Colorado Trip: Colorado Springs

So while in Colorado Springs, we had to see the sights.

The Air Force Academy. After Pike's Peak, it's one of the first tourist destinations people think of when they think of Colorado Springs. 

I love the symbolism in older or larger churches.  Part of why I love visiting cathedrals.  This one had its share as well.  Not as much religious symbolism in the overall building, since several faiths are served by the one building, but symbolism nonetheless.  The building uses a lot of aluminum, like the large cross in the Protestant Chapel.  The aluminum is meant to reference planes (Air Force Academy, after all).  And the backs of the pews have a strip of aluminum similar to the edge of a fighter plane wing.  The ends of the pews in the Protestant Chapel too, which are sculpted to resemble old airplane propellers. There are more specific examples in each of the individual chapel rooms, making it a very interesting building to visit.

 

Oh, and in the Catholic chapel there?  A statue built on a computer reconstruction from the shroud of Turin.  I couldn't get a picture of the statue itself, being in the chapel, but there's a view of the finished statue in the description below.  The display outside the room went into how they reconstructed the 3-D image from the shroud.  It was really cool!

 

Back into Downtown, a more unusual stop we made was the Money Museum, home of the American Numismatic Association.  C'mon - you knew we'd have some geeky museum stops too!  This one had some interesting exhibits, really, especially for someone who's collected coins for years.  They have a large permanent exhibit on the History of Money (yes, they have one of those giant rock coins) and the temporary exhibit was on money in the Civil War.  And did you know there is a Numismatist Hall of Fame?

The last real "sight" in town were the trail runs we took.  Colorado Springs is a brilliant place to live if you like being active and outdoors.  Besides the trails in the mountains just outside town, there are hiking and biking trails running all over the city.  Our friends live under a quarter mile from one of these, so several times during our stay we went out for a run to enjoy them.

With the hills in Colorado Springs, it's very easy to get up above the rooftops (or a lot of them, at least) and it gives you a great view.  Running at dusk meant that we got both gorgeous sunsets and wildlife coming out.  Kinda crazy turning a corner and seeing 9 deer just having dinner during your evening run!

 

 

After visiting my in-laws who live near a park and visiting our friends here, I have to say that having easy access to running trails is VERY high on my list of things to look for when we move next!

Colorado Trip: Garden of the Gods

First stop in Colorado Springs was shopping, actually.  So nice being in a town that has shops for our hobbies again!!  For example, both Zach and I needed to be fitted for new running shoes, but our closest running store at home is in Austin, about an hour away.  So we made sure to stop by one of the (4!!) running stores in Colorado Springs.  Still can't believe that we don't have a running store, with the base right there and so many people running regularly for PT.  But no, all we've got are big-box sports stores.  The type of place where "Well, the more expensive pair is supposed to be pretty good."  Yeah, need a little more than that when training for half and full marathons...

Funnily enough, we ended up being fitted for the same shoe!  Of course, my shoe size is almost half as small as his, so our identical shoe boxes looked more like a full-size and a mini-sized pair of something.  Was pretty funny, sitting there on the counter for checkout, actually.

For the first touristing bit, we hit up the Garden of the Gods.  It's a National Natural Landmark centered about some very scenic red rock outcrops.  There's about 15 miles of trails through the park, and it's a pretty popular place for hikers and trail runners and, on the easier trails, families with their kids.

It's a really lovely little hiking spot.  Not strenuous trails, but absolutely gorgeous, and right in town.  I mean, it was only about 20 minutes from our friends' place, from downtown, etc.  That's one of the great things about Colorado Springs - within 20-30 minutes, you go from shopping and restaurants and museums to absolutely stunning mountains and parks and trails.  Everything you could want, so convenient!

The photos below are from a spot in the park not to be missed.  The rock columns behind me are the Siamese Twins.  According to the park website, "SIAMESE TWINS TRAIL is an easy 1 mile roundtrip, with less than a 150 foot rise. There is a unique view of Pikes Peak through the natural window of the twins."  It is a very pretty view.  The reddish rocks, the bright blue sky, and the snow on Pike's Peak make for a really lovely photo.  Definitely worth the walk up there, if you're ever in the area.

 

And for a bit of fun, did you know Garden of the Gods has been a pretty, scenic little tourist spot since the late 1800s?  At Balanced Rock, another one of the landmarks in the park, a photographer and his son would take pictures for the tourists coming through, at $0.25 a person.  Those same photos would probably be $25 a person nowadays!  So, we got pictures in front the same rock as a hundred years of hikers before us, though of course we took ours ourselves :)

 

And a little bit of venting to wrap up this post - Murphy's Law is alive and well.  First real trip in months, first day touristing on the first real trip, and my camera dies.  We were hiking, and I was taking pictures.  We stop, I take pictures, camera goes back in its case, we keep walking, and the next time I pull it out to take pictures, it's dead.  The screen looks like a washed out red watercolor, or one of the stylized drug trip/hallucination/dream sequence sort of special effects from a cheap movie.  Not the screen itself broken, since I could scroll back and see the pictures from earlier that morning nice and clearly.  But anything from there on out...  red and blurred.  Bah!!  This camera is only 6 months old!!!  Thankfully it's still under warranty, so as soon as we got back, it got mailed in, and I'm hoping it can be fixed.  But, dangit Murphy, why must your law be so freakin' effective??

Review: Brick

This one was one of our "let's see what's new on Netflix Instant Watch" finds.  An indie movie I hadn't heard of before: Brick.

Plot:  A high school loner is contacted by his estranged ex-girlfriend, who's scared of something she won't explain to him.  When she turns up dead, he begins to investigate on his own, making his way into a web of drugs and murder.

So, it's film noir, but set in a modern-day SoCal high school.  And I mean true film noir:  the disillusioned, loner hero; the female lead who might be a damsel in distress or might be a femme fatale; the camera angles and play with shadows; the soundtrack, either very oppressively quiet or strident and jarring music (no Third Man zither, though); even Dashiell Hammett-esque speech patterns. 

However, it's still set in a modern high school.  So, jocks, drama kids, stoners, outcast nerds.  But all talking as if they're in The Maltese Falcon.  So get used to conversation that seems a little incongruous with the mouth it's coming from.  Seriously, Brendan (the lead) called Laura (the Girl) "Angel" in their last conversation, just like the final conversation in The Maltese Falcon.  I don't think I've EVER heard someone my age use that nickname in that manner.

The acting's very solid.  I like Joseph Gordon-Levitt in general, and this one proved to be another strong performance from him.  He plays the film noir hero very well, which can be a tricky balance - withdrawn and disillusioned, but not jaded or mean or unlikeable.  And for a movie in color, they did a very good job using the shadows the way a typical noir does (something a little easier in black and white, so definitely noticeable if they do it well in color).

Aside from the mind bend of the movie's premise (which was both a plus and a minus), my biggest frustration with the movie was the sound.  It was either very quiet or very loud, which worked with the story's events, but at the same time, it made it difficult at times.  And with the stylized speech patterns, the uneven soundtrack volume, and a tendency for hushed conversations, the dialogue was often challenging to follow.  There were a couple times where one of us had to look at the other and ask, "What did he just say?"  The mystery is supposed to be in events, not because you couldn't hear or follow the characters' conversations.

I honestly have no idea if I liked it or not.  Yeah, I know, watch a two hour movie and still can't tell if you like it.  There were points where I could pull back and appreciate the film noir tropes being used and reinterpreted in the modern story, and then there were times where it jarred and felt too surreal.  The acting and directing were all well done, but the story, the premise itself was what made it so unusual.  It's not an escapism movie, or a "make you think," Deep Subject sort of movie.  This was an "artistic" movie, if you know what I mean.

Overall:  No clue.  Not one for my shelf, but an interesting watch, especially if you like mysteries, indie films, or movies that are a little on the unusual side. 

And because I like series of character-based movie posters, these were the ones from Brick.  

 

Guess who's sorted her holiday pictures!

This girl!

Over the holidays this year, we went out to Colorado to visit very dear friends who were stationed in Irwin with us.  Hadn't seen them in about 3 years, so we took some time to go out and visit and catch up.  And to see Colorado Springs too!  

Well, after being out there for a week doing tons of sightseeing and playing with friends, there were obviously bunches of pictures to sort.  But they are sorted, labeled and I'm getting them written up now (goal: share the highlights before my semester starts next week!).

So, stay tuned!  Picture posts coming up this weekend (with the holiday, I've some time to write) but I was excited and proud of myself and just had to share  :)

Simply Simplistic Shawl: Test Knit

As I start another test knit tonight, I figure I should write up one of my "outstanding" finished projects first :)

Simply Simplistic Shawl

The Yarn:

Cherry Tree Hill Possum Lace Semi-Solid.  No, not American 'possum (opossum).  There's a critter in Australia and New Zealand also called the possum.  It's a pest creature too, funnily enough, accidentally introduced to New Zealand.  Does incredible amounts of damage, too, being there with no natural predators. During the control and conservation efforts, they found that the fur can be harvested and spun, blended with merino or another fiber, to make a warm, light yarn.  Interesting fiber, so why not give it a try?

 

Oh, and this yarn did indeed start as a semi-solid.  Then it fell victim to Sarah's and my adventures in dying yarn.  I was trying to make a yellow and green (Green & Gold!) yarn, but in trying to even out the color changes, the yellow bled a bit more than I expected and it became a mottled spring green.  Very bright green, really, but as my environment doesn't have all that much bright green in it, go for it!

Raveled here.

The Pattern:

The Simply Simplistic Shawl by Jennifer B. Law.  It's available as a Ravelry download, if you're interested.

It is indeed a very basic shawl, making it perfect for those yarns which you want to show off, but have colorways which are too busy for some patterns.  It’s one of those patterns that you can keep going until it’s as big as you want, so good for small amounts, or for larger skeins.  I only used about 30g of yarn (270 yds) and have a little scarf/shawlette sized piece.  As you're playing with the size, you'll see it's pretty customizable; just add more stockinette or more lace at the border as you please.

It is LOTS of lace-weight stockinette, though I'm sure you can use any weight yarn.  If you’re watching movies or kids’ swim meets (or other sporting events), this is probably perfect for you. It's very easy to put down and pick up, and doesn’t take tons of concentration.  Everyone needs those projects in their queues too. :)

Notes, Alternations, Etc.:

I just did the instructions as written. As I mentioned above, it's a very customizable pattern, so feel free to have just playing with it to show off your yarn.

Caleta Tortuga Shawlette: Another Test Knit

Yup, another test knit shawl.  Maybe Zach's right.  Still, cowls and shawls are pretty flexible with gauge, so that's always a plus for me.  Gauge is for wusses!  Or for people who want garments that actually fit...

 

The yarn

South West Trading Company TOFUtsies.  This was leftover from another project.  I had to order a batch of at least 5 skeins to get the colorway I wanted, and this was one of the leftover skeins. 

TOFUtsies can be a little splitty to work with.  Well, it can be REALLY splitty if you're not being careful.  But, I've definitely worked with more frustrating yarns (for example, using sugar yarn, as soft as it is, is like working with embroidery floss).  And TOFUtsies's on the lighter end of fingering, so if you're looking for a fast knitting yarn, this probably isn't it.  Still, it comes in tons of great colorways, I personally love working with the stuff, and it's great in hot climates like what I've been living in the last few years.  So many sock yarns are warm yarns - wool, wool blends, alpaca, etc.  With TOFUtsies being only 50% wool, it's a much nicer yarn to work with when Texas summers pick up.

The pattern

This was a test knit for Caleta Tortuga Shawlette by Miranda Jollie.  It's available as a Ravelry download, if you're interested.

It's a relatively basic lace shawl, with the body being nice and repetitive.  Pretty good for someone still wetting their feet with lace knitting.  Good for experienced knitters too, who want something for TV knitting or for knit group (I can never take anything too complex to Knit Night - conversation is too distracting!).  Oh, and like most lace, it does need to be well blocked to open up.  It's pretty unimpressive unblocked (see above) but opens up gorgeously.

 

It's a nice pattern to adapt, if you want.  If you need something a little warmer, this works well with heavier yarns too, not just fingering.  And it's an easy enough one to make larger - add more repeats of Chart A before beginning the border.

Notes, Alternations, Etc.

No alterations, actually.  I did everything as written.  A few notes on the border, though:

• Keep close watch on your stitch count as you shift between the body and the border.  There are a lot of stitches on the needles at that point, so tinking or frogging to correct mistakes is pretty tedious.  Don't ask how many times I was off by 1 before I paid close enough attention to guarantee an accurate set-up row...
• Pay plenty of attention on the final row, too.  There are tons of stitches on the needles at this point, with all those YOs.  And the CCDs go across a pattern repeat (i.e., you’ll have to remove your stitch marker to make the decrease).  So pay attention to your decreases and try not to let any stitches fall off or get twisted, and you'll be fine.

Margret Shawl: Test Knit

Am catching up on some test knit feedback posts from projects over the past few months, and this one is another shawl (or as Zach says, "Another shawl?").  What can I say - shawlettes are one-skein projects (usually), a chance to play with pretty patterns without worrying too much about gauge, and I'm big on layering.  My office is veeeeery air conditioned, so I tend to have a cardigan at work even in the summer.  Shawls, scarves, and shawlettes are easy layering pieces that I can throw on in the office, but take off as I walk to my car in 90+ degrees in September.

Side note: ever gone shopping for a space heater in May in Texas?  You get some very crazy looks!

So, here you go, another test knit shawl:

 

The Yarn

The majority of the shawl is in Wollmeise "Pure" 100% Merino Superwash in Tiefer See.  I received this bit of loveliness in a Ravelry swap a couple years ago, and have been looking for a pattern that would do it justice.  Because look at it!!  Those gorgeous blues and greens!!   Sooooo pretty!  And it was a love to work with.  It's a pretty tight twist, so even with the dark colors, the stitch definition is very clear (you can see it in the pictures further below).  No splitting, and no color bleeding when I blocked it.  I can see why this yarn has such hard core fans!

   

For the trim, I used Knit Picks Stroll Sport in Winter Night.  It's a little splitty, but it's very soft and squishy.  No other complaints, really. 

 

The Pattern

The pattern being tested was the Magret Shawl by Anna Nilsson, available for Ravelry download.  It's a crescent shawl worked from the bottom up, shaped with short rows.  The cable and eyelet pattern up the center panel is the same as on the lower border.

 

It's been a while since I started a shawl bottom-up, instead of nape-down.  Made the border seem extra long, but once I got through it and into the main body, it went very quickly.  It's not a mindless pattern, but you can see (sorta) in the left picture below, that the cable pattern is very repetitive, a nice honeycomb.  And being a one-stitch cable (love those!!), it made it very easy to follow.

 

The short row shaping was really fun, actually.  It's not the usual wrap-and-turn method.  The pattern called for German Short Rows.  If, like me, you haven't encountered these before, there are several good videos on YouTube, and a tutorial on Ravelry too.  For my knitting style, I found these a lot easier than the wrap-and-turn rows.  And they are much less visible on the finished fabric, as an added bonus.  Always fun to learn a new technique that you'll actually use again!

Notes, Alterations, Etc:

With my looser gauge, I ran out of the Wollmeise just before the end of the shawl.  Tragedy!  But never fear, I went stash diving and found a coordinating yarn to finish it out (the Knit Picks Stroll).  It's a slightly heavier weight (Sport) but still pretty close to the same gauge.  And anyway, I only needed a little bit more to finish the trip and do the i-cord edging.  Being a different color as well as a different gauge, it looks like I meant to use the different yarn as the trim.  ("It's not a mistake - it's a design element!").  It looks very nice, really, if I do say so myself.

 

The looser gauge also resulted in a shawl instead of a shawlette.  Yes, yes, basic math.  I still feel like I needed to point it out :)  It's still a very comfortable size, though, so no complaints from me.

As a final note, be sure you read through all directions, because frogging through short rows is a major pain in the tookus!!  There wasn't a problem in the pattern.  I had just rushed on ahead and misread the directions.  Ended up having to frog my first 2 repeats of Chart B because I missed the part that you are also decreasing when you turn the short row.   Was kicking myself hard on that one. So learn from my mistakes - read through all directions first!

Raveled here.

Semi-Required Kitty Picture: