Five Loves

Happy Friday!

I'm checking in with Willow's Week in

Friday Fave Fives

with others hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

It is Good Friday

and Resurrection Sunday!

1.  I love fiber.  Especially fiber I make myself.

Four ounces of wool and silk blend.

Handspun.

2.  I love herbs.  I love learning about them.  I love growing them.  I love using them.

Comfrey

Parsley

Wooly Lamb's Ear

3.  I love hiking.

Hill Canyon is one of my favorite places to hike.  The Professor and I managed to get in a short hike partway into the canyon this week on an otherwise very busy day.  It was glorious.

4.  I love Lent and Easter, celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 My Lenten Rose has bloomed just in time to celebrate, too.

5.  I love spending time with friends.  On Tuesday, I walked with one friend.  One Thursday, another friend and I spent two hours wandering around a local garden and another two hours chatting over lunch.  

What did you love about your week?

Crochet, too

Sometimes it is a good thing to switch from always knitting.  Crocheted granny squares are simple to create and singularly adorable when they're finished.
Best relaxation therapy ever:  Our PAL's new blanket for her crib.

Details:

Granny Squares Crib Blanket

Crochet hook #G

Cotton Classic Yarn, 100% mercerized cotton

70 squares, all different combinations of five colors (red, light green, dark green, blue, yellow),

edged in light cream

We Found Our Way to Santa Fe

So, here's why it's been quiet around here lately.  No posts because I've been living life in the passenger seat of the CRV.  We did pass through Santa Fe on our way east.  From Phoenix, Arizona, you drive north past the Mogollon Rim to Flagstaff where you catch Interstate 40 which in places parallels Route 66.  Meandering along the still existing portions of Route 66 makes The Professor a happy driver.  Santa Fe, New Mexico was our first destination.  Two nights camping at +7,000 ft elevation in mid-June=it was a little cold.  But it was fun.

I've always wanted to visit Santa Fe.  There is SO MUCH history there.

We visited San Miguel Chapel, the oldest church in the Continental United States.

The interior is of course similar to that of the California missions.

I found this deer hide tapestry which was created in the 1630s fascinating because it reminded me of the tree bark paintings from Papua, Indonesia which we own.

Another historic building is The Palace of The Governors.  As you might expect with The Professor as a companion, we spent a few hours there.  The Palace of The Governors was first public building erected and occupied by the Spanish in 1610 as the northernmost outpost of the Spanish Empire in The New World.

Santa Fe is not simply an historical destination.  It is also a spinner and weaver's (and knitter's) paradise.  Even the walls along the downtown stream advertise spinning and weaving.

There are (at least) two weaving shops/studios in the downtown area.

On the edge of the plaza is Handwoven Originals, a small shop where handwoven items are created on location.

The lovely lady at Handwoven Originals directed us to Miriam's Well (Santa Fe School of Weaving) which is owned by Miriam Leth-Espensen.

After wandering through Santa Fe museums, plazas and streets for hours, we decided we needed some coffee.  So we googled 'coffee' and, huh.  Up popped Coffee and YARN!  We couldn't resist.

Yarn and Coffee--the perfect combination.  In the same place.  He drank his coffee and read a book.  I sipped mine and knitted a pink hat.

There was SO MUCH MORE we saw in Santa Fe.  Architecture.  Art.  More later...

Bowled Over

I assure you that I am not obsessed.  Really.

I just like making knitted and felted bowls.

I had some not so nice, a little bulky and uneven skeins of wool which I had spun YEARS ago.  I had even dyed them myself.  But they weren't fit to make into anything wearable.

Felted bowls were the perfect projects to use this yarn to its best advantage.

Some are large enough to use as yarn ball holders.

I'm loving them.

Creativity

Recently I have been participating in a study group focusing on Creativity.  At this point, I am searching for the words to describe how this study is affecting me and where my creativity will lead me.  Mostly I think that I need more focus since I tend to dabble in too many creative outlets and then don't focus sufficiently. Simply put, I am interested in too many things!  Mostly, I am grateful for the opportunity to be creative in so many areas-- fiber arts, photography, gardening, writing.  This is the focus of my Friday Fave Fives this week, my thankfulness for the gift of creativity.

1.  My garden has been clamoring for my attention.  Every time I step out my door, I see the colors of spring calling me to pick up my camera and capture the images.  The bright orange mandarin oranges are ripe and ready to pick.  I am waiting for a couple of weeks until some certain special little someones are here for a visit.  Then we'll pick them and devour their orangey goodness.  In the meantime, I walk past the tree and smile at the cheery brightness.

When the California poppies bloom, it's officially spring.  I have been noticing the flowers popping up everywhere.

And this succulent is ready to burst its blossoms.  I think this is an aloe vera plant, but I'm not sure.  Any plant experts, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Even the yellow dandelions want to get in on the color action.

Beautiful. Butterfly. Sage.

2.  My very talented friend owns several weaving looms.  This week I had the privilege of attending a "Blessing of the Looms" by her priest.

Her intention is to use the looms to teach handicapped children to weave.  She knows where her creativity can be expressed and used to bless others.

3.  I am knitting daily to prepare for the Boutique where I'll be selling my hats to benefit Generate Hope.  I think my favorite way to express my creativity is through fiber and right now that means knitting, knitting, knitting.

4.  I'm not the only one who is creating fun things.  In one of my writing classes, I teach three sisters.  All of them are constantly making things and sharing them.  This lemon thyme plant was a gift from them.

They are so creative!

5.  The other person who lives at Willow's Cottage is pursuing his creative interests.  The Professor has been gone almost every evening for the past two weeks working with the university's performing arts department.  Wednesday night I joined him to watch the dress rehearsal for the play which opened Thursday night.  I loved seeing the moods and colors he created with his lighting and how they enhanced the actors' performances.

What have you been creating this week?

What I've Been Spinning

Friday Fave Five

Welcome to Friday Fave Five, hosted by Susanne at Living To Tell The Story. FFF is a weekly reminder of what we are thankful for each week, what we're loving.

1. This is the third week of October. Autumn has blown in to the Northern Hemisphere and Spring is in full bloom in the South half of our world. Here in Southern California (@35 degrees N latitude), our nights and mornings are cool, but our mid days and afternoons are warm, allowing the pinkish lavender mums growing in my back garden to continue to blossom.

2. October is the beginning of the season of 'winter meals', heartier soups and warm breads. I soaked a pot of anasazi beans and made an old family bean soup recipe called Lumberjack Jumbo, which is made with the beans, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, and corn, and seasoned with chili powder. It's a simple recipe but oh, so tasty, especially when it's served with home made corn bread.

3. October is also my sister-in-law's birthday month. When I asked her what she might like for her birthday, she mentioned bunnies! I consulted with Eleanor, and together we decided to ask this little friend if she would like to live on a farm and share a home with cats and dogs, and chickens and goats. Being a very brave and intrepid bunny, Eleanor's best friend agreed. I'm sure she was intrigued with the possibility of walks in the woods, tea parties by the woodstove, and maybe even bus rides! So, after hugging Eleanor good-bye and promising to write often, off she hopped into a mailing box filled with a suitcase stuffed with carrots and lettuces to sustain her for the trip.

4. Instead of having a regular meeting in October, the Ventura County Spinners and Weavers Guild hosts an Open House. Vendors and yarn shop owners gather and show their new fibers, yarns, books and accessories. I wandered back and forth, around and around the booths, chatting with people who, like me, love fiber arts. Because I am a spinner, I am always drawn to the booths that display unspun fibers, like this rainbow painted jumble of wool.

I wish I could share a photo of the two skeins of silk/merino blend fiber I purchased, one in warm brown tones and the other dyed in summer greens and blues. But. Well. Ummm. After I returned home Saturday afternoon and was carrying my knitting bag filled with fiber, phone, camera, and wallet in to the house from the car, I lost my hold on it and it slid to the floor and hit. just. right. No. It hit. just. wrong. My camera took the brunt of the blow. It's heading off tomorrow in a box to a repair place, and we're hoping that it's fixable under the warranty.

5. On Sunday afternoon, The Professor and I drove to Old Town Ventura, grabbed a cuppa to go, and walked out to The Strand (The Ventura Beach Strand, not to be confused with the Manhattan Beach Strand in Los Angeles County). It was not raining, but the sky was covered with dark clouds and ocean was grey. The pelicans were fishing in the deeper waters just beyond the end of the Ventura Pier, circling slowly, then plummeting into the grey depths, sometimes popping up with a fish snack in their beaks. It was perfect beach walking weather.

Thank you for sharing Willow's Week with me! Go on over to Susanne's blog to read other posts written by people who are remembering what they loved about their week.