Hooray for Crochet!

It's March and that means it is (Inter)National Crochet Month (NatCroMo). Crocheters all over the world are celebrating in many varied ways, but none as exuberantly as my fellow hookers on Ravelry. Every day in March, kaet will inspire those of us participating in the second edition of the NatCroMo Freeform Game with a daily instruction. By March 31st each of us will have completed a freeform creation and no matter what it looks like we will all have had great fun along the way. Today's instruction is very unstructured, as befits freeform. It is: A is for Apple. Here is my interpretation, greatly inspired by my love of Granny Smith apples. The photo is a bit on the fuzzy side so you will have to use your imagination.

This is a good time for me to mention my attendance January 21st and 22nd at a series of Freeform Knit and Crochet Classes at SouthWest Trading Company, Inc. in Tempe, Arizona. Prudence Mapstone, a talented fiber artist and gifted teacher, was the instructor. Prudence's work, as well as inspirational guidance on freeforming, can be found here.

I basked in the camaraderie of my fellow attendees during the two sessions I participated in and learned so much about freeforming through the hands-on approach we followed each day. I was not prolific, but am very happy with what I was able to accomplish.

This freeform leaf will eventually be part of a shawl for me:

This scrumble looked so much like a fish when I was finished that I decided to make a tote bag with it for my daughter-in-law who loves all things nautical:

A scrumble, by the way, is a freeform patch made with an assortment of yarns which can combine both knitting and crocheting. The scrumbles are then joined to form a larger item such as a handbag or a shawl.

I reported last March that I was making some scrumbles to send to Prudence Mapstone for The Pink Project, an activity to support breast cancer research. Well, Prudence has taken all the scrumbles sent to her from all over the world and combined them to make beautiful and unusual items. They are now up for auction and can be viewed and bid on via this website. I encourage you to view them and bid if you feel so inclined. It is for a very good cause.

A Passion for Running

I'm breaking my long silence to post about a long-term goal my daughter has just achieved. A little over a year ago, she decided to begin training for a marathon that was held in Richmond, Virginia on Saturday, November 15th, 2008. She completed the marathon in a little over 4 hours, running the entire distance. Although she suffered a number of injuries during the year of preparation leading up to the marathon, she always returned to her running after the injuries healed. She never was a runner before training for this event, but sometime during her year of training she developed a dedication and passion for this activity that she has never exhibited for anything else in her life. Needless to say, I am incredibly proud of her. You go girl!

Mile 24 and still smiling!

Her brother's support was much appreciated.

A Turista in Arizona

We have lived in Arizona a full year now--July 2nd was our anniversary. We have been so busy settling in and traveling back and forth to California to get my husband's mother established after her move from Texas that we have had little time to do much local sightseeing. The two week visit of my niece and nephew gave us the perfect opportunity to visit some nearby sites of interest and we took full advantage of their willingness to get the flavor of our area.

We went to Tombstone, The Town Too Tough To Die, on July 4th. We had visited there about 11 years ago on our first trip to southeastern Arizona and were not too impressed, but efforts of local civic groups have greatly improved the town and it is well-worth the trip now. We toured the historical section by foot and trolley, but could also have gotten a ride on a stagecoach. The Butterfield Stage used to stop here. Not a method of travel I would have favored, but it was the Greyhound bus of its time.

Tombstone is perhaps best remembered as the site of the Gunfight at the OK Corral which involved the Earps, Doc Holliday, and the Clantons. We watched an outdoor presentation of the famous fight and then had a delicious dinner in the Longhorn Restaurant.

Another day, we traveled to Sabino Canyon near Tucson. The area is in the Sonoran Desert and gives visitors a close encounter with the flora and fauna that live in this challenging environment. My favorite plant in the Sonoran Desert is the saguara cactus, pictured below.

Climbing up from the 2800 foot elevation of Sabino Canyon, to the almost 9000 foot elevation of Mt. Lemmon provided breathtaking scenery as well as a breath of cool air. We picnicked in a delightful roadside park on our way up.

My husband and I were a bit disappointed in the Tucson Zoo, but the kids seemed to enjoy it very much. It is the middle of summer and so not surprising, I guess, to have so many animals hiding in their cooler lairs, but it all seemed a bit run down. After visiting the San Diego Zoo, however, most zoos seem to suffer in our estimation.

For my nephew's birthday, we went to Patagonia Lake. It is a scenic, leisurely drive about an hour from our home. They have boating, fishing, swimming, and picnicking. A cool, serene get-away for the hot desert summers. We will definitely return another time.

Mining was and still is a big part of the economy in southeastern Arizona. We went on a tour of an open-pit copper mine to see first hand what was involved and what it did to the environment. The Asarco Mission mine in Sahuarita, Arizona is currently owned by a Mexican firm, Grupo Mexico. It is in bankruptcy and an Indian company is trying to negotiate a buy out. The tour was very interesting and gave us a lot to think about. It contributes heavily to the local economy in both jobs and money to local retailers. Supposedly, environmentally friendly methods are now employed in extracting the copper, but as interesting as the pit is, I wouldn't want it in my back yard.

Finally, we went rock climbing in Texas Canyon, a fantastic area of giant boulders and very near the Amerind Foundation, a private museum of Native American history, archaeology, art, and culture.

As much as we were able to see in these two weeks, we have scarcely scratched the surface of all that is available to us in our fascinating new home state.

My Computer's Been Held Hostage

It's summertime and the livin' is BUSY! So busy, I've scarcely had time to knit or crochet. I've managed to knit 20 more rounds of the Magic Stripes socks and am now ready to turn the heel on the second sock. Also, was able to knit about 14 more rows on the Garter Stitch Ruffles Baby Blanket for Project Linus. However, the progress on these projects is so minimal, I haven't even taken a photo.

So, what have I been doing? First, we had to fly East for several days on family business. Not a happy time, but it was comforting to see everyone. Then, a niece and nephew came for a two week visit. We kept them busy (I haven't forgotten how to deal with a 12 and 10 year old) and in the off times they hijacked my computer. How did young people occupy their time before the computer age? Don't get me wrong--I love surfing the net, e-mailing friends and family, and hanging out on Ravelry, but I do come up for air once in a while. Lest their parents think that I aided and abetted their obsession with online games and IMing friends, I took plenty of photos to prove we did do some active, outdoor stuff too. Unfortunately, Blogger is not cooperating at the moment and will not allow me to upload any photos. I wasn't kidding when I said my computer has been held hostage lately.

Finally, we saw the kids off at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix and went on to visit an elderly family member in Palm Springs, California for 5 days. Whew! Am I glad to be home, if only for a short while. More travels next week, but in the meantime I am enjoying being able to use my computer again and the monsoons have made everything green up and cool down. Paradise!

Progress on the Hobbit Shawl

It has been very hot here for about a week--upper 90s to 100s. Even though we have air-conditioning and the house is usually comfortably cool, I just haven't felt like working on larger projects. However, yesterday and today I made myself crochet for a while on my Hobbit Shawl for the One Shawl to Rule Them All KAL/CAL on Ravelry. My motivation came from finishing my reading of The Fellowship of the Ring and then re-watching the film. It follows the spirit of the story well, and I wanted to hear some of the more difficult names from the book pronounced aloud. I like the film very much, but the book is wonderful! There is such a difference between the two mediums. I understand why Peter Jackson condensed some of the action and changed some of the story to fit the screen better, but I missed the poetry and the songs from the book. I think they are some of my favorite parts of the book.

I continue to enjoy this shawl pattern and I like the yarn too. It has a crisp rather than a soft hand, but very comfortable to work with. I think it will be very comfortable to wear as well. I wish the yarn was not discontinued. I found some for trade or sell on Ravelry, but I am trying to stay committed to stash burning, so have resisted the temptation. Being cotton, I don't know how it will block, but I am pretty well satisfied with it the way it is now. If it doesn't open up much, I will not be disappointed.

Is Life Just a Bowl of Cherries?

In reality it rarely is, but it was for me yesterday. We've been gorging, I mean indulging, in fresh strawberries for over a month in our household, but when I went to get some more this week from my local market they were nowhere to be found. When I spied these beautiful California Bing cherries, however, I felt more than compensated. I love the sweet, but crisp and juicy flavor of cherries and it doesn't make me feel guilty when I pop them in my mouth one after the other. Their health benefits are well-documented here and they are versatile as a cooking or baking ingredient.

In fact, I found a wonderful recipe for a Mesclun and Cherry Salad with Warm Goat Cheese online at Epicurious. I followed the recipe exactly, with the exception of using the fennel bulb--no fennel available in my market that day. We had it for dinner with grilled turkey tenderloin and some brown and wild rice. Delicious!

Knitting and Poetry

No photos of FOs or WIPs today. I have been working on most of my projects on a daily basis, alternating from one to the other, but it is slow going when you have 5 in progress! However, today I have a Japanese haiku to share that pretty much sums up my recent knitting habits.

One more stitch...

One more row...

Ah..? It's dawn.

This and other knitting-themed Japanese haiku poems can be found on this site. I linked to it from another larger collection of knitting-themed poems, quotes, and legends that can be found here.

And here is a picture that I can definitely relate to. Who's been peeping in my craft room late at night?

I found it on this site which has many more knitting images. The prevalence of knitting on the internet, in all its aspects--tutorials, online yarn shops, blogs devoted to knitting, online knitting communities--is indeed wonderful. We are out there and the world is taking notice.