Off to the Wool Market!

What, you may ask, is that fuzzy thing in the window? 
That is Loopy (aka Humphrey - a kid at the reststop renamed him) LLama.
I should introduce Loopy, he is knit from alpaca and sheep wool (leftovers from the first Sheep to Shawl project) following a Fiber Trends pattern.
And here we are entering Colorado.  Estes Park or bust!





As I'm typing this, I'm thinking how particularly fitting my byline is - I am certainly looking for wool, it not flax.



To be sure there have been many photos taken between these two.  JoAnne and I are enjoying a cup of yummy, Kind Coffee and watching the Big Thompson roll past.

We went up the tram to the lookout.  What a beatiful day to enjoy God's creation and feel his majesty.



More pictures coming later.  Wool Market starts on Saturday.
Sunday, at 8:00AM MST, sharp we begin to card, spin and weave.

Gotta brag on the kids

Changing gears - I need to brag a little on my kids with a couple action shots.
My older son, Phill, graduates in a few days.  Here he is playing a his senior solo for the end of year orchestra concert.

Younger son, Eric, went out for track this year.  He is also playing on 3 baseball teams now that he has started high school ball. 

What a difference a week makes!

There were at least a dozen boxes of yarn, books, needles, you name it and a dozen trash bags of yarn as well.  My mom is not a knitter.  She was amazed by the amount of yarn.  We've all been amazed by how much stuff was in that small room.

The wall of wool now!

Needles, yarn and books!

Display case.

Some flowers to brighten things up.

Moving day for R. Rabbit's

Moving day was May 15th: from the back room at Village Needlework to my new shop home.  It took a band of 10, friends and family to load it up and haul it all over. I didn't take pictures that day.  Monday we started going through boxes...

More Spring Blooms

I just love my digital camera with macro-zoom setting.  Amazing pictures and instant gratification.

My neighbor, Joyce's, tart cherry blossoms - can't wait till they are ripe!

Japanese Painted fern - just poking up its head.

Jack in the Pulpit - a wonderful hand-me-down from my neighbor.

Barb and JoAnne came over and we had coffee under the oak tree. 
Then we had a tour of the best flower shots for close ups.

More signs of Spring

Signs of Spring

Spring in Minnesota

It's time for the now second annual trip to Minneapolis for the Y Regional Swim meet.  We drove up on Thursday and are staying with my sister, Steph.  She made this great squash chili and date bars. Yum!  Then on Friday she dragged us out of town to the Afton State Park for a hike.  The scenery was beautiful, but I am out of shape!

Steph took us in her new ride.

Oscar wants to know if we are there yet.

 

Afton State Park is located on the St. Croix river.
This makes for beautiful views from the bluffs.
This also makes for a lot of up and down hiking.

It was a beautiful warm day.













The river is getting back in its banks. 
I love water reflection pictures.

So many paths, so many decisions.

Dedication - water droplets

My friend JoAnne loves to take flower and nature pictures.  Water droplets were her obsession this summer.
These are two of our favorites.

It takes dedication to get pictures like those.  This was at Brucemore gardens in Cedar Rapids summer '09.

No one was with her when she took this picture.  I wonder...

Snow Day

The boys got their wish today.  No school - this also means the shop is closed and no concert tonight.
I am going to use my snow day to work on organizing the studio and maybe even catch up on some housework.  Don't tell the girlies, but I may even get to the dog park with them.

My rabbit topped spindle hanger: one thing in the studio that has not changed in all the re-orgs.  

More pictures coming soon. 

Snowflakes and Frost

JoAnne's goal for this winter was to get a close-up of a snowflake.
I think she went overboard, but I like the results!

Found a great new website

I just met a new mom online.  My Mom passed on information for a new website.  Up in Minnesota the North American Bear Center has a webcam located in the den of a new mommy.  Lily the black bear just gave birth to a cub.  You can watch them online.  Right now there isn't much to see but Lily's back.  However, you can also hear her and the cub and at some point will be able to see them in action.

http://www.bear.org/website/visit-us/lily-den-cam.html

Winter Wonderland

Welcome to our winter wonderland  -  Cedar Rapids style

I had to share these images taken by my friend JoAnne Pruitt. 
This summer we were out taking pictures of flowers. 
This winter we've had plenty of opportunities for snow and ice pictures.

There are dozens of wild turkies around town. 
We've seen more than a dozen at a time on the east side of town.  They are truly amazing to watch.

Turkey strut - nuff said.

The last couple days we've had high humidy and little winds.  Apparently this combination is what produces "hoar frost".  I've heard of it before, but never really seen it.  More close ups coming later.  Enjoy!

Celebrating the New Year, spinner-style

Roc Day, January 7th: the day spinners would traditionally go back to work after the Christmas holidays.  I invited my spinner and knitter friends to join me.  Alas, the snow kept most of them away, but I did do some spinning. 

We finished celebrating on Monday, January 11th.  Vicky took this picture of some of the wheels in my front room.  All together there were 9 of us spinning and knittting and chatting and eating.

This is me with my Lendrum saxony wheel.  I am spinning wool which is purchased from a cyber, fiber friend, Cary of Serenity Farms in Michigan.  The fiber is lovely dark wool with dyed silk flecks.  It has been great fun to spin and will make a lovely springy yarn for a hat or mittens.

Hopefully, I will have pictures to share soon.

Thanks Chris, JoAnne, Vicky, Sue, Deb, Linda, Jody and Tyler (her son) for joining me.

Here is my charge for the New Year: spin every day!