Going to Kansas to see Oklahoma

We went to Wichita, Kansas (the real place) to see "Oklahoma!" (the musical). My lovely niece got the lead as Laurey and the family was thrilled. Happily, we were able to show our support by attending a performance. It became our mini-adventure. Here we are outside the Wichita Art Museum; I'm taking the shot....

Spoiler warning: I should note that there was no knitting on the trip. I didn't have the presence of mind to contact the airlines about bringing knitting needles on board and, I decided, I would give my wrists a break and do something else. I read three mystery novels over the long weekend, including a knitting mystery set at an alpaca ranch in Colorado.

Getting to Wichita: there are no direct flights to Wichita and we had a two-hour layover at the Denver Airport. After the security ordeal at San Francisco's airport, we made sure not to leave the secure zone for passengers. Imagine our delight on discovering that Wolfgang Puck had a cafeteria in the airport. Salads and sandwiches were made to order and were very filling. The other offerings--soup, mac-and-cheese, pasta, or pizza--though cooked ahead were still tasty and comforting to a weary traveler. (In fact, one of our party was looking forward to our return and a chance to eat at Wolfgang's again!)

While there was no knitting, there was a lot of commotion around cats. Our home security cameras have an internet feature so we were able to log on during the trip to check up on the house. We also got a glimpse into the daily lives of our cats. They're comatose most of the time. The highlight was seeing one of them eating at the kitchen feeder. I can't quite believe that we traveled all those hundreds of miles to watch grainy images on a computer of cats sleeping. DOH? Not on a computer screen was the beautiful weather outside. It was hard to imagine that it was still tornado season.

It was very interesting to get a glimpse into the nomadic life of professional actors. The cast was young and from all over the country. They put on a great show. It was rewarding to see my niece mature as an actress and take this step to grow professionally. It was a good opportunity for the extended family to spend time together. We were able to do a number of things in the Wichita area and enjoyed the city. I can even make recommendations. If you're ever in Wichita: have breakfast at the Good Egg, visit the Wichita Art Museum to see the Chihuly glass installation, and go to Riverfest (in mid-May).

Fore! Down with boring golf club covers

I seem to be the only non-golfer in my family, but I am the most prolific knitter. It's a good thing that the golfers are (usually) receptive to my unconventional club covers. All three club covers were knitted with acrylic worsted weight yarn and Lion's Fancy Fur for the yellow club head section. Acrylic 4-ply is not my favorite yarn, but it seems to hold up to the (mis)use while golfing and to machine washing. I once used Lion Brand's Woolease (per a pattern direction), but the yarn was not hardy enough and the club cover got damaged and soon unraveled. I guess, while on the links, a golfer's attention is on other things and not on the care of the golf club cover. My next goal is to work on putter covers. I think I'll do more with the white "circle" motif. Being of a literal mind set, they remind me of golf balls. Can't take credit for it's invention, though. The original design is by Mary Anne Thompson from Knitter's Socks, Socks, Socks edited by Elaine Rowley. Fore!

Knitting while wind surfing

I always liked the advice that a former surfer gave us at a business conference once: be loose in the knees. Never having surfed, I have to imagine what it would be like on that board on the water. And, in my sometimes too predictable life, I have to force myself to still see the waves and paddle out to ride them.

On my commute to work, I drive past a very nice nursery. It's one of those nurseries that grows it's own plants for sale. Well, last week they had posted an enticing notice on their sign: Crafters Wanted. So I called. There was going to be an Open House with free BBQ, discounts on plants, and a small crafts fair so I left my name. By the time they responded to my calls, I had decided that they didn't need me. But I was in. Best of all, they had waived any fees and I had the table and a tent for free. I spent a long night, picking and choosing things to take and packing it all up in my car.

At 7:30 Saturday morning, my husband and I drove out there, got our assigned tent and set up. Well it was a small crafts area. The three other crafters were very friendly and none of us duplicated each others' wares. There was free BBQ and pop, and a steady stream of customers that bought plants and also wandered through our tents. By the end of the day, we all felt so encouraged by our experiences that we agreed to return the next day.

On Sunday, the weather was warmer but the wind began to blow much harder than it had the day before. Although the nursery encouraged us to borrow plants and decorate our booths, I decided against it when the plants in the other booths began to blow over. Then the tents began to lift off. Gripping the metal pole and trying not to blow away myself, I wondered what I was doing there. But the gusts eventually broke and a short time later, a little knitting circle formed in my sagging tent. A friend came by with her knitting and two girls from the day before came back with their needles and yarn. They were beginners having gotten a few lessons from their grandmother and were not totally comfortable with the craft yet. But they were interested in learning and were very sweet and pleasant to be around. I was a little sorry when they had to leave. (Okay. You can read between the lines. If I had time to have a knitting group, where were the paying customers?)

Well, I like that I was able to paddle myself out of my routine. I stayed open to the opportunity despite the initial lack of details and contact, which was not easy for me to do. And there was that very real wind.... Be loose in the knees, man. I sold some of my scarves, met some interesting people (and made some of them laugh), made the list of vendors for their (indoor!) Christmas Open House, and enjoyed knitting with friends. What's that term.... Priceless!

More on Bibs

Well, it has become something of an obsession: this knitting of baby bibs. I now have more bibs than new babies to award them to. Oh well. I'm sure that's not really a problem. My favorite pair are still the peas and carrots.

I'm also trying to develop a bib that features a bunch of grapes and another with cherries. The right design for the stem and leaves continues to elude me, but I have a new idea that I will work on tonight. Best of all, I found the bunch of grapes buttons already! And I know where to find the cherries.... (I swear, K, I'm not designing bibs around the buttons!)