Not like the movie.

This trip has involved planes (two, because of a connection through BWI), trains (two, again because of a connection, plus one for the return trip), and automobiles (technically, two were buses) because I came into Boston early so I had time to visit friends before a conference began.  Not at all like the movie, and had we thought ahead supper might have involved a sunset cruise, but instead a friend and I enjoyed some photograph-worthy ice cream.

September's alternative flower.

It seemed appropriate to put this one together on a "September Morn".

I pulled out the special pieces and they are nearest to
the puzzle box.  Turns out, I missed one!

When I put together the puzzle, I found this little bird.

In case you are wondering, while aster is usually identified as the flower for September, morning glories are a recognized alternative.

All those bits of history.

When I was a child, in 1976 there were Bicentennial Minutes, with snippets of history.  This year we have 250 to 250, another series of history, some of which may overlap the earlier set but many show the broader interest and knowledge that people have today.

OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) created a list of non-fiction books about the USA from every year since 1776 that is the most widely held in libraries today.

Major League Baseball has its own set of 250, with 25 Top Ten lists.  I haven't seen any by the National Football League or others, but I haven't looked at most other sports.

Remembering.

Twenty-five years ago it was.  So many people remember where they were "when the world stopped turning", as one song recounted, just as earlier generations remember Pearl Harbor or when John F. Kennedy was shot.

I was about to leave for work when my mother called and told me to turn on the television.  "Which channel?" I asked.  "Any of them," she said.  And I knew it had to be bad.

I watched the second tower fall, and went to work, and it was a subdued day.  They told us to leave early as it was clear work was not getting done.

So much has happened in the 25 years since that day.  I have been hearing and reading the commemorations all week, and it's still a lot to absorb, and a lot to remember.  All the towns and countries that stepped up to house and feed and help people whose flights were detoured.  All the people who went to the sites and started cleanup, and made repairs, and memorials.  The people who helped others get out, the ones who "rolled" on the flight in Pennsylvania.

In the last couple of days, I've noticed contrails in the sky during my morning walks.  In the days after 9/11 (and that's all you need to say in the USA, people know which year) when planes were down, we didn't see contrails.  There were studies about the effect on weather and climate.

And when we did see contrails again, it seemed a sign that things were going to heal.  They still have not, and in some ways things are worse, but it was a sign of hope.

When planning this post, I kept thinking about more to say, but somehow the words seem inadequate.  American pulled together in 2001, and the world pulled with us, and I wish we could get back to that mutual support instead of the divisions we have now.

C2C x2

I like doing C2C (corner-to-corner) crochet pieces, because they move fast and look pretty in striping yarns.  Many years ago I purchased a number of cakes of a now-discontinued yarn with the idea to make a blanket, and decided this year to get it done to donate at DFW Fiber Fest.*

For portability, I made the blanket in strips and sewed it together, as shown in a previous post.  This is the finished blanket:

Blanket laid across the king-sized bed in my hotel toom.

I also made a little C2C baby blanket for a friend who became a first-time grandmother this summer.  She is artistic and loved sparkle and COLOR and I decided to make a blanket with a heart in it.  Have I ever made a patterned C2C blanket?  No.  Did that stop me?  Obviously, also "no".

I wanted to send something to the parents for the baby to use when not at the grandmother's house, and since the mother is also artistic (a gifted singer and songwriter like her mother) and was doing the baby room in green and tan, I knew I had the perfect blanket in stock:

According to my friend, the mother raved about how pretty and soft it is.  Glad they appreciate it.  They also liked receiving the yarn label with washing instructions, something I think is very important.

* Usually Warm Up, America! is there but after a difficulty they did not participate this year.  Instead I gave the items I made for them to T.H.R.I.V.E., which welcomed the blanket for a stand-down in Alaska.  I've made scarves for them the last two years of "Americana" yarn, which is appreciated, and it turns out they help veterans' families also so don't need the limited colour options most veterans collections prefer.

Other items I donated:

  

  

All items received praise from the person collecting, who turned out to be the CEO of the organization!  Very happy they will be going to people who can use them.  The soap sacks are given to homeless and semi-housed veterans, and I was told that they receive donated soap but I like to be sure there's a bar to include.

Let's Raise A Glass.........

DFW Fiber Fest is twenty-one years old.  People kept joking about how the event is now old enough to drink alcohol.  Often people ask if I thought it would last this long, and I tell them that I knew if it survived the first two years, we would probably make it.  I did NOT expect it to be as large as it is - classes on two floors of the Irving Convention Center, with vendors filling the ground floor, and over 800 unique students.

The four founders, or "emeriti", at dinner last year.
I am holding one of the original shirts we all wore.

This is us around Year 2.  Fourth founder took the photograph.

The four of us had many struggles and tests of faith in those first couple of years, but we persevered and have been grateful to all who came after to serve on the Board and otherwise volunteer.  It's nice to come back as a student - and yes, I do still volunteer, usually on Sunday.

This year I took a number of classes, including one where we used the same plant (madder) and mostly the same dyepot, to achieve a dozen differed shades by using different mordants (or none) and maybe a treatment after dyeing:

I also did a bit of shopping; Day 1 (except the variegated skein, which I brought to try to find a coordinating colour), Day 2 (mostly from my favourite handspinner), and Day 3:

The grey handspun combines many fibers and is very soft.
Bags are from Erin Lane and the bottom show are show fabric.

Top right is called "Project Hail Mary", one of a series the dyer
based upon current scifi writing, and bottom right is a skein
of bright colours that I really like, and there was just the one.

Book was free, from a box that the Dallas Public Library
brought of de-accessioned materials.
Hanks at left are show colourway I plan to use together.

On the way home I added a Vikkel Braid, using the technique I'd learned in one of my classes, to the Convergence Hat I worked on between classes.  The pattern was designed by Alissa Barton many years ago for DFW Fiber Fest and combines crocheting and knitting.  A bit fiddly but a fun result.

The teacher saw my post, responded and
shared it - I'm chuffed!

Music and a monsoon.

I've spent a week in New Mexico, mostly for the Santa Fe Opera but also visiting family in Albuquerque.  Somebody asked whether we were making a left turn, and I shared this photo from the place we ate breakfast:

I was too busy enjoying events, family, friends, and driving to take photos, but I made sure to snap one of the set for Madama Butterfly, because it really took advantage of the scenery:

And I took a yoga class, which was at the top of our hotel in the Bell Tower Lounge:

Some knitting happened, but no yarn acquisition, in part because of timing (I worked days and then spent the evening at the opera), in part because I haven't used all the yarn I purchased last year, and in part because DFW Fiber Fest occurs the coming weekend and I know I'll buy yarn there!

As for the monsoon: the first opera we were seeing had just begun when lightning flashed in the distance.  We watched the ominous clouds with trepidation.  On the one hand, New Mexico has been extremely dry and they desperately need water.  On the other hand, the Crosby Theater is open to the elements, as the photo of Madama Butterfly's set shows.

The performance continued, and the sky darkened with more than just dusk.  Then the lightning came closer, and thunder rolled, and we had a sprinkle - followed quickly by a deluge.  People pulled on jackets, then scrambled to more sheltered areas because the rain was blowing horizontally through the theater.  My mother and I stayed put, because she doesn't walk well and cannot do stairs, so we would have to cross an open and now-dangerous plaza.  I noticed a couple people across the aisle had umbrellas open, but kept low.  I looked around and we were the only people in our part of the section, except for one couple behind us and over a few seats, who were under an umbrella.  I pulled out one of ours, and my mother and I - now bundled in the sweatshirts we'd brought for the late-night chill, plus a wool shawl I happened to bring - huddled under it.  To their credit and our amazement, the orchestra and performers continued.  We saw some black-clad stage crew crawl onstage between scenes with towels to mop.

By the end of the act, the rains had slackened enough that staff came out with push brooms to move water off the walkways, and towels to dry seats.  Eventually other patrons returned.  The opera wound to its conclusion, with standing ovations and cheers to the performers and orchestra for persevering.*  We went to the hotel with the car seat heaters engaged, spread wet clothing everywhere in the room, had hot showers and cocoa (tea for me) and got into our dry pajamas and warm beds.

Luckily the other nights were drier (just some sprinkles, one of them, and another had rains beginning as we left) so we enjoyed the performances without peering around the edge of an umbrella.

*We later learned that they had almost cancelled the performance due to air quality because of the smoke from wildfires, but the storm cleaned the air quite well and it wasn't an issue the rest of the week.