07 March 2013

Snow Bunny

Yesterday I went downhill skiing for the first time in over 22 years. I turn 44 in a few weeks, so that's literally half my lifetime. The last time was in 1991, when I was a first year veterinary student. A group of us spent a weekend at Lutsen.

It was a fun enough weekend, but what I remember most is taking a lift to a second, not very developed, peak that, on the trail maps, had a blue (intermediate) main slope. On the ground, that trail turned to black diamond (advanced) about halfway down with no warning and no alternative way out. For someone who'd only been skiing two or three times as a kid, it was a bit intense. The following summer I messed up my knee, so I didn't feel particularly compelled to try again.

This season, though, David, who also hadn't skied in about 20 years, decided he wanted to try again. So last week, he went with friends of ours while I was at work. This week, my Wednesday was free for the first time in 6 months, as I've been temporarily laid off from job #2 due to the economy (a first for me). David found a midweek deal at a resort within driving distance, so we got up early and headed out.

The deal included a 2-hour lesson, equipment rentals, and a limited lift ticket, which meant we could only use one lift to a fairly short trail. Seeing as it had been so long, it was a pretty good way to get my feet metaphorically wet again. I realized pretty quickly, though, that I was better than I remembered, most likely because I wasn't struggling with a slope way beyond my skill level. I expect all the years of yoga and taiji and learning to pay attention to what my body's doing helped, too. Whatever it is, it looks like we're going to have a new winter pastime.


16 February 2013

16 January 2013

Deathflake Lopapeysa

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It took me almost a year to finally get around to finishing this lopapeysu, but the frustrations along the way were so worth the final product. I had to redo the neck twice, and then I had to go back and completely rip out and redo the first sleeve after I realized it was too narrow. The perils of making it up as you go along, I suppose. Next time I go to Iceland, though, this is definitely going along, if nothing else so I can see what Icelanders make of the pattern. In fact, let's just get a close-up of that yoke.

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That's the totally kickass Deathflake motif (Ravelry link) paired with a Viking sword motif of my own design. A more badass lopapeysu you'd be hard-pressed to find.

10 January 2013

A Small Repair

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that a hole had opened up on one of my felted wool slippers (Haflingers - I heart them greatly).

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Life being what it is, I hadn't gotten around to doing anything about it, but it was bugging me, so this morning I grabbed a ball of Shetland Spindrift and a couple of 2.0mm dpns and...

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I also used the opportunity to practice knitting in reverse. I can do it almost (but not quite) as fast as I purl now and saved a little time by not needing to turn. It's a handy skill for working short rows. At any rate, felting up my little patch was a very quick affair, seeing as it's Shetland wool.

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Then all it took was a tapestry needle, a length of the Spindrift, and a little whip stitch action, et voilà!

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