Catching Up

Happy 2020! (A bit late, I know, but better late than never.)

First off, I have an exciting announcement: I'll be teaching a class on Live Loop Cables at the Interweave Yarn Fest in Loveland, Colorado this May!

Yarn Fest takes place from April 29 - May 3, and offers an amazing array of fiber-related classes, along with an inspiring Marketplace packed with yarn, fibers, tools, gifts, and all kinds of tempting goodies.

If you'd like to go to Yarn Fest, Interweave is offering an early-bird discount of $20 off your first workshop if you register by January 31 with code IWYF20 at checkout. I hope to see you there!

Click here for my class listing!

~

Now for some catch-up photos photos from December and January.

Early December was chilly and rainy, but I did get out for a walk or two when the weather cleared. On a walk to the park, I saw these late autumn leaves stuck to the ice (and under the ice) at the edge of a pond:

A view of the lake with its skimming of ice:

And sunset behind the trees:

~

Christmas was quiet, and touched with a tiny bit of sadness: the tree farm I've been going to for the last twenty-odd years shut down, so there was no tramp through the woods to look for a tree (and no blog post to go with it). A very small grief, to be sure, but I will miss that special bit of Christmas joy.

Though I missed that December walk in the woods, I did get to take a December ride for the first time ever in Wisconsin! The Sunday before Christmas we had temps in the low 50s, so Tallulah and I got out to enjoy the unseasonable warmth, and add a last few miles to our annual total.

The roads were dry in the sun...

...and snowy in the shade. Brrr!

I fell in love with this cheery mailbox holder:

We stopped for a photo of ice on the stream (and cyclist on the bridge):

While I took photos, Iris soaked up the sun...

...and Tallulah stayed tucked in her basket, wishing she had worn a scarf:

~

Christmas Day was spent at my dad's with family, and after dinner we took a walk to admire the sunset:

~

In other December news, Gnolan the Gnome kindly consented to let me film his construction for an official Gnomes of the Gnorth video tutorial:

If you'd like to make a gnome of your own, you can find the free pattern here, or watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqBwlVap-MQ

Gnolan and friends

~

Between work at the bead store, work at home, and keeping an eye on the Aged P, January has simply flown by.

I'm sure the sun must have shone sometime this month, but for the last several days we've been living in greyscale. Here's what my Sunday walk looked like:

Leaden sky, dark branches, white snow, and the occasional colorless flower head. Here we have Queen Anne's lace:

The dried grasses at the prairie restoration project were the only spot of color:

~

I'm deep into book layout these days - it's very absorbing, and also very time-consuming, but it's exciting to see the work of the last few years come together and start to look like a book. A few more months should do it, I hope.

How is the New Year going for you?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~