A shrug

Last Thanksgiving, I was in Tolt Yarn and Wool with the family.  The Tall Short Person saw a picture of a knitted shrug she liked.  It was the Emma shrug by Carrie Hoge.  As I have said many times, I do not knit.

Carrie had done the shrug in a linen yarn.  It was not very soft so I went with an alpaca blend yarn.  It was a lace weight.  I found a stitch pattern for a wave type ribbon pattern that made an interesting fabric.  The same feel as what Carrie had knitted but very different.

I did buy the pattern so I could get all the measurements.  Even though I used a softer yarn which created a stretchier fabric, I went with those measurements.  The shrug fits across the Tall Short Person's back well.

I bought too much yarn so I have enough to make at least one more.  Maybe even two depending on the size of the person I am making it for.  How much yarn depends on the chest measurement.

I am thinking about making something similar for myself but out of a heavier yarn.  More like a sweater shrug.  I am doing smaller things for me so I can still put my hands into dough up to my elbows and not get my crocheted items doughy.  I find shawls fall in.  And the place between my shoulder blades get cold easily.  I usually have to sleep in sweater.

ruffles

I had this skirt in my head from before I went traveling.  An old fashioned skirt with ruffles and tiers.  Made in cotton prints.  I decided I needed it to have a drawstring waistband like I used to make 35 years ago.    I went through my stash and had Koda Bear help me chose.  Then I cut a lot of rectangles and strips.  I stitched them all together.   I made my life hard.

Now I have a new skirt like the one that was in my head.  I am thinking about changing the waist to a true waistband.  Which means I would need to play with the pockets a bit because I would want a placket and not a zipper.  And all the things to bother me, the middle tier hits my knees in an irritating spot.  I could easily shorten the skirt just a tad when I change the waistband.  That may change where those seams sit.  I also wish to see how it feels once it has been washed a few times.  But it was fun to wear.  

I do have enough of the background fabric to make a similar skirt without any tiers.  Which would mean no stripes.  Which I am good with.  I am wanting to wear more the clothes I did many years ago.  Just drawn to long skirts.  I need to make a few shirts and I have fabrics that I can do that with. Whether they are true shirts or more of a t-shirt but out of woven fabrics instead of knits.  When I dress for Serenity Knives I actually have a work shirt with their name on it.  I think that is where some of this is coming from.  

I also cycle through the clothes I like to wear.  Currently, everything has to go with hiking boots and Birkenstock type sandals.  That is where my feet are the happiest.  But I can walk!  Which makes me happy.

and then off to the beach

I had just gotten back from the mountains and what did I do?  I ran off to the beach.  I was invited to a friend's beach house before we left for traveling.  I said I would try to make it.  It has been hard to be back so it was also a nice break.  I think to go more.

My friend's heart home is not right on the beach but about a block away.  You can see the Gulf of Mexico from the deck.  She had a group of women friends over since her Beloved was out of town.  It was nice.

I had a quiet place to crochet and watch the world go by.

I promised myself that I would try to get to the beach more often to just walk on it.  I have a state parks pass so I can go to that beach anytime.  I do not have to wait for the kind invitations of a friend.  

Just like most times where I have lived outside for a week, it is hard being back.  The Saharan dust is here and it feels very hot outside.  My head will get better about it.  

wedding and camping

I went to a family wedding in Monterey County, CA.  The wedding was a lovely wedding.  I actually really like Salinas where I stayed with my parents.  I did not realize how much agriculture was done there.  Lots of lettuce and cabbage families.  I had never seen an artichoke plant before.  I thought they were beautiful.  I have to admit that I wish I could grow many of the flowers I saw in yards there.

After the wedding, I headed up to Los Padres National Forest to go camping with my family.  The campground we stayed at was lovely and I feel like I need to go back.  There was just not enough time to go anywhere.  But there was a river running through and Koda Bear loved it!

He turned blue from playing in this water!  There were shivers happening.

Then, it was off to the Rocky Mountain National Park.

The view from our camp site was lovely.  We were sitting in a valley that was ringed with mountains.  We got there a day early and the campground was able to find us a spot for the night even though we needed to move the next day.

Then, it was three days of walking.  My family keeps telling me that we did not take walks but that we were on hikes.  We let Koda Bear decide when it was time to turn around and he was pretty persistent.  We did not make it to the last destinations for two of the hikes we took but we were post holing in the snow.

The above picture is of Loch Lake and it was so pretty.

This is a better picture of the view from our campground.

We made it to Emerald Lake, which was mostly covered with ice.

But I think my favorite was Mills Lake.  It reminded me a lot of the lakes in the Cascades.  It was a bit smaller and felt a bit more intimate.  We tried to hike to Black Lake from here but again, too much snow.  I was actually in pants for this hike and I was more wet then when I walked in a skirt!  Koda Bear turned us around before we got to Black Lake.  Three days of that small boy hiking was almost too much for him.  He walked with me on the way back and I have a tendency to be the slowest.  I just call myself a turtle.  I can get there, but I may be slow.

I went to the Estes Park Wool Market while we were camping there.  It was the point of the trip.  I enjoyed it.  And I saw sheep breeds I have never seen before.  Sheep the size of small cows!  It was fun.  Or at least I thought so. 

I bought a fleece, even though I did not need a fleece.  I loved the color.  And I am thinking I wish to go down the rabbit hole of making hats.  I guess I will see if I have time for that.  Next week, I start a breakfast nook that I am getting paid to build.

I would like to go back later in the summer and try all those hikes again.  At least the one to Sky Pond and Black Lake.  I would like to try them without the snow.  I was thinking August 2020.  

I am now trying to get back into the swing of things and not doing a very good job.  I keep hoping it will get better but two days in, it has not.  I really enjoy being outside that much.  Until next time, I will just keep moving forward.

waxed cotton and leather

Life has been crazier since I added in helping the boyos with Serenity Knives.  Yesterday,  I drove for eight hours to deliver knives, four hours each way.  The quiet was nice.  Being alone was nice.  Going someplace different was nice.  Being anemic did not make it easy.  I am taking my iron but still!  I just feel like there is little slowing down time.  There will be later in the week just because I will be on a jet plane.  I am off to a wedding and a fiber fair.  Yeah!

I did take a break on the way home and get food.  At a resturaunt I like in Austin.  I walked around a neighborhood to stretch my legs.  I took pictures of garden ideas I like.  As much as I like the wildness, having a decayed granite front yard also appeals to me.  I did go into a few shops just because.  Because I did not feel like I was dragging anyone with me and I could.

But busy is the norm.  For example, I have three different types of bread in process in my kitchen currently.  There is laundry in the machine.  I have been working on the computer.  There is a small beast who is taking a nap and I am listening for.  Blue has started to consistently roll over so listening must be more deliberate.  

Over a year ago, I was asked to start making chef's rolls by the boyos.  I did make a few.  In fabric, they are a lot of work.  They took a bit to sell so it was hard to be motivated to make them.  But then I made my traveling bag.

I have two waxed cotton dusters in the closet.  Leather scraps.  I put together a chef's roll.  It is a bit wonky because I was cutting a coat apart.  But it can hold seven knives and a spoon.  It has one of the original pockets from the coast as well as a leg band.  The boyos will have it in stock and I put it in my Etsy store as well to see what happens.  Who knows!  

I keep thinking I should put my quilts on Ebay to see what people will really spend.  If you are interested, make me an offer.  The meditation piece of those alone are worth it.

I will not be around this space later this week and next.  Family, traveling, and fiber.  I keep thinking I need to travel more this year.  It is possible but we will see.  I have a kitchen nook and a sharpening truck to build.  I may end up building myself a traveling truck!