Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Weekend Fun: Book Across the Bay

I've been a little tied up these last few weeks, so posts are a bit delayed.  Two weeks ago I spent an amazing weekend in Bayfield, WI and participated in Book Across the Bay, a 10km hike from Ashland to Washburn.  While there I also...
 Gaped at the enormous boats stored away for the winter.
 Admired the view from the port of Bayfield.
Enjoyed fresh biscuits at the Egg Toss Cafe.  Also, celebrated WI in the best possible way with Brandy Old Fashions and Friday fish fry at Good Thyme.
 Contemplated the vast stillness of ice on Lake Superior on an early morning. 
 Reflected.
 Walked around the tiny town of Bayfield.
 Appreciated the weathered charm of a port city.
 Hiked 2.5 miles to the Ice Cave Overlook. 
 Was stunned by the magnificent ice formations and am hoping that sometime in my life I can see them from sea level. 
 Admired the designs snow, wind and sun can make.
 Looked up through bare trees to piercing blue skies, squinting. 
Unwittingly came across amazing murals in Ashland, later to find I had come across the Ashland Mural Walk.
Sampled a sampler at local South Shore Brewery.
 Laughed out loud at this very informational course elevation profile. 

 Insisted on wearing entirely inappropriate footwear to Book Across the Bay.
 Gave up the snowshoe fantasy after 1km and sheepishly looked on. 
 Enjoyed the setting sun and starry night from the Chequamegon Bay. 
 Warmed up by the massive bonfire. 
 Loved the crystalline snowflakes formed overnight.
Finally got a chance to "break trail" in my new snowshoes. 

Enjoyed one last view of Lake Superior.
Checked out the gorgeous cross country trails of Mt. Ashwaby. 

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Knit and Weave

Part of my new years resolution is to organize.  For me this includes all my knitting and weaving notes that somehow, in the past, ended up on random bits of paper scattered in stacks throughout my home.  Inspired by the metamorphosis log given to me last summer by Beth, I set out to create one book for knitting and one book for weaving that I could use to jot down my new patterns and designs.  So far it has worked out splendidly.  With any luck I will never have to re-spec a Christmas stocking ever again!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Resolved

2012 Resolutions!  I wrote a little bit about my resolution process here.  Since then I have better organized my thoughts and put a plan to paper.  As evident from previous posts I am making progress!

In case you were wondering about those budding paper whites here are the first blooms

Monday, February 6, 2012

Off my needles

I finally finished my 2012 Birkebeiner Fair isle hat.   Last year, Kara and I each created a hand knit Nordic outfit.  I chose a classic cream and charcoal look.  You can see more pics here. This year I decided I wanted an updated look partly because the bottom of my ears were a bit chilly last year (so I added earflaps), but mostly because I just wanted a new hat.  I chose a neon space dyed Koigu yarn back to a medium heather gray superwash wool.  I let the yarn sit out on my kitchen table as inspiration for more than a month before I started knitting.  I went back and forth about whether the motif should be traditional or modern.  I finally settled for traditional and, believe me, I questioned myself throughout the entire project.  I am so happy with the results and I can't wait until race day!  I also just added my first pattern for this hat available on Ravelry.  Check it out here!







Saturday, February 4, 2012

Weekend Fun: Dabbling with Beer

Last weekend a group of beer lovin' friends and I headed to the Beer Dabbler in St Paul.  Despite the outdoor part, which immediately seems unappealing, the event was a blast. When I started feeling a little chilly I would make my way over to the silent disco where a surrendered drivers license would score you a personal headphone to wear in the dance arena.  The best part was that everyone could listen to whatever music got them grooving best.
 Pre-dabbling at Alary's, we noticed many other pre-dabblers wearing pretzel necklaces.  It makes sense to have a palette cleanser between tastings or just a snack to soak up some of that beer.  Either way a quick trip to Super America and some spare lengths of sock yarn donated from my knitting project resulted in our very own necklaces.  
 My very own tasting glass.  At first I was bummed that it was plastic, but as the night progressed I realized it was an excellent planning decision.  :-)
 The first cheers.
 Somehow, Sharon managed to help out behind the counter at Great Lakes Brewing!