Yesterday Russell and I were driving back into the Valley from town and noticed that it was beautiful outside.  I thought that it might be nice to take a little walk, since although we’ve been out a few times, it’s usually too cold for us to stay out longer then a few minutes.

I drove us over to the Airport Wetlands, where there is a trail that people often walk their dogs on, or run on during the summer.  It’s a beautiful trail that I spent a lot of time on when I was in high school with friends.  It made me excited for summer when we’ll be able to walk out farther and through the tall grass to the water.  Juneau really is a beautiful place to live.

I’m hoping that Russell is having fun here, I can sure say that I’ve enjoyed having him move here.  It’s nice to go for walks together, shopping together, and do a little art together the last 2 weeks.  The next step is him finding a job and then getting a place together, which I can’t wait to do.  Making a space together that we can call our own will be an exciting step in our lives.

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Yesterday on my way out the door my dad asked me if I would give the chickens this huge chunk of old bread he had saved for them.  It was a double thick slice of his homemade bread, and between you and me it probably wasn’t old-he just likes to spoil the chickens.

When I got into the coop, instead of just tossing it in, I thought it would be fun to see if they’d eat it out of my hands.  All but one thought it was a good idea.  Blackie, the Black and green chicken is really shy, so he only made it over after I’d already left.  Poor chicken, always last to get food.

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The other day my dad asked if I would knit him a little Albert to go with his big Albert the Assasonator Killer.  I decided that when I had a moment I could do a mini with some sock yarn that I have laying around.  I tried to choose one that had some similar colors to big Albert, so that they would be distant cousins.

One of the things that I do at work is spend time with clients while they make art.  Depending on who I am working with, I can also use this time to create art with them.  This seemed strange to me at first, but I feel more connected with the group when I’m creating at the same time-and it can help spark conversations around what everyone is making.  Since I knit in a different way then my coworkers (they use a loom), the clients loved watching me use the double-pointed needles.  I got a good portion of the body of mini Albert done yesterday at work while I was helping a client write a letter to his friends.  I prefer to knit instead of draw when I’m working with clients, because I can carry a conversation with them, and put down the work without any trouble.  The muscle memory also makes it so I don’t always have to look at my work when I’m knitting.

I love mini Albert.  He is happy to be a part of the family, and can’t wait to get to know Cecil and the Assasonator!

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It has been gorgeous outside.  I’m also a little conflicted about winter, as one one hand it is always beautiful with the clear skies or the snow… but on the other hand it’s so cold I have a hard time wanting to go outside.

Russell and I tried to brave the cold for an afternoon, but only lasted about 20 minutes.  We had planned to walk out to some icebergs on the Mendenhall Lake by the glacier, but the ice looked sketchy only a few yards in (large cracks that went several inches down) so even though there were people further out, we decided to not chance it.  The last thing I feel like doing is dying of hypothermia!  It was beautiful though, and I am glad we went out there, even though it was only for a few minutes.

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Introducing Gort!

This monster is another one from Rebecca Danger‘s Big Book of Knitted Monsters.  He is like a tall and skinny Maddox, and very fun.  I finally figured out how to get my monsters how to smile, and he has quite a bit to smile about!  Gort is about to go on an adventure.  He’s off to far away lands, to an unknown Monster Island.  Monster Island is soon to be inhabited by a variety of monsters to keep a young boy who is terminally ill company.  His passport pictures are pretty great, and you can tell he just loves the camera… or I suppose life in general.

Even though Gort has only been around for a day now, he’s made quick friends with Albert and Cecil.  Here they are hanging out.  What great homies!

This pattern was pretty fun.  It was weird going back to doing the two legs first and then adding on the body, but it was nice to only have to knit the arms when I was done.  There is a small typo in the pattern, but it’s not that big of a deal.  The row counting is a little off, but only by 1, and if you are paying attention to what is going on it’s easy to stop and just deal.  The error is in the arms, and where it says to knit until 43 rows, really you should knit through 44 rows.  I worked on this guy for a little over a week to finish, and brought him with me to work and to my friends house for dinner.  I am a good chunk through the pattern here, when we were served some delicious gluten-free vegan cheesecake with raspberry sauce.  He used cashews in  place of the cheese, and it’s to die for.  Not quite cheesecake, but a good substitute.  Love…

This pattern also took me a while to knit, much longer then the others.  Partly because I wasn’t knitting for the holidays so that there wasn’t pressure to finish, but also because of the stripes.  Which is a dilemma for me… because I love the stripes.  I think they are so fun… but also a pain to knit.  The next few monsters I do I think will be solid for the most part (or long stripes like Cecil, or only stripes on the arms/legs).

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