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What the… It’s snowing here in Albuquerque! (Don’t tell the sandhill cranes.)

Snow on Albuquerque's Sandia Mountains! Our tiny bit over here on the west side of town melted early this morning.
Snow on Albuquerque’s Sandia Mountains! Our tiny bit over here on the west side of town melted early this morning.

So, we move from Massachusetts to New Mexico for the weather. At least that was one reason. Today (tomorrow by the time I post this) it was 60 degrees back home in Franklin. And the sun was shining. In Albuquerque it started out at about 46 and went downhill from there. It’s 33 now. Rain and then, yes, then snow. Sure, it was only showers and it melted off the fake grass pretty quickly, but still. Damn El Niño.

Meet Leah the Red Tailed Hawk. She was absolutely magnificent.
Meet Leah the Red Tailed Hawk. We did. She’s not a sandhill crane, but she was absolutely magnificent. After a rescue, she couldn’t be released back into the wild because she’d lost an eye.

 

 

Saturday, though, like most here, was a beautiful fall day. The trees have been changing, the sky’s a deep blue, and the sandhill cranes have returned to their winter playground. Tom and I headed off to Albuquerque’s Open Space Visitor Center – just down the road from our new house! – to attend the Return of the Sandhill Crane Celebration. There were presentations, talks, viewings and…art!

I knew they had gallery space at the visitor center, but I hadn’t realized that there were fiber artists represented in the current exhibit. It’s called “PARCH” and promo materials described the show as:

…through fiber, ceramic, and paint, six local artists masterfully express their unique relationship with water in the desert.

“Fracture,” a quilt by Betty Busby was on display at the PARCH art exhibit in Albuquerque. One word: intricacy. Okay, and fabulous too.

 

 

 

Betty Busby is a quilt artist who had two pieces in the exhibit. Even Tom was moved by the detail and the work involved not to mention the representations themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

Joshua Willis’s “Blue Circle” also appeared in the PARCH show.

 

 

 

Joshua Willis was another artist with work in the gallery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, the sandhill cranes were no-shows while Tom and I were visiting the center. We did manage to visit with experts on the birds which was good as I learned that the bird the dog and I had been hearing on our morning walks in the Bosque (forest along the Rio Grande) was none other than a…sandhill crane!

(YouTube video by Jazzrobn in Florida. Her dog Dallas makes an appearance at the end. Refer to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbn8yIq7_LM.)

Clearly, it’s got a distinctive call. In fact, the guy told me – and I’m dating myself and him here – that they used the crane’s call on the old 1960’s Johnny Quest cartoon to stand in for a pterodactyl’s cry. And believe you me, it sounds like a dinosaur.

 

Carving at Albuquerque's Open Space Visitor Center.
Carving at Albuquerque’s Open Space Visitor Center.

But we saw other things. Check out the carving in one of the outdoor spaces. Unfortunately, I couldn’t determine the artist.

Carving close-up.
Carving close-up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was another great day in our newly adopted city where there are plenty of art and critters to be seen most every day. There’s certainly no lack of inspiration for hooking, painting, writing, or whatever art anyone might be practicing.One of my goals in moving here is to get my ass out the door to explore everything the area has to offer especially now that I have some time.

Raising a family, working full-time always makes it hard to visit and easy to overlook the special attractions and places in one’s community. Do you go out of your way to see these things? Where do you find your inspirations? What’s your “sandhill crane,” as it were? 

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Frustration, artistic and otherwise

"Difficult" yarn to the left. Size N/15 needle/hook. Much friendlier yarn on the right.
“Difficult” yarn to the left. Size N/15 needle/hook. Much friendlier yarn on the right.

It was supposed to be a brief break from hooking, still creative, still fiberific; instead it was an exercise in frustration. To give my hands a rest, I’d made a detour in Walmart (where I am now forced to do part of my weekly grocery shopping – grrr…) and headed to the craft aisles to pick up some yarn and a crochet hook. No biggie. My aunt taught me how to crochet when I was in sixth grade or so, and I’d picked up that hook now and again throughout the decades. Last time I’d even made myself a lovely shawl,  using filet crochet and beading. This time all I wanted to do was a simple cowl-like scarf. How hard could it be?

Plenty, it turned out. I’d chosen a big novelty yarn, one that had a lot of…fluff, for lack of another word. But with double crochet, how hard could it be? Even with the giant needle I’d purchased. Again, plenty. I couldn’t see all my stitches. The little “hairs” tangled making it difficult to even pull errant stitches out. My rows weren’t even. After ripping multiple attempts out over and over again, I finally declared, “Enough!” Despite all my assumptions and confidence, I was a crochet washout. The years had finally caught up with me.

Not! Having to be out and about yesterday afternoon – another source of frustration, having to teach the kid to drive – I had my chauffeur take me to Michaels where they have plenty of less complicated yarns. While she headed to the Dunkin Donuts next door (you can take the girl out of New England, but you CANNOT take Dunkin Donuts out of the Massachusetts-born and -bred girl), I ran in for the yarn. After perusing a bit, I found a nice multicolored, kind of chenille skein. Very nice. On sale too. Always a plus. So, tomorrow night, after I purchase yet another needle… The new one is too big, and I haven’t unpacked my old ones. They must be hidden away in some hooking boxes.

I’d start it tonight, but I’m treating myself to a solo trip to Barnes and Noble’s cafe. To write. I’m one of those people who needs to be alone when I start a short story. The other people who live in my house are in the house ALL THE TIME! Worse, they want my attention. Being home, therefore, is not conducive whatsoever to writing anything more than a Facebook post or maybe a blog entry. (Presumably, a blog post is completely true and not fictional at all.) There may be others in B&N’s cafe, but I can ignore them, chalk them up to white noise in a way I just can’t at home. Hence, I’m off for a different kind of artist’s date. And I will drive myself, thank you very much.

Wool strips, though the pumpkin itself is hooked from llama yarn.
Wool strips, though the pumpkin itself is hooked from very fun, very orange llama yarn.

Lest you think hooking’s been neglected, I’ve been having some fun with the Bliss cutter guild-mate Linda lent me. I’ve chosen to cut by hand for so many years that it’s quite the luxury. To that affect, I’ve been laying down wool strips in a quickly drawn up pattern. I’ll let you know how I feel about using such “even” strips. I fear I might find the preciseness somewhat stifling, that my true Type A (for anal) personality might come out in a way I try to avoid in hookling, the one place I feel free to be…well, free.

As my pumpkin indicates, even here in Albuquerque  fall’s very definitely arrived. Our leaves are changing colors and even blowing off in the wind. We’ve had a first killing frost. The sandhill cranes, our resident snow birds, are flying in. Can’t wait to see that. Apparently, they hang around the Rio Grande for the winter. Pics to follow!

What strategies do you use when things are working out like you planned? Can you call someone? Go online? Spill your secrets here; help a gal out. And while you’re commenting, are you a precise hooker or more “anything goes”?

 

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