Nature as my backdrop.....

Before I start on this update I want to share with you a little history of mine. I have been an outdoor girl for as long as I can remember. Anywhere from playing as a young child to hiking the Rockies as a teenager. At age 41 I have strong memories and connections to the land. When I need time I find a spot in nature. When I need to think or ponder I walk the trails near by. I have a vivid memory of my second trip to the Boundary Waters. This trip was already unique in the sense our group decided to use a 12 man canoe. Portaging it took 6 of us. On a brisk morning we set out for the next portion of the trip. All packed and site cleaned for the next adventurers. Sitting in the canoe and hearing the oar hit the water. The sound became a song in my head. The lead canoe had stopped and soon we had our canoe in sync. In front was a family of bears. A mom and two cubs swimming across the lake. No words can explain the beauty I was seeing. This moment is stuck with me.

Today, I did a few house chores and set out to photograph my pieces. Being a nature nut and all things natural I headed to the Palisades State Park. I wanted to feel the air and sun and have it lead me to where my shoot would be. I stopped for a brief moment to admire the birds at play.

As I set out on the first trail my eyes were pulled to this moss covered rock along side an old stone wall. I looked through my treasures and immediately pulled out my mohair and alpaca creations. I soft and lofty newborn photo prop set. After adjusting my camera for the light and clearing the leaves this patch of moss was the perfect backdrop.

Having the sun in front of me and watching others enjoying the day brought me even further into the trails. I saw many spots but waited until I was drawn in to the next one. I was thinking of the wrap set with the art yarn tie back headband. The colors in this set just pop. I was a little bit artsy with this set adding glass discs to the front with a wooden button. I wanted the lighting to hit those glass discs just right. What do you think? Is this a keeper? The wrap is hand dyed with non-toxic dye using the hand dip dying process.

I decided to take the trail to the north and up over the ridge. In this area there is a beautiful overlook. The overlook looks down over the Cedar Rapids River. It was so pretty today to see new life budding on the trees and popping up through the leaves.
Spring was definitely on my mind when I knit up this next set. The beanie is made with a light worsted merino and the the wrap in one of my hand dyed ones. It sat for while in my cupboard for a few weeks since I was unable to decide how to finish it off. Once I saw this pretty pink fabric next to it I knew it had to be!

Needing to take a short break to rest I decided to admire the flowers that were peeking out from the ground. I must admit slowing down and thinking of all things yet to come is joyous. You see today and these items are more than just ready for sales but they are some of the last items I have knit before going in for more biopsies. I am more than ready for these biopsies and the next step in my health plan. Having an illness isn't a sad thing for me. My illness is apart of my life and well actually apart of all who know me. So today I sit and admire the flowers and the sounds of the birds.  But I sit and wonder on many things I start to realize I can only submit four items in this next ready to ship and they must be the right four. You see I am a guest vendor this coming week over at Little Bit Knits https://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-Bit-Knits . She has a weekly Ready to Ship called "Open Market" with a select group of vendors and each week she has a guest vendor!
The next photo prop treasure is for the Lil" Man. I was shocked and laughing when I learned merino wool and moss is like Velcro. This cute little tie is actually on a side of a tree! The wrap is a vintage flour sac I found one day on a antiquing adventure.

The last two items were photographed on my way back down the hillside. Not sure if a photo was going to be taken for them until I found this shady area where the sun was shining through just so. These two beanies are new creations to my line. After talking with The Fine Lime https://www.facebook.com/TheFineLime she came up with this amazing yarn for me. It is not Thick N' Thin or even regular worsted. It is a thick chunky worsted that I L.O.V.E. and I am anxious to make lots more of these. I made one with wooden bobbles and I think the bobbles will be seen even more as well.

 

 

One of these will not be in the sale. But with all things knit there will be an event just waiting for it! Once I got home and cleaned up just a bit more. I set out to work on a little guys blanket and hat that is slowly being done on my needles. Next week will be a busy one. There are several sales and several giveaways underway. Check often over on facebook for the updates and instructions in entering the giveaways. If you missed the post on the giveaways I listed a label here for you to click on:)  Until next time, have a fabulous week!