Stitch n Pitched

Well, all in all it was quite a good event. I have to say thanks to the folks from Southwest Trading Co for helping to make it possible and also to Fred and Terry at Tempe Yarn and Fiber (and the Diamondbacks too, of course) for a great event. I hear over 1000 Stitch n Pitch tickets were sold, and there were people learning to knit before the game courtesy of Purl in Tucson - Fiber Factory was there in force, and I got to meet and chat with Lisa T who does lovely handspinning work and can be seen at the Phoenix Market on the weekends. I had a good time showing off my wares and pointing people to Tempe Yarn and Fiber.

Ever wonder what my inventory looks like packed up for a "show"?


Well, wonder no longer. The CD spindle is for scale - but in the monstrous black bag was something like 16 batts and my entire inventory of handpainted yarn. It felt like I was lugging around an entire sheep :P The basket is full of skeins of handspun yarn. It was definitely an experience, and I've learned a thing or two about packing for a "show". Clearly I'm going to need to solicit assistance if I ever intend to participate at a fiber show...

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Due to a stroke of pure luck and the super generosity of Fred and Terry at Tempe Yarn & Fiber, I'm doing some crazy mad re-arranging of my weekend plans to make it out to the Stitch and Pitch event this weekend for the Diamondbacks. I'll be packing up my knitting and spinning and a goodly chunk of my inventory for cash sales at the event - if you're going to be there, stop by, say hello and squeeze my yarn in person ;)

Printer Woes

Well, I thought I'd save myself some cash and bought non OEM printer cartridges.
Never again.
All I can say is it seems to have gooked up my printer head and required (ink wasting) deep clean after deep clean. I've gone out and hunted around for suggestions on cleaning the print head hoping I hadn't done irreversable damage.

I love DP reviews - I found a very useful thread there.

I've now got a freshly cleaned print head loaded with OEM cartridges and it appears to be happy once again. Rejoice! :D

Tink Tink Tink!

Well, I've taken a slight diversion from the socks - I was lured away by lace. This is my first time knitting lace using Mohair - this isn't KSH, it's actually a fair bit fatter, so I've sized up the needles accordingly. I forgot I had this yarn in my stash, and I don't even remember when I picked it up (or where I picked it up from!) but when I was helping to stuff bags for the Phoenix Stitch N Pitch (it's this Saturday, folks!) I saw the yarn (Fuego from Skacel) and thought to myself - boy, that looks awfully familiar....turns out I had several balls in the stash.


Anyhow, it's rare that I have yarn yelling at me to knit it - but this stuff was screaming to be turned into lace. I have no idea what I'm going to do with the shawl once it's done, I derive such pleasure from knitting lace, but I don't usually wear it - though I did have a fine time hiding out under one of Kiki's shawls when she was kind enough to loan it to me when I got a bit cold knitting away one evening. Anyhow, this thing is positively flying off the needles!

In other news, while I have had to tink back as much as a row (not fun, that tinking of mohair business), I haven't had to clear space in the freezer for full on ripping!

Leftovers

Does something look a little odd to you in this picture?

(and no, that's not weird dirt on my feet, those tiger stripes are legitimate tan lines...)

The oddness you may notice is that there appear to be two strands of yarn coming off of each sock - this is indeed the case...

The 2nd bit of strangeness you may notice is that neither of the strands appears to be the same as the bulk of the sock. This is indeed the case - I ran out of yarn...so I've decided to do the remainder of the socks using other leftover yarn - I've switched now from Lornas Laces Shepherd Sock yarn to Dale of Norway Baby Ull yarn (at least I think that's what it is)....since I wasn't sure if I had enough yarn in one color to finish off the socks, I decided to attach both colors and stripe away...I'm sure the socks will look "unique" - but in the right shoes, no one will know the difference :P

On the needles and a neat trick...

As you might have noticed, there was a small bit of finishing going on recently - not only did I get my first holiday gift done (no photo just in case the recipient is a reader ;) ), but I finished and published the Wooly Morning Glory Pillow and a Clapotis inspired scarf...

Well, with all that going on, I had to go and cast on for some new socks - I originally planned on some plain stockinette toe-up anklets using what's left of my black purl yarn, but after seeing this cute pattern from Kirsten at Through the Loops, I decided to rip back the toes and cast on, flirting with fate, for these cuff down anklets. Think I'll have enough yarn?

I've also decided to test my lace knitting prowess by casting on for Kiri in a mohair yarn - all the lace I've knitted to date has involved yarn that isn't halo'd. It's going to be an interesting adventure - lets hope I don't have to clear space in the freezer for the project.

As for neat tricks, I've had to resort to using an unbent paperclip as a stitch holder since I didn't read the sock pattern properly and I didn't feel like waiting to work on it more until I got back to my collection of needles - turns out I had to move a stitch from one needle to another after doing the first few pattern repeats, and since I knit my socks a pair at a time on one long circular, it set me up for quite the challenge. I'm about to put the stitches all back on the needle - the interim stitch holder worked great and I didn't lose a single stitch (I bent the ends back up after all the stitches were on the paperclip to prevent them from falling off :D )

Other neat tricks:
apparently Google has an SMS service now - apparently you can use it to find restaurants, get driving directions, movie times, local weather, get language translations and a whole host of other things. Since I don't have a cell phone, I had to settle for "pretending" while playing on the Google SMS site.

Everyone else did it...

So I had to do one too.

Besides, I had that ball of handspun yarn that was just sitting - I wasn't about to unply it, and it wasn't going to be any happier if I tried to add more twist to it...

If I hadn't have done this with it, it would have turned into "wrapping accessory" for packages - and who knows if it would have liked that very much.

Look here for a larger photo and some more info :)

*grumble*

apparently I'm terribly stubborn as I've just frittered away about an hour trying to figure out what kept crashing my blogs. It seems that adding photos in firefox adds wierdness to the code that in turn seems to crash the blog. I've since gone and manually edited out the links to larger image sizes as well as manually coded the placement of the photos in the post - this *appears* to have solved the problems.

I'm curious, anyone else out there edit in Firefox and use the blogger tools for uploading and formatting?

I'm Pushing up Flowers!

Not only is my blog choosing to randomly put up Internal Server Errors, I finally finished the knitted version of the Red Poppy Pillow!

Head over to the Finished Objects Blog to see what it's called :) and info on where to find the pattern!

Blogger is being a pain

I seem to be getting random Internal Server errors (Error 500, no less ;) ) on Blogger these days. I can't tell if it has to do with my attempting to upload photos. I'm also editing in Firefox, which I normally don't do.

Anyone have any ideas?

Sock Wars?

Apparently a little game of Assassin is getting ready to be kicked off. The trick with this version is it's Knitting related...it's the Sock Wars by the Yarn Monkey. The Fierce Competitor in me wants to join, and the Knitter in me finds it rather amusing to be knocked off by a pair of socks - though the sensible portion in my brain tells me this would be a foolish foolish thing to do knowing that I have small obsessive compulsive issues with certain things...and all that holiday knitting to complete and designs I'm supposed to be working on, not to mention the dye experiments...Incidentally there are currently about 540 crazed sock knitters that will be entering the fray...I'm still undecided. Deadline to sign up is August 28.

Not to be an enabler or anything...but not only do I have lovely hand painted yarns available, Little Knits is currently running a sale on commercial sock yarns...

Suggestions Anyone?

clicky clicky for a closeup!

Well, if you're at all like me, you like to look at yarn when making recommendations - you're looking at a ball of handspun Verbena. Approximately sport weight, 300 yards or so...it was taken with indoor lighting, so you can't really see the faint sparkle on the yarn that is from the firestar that is blended in. I need to convert this yarn into a shawl or scarf and I'm open to suggestions :) If 300 yards isn't enough, it isn't the end of the world as I can spin more...but I figured I'd start there and see what might be possible.

Suggestions Please

I appear to be ahead of the game this year and am actually working on my holiday projects thanks to Tempe Yarn and Fiber's Stress Busters club. I've actually finished one official holiday project, 1 UFO and 1 baby gift since the stress busters kickoff.

Next targeted item is a handknit scarf/shawl/wrap made from handspun yarn. I did the spinning this weekend after I finished a minor marathon of stranded knitting...

I have ~300 yards of sport/dk weight single ply handspun in Verbena that I'd like to convert into a scarf/shawl/wrap thing. Yes, I realize 300 yards isn't that much. The good news is if I run out, I can spin more. The final destination for this gift will be an urban location that actually sees winter climates. I have thought of doing a skinny Clapotis...but I have resisted jumping on the Clapotis bandwagon for so long - and it would be a *skinny* Clapotis unless I want to get right back on the wheel right now and spin up more yarn. I thought of turning it into a dayflower lace scarf...but for all I love to knit lace, I have a serious love hate relationship with blocking. Then I thought some sort of broken rib pattern....or just cast on and see what comes off the needles, but I figured that might just be asking for trouble.

So...any of you have suggestions? I'd be happy to hear them! I'm planning on winding the yarn into a ball tonight assuming the skein is dry...then hopefully I can show you all how beautiful the yarn is :) (yes, here we are with yet *another* pictureless post*)

What to do...

...when your brain keeps blocking and you wind up with a gallon of half and half in the fridge? (*sigh* a sure sign I'm getting old - I kept thinking I was out of half and half and the next thing I knew it, I had a gallon of the stuff on hand!)

Well, I wasn't in the mood for Alfredo, so I turned a bunch of it into Ice Cream.

Read here for the recipe :)

Sorry no photos - it kept melting (or got eaten) before I could get a good shot ;)

Peeves

I try to behave myself on my blog. But since this is supposed to be miscellaneous musings on "life the universe and everything" please indulge me this rare rant. Scroll to the end if you just want a really brief (and photoless) update on what's on the needles...

I have decided I really really dislike those quoted "service" windows when someone is supposed to appear at your house between oh...8 and noon or 1 and 5 to fix something. It seems, of late anyhow, I seem to be doomed to select vendors that are completely incapable of hitting their four hour window. Not only do they not provide any estimate as to whether it is likely that they will appear earlier in the four hour window or later in the four hour window...if they are going to *miss* the window completely, they don't call to see if it will still work out - and they seem surprised when asked about their timeliness policy. It's not as if I haven't got better things to do than just sit around waiting for my service call. Sheesh.

The other thing that has me peeved and slightly distressed - I find it both ironic and sad that the news yesterday was flooded with information about the already ridiculously overpublicized JonBenet Ramsey case - this on a day when the NSA eavesdropping program has been ruled unconstitutional. I find it simply sick and wrong that places like CNN.com have a ginormous photo of the of the suspect in the JonBenet case along with a summary and numerous links - one single link is found on the home page, and it's certainly not prominent. Honestly. I can't even watch the national news anymore because it's so worthless in terms of current events.

Anyhow. Back to more regular non-controversial content :)

I have a new hat on the needles (it's a holiday gift) and I'm still knitting away on my anklet socks (almost done with the toe increases I think), and of course, I'm still working the knitted version of the Red Poppy Pillow....

the Unexpected.

One does not go to an Outdoor Industry Tradeshow and expect to discuss wool. Or socks. At great length.

At least I certainly didn't. But there it is. The knitter and spinner in me has truly broken out :) In addition to ogling climbing gear (hello, DMM V-Twin!), packs (hooray for the new Gregory suspension design!), sleeping bags (that's a mighty sexy Valandre...), footwear (Kamik has some gorgeous brightly colored galoshes) and stoves with enough BTUs to keep any pyro pleased (of particular note is the Reactor by MSR), I got to talk wool and socks with lots of companies.

Teko and Fox River are both introducing Ingeo fiber socks - they are both very silky and surprisingly breathable and wicking. Everyone these days seem to be talking up superfine merino as if it was the finest performance fiber out there ;) One company (x-socks) has some rather engineered looking socks - and another (Injinji) has some lovely socks that has socks for each of your individual toes :D

I hate to admit it, gear head that I am, I was the most pleased with a gift I received from Ibex - a small bundle of 17.5 micron merino wool roving. :) It's sitting on my desk, waiting patiently for me to spin it, then dye it, and knit it up into something luscious.

A zig here, a zag there...

At long last, these socks are done!

My third pair of hand knit socks - these took much longer than expected, mostly because I kept getting distracted. Good thing I have a habit of knitting both pair of socks at the same time, or I fear I'd be stuck with just one!

These socks have seen me launch Spritely Goods - first as a blog shop, then growing it to have product at Tempe Yarn & Fiber and Pure Knits...and then to my own ecommerce site.

These socks have also seen Stephanie - the Yarn Harlot. They have traveled all over Arizona, they've been up to Oregon, they have passed by the four corners monument - and they've been on the Continental Divide! Not too shabby for a pair of socks ;)

Read here for more info on the yarn and pattern used.

Pouches are good.

Mmm. Mmm. I do love me small pouches. I don't know why - I simply seem to adore small bags and pouches. Back when I got SpritelyGoods launched, I wanted to get myself a little non-food related reward. What better way to celebrate than with a small project pouch from Piddleloop?


I couldn't possibly resist this one, with fabric that complements my handpainted yarn so nicely :) I'm going to have to be careful or I'm going to wind up with a whole mess of small project pouches to color coordinate with my yarn LOL.


Jen and Wendy at Piddleloop are the best - and their sewing rocks! Check out the adorably matching tissue pouch - and while you're browsing, have a look at their stationary - the knitting sheepie is just adorable!

Oy! The Pressure of Knitting on a Deadline!

And the cat is tuckered out too. Finished just in time for packing up for its intended recipient, this is a Log Cabin baby blanket.


Of course, as soon as it was done, and tried to take a photo, my little helper had to climb on and provide herself as a measure of size - though it might help if I let you know that my cat, when fully stretched out, is about a yard long ;)

Read on here for more details on construction - and photos sans kitty.

Back in Action!

Sorry for the hiatus, folks - I was off gawking at alpine wildflowers and enjoying the great outdoors while trying not to get too frustrated with the early days due to afternoon thundershowers (I'm not opposed to hiking in the rain - I am, however, opposed to getting zapped by lightening while ridge walking!)

I did get some knitting done while I was away - someone asked me what some of my handpainted yarn looks like when knitted up - well, on US size 1 needles and about 60 stitches (about 10-15 too few for a sock) it knits up nicely to form a cozy for my iced tea glass (I was tired of sweaty glass syndrome). Incidentally, the cozy fits over a soda can just as well, though it is a mite too long. This is Sylph fine fingering yarn, for those who are wondering.

As noted in the photo, the top portion is an example of how the chaparral colorway looks and the bottom bit is an example of how the spring is here colorway looks. Of course, it will stripe/pool a bit differently depending on your gauge, whether you are knitting flat or in the round, and how many stitches are in each of your rounds/rows - not to mention the natural slight variation found on individually handpainted skeins.

Anyhow, plenty of other knitting was done - and I've a few finished objects to show soon :) Hooray!

Look! A pair of Stephanies!

My husband simply didn't understand when I told him I was spending the evening going to listen to a famous blogger. I can tell you that Stephanie is as funny in person as she is in writing, and wonderfully charming as well. It was a real treat to listen to her speak and get my books autographed. *sigh* I'm a knitting groupie. Tell me, how odd is that?

For those of you visiting from chez Harlot, and are wondering what on earth Bursage is, it's a fairly common sonoran desert plant with sagey gray-green leaves. As Stephanie rightly points out, we certainly do lack the typical jewel green hues here, but there are actually quite a few earthy & muted shades of green. It's these colors, along with others in the desert that tend to inspire my work.

Witness the Bursage batt inspired by the forenamed plant:

And this is what it looks like spun up...

mmmm...mm. lovely green squashy merino in desert hues :D

If you'd like to bring some inspired-by-the desert wool (in wool or yarn form!) into your home, please do visit my shop :)

Dusty!

At long last, the monsoon storms appear to have arrived! Sadly when they decide to just blow, it stirs up lots and lots and lots of dust. Which brings me to a question for those of you who have woodworking shops - or know someone who has a woodworking shop. I'm now in the market for a dust collection device - I appear to be becoming more and more sensitive to small particulates. Not just from the random haboob (yes, haboob is a real word, and it's fun to say too!), but also from the carding. Moving the carding activities outdoors is not really possible.

Right now I'm ogling a beast of a dust collector hoping it will do the trick - either that, or I'll have to limit the batt making to the cooler months. No good getting into the fiber business only to have to leave again if it causes me to have health problems! I'm thinking since most of the particles being generated are very small and aren't abrasive, I don't need a multi-stage system. Though because the thing has to live with my carder, it can't be huge, and it can't be really noisy. Suggestions?

Name that Bug

Well, thanks to everyone who played along with me on this post - I truly appreciate all the suggestions for Deet and Permetherin alternatives for bug repellent - I've made a list and will set to field testing soon ;)

As for the bugs in the photo, they are indeed Cochineal bugs. I first became fascinated with them when I realized my own prickly pear had an infestation. Those particular bugs in the photo are not from my prickly pear as they currently are infestation free (I suspect, due to the long drought in the area). I have big plans for these bugs - along with several other natural dyes. I just need it to cool down a bit so I can stand to make the dye liquors and put the dye pots on for simmering!

16 pounds.

I'd *like* to say that I have managed to loose sixteen pounds courtesy of C25k and better eating, but sadly, it's not the case (though I have lost some weight). The heat and humidity are dooming me right now. Energy is low, and all I want to eat these days are cold things...like sorbet. And smoothies. And ice cream. And running? On the dreadmill? Even with the little fans that are on the machines, I'm positively drenched in sweat within the first 5 minutes - and it seems to take my body somewhere between a half hour and 45 minutes before it calms back down and cools off.

Anyhow. Sixteen pounds. Ever wonder what sixteen pounds of yarn and fiber looks like?

Well...wonder no longer :) Sixteen pounds is all the yarn plus the fiber that isn't locked up inside rubbermaid containers.


Glorious close up shot? Why certainly :D the above are some new colorways and a shot of new yarn I've added to the collection. It's called Fey, another two ply fine-fingering weight to complement Sylph (fine fingering) and Sprite (Sport/DK). Incidentally, I have a list of yarns I'd like to add...and I've been going through different faerie and elven names to try to name them all. Big plans for the future I have ;)

By the way, yes, the shop is updated.

Log Cabin Madness

Here is the next Project to be cast on...

Well, the yarn for it anyhow :) It will be a log cabin blankie when it's done. It's going to be a random one...the idea is courtesy of Cara. I realized a friend is expecting and I'll be visiting her in a few weeks. Granted, it's early in the pregnancy, but I thought it would be nice to arrive with gift in hand.

The problem is I only have 5 colors - and I really ought to have 6 so I can do the border in a different color so that no colors "touch" at least that's the ideal. I'm using random numbers from 1-18 because...well, 18 is a magic number, says Cara, and 18 is also the age at which the child will become an adult.

I've dug into my stash of Cotton Ease for this project, because I want easy care, but not too hot (the family lives someplace warm).

Suggestions on resolving my dilemma?

Bug Juice

Bugs love me. I don't know wy. I like to think it's because I'm sweet (ha ha).

Anyhow, does anyone have any non-Deet non Permetherin recommendations for bug repellent? Yes, I'm familiar with Citronella, and Lemon Grass, but neither seem to deter the little biters for long....


Speaking of bugs...These guys are my newest venture. They don't look much like bugs, do they? They look more like little rocks. Well, I consider that a good thing, seeing as what they are destined for. I am plenty well in touch with where my food comes from, and I've eaten my fair share of food that closely resembles the animal from which it came. Anyway, anyone care to hazard a guess as to what the little creatures are and what they've got in store for them?

Holiday Knitting?!

I'm all for an early start...and since I've been so terribly neglectful with my knitting and at least one planned project requires spinning *and* knitting, I've started up a list. Tempe Yarn and Fiber is providing extra incentive to us by offering up prizes if we go knit on Saturday evenings as we finish off items on our lists! (and they don't even need to be gift knits - they can be UFOs that you just need extra motivation to finally complete! They can be knits for yourself!)

Ps. Does anyone know a good way to knit a circle from the inside out (or perhaps the outside in) so that I can get the middle completely closed tightly?

Supersize Me!

Serious skeins are in need of serious winders...I don't like cutting yarn if I don't have to - especially since it means more ends to weave in at the end of a project. I have enough of a hard time with finishing without making more work for myself :)

The newest addition to my equipment is this whirling dervish of fun. Small winder shown for scale. The big guy supposedly holds a full pound of yarn :) It'll be especially useful for winding double length skeins of handdyed yarn.

Speaking of yarn, I finally picked up the needles again, it seems like it's been ages. I've missed it. I've only got a couple of WIPs, and no idea of what to cast on next for...but I'm thinking felting projects. Fast and quick gratification! Then again, there are a couple o folks with babies on the way...so gift knitting/crafting is also in order.

In running news, I have gotten to the point where I can actually run the equivalent of 2+ laps. I can't remember the last time I could do that (if ever). Sadly, I'm stuck running on a dreadmill...and I get bored...and the time seems to drag on by. Anyone have any tips to distract me?

My Biggest FO to Date!

Seriously. Bigger than Mariposa Lace Shawl, the Double Wide Branching Out, and even the last minute re-designed Olympic Leaf Lace Sweater. All without touching a set of needles.

But fiber - and lots of it was involved!


Curious? Read on here...

An Inconvenient Truth

I had been wondering about this film, and no matter what your political leanings are, I think the movie is well worth a look. Once past the Apple Computer product placement, the data presented is startling and powerful.

Are you a person of faith? This site is offering up free tickets to go see the movie.

Excitement!

Imagine, here I was, minding my own business, reading the new Knitty only to discover that Cara was so kind to include nice words about me and Spritely Goods in her article about Spinout 2006! Complete with that delicious photo of my mini batts! I nearly fell out of my chair.

That was yesterday...today, the new issue of For the Love of Yarn is up! And guess who has a pattern inside? :) go check it out!

Pam also has a pattern in there - so the Arizona contingent is well represented :D

Ride the Wave!

Oy! the difference a pair of shoes make.... I am still plugging away at my C25k "training" plan. It's been going slowly and steadily, though I keep getting waylaid or stuck on certain weeks (for good reasons - like I got to go on vacation and instead of running, spent the time hiking instead). Anyhow, I had thought that I was doomed to early failure but it seems that my feet and myself have come to an agreement. After various evaluations of my foot strike and various trials, I am happy to report that the shoes I finally settled on, seem to be working out - course, I'm still in the interval training portion of C25k, and haven't run that much in them, but never-the-less, they seem to be doing the trick....what are they? Mizuno Wave Rider 9s :) I'm not so crazy for their looks, but they are light, and my feet luuuurve them. Or they seem to be semi-infatuated at least.

Speaking of running, I am pleased to say I am actually able to run the equivalent of a lap + now. I don't remember the last time I was actually able to successfully run a full lap on a track! It was probably ages and ages ago back when I used to run track in High School! Eek! There is something to be said for coming to the realization that a milestone has been hit :) In theory, the next thing I'll notice is I'll actually be able to run a full *4* laps (or a mile!)...

The early reward for hitting this milestone? (I'm a big fan of rewards ;) ) A fancy schmancy new watch...in periwinkle blue...conveniently, it's good for training too. And no, I'm not looking to train for a tri - I don't care what make or model the watch is there will be no tri training here :P . The reward came early because my other watch met an untimely death. I think it got ran over by a car :(

Have a fantastic 4th of July Holiday for those who are celebrating :D

Virga

vir·ga

Wisps of precipitation streaming from a cloud but evaporating before reaching the ground.

It seems that that's all we're getting down here, while the poor eastern seaboard seems to be covered in a deluge.

Nevertheless inspired, Virga is the name of the first of my Ethereally Elemental colorways (very subtley variegated, perfect for lace & texturework!)

Want a peek?

Color me Crazy

Busy weekend full of color here :)
Of course, there was only just the tiniest bit of blue and not a bit of violet/purple to herald in the next month...

What you see on the bobbin there (yes, there is a bobbin under there...) are the various colors of batts I was working on...

Incidentally I also discovered that if pressed, I can likely squash nine pounds of fiber or yarn or a combination thereof into my ginormous dyepot. So yes, there is a shop update coming soon :)

I've got the Blues

June is slowly winding to an end, and the project spectrum color for the month is blue...

This month I spun up some blue wool...then plied it with a variegated blue chenille yarn, hoping for a wonderful and unique yarn...

I can't say I'm really thrilled with the results. The plying went all unevenly, the chenille was not so happy to be dragged into this project. This skein is aptly named "I've got the Blues."

Also for June, in honor of Project Spectrum and Spin Out, I made up a bunch of little mini batts for those who will be participating.

Desert Daybreak colorway - they have both blue and a bit of purply goodness in there in case people want to hold them til July...Cara took some much nicer photos. If you can't make it to the spin out, you can still participate by donating to Heifer International...and you can win prizes! There's some scuttlebutt about inclement weather, lets all send good weather thoughts to NYC :)

In addition to the spinning, I've also been knitting up some blue-ish colored yarn - I've been playing with a lovely color of Gianna from SWTC. Sorry, no photo - the project is still very much a WIP (and it's a design for a new pattern I'm working on ;) )

It's Good to be Back :D

Time away to play is always welcomed with open arms, though I may have gotten more than I bargained for this last time.

In addition to seeing some marvelous Southwest Fauna (elk, deer, squirrels, chipmunks, kangaroo rats, lizards, raptors, a coyote, an antelope and a spectacular rattle snake) and some non-natives (grazing cattle of various varieties and a mess of crayfish)...not to mention some rather spectacular scenery, I had a bit of a close view of wildfire at work.


..As in perhaps a little too close for comfort...They always start small...but with the desert southwest experiencing a rather long drought, everything is ready to go up in flames if you just look at it wrong.

This is the Brins fire as of last Sunday Night - the fire has since climbed down the mountain and into side canyons, burning down Sterling Pass - which I hiked on my wedding day years ago - and on into Oak Creek Canyon. After sitting and watching the fire spread, and watching the helicopters and slurry planes at work, I think I will forever associate the drone of helicopters to fire fighting. The entire forest will be closed to access at 8am tomorrow morning.

Happy Solstice!

Happy Summer Solstice!

Sorry for being so remiss in posting - I was happily welcoming in the summer in the outdoors! The trip was good, I made hardly any progress on any of my fiber projects, and I had plenty of excitement. More on that later...

Just One Word

Pilfered from Cara's blog

Please leave a one-word comment that you think best describes me - it can only be one word long. Then copy and paste this into your blog so that I may leave a word about you.

Otama!

Look! A matcha-green Otama! Isn't it cute? He's from Mariko :) He arrived with some little friends - some cool little springy pinchy daschund-shaped clips for holding papers all kinds of other things. My camera was misbehaving (note the slight focus issue on the poor Otama) so I didn't manage to get a clear photo.

Anyhow, the Otama had a good time checking out the plants...

...and then he opted for some snuggle time with Marble...

want some super-cuteness? Click on the photo for a slight zoom - note the curled paws and the barely-visible fangs (on Marble, not the Otama ;) )

Of course, not too long after this photo, Marble and Troy decided that the Otama wasn't just for sitting nicely with - so I had to rescue him and put him up where cats can't reach.

Thank you so much, Mariko :) you're wonderful!

Finally Finished :)

Remember this sweater (the checkerboard one)? Well, it was converted into this...and then reknitted into this - and now the last bit of the sweater has been turned into this :) Of course, I now have to felt them down, but I figure there's no rush since the cats won't have anything to do with them for now...it's just plain too hot. They'd rather lay on the cool tile or in front of one of the fans.

A good use of soda...

Alrighty - if I hadn't given away all the coupons...I'd have a perfect way to consume all those 2 liters of soda -
check this out (oh, and there's music, so um... get yer headphones!)

(and if for some reason the embedded version isn't working for you, go look here)

And while you have those headphones out, and you haven't seen it yet, this webmovie about the Evolution of Dance is sure to make you smile :)

Lured in with luscious looks

mmm. Berries. Gorgeous, red, plump and fragrant - strawberries herald in the summer. I love to have them plain with a light dusting of sugar...or on shortcake...or in a smoothie...with a wonderful sale at the local grocery store (a pound of berries for a buck!) I thought I was in for some wondrous berry goodness over the weekend.

Unfortunately, the berries in question were masquerading as scrumptious fruit. You see...a properly ripe berry is not white in the middle - well, okay, it might have a little bit of white in the middle, but it should not just have a faint red blush on the outside when cut open - it should be red almost all the way through! *sigh* I was lured in with the wonderful price, the fragrant scent and the lovely looks. Sadly, these berries are tart, and generally lacking. And I have four pounds of them.

Pasta Risotto?

Yes. There is such a thing. Probably more authentic if I had used Orzo instead of mini penne - so I guess I'll have to give it another try sometime.

In a nutshell, you cook the pasta like you would cook risotto - by adding stock and stirring away and adding more stock and more stirring and so on and so forth until the pasta is al dente (well, not so much with the stirring but you get the idea).

Curious? Have a look at my notes here.

Chop Chop...

It seems every year I go through this...it is always a question of timing it seems. If when the Intolerable Heat hits, if my hair is not yet long enough to pull back or pin up without the use of excessive hair product, it gets chopped off...and even if it does time out correctly, if I can't stand it sticking on me at night, it also gets chopped. The last time I successfully managed to make it through the summer with it long was several years back, at which point I had enough to chop off and donate to Locks of Love.

Anyhow, I didn't make it very far this year - it's not even officially summer yet, and I had to lop off ~3.5 inches. I would have gone shorter, but as it is, I had it cut flush to my natural hair line (easier maintenance than if I had chopped more off). Excuse the minor flippy parts - I slept on it wet...

Caffeine Anyone?

whoops! Perhaps a mite too much caffeine on my part as I accidentally posted a blank post! LOL. I dutifully submitted a bunch of codes for the olympics last winter and while none of it resulted in a "real" prize, I've got enough coupons to be caffeined up on 2 Liters for quite some time. Incidentally I don't drink a whole lot of soda, and I definitely tend not to purchase in the 2 Liter size (I prefer cans...that and the 2 Liters seem to go flat before I can finish them off). Anyhow, anyone in need of a coupon for 5 free 2 Liter bottles of Coca Cola Products? If so, leave me an interesting comment and a way to contact you :) If I get a larger than anticipated response, the names will go into a hat for a random drawing ;)

Spin Out!

Those of you yonder near New York should be sure to welcome in the summer with the Great American Spin Out! And if you're like me and you can't attend, there's a Spin n' Win raffle :) Lots of lovely prizes for donating to a good cause...you might even with one of my batts!

Go over and check it out :D

Behold - the Power of the Sun!

I'm not usually in the habit of leaving trashbags in my backyard...but seeing as I live someplace with abundant solar energy, I figured I ought to give it a try rather than heating up my house while pursuing fiber activities....Incidentally, I think I need to figure out what types of "wrapping" store the most heat...

Look! inside one of the bags, this was the temperature reading in mid afternoon. Based on the initial experimentation, yarn wrapped in plastic, left in roasting pans inside a black plastic bag does not retain heat as well as yarn wrapped in plastic, placed in roasting pans, which are then placed inside a monstrous dyepot that has been covered in black plastic. LOL.

I also have to admit to not knowing for certain if it did get hot enough in the wrapped packages to really set the dye. I unwrapped one package, set it for rinsing and saw a tiny bit of bleed out of color....and decided to steam all of the packages for a half hour just to make sure. Even after the steaming though, that one colorway still bled just a tiny bit...so I may have just put in too much dye....

Ah well, I do love me my experiments. Does anyone know what temperature is actually needed to set dye? I know people will dye in a dedicated crock pot - and I've discovered that crock pots can range in temperature from 180-280 F....Somehow, I don't think I'll be successful in getting temperatures quite that high by just harnessing the power of the sun...*sigh* anyone know where I can get a digital temperature probe for cheap? ;)

Yeah, that's a fair number of skeins there...one of these days I'll get them skeined and the shop updated :)

Batt Girl Strikes Again!

A while back, someone I know called me Batt Girl thanks to my productivity over one weekend churning out batts left and right....

...well, it happened again. This is what happens when I get cooped up inside my house with my fiber for a weekend. I had noticed that I was running low on some colors, and I had been meaning to try out some others...and next thing I knew it, the weekend was over, there was fiber everywhere and I had something on the order of 50+ batts piled up in the den. It's madness....but it's all so delicious.

I'm waiting for the sample skeins to dry before photographing them and piling them off to the shop.

Cover Girl

I'm a star ;) or rather, my delicious fiber is a star...doesn't it look absolutely delicious? In addition to it's namesake, the Fairy Duster, that particular colorway reminds me of cotton candy....especially in that image :) My thanks to Yahaira for featuring on the front of Pure Knits!

Color, Color, Everywhere!

In an attempt to remedy my lack of colorful posts for Project Spectrum and to also feed my ongoing fascination with color, I had a wonderful time dying up skeins and skeins of yarn to take care of my Dye-o-Rama duties. Five honkin skeins of yarn and a whole mess of dyes resulted in this:


Of course, I do prefer how they look skeined...they just look so delicious. Go look. There's beauty in piles of yarn ;)

I have to admit, the skeining was a right pain in the you know what - at least until I figured out a proper setup. Unfortunately it proved to be rather annoying process that involved breaking of yarn at least twice, massive tangling of yarn at least once, and eventually blocking access from one side of the house to the other because the ONLY place I can park my skeiner and swift in a linear fashion at a height where I can still easily see the counter is smack dab in the middle of the foyer. Oh well - at least it works :D

Late to the Party

I kept wanting to be a part of project spectrum but somehow kept getting myself distracted in the process....I got caught up this week with a whole mess of dying (after all, who could dye just one skein of yarn?) you'll have to wait for the photo showing it all, but I'll show you the Green section :) Since green is the focus for May.

These greens remind me of the various abundant (yes, abundant!) shades of green in the desert southwest....I remember being very very surprised when I moved here from the Pacific Northwest and seeing just how many shades of green there are down here!

Faster is not always better

Some of the better things in life benefit from a slower process...

...chocolate conching and tempering....
...a slow rise for bread...
...braising and roasting and low temp barbecuing...

hmm. of course I'm having a bit of trouble finding examples that are not food related ;)

why the fixation on slow vs fast? It's because I'm re-teaching myself how to run. Not that I ever forgot, but I've got a bit of a hangup in that when I was (much) younger I was a sprinter, and never trained for endurance. I've been a bit slow this year on getting myself onto a healthier track - most recently I've been waylaid by special edition Snickers Peanut Caramel Chew Minis...guaranteed to add back a few pounds thanks to those little tasty morsels. Anyhow my workout has been leaving me with something to be desired...and it didn't seem like my cardiovascular fitness was improving at all with the selected regimen I had placed myself on. I had always heard that running was good for cardiovascular fitness and endurance. Further urged into the running pursuits by Raquel (who seems good at getting me sucked into all kinds of things ;) ) I'm trying to unlearn my sprinting habits and gain some ability to actually jog for a reasonable length of time. At first my feet were proving most uncooperative, and three pairs of shoes later, I think I have them finally convinced that running is not akin to being pursued by demons. The next battle was finding a speed to attempt to run at that was comfortable on the treadmill - I've finally come to grips that the training plan is not intended to kill me and leave me breathless and groaning - I've slowed my pace (it isn't a race after all) and I think I'm slowly getting back on the right track :)

I'm lucky indeed...

Lookie here :) it's bulky weight Karaoke (50% wool, 50% soysilk) in beautiful poppy colors - and these are only two of the colors that this soft yarn will be debuting in. That's right :) Debuting - its official release is at TNNA in June. I get to play with it for Southwest Trading Co - I've got a project in mind and I sure hope it comes off the needles as I expect! Whatever it is, I have a month to do it as I need to get the finished object back to SWTC in time for TNNA. I do love playing with new yarn!