Back from Vacation

 We made it back from a wonderful vacation at Pagosa Springs, Colorado. We explored the area a bit, saw the town of Pagosa Springs, and just kicked back and relaxed.  We stayed at Club Wyndom Pagosa while we were there, in a house right on the water. 

This is the view from the back yard of the house we stayed in. I took a picture of the sunset every day I was there, it was just so beautiful. It was pretty nice during the day as well.

This was the view one morning. We saw balloons almost every day, many of them doing a splash and dash on the lake. Most days were clear and calm, with this being the only morning that was cloudy.

This was also common view from our balcony.

The San Juan River runs through Pagosa Springs, with some of the hot springs flowing right into it. Some of these hot springs can be accessed free when walking along the river. This is the river about 7:30 AM as we drove through town, the steam natural hot water where it runs into the river.

There are a lot of spas in Pagosa Springs where you have to pay to enjoy the hot springs, with a large variety of accommodations - and prices. We went to Overlook Mineral Springs Spa, which is in a building built in 1908. By not being on the water's edge, they were more affordable than some. They have tubs on the roof, where you can soak, enjoy the sun, and overlook the San Juan River. We had a lovely time, though I had to buy a sun hat. The one I brought was left at the house...

The tatting I took with me turned out to be just too complicated to work on while on vacation. I was too distracted by talk and scenery to get anything done. Even making this much could get me in trouble by forgetting the stitch count or where I should join. 

I also goofed when I packed. I knew I would run out of thread, so I brought the ball so I could add more. Or so I thought.

Not quite. I couldn't even use it to make a two-tone piece. Ugh! That is the main reason I switched to purple thread and made earrings! 

Since we've been home, I've had a molar tooth extracted and the funeral of a close relative. Not a good week to get much done. I'm finally feeling well enough to concentrate on tatting, so I think I'll be doing more soon. I have a list.

I love travel, I love coming home, and I love the memories and pictures I acquire on the way. 

How about you? Do you like to travel?

"Travel becomes a strategy for accumulating photographs." Susan Sontag

On Vacation

 We are currently on vacation with friends in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. I have brought tatting with me - of course! - but I haven't had much time to tat. There have been too many other things to see and do. I did finally make a pair of earrings. 

The first earring started out as something else but I wasn't able to pay enough attention to what I was doing to continue. I decided I could get a set of earrings done by stopping where I was.

I thought they came out pretty good, even though there are a couple of spots I'm not happy with. But on a galloping horse a mile away you can't see them. 😄

When we aren't out and about seeing the area or watching the deer outside where we are staying, we play a lot of cards. We've been vacationing with these friends almost every year for over 10 years.  At the end of one vacation we're already wondering where we'll go the next. It's wonderful to have such good friends!

While here, we visited Chimney Rock and Great Sand Dunes. At Chimney Rock we made it all the way up to the Great House. I'm so glad we brought our walking sticks! At the Sand Dunes we made it up the first dune, quite a walk in that much sand. We've definitely got a lot of exercise in the week!

We have several more days to enjoy the area and time with our friends. What are we going to do next?

"In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed." Khalil Gibran https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/khalil-gibran-quotes

June Earrings

 I have several projects in mind, none of which I've started yet. For each project, I envision using a specific color of thread or color of beads, but I am missing at least one item for each project. Still wanting to tat, I made a pair of earrings that are not on my list.

While cleaning up a bit of tatting from some earlier time, I found an earring. But only one. I looked at the clothes for a shirt that I would like to match earrings to, located thread that would work, dug out beads that would look good with it, and started on a new pair.

I am not enamored of this pattern, which I knew when I finished the first one. It looked a bit different in the darker thread that was used in my find. It might also be I didn't follow the stitch count, which would lead to it being less pleasing to my eyes. Whatever the case, I made the matching earring so I had a pair. I might not be that pleased with it, but it looks okay. I will probably base another earring on this idea, making a few tweaks when I do.

I have been looking over the pictures I took on our family vacation a few weeks ago. I take a lot of pictures!  Of course, not all are good pictures, so I need to go through them and delete the bad ones. I am so glad they are digital! I can see them as I take them, as well as on the computer when I view them later. I don't have to wait days or weeks to get them developed and then find out they are out of focus, of the floor, or some other mistake. I can also take several shots at a time, and not worry about how many are good or bad. This makes for a lot of pictures to go through when I get home. 

I also get a lot of pleasure in finding the good shots, and remembering where and when it was taken. 

This is a view of the Colorado River close to the town of Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado. There is an easy hike here, which we took before we went to soak in the hot springs at the near-by spa. 

My husband, Jack, snapped this picture of the crew that went on the hike.

At least most of us looks like we're having fun!

They must have enjoyed the vacation, because before we all headed home they were talking of wanting to do this again. Joy!

"Time and memory are true artists; they remold reality nearer to the heart's desire." John Dewey

 

Family Vacation

 We just got back from a wonderful family vacation. I had meant to post a little something while we were gone, but I forgot to ensure I had the password to get into my blog. Oops! I didn't get much tatting done, anyway.

We started our vacation with a visit to an aunt and uncle, at their cabin west of Pueblo, Colorado. It was restful and so quiet! Mostly we just visited on their front porch and watched the critters pass by. They have several hummingbird feeders, which are well used. We also saw deer, squirrels, rabbits, and a lot of birds from the porch. Antelope were around, but only when we drove out to the valley. 

 This is the only tatting I can say I finished while we were gone. I took plenty of thread and shuttles, but time and energy for tatting was in short supply. Time was spent with family, not always doing but a lot of being together. Energy was in short supply after we did get around to doing things.

After a few days in the mountains by Pueblo we headed to Grandby, Colorado, to spend time with our daughters and their families. We arrived a day earlier than they did, so we drove around the area seeing it in June. We've been there a handful of times, but always in the fall. It is so different and green! There is also more water in the rivers and lakes, and snow on the mountains!

This is the view from Hoosier pass. It was getting late by the time we went through but we had to stop for the view and the obligatory picture by the sign.

In Grandby the family had a great time together in a beautiful setting. We played games, went out on the lake in a pontoon to fish, did some easy hiking, and just hung out together. It was fabulous.

One evening we enjoyed s'mores on the patio and a marvelous view. Good times!

Now we are back home in sweltering heat. The temperatures are in the 90's(F), with a lot of humidity. We're not even in the south! And it has rained every day, sometimes for hours, sometimes for just a few minutes. Since last night we got 1.75" of rain, with more expected over the next week. We've been in a drought for three years, but I'm ready for a break from the rain!

I have several tatting projects in mind now we are home for a while. With the temperatures so hot, I am happy to have things to do in the house.

How is your summer? 

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them." Desmond Tutu

Looking for Words

Happy New Year! I hope you all are having a good start to 2025. It has started well for me, but I’m having trouble coming up with inspiration to write.

I haven’t done a lot of tatting since the craft show at the beginning of December. We had many things going on to get ready for family get-togethers and a trip leaving me with little time to tat. After a while, I also didn’t have the desire to tat. This happens to me frequently after an intense time of creativity. I suppose my brain needs a rest.

After Christmas, my husband and I visited our daughter in Colorado. She and her kids had made it down for the family day, but couldn’t spend more than a full day before starting back. My husband and I decided to visit them before the new year. It was a wonderful visit! We spent most of the weekend playing games with the whole family. We also took a day trip with the grandkids to Estes Park and the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park.

      With the grandkids at RMNP

I did get a bit of tatting done on the drive back and forth to Colorado. Not much, but at least a shuttle was used.

Last of 2024 tatting

While we were gone my order from Tatting Corning came, which was thread I had ordered on Lisa’s 12 Days of Christmas sale. Maybe one of them will be inspiration to tat.

12 Days of Christmas order

Considering the weather here, I should have plenty of time to tat. We started getting icy rain at about 6:00 a.m. today, and it is supposed to continue through the night. Tomorrow it is supposed to snow all day. What better way to spend the time, right?

While we are stuck at home I should probably start taking down the Christmas things, though I’m not really ready to. They all make the house a little brighter. They also remind me of the memories made with them. This year I gave ornaments to my granddaughter and told her to decorate the tree. These ornaments included a stack of tatting, some of which I had just made, including wings for wine ornament angels. She thought the wings made wonderful decorations for the tree.

Angel wings on the tree

While I was busy tatting for the craft show I could think of so many things I wanted to work on besides the Christmas items. Did I write them down? No. Can I remember them now? No. I’ll start something soon, and maybe come up with what I should have written down.

What have you started your new year with?

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.” Neil Gaiman

Autumn Earrings

While working with all the threads in autumn shades, I thought it would be great to make some earrings. I have some really cute owl beads I wanted to use, so I tried a few different things in an attempt at earrings I like. Most didn’t work out as I envisioned but what I ended with looks okay.

Owl bead earrings

The split rings have a tendency to twist, but that’s the nature of split rings. They are fun to wear.

When you think of fall, Halloween, or Thanksgiving, pumpkins come to mind. I came up with these earrings.

Orange pumpkin earrings

I think I’ve seen patterns for pumpkins similar to these, but this is my take on them. I gave them to one of my daughters, who was thrilled to get them. She has a sweater that they look great with. Sometimes I get things right!

I’ve been working on several other tatted things, but I’m not quite ready to share them yet. So I’ll share a few pictures of our most recent vacation.

We spent the last week of September in Colorado with another couple. We rented a house together in Grand Lake, an area we’ve been to several times, but the first time in town. It was a terrific house with beautiful views.

The view south from the deck

This is the view south from the deck of the house, overlooking Shadow Mountain Lake. The colors were wonderful! I took pictures from this vantage every day so I can look back and see the changes in the trees. We loved the time we spent on the deck.

A magpie on the post

We had several magpies that came around the house daily and entertained us with their antics. Between the cost of gas and eating out, we spent a lot of time at the house instead of traveling around the area as we usually do. This was not a hardship. We took turns cooking which somehow is not so much of a burden when shared with friends. We also enjoy playing cards together, something we do every year on vacation with them. This year we just played a lot more.

I didn’t get much chance to tat while we were at the house but I took advantage of the chances I did have.

Tatting with a view

I sat by the big picture window to tat so I could enjoy the view and the light. It did rain a few times while we were there as you can see by the drops on the window.

Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park on wandasknottythoughts

One of the reasons we like the area around Grand Lake is how close it is to Rocky Mountain National Park. This gives us a chance to go into the park to see the wildlife, mostly the elk. We go in the fall so we can hear the elk bugle during the rut. It is exciting to hear!

On our way home from Grand Lake, we caught sight of a herd of bighorn sheep. Amazingly, they were on the outskirts of the Colorado town of Empire. They were obviously used to traffic, just keeping an eye on us but not running away.

Big horn sheep in Colorado

FYI, we do not approach too close to wildlife. We keep a safe distance from the animals to take pictures, usually staying in the vehicle. These sheep were very close, but we never got out of the truck.

We’ve had a hot and dry summer here, and most of the state is in extreme or exceptional drought. This morning we awoke to rain! It was not heavy and not much of it, but the right kind. If it had been much heavier it would have just run off instead of sinking into the ground. We’re hoping for more, but we will take what we can get. Sunday we had high winds with a lot of blowing dust and temperatures in the upper 80’s. Today the highs are supposed to be about 55° F with much less wind. Maybe autumn is finally here!

“Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.” Anthony J. D’Angelo

A tatting observer

This year on our vacation we stayed at the same cabin we did two years ago, beside Lake Granby, Colorado. The colors were changing, showing us a lot of fall colors in the trees and brush. We did have to detour both coming and going due to the forest fires around the state, but we were never in danger from them. The air was smoky causing the mountain views to look hazy most of the time. This did not stop us from enjoying our stay.

View from the porch

The view from the porch was still mostly green, but very inviting. We drove around to see the colors but spent a lot of our time at the cabin or fishing in Lake Monarch. I had a bit more time to tat and watch the wildlife. Do you see the two Stellar’s jays in the tree?

Some of the wild life was more friendly than others. The jays and the nuthatch liked checking us out to see if we left anything for them, but the ground squirrels and chipmunks were braver.

Curious ground squirrel checking out my tatting

This ground squirrel wasn’t sure just what I was doing while I was tatting, so came to check out the situation.

“Do you have something for me?”

I kept telling him I didn’t have any food, but he didn’t believe me.

He kept on getting closer to see what I was doing

Do you see those cheeks of his? He would get seeds and stuff himself, but was so greedy he kept coming back to see if I had anything.

He really wanted to know if I had something for him

I know he was looking for food but he really, really wanted to see what I was doing. I love sharing tatting and showing others how it’s done, but I’m pretty sure the squirrel wasn’t getting it.

This guy and several other ground squirrels and a handful of chipmunks kept us entertained the entire week with their antics and curiosity. These little guys were friendly from the time we got there. One of our friends fed them with critter food (nuts and seeds) so they became more and more friendly as the week went on.

Two years ago we saw a lot of moose and a fox at the cabin, this year we saw neither. We were sad that we didn’t see the fox this time, though it didn’t look young then. There were also a lot more people at the lake this year. A lot more. With the dry weather and wind, we also dealt with a lot more dust. This doesn’t mean we didn’t enjoy our stay – we did!

I always look forward to our getting away for vacation, and seeing the wildlife is a bonus. And even more so when they are up close and personal!

“I have great instincts, like the instincts of a squirrel. You know, like when you’re driving and a squirrel stops in the middle of the road.” Simon Helberg

What to tat while on vacation

Every year before vacation I start thinking about what I will take to tat while we are away. What thread, what patterns, what findings if necessary, and how many shuttles. And every year, when it’s actually time to leave, my mind goes blank. Maybe because there are so many other things to think about, but whatever the cause, it happens. This year I had thought I would be working on my china hutch edgings. Surprisingly, I had them all done before we left. The unfortunate part is that now I had to think of something else to take with me.

I checked what threads I had on shuttles, to see if any would inspire me to finish off those threads. It would be a handy way to empty them, right? I looked through my thread collection to see if any of them would spark an idea to create a new project. I tried to think back on my wish list of patterns I wanted to try (I wish I wrote them down!). I really didn’t want to take half of my thread or shuttle stash with me this time.

I finally settled on the green I had used for my recent ice drop, as both shuttles still had thread on them; a ball of Lizbeth 129, Purple Splender, because it looked fun; and a few others that tickled my fancy at the time. I also brought a small selection of findings in case I wanted to make earrings.

Vacation purple doodle

Just to get the juices flowing, I started with a little doodle in Purple Splender. The finding in the center I had recently picked up at JoAnn’s thinking they would be good for earrings. Not a bad doodle, but I only made one. So I put it on my billfold.

Vacation purple doodle on my billfold

Then I doodled a bit more. I’m thinking I might try and put this on my billfold as well.

The second vacation doodle

Then I picked up the shuttles with the green thread from the ice drop. And then I added just a little more thread because it got bigger. And then I added just a little bit more thread again because I thought I was almost done. Then I wasn’t, so added thread one more time.

Vacation snowflake 2020

This snowflake is the end result. I noticed that it has some kind of stain in the center after I had gone on to the second round. Not sure what it is, but it doesn’t want to come out. As this was tatted by a lake and while on a pontoon boat day trip, I didn’t get it cleaned and didn’t worry about it. I have no pictures of the individual rounds as I did them, just this one is as finished. Not bad for doodling.

I enjoyed some beautiful scenery while on vacation this year. We like to go in September to see the Aspens while they change into their fall colors and we were not disappointed this year.

View from a pontoon

Though the water levels of Lake Granby and the Colorado River were down a long way, it was still fun to mosey up the river while the guys fished and relax in the quiet and beauty of a pontoon trip.

Tatting at Lake Monarch

This is the view I enjoyed while tatting beside Monarch Lake.

Hiking trail by Monarch Lake

I did not take my tatting along when I hiked a little ways up this trail. The colors were so splendid and changed a little bit every day I could have gone back daily while we were there.

I have a lot more vacation photos I’d love to share, and I will share a few next week. Including one of an interested observer of my tatting.

“Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake.” Wallace Stevens

Pink vacation doily

Pink vacation doily start

I started this doily on the trip home from our Colorado vacation this year. The thread is size 10 Lizbeth #621 Dusty Rose Light. I hadn’t realized it was size 10 when I grabbed the ball before the vacation, but I was glad it was. It made it much easier to see and work with while traveling, as it was cloudy and rainy almost all the way home causing the light to be a bit uncertain. The larger size thread and the light color were great to work with in those conditions.

I came up with this center, not certain it was just a center. When I got this far I decided I’d try another round, see where it went.

Pink vacation doily round 4

My aim while tatting this was to keep it simple, something to keep my hands busy and still see some of the passing scenery without having to think too hard. I know that the scenery along I80 in western Nebraska isn’t all that interesting, but you never know what you might see when traveling. This fourth round fit the bill of not having to think too much.

Then it was a question of “is this done?” I decided the answer was “no” and tried another round.

Pink vacation doily 5th round

This round was easy also, the most complicated part – besides keeping the count right – was the Josephine rings and they aren’t hard.  I think this last round gives it a nice finished look. The size 10 thread leaves it at about 5 1/2 inches across.

I want to do this in size 20 though that will make the overall size smaller. I suppose it can be a coaster instead of a doily.

“Travel becomes a strategy for accumulating photographs.” Susan Sontag
www.brainyquote.com

I resemble this remark 🙂

Colorado tatting

The last week of September my husband and I joined some friends of ours for a week in a cabin in Colorado. We have vacationed with this couple multiple times, they are very long time friends. Like all the other times we’ve vacationed with them, we had a fantastic time.

During the eight hour drive from our place to Fort Collins, Colorado where we spent our first night, I did a little tatting.

Blue thread medallion with finding center

For all that I try to have a variety of tatting threads and miscellaneous items with me when we travel, I’m never sure what I’m going to work on after we leave the house.  Once we were on the road and I delved into my travel stash I found this finding and a shuttle that had this size 20 blue Lizbeth thread. I had thought to bring the ball with me so was able to tat this piece. I finished it the first evening.

After we started through the mountains I didn’t tat much due to the marvelous view. I had been afraid all the aspens and willows would have already changed colors and possibly dropped all their leaves before we got there this year – we are two to three weeks later in the year than usual – but there was plenty of fall colors still showing. We were so busy that I barely touched my tatting for several days.

Dark purple medallion

The next time I picked up my shuttles I made this small medallion in purple size 20. This was not a good choice to tat with. It is such a dark color it was hard to see the stitches while in the cabin, especially when I made a mistake and had to untat. I did finally get it done.

Pink vacation doily in size 10

The next time I started a project I chose the lightest color thread I had with me, size 10 light pink. I hadn’t realized it was size 10 at first, but it was a good choice. I started this on the way home and didn’t finish it until after we got home. This picture is not of the finished doily, I’ll share that later.

The cabin we stayed at had several chipmunks that were extremely friendly. We could see right away that had been fed before. My friend immediately decided to buy a bag of critter food (seeds, peanuts, corn). These little critters kept us entertained the whole week with their antics.

Chipmunk advice

I had one chipmunk come to check out my tatting. When he saw it wasn’t anything to eat he abandoned me in search of more tasteful things.

Curious fox

We had another visitor. This fox would come by twice a day. He would pose for us and gave us time to admire him through the cabin windows.

Bull elk in Rocky Mountain National Park

Our cabin is on one end of Grand Lake, just down the road from the west entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park. We bought a seven-day pass, which we used every day. There is a campground about 10 miles inside the par where it is very common to see elk, usually in the evening. One evening this magnificent bull elk was there keeping an eye on his harem. At one point he and one of his ladies ran past our truck so close he almost scratched the paint with his horns.

The trail to Cascade Falls

My husband and I took a hike one day on the trail to Cascade Falls. Did I mention that there was still a lot of fall color to be seen?

Colorado River west of Grand Lake

This is the Colorado River just before it enters Shadow Mountain Lake. My husband stopped the truck in the middle of the road so we could get this picture. The only thing I did to this picture is crop it to get rid of the window frame. I can hardly believe these gorgeous colors are real.

The timing for our vacation was right on. We caught the color change when we thought we would miss it. The weather was pretty warm for the end of September, but not hot. One week after we got home Trail Ridge Road, the highway through RMNP over the continental divide, closed due to snow.

It was such a wonderful vacation. But like all good things, it had to come to an end. We are now back to work with only memories – and a lot of pictures – to remind us of our beautiful week in the mountains.

“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.” Emily Bronte