Weekend fun: At the Birkie

Last weekend I participated in my third ever Birkie fever and first ever Korteloppet (I did the full Birkie last year).    The weekend was sunny and bright and thankfully full of snow.  I should have brought my snow shoes!  Last weekend I....

 Started the off the day right with some good old fashioned cheering on main street. 

 Spectated the most spectacular race; the Birkie Giant Ski.  Don't you love those ladies coordinating outfits?  By the way, the group in front completely lost control and these slow and steady gals won that heat!  

 Check out those skis being portaged back to the start.

 Later, warmed up at the Famous Moccasin Bar and contemplated a name for our Giant Ski group for next year.  I was partial to "The Muskies".  Coordinating hats would be entirely appropriate as well. 

 Have you ever seen a diorama as comical as boozing chipmunks?  If I weren't laughing so hard I would almost feel bad for the poor things.  This diorama, among many others was featured at the Moccasin Bar, along with the worlds largest Musky! Whoa!

 Chatted up the locals.  Notice the Birkie Sweater and our awesome hats?

 Birkie jitters on the bus. 

 Waiting for our respective waves to start. 

 Celebrated our endeavors with drinks and dinner at the Angry Minnow, the local brewery. 

2 new hats for 2 good friends

Participating in my 2nd annual American Birkiebeiner not only inspired me to update my own fair isle head wear from this to this, but also got me thinking about the heads of  my close friends and supporters.  Heading to Hayward with 3 skiers and 3 supporters I was internally insistent that all Birkie Fever Participants, whether they skied or cheered,  should have their very own fair isle hat.  To do this, I was more than willing to make that happen.   And thus was born 2 new hats for 2 good friends.  The one on the right was for Danielle; I adjusted it from the Talkeetna pattern on Ravelry.  The one on the left was for Emily.  I adjusted the pattern from the Endless Rose Hat found on Ravelry.

I gave each lady their respective hats on their birthday/almost half birthday, both of which happened to fall mid February, just in time for Birkie Fever.

                

I loved seeing my work on my good friends.  Notice the middle hat?  It's my Birkie 2011 hat.  I am starting to think if I should start a new Birkie hat tradition.

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. 

Off the loom

4 new hand towels in lace, fresh off the loom!!

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!

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

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!