Entrelac Hat Trick

In January, I blogged a few knitting plans. I am happy to report I have now accomplished one! (The others I am still working on)

Entrelac was the new technique I had chosen to learn this year. I bought the book,  Entree to Entrelac: the Definitive Guide From a Biased Knitter by Gwen Bortner. Having previously taken a class by Gwen, I knew I could teach myself entrelac using her book. She is a great instructor and her book has lots of wonderful pictures and lots of details.

But...after receiving the newsletter from the Tinsmith's Wife, and seeing they were offering an entrelac class  taught by  Gwen Bortner, I had to sign up!  What better way to learn a new technique than to have the queen of entrelac teach you?!!

It was a great two day class filled with knitting and learning about Entrelac (French word for interlaced). We learned  the basic components of entrelac, shaping in entrelac, using different stitch patterns in entrelac, and using different colors in an entrelac unit.

Gwen is a great teacher and after a full day of cramming new information into our tiny brains, she said ...

I am happy to say most of us finished our hats by the end of class... (another picture on Gwen's blog) ...

... I had to finish the braided ties and weave in all the ends... but here is a finished hat! in entrelac!!

AND Wait!!! there's more...
...not only did I have a wonderful weekend knitting and meeting new friends, but my best friend and soul mate went with me. While I was knitting away, he went exploring. After class on Friday, he took me to beautiful park he found.

We ate dinner Guenther's Biergarten Grill. I had the best sweet potato fries I have ever!!

You couldn't ask for a better weekend!

Snow!

Yes, we actually had snow today.
Ellie wasn't too sure about it. When we first went out, she sniffed it and tried to hop over it.
She did run through it and headed straight for the back door! It was fun to watch her hop around like a bunny.


Her little feet were ice cold. I didn't think she'd need doggy booties here in TX.

Guess I need to knit her a sweater!










I didn't think I'd see snow again unless we went back up north.
This snow is the best kind. It's beautiful falling and such a joy to watch. It's light and fluffy. And best of all... by 3pm it was all melted!!

Road Trip to...

Buffalo Gap, Texas
13 miles SW of Abilene
79.4 miles N of San Angelo
Population 446 (Salute!!)
So named because of all the buffalo that passed through. A point on the great western cattle trail.




On a cloudy morning, SuKnitWitty, two of her school mates, and I headed north. We were on a mission... we were going to the Pottery & Gallery of Buffalo Gap. It was filmed last October by Texas Country Reporter, Bob Phillips and one of the girls wanted to visit it. Sounded like a good day trip to me! (I'm always up for shopping)

After many winding roads through mostly desert looking terrain (yes, lots of cactus) and a field of wind turbines (really cool to see!), we made it...
We met the owner and potter, George Holland, who gave us an interesting and educational tour of the art of pottery making throwing pots. Since I have never seen or even tried anything pottery like, I enjoyed learning and seeing how it is made from start to finish.





And by finish I mean finish!! George demonstrated how to use the Egg Cooker to poach an egg and also cooked an omelet. I was sold!! I had to have one of the Microwave Egg Cookers. (and the Apple Cooker sounded neat too so I got one). There were many other pieces that I would love to have from a wine cooler to bowls but I will save them for another trip.

Yes, I have tried my Egg Cooker and can highly recommend it! It is great! I love omelets. Then of course I had to try the Apple Cooker. Let's just say I've had baked apples and ice cream for desert every night... wonderful! (oh, and please don't tell my doctor, I'm sure he wouldn't want to know about the ice cream)

Next came lunch. We ate enchiladas and tacos at Lola's. Very laid back. Usually you go in back and order your food and then go back to get it. But since we were first timer's they brought us menus and served us.

After a filling lunch, we toured the Historic District...

the jail

the cabin
the store

where we stopped for some refreshment...
mmmm.... good root beer
A very enjoyable trip. I must've talked non-stop to Don about it when I got home!

It is well worth the trip to visit George & Wanda Holland's Pottery & Gallery.

Texas Bluebonnets

The Texas State Flower: Bluebonnet

... found in fields and along roadsides throughout central and south Texas.

While visiting with the grandkids this past week, we went to our son-in-law's, twin brother's in-law's house for a cookout for their birthday. (try saying that one 3 times fast)
The in-laws built the log house seen in the background. It is gorgeous!! And the bluebonnets are everywhere.

The grandkids weren't too sure about getting in the flowers for pictures. And when we said sit down, they balked! The didn't mind sitting on your lap or standing in them but "horrors!" not sitting in them. It's just as well... I came out of there with a few bug bites!