ON THE WAY HOME

This morning we left Surprise at 8:00 a.m., driving north and west on Hwys. 60 and 93.  Just west of Hoover Dam we took Lakeshore Drive north through the Lake Mead Recreation Area.  This is a two-lane paved road that begins just west of Hoover Dam and bring you to I 15 well north of Las Vegas, skipping all those busy freeways.

The scenery was spectacular!  Dry desert, with intriguing colours on the hillsides.  I got out my camera, but just too late to catch the best colours.  Not much traffic at all and good paved road.  Well, we will certainly use this bypass of Las Vegas whenever we come this way.  I would show some of the pictures, but the camera is in the car and I don't care to go out in the rain to get it.

Somehow or other it seems that our drive through Salt Lake City always involves rain.  Remember when we were driving south in October?

Once we are on I 15 the drive should be easy, but the last hour was dark, rainy and busy.  AWFUL!  We were very grateful to find a room in a Days Inn in Provo, Utah.  Tomorrow morning, quite early, say between 7 and 9 a.m. we plan to get through Salt Lake City.  The rest of the drive is fine.  We just hope for clear roads and decent weather.

Onward to the North lands.

SOME NICE SOCKS

I have certain traditions about giving socks to family: sometimes someone receives a pair of hand knit socks for their birthday, ex. #3 grandson last August.  Sometimes they receive a pair when they come to visit.  It's become a tradition to give my brother-in-law a pair when we arrive in Arizona and to give my sister a pair when we leave.  We plan to leave this coming Friday, so since the 23rd of December I've been working on a pair for her.  It's the time I don't spend knitting that makes them take so long.  But tonight I finished that pair.  They turned out very nicely.

I'm delighted that the stripes match.  How to do that: pull out several inches at the beginning of each ball (socks take two 50g balls of Patons Kroy Sock Yarn), until you can see a colour match.  Cut the yarn right at the beginning of the colour match on both strands.  When casting on, make sure that the "tail" that's left after the stitches are cast on is the same length on both socks.  This seems a little fussy, but IMHO I think it's worth the effort.  It's not always possible though.

Another nice tradition that has grown up, in its third year now: we get invited to their house for a potato soup supper the last evening we're here.

THIS ONE MISSED THE MARK

Dear Son #1 likes toques.  Sometimes I knit for him and sometimes his sister knits for him.  This year we both made a toque for his birthday.  Mine missed the mark:

He usually likes colourful, but this proved too colourful for him.  It was the yellow that did it.  Maybe I'll keep it for myself (that's me in the photo).

When I make a gift for someone it's theirs to do what they want with it.  It doesn't bother me at all if they don't like it.  They can give it away, and I'm fine with that.  Once I made my sister a chenille vest.  She didn't like it and asked if she could give it to a friend.  That was fine with me, and the friend thought it was the neatest thing in her wardrobe.  Rather someone who likes the object than someone who won't wear or use it!

ONE HAPPY LITTLE GIRL

Looks like the butterfly pjs are a hit!

BRRR!

January has been unusually cold and rainy.  Rain is expected and welcome this time of year, but the cold--well, can we complain?  Pool visits have been few--who wants to swim on a cold, rainy afternoon?

My friend Marcy had to scrape ice off her windshield this morning, and right now the temperature is just below 40º.  I'm so thankful that I have all my interesting activities to keep me occupied.

SO CUTE!

Marcy was here today and we worked on the pyjamas for her niece's daughter's 5th birthday.  Marcy had asked her what she wanted and the answer was: live butterflies, a house full of live butterflies!  Some research showed you could give a cocoon that would hatch and produce a live butterfly, but this is the wrong time of year for butterflies in Nebraska!

So Marcy came up with the idea of butterfly pyjamas and found JUST the right material.  We started them last week Saturday and this week we finished that project.  And are they ever cute!

The finishing touch was these darling butterfly buttons.  You'll have to look closely!  They are the very small butterflies.

I think Marcy should make a pair for herself!

ALCOHOL INK

The Art Group here which meets informally on Friday mornings had a demo last week on using Alcohol Inks.  It's a new process to most of us.  Nan Adams and Monica Martel demonstrated.  We had so much fun!  Alcohol inks are used on smooth surfaces, such as ceramic tile or special papers--one is called Yupo Paper.

I didn't want to get involved!  I'm really too busy as it is.  But the week before in Michael's I saw sets of three bottles of the inks for $9.99.  On impulse I bought two sets and some small amount of papers.  The alcohol used is 91% rubbing alcohol, which I bought at a Fry's grocery store.  Also needed: some cheap Taklon brushes which I found at Walmart.

Nan Adams gave a great introduction to the many ways to use this medium.  Then we started experimenting.  And it REALLY is experimenting.  There is very little control over what happens on the paper.  Here's how to do it:
Spritz a small amount of alcohol on the paper, or drop it on with a brush.  Then drop some colour into the alcohol.  Blow it around the paper, spread it with a brush, or just tip the paper to make it run.

I had put on a white knit top that morning.  Not a good idea when working with these inks!  Nan loaned me a coverall apron.

The idea after that is to gradually develop a picture from the colours.  At that point I realized that I just don't have the artistic vision to develop something coherent.  It was fun, and I enjoyed the morning very much, but by noon I was back to my original opinion: I should try to develop some skill in my chosen medium: watercolour, and not branch out into new challenges.  

Latex gloves are recommended as the inks are very staining.  I wasn't wearing them, and here I am showing off a very green middle finger.  A week later there's still a trace of green around that fingernail!

Monica showed us how she develops a beautiful landscape from areas of blue, green and yellow.  She is very skilled at manipulating these inks.  She also had a finished landscape along which just took our breath away with how beautiful it was.  Today she did a painting with the inks of a beautiful orange flower with spikey leaves surrounding it, another wonderful painting.  I look at how she just wiggles her paint brush around a little and these things emerge from the blotches and I'm just amazed.