It's hot...again

The past week has been really nice, but the heat and humidity are on again!  I met with a student last week and she is working on a brioche knitting project.  Brioche is my knitting kryptonite by sucking all the fun out of my knitting.  The end result of the technique is visually striking, but I find it fiddly to get through the process.  It was time to pick up needles and contrasting yarn to give it another go, so I am now knitting the boot cuffs.  Early yesterday morning I finally found a video that showed the technique beautifully and I could watch it without sound!   Since the photos were taken, the knitting has been frogged no less than five times and this morning, I chose a blue heather wool instead of a contrasting ball of Kureyon.  Getting the hang of the technique just takes patience.  Now that I understand the construction of the stitches, I can work on my muscle memory.

It is tempting to call this an ugh project, but I do love the contrasting Noro colors together.  

Yesterday was a busy day in a good way.  the weather was beautiful for painting outdoors, I had lunch with a friend, sent in my class fee for a fun class on Monday with another friend, and then went to the shop.  The painting session was not as long because of lunch, but I managed to get a good start on a small painting of my favorite willow tree.  In the short time I was able to paint the light changed considerably.  Snapping photos with the phone was helpful and the sun was peeking through on the willow's bark in the last photo.

After I set up the easel, I snapped a photo.

The light changed considerably within a half hour.

I was happy to see the bright spots of light on the bark toward the end of the painting session.

 Last week I had the urge to use a couple of the foraged sticks from camping trips for weaving.  The small stick was one from a few years ago when I saw stick weaving at Shepherd's Harvest.  Andrea had it as a children's activity and I thought it looked like fun.  I used handspun scraps.  In that same vein of creativity, I borrowed the lap loom from Mary and warped it with some cotton.  This will be a small tapestry landscape.  It looks amazing in my head right now.