Op Art Rug

This rug took a looooong time to complete. Switching pitch in the middle of the loom was confusing - and I mean confusing on every row! Muscle memory is a challenge to change.

I envisioned this rug without the red middle stripe; however, as the rug progressed I realized that I should NOT have been twining from both ends. Had the two ends reached the middle the pattern would have been "off" by one warp twine. 

Next time, should there be one, I will only twine from one end.

You can tell I am still a novice at this color changing bit. I need to take more care with which weft is on top of the warp when I change the color. See the difference in the widths of the solid frame? They are exactly the same number of warps wide, but appear different widths due to the color of the weft going over the warp on top.

Folks have commented that this rug looks like a finger print; indeed it does. A fingerprint rug to collect footprints! I love the very thought and image.

I have a companion rug to this on the loom now; it will feature vertical "stripes" in red and white, plus some edge to edge same pitch twining.

Riding 150 miles in June to raise money to fight kids' cancer!

This month, I am taking part in the Great Cycle Challenge to fight kids' cancer!

My goal is to ride 150 miles and I have been pedaling throughout the month to reach my target - I reached 75.8 miles today!

38 kids die every week in the US from cancer. I was shocked by this statistic. Kids should be living life, not fighting for it.

So far I've raised $628 to fight kids' cancer - THANK YOU to all those who have generously supported my challenge. But if you haven't sponsored me yet...

Today (June 13, 2018) is Kick Cancer's Butt Day, where ALL donations will be boosted by supporters of the charity up to $500K - sponsor me today and your donation will be MATCHED!

Simply click the link below to make a donation:

http://greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/DarlaAnglen-Whitley

All funds raised will support Children's Cancer Research Fund to continue their work to develop innovative treatments and find a cure for childhood cancer.

Thank you for your support.

And to Cottonwood

Spent most of today in a train station or on trains to Glascow. Heading back to the US tomorrow.

Lovely mural near George's Square.

Dinner at this Victorian eatery.

See you all soon!

Hadrian's Wall and Housesteads

Ready on a rainy day to conquer Hadrian's Wall with a walk to Housesteads.

Rain. Rain. Driving rain. Misting rain. Wet rain. But amazing to be here doing this thing.

The highest point on the wall.

Only 4 more miles!

The famous Sycamore Gap,  just before my famous fall off the stone path. Mud everywhere!

Some arches remain at this Milecastle.

You can walk on the wall here. 

A Winged Victory statue unearthed at Housesteads Roman Fort. Seemed a propos after our 6 hours in the Wall. 

Goodbye Islands - Tuesday

Left the beautiful Islands in a raging wind and rain storm. Goodbye lovely Islay.

Some cool stores near Glascow's Central train station. Thinking of my family.

Snow in the hills!

Haltwhistle, Northumbria, England. 

Jura to Islay

A stormy windy morning.  Heading to Islay today.

The ferry crossing to Islay.

Waiting for a bus in Bowmore.

Lochindaal roiling.

Jura

Good Easter morning from Craighouse, island of Jura!

This was a day of walking and observing. We started with walking up to Market Loch, the source of water for Craighouse and the Jura Distillery.

Along the way we passed the requisite stone circle.

Feasted on amazing views of the Paps of Jura.

Saw acres of these plastic tubes "planted".

They were protecting tree seedlings.

Market Loch. Could you ask for anything prettier?

A view of the ocean and mainland Scotland from the heights.

Follow the stone wall up the center of the photo - the Market Loch was at the end of the wall - 189 meters above sea level.

They say "Jura" means deer, so here is the requisite stag. He's a beauty so enlarge the photo and admire.

A view of Small Isles Bay just north of our hotel.

This is the view from our hotel.

After a quick cuppa tea and a biscuit (ginger cookie), we headed north along the shoreline to Kiels, an old croft once abandoned, but now rebuilding itself. We visited a cemetery there where St. Columba's (from Iona) brother was buried. It included the requisite medieval burial slabs.

Back to our hotel in Craighouse.

We decided not to tour the distillery tomorrow as there are rumors we may not be able to leave the island due to a severe storm heading in overnight. We figured we should head to the ferry at Feolin which will take us to Islay - perhaps the chances of crossing will be better earlier in the day.