WINTER--One More Time

Winter is still barking at us here in the WV panhandle. I drove the 15 miles of twisty, hilly roads to work this morning--probably the worst road conditions of the winter. Even the road crews are tired of plowing, I think. No plowing or salting had been done to Rt88, my commute route, but luckily most travelers were heading toward Wheeling, and I was traveling away from...so there weren't many bad drivers going my direction and I was able to get up and down all the hills safely.

And still it snows. Here are a couple of shots from my office windows. As the world turns, I have a beautiful commute to work each day, even in the snow, and my office is surrounded by giant oaks which inspire me in every season. My library is on a very lovely campus and I count this a great blessing. My previous job of 20 years was spent in a windowless basement of an ugly cement building.


Classes for today have been cancelled, so we won't be very busy with students and I can get caught up on budgets and strategic plans.


But I also have a little time to play with Blogger and keep my technology skills sharp, i.e. this blog is my continuing education project. ;)

My little show at the coffee shop received great reviews (locally) and most important was an invitation to have a show in September at a bigger venue, the local artists co-op gallery. Yippee!

That means I have a few months to get some new work together, both clay monoprints and art quilts. I am very excited and encouraged by this opportunity, so much so that I have been stocking up on pigments for the printing and fusing fabrics so that I'm ready to go on the quilts.

Currently in the workshop I have a traditional quilt, the African Twisted Sisters project, that I am chipping away on. Most of the top is pieced and ready for borders. While it is satisfiying like a jigsaw puzzle to work on, it does not feed the soul and I am chomping at the bit for some time to be in color which is how I feel I work with cloth & clay.

The needles are not at rest either. I finished the Irish Hiking Scarf on Sunday; it was a knit from your stash project and probably the first Xmas '07 gift to be completed. Now I am again working from my stash, and am back to sox because they are so wonderfully portable. Here is the first sock of a pair for me and not for sale of for gifting. I am using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Socks, a yarn that I bought at Purl Soho last summer. This is by far my favorite sock yarn--so yummy. I am using 2 Turbos and the knitting is fast. Who knows, maybe I'll finish them while the cold weather lingers!

And finally, the traveling sock is at work with me
today. It is a welcome companion as well as a talisman reminding me that while one part of me is working and doing the professional thing, another part is planning for those precious, colorful hours in the workshop.