On the road -- Durango, CO

   Sorry there aren't any photos here yet -- all we did is travel today, and didn't stop to look at anything except gas pumps.  But we're in Durango, probably the nicest town on the Western slope of the Rockies.  The campground is nice, has wi-fi and the best feature: the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge RR runs right through the grounds.  I imagine we'll be awakened in the morning by a steam whistle..  Craig can hardly wait.

I was, however, a little disturbed when the lady who checked us in added (after telling us about the pool, laundry and wi-fi access) "We had bears in the campground last night, so please don't leave any food outside."  THis wouldn't have surprised me in one of the National Parks, but in TOWN???  Guess I'm not in Iowa anymore.

Schuyler -- thanks for the road music.  I'll admit now that I was braced for three hours of Weird Al Yankovich, so was quite pleased with the assortment -- especially the traveling music from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Cars,  All that vintage BB was nice -- I thought we had all of it, but you foiund some we don't have and it was fun to hear.  But then we got to CW McCall.....

Actrually, we drove over Wolf Creek Pass this afternoon.  It is pretty much like the song says (minus, thankfully, the missing shift knob and the failed brakes).  There is one really scary downhill stretch-- miles  of 7 percent grade, complete with hairpin turns and switchbacks.  The runaway truck ramps aren't like the nice loing sand pits we saw in Georgia and Tennessee -- these run uphill at about 10 percent and if you run off the end of one I guess you fall off the other side of the mountain.  Glad we didn't have to use them.  Westy per'formed very well, once he let us know that he wanted to be downshifted once in awhile.(Craig: '"We're floored and we're slowing down." ) We did indeed, end up in downtown Pugosa Springs -- no feed store in sight, but there is a definite dead end where you have to turn either left or tright to avoid slamming ointo a rather nondescript building.

Tomorrow we should see the North Rim, although we have yet to plot a route.  Don't know when we can send another post, but I promise, Sue, to take more pictures and get them up when we do.

Knitting on the Road: Will we EVER get out of town?

     Departure minus 18 hours, and we aren't even close to being ready to leave.  Craig and I have been planning this trip to the Southwest for more than a year, and when our grandson Ben agreed to move in and keep our two very spoiled cats happy while we're gone, we had the last detail taken care of and could get ready to leave. We're starting at  the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and then going to as many National Parks in Utah as we can visit in a couple of weeks.  This will be a combination car camping, bicycling, hiking and backpacking trip, so our VW Westy is going to be packed to the max.  PLUS, I am working hard to get work ready for the fall galleries and shows, so knitting on the road is not just a boredom reliever this year -- it's necessary.
     The question is:  how many skeins and balls, patterns and tools can I fit into a 14-gal Rubbermaid tub??  That's the amount of space I get, and I'm lucky to be getting it.  After we squeeze in all of our clothing, food, water, backpack and bike gear, maps, guidebooks and all the necessary electronica to keep us moving there is precious little space left, and we have to make every inch count.  We're both pretty good at packing light, but when we're bringing stuff for at least three different sports and we're going where there aren't any Targets to replenish from, the load is bigger than either of us likes.  I admit to a few redundancies -- rain jackets even though we're headed for the desert, extra blankets 'cause we both HATE being cold at night, that big bag oft trail mix because I only like the kind with M&Ms (might not be able to find it away from home).
     I'm planning on lots of knitting on the road, along with a good vacation and some time to spend with Craig away from work and the daily grind.  Keep checking this blog and also Craig's blogsite bikerepman.blogspot.com-- we'll post details of our adventures as often as we can get in internet connection.

Dyeing Silk in South Dakota

     Several dye workshops are on the schedule for later this fall and winter.  On a recent visit to South Dakota to visit Sue, we spent a morning dyeing several pieces of silk, mostly just to see what would happen.  Results are great -- now we're ready to try some more tricks.  This is great practice for the September workshop in Watertown, SD  (dyeing sock flats) and another coming in November for both flats and skeins. 

Sue found a great little microwave (at a thrift store) that works fine and did a good job on fibers -- and no worries about contamination with food.  This one is easy to haul around and it'll go with us to Watertown in a few weeks.

Once we knew the microwave worked, we mixed up a dye bath and got to work.  We only made about a pint of yellow solution, but it was enough to immerse this piece of silk in.  We set the color and were very pleased that none of it ran when we rinsed the piece -- the fiber absorbed every bit.

We hung it out to dry, and went on to other pieces.  The scarves looked really neat hanging from her deck railing -- all the colors were fun to see, and much brighter than they look in these photos.  We each dyed a silk t-shirt the same shade of pale blue, and gave ourselves a challenge -- think of other things to do with it to add more color, surface design or pattern.  Next time we get together we'll show them off.