Cranberry Bog

Isn't this yarn a vision of yummyness? Doesn't it make you want to go open a can of Ocean Spray and eat it with your next meal? If Ocean Spray would only sponsor a "match that cranberry color" contest, some big bux could be won! This is the latest handspun of the lovely and talented Dear Friend Sandi. She dyed it herself (only last week!) and immediately spun it up to produce this gorgeous bouquet. Sandi has been a huge inspiration to me since we first met - especially in the areas of dyeing and spinning.

Here she is calculating how much of her hard-earned money (from selling her wonderful handspun twice a year) she'd like to leave behind in Heidi's shop - called The Artful Ewe in Port Gamble, Washington. She doesn't dye everything she spins... she can be taken in by pretty roving any bit as much as the rest of us.

In my ongoing effort to fill in my two years of blog silence, I have to talk about a project Sandi was the Uber-manager for; a baby blanket for the lovely and talented Dear Friend Tina. Here's Tina in the waiting stage for little Oscar while at a spinning conference.

First, Sandi bought superwash roving from vendor and friend Sara - but not before Sara dyed it in 4 colors of blue for us. Then, Sandi spun up all the roving - including the white of course - and made careful packets of all the colors for five of us to knit panels for the blanket. The blanket idea comes from those two clever Mason Dixon ladies - Ann and Kay - and can be found in their first book - it's called "The Keepsake Blanket." Then, Sara, Anne, Marge & Alice (sisters - did their panel together), Sandi and I all knit our panels. Sandi sewed the panels together and did a great crochet edging to finish it off. Claudette embroidered Oscar's B-day and name on it. Here's the final product just before Claudette embroidered it.

And here, to give a better perspective, is Mom Tina receiving it.

The middle panel was mine. Anytime someone says, "do whatever pattern you want - just make it up and be creative....it just has to measure this by this when you turn it back in," I panic! ACK! What to do, what to do... So I got this idea for a sky and sea theme and it turned out to be much more agonizing to do than if I'd just stuck to the plan!!! Why, oh why can't I just stick to the plan! Totally not incompliance. Here I am with the new cherub....

And here he is after having been happily given a bottle by Sandi. After being so content he's suddenly thinking "Wait a minute - you're not my Mama....where IS my Mama?"

Look at the little big-boy sweetie-pie now! He's been negotiating with Santa!

I found another blog where people had taken off with that blanket idea and made this. It's always fun to see how projects evolve. Can't wait to try the Log Cabin blanket from the same book.

I'll probably keep putting in scenes from India even though we've left, because there are so darn many pictures. I really love the pictures of people. This is one of our drivers and his family.

This is me modeling one of the stranger add-on winter garments in all South India. There are beautifully-dressed women in coordinating colors and patterns of fabric everywhere, right? - looking altogether fabulous, and what do they reach for when cold? An acrylic scarf. Bleah! You see them ALL OVER on "cold" days. They are always in screaming colors in stripes and everyone wears them - the women, the men, the children, construction workers, motorcyclists, EVERYbody! They coordinate with absolutely nothing, they're machine-knit, they're on every little corner stand for about 25 rupees. It's the ONLY knitted thing I've seen in South India - other than a few sweaters brought by guys who moved there from North India.

Dear Friend Ancora asked in the comments if only the women are traditionally dressed - as most of the men in my pictures seem to be wearing trousers and shirts. Men of all ages often wear lungis in South India - it's a long tube of fabric (typically in Madras plaid) that is tied at the waist and can be shortened when it's hotter by folding it up from the bottom. South India is pretty traditional so a lot of men wear them, but it's more of a daily working garment for people who don't have office jobs. Once men go to work in any service or office job, it seems they go to trousers and shirts. Likewise with the dhoti - a wrapped garment considered more formal than a lungi (kind of like a sarong in white). The dhoti is very traditional and is still worn on many occasions when the biz trousers and shirts just aren't appropriate. The autorickshaw and cyclerickshaw drivers will often wear lungis. Women wear saris or salwar kameez. The teens and 20-somethings will wear jeans and tops at clubs but mostly in the bigger cities. I brought back a small batch of lungis two years ago but couldn't get anyone to even try them on. Buuuck, buck buck, buuuuck (chicken noises).

This is us trying to fight our way out of Pondy in traffic. The Brahma bulls are always around and always look serenely calm and patient...and long-suffering. I always wish I could run over to them with a nice juicy apple, but it just isn't done.

Even their skulls are beautiful. Friend Janine found one by the side of the road and has it on her porch.

School children are always happy to have their picture taken.

This picture is for Peggy and Rebecca. These are gorgeous identical twins. I didn't snap at the perfect moment to capture both smiling - they had megawatt smiles!

So much of India seems like it survives totally on Rube Goldberg fixes. This is a classic. Perhaps Rube has been reincarnated in India?

One of the hundreds of temples that are everywhere about town - many tucked away in corners, and almost all beautifully maintained.

Closeup of the figures above the niches on either side of the gate.

Sidewalk vendors and neighborhood chatters along the way to Lakshmi's temple.

Another lovely girl elephant giving blessings for donations at a temple - from our visit two years ago. Can't remember her name. She was older than Lakshmi with a very very sweet disposition. Mr. Chirpchatty gets the bonk.

It takes so long to get over losing any pet companions. I'm still thinking a lot about our sweetie Scarlet who passed in April.

And our Bernese Mountain dog "Browser" - who died a surprising number of years ago. I don't have a jpg of him handy, but he looked a lot like this picture of Suzanne's "Diva" in her younger days. He was a small boy - only 65 lbs. Many Berner males reach 100 lbs. Of course, when 65 lbs. of dog sees a squirrel and takes off at the end of a leash, you can still find yourself skidding along on your lip on the tarmac.....and I did.

At a class this last year held at Suzanne's house - where I was learning Fair Isle color combining from Feral Janine - I showed Browser's baby pictures to the lovely and talented Shiori. She decided to do a swatch based on "Berner" colors. Cool, eh?

Our next door neighbor also lost their St. Bernard girl "Quij," (short for drool in Dutch). No more welcoming and guarding barks when we come home.... She was 14. Miss her every time we get out of the car in the driveway.

So I'm always on the lookout for fun animal signs and scenes to savor.

'course there's always that feisty Trixie dog to come home to, and I'm awfully thankful for that.