Big Bend

If you've been following me at Flickr or on Twitter, you'll have seen a few of these photos from our getaway to Big Bend National Park this week. I'll be posting more photos later, but I wanted to get out a quick post while I had wifi access and a little spare time on our last day here.

We got here Sunday afternoon and immediately had a bit of drama when the vet, where the dogs were being kenneled, called at the last possible moment of mobile reception to tell us that a lump we'd noticed on Pona's neck should probably be biopsied or removed. We had to make some quick decisions. All correspondence has been via spotty email, but Pona's mass was removed, it was benign (a histiocytoma) and he's right as rain. Can't wait to see him -- and Kate -- tomorrow.

On Monday, we hiked down to The Window, a pour-off out of the Chisos Mountains that drops several hundred feet to the desert below. Watch your step! After getting back, we drove the thirty miles down to Santa Elena Canyon where the Rio Grande has carved a deep divide through solid rock. It's just one of my favorite places on earth and I never tire of visiting it. You can't see it here, but the river follows the bluff along the Chihuahua side to the left for several miles, forming a steep wall.

Tuesday was our major hiking day. We did a 12-mile loop that went up the Pinnacles Trail to the top of the Chisos Mountains, up through Boot Canyon out to the South Rim, and then back through Laguna Meadows. We're sore today, but it was worth it. I first did this same hike half my lifetime ago, and it's gratifying to know that I can still do it.

We saw lots of Mexican Jays and other birds during our walk, but unlike four years ago, no bears. And, lucky for us, no mountain lions. Apparently, they've been getting a bit bold as the continuing drought forces them to seek water near the campgrounds.

Today, we headed to the east side of the park and drove down the rather primitive Old Ore Road to Ernst Tinaja. A tinaja is a hollowed out pool in a canyon stream bed, that, being somewhat deep, tends to hold water most of the time, even if the stream is dry. Since we'd had a storm the night before, it was quite full with dark, tannin-rich water. The folded pink and gray rocks around it are beautiful.

Afterwards, we headed to the newly re-opened border crossing and took a boat across to Boquillas del Carmen in Mexico. This town was hit hard when the crossing was shut down after 9/11, and it's good to see it open again. A nice guy named Gabriel gave us a ride into town -- in his truck, not on these burros -- and showed us around, and answered our questions. We grabbed a beer at one of the bars in town and bought a few trinkets from some of the local kids. It's a miracle this former mining town has hung on as long as it has -- here's hoping the tourists start coming back.

Heading back to Austin tomorrow. Oh -- and I didn't knit a stitch while I was here, even though I brought the sock I'm working on. I'll get back to it when I get home!

 

Swap Analysis

Ever get tired of looking at the yarn in your stash and thinking, "What the hell was I thinking?" Or maybe, "What will I ever do with that?" If so, consider organizing a yarn swap. Some of my regular group of knitters got together last weekend and did just that. We had a potluck, did a little drinking, and brought our yarny trash, in hopes that we might snag someone else's fiber-y treasures. It's the third time we've done it over the years, and it was a blast.

Here's how we handle the process: we draw numbers in rounds. So, if there were 8 participants, we'd draw the numbers 1-8 out of a hat for round one. Then we'd draw numbers 9 through 16 for the second round, etc. You can base the number of rounds on the numbers of "lots" of yarn, or just decide how many up front. Then we dump all the yarn that everyone brought onto a big table. Usually, if you have multiple balls of the same yarn, it's bagged together into a lot. Then person 1 gets the first choice, and on through all the numbers. It's fun to paw through as people "shop," trying to hide things under the pile until their turn comes up. After we're all sated, what's left gets donated to a charity.

I usually go thinking of it as an opportunity to declutter, but I always come back with cool stuff. This time I got 7 hanks of Cascade 220 -- 6 in dark green heather and one in a light grey/green heather. Not sure if it's enough for an adult sweater -- but maybe for a nephew? I also got to thinking about crochet lately after reading a recent essay by Franklin Habit, and a Twitter conversation that followed. This pile of red Pima cotton yarn should be good for that. And then I got 6 skeins of a weird wool/mohair/acrylic blend from Dalegarn that I have no idea what I'll do with -- but I like the olive tweed color. If creativity fails me, I can always contribute it to the next swap!

Tomorrow, Jeff and I are headed for Big Bend National Park for a few days of hiking and relaxation under those big west Texas skies. This will be the first time we've visited during a new moon, so I'm really looking forward to seeing a beautiful night sky. "The stars at night, are big and bright..." -- you know the rest. We will try to find some wifi and share a bit of our adventures while we're there.

 

Greyscale

I needed a breather after last week's posting spate, but it seems I'm still fixated on one of the themes: grayness. Despite all the beautiful colors growing and blooming this time of year, my eyes are still drawn to the gray, all along the scale from white to black. If you've been watching Game of Thrones this season, you'll know that greyscale means something quite different in that world. I like our use of the word better. Poor, sweet Shireen Baratheon. But I digress...

I managed to finish the first of the Spiegel socks this week. Such a strangley interesting pattern. The pattern runs down the outside of the leg, then splits with one side twisting over the instep, pushed into position by the expanding triangular pattern on the cuff. Also, the heel is only half as high as most heels, and the turn is square rather than shaped. Turns out this suits my square heels just fine. I did have a bit of a hole on one side of the ankle, but I was able to gather it in on the inside with some careful stitch tracing and reinforcing. I've started the second sock, which I hope will progress more quickly.

Looking forward, I was able to get some of the yarn for the Grettir Sweater at Hill Country Weavers today. These are the contrasting colors used in the yoke. For left to right they are Snowbound, Cast Iron and Sweatshirt. The main color, Soot, is out of stock most places, so I may just have to wait until they go back into production next month. Grrr. I can be as grouchy as a two-year-old when I have to wait for yarn. It's not fair!

While at the shop, I perused a Shelter and Loft trunk show, with several items made from all of these wonderfully earthy shades. I imagine some of them were knit by Jared Flood himself, but I did see one green dress that a friend of mine made. It was like seeing an old friend.

KCBW Day 7: Looking Forward

Today, the last day of blogging in the 4th Knit and Crochet Blog Week, we are supposed to think about our craft, and how we hope to be expressing it, what we hope we will have learned and what goals we might reach by next year's exercise.

Frankly, the thought of all that is rather daunting. It took quite a bit out of me too keep up this week. True to my manatee nature, I tend to go with the flow. True, I plan individual patterns that catch my eye as they catch my eye. If they involve some new technique, I reckon I'll just learn how to do it when the time comes.

As I worked in the yard today, I thought about how rarely I take time to reflect on and enjoy my surroundings. And now's the time to do so, before the heat really sets in and the mosquitos arrive. So I sat in the front yard this evening, watching bees pollinate the lavender. Just this manatee and some humming bees -- no peacocks or monkeys seemed to be around. But perhaps one of the things I can take out of this exercise is to think about the other Houses and how I just might share some of their characteristics, too. Being well-rounded is an important part of success in any craft, I suppose.

I do plan to apply for the extra credit, and cast on for the sweater for my brother that I mentioned on day 2 -- just as soon as I get these socks finished. This has been fun. Thanks, Tony, for bringing it to my attention, and to Eskimimi for pulling it all together. It sure got me thinking about this thing I love to do.

KCBW Day 6: Cool Tools

We're getting down to the wire with this week of daily posting, and I, for one, am glad. I'm exhausted! Today's assignment is to pick a "tool to covet." We're directed to pick just one, but I couldn't narrow things down easily. I don't really have any tools that I use daily, and I'm interested in all sorts of knitterly gadgets. I've posted about hooks and needles I inherited from my great-grandmother via my Aunt June, and a darning egg I found at Grandma Self's house -- so I do admire a well-loved bit of technology, no matter its age. But I've given it some thought and picked out a few things I'm using these days.

First off, I've mentioned it before, but I'm really enamored of the knitCompanion app for the iPad. It's made chart reading so much easier -- even if it's a bit hard on battery life. I really appreciate being able to follow multiple charts at once. There's a bit of a learning curve on this, but after you figure it out, it's not so bad. In the example in the image, I'm on the 19th row of Chart D of the socks I'm currently working on. I can flip from chart to chart and increment one row as I complete each one. It's kind of fun. Since I'm not constantly knitting charted projects, I can't really consider this indispensable, but it sure is handy!

This next picture shows a handful of tiny tools that I really like. On the bottom are my green size 1 (2.25mm) dpns, with a little elastic band with two rubber caps. This is perfect for keeping dpn projects on the needles while they're in a bag. Above that is a pink thingie that's pointed on one end, a crochet hook on the other -- perfect for picking up dropped sock stitches. Plus, it can double as a cable needle in a pinch. And finally, at the top, a teeny tiny pair of scissors given to me by my friend Melissa. I've never actually used them, come to think of it, but I really like looking at them. I think one might actually be able to sneak these on a plane.

KCBW Day 5: Anapestic Tetrameter

Today is a day to post otherwise,

For sharing one’s interests in some other guise.

Now, please don’t groan -- I could do much worse

than sharing my pathway to knitting in verse.

It started eight years ago, in late December

(don’t ask me the date, I can’t quite remember)

When a visiting friend forthwith pulled out her work

and caused me to pause with a slight inner smirk.

“How quaint, how cute,” I practically laughed,

“to practice a bygone superfluous craft.

“All that time, all that bother,” I thought, rather jaded.

“It’s so slow, so boring, and so complicated.”

But sitting and talking and watching her stitches,

the needletips moving in rises and pitches,

And seeing the yarn as it looped and it traveled,

my biases melted, or rather, unraveled.

There’s some magic there, I began to perceive,

when needles and hands work together to weave

a sweater, some socks or some other thing

where once there was only a long strand of string.

I thought back to childhood, my mom and my aunts

and my Granny, all sewing when they had the chance.

But when I showed interest, my mom would defer;

There had to be boy stuff I’d rather prefer.

But I always liked indoors and calmer vocations

And admired the skills of my female relations.

I didn’t enjoy all the rough and the tumble

(I have to pause now, tummy’s starting to rumble)...

....

And now I am back, wait, what, where was I?

Ah, complaining about what it’s like as a guy

to be “crafty.” Let us halt now this long inventory.

Enough of this whining -- get on with the story.

When my friend packed and left I mulled it around

And went to a chain craft store branch in my town.

I bought me some needles, aluminium, size 8.

Good choice for a starter? That’s up for debate.

I purchased some green yarn, worsted, acrylic,

(NOT a good choice due to harshness dactylic)

Finally, a manual, a book of instruction --

I got one by Stoller -- now on to production.

I read and I read and I tried to cast on

not realizing the need for finesse over brawn.

It took me two hours, sweating aplenty,

to manage a long-tail cast-on of just 20.

I mastered the knit, not so quickly the purl

My frustration was such that I wanted to hurl

the whole mess, but I stopped and I took a new tack

when I realized my problem -- I’d purled through the back.

My 20 did vary, some rows more, some rows less,

No semblance of tension -- a green yarny mess.

Quite some time later, I came to the end,

And binding it off, sent the thing to my friend.

      

With no advance warning, she was quite surprised.

Her friend Steven, a knitter, newly baptized!                             

And she couldn’t be blamed, to my mind, if she’d thought,

“I’ve created a monster! What have I wrought?”

But she’s kept the sad square, with its gaffes and its botches;

That beginner's attempt, that most abject of swatches.

A ragged token of crafty caprice,

To this day displayed upon her mantelpiece.

So I thank you, Janelle, for lighting the spark

That brought early interests back from the dark.

And for helping me learn, and for listening, too.

(Don’t worry, dear readers, this thing’s almost through)

A craft neat and simple, with variation untold,

An artform to wrap me and keep me from cold.

From this time and onward until life’s last thrill

I hope to be knitting, while sitting, still.

KCBW Day 4: Color Review

Today's assignment is to consider my thoughts on color, and then take a look at the evidence.

I've probably already let the cat out of the bag when I discussed signing up with Team Manatee. I like deep, dark colors. Gray, brown and green are probably my favorites. I don't dislike other colors, really, it's just that these are the ones that draw me in. I like all their subtle shades, and how dark colors work well with heathering. I also like stitch patterns and cables using dark colors -- they may not pop as much, but I like that you might not see the detailing at first glance, and then it slowly appears. Simplicity rather than flash -- the way of the manatee.

In looking at past projects, this tends to bear out. I've made several sweaters for myself -- two are gray, one brown, one black, one dark blue. The stranded knitting vests I've made for myself have featured brown/green and dark blue. The three sweaters I've knit for Jeff -- all shades of brown.

But, I do see some flashes of color. And when I do want something a bit brighter, I gravitate toward red. Usually a darker red, but still red. It was one of my favorite colors growing up. And, it seems I've knit a lot of pink. Looks like I've totally caved to the Traditional Gender Color Industrial Complex. I'm pretty sure that's a thing.

And, lately, it looks like I've been taking a walk on the wild side and delving into the aqueous world of teals, turquoises and blue-greens. I guess I like these, too.

So, pretty much what I expected. You can head on over to Ravelry and take a look at my projects yourself if you want to see the whole palette.

One final thing about color -- I don't think I have a good sense of it. I don't have much confidence in my ability to match, contrast or combine colors in interesting ways. I get lucky a lot, I suppose. Lately, I've been following some of the Color Scout photos that Stephen West posts at Tumblr and shares via Twitter. He has such a great eye for color, and sees interesting combinations all around him, all the time. Seeing these photos has gotten me thinking about using my surroundings as inspiration. There's a wonderful world of color out there.