A Walk in the Park

The end of the summer approaches and with it comes a bevy of events. It always seems like August in Oregon is chock-a-block full of fairs and gatherings and concerts and all manner of activities to choose from. Much more than one person could ever hope to attend. Last weekend was no exception.

Right here in Hillsboro, there was a city celebration and a seemingly successful attempt to break a world record (the judges haven't issued their official ruling yet). I didn't make it to that event, but Bobbie did and you can read all about it over on her blog. CAUTION: Reading Bobbie's report may lead to wild fits of laughter. If you are in a cubicle at work where they frown on such outbursts of joy and delight, wait until you go home to visit Bobbie's blog

A short drive into the countryside leads to the small town of Carlton. That's where my friends and I headed because we wanted to see the artwork at their annual community fundraising event, A Walk in the Park. There were so many wonderful things there! Unfortunately, I only took my old camera, so I didn't take a lot of pictures because it's just not up to the job. The mounted Sheriff's Posse was directing traffic in the parking lot. Friendly people greeted you as you walked through a gauntlet of beautiful quilts into the park. The smell of lavendar wafted through the air as a nearby vendor was making lavendar extract right there under the trees.

And then there were the artists. Oh my, was there some beautiful stuff! There are lots of links on the Web site so you can do a bit of browsing if you like. I made one purchase of a mug by Roger Allen from San Angelo, Texas. The picture is one of his many beautiful plates. There's a story that goes along with his art about a StarKeeper. You can read that and see more of his beautiful suff on his Web site, which is where I borrowed the picture. I would love to have more of his work, but it was a bit pricey for me. That's why I only bought one mug.

Before we left the park, we got to see the March Fourth Marching Band make their entrance. Now how much fun are these guys! There were two guys on stilts running around and giving "high fives" to kids (some of whom were completely confused by the whole thing) and all of them were having one heck of a lot of fun.
I don't know how the stilt-walkers manage to keep their balance. The tips of their stilts were like crutch tips -- nothing there to help them balance at all. Don't you just love their costumes?

It was getting rather warm for us, so we decided to go into town and get lunch in some air-conditioned comfort. There's a little sub shop that looks like it used to be a gas station. I had a very, very good Ciabata Cabrese sandwich, which consisted of fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and very sweet ripe tomatoes on a ciabata roll. Yummy! That's a flavor combination that just screams summertime to me.

After lunch, my friends were kind enough to indulge me and we went to Woodland Woolworks. I mean, how could I possibly come to Carlton and not go there! We browsed through the miles and miles and miles of yarns and fiber and books and needles and spinning wheels and weaving implements and -- oh my! In the sock yarn section, I tried to contain my glee (with limited effect) when I saw that they had the new Soxx Appeal from Knit One Crochet Too. You might remember that I had received a sample of this and made a tiny sock from it and loved the results. My LYS has some on order, but it hasn't arrived yet. Well, Woodland Woolworks had all the colors right there! I limited myself to enough for two pairs of socks. I got Raspberry Sundae and Oceana. This yarn is very reasonably priced, too, at just $8.75 a skein. Each skein has 208 yards and should be able to cover my substantial feet nicely.

In the upstairs weaving room, there are shelves and shelves and shelves of yarns on cones. There are even ginormous cones of Jaggerspun Zephyr in a rainbow of colors. I decided to get a couple of small cones of Bamboodle, a 100% Bamboo yarn that's hand-washable. Total yardage, 880 in the Bleach color. I see a really pretty shawl in my future from this yarn. I love the feel and drape of bamboo.

When I got home, I had a lovely package in the mail from The Loopy Ewe and inside were two skeins of Handmaiden Mini Maiden in the Rose Garden colorway. Put this side-by-side with the Sea Silk and you have a marvelous combination of silky goodness. Mini Maiden is 50% silk and 50% Merino Wool. It's so soft and shiny! I have some plans for this that I hope work out. We'll see.

There was some knitting, too. I started a Monkey sock (my first one ever) and I love the pattern. Thanks to some time spent waiting for my car to be serviced today, I'm about halfway down the foot of the first sock. I'll post a picture when I finish the first one.

Now, this weekend, there's the Clark County Fair, the Oregon International Air Show (which is practically in my back yard), The Bite of Portland, the Tualatin Crawfish Festival, and probably a whole lot more going on. As for me, I'll be working in Keizer on Saturday night and then participating in The Hunt on Sunday, an annual rolling scavenger hunt my car club holds.

See what I mean about how jam-packed August is. I tell you, trying to keep up is no walk in the park!