A Smidgen of Madrona and a Significant Day

The Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat happens in Tacoma, Washington on President's Day weekend every year. I live only about an hour away, and I have attended every year since 2009. 2016 was no exception, but this year my attendance was brief.

I decided back in November not to register for any classes, a first for me. My friend Angela was  coming up from Portland, so I decided to drive down for part of Friday to spend some time with her. I left for Tacoma on Friday, mid-morning, got stuck in a huge traffic jam on the way, and arrived just in time for lunch. (Funny how leaving later in the morning to avoid traffic doesn't always work.) I got to spend some time with my dear friend, Nancy, at lunch and for a while afterwards, and once she went back to class I found a quiet corner and knitted and people-watched until Angela arrived. Once she checked in, our first order of business was to go and browse the market. I enjoy doing this every year. I often don't buy much, but I get vicarious pleasure from seeing what my friends purchase. Angela didn't disappoint; she picked out some gorgeous yarns! I was pretty predictable and purchased a skein of my favorite Hazel Knits in the 1984 Lipstick colorway. Isn't it delectable?

After our market adventures, Angela and I met up with Nancy and we went to dinner at our favorite Japanese restaurant. After a satisfying meal and conversation, I headed home.

So that was Madrona this year: short and sweet. 

Today is Leap Day, a very significant anniversary in my knitting life. On Leap Day 2008, I joined Ravelry. At the time, joining didn't seem all that significant. I had been told that it was a great source of patterns and full of project and yarn information, but I had almost no inkling of how important the forums would become in my life. Through Ravelry I learned about knitting podcasts, and without Ravelry's podcast groups, I would never have met Nancy, Angela, Sarah, Barb and a several other wonderful knitting friends. In addition, Ravelry is probably responsible for transforming me from an occasional knitter to a knitter with a capital K. I never would have guessed back in 2008 that Ravelry would send my life in a completely different direction. So on this Leap Day, my "second" (eighth) Ravelry anniversary, I want to say a big THANK YOU to Jess and Casey for creating this wonderful community!

Winter Dawn

One of the quirky things about the Pacific Northwest in winter is that despite many cloudy, gray and rainy days, we also get many wonderful sunrises, probably because there are often clouds gathering at that time of day.

I started photographing the sunrise a few years ago, when I was still working. My 20th floor cubicle window faced east, and there were many winter mornings when I arrived at work just as the sun was peeking over the Cascade Range. 2011 was a particularly good year for those winter dawn photos—including the first three shown here.

Coincidentally, our house also has an east facing window, and there have been many winter mornings when I have looked out that window and immediately grabbed my camera and long lens to capture the incredible colors spread across the clouds.

Do you get amazing winter sunrises where you live? Whether you do or not, I hope you will enjoy seeing some of mine.

Flaming

Monday Dawning

Painted Sky

A Bluer Dawn (with Crow)

February Dawn

Cold Light of Dawn

Blue Waves