June 25, 2008

Finished Works!

Wow! Two finished projects this month....first I finally finished the Jacobean Socks from SKP 2008 in Smooshy, the ruby river colorway.
Next, the afghan I started earlier this spring for our nephew's wedding in Colorado on June 28. It was knitted double-strand with Cascade 220 in three shades of taupe and three of teal. The final size is about 48" by 84". Our nephew is about 6'5", so wanted it plenty long. It is the Ombre Alpaca Blanket from Last Minutes Knitted Gifts.

June 13, 2008

Estes Park Wool Market!



DD decided shortly after Christmas that she was going to the Estes Park Wool Market with some of her knitting friends. Well ...... due to the high gas prices and some wanting to go to the Iowa Sheep and Wool on the same week-end, DD would be doing the trip alone. Being the caring (maybe, protective) mom that I am, I asked her if she would mind if I went with her. So, late Tuesday afternoon, I made the 200+ mile trip to dd's home so we could leave by mid-morning Wed. to make the trip out a little more enjoyable. We stopped in Hastings, Nebraska, at the Plum Nelly and Imagiknit stores and yes, we each bought a little. I bought patterns, a wooden tatting shuttle, three single patterns, and Knitting on the Road. The latter I always wanted since dd showed me her copy.
We stayed the night in Lexington, NE, and started off about 9 o'clock the next morning after stopping for a cup of coffee and absolutely delicious scones at the Coffee Cottage just off I-80 in Lexington. We arrived in Estes Park at the Alpine Ridge Trail Inn about mid-afternoon. After unloading the car, we ate at a restaurant just adjacent to the motel, The Sundeck. I had a delicious plate of scallops with parsley buttered red potatoes and dd had the house speciality of fresh mountain trout. She did opt to not have the poor thing fileted at the table. She said it was delicious.
Shortly after our arrival, there was a brief period of snow flurries .... yes, snow in mid-June... not uncommon according to locals.
This morning we took off for The Egg and I, a delicous area restaurant chain, that specializes in serving breakfast and lunch only. DD had the French toast special of the day which was topped with strawberries, bananas, chocolate chips, almonds, and whipped cream. I decided on a raspberry granola whole wheat waffle, served with raspberry yogurt instead of butter. There was syrup on the table too, but I've never cared for that on my pancakes. Thank heavens that this was only one dinner plate-sized pancake. Even though ww, it was very light to eat with the crunchy granola and fresh raspberries added as it was cooked.
We needed exercise to wear off some of the calories, so we decided to try to find a couple of letterboxes in Estes ..... one was missing, but we did locate the one in a park-like 20-acre hill in the middle of town. Elk often mate in the wetland at the bottom, so for personal safety, the lower path was blocked until late July since elk are seen there almost every day from early spring. We didn't see any. I got the first stamp in my letterboxing journal ..... that was dd's 30+ stamp. It was fun trying to figure out the location from the clues given and then to see all the people who had found it previously.
This afternoon we just took it easy in the room to prepare for the Wool Market tomorrow. One of dd's friends who stayed at her father's condo in Loveland will probably meet up with us there tomorrow. There were classes yesterday and today, but dd didn't realize how early you have to register, so we weren't able to take any. We will see a lot of yummy fiber and yarn tomorrow, so that's okay.
I'm trying to finish the 10th stripe on the afghan that I'm knitting for our nephew's wedding later this month in Loveland. We'll bring dh along with us for that and do some letterboxing on the scenic tour, Lariat Loop, before returning home.
Happy knitting! TLGB