Not far from where I live there is a big park called George Bush Park.  One of its attractions is a nature reserve.  Within the nature reserve are some lakes.  It's really amazing that this is so close to the city.  Once you park and walk over the levee, it feels like you are a million miles away.

I had some spare time on a recent morning so I took Lucy for some hiking and swimming.

No one was there but us and this bird.  I think it is a great egret but I could be wrong.

Of course Lucy's favorite activity is swimming for her tennis ball.

This makes her happy.

Lucy was here!  That's what the footprints seem to say, however fleetingly.

We had a good time!  We'll be back.

Lawbreaker

I made the Springtime Bandit shawl.  Sometimes I really wonder how designers name their creations.  This shawl is not a springtime garment in most of the country, given the worsted weight alpaca, wool, and silk yarn.  And what's it got to do with a bandit?  Anyway, it was a fun, fast, and lovely thing to knit.

Just over a month ago I had knee surgery.  My mom came to help me out.  Turns out surgery was not bad at all and I was immediately walking around.  So we had some time for a few adventures.  We went west to Katy (a suburb of Houston) so my mom could shop in a quilt store.  Since we were already there, we went a few more miles down the road to Yarntopia.  I wasn't going to buy anything.  Really, I wasn't.  But this shawl was knitted and displayed around the shoulders of a mannequin.  My mom really liked it.  I had just given her her original Christmas gift for coming to help me out.   So I decided I would make this as a replacement Christmas gift.  She picked out the color.  The yarn is Terra by The Fiber Company.   It was really nice to work with, very soft, and it blocked out beautifully.

Given the color and the feather-like pattern, this reminds me of a peacock.

Completely unrelated:  I did some fall decorating with mums and pumpkins.  And this pumpkin chiminea.

Somewhat related:  I previously made the Springtime in Philadelphia beret so I am not completely clueless about the shawl's name.  But sometimes the names are just too cutesy for me.

1.5 Mittens, Circa 1986

Last week I was looking through a plastic bin in a spare closet.  I had no idea what was in there.  My theory these days is, "If I don't know what's in there, I probably don't need it and should get rid of it." 

I did that with some of the stuff, but not these.  No.  I need to keep them as a souvenir of my earliest attempt at knitting.

This mitten is the first thing I ever knitted, way back in 1986.  (Not a bad job, is it?)  I'd wanted to learn to knit since I was in high school.  But I didn't know any knitters.  My mom and grandma were crocheters.  The internet and YouTube videos didn't exist at the time.  So I just had to wait until I met a real-life knitter.

That summer, between sophomore and junior years of college, I flew to Connecticut so I could then drive back to Colorado and the new semester with a friend.  His mom knit!  This was my chance to learn!  So I did.  I have no memory of the actual knitting lessons but apparently I learned.

I thought I'd lost this first project.  I knew I completed one mitten but I was surprised to find the second one half done and on the needles.

Interestingly, these mittens were knit on straight needles and then seamed up the side.  That seems so old-fashioned now.

The pattern was from this Jack Frost Knitting company.  I don't know a thing about them.  However, I did an internet search and if this blogger is correct, the pattern is from 1942!  Wow, it's even older than I thought.

I think I'll leave these mittens as is, just a souvenir from my earliest attempts at knitting.  It might be fun to try making them again in some prettier yarn.