Saturday, May 24, 2008

Nature is...

Nature is,

harsh, yet soft,

it is cruel, yet kind,

it is calm, yet violent,


it is beauty personified,

it is the question,

it is the answer.





Ask the question and look out the window to see the answer.



Nature is...

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

I am a bit SOCKY...


Well, I am excited because I took 2nd place in the Lorna's Laces sock contest! I have won 3 copies of my patterns and 4 hanks of Lorna's luscious sock yarn! That's enough to make 2 pairs and I chose 2 of my favorite colors; Edgewater & Baltic Sea! You can see the colors here at my favorite yarn shop Jimmy Beans Wool

I named the socks 'Herringbone Lace' and the wonderful Lorna's folks are taking their knit up version to The National NeedleArts Association where lots and lots of people will see them. I can't wait to see which colors they choose to knit them in.

Now this may all seem a bit silly to anyone who may be reading this, BUT my wonderful friend and knitting mentor, Allison Judge, and I started 2 Askew Designs late last year and this is priceless publicity!

Thank you to all the wonderful people at Lorna's Laces
whose infinite dabbling in the paint pots is the inspiration for these socks and many of my other creations. I am currently working on an elegant shawl in one of the Limited Edition colorways (Becca's Last Day) in Lion and Lamb. OOOOhhhhhhh yummy silk blend, in a worsted weight yarn.




Anyway, I am a bit excited, and humbled. I am new to design and well, to be recognized by such amazing artists is quite nice. Thanks you Lorna's!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Beauty!



It's 6:15 in the morning and instead of turning over and going back to sleep, I got up when the birds started chirping (5:15). I am sipping my coffee and my sweet gentle cat is nudging my wrist to pet her. Ahhhhhh, purrrr, she says! I am purring too!

Yesterday, we absolutely kept the television off! Wow, the difference it made in the tone around the house. AMAZING! It's not like I don't know the effect that infernal chatter box has on us, but we read, cleaned, and worked on our earthquake proofing of the stuff in the house. It was such a lovely day! I am going to take the blasted thing out of my bedroom and that's that! Maybe I will just throw it out the window!


I have truly had the most gifted days since Friday morning! I have been a complete dimwit of late and am trying to figure that out, and my only conclusion is that I think I should be a dimwit, so I am! Clearly this is an internal problem, but awareness is the first step to change. Oh, gosh there was a point to the side track on Dimwitteness and it was that on Friday I began the task of rehanging paintings with sturdy earthquake approved hooks (focusing and trying to chase the Dim Wits out of my head) and then my honey, Geoffy, called me and suggested we play hooky on the bikes! Well, gee you don't have to drop a Harley on me; I'm there! Let's ride......well, one of our routines is to check each other's tires for sharp things that are stuck in them, and well, bloody hell, I had a nail in my rear tire. Now, the truly interesting portion of the nail story is that while most riders NEVER have a flat; Geoff and I have both had one AND this is the second one for my bike! Holy cow am I glad I have an extended warranty on my bike! Sheesh there goes our ride, or at least mine....ahhhhh, but wait, I have a free rental coupon from the good folks a Reno Harley (because I spend sooooooo much money there, UGH) and well, why not? They have a Heritage Softail and I jump at the chance to ride that bad boy for the next 24 hours. So we are back on for a GREAT ride up Mt. Rose HWY and all the way around Lake Tahoe!

Beauuuuutifulll ride! Well, I need another want like a hole in the head, but that Heritage is the most amazing machine! The difference is like a VW Bug (which I have) and a Cadillac. I rode like the wind and my butt wasn't numb and well, of course I would LOVE to have one of my own. However, for now, I will stick with Mariah (she's a truly amazing machine too!) and just look with a wanting eye at all the Heritages on the road.