in anyone's eye, St. Brigid and Fib!

Ann, Cara, Me, Vicki -Rhinebeck 2006

This weekend I looked for the tools I need to create my own Alabama Chanin project, as if you hadn't guessed that's the class I picked with my Craftsy prize. 

Over the weekend I watched a few of the classes and found I was familiar with many of the tips and techniques, as I have studied embroidery for many, many years. I'm looking forward to the process, but first need to pick a project (something small to begin with) and try a swatch or two with the fabrics I've procured (t-shirts from Smith's unused t-shirt drawer--shhh don't tell). I only hope I can create something half as nice as Vicki's beautiful top.

How was your weekend?