Hello, Spring!

Finally, a nice weekend!  Spring has been sooooo slow to arrive--in the past week, the temperature has rarely risen above 45 degrees, although it was a bit drier than the previous week.  Even still, we managed to wake up to snow one morning.  

This weekend, we finally had our first day over 60 degrees.  As we sat in downtown Moscow yesterday afternoon, it seemed the whole town was breathing a collective sigh of relief that spring had, in fact, arrived.  People were juggling, playing accordions, gathering signatures for the latest issue du jour, and generally enjoying themselves.  It was absolutely marvelous.  I was so ready for spring.  I love it all--I love waiting in anticipation for my bulbs to bloom.  I love being able to spend more time outdoors.   I love the longer days and working in my garden and getting to wear clothes that haven't seen the light of day since September.  I love bike commuting and hiking.  I love open windows and sunshine.  Hurry, spring, hurry!

These pictures were taken last week during a break in the weather pattern, but give a glimspe of how beautiful the Palouse is this time of year.

I'm pretty sure my husband will be on the cross circuit with a relative of this crop duster come fall.

Paradise Ridge

Looking towards Moscow Mt.

Palouse Green!

Can you see Oregon??

One of the most photographed barns in Eastern Washington!

Spring creek.

Palouse Patchers

The annual Palouse Patchers Quilt Show is at the Fairgrounds this weekend.  I don't quilt, and I don't have any urges to start, but I do really love quilts.  I appreciate a handcraft that is both beautiful and functional.  I have inherited or been given a few heirloom quilts and we use them, gently.  They remind me of the hands that worked them and the thought and feeling that went into each one.


The Quilt Show had some beautiful entries this year, although I am mainly going to brag about quilts made by my friends.


I do not know who completed this quilt, but it was an award winner.  I especially love the three-dimensional pinecones in the upper right corner of the center image.

This quilt is a historical quilt from the 1930s.  If I had been on top of things, I would have entered one of my old quilts in the "antique quilt" category.

I believe Celia made these little wall hangings.  Right after the quilt show, we went to her husband Jim's book signing.  It was not about quilts.

I can't remember who quilted this dramatic little number.

Another Celia quilt--this one with embroidered vegetables.

I Iove this one made by my friend Sarah.   She has been working on it for a while.  It "breaks rules" by appearing to not have straight lines.

This is an embroidered redwork quilt top signed by the artist--H.W., Feb. 2, 1905.

Detail of the redwork embroidery.

This triptych of quilts were designed, crafted, and quilted by my friend Wendy.  They are based on sidewalks she saw in Europe.  The quilt in the center even has some broken sidewalk tiles!  (I will say, when I saw her working on the center quilt, my initial thought was that it was fish scales, since Wendy works with fish).

This quilt (started by Nancy) has a border done by each of the quilters in the Sanity Seekers quilt group. 

I especially love the little lion.  He's...happy. 

Wendy's quilt with borders from the Sanity Seekers.  I love the dead fish!

Jackie's quilt with borders made by the other S.S's.

Two more Sarah quilts.  Love the batik!

Finally a unique quilt by someone who's name eludes me.  It's a view of a river canyon...from a cave.

In the Canyon

Yesterday we went to see a rowing regatta.  Washington State University was hosting the University of Washington for the Apple Cup of crew.  WSU's boathouse is on the Snake River near Wawawai.  It was an absolutely beautiful morning, and ten degrees warmer in the Canyon than up on the Palouse.  

I am not originally from the Northwest; I grew up in Virginia.  Even after living here for over a decade, I still feel like an expatriate when I descend into the river canyons.  The scale of the landscape, and at times, the barrenness, still takes my breath away.  I also love the mystery--what seems like a forbidding landscape is at times, achingly beautiful and covered with wildflowers.  The rivers have mostly been tamed, but something of the shadow of earlier epochs remains.  Women digging camas root.  Hunters on the wintering grounds.  Floods and fires. 

I spent some time during the regatta trying to figure out my camera.  It has more bells and whistles than my last camera, and I still haven't learned what some of them do.  

A couple shots of the rowing teams as they went past the point.

 Looking up at the top of the canyon.

One of the fancy image setting on my computer.

I like the sky in this picture.  Unfortunately, the Coug moms in the foreground ruin it a bit.

 

On My Needles...

The weather this past week has been unruly at best, downright discouraging at worst.  Other than on the first of the month, it has been windy and cold with intermittent bouts of rain, sleet, or grapple.  This weather precludes bike rides, gardening, and most trips to the park (walks around the neighborhood are still fine).   We managed to get in a kite flying and soccer session on Sunday, which was excellent, although our fingers were just about frozen by the time we came in.  Needless to say, we are ready for warmer weather.

However, the cold weather has been good for one thing:  knitting.  I'm working on two projects right now (not counting the project that has stalled out for months).  The first one is a long-promised scarf for a friend.  I'm knitting it with vintage mohair from the 60s (cookie monster blue, of all colors!) and recycled sari yarn I recently purchased at the Yarn Underground.  The mohair has an interesting history.  My grandmother, who volunteers for the Kingman County Historical Society in Kansas, was helping to sort through the estate of a woman named Sadie Journey who had volunteered countless hours and donated many items to the Kingman County Museum.  Grandma was deciding which items should go the museum, and which should be given away to individuals who could use them or to charity.  She ran across about 20 balls of mohair, in a variety of colors.   I had just started knitting, and she sent the balls to me to encourage me in my new hobby.  Nine of the balls were cookie monster blue.  It took me a while to decide what to do with yarn that has such...personality...but eventually I decided to make scarves and weave in a variegated ribbon of color to create an accent.  They've turned out surprising well, kind of eclectic and charismatic.

 The other item I am knitting is a summer sweater for me--the Dimple V-Neck sweater designed by Lucinda Snyder.  The pattern is in the book Pure Knits by Yahaira Ferreira.  I love her original design in white, but I wanted something with a little more color.  I chose to use Nature Spun sport in Mango and French Clay.  The latter color truly does remind me of the roof tiles used in the southern French city, Toulouse, where I once spent part of a summer.  I know that once the weather warms up, I will be less inclined to knit, so I'm trying to finish the sweater quickly! 

  

Waiting for Spring

Mother Nature played an April Fools's trick on the Palouse.  Friday was beautifully sunny and warm, just the kind of spring day I have been aching for.  The weekend, however, was a different story.  Saturday had high temperatures in the low 40s with 30 mph wind gusts.  We made a gallant effort to be out and about, giving local merchants in downtown Moscow some business as we slipped, windblown, in and out of the shops.  I managed to rack up a lot of raffle tickets for the "Bagless Campaign" run by Buy Local Moscow.  I am getting much better about remembering to always have a few shopping bags in the car with me (and sometimes even in my purse) so that I don't have to bring home yet another paper or plastic bag!


Because the weather was marginal, at best, my husband spent some time this weekend replacing the flooring in our office.  We now have a beautiful cork floor.  Cork is wonderful as a flooring material--I almost wish we had it instead of carpet in the bedrooms.  It is warm, soft, and sustainable.  Not to mention the fact that it looks lovely!


I spent yet more time researching options for our "West 80"--the area behind our fence that leads down to Paradise Creek.  Right now it is a bed of weeds, with a few nice plants and trees thrown in the mix.  I would like to have the entire area be native Palouse prairie plants, that require no work on our part--i.e. no mowing or watering.  I am told that is possible, but the existing vegetation will have to be removed first.  I am planning to work in sections, but this is beginning to look like a two year project at least.

That is a wild rose bush next to the gate.

Hillslope to the left of the stairs (as you descend)

I've planted several current bushes and a chokecherry on this slope.  Note the burm of yard waste that needs to go.