wow

Posted on Posted in book reviews/events, designing, projects

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what a week it’s been for incredible sights. i am gong home with loads of visual inspiration to revisit in my upstairs study in canton.

but before we spin off on a whirlwind tour of kim’s new home state, i want to tell you some unrelated good news.

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our friend janel laidman has come back from a two-year hiatus with a new edition of the knitterati collection. the collection consists of nine designs—five sock patterns and four shawl patterns—each using one skein of sock yarn. go take a look; many of these would be lovely in bare naked wools fingering yarns.

i’m just so happy janel is publishing again; i have missed talking shop with my friend and colleague.

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speaking of friends, i have been spending the most wonderful week with my friend—and yours—kim and her family. she’s been showing me around her new hometown by day and at night we knit, cook, and hang out with the kids.

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the knitting theme this week was finishing up a gift knit so that she could launch her blanket statement club project. to keep herself motivated for finishing the gift knit, she periodically treated herself to winding a couple of skeins of kent DK for the big blanket and better breakfast DK for her small blanket (she’s really committed!). me, i just watched and worked on my own knitting, thank you.

well, not completely true—i may have shot a little video so that ALL of you can see her in person, too.

this was a project that began on the day i arrived and continued over several days, with everyone helping out. i’m happy to report that she’s ready to start stripping now . . .

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on sunday, while everyone went to church, i borrowed a car and headed a couple of hours north to visit my cousin ted and his wife kristen. they live in a gorgeous area near the idaho border.

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after chatting for a while over coffee, we headed out back and up into the hills behind their home for an upward climb with their four dogs.

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i love the soft colors of the sage covered hills—so variable once you relax and look long into them.

with the winter being so mild, spring is waking up a little early this year and we saw many examples that made us smile over that (especially me; spring is definitely still dead asleep where i live!).

i saw an almost violently brilliant array of lichen on the rocks as we walked and i couldn’t resist examining their colors up close.

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seeing my cousin ted after so many years and meeting kris for the first time was both fun and a warm reminder that keeping in touch with family is full of unexpected and interesting possibility.

once back in ted and kris’s yard, we noticed even more proof that the seasons are changing in this area, with trees budding out and greens sprouting in the garden.

the day was nothing short of incredible—with temperatures that kissed 70 degrees, it was looking like the five day forecast of sun and warmth was becoming a reality. as we know now that was to prove an all too erroneous assumption, but i enjoyed every minute of it nevertheless.

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i even snuck in a few shots out the car window as i drove away from their place—the fields and mountains were so pretty from the other direction in the light of the setting sun.

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i promise i didn’t take my eyes off the road—it did it all by touch and instinct.

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(don’t tell david—he doesn’t like it when i take photos from behind the wheel.)

just as i was pausing for these photos, kim texted me a photo of everyone sitting down to the dinner i had cooked and left for them to eat

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just the start of a week of fun times in the kitchen with the kids—more on that later.

i have SO many photos from this week; i’m going to save the rest for next time. i can probably put them together while i wait for my flight in the morning. yes, i’m leaving tomorrow; boo-HOO! i know david will be glad to have me home, but i’ll miss kim and her family a LOT.

some day, maybe we can be neighbors. or at least within driving distance of each other.

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oh, and for whoever it was that asked me to take a picture of her white camel yarn—here it is.

7 thoughts on “wow

  1. I was so pleased the other day to see janel was finally able to get the Knitterati Club patterns out to the rest of the knitting world. I really enjoyed that club. And the colorwork club, Illuminations, patterns are available now too.

    I hope the bad weather doesn’t keep you from landing at home tomorrow!

  2. Don’t the colors of the sage colored hills remind you of the colors of BNW all tossed higgledy-piggledy together in pile?

  3. As always, so much fun and inspiring reading. I recently connected with two cousins whom I barely knew–what a joy–so it’s easy to understand your enjoyment of the visit with family!

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