A day at the museum

I spent Monday afternooon at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, taking in my favorite displays. Here are a few examples:
An example of Navajo weaving.

Pacific Native American artwork.

Totem poles.

A large beer making jar from the Amazon area of Peru.

A new mummy box, made by museum employees, to demonstrate skills needed to create one.

Coastal Wyoming...what a concept!

Prehistoric piggish dude...

T Rex pursuing a stegosaurus beyond the grave.

A little Christmas cheer...better late than never

Porter and I worked this Christmas, so we went to the boss's house for Christmas dinner.
Lucky for me, the boss is my sister, Woolyworks, so all the neices and nephews were there, too. (She's still a bit wooly.)


Porter had a great time and a bride to be got a wedding shawl, knitted by none other than the mother-in-law, Woolyworks.
After dinner, I retired across the yard to my dad's house, and enjoyed this:
A very nice, quiet ending to a fun evening.

needle felting madness

Here are a few pictures of my latest experiment - needle felting. I took a piece of old felt, not a very good one really, and began to play with whatever came into my mind. It's a little like using colored pencils and doodling. Just a random floral pattern. I love doing it, but I wish the piece of felt didn't look so much like a piece of ragged cowhide. I think I might make this piece into a wall hanging, since the fiber is really not evenly felted. It's really heavy in some places and has spots so thin that a hole could appear with the least bit of wear. The piece was felted by the residents here at the ranch, so I think it must be one of their first efforts.

Crochet Video - Not What You Might Think...

Lion Brand's Knitted Menagerie

You've heard of "The Glass Menagerie", right? Well...


Lion Brand made a wonderful display of large knitted and crocheted animals at the Craft and Hobby Association convention in Anaheim, California last week. Pictures of some of them can be seen here. They even had knitted plants!

I can't imagine the amount of work that went into this project, but I love the results, especially the peacock.

Safe - For the Moment

I have a confession to make...

When I was a child, a monster hid under the bed, only on MY side of the bed. My older sister may have had her own monster on her side, but I can't be sure. She never spoke of it. I don't know if it is common knowledge, but monsters often live under the beds of children. As I grew up, the monster stayed, but made itself less obvious, probably because of the increased activities of 4 adolescent girls. Still, at night, I had to stand back from the side of the bed and LEAP, from a distance of about 3 feet, into bed to keep the monster from grabbing me by the feet and dragging me under there so he could feast on little kid meat. And of course, COVERS were the only thing that actually kept me safe through the night. I was so thankful that I had my magic covers to stand between me and certain death at the hands of the monster under the bed. Without covers, it could have reached up and snatched me away in my dreams.

When I grew up, I got married and moved away, escaping the monster for a few years. But eventually, the monster tracked me down and once again crawled under my bed. I didn't see it, but one evening after a particularly stressful day, I felt its presence and had to leap into bed again. Imagine my chagrine. Twenty-something years old, and I had to leap 3 feet into my bed. I lived with that monster under the bed until getting divorced several years later. I managed to give it the slip again when I moved out and moved around for a few months. I moved into my own house in Cheyenne, and still manged to elude the under-the-bed monster.

PHEW!

And then I moved to Peru and got married to O, confident that the monster under the bed would never, ever be able to follow me across North, Central, and South Americas. And, until last night, I was sure that the monster hadn't figured out where I was, and maybe had even forgotten about me.

...end of confession...

I didn't feel that monster's presence, but last night in the middle of the night, when Celeste crept under the bed to her usual cool summertime sleeping spot, a struggle ensued with what I could only conclude was indeed the monster. She must have caught the monster unaware, and was about to catch him off-guard. For a few intense moments, there was a short battle that included some little barks and growls, and whimpers, some kicking, and then Celeste launched her most lethal attack yet - THE DEADLY GREEN GAS. There was a final kick to the mattress and the bed frame, a vicious growl, and then a soft sigh. Mercifully, a breeze came through the window and carried the remnants of the gas out...or maybe it was the monster, finally vanquished, that created the breeze when it leaped out the bedroom window to escape the deadly fumes.

A short time later, Celeste emerged from under the bed, rumpled and bearing a few dust bunnies (a sure sign that the monster had been there) on her coat, and crawled up onto the foot of the bed to sleep the deep sleep of a triumphant warrior. Luckily, she hadn't been suffocated by her own gas attack, which is always a danger to the novice monster hunter. Mission accomplished. The monster under the bed is gone - until next time.

What were they thinking???

Every so often, I take a look at some of the links other people have on their blogs. Sometimes they give me pause, sometimes they make me gag, and sometimes they make me wonder just what on earth they were thinking. Here are a few:

People of Walmart
(this one made me go check my wardrobe and throw out those leopard print tights - so tacky! - that I wore with my pre-worn polkadot hotpants and plaid belly shirt.) Personally, I do shop at Walmart sometimes, but there's something about the place that encourages some to get creative with what they're wearing.

For Your Entertainment
(this one makes me grit my teeth)

Cake Wrecks (It takes a special talent to be a cake decorator, and some of us just don't have it.)

Wow! Almost 3 years blogging!

So, yeah, my 3rd blogoversary is coming up in January, and I am busy thinking up things to do to celebrate:

a) I could have a give away

b) I could make a resolution to blog more often and have a giveway

c) I could have a contest and have a giveaway.

I think I'll probably have a giveaway no matter what. Just need to come up with something cool to give away. Fiber? Handspun yarn? Something hand knit or crocheted? Or maybe some commercial yarn (be warned - it's all synthetic) or a creation from that?

While I'm thinking, why don't you think about it and tell me what you think? Then i'll compile the ideas and see what I can come up with!

...and we have winners!

So, I had to get Celeste to help me with the drawing. I had three drawings - one for the mitts, one for the yarn, and one for the fiber. I put the names for each drawing in a bowl and let Celeste stick her COLD, WET NOSE in the bowl. The name(s) that stuck to her nose were the winners. The first time we did it, she ate all the names (sorry about that), so we had to re-draw. For the yarn, two names stuck to her nose, so I will honor that.

Fiber: Iron Needles

Yarn: Jude
Kim

The mitts: KitKatKnits

Please send an e-mail with your mailing address to fuzzknitterATyahooDOTcom so I can get your loot to you.

Sunday's the last day!

Wow! Thank you for all the responses! The last day to enter your comments will be Sunday, May 17th. Then I'll have a drawing for names and post the winners here on the blog. Good luck!

The Loot

Handspun, handknit beaded fingerless mitts in superwash merino.

3 ounces of soft black merino, gold bamboo, and sparkly stuff.
100% alpaca yarn, mill-spun, approximately 250 yards per skein. Three skeins.

OMG, or It's a giveaway!

OMG! We've surpassed 15,000 visits here at A Bag of Olives! Time for a giveaway! I'll take the pictures of the prize and get them up this afternoon (hopefully. You know me...always on the late side. But this IS Peru, after all. We are always fashionably and frustratingly and irritatingly late.)

You will have your choice between 3 ounces of merino/bamboo/sparkle spinning fiber, a couple of skeins of lovely mill-spun 100% alpaca yarn (enough for a pair of socks, and have some left over!), or a pair of beaded handspun, handknit fingerless mitts (superwash merino) in fun colors. To enter, just post a comment and let me know your preference.

This face

This is the face of a schemer.

This is the face of a manipulator.

And this is the face of a blackmailer.

I think Celeste lays awake at night, laying her plans, scheming how she will control us through the day. This may be the beginning of the Dog Mafioso is our apartment building. All the dogs in this building bark their plans and accomplishments to one another as they leave or return to their apartments. I think they are planning something big. Maybe a blackmailing scheme for bones. I can't be sure, but I see Celeste looking at the other dogs with THAT LOOK in her eyes...hmmmm...

Thorn Rainbowfly, at your service!

Your fairy is called Thorn Rainbowfly

She is a fortune bringer.

She lives in brambles and blackberry bushes.

She is only seen at midday under a quiet, cloudless sky.

She wears purple and green like berries and leaves. She has multicoloured wings like a butterfly.

Get your free fairy name here!

I'm sure by now, everyone has tried the Fairy Name generator. So this is the name of my inner fairy, my true self, and who I am in my dreams (yeh right...) I wish I could find a picture of her, but I can't seem to come up with one, so I officially declare my next project to be devoted to creating my inner fairy. I hope I can find some fiberfill stuffing for her body!

Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everybody! I wish I could have a white Christmas, but it's not to be this year. I have high hopes or next year. Or at least a white 4th of July. Anyway, what would Christmas be without a little song and Christmas cheer from Santa and the reindeer? I grin every time I watch this:



Have a great Christmas, however you choose to spend it, and here's my very best wishes to you for a wonderful New Year!

Love to all of you from Kathleen, O, and Celeste

There 8 Things Meme

I thought this was a good one, so I'm doing it:

My 8 favorite foods:
1. Chocolate
2. Grapefruit
3. Mangoes
4. Hot chili soup
5. Cinnamon rolls
6. Sharp cheddar cheese
7. Gourmet veggie pizza with creamy garlic sauce
8. Salads

8 Things I Did Today:
1. Checked email and new blog posts
2. Went to work
3. Taught English to my morning Basic 12 class
4. Took Celeste out for her 6 am walk and potty break
5. Took Celeste out for her 30 minutes of running, walking, playing at midday
6. Went back to teach my afternoon classes
7. Spun on the teal laceweight
8. Came home from work at 11 pm and crashed.

8 Favorite Stores:
1. Wal-Mart (I wish this was in Peru)
2. Christopher & Banks (this one, too!)
3. Metro Supermarket
4. Amazon.com
5. Etsy.com
6. Ripley's Department Store
7. Saga Falabella (department store)
8. Ewe Count (my LYS in Cheyenne)

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Papa John's Pizza 3 blocks from my apartment and the menu is in English
2. The Texas Roadhouse, Cheyenne, WY
3. San Dong Chinese Restaurant, Cheyenne, WY
4. Sanford's Grub and Pub, Cheyenne, Wy
5. El Rinconcito Ferrañafano, Lima - Peru
6. Puro Tumbes, Lima - Peru
7. Olive Garden
8. The Armadillo (LaSalle, Colorado)

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Sundays
2. Spinning on my current project
3. Knitting a sweater with my own handspun
4. Having lunch with a friend
5. Craft shows in Colorado with my sister
6. Laughing with my sister
7. Having a good long walk with Celeste
8. A cold glass of water after a long hot day

8 Things I Like To Do With Family:
1. Worship
2. Play board games
3. Camping
4. Music (play, sing, listen)
5. Go to the beach
6. Play in the snow
7. Sit quietly and read
8. Walks and bike rides

8 Things on My Wish List:
1. A visa for O so we can go home
2. Two fiber animals
3. Time to knit more
4. Time for riding, spinning and reading
5. A place to get out of town and breathe
6. Another dog like Sunny
7. A good job in the US
8. A feeling of belonging

A snow fix in high summer

We have no snow here. It's summertime, and it seems so strange to have Christmas in 80 degree weather. So here's my little snow fix for December:



I found this on Youtube, and the title is "Bailey, The Unknown Reindeer." I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Whoever is Bailey's owner, I thank you for sharing your dog and your snow with us!

10 Random Things

A meme stolen from The Knotty Mouse. Participate if you feel moved to. I'd love to read about your random-ness!

1. Magazines subscribed to - none. I'd love to get Interweave Knits and Interweave Crochet, but the cost is enormous and I only get 3 of the 4 issues in a year. Someone along the way in the international postal system must also enjoy them.

2. Aside from knitting, my favorite pasttimes are - spinning, watching movies, reading, walking with the dog, hiking in the mountains (although I don't get to do that anymore)..

3. If I were not a teacher (insert your own profession), I would be - goatherd or a shepherd. I'm very interested in learning more about sheep and I love goats!

4. I am irrationally worried about - the economy and getting my husband to immigrate.

5. If I were the opposite sex - I'd probably have a sex change.

6. The thing I miss most about childhood is - playtime. I want more time to play!

7. I like to collect - ceramics and pottery, although I don't have much of that. Somehow it always gets broken or given to someone else or lost...

8. Though I’ve never been there, I feel inexplicably homesick for - nowhere. I want to go somewhere that I've been.

9. I’ve never really liked to eat - Fish. They smell bad and they taste bad, too. I feel the same way about lamb and mutton. They taste just like they smell. Bleh. So while I am mezmorized by fish in an aquarium and I love spending time with sheep and goats, I have no desire whatsoever to eat them. I love my dog, too, but she doesn't smell good enough to eat, either.

10. When I have nightmares, they’re usually about - running and running from something or someone, although I never really am sure who or what it is. Then the windows rattle even though there's no wind, and I wake up.

Couldn't resist this one...

more the engrish!

Makes My Heart Tinkle...

I stumbled across this while net-surfing, and my daughter sent me a few more...

There are more, but I'll save them for another camera-less time.