South Fork on Fire

Some of you have asked for info on the West Fork Complex wildfire that is taking place in the South Fork-Creede area.  So far 66,200 acres have burned.  There is “zero” containment.

These were taken from Del Norte driving towards South Fork last Thursday.

 

Sad news…..Big Meadows Campground is gone…both sides of the reservoir got burned. That is really sad as Big Meadows finally got opened this summer after being closed for renovations for three years. 

Also Rio Grande Reservoir area outside of Creede got “eaten up” and the wildfire is racing towards 30 Mile and River Hill Campgrounds.

So far the town of South Fork is still intact.  The fire is still 2-3 miles southwest.  Also Wolf Creek Ski Lodge is still OK with the fire being held back 1/4 mile away from the Pagosa Springs side.

There will be another day of Red Flag warnings tomorrow.  The winds also keep changing directions several times during the day, which doesn’t help the situation a bit.

South Fork was evacuated Friday morning.  The road is blocked off at Ute Bluff RV Park about three miles from South Fork on Hwy 160.  There are 32 engines around South Fork keeping vigil.

I’ll keep you informed.  Click here If you want to see a map of the burn area.

Pray for South Fork……

Portuguese Knitting

There is a new trend in the knitting community for Portuguese knitting where you put the yarn around your neck or over a pin on your shoulder.  Andrea Wong wrote a book and produced a DVD about it, but I learned how to do it from watching a youtube.com video.

Here I am using a pin I had made at Coloring Outside the Lines Bead Store in Monte Vista, Colorado.

Portuguese knitting is a lot easier on your hands and wrists as you only have to use your thumb to flick the yarn over the needle.  The yarn over the pin on your shoulder creates the correct tension.

My buddy, Salai, helped me figure out how to configure a pin using a couple of pins I already owned.  We needed to get a hook below the pin so we used a fishing swivel and a earring hook.  The yarn threads through the hook.

                     

There are a few pins available online but the knitting group, Fiber Floozies, that meet at Alamosa Public Library, had their pins made at Coloring Outside the Lines, so that’s where I went to get my pins.  Here’s a couple I had made.  They are about three inches long.  I like the fancy hook at the bottom.  The yarn feeds through the hook part nice and even.

        

I really like knitting using the Portuguese knitting style because I can knit longer without pain in my hands and wrists….arthritis you know.

Remember, you are loved.