Wyoming Breezes

Happy Halloween! 

Vibrant colors + kinky yarn = happy knitting What’s making you happy today? 

second snow storm Laramie, WY October 19, 2021 Last Tuesday, the second storm of the season dropped 3-4 inches of heavy, wet snow in the afternoon. The storm started as rain, and by late morning turned to snow. The first storm, a week earlier, dropped a similar amount. Thankfully, the two storms spared the trees in town that were badly damaged by an early September snow storm last year.  Temperatures rose at the end of the week, and most of the snow (except piles in parking lots) melted quickly. 

carrom board in a flea market Laramie, WY A couple of years ago, I spotted this carrom board  at a local flea market, and it brought back memories of the board that occasionally was brought out when I was young. The board we had used wooden rings — a set of red rings and a set of green rings. A black ring was also included as well as bare wooden rings.  I remember playing a game similar to pool on the board, and of course checkers could also be played as well as backgammon. I don’t remember ever playing with the backside of the board, but it had circles painted on it with pegs attached at various intervals. It was fun to flick the rings and try to capture the opponent’s rings before mine were captured.  Did your family have a carrom board or have you ever played the game? 

Sometimes it's difficult to get a good photo of the murals in Downtown Laramie. This Wyoming mural is large and covers the entire side of the building. I love how the artist painted the "shadow" the antelope mount casts. It gives a realistic touch to the mural as do the map rolls by the building entrance. Last week's mural closeup of the Post-It note can be seen above the second white vehicle in the photo and to the right of the coffee mug in the photo on the right.  Laramie has a LOT of murals and more are being added all the time. 

The Winter Ice socks were finished last week. I love how the cuffs striped, and if I dye a similar blank, I will leave more bare yarn (white) in the middle section, so the foot segment of the socks is not so dark. 

(click image to enlarge) segment of a mural on the corner of Second and Grand Laramie, WY

socks being knit with dyed sock blank October 2021 I was eager to cast on a pair of socks with one of the sock blanks I dyed last week. The resulting socks are pleasantly appealing despite the obscure design I "painted" on the blank.  The socks remind me of a frosty and cold morning winter morning.  More photos will be posted as the socks progress. 

American Pride III 58 x 74 inches Quilt of Valor #213 American Pride III was made with a panel donated by Sue and Bert O. I started the quilt at a recent retreat but could not finish it there because I forgot to cut some of the required pieces. I finished the quilt at home last week.  Pattern : American Dreams by Beth Logan (Henry Glass & Co.) The free pattern is no longer available on their website.

Bird e-scooter Laramie, WY October 2021 Just as the University of Wyoming students returned for Fall semester, a flock of Bird e-scooters landed in Laramie. I’ve seen a few people riding them, and the scooters are readily available downtown and along the route to the UW campus. The scooters, however, are not allowed on campus, and a geo-fence is used as a perimeter around the campus beyond which the e-scooters are unable to function. The e-scooters were also placed in Casper and Cheyenne communities.  Does your community have an e-scooter rental program? Would you rent one? 

colorful sock blanks October 2021 Thursday afternoon my kitchen table was covered with plastic and littered with bottles of dye and small sponge brushes. I invited Pat (a neighbor) over to dye yarn. I had two skeins of worsted weight that she preferred and some sock blanks for myself.  Using Wilton icing gels, we prepared our favorite colors. I wanted to try some ideas I found online, and she wanted to just explore the process.  Pat “painted” her skeins with three colors Since this was Pat’s first experience with dyeing yarn, she “painted” the two skeins of worsted, and we kettle cooked the last two sock blanks so Pat could see that process, too.  It was a fun afternoon. 

Patriotic Rail Fence 61 x 74 inches Quilt of Valor #212 Nearly all of the blocks for this QOV were sewn during a recent retreat. I could have finished it at the retreat, but I inadvertently left pieces to one of the stars at home on the cutting table. The pattern for this quilt is from MaryQuilts — Patriotic Rail Fence   Mary has many free patterns on her website