Thursday, February 09, 2012

Knitting, Spinning, Picking

I am so thankful for Friday Fave Five hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.  Otherwise, this week, I might have allowed the opportunities for gratitude to just slip by in a fog of cloudy days, a backlog of papers to correct and lessons to prepare.  FFF helps me lift my lazy head and notice life's bountiful blessings.

1.  Have you seen The Muppets movie?  The Professor and I finally made it to a small local theatre to watch it at a Friday afternoon matinee performance.  Three dollar tickets.  Almost empty theatre.  Hilarious entertainment.

2.  Considering that here in the cottage, I knit nearly every day, working on a hat, scarf, sweater, afghan, or bunny, lately I have not photographed and posted much of my handiwork.  This week I finished three projects and finally, finally, I took some pictures.

A reversible cable scarf.  Bright orange bulky yarn.


This red hat is knitted from bamboo yarn.  Sadly, the color isn't true.  The hat is actually much 'redder' than it shows in the photo. Think Cardinal Red.  It's leaving soon in a mailer headed for Stanford University.  I hope The Grad Student is pleased with the result.


I completed a second scarf but the color is just too off in the photo to show its beautiful burgundy.  Not lavender. (My frustration with poor lighting is one reason I am lazy about photographing my finished objects.)


3.  Saturday, I spent several hours demonstrating spinning at a local elementary school's Winter Faire.  The handweavers/spinners guild is invited every February to join the festivities, and I thoroughly enjoy talking with the people, explaining the spinning process, and of course having an entire day to just sit and spin.  I finished spinning some green and blue variegated silk/merino wool fiber.  Then last night while we watched a recorded episode of White Collar, I plied it into a two-ply yarn.  It's off the spool but not ready for photographing yet.

4.  Reconnecting with a cousin of my dad's who I'd lost contact with. The Christmas card I sent was returned, and I didn't know how else to contact her or her son.  Then a serendipitous email from a mutual friend led to reassurance.  I'd missed her.  I was worried.  My heart is happy.  Now we're emailing back and forth and planning a visit.

5.  After a drippy, drizzly beginning to the week, we've ended up with beautiful weather.  Temperatures were in the low 80s (fahrenheit), and I went blueberry picking.  Now I have four quarts of fresh blueberries to enjoy!

blueberry fields in the late afternoon almost dusk sun

Are you wondering about picking fresh blueberries in February?  Our climate is perfect for some strains of blueberries.  You can enjoy them this month too if you purchase Driscoll blueberries from your local store.  They might have been picked on my friends' blueberry ranch just seven miles from my home.

This is just a small glimpse of five favorite moments in Willow's Week.  Did you have any favorite moments or hours?

20 comments:

nikkipolani said...

I have a new appreciation for orange lately and love love love that bulky orange scarf you've knitted. My aunt was just telling me about the blueberries she's been enjoying. Your photo of the blueberries growing in rows is just delicious.

Anonymous said...

80 degrees!!! (I love picking blueberries, too, but I have to wait a few more months.) The photo of the field was beautiful. Such nice knitting projects. I especially like the pattern in the last photo. Mary P

Barbara H. said...

It's always such a boost to get projects finished. They look nice even though the color isn't right. I do actually like the lavender color. ;-)

The spinning at the school sounds like is was fun.

Glad you got to to reconnect with your dad's cousin!

Susan@FruitfulWords said...

Yummm - freshly picked blueberries. And now I know what it is called - a blueberry "ranch."

I have never hand-picked any fresh produce (outside my own garden). I know there are fields around here so, I must look into this.

Love the items you've knit. I am sure ALL the recipients will be thrilled and THEY can appreciate the correct colours.

It is too bad that lighting can be so hard to master in photography. I have the same issues as well.

Have a good week, Willow.

Jerralea said...

I love it when I can connect up with long-lost friends or relatives! Glad your heart is happy!

Love the photo of the blueberry field. We enjoy Driscoll berries here in my neck of the woods. In fact, there are blueberries in the freezer as I write. I'm thinking of banana blueberry bread ...

ellen b. said...

Well I'll be happy when I buy Driscoll blueberries just to think they came from this great farm. Yippee for getting the right email address for your long lost cousin/friend! Enjoy.

Mo said...

sounds like a good, productive week -- your knitting is lovely! Hope your weekend is filled with lots of favorites!!

meg said...

So THAT'S where those blueberries are from!!! I've seen them in our grocery, but this time of year they are $6/pint :(

Do you have your bunnies for sale online or sell the patterns?

Carrie said...

I'm trying to imagine eating fresh blueberries right now. We're still working on our frozen ones! ;D

Good to know about the Muppet movie. Haven't seen it yet but wanted to watch it once it came out on video with the kids. Fun!

Lisa notes... said...

I haven't seen The Muppets movie. Glad to hear of your recommendation.

Your knitting projects are so beautiful. I love the colors you choose.

Low 80s? I'd take that! Have a great weekend.

Faith said...

WOW you have solved a problem for me and a friend...we 've been wondering why blueberries have been on sale at all our fave stores this week and I just checked my carton...yup...DRISCOLL blueberries!! You have a great list of faves this week!! enjoy those temps..I'm envious. supposed to be 11 degrees in the morning here (eastern NY) my 13 yr old would LOVE that purple scarf...her fave color is purple!

roxie said...

Ah, what a splendid Friday five. bless your blueberry-pickin' heart!

Bethany said...

We have bought Driscoll's berries too! That makes me feel good! I do love blueberries. I used to love the Muppets too, so I'll add that to the Must See list! Your photo of the blueberry fields is just breath taking. The knitting is beautiful, as usual. I always adjust the color of my photos in photo editing of iPhoto. I don't know what you use, but usually there is some basic editing feature. It's extremely hard to capture the right light to get it exact. Have a great weekend and enjoy your warm temps! We are getting a little snow tonight!

momma24 said...

I so wish I could knit like this!

Brenda said...

I actually WAS wondering where you were berry picking in February! I don't think I've ever heard of blueberries in February and I am from CA.

Love the Stanford red hat, fun idea. Its wonderful that you knit every day, it must be so soothing to you.

Susanne said...

Fresh picked blueberries. Yummy, my mouth is watering.

Love the red hat. Haven't had much of a need to lovely knitted hats and scarves around here lately but I'm sure we'll have one more shot at winter weather yet where we can pull them out.

Gattina said...

You would have a lot of success with your knitted scarfs and hats ! It's soooo cold here !

aspiritofsimplicity said...

Sounds like a wonderful week. Here we are more into the scarf weather than the blueberry weather.

Marg said...

I am so close to you...was at the Cirque Du Soleil in the pier at Santa Monica...and saw someone that looked like you, so I inquired...but no it was not. Today we are walking the beaches here down to Venice and tomorrow we leave on a cruise for the Hawaiin Islands...so close. My hubby made all the arrangements a and I did not really know what part of LA I would be located at. Anyways I am waving to you!!!

Mr. Puffy said...

Really? We grow blueberries here? I just shopped this morning and I'll have to see where my blueberries came from! Lovely knitting - scarfs and hats to keep everyone warm and toasty. I actually wore a scarf today as it was finally cool enough! Have a wonderful week ~