Wyoming Breezes

The Western Region Oddball Knitters have been busy. Below are the blankets that have been finished since June on which I had the honor to knit a section. Light Me Up started April 2013 Sunflower started April 2013 Pink Lemonade started September 2012 Circus started February 2013 Deep Blue Sea started March 2013 Hot Chocolate started January 2013 Baby Sherbet started March 2013

September 27, 2013 Contrast of Seasons September 27,2013 Trees will be broken all over town. Thankfully, my three ash trees were trimmed last summer, so hopefully, the damage will be minimal. September 27, 2013 This ash tree was trimmed last summer but was under stress, so it didn't surprise me to see the broken branches. Note the cable in the upper left of this photo. All of my trees are cabled to prevent large branches from splitting the tree in half. Nothing to do now but hope for the best. Here's the forecast .

Close-up of Festival float Misawa, Japan Autumn 1979 Each of the floats in the Festival parade offered multiple photo opportunities. Today's photo is the front the float featured in last week's Foreign Friday . The building in the background with the large yellow sign is one that I visited frequently: the local Nikon dealer. I took all of my film there to be processed, and I even purchased a camera from the helpful and extremely knowledgeable staff.

Scrap yarn hat started September 21, 2013 Friday evening, I was given a bag of scrap wool by Katheryn. When I got home and looked in the bag, I couldn't resist casting on a charity hat. Needle: size 8 Pattern: Simplest Cap of All Yarn: assorted wool scraps and malabrigo (Rhodesian) I always love how the stitch decreases spiral on the top of a hat Most of the scrap wool was unmarked, but even before I saw the label on the rust yarn, I knew from the texture that it was malabrigo. Malabrigo is heavenly to knit: it glides over the needles and has a nice feel. Scrap hat finished September 22, 2013 Thank you, Katheryn for these and other luscious scraps that will be knit into items and given to charities. While working with the Malabrigo, I was in knitting heaven.

source Health and Science Center Dedication Central Wyoming College Riverton, WY September 20, 2013 It was exciting to attend the dedication of the new $18 million building on the CWC campus on Friday and to take the guided tour through the various classrooms. Additional photos can be seen at the bottom the County 10 post .  view from the control room of one of the nursing simulation lab The mannequins are programmed to give nursing students simulated hospital experiences. Four simulation labs are available in this area of  the building. In another section is an eight-bed nursing education  room that can also be used as an emergency hospital.  This "patient" was being monitored by a nursing instructor. The mannequin was blinking rapidly as we watched her care for him.  This simulation lab had a mother who had just given birth. The nursing student in the dark blue scrubs explains the "patient's" vitals to the communi...

Blended Scrap Socks started August 2013 finished September 2013 The first post about these socks was in August, and they hibernated longer than expected. I transferred the stitches to the Sock Rocket needles for a bit, but finished them on my trusty Knit Picks needles. Details on the socks can be found on the first post - link given above.

Nancy, Bev, Brian Jackson, WY September 2013 Bev ( This and That ) and I have been reading each other's blogs for a couple of years and have corresponded through email. Bev and her husband winter in Arizona, and last year we threw around the idea of meeting somewhere on one of their trips. The stars aligned this year on their family outing to Yellowstone National Park. Sue, Bev, Brian Jackson, WY September 2013 Emails flew back and forth with details, and we decided to meet in Jackson, WY for lunch. So last Tuesday, my friend Sue and I took a road trip to soak up the lovely scenery and to meet Bev and her husband at Bubba's Roadhouse. Grand Tetons Jackson, WY September 2013 The drive over Togwotee Pass was beautiful in the morning, and we stopped at one of the scenic pull-outs to photograph the Tetons. The aspen in the area were just starting to turn yellow, and this week they should be a gorgeous gold. Over lunch the conversation flowed smoothly, and we...

Autumn Festival Float Misawa, Japan August 1979 The back of this float can be seen in this post . This is obviously a religious float, but I do not know enough about Japanese religions to give you any specifics about the images on this float although I believe the dominant figure is a buddha. You can read more about the religions practiced in Japan here .

Fall Swap Scarf started September 9, 2013 I couldn't resist the siren calls of the Noro from KathyB's Fall Swap , and once cast on, it has been hard to resist. Jared Flood's "pattern" is a 1x1 rib (cast on 39 sts on size 7 needles) and knit two rows of the rib with each skein. On the second row of each color, slip the first and last stitches in the row as if to purl. Those slipped stitches create the nicest edge that will resist rolling. I am kicking myself for not selecting two brighter skeins to complement the ones I got from KathyB because then the stripes would not be as subtle. Despite that one regret, I am in love with this scarf. Fair warning: this scarf can be expensive as Noro Silk Garden can be nearly $12 per skein, and the pattern requires four skeins. I was fortunate to receive two skeins in the swap and purchased the other two skeins at 20% off.

Loot from Bridget's 7th blogiversary Recently, Bridget at The Ravell'd Sleave  hosted a giveaway to celebrate her blog's 7th anniversary, and I was one of the seven winners. Check out what was in the squishy package I received last week: a great book, filled with wonderful ideas, tips, and patterns, two skeins of green Khroma (Baby Alpaca and Merino - total 200 yds), and Rowan's purelife Revive (recycled silk, cotton and viscose - total 274 yds). I'm considering knitting a scarf from the Revive and a cowl, hat, or mitts from the Khroma. Any pattern suggestions? Thank you, Bridget for these wonderful goodies, and Happy Blogiversary! Pop over and check out her blog.

I love to knit socks, and I'm always receptive to anything that will make that experience even better, so when I heard about a "new" needle (Sock Rockets) made by skacel, I ordered a pair from Jimmy Beans Wool. The package insert states, "These Sock Rockets needles combine the sharper tip of the addi Turbo Lace needle with the slick nickel-plated coating of the classic Turbo needle - resulting in the perfect needle to make sock knitting faster and easier!" The needles arrived soon after I ordered them (thanks, JBW for not disappointing), and I quickly transferred this sock onto the needles. addi Turbo Sock Rockets Two circulars method Clearly you can see from the photo that the needles are long and are clumsy and awkward to use; however, the needles are not available in a 16 inch length - a huge mistake by skacel (addi), in my opinion. These needles fell short of the packet insert's statement that it is. . ."the perfect needle to make so...

Yankee Doodle Dandy Western Region Oddball Baby Blanket started August 2013 This patriotic blanket was probably one of the first blankets to be completed in less than an month. It travelled to six different knitters in Nebraska, Oregon, Ohio, Texas, Idaho, and Wyoming and was off the needles in less than 30 days. An amazing feat when you consider that some blankets take nearly a year to reach this stage. Yarn: Caron Simply Soft (Red) Needles: size 8 Stitch count: 126 Stitch used for my section: Mirror Triangles (8 stitch repeat) Update : November 10, 2013

Robert D. Edgren High School Cheerleaders Misawa AFB Misawa, Japan - September 1979 Typical kids doing typical things on a gorgeous Fall day. . . Robert D. Edgren High School Football Misawa AFB Misawa, Japan September 1979 On the sidelines Misawa AFB Misawa, Japan September 1979

Marilyn, Nancy, Evelyn first day of school September 1958 Many families commemorate the first day of school by taking a photo. I recently found this image and realized it had been taken on the same day as the photo in  this post . I wonder if the "bibs" on my sister's outfits were removable. Note the buttons on the waistband. I'm sure Marilyn and Evelyn are wearing net petticoats to make their skirts flare ever so slightly. Their circular skirts would really swing while dancing the jitterbug! Evelyn models the dress she made in Home Economics the previous year. Note: Evelyn made the dress Nancy is wearing in the top photo from same fabric as the dress shown here. I remember someone saying that Evelyn and I wore the matching dresses in a school style show.  Possibly because of the hair style and shoes,  this shot of Evelyn's prom dress  was taken on the same day. The last photo was taken in the living room. The davenport (yes, we rea...