Wyoming Breezes

(This week I'm featuring some random close-up photos) photo taken through an art sculpture Central Wyoming College campus Riverton, WY November 2015 Central Wyoming College (CWC) opened in 1968, and I enrolled in classes the Fall of 1969. The original campus consisted of three buildings: one housed the student union, administration offices, and the library; the largest building contained classrooms for the core subjects and a lecture hall around the perimeter and faculty offices in the center; the smallest building housed the maintenance office. The campus has grown considerably in the last 48 years. It now has two dorms, an apartment building, a large fine arts building, the original classroom building (remodeled and expanded) and now attached to the original administration building, large library, student center, book store, gymnasium, small theatre, studios and offices for the Wyoming PBS station, and a new health science building . Unfortunately, CWC and other e...

(This week, I'm featuring some random close-up photos) drifted snow Winter 1978 Many people who do not live in snow country don't realize that when blown into drifts, the snow can become hard enough to support a person or animals. The wind not only packs the snow into hard drifts, it forms waves and ripples. It's no secret that the wind blows in Wyoming, and most of the winter road closures are due to drifting snow. Some people think they can simply drive through the drifts, not realizing the drifts can be long and sometimes deeper than they appear. Snow drifts can be picturesque but also treacherous.

(This week, I'm featuring some random close-up photos) making a rubbing from the Vietnam Wall Washington D.C. mid-1990s Dick Q. organized a Close-Up trip for his senior Social Studies students every year. The students raised money (selling concessions, hosting meals at games, and working for people in the community) all year long to pay for the trip. One year, Dick asked me to go with the group as the female sponsor, and I readily accepted. It was my first trip to D.C., so I was as excited as the students. Dick had made the trip many years and knew all the places to visit and all the history behind them. I learned a great deal about our nation's capitol. The group toured the Pentagon, the White House, the Capitol building, the National Cathedral, the National Zoo, Arlington Cemetery, and many museums and monuments. We also toured the Kennedy Center and attended two plays - both musicals. We walked everywhere to keep costs down and sometimes rode the Metro. Persona...

Mount Unzen Park April 1980 In the spring of 1980 a group of Dept of Defense teachers toured Southern Japan. One of our stops was Mount Unzen, an active volcanic area. According to Wikipedia , Mount Unzen erupted from 1990 - 1995. source Nancy Stearns & Judy Loxtercamp Mount Unzen Park April 1980 This photo from an earlier post was also taken at the Mount Unzen Park, just up the hill from the tram station.

I've been working hard all year to Slash the Stash (yarn and fabric), and I was somewhat successful; that is, until Marilyn's neighbor stopped by with some gorgeous shawls she'd knit and an invitation to go to a yarn shop. We went to Colorful Yarns , and the second I walked in the door, I was just like Dory. If you look at the photos of the shop under their website's "Gallery" tab, you might understand why I fell off the no-buy wagon. Dianne showed me the kits for the shawls she'd knit and the store samples of other shawls. Oh my, I was in real trouble but loving every minute of it. The nearest "local" yarn shop is 120 miles from my house; thus, my purchases are usually limited to online shopping. It was heavenly to see, squish, and pet the yarn in the shop. To justify my selections, I kept telling myself I had premium money from my Fair ribbons, which covered 75% of my stash enhancement spree. Here's what I purchased at Colorful...

crocheted Christening Gown and Bonnet August 2016 A gorgeous Christening gown and bonnet: I hope this will become a treasured heirloom for the crafter's family. I was thrilled to see it won a blue ribbon and a Champion ribbon for its Division. a quilt with "heart" August 2016 A quilt with "Heart" in the 4-H building: the heart made the simple design even more powerful. I hope to copy the idea for a Quilt of Valor. a fun array of pincushions August 2016 A variety of pincushions: a hat, doughnuts, chickens, a sewing machine, a slice of cake, and an owl with scissors for spectacles. They were cute and just plain fun!

dishcloths and scrubby made for the swap August 2016 In early August, Kathyb organized a dishcloth swap, and fourteen people joined in the fun. The swap guidelines required each person to make and send two dishcloths. One or two small trinkets could also be included in the package. I sent two cloths, a tulle scrubby, and some knitting notions to my swap partner - Betsy ( The Simple Life of a Queen ). Thanks, Kathyb for the fun and easy swap. The pattern I used is no longer available online, but it uses the Double Woven Stitch - YouTube has a tutorial for completing the stitch  here . Double Woven Dishcloth   made with US size 7 or 8 needles one ball of cotton dishcloth yarn Cast on 38 stitches or any multiple of four Rows 1-4:   Knit across Row 5:  K3, P32, K3 Row 6:  K6, *sl 2 wyif, move yarn to back, K2; repeat from * to last               4 stitches; K4 Row 7:  K3, P32, K3 Row 8:  K4...

new fabric for pressing board The large pressing board in my sewing room has needed a new cover for quite some time, and those available online that would fit the 24 x 60 inch board are only white/cream and covered with a gird. I wanted color and something that would not show scorch marks too much. The large-print 60 inch wide fabric (100% cotton) was found at Walmart for $3.00 a yard. It's a home decorator fabric (heavier weight), so its perfect a board coverup. The design makes me smile: it reminds me of the illustrations in Dr. Seuss books. ironing station with a new cover The new board cover was completed at Marilyn's house a couple of weeks ago and put it on the pressing board as soon as I got home. The original cover had string in the channel around the edge, but for this cover, I used a flat, nylon rope and a spring fastener from an old sweatshirt hood string to keep the rope taut. I purchased a black, white, and grey print for Marilyn's board, which is ...

Hong Kong harbor December 1979

Stars and Stripes Quilt of Valor 57 x 69 Last week, Marilyn and I had another Sisters' Sewing Retreat. I prepped the fabric for this top and another one before traveling to Denver. The flags in Stars and Stripes  and the large panel used to make Allegiance  were purchased at a Kansas quilt shop last summer. I haven't seen the panels in any other fabric shop, before or since last summer's trip. The flags were fussy-cut from the panel and then framed, the star within a star blocks were made with stash fabric, and the piano key border was made with  Mary's donated fabric . Pattern:   American Dreams (Pieced A) - free online pattern Stars and Stripes is Quilt of Valor #98

Kurt E. cleans and conditions my Bernina August 2016 Marilyn usually has her sewing machine cleaned at quilt shop in her area, and since I was in Denver last week, I asked if the technician was scheduled to be at the quilt shop. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to be at the shop until September, so Marilyn asked if he made "house calls." I was thrilled to sit in her kitchen and watch him clean and condition my two Berninas. Last year, I had my oldest machine (purchased in 2004) "cleaned" at a dealer in Casper, WY.  At Marilyn's kitchen table, Kurt, a certified Bernina technician, discovered they hadn't done a very good job: the gear controlling the bobbin was clogged with gunk. He surmised the "cleaning" was only cosmetic and that they hadn't taken the cover off of the machine. My newer machine was purchased in September 2015 and just needed a bit of a tune-up and oiling. I sat and watched Kurt take the machines down their chassis,...

star in a star block August 2016 Last week, Marilyn and I had another Sisters' Sew-in, and this block is a sneak peek at the next Quilt of Valor in the works. The center fabric is printed with the tiny blocks, but it almost looks like the centers of the Star in a Star blocks are pieced. These fabrics are from my stash: the white fabric is one of the pieces  Mary gave me a month ago. I plan to use more of Mary's fabric in the piano key border. More photos to come. . .

close-up of Eyelet Ridge Cowl August 2016 A couple of weeks ago, I found some single skeins of a light worsted yarn and knew it would make a lovely cowl. cowl before blocking  The cowl was a fairly quick knit and came off the needles after a couple of days of sporadic knitting. Note how the top and bottom edges folded in on the cowl which would be okay, but I wanted the cowl to be deeper and easily blocked it flat. blocked cowl The colors in this last photo are fairly true to the actual colors. Pattern by Sour Cherries Yarn:   Knitting Fever - Painted Sky (Brick #202)             one skein - 218 yards (100 grams)             100% superwash merino Needles: US 7

Japanese macaque Mt. Takasak Wild Monkey Park Beppu, Japan Spring 1980

A few weeks ago as I was approaching a four-way intersection, I noticed the driver in front of me using hand signals to indicate his intentions. It has been YEARS since I've seen anyone use the gestures. In the 1950s and even the early 60s many cars did not have signal lights, so I saw them frequently. Drivers even rolled down the window in the winter to signal. The signals are encouraged for cyclists, but honestly, I've never seen a cyclist use the signals in my area. After I moved through the intersection that day, I began to ponder other driving changes. I learned how to drive on the farm when I was in Junior High. When my brother fed the cows in the pasture, he would put the pickup in first gear (granny) and then jump in the bed to throw the bales off for the cows. Eventually, he expected me to put the pickup or truck in gear and drive through the field. He cursed a few (many) times, when I nearly threw him off of the truck bed, and out of frustration, I learned the ...