It's Wovember!

Since today is my first post in November, it should rightly be a topic to which I have given more than enough thought (ahem), and that is knitting with wool, specifically Shetland wool.

Many die hard knitters have begun thinking of November as Wovember.  This link will take you to a more in depth look at the appreciation of all things wool.  There is a Ravelry group you can check out that has many responses to what knitters are making to join in with the Wovember theme.  Many interesting projects there.

From this site sponsored by Kate Davie, Felicity Ford and Tom van Deijnen:

Wovember is about showing our collective appreciation of wool by wearing as much of this fabulous fibre as possible, and by celebrating its unique qualities in stories and pictures throughout the month of November. Through our enthusiasm and creativity we can raise awareness of what makes wool different, and jointly create a force for wool appreciation strong enough to effect changes in how garments and textiles are described and marketed.

WOVEMBER Information Poster

Joining in with Wovember, my scant offering will be the knitting of the Shetland Heritage Hat (pattern by Leslie Smith Designs).   I substituted the colors of the Shetland 2 play yarns, using a palette of muted shades of lilac, blues and greens with a splash of dark purple.

This is well worth a listen,  Click on the arrow for a BBC short radio feature by Felicity Ford in conversation with Richard Martin, proprietor of Cotswold Woollen Weavers.



Lastly, this is one of our dogs wearing TWO of the Kate Davies designed coats (A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing) since it was chilly out.  And there are other photos from my rocking chair out back just because it was such a lovely evening.

 

Yarn Along

New to me, joining Yarn Along, and of course, WIP Wednesday.

Reading: on Kindle app When We Were Strangers (Schoenewaldt) and Death on A Longship (Taylor) and of course, At the Still Point: A Literary Guide to Prayer in Ordinary Time (Arthur)

Knitting:  Caffe Macchiato (pattern by Moldan).

Cooking: Last night I made for the fourth time my new favorite recipe  Chicken Tikka Masala (Epicurious).

 

I'll be checking in on your blog and seeing what you are knitting, crafting, thinking.  Leave a comment and I'll be sure to follow you.

 



Travertine and Scrabble

This travertine was beside the highway on the way to Durango.

Travertines are natural hot springs erupting from the ground, spewing not only water but also limestone and other minerals that solidify over eons, creating an unusual looking formation.  The surface is known as "tufa" (an excellent Scrabble word), a porous deposit that looks spongy.

At Ft. Lewis College, Scrabble was the game of the day.  Here is a picture of some competitors.

The tournament was held in a math classroom.  The most interesting things to observe there were poster pictures of mathematicians.  Such as:

 

And my favorite:

 

At a study hall across the corridor we saw four deer and a rabbit grazing and resting together.  I got several photos through a window, and this is one that processed better on the iPad:

It was a fun weekend, although we ran into snow on the way there.

And unbelievably, I achieved second place in the Late Bird, and won forty bucks, almost paying for gas to get to Durango!

On the knitting side, I finished these ballet slippers: