Chilly weather

True, the weather here has been cold and damp. Evidenced by this sudden hail storm with round chunks of ice, some almost the size of golf balls, pummeling the ground. But when I get pictures like the one below, from my son in law, pictures of true winter in Anchorage, I am very glad to be back in "Cally", my grandson Jack's favorite word for Sunny California.

This is the frozen mouth of Ressurection Creek, around 50 miles south of Anchorage, Alaska.

Sweaters to Dog Beds

My friend gave me a lovely burgundy and navy sweater.  Well actually after telling him  5 or 6 times how beautifully it would felt up, he finally took it off and gave it to me.  Then my son in law came up with a gray and red striped one which he found, of all places, at the dump in Hope, Alaska.  My little Monty got a dog bed made from the dark one, and my daughter's Duncan got the striped one.  They match their personalities perfectly, Monty being a stylish guy and Duncan  a perennial puppy.  

Felting Below Zero

I didn't have my blog when I was in Anchorage, Alaska in January.  But I do now so I'll talk about the wonderful Nuno Felt Workshop I taught at the Knitting Grounds .  Last year my dear friend Zaynab urged me to teach a workshop at her beautiful shop. This January was my second time teaching in Anchorage, and I love it.  Here I am with my terrific students who all had a wonderful time in our workshop which I dubbed, "Felting Below Zero"! The knit shop was a warm and cozy retreat from the below zero temps that persisted the whole time I was in Anchorage.  I lived in Anchorage for 15 years and can't remember a winter when we had below zero temps for weeks on end.

But summer in Anchorage is the best, and we are working on a Nuno Felt workshop/retreat in Hope , a charming old gold mining town just outside of Anchorage, this summer.  My daughter and son in law have a sweet cabin in Hope where they spend as much free time as they can, so I can combine my two loves, family and felting in one Alaskan weekend.    I'll keep you posted on those developments.

As for workshops in the immediate future:  I have two 2 day workshops planned to be held in my San Diego studio,  March 22 & 23, and April 2 & 3.  I will also be doing one in Phoenix the weekend of March 28 & 29.  For anyone interested, just email me hilltopbeader@cox.net