This is the shawl that I cast on during the Grand Canyon roadtrip. It's in fawn alpaca, with a deep crescent shape and a filagree border that is knitted on at the end. It's hard to see now in its unfinished, unblocked state, but it's meant to be my homage to the cactus wren. (I'll tell you the whole story when it's finished.)
Here in Colorado, though, what it really evokes is teasel, which grows with weedy abandon in roadsides and meadows.
By the way, did you know that teasel has a history in fiber processing? Apparently the dried flower heads were used as primitive carders.
One last comical story before I sign off and start my drive back to Taos. Mountain Man and I went for a hike in the mountains above Boulder the other evening, and look what curiosity greeted us on the trail:
Yes, that is a man hiking with his pet goat, who, by the way, is outfitted with custom leather saddlebags. We chatted with him about it for a few minutes, took photos of the goat, and smiled all the rest of the hike.
6 comments:
looks absolutely lovely and the goat is quite handsome.
Liza the Blogless
lol, luv it, i want a pet goat who hikes! love the lace on the shawl! Still really waiting for summer to get to us!
I love goats, and that one is just TOO CUTE!
Lovely shawl! Interesting fact about the Teasel. Seeing that man and his goat on the trail would have made me smile too. How fun! :-)
I remember the first time I was backpacking and came across 'pack' goats. Cracked me up first but then I was quite fascinated! Even funnier was when we once came across pack llamas who were quite angry at the condition of the trail (and had overwintered in too good of shape so were a bit out of shape for that trail!).
I know I shouldn't love teasel since it's an invasive (and darn aggressive one) weed but I do...and you've given me one more reason by relating it to fiber!
Hope your dissertation research is going well.
Beautiful shawl.
Love the goat and hiker!
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