In progress, bird cuff

I must be feeling whimsical these days as my newest vessel, my touch of whimsy pendant and the bird cuff all lean more towards whimsical than elegant.

Who could help but be whimsical when contemplating the darling birds made by Wayne Robbins.  This cuff is called Robbins nest and I'm always asked if I meant robin's nest, but it is of course a play on the artists name.

We've had a wonderful week, taking the airstream to a local campground, parked on the furthest point of a bluff with nothing but nature (oh and a freeway) in front of us.

It's been a working vacation, writing supply lists, finishing up samples and making notes on teaching. I do this when a project is brand new.  I think through the various teachable moments, what I want to make sure to say, at what points to stop along the way, how much to put into the overview.  It hopefully helps the tempo of the class and avoids any project pitfalls.

But I still found time to enjoy a brunch with friends and setting up our campground to be artistic.

I've also finished up a hat and sweater for our newest grandbaby, due next month.

The bobbles were part of the sweater pattern but I added the little crocheted picots to the edge.  The plain hat seemed kind of well, plain.  So I made a ring of 10 single crochets then a second ring with 2 single crochets in each, and then in each of the 20 outer stitches I chained 5, turned and single crocheted, then slip stitched into the next sc on the ring….on the inside ring of 10 I repeated, but I only chained 4, turned and sc'd 3 stitches.  I think it made a darn cute flower and at the end of each chain the turn kind of echoes the bobbles on the sweater.

We are still in practice mode with the airstream, but each outing gets us further along on knowing what to pack, how to park, and best of all how to relax.  Three weeks and we'll be taking it up to Santa Cruz and parking in the redwoods!