Playing and Projects

November seems to be marching right along these days. We got a good reminder of the impending holiday last weekend at our choir workshop, spending most of the day practicing Christmas music. (We also learned that a CD of our spring concert featuring Haydn's Creation is being released next month!) As usual I have lots projects and ideas in the works. We'll see how many actually get completed!

The stitch in this dishcloth is really fun. The pattern can be found at Lily Sugar 'n Creme and is called The Twist Knit Dishcloth. I think the stitch would be pretty in a scarf although it is a bit stretchy. I really needed these needles for another project which hastened the finish!

A couple weekends ago we went exploring in the Magnolia neighborhood because that's where Catherine and Brent are house-hunting. I am sitting at the base of an old madrona tree; the early settlers thought they were magnolia trees, and thus the name of the area.

We had fun in Discovery Park, hiking down to the water and this old abandoned lighthouse.

You can also see Mount Rainier from this trail. That mountain sure gets around!

I didn't work much on the Christmas SAL last month and will be putting it aside until after the holidays. The sleepy Santa was my focus this time. Maybe it'll get done by next Christmas?

This little project caught my eye. It was a free pattern on Webs. Besides the penquin, there's a very cute polar bear.

Gotta run. It's a sunny day, and we're going to walk around Green Lake. Catch you later!

Stitching and Knitting on the Road

Last week we visited two National Parks in two different states! We had a grand time exploring a bit of Oregon.

First we went to Mount Hood which was only accessible with chains when we were near there in May. (That was after spending the night in Portland and having breakfast at one of our favorite spots.) We drove to Timberline, an interesting lodge built in the thirties, and also hiked to Mirror Lake which has great views of the mountain.
View from Timberline

Mirror Lake

We were so happy to have some sunshine because every other time we've been to this area, Mount Hood has be totally hidden by clouds. It was even sunny on the trail!

Next we headed for Roseburg, determined to see Crater Lake sans snow. We stopped to see a few waterfalls on the way.

Isn't this an interesting trail? We didn't go any further......

Crater Lake is so beautiful. Can you believe that it is nearly 2000 feet deep?

Of course, no trip would be complete without a stop to look for yarn. We found the Twisted shop in the Portland area, and right next door we saw this amazing bonsai in front of a Japanese restaurant. (And yes, I got some yarn.)

Lots of knitting happened in the car while Dick was driving, but I can't share it until after Wednesday which is Sophia's birthday. In the evening I worked on the letter "V" of the Christmas Sampler. It's done except for the outlining. That was one detailed letter!

Since this post is getting awfully long, I will save our visit to Mount Rainier yesterday for another post.

Room with a View of SUN!

We had to drive a while, but we found the SUN in Chelan last weekend. Yesterday's paper said that temperatures 75 degrees and higher in our Seattle area are the latest ever here. Somehow I think we already knew that. We had a lovely view from our room, both of the beautiful roses down by the pool and of a wonderful sunset that evening.


The next morning we awakened to wonderful sunshine and decided to explore the area a bit. Two roads travel along either side of the lake before disappearing. If you want to go to Stehekin and the North Cascades National Park, both of which are at the end of the lake, a boat trip is necessary, but oh so worth the trip. This time, however, we were just exploring the local area in search of orchards. As you can see, we found blue skies and plenty of orchards.


Apples, peaches, and pears are grown in abundance on this side of the Cascades. You can also find lots of vineyards and wineries now.


As Chelan has no yarn shops, we set out to find the one the phone book listed in Chelan Falls, and with the help of the local post mistress, we did! Warehouse Woolery is just down the street from this old building.

I had a delightful chat with the owner and, of course, increased my stash. Much to my delight, she carries Be Sweet yarn which has an interesting story. As we reached Snoqualmie Pass on the way home, the curtain of clouds and rain returned. It's been a very strange spring, one that has promoted more handwork than gardening. This past month I made some progress on the Christmas SAL; only a mere 20 more letters to go!

This weekend the weather is supposed to clear up. Wouldn't that be a nice birthday gift for me and our son?

Christmas SAL and Knitting Update

Whew! I've finished two whole letters on my Christmas Sampler and only have 24 more to go. This is proving to be a more daunting project than I expected; all those close colors and tiny stitches are a real challenge to my aging eyeballs. Plus, I am reminded that I don't really like Aida cloth. Oh well, it will be pretty if it ever gets finished.....

Every week when Dick and I head into Seattle to volunteer at the UW hospital, I work on my "car" knitting and have finished quite a few dishcloths that way. The latest is the Citizen Kane pattern which can be found on Ravelry.

I also completed a different type of diagonal scarf and used up a ball of Moonlight Mohair from my stash.

We're in the process of packing for our trip to our niece's wedding, so I need to run. Happy crafting; we'll be back soon.