Crochet Compulsive

Stunning Finish

2011-08-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

Tour de Fleece 2011. What a ride.

The guilt fiber is GONE. Was transformed in the first 10 days in fact. As a treat, I started in on my stash of Briar Rose Fibers. Here's the happy result, a fabulous bowl of nummy yarns:

This is my total production from July 2 through 24th, on spindles only. 2533 yards singles spun. Around 1100 yards finished yarn, plus 3 full spindles of unknown yardage. That comes to 6 finished hanks! I also took on both cable and chain plying for the first time. (can you tell I’m quite proud of myself? What a shameless braggart I am…)

7 different fibers used, including: Merino, silk, Wensleydale, Polwarth, Border Leicester, alpaca, angora.

Yardage on challenge day: about 300 yards, chain plied Wensleydale on a spindle in the car. (slow, unimpressive going)

Most yardage in a day: 752 yards Ravenfrog Merino, about worsted weight on my Golding.

Tour de Fleece 2011

2011-07-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

The cycling has started, and therefore so has the spinning. For those that have no idea what I'm talking about, the Tour de Fleece is a group of fibery people that use the Tour de France bike race as an impetus to challenge themselves to spin...more, differently, or even at all. Everyone is welcome, all skill levels and modalities are well represented. This year I'm spinning with Team Superfleece, led by the ever intrepid spin enabler Clara Parkes, the oh so subtle and elegantly simple dying talent Chris of Briar Rose Fibers, and the mastermind behind SpiritTrail Fiberworks and the amazingly prolific Anne Hanson of KnitSpot. (kind of enough to make you weak inthe knees just there isn't it?) An amazing stable of spinners has flocked to their banner to spin together and cheer each other on to their goals.

...all of which provided enough impetus for me to FINALLY sort through my fiber and bring out the spindles again. This is what I'll be attacking, what I lovingly refer to as my "guilt fiber" (poor unloved stash of beauty left languishing in the dark since 2008 AT LEAST...insert blush here):

...and the spindles I'll be using:

My goal is simple: to spin it all, working at heavier than laceweight. (I'm good at that already thanks to an amazing little Golding spindle that is a DREAM to work with)

MiiQuest Update

2011-02-07T07:40:00.000-08:00

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

It all started out so fabulous and shiny. (OK, not so much that, but rather sweaty, panting and super sore...but that's not really very inspirational.) Stuck to my core principles: no new gym membership, no new equipment, no new DVDs. Managed 30 days of intense daily workouts following the Biggest Loser 30 Day Jump Start DVD's plan to a T.

[A word about this workout: I like it. I think it's a very well done and rather good comprehensive circuit style workout. However, it's 5 10 minute segments that you are to do in various combos for 30 solid days. It builds from 1 segment a day to 4, so by the end, you're doing 4 of the 5 workouts every day. A bit maddening, but it did push me to do things I wouldn't have otherwise. I just wish I had instituted the "music only" option earlier. That little gem of programming let me stop swearing at the poor Biggest Loser contestants and get in my own head instead. Highly recommended once you know what you're supposed to be doing, which is basically after week 1.]

Then the flu hit. HARD. 4 days of fever, body aches (such an insufficient word), racking cough...generally wanting to die from minute to minute. A week and a half later I'm still coughing and pretty much want to lie down on the floor and sleep and sleep and sleep. Chances are I have a headache every day at some point. So much for working out. Attempts to restart last week left me doubled over trying to expel a lung. SO FRUSTRATING!

BUT. I have lost almost 6 pounds.

AND. It's Monday again, prime time for gearing up. (at least I'm trying to tell my head ache that...please go away!) This time I shall be using a combo of Biggest Loser Workouts: Cardio Max and Power Sculpt.

Hopefully I can get another month under my belt and wave bye-bye to another 5 pounds.

Fingers crossed.

Happy Birthday, Charles Dickens!

2011-02-07T06:18:00.001-08:00

Oh, joy! It's here! Big announcement time is here!!! My super top secret patterns (4 of them!!) are almost ready to make their debut. The book went live to preorders today! Check out this press release from Shannon Oakey at Cooperative Press:

Today would have been Charles Dickens' 199th birthday, and Cooperative Press is pleased to announce that preorders for What Would Madame Defarge Knit? open today in honor of the author whose formidable character Thérèse Defarge inspired Heather Ordover's book. If it's been a while since your last literature class, remember that in A Tale of Two Cities Defarge knits and knits, secretly encoding the names of people she will have killed. Vive la révolution?

Don't worry, there isn't a murder prerequisite to love this book! Ordover, the creator of popular podcast CraftLit, has assembled an inspiring and thought-provoking collection of 20+ patterns, as well as essays and other tidbits inspired by literature, illustrated by the talented Jen Minnis in a black-and-white woodcut style that pays tribute to Dickensian-era publishing.

And if you're reading this, chances are good you are a strong supporter of small independent publishers. You may be interested to know that this book will be the first Cooperative Press release where all designers receive a direct royalty share of each sale. Our Fresh Designs series, which will be out later this year, is set up similarly. Instead of a small, one-time payment for their work at the beginning (and not a penny afterwards, no matter how many copies the book sells), designers have an opportunity to earn an unlimited payment for their work.

Visit the WWMDfK? website for more about the book's contributors and other behind-the-scenes information. As of today's pre-release, the book is 200+ pages, illustrated.

LIMITED EDITION HARDCOVER — ($45)

Signed, with extras. This is a special creation and will be limited to less than 100 copies, numbered. Shipping is included, as is a PDF copy of the book.

DIGITAL EDITION — PDF ($16.95)

PRINT EDITION ($26.95)

DIGITAL (PDF) + PRINT ($26.95)

E-READER EDITION ($16.95) (For Kindle, Nook, Sony e-Reader, iPad, etc)

MiiQuest 2011

2011-01-12T10:37:00.000-08:00

If you have a Wii, and the game WiiFit Plus, you may share my pain.

If you don't, I'll fill you in.

When you get a Wii, you are encouraged to make yourself a Mii...a little computer animated representation of you which can represent your player in various games. You get to spend time picking an astounding array of characteristics: hair color and style, eye color and alignment, face shape, skin tone, even your eyebrows. Your little Mii for the most part jaunts through life very similar in build to every other Mii until it runs across WiiFit Plus, which is a fitness game. And I love it. The whole family loves it.

BUT.

My Mii? Not so much with the love.

You see, one of the first things you do in WiiFit Plus is a body test...which involves being weighed with the accompanying balance board. And if you're anything like me (or my husband, or my sister, or my neighbor), maybe on the less vigilant side of fit, as soon as you're done, your poor Mii plumps right up like the Pillsbury dough boy.

Boo. Hiss. (...and frankly, not great PR...someone, somewhere in the Nintendo organization consciously, purposefully made this decision and I am now going on record as saying you, nameless Nintendo minion...you are not my favorite.)

Lately my poor little rotund Mii has become a symbol for the many things I am not doing for me, myself and I. Important things. Things that need rectifying. NOW.

Hence The Quest.

(This all also may have something to do with the fact that 2011 is shaping up to be something of a landmark year for me. I will turn 40. My oldest progeny will turn 10, marking a full decade of unintended immersion in the home and others. My youngest will turn 5 and start Kindergarten, creating both a shining beacon of hope on the horizon and a deep seated pit of doom firmly lodged in my ego. But you know, I'd much rather blame Nintendo than enter years of psychoanalysis, so we're going with the Mii thing.)

The Quest has several components:

1) Rescue my Mii...and hopefully improve my own health and happiness along the way.

2) Rescue my ego. I believe this involves deciding what I want to be when I grow up, but really, I'm not sure.

3) Rescue my crafting. The joy needs to come back. The stress needs to go away. If I don't want to do it, I'm not going to let myself be pressured into it. You all are on notice that The Year of Selfish Crafting has begun.

4) Rescue my kids. OK, don't panic, they really don't need rescuing per say, they are really fabulous kids and are totally safe and very well loved. In terms of the larger household and family venue though, they do need to carry more of their own metaphorical weight, and really, I think that can totally be construed as saving them from themselves.

So.

Forward into the fray we go.

The tale of the green tomoatoes

2010-12-22T11:24:00.000-08:00

(...or Catch-Up, part tres)

Look at this.

That's about as red as any tomato got in my garden this past summer. Something aobut our weather here in MN this summer just did not jive and I was left with 7 vines full of green tomatoes.

The ones that got semi-red eventually turned enough to nosh when left on a sunny window sill, but there was no way I could contemplate tossing the rest in the compost. Something had to be done.

Once again, google provided an answer. First, I toyed with this Green Tomato and Red Onion Relish recipe (with judicious advice from veteran canners to make sure my mods weren't going to end up poisoning anyone, ya know) and ended up with a moan worthy condiment that more closely resembled a savory jam. Here are my tweaks:

regular onions versus red
no red peppers...more tomatoes!
whole head of garlic cloves roughly chopped
tsp red pepper flakes
no anise (BLECH, I so do not like anise!)
lots and lots of simmering time (like the whole afternoon)

18 jam jars of that pretty much took care of about half of the backlog. My thoughts then turned to pickles. Is there anything more enchanting than bright gems of veggies floating in a pickle jar? (OK, there most likely are many, but when faced with legions of inedible tomatoes, pickle jars begin to seem a bit magical...) This commentary I found on brine jars on the BackWoodsHome webpage (scroll to the end) nabbed my fancy, perhaps because the concept was so simple. I followed her instructions for canning them (adding a bit more garlic and of course some spice) and here they sit, awaiting their big reveal.

Pretty pretty pictures

2010-12-21T11:54:00.000-08:00

(or catch-up, part deux)

Sample made for Jennie the Potter with her fabulous Home Brew DK silk.

Blue version of the Briar Rose scarf I talked about last time. Turned out nice and swoopy.

SHHHHH! Secret!

Catch-up!

2010-12-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

Picture time, picture time!

Projects first: (watch out...this gonna take some TIME)

2 projects made for Chris at Briar Rose Fibers:

This one is officially "Dawn's Scarf" and is one of their $1 patterns available at shows and festivals. Done with their lovely Grandma's Blessing yarn. It's a super deep V shaped scarf to keep my front bits warm in the winter...I don't like zipping up to my chin when I'm running in and out while doing errands. LOVE the texture.

Next, a crochet edging I did for their After Hours Shawl.

True.

2010-12-18T10:00:00.000-08:00

How snowy was it? This snowy:

That's Olive, our newest addition. She's a bulldog rescue we ended up fostering after a friend became insanely allergic to her...and of course she's never left. Funny how that happens, eh?

Winter harvest

2010-12-17T17:24:00.000-08:00

What does one do when home with sick kids for 11 days straight only to then be buried in 18 inches of snow for 2 more?

If you're me, you become totally obsessive about marmalade, that's what.

Turns out marmalade is a super simple concept many make mind-numbingly tedious. My first batches followed Alton Brown's marmalade directions to the letter and it is absolutely perfect, pure orange sunshine in a jar. Second batch used his process with the fruit proportions from this cranberry orange marmalade recipe on the Free Range Living blog. It is also perfect in a very cranberry type of way.

The beauty of both being that Alton's genius for food science (not to mention the inherent chemical make-up of oranges) makes extra pectin totally unnecessary....that and the fact that it absolutely tickles me to be able to put whole unpeeled oranges into my food processor and have fabulousness result.

20 half-pints of preserves later and I'm well on my way to having my holidays in hand.

Early harvest

2010-07-30T19:11:00.000-07:00

Things go slowly in the veggie patch here in Minnesota. While we've only picked a few cherry tomatoes and have yet to see cucumbers or zucchini, there have been bumper crops of other kinds. Our exceptionally warm, wet weather is apparently much appreciated by our berries and rhubarb.

While things are tapering off now, for most of the month we gathered at least a pint of berries a day...including blackberries almost 2 inches long!

...and we've cut the rhubarb down to dirt twice already. With the freezer filled with more than we can likely use over the winter, there was a bit of Rhubarb-palooza going on:

The before:

The afters:

rhubarb strawberry apple sauce

muffins

bread

crisp, syrup (for drinks), custard bars

Drum Roll, Please!

2010-06-30T09:21:00.001-07:00

It's big announcement day! I've been dying to let everyone know that I've been working on some crochet design projects for Chris, the master dyer behind the subtle, earthy, dramatic fabulous-ness that is Briar Rose Fibers.

I first met Chris at the Michigan Fiber Festival, on my first road trip with my friend Jennie the Potter, where she generously let us huddle around the little TV in her trailer to watch the spectacle of the summer Olympics. After many years now, I staunchly maintain that a more big-hearted, lovely person with a more big-hearted, lovely business ethic you will never meet. (well, unless it is Jennie...soul sisters these 2 are, you can't help but want to be a better, more shiny person being around them.) Chris, it turns out, is a lapsed crocheter, and my ever optimistic crochety-ness eventually rubbed off on her and she has asked me to work up a few things with her various yarns.

I finished a few small projects for them earlier in the year, a cowl and a very deeply v-d shawlette that are available in their little dollar card patterns at shows. (...and of course I don't have pictures of those...was too excited to ship them out as soon as they were finished) BUT, my first major on-taking has just been released. May I introduce you to Arachne's Path?

Isn't it a great picture? Those Briar Rose folks are just so talented. It's a one skein scarf out of their Sonoma, which is a 100% wool I would categorize as on the lighter end of the bulky yarn spectrum, worked in motifs you interlock as you go along. The openwork semicircles overlap one another giving quite a dramatic effect. Here it is on me:

...and here it is blocking out:

Hopefully I'll catch up with the other booth samples soon and have pictures to share of those as well. This is an ongoing project, so you can expect other crochet lovelies in Chris' fabulous fibers to pop up throughout the year as well.

This is becoming one very baaaad habit...

2010-06-23T19:08:00.000-07:00

...but if I keep up the blog procrastination trend, I can keep posting entertaining catch-up notes. Here we go. New this summer:

1) Very much less hair. (about 6 inches)

With which I am trying new and exciting hair care things that involves much less sulfate-y shampoo product, banishing silicone from my head, and hopefully embracing the naturally not so straight mannerisms of my hair. If you need to know more, you can find a fabulous overview of this approach on this blog, or in the great comprehensive resource of Live Curly, Live Free. (There is also a website called naturallycurly.com, that I find hugely overwhelming, but it might just be helpful to you.)

2) Lots of brain-inflaming crochet designing. Thing like this:

...that I will be able to tell you about soon, soon, soon. More things that are not so soon to appear, but I can maybe arrange to slide in some sneak peeks now and again. Starting so many new things means there are not so many other things being finished, and that huge basket of packages still awaits me. I figure the longer it sits, the more surprising those surprises will be, right?

3) A puppy that isn't so much of a puppy anymore, who has decided that he is a swimmer:

4) Kids that cannot possibly be this big:

5) Family drama that just might finally knock me off my duff and make me build systems of self-care....if I can figure out how to do that amid spur of the moment eruptions of fever and vomiting whenever I even think of leaving the house without small people in tow.

6) Random spontaneous rants that seem to run rampant whenever I listen to or read the news. What news, you may ask? Really, any of it. State, federal, international. Is it just me, or is the world increasingly populated by the brainless? I really don't mind well reasoned, rational, fact-based discourse...I tend to learn something even if I don't agree with the conclusions...but where is that happening?? I see a lot of "just because I say so", and that makes me NUTS. Making things up and saying it over and over and over again does not at some point mean it is true. People are not evil or damned or your enemy, or even *GASP* wrong just because they don't agree with your perspective. Rational, respectful discourse is all but extinct and compromise seems to have become a taboo subject to even broach. Absolutism is more and more becoming the be-all-end all. It makes me want to institute mandatory remedial reading of some serious Dr. Seuss. Sneeches anyone? Zax? The Lorax? What's the one where everyone is dashing about thinking something's hot on their tail out to get them and as you follow the chain back it ends up being a frog stuck in a bucket or some such? Yes, Dr. Seuss could possibly be the savior of our times if only people would listen.

7) A shiny new cleaned up blog. That hopefully will see more regular use. ;)

Building it better...

2010-01-05T14:55:00.000-08:00

*insert flashback to the million dollar man intro complete w/ cool bionic sound effects that really are from the bionic woman intro here*

In years past I've fallen all over myself joining in on swaps, clubs and -alongs...only to be generally nonplussed. Don't get me wrong, I've hand fun and had some fabulous surprises, but in general things have fallen flat. Adding that to a rather tight financial year cemented my resolve to steer clear of the bright shiny joiner bling. Kind of sad, but you know, doable. Or at least that's what I told myself a grownup responsible mom of 3 would decide.

Being an adult is just so BORING sometimes.

I do love me a good surprise though, and is there anyone that doesn't like a spontaneous present now and then? Yup, the kid in me held a wee small rebellion, which grew to tantrum level when people in the yarniverse started making noises about a certain rockstar status yarn club opening registrations soon. At which point the biggest boy glued our budget to my glasses. Party-pooper.

Then this tweet from the Yarn Harlot ran across my screen:

"Maybe taking my own advice and matching stash sock patterns w/ yarns for a random sock of the month club. All in a box, pull one a month?"

OOOOOoooooooooo!!! I've been sitting on TONS of great stuff I've picked up on my various travels and adventures over the past few years. We're talkin' lots of Handmaiden. Dream in Color. Lisa Souza. Skeins lovingly hand-dyed by my friend Meg. Briar Rose Fibers. Mine own handspun. Socks that Rock even! Every once in awhile I take it out and play with it, but in general it just sits, patternless and longing for a function. (Quite sad really. Bordering on neglect I think. Please don't turn me in.) Now this stuff, I would LOVE to find in my mailbox.

Now wait, with a little effort I CAN find it in my mailbox!

With a little time on Ravelry and some printing assistance when I squeezed the last drop of ink out of my printer, the great unearthing began:

Happy patterns. Happy fibers. Hours of organizational geek-out. Ah, the ecstasy. A bit later, here's what I gots:

Close to 30 anonymous packages of various sizes and shapes. Absolutely no identifying marks. Nice mix of knit and crochet. Some are small and quick, some a bit more elaborate...and one project I'm even a bit afraid of. All ready and waiting to please. Here are my rules:

1) I get my pick on the 15th of every month.
2) I get my pick when I finish a hibernating or temporarily-exiled-and-then-promptly-forgotten-about project.
3) I get my pick when one of several select people deems it necessary for mental health reasons. (you know who you are...use the power wisely my pod.)

How fun is that? A year of surprises! A year of surprises I know I'll LOVE! And no more fabulous-but-languishing-yarn guilt! BWAHAHAHA! This is genius!

[and for those that must know, here's the list, totally cross referenced to Ravelry for you. all patterns, with the exception of one pair of socks from a booklet a wonder friend brought me back from Rhinebeck, are free (that was part of my no-expense deal with myself):

Fawkes socks (knit)
Chevron Lace Cardigan (crochet)
Diamond Ridges hat (crochet)
Poinsettia (knit...Knitty rules!)
Springtime Bandit (knit)
Silk Kerchief (knit...but mine will be alpaca)
Edelweiss Mittens (knit)
Flapper hat (crochet)
Crocheted Mesh Scarf (duh!)
Kalajoki socks (knit)
Zagnut (crochet)
Falling Tears socks (knit)
Knotty but Nice hat (knitty rocks!)
Earl Grey socks (knit)
One Row Handspun Scarf (knit)
Susie's Reading Mitts (knit)
Hedgerow socks (knit)
Mojo socks (knit)
Magic Mirror socks (knit)
Crochet Lacy Shawl (duh!)
Cross Skull Cap (knit)
Abby (yup, more knitty!)
Sunday Swing (...and more.)
Pebble Lace Crochet Tam (hooks and needles both, it's a 2-fer)
Elissa set (crochet)
Alpaca Angel (crochet)
1 pair of socks from the Thistle & Fox book
crochet ripple out of my own head (becasue it's malabrigo lace i bought for that purpose) ]

Well Helloooooo!

2010-01-04T08:05:00.000-08:00

Wow does July seem a world away. Was it ever really warm enough here to pick berries and do projects outside? Crazy talk.

I feel like every post I've put up this past year has been playing a bit of catch-up. I hope to do better this year. I do get a lot out of having a forum in which to clear my brain...and you know pretty pictures and a bit of brag are always worth the effort too. Yes, the blog shall be part of my ever ambitious "it's a brand spanking new year, so let's build a brand spanking new me" action plan.

That said, let's do play a game of catch-up shall we?

Summer's end saw us once again at the MN state fair. IMO outstanding fiber craft entry o the year being the quilted game of Candy Land, vintage style, not the lame modern retake...scaled so you can be your own piece. Serously. Cool.

We also adopted what we thought would be a new resident of our abode and our long awaited second dog, Mazey: ( I know, blurry, but I love the look on her face)

She's actually Gus' champion of a grandma, recently retired from breeding. The dogs got along fabulously as Gus loves nothing better than being bossed around by a pretty girl. Initially it seemed like a great fit, she was super submissive to all humans in the house, but in the long run the unpredictable energy of a 3 yo was just too much for her and she tried to keep him in line as she would a puppy...so back she went to the breeder. She was with us for almost 4 months by then, so quite a few tears were shed going into the holidays this year. We miss her, and that also makes us miss Emma and Willy. Sometimes I wonder if the hurt will ever ease.

Gus has been out of sorts ever since, and that breaks my heart. He's lonely and a bit bored with us at times...and the long stretch of below zero temps is not helping one bit. He's a cutie though, and quite a cuddle bug. Love the 55 pound lapdog.

The kids went back to school and I became engrossed in righting the wrongs of public school funding by taking a leadership roll in the PTO which has basically turned into a full-time job. There's always more to do, and not enough people willing to do it. They're getting a stellar education, but sometimes I wonder if the constant fight it takes to keep a charter school up and running is worth it. When I look at our alternatives, I know 100 and 10 percent that it is, but wow could things at a state and federal level be organized to make things saner.

On the fun side o' life, we picked innumerable apples this fall and turned them into much yumminess:

I spent some time playing with handspun (from my own batts even!)and crochet post stitches:

...made children deliriously happy with fiber goodies:

...and in general fell even further in love with my Kitchenaid mixer:

That about brings us up to date. I'll leave you with this reminder that wrapping paper, though bright and shiny, is not to be the next taste sensation:

Pictoral Proof...

2009-07-13T06:15:00.000-07:00

...that summer is progressing apace.

After math of pitting 2 1/2 gallons of sour cherries from my friend Jennie's tree.

Aren't they gorgeous though? Went straight into the freezer to await their turn as pie.

Baby present. SO beautiful and drapey. 2 hanks of parakeet sock yarn from The March Hare.

More berry bounty! 3 gallons of strawberries met the same fate as the cherries. Add 5 quarts of rhubarb to the mix in the freezer and there a long tasty winter ahead of us!

...and the baby just keeps growing and growing and growing.

Update-o-rama

2009-06-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

Summer break. 3 kids home full time. Soccer. Baseball. Swimming lessons. Unseasonable HOT-and-STEAMY-ness. Sprinkler. Kiddie pool. Constant demand for snacks. Library. TV ban.

That's pretty much the picture around here right now. I myself am variously sinking and swimming. It depends on the day. Or the minute. Or how long it's been since I've spoken with someone older than 8.

The garden:

The monkeys:

The water-loving puppy: (yes, I'm sure he's a bulldog...he's just a gangly, adolescent one.)

Home to heartbreak

2009-05-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

Back from wonderful trip to Maryland Sheep and Wool with my wonderful friend JenniethePotter where we hooked up with more wonderful old friends Amy and Heather and I met even more wonderful new friends Gretchen and Aisha and Lara.

Wish I could wax rhapsodic about the trip, but a lot of the wonderful came to a crashing halt when my husband had to put our older dog to sleep after a bizarre and very rapid illness. (stomach acid in lungs = very, very bad.) And I was still in Maryland. Yeah. For those keeping track, this was bang on 1 year and 1 month after Willy had to be put down while we were vacationing as a family in Florida. Don't even know what to think about it all. Anger. Pain. Hurt. Huge vortex of all 3 surrounded by a cloud of SAD.

Oh sweet Emma. I miss you. Miss you. Miss you.

...yeah I know. But I'm here now!

2009-04-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

OK, so there was yet another blogging black hole...but good reasons this time!

#1: My neighbor returned my copy of The Time Traveler's Wife...one of my favorite books ever and one I had no clue I had loaned to her. Of course I immediately sat down and cracked it open. Proceeded to read ravenously until it was done. Oops.

#2: Sock Madness. Busy, busy, busy knitting.

#3: Gus.

Sun on ceramic = gooood in puppy land.

Emma has come to terms with him...but he still startles her at times.

Boy and dog.

Girl and dog.

Crocheter and dog.

Is there anything cuter?

2009-04-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

I think not. Meet my newest baby.

Payin' it forward!

2009-04-01T17:38:00.000-07:00

First, general commentary on what's been what with me lately:

Rabbit hole of the moment: The first round of Sock Madness 3 coinciding with 3 consecutive weeks of spring break for the small people.

Brag: I had another article published, this time in the Spring 2009 Interweave Crochet. This time around I had the extreme pleasure of profiling designer extraordinaire Julia Vancosin. Spastic joy of chatting up a multi-craftual, multi-lingual grown-up aside, this process also stretched some very underutilized brain matter and opened my eyes to some horizons toward which I was definitely not looking. Loved the process. Hope to do more.

Just Sayin': Spent the last 3 days with my oral-surgeon of a sister in Milwaukee. She had some enlarged lymph nodes removed from her neck. This is the 4th time she has had this done. I have some general thoughts for you. 1) If someone takes an unexpectedly large thing from your loved ones neck, upon telling you it is much larger than it looked on the MRI they should be able to tell you immediately whether or not it is cancerous. I know that is likely a hugely unreasonable stance. Just sayin'. 2) When someone has a big ass surgical incision in their neck you should take all precautions humanly possible to avoid their upchucking. Do not believe them when they contend that being queasy after surgery is normal...make them switch pain meds thus hopefully stopping all stomach unrest ASAP. The alternative is horrific to watch someone go through, much less almost passing out because that someone is someone you love terrbily. Sometimes being a righteous bitch is justified. Just sayin'. 3) Jing in Milwaukee's Historic 3rd Ward rocks the Chinese food world and their combo fried rice has magical healing powers. (Their Singapore noodles and crab rangoons, while not magical, are quite tasty.) Just sayin'.

World-view shattering realization: After 3 days in my sister's apartment with little to do but make sure she continued to breathe, provide a variety of fluids and document consumption of pain meds, I question the need for yarn when in the presence of Wii. The crazy obsessive joy of Wii-ing could have disastrous implications for my stash.

Hope on the horizon: Puppy. Stay tuned.

On to the fun and games!

[What follows is totally ganked from Heather's blog.]

The first five (cinq) (cinco) (5) people to respond to this post will get something made by me.
This offer does have some restrictions and limitations so please read carefully:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. (No refunds... no exchanges!!!!)
2. What I create will be just for you, with love from me.
3. It'll be done this year (2009).
4. I will not give you any clue what it's going to be. It will be something made in the real world and not something cyber. It may be weird or beautiful. I may even create something totally unbelievable and surprise you!! Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange...or awesome...or lovely...or offensive!
6. In return, all you need to do is post this text into a note/post of your own and make 5 things for the first 5 to respond to it.
7. Send your mailing address if you don't live close to me! Feel free to email your mailing addy to crochetcompulsive at gmail dot com.

IMPORTANT: This offer is null and void if I do not see you post your own note to pay this forward...and believe me, I'll look. I don't have a real job and I get bored easily so I have all the time in the world to stalk your ass!

So. Who's playing?

Of sauce making and time flying

2009-03-09T19:49:00.001-07:00

Today, I've a tale of sauce and socks.

So it's no secret that I've been a bit unsettled. A bit restless. A bit lost. The beginning of the year pretty much always does that to me. I always make big plans to start something new and shiny and fantastic...and my life always finds a way to shut it down. Or at least that's how it seems. Truth being that I have a way of convincing myself that if I can only get more organized, more regimented, more controlled I can somehow manage to be perfect. Lose the weight. Turn the house into Pottery Barn. Banish dust bunnies for all time. Perhaps master karate or re-master yoga. Pick up a PhD or 2. Be a Super Hero of a Mom and Rock Star volunteer, yet still have time for all of the yarn play, baking from scratch and obsessive reading I can handle.

Yeah right.

What life has a way of doing is bringing me back to reality. I have this regular, recurring date with facing my limitations in an often stark manner. And it always, always pisses me totally and completely off. Because somehow the propaganda gets me. I should be able to have it all. I should be able to do it all. And that's a lie. Life is compromise. Give and take. A series of trade-offs.

And for some reason I need an annual reminder. OK, perhaps bi-annual.

So that's where I've been.

Now, where do the sauce and socks come in?

The sauce is a sop. It's my grandmother's recipe. (or non-recipe really as the making of it was distilled into my synapses at a very early age) As is the lasagna. The Italian Wedding soup. Pasta i Fagioli. Garlic bread. Carbonara. Alfredo. The tiny fried dough balls drizzled in honey and topped with sprinkles. (they have a name I cannot recall...) The things I turn to when I'm down. Yes, for me self-love = serious cooking. (hence the need to lose the weight...) The results are spectacular and bring much praise. Making these dishes, I shine. And eventually that turns me around. The house may be a cluttered mish-mash, I may be well padded, things may fall through my mental cracks well more often that I am comfortable with...but I make some truly fine Italian nosh.

So, there's been a bit of cookery going down.

Now for the socks. The socks, they've been living in a quite dark corner for almost a year now, stuffed there to keep me from thinking of them...and the things bound to them. They were started for round 2 of Sock Madness last year. They're a quite ingenious and inventive pattern...fully reversable, exactly the same inside and out.

The pattern came out whilst we were in Florida on vacation last year, a fact I thought would most likely knock me out of play. Traveling with 3 kids under 7 generally does not translate to much free time. And I was right. I might have made it had not one of our dogs needed to be put down the day after we left. Talk about guilt. I was a wreck. My husband got deathly ill. We powered through the week, me pouring all of my stress into these socks so I could hold it together and take care of everyone when we were not in a place to fall apart. By the time we got home the kids were sick as well. Really, really, really sick. And I spent many late, sleepless nights surrounded by a huge void in my home and knocking off row after row of these socks. By the time they recovered, I of course got it and was sicker than I ever remember being. By the time it was all over, I couldn't even look at the socks without being overcome with yuck. So away they went. And I promptly forgot about them. Convienent, no?

Having decided to tackle Sock Madness again this year, a few weeks ago I started pulling things out - reclaiming needles, unearthing sock yarn. And I found the socks. And I cried. And cried. And totally freaked out the other dog by hugging her a bit too much and a bit too often. The grief I hadn't had time for last year had to play itself out, so I let it. And I started working on the socks again...and finished them. But I didn't want them. At all.

So, when my sister came to town last week I happily gifted them to her. They fit perfectly (as you can see above), better than they fit me actually. She loved them and claimed them as her own.

...and 4 hours later woke me with excrutiating abdominal pain. 7 hours in the ER on every narcotic known to mankind found her being admitted with a kidney stone and apparently intractible pain. 24 hours of that and she was home again. Fine.

Anyone know how to exorcise socks?

mitts, mitts, mitts!

2009-02-01T18:18:00.000-08:00

s
I knit 3 pair of fair isle fingerless mitts for holiday gifts. 2 for teacher gifts, 1 for my sister. Was running so last minute compounded with lifeless camera batteries led to a lack of documentation. I've only this in progress pair to show. Used 2 skeins of Noro Silk Garden Lite, so they were all very fraternal, but so very stunning. The pattern was Pam Allen's Fresco Fair Isle Mitts from Winter 2008 IK. There was enough left over for some mitts for m'self even. Who knew Noro could be so economical??? Frantic holiday knitting firmly behind me, I started a pair based on Julia Vaconsin's Basic Fingerless Mittens pattern on CrochetMe. As this was fingering vs. her aran weight, I fiddled with the maths a bit. Started with 10 more stitches then worked 3 more reps of the increase at the gusset. And I added stripes. LOVE. THEM.

Seven Deadly Spins SPOILER

2009-01-22T11:39:00.000-08:00

If you don't want to know, don't go any further.

You have been warned. I mean it. The goodies are ahead.

Proceed at your own risk. Don't cry to me that your surprise went kaplooey because of this.

I have to show you, I have to show you, I have to show you!!!
This is by far my favorite kit so far.
Sivia Harding pattern. Luscious alpaca/merino/silk blend.
LOVE.
Are you GREEN? Like with ENVY?
The Seven Deadly Spins are almost over, but you can still catch The Six Kingdoms.

Warning: Existential crisis ahead

2009-01-21T14:26:00.000-08:00

Quick update on me.

All of my New Year self-improvement gumption ran smack dab into 2 weeks of sick kids, traveling husband and budgetary angst. It was also pointed out to me that when #3 enters kindergarten in 2011 I will also be turning 40. Given, the last kid going off to school is one mighty nice present to be looking forward to, but whoa. That also means I will have dedicated a full decade to kids, cooking, laundry, cleaning and the like. All of my 30s. Gone. This is vastly different than the 2 kid plan that by now would have had me 2 solid years into re-deciding what I wanted to be now that I was all grown up.

So then my head blew up. I'm still picking up the pieces and hoping I can find a way to fit them back together.

Cabin Fever

2009-01-09T09:19:00.000-08:00

It was supposed to be joyous mommy kids-back-to-school-week. Instead it was mutant roto-norwalk virus week. (or at least that's what the CDC tells me...) Here's the detrius:

It all started the second the big boy left the state on business of course. There has been much laundry, car upholstery scrubbing, not sleeping and soup making. A bit of a domestic marathon really. And my reward? The contents of this rumpled paper bag:

Yes, he took a tiny detour on his way home to get me my favorite ever burrito. Chorizo from La Bamba in Madison. Yum.

Stuck in a post-holiday house with sick 2nd grader and a traveling husband, what's a mom to do? SPIN apparently:

BFL dyed by Brair Rose Fibers. This is the second filling of my improvised plying bobbin contraption. Already have 3 ounces plied and skeined with more to go:

Hiding under it is freshly balled Handmaiden Sea Silk. My friend Amy is going to be in the state next week and I want to be knitting something she can touch and love. Off to disinfect the universe.

Images from the fray

2009-01-02T10:49:00.000-08:00

Flashing back to the holiday crafting crazy for you.

I made 2 of Wooly Wormhead's Mystery Beret's (aka the Meret). Both done in rather on the bulky side handspun as I didn't have the requisite worsted. (and thus discovered I have a gaping hole in my yarn stash. seriously. I have little to no worsted!) I know it's not optimal for the lace, but hey I love them anyway. This is the one for my sister:

It's a wool blended with reclaimed sari silk from Lara at Green Apple Yarn. Sadly, Lara has moved from the glory of Saint Paul and doesn't appear to be selling her stuff right now. Is it something about Conneticut? Shame as she has a very locavore/natural dying bent I miss in the local offerings.

And this is mine:

Worked up in handspun from Aisha Celia. Lovely stuff. It's like a muted rainbow.

Serious Kitchen Power Tool

2008-12-30T09:10:00.000-08:00

Color me one happy baker.
I registered for this when we got married 12 years ago.
My sis landed it under the tree for me this year.
Broke it in this morning making orange ginger cookies in thanks.
YUM.

I'm a cover girl!

2008-12-12T09:37:00.000-08:00

Oh great galloping gargoyles!
Guess who wrote about the Twin Cities...
I'm speechless.

The Girl Effect

2008-12-05T13:33:00.000-08:00

Just when I'm pushed beyond my limits for maintaining any sense of faith in humanity by stories of trampled Wal-Mart workers, mugged pregnant women, people making porn with 2 year olds a friend lands this in my lap. I pass the gift along to you today. Go to girleffect.org and renew your faith. There is good going on in the world and we can help.

Because I don't want to clean...

2008-11-12T07:57:00.000-08:00

...I shall post pictures of snow instead: (bye bye fall!)

...and a finished project. Plaid scarf in crochet for the school auction:

To #1s dismay, this is never to be made again as it waaaaay exceeded my maximum allowable number of ends to weave in. Still, it turned out well, even with me adding a third color to the works.

Let's run in circles, shall we?

2008-11-07T11:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, there has been a much dreaded dearth of blogging. Not that I haven't wanted to. My intentions of blogging each and every day remain pure as the snow falling outside of my window right now. It really is not my fault. Let's take this next week as an example. Here's the rundown:

Friday (or what remains of it): dig hockey helmet out from dregs of basement, pack bag for #1's sleepover, wrap b-day gift, begin dinner prep, pick up kids #1 &2 from school with #3 in tow, get #1 to sleepover, #2 to birthday party at skating rink (remember to bring previously mentioned helmet), return home with #3 to get chicken in oven and potatoes boiled before picking #2 up again to skeedadle home to mash potatoes and make salad, eat dinner, bathe children, clean kitchen, spend quality time with hub watching TV while folding about 20 loads of laundry, collapse.

Saturday: attack yard full of now soggy leaves if it is neither snowing or raining, wrap b-day gifts for neighbors, pick up #1 from sleepover before heading with her and #2 to hockey, hopefully have some quality knitting time on items for silent auction while freezing my ass off in said hockey arena, dash home with #s 1&2 just in time for neighbor kids' b-day party, pack overnight bags for #s 1, 2 &3 during party, reclaim all kids and get them to grandparents hopefully with time to spare for a shower before 7 pm party. crap, need to make 2 sausage mushroom strudels in there somewhere...

Sunday: fight off hangover while reclaiming children, rake yard full of leaves that have again accumulated overnight, clean out gutters, find boots and snowpants leftover from #2 that better fit #3 now buried in the basement, and all of the usual meal associated stuff, homework, prepping for the rest of the week which highlights:

Monday: grouping of auction items, fighting with #3 over napping, #1 after school drama club
Tuesday: class for #3 in a.m., parent day at school for #1 &2, auction meeting in p.m., something for the hub that I cannot now remember
Wednesday: frantic cleaning, hub heads out of town for interviews, #1 has drama club after school again, my sis comes to visit which hopefully offsets the impact of daddy being gone.
Thursday: inlaws come, #1s dress rehearsal, evening meeting at school, hopefully hub comes home and kids stop revolting.
Friday: 7:30 a.m school meeting, 9 am PTO meeting, entertaining of inlaws & sis, early family dinner before #1s school play at 6:30 (go travel agent #1!), more extended family time hopefully involving a few cocktails before I eventually collapse into a puddle.

So. Do not expect much of me for a bit, eh? For being so understanding, I shall reward you with pictures:

I have several new scarves I love:

Amy Singer's Montego Bay Scarf.
Handmaiden Sea Silk. YUM!
Seriously, it wraps around my head like 6 times at least.

This is a rogue stumpy modification of an Annette Petavy pattern.
Arucania alpaca with a fabulous button from Jenniethepotter.

These are Pam Allen's Fresco Fair Isle Mitts worked with 2 colorways of Noro Silk Garden. I'm supposedly making them for the kids' school's community auction. We'll see how that goes, though I think I'll easily get 3 fraternal pairs out of them so perhaps I can spare a few. Serious YUM. And I'm now addicted to Fair Isle I fear...

...and lookie what my friend Jennie brought me from Rhinebeck! More Briar Rose fiber!!! And a fabulous hook Chris' husband Roger is now hand turning. Fabulous!!!

...and more goodies this time from Toronto. I just have the best friends evah. You hear that Amy? Evah! The gorgeousness in the bag is SILK ROVING. (deserving of every single capital) And Blueprint Crochet by Robyn Chachula even! Swoon! Top it alloff with a luscious chunk of dark chocolate with candied orange rind and I'm in heaven! Thank you (5828456273) Jennie and Amy.

More crafting for the auction. In school colors. This one may push me over the end-weaving cliff. Patience is not my virtue.

...and the Tomten I most likely won't finish in time for #3 to wear before spring.

A better picture of my Wavelength scarf. Now washed and blocked so the Noro did that fabulous thing only Noro can do and it's sooooo soft now!

...and it's moebius version.

WHEW! That comes close to catching up. Off to find the hockey helmet...

A month is a loooong time.

2008-10-31T18:48:00.001-07:00

Really, how can it be that I haven't posted for basically the entire month? Twitter is faking me out it seems.

There's oh so much to say. For now I shall give you my day's labor:

OK, so the dragon was a leftover. The Wall-E and the wood fairy took me days, and believe you me you so don't want to be spending any amount of time in my house right now, but oh all so worthy of the effort. They were both so happy. Some things are always worth doing well and Halloween is one of them.

Photographical Regurgitation

2008-10-02T13:01:00.001-07:00

Found the entire month of September on the photo card today. Here's the scoop:

Veggies, veggies and more veggies: (example of our weekly box from the farm)

Saved from languishing unloved: (did I mention that we moved the parents for the third time this year?)

More handspun from my friend Meg's roving. This is from Eenie's lamb fleece.

And yes, soup has again made it's seasonal debut in the dinner rotation.

This is my mom's white bean with ham. It's easy peasy and SO good. Here's how you too can have beanie goodness:

What you need:
1 bag of white beans
1 leftover bone from a ham or a couple of ham hocks
2 bay leaves
1 large chopped onion
4-5 peppercorns
salt
butter
olive oil for finishing (optional)

1) Soak the entire bag of dried white beans overnight. Drain and rinse in the morning. Soak them again in fresh water until mid-afternoon.

2) Saute the onion in a bit of butter until translucent. Do this right in your big soup pot.

3) Add the ham bones, re-drained and re-rinsed beans, bay leaves and peppercorns. Cover with water. Bring to a simmer and let bubble along happily until the beans are soft and beginning to break down. Stir frequently. Add liquid as needed.

4) Fish out the bones. With a stick blender, puree the soup a bit. You still want to have whole beans floating around though. Chop up any bits of ham still clinging to the bones. Stir it back in. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

5) We serve with a drizzle of olive oil on top. You can skip it if you like, but you'll be missing out.

Once again on the food thing...

2008-09-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

OK, so it was rapidly clarified that Starbucks was only pulling milk at it's outlets in China. Makes me feel a bit better about the whole thing.

A bit.

But still...

American owned company's coffee add-in. American owned company's baby food. American/UK owned company's candy. All being pulled. Not proven to have actually harmed anyone, but I read the fact they are pulling product to mean they have reason to suspect their product sourcing.

I know there's an argument. How could they know, right? But come on now. With China's recent record of consumer health scandals, you think someone might care to check eh?

This on top of the financial crisis leaves me thinking corporate America is indeed morally and ethically bankrupt. Does no one have a conscience any more?

Call to action folks. Know better. Do better. Be informed. Demand a higher standard.

Yet one more reason...

2008-09-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

...to pay a bit more to eat LOCALLY.

Melamine. In milk. Seriously. That has to be dissolved in formaldehyde or tother chemical base before it can be dissolved in milk. One official postulates that before that they used animal skin or urine to boost the protein content of the milk they watered down to boost their production.

YUM.

Before reading this morning's paper, which contained an Associated Press article on the latest in consumer health crises in China, I assumed this was a phenomena isolated to the country in question.

Not so it appears.

Said article says Starbucks is pulling their milk.

What?

While there is not further elaboration, I would assume this means that Starbucks, the bastion of Americana cafe culture, uses milk imported from CHINA in their stores.

Seriously.

Yet one more thing to add to the ever growing list of "Evidence that Americans are Losing their Minds".

How does someone at a company of this stature decide it's a good thing to import their milk from overseas? Again with the assuming, but my guess is this has something to do with cost...and I will counter with the idea that the food that is supposed to nourish your body isn't really where you want to search out the rock bottom pennies for a gallon price. And at that rock bottom price, what kind of farming culture are you supporting? Farmers scraping by on the nothing you are giving them for the product of their family's labor. And I don't even want to think about what that means for the animals.

It's called personal and corporate responsibility people. Open your eyes. Know where your food comes from.

Gob Smacked.

2008-09-10T16:46:00.000-07:00

That is me.

School stuff.

Volunteering.

About 5 million meetings and to-dos for both.

Garage Sale.

Designs floating around in my head.

Masses of veg I'm desperately trying to use before they rot. Must take advantage of harvest here in MN.

Gob. Smacked.

Bittersweet

2008-08-28T08:22:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading today's paper. I think it started building after listening to Hillary Clinton's speech Tuesday evening, but these two syndicated columnists left me feeling quite unexpectedly bittersweet on a day I fully expected to feel exultation.

Ellen Goodman. (Sorry Ms. Goodman, I cannot agree with your ultimate conclusion. With the ticket as it is set forth now, historic and uplifting as it undeniably is, a potential 16 years before another female presidential candidate on a DNC - let's be real here and say "any" - ticket remains sobering. For the me this is in fact NOT history enough. Sometimes as women we are too ready to settle.)

Leonard Pitts, Jr. (Perhaps I am getting stuck on verbage here. To accuse me of this would likely be appropriate. However, after reading the column by Ellen Goodman it shines out like glaringly harsh neon. "All men are created equal." Where is the female version of Dr. King? Once again, we settle much, much too easily and quietly.)

Maybe it's having a daughter, but something in my core is just achy and deeply sad today.

So says the mother staying home with her young kids. Happy to provide your daily dose of irony. Please proceed directly to the recipe and other domestic pursuits below.

What was in the box Wednesday

2008-08-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

Even I'm in total awe this week:

cauliflower
broccoli
bunches of rosemary, basil and thyme
carrots
potatoes
beets
an english cucumber
lettuce
more tomatoes than I can count
garlic, shallots and onions
rainbow chard
italian red peppers
an eggplant
cabbage
string beans
a spaghetti squash
3 leeks

You should have seen me last night, sitting on the kitchen floor with all of this spread out around me. It was a bit like opening the clown car of CSA boxes. By the end I was truly chortling with anticipatory glee.

Plans include: baba ghanouj, leek/potato soup, potato salad with shallots and herbs, white bean salad with rosemary and veg, roasted beets with blue cheese, and plates and plates of veggie pastas and stir fries.

Here's my quick and dirty, off the cuff pasta recipe:

What you need on hand: olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, onions, some sort of sautee-able greens, butter, whole wheat pasta

Nice but not necessary additions: red pepper flakes, red wine vinegar or lemon juice, various other veggies (like peppers, eggplant, squash), parmesan cheese, herbs

The quick and dirty part: While you're cooking the pasta, heat some olive oil in a large sautee pan. Add chopped onions and garlic. (how much is a matter of taste. if you like things spicy, toss in some red pepper flakes now too) Stir frequently to avoid burning the garlic while you roughly chop the tomatoes (you want a good amount, 8-10 plum or 5 beefsteak type) and toss them in too. Let this simmer happily away. (somewhere in here you would add the additional veg, depending on how long it takes to cook) Add salt to taste. When the pasta is almost done, stir in several tablespoons of butter. This gives you a luscious silky sauce. (this is where you would add the acid if you choose, it adds another layer of flavor) Roughly chop your greens and toss them in too. (including any appropraite herbs you have to hand) Sautee until tender (if you're using something like spinachor arugula, just toss it in the warm sauce, something like chard or beet greens needs some time to cook). Drain the pasta, toss it in the pan and you're read to go.

This easily morphs into an asian noodle stir fry. Sub fresh chopped ginger root for the onion. Think about rice wine vinegar or a dash of soy. A splash of toasted sesame oil. Peapods. Mushrooms. Soba noodles. Garlic chile paste. Mmmmmmm.

Recent Acquisitions

2008-08-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

Installation #1 in the "Things I bought at the Michigan Fiber Festival" series. We start with yarn. Both first time purchases for me...

Briar Rose Fibers. Words do not serve. At All. From the top = 2 hanks of Sea Pearl, 3 of alpaca, 1 huge hank of Grandma's Blessing. All on sale. This is what you get for being there before everyone else. :)

Yes, it is in fact Socks that Rock. All mill ends, which translates into MORE FOR ME! I ran the spectrum. A couple of lightweight, a silky and a heavyweight. We shall see what we see when I knit it...or perhaps I will be perverse and make a crochet wonder.

Stay tuned for the fiber version...batteries need charging.

Now sit firmly down.

I have finished something. Some somethings that have been sitting for almost a year now.

Basic socks with a Strong Heel. Love the strong heel. Quick as quick can be and no stitch picking up. You knit in increases as you do the heel flap...everything is one continuous piece. The pattern I used is here.

Next UFO up...the Family Adventure socks. Oh yeah, and in my finishing delirium, I cast on for a Tomten for #3. *blushes*

More from Fair-y Land

2008-08-25T12:09:00.000-07:00

Lest you think the fair was all about bacon, here's a bit of the artsy side:

Crop art. Look at the detail. All of this is made with seeds, legumes, other natural yada. Yes even this bike:

Do they do this anywhere else? Busts carved out of ginormous blocks of butter. In an equally ginormous walk-in, sit-in, carve-in rotating freezer. This is Princess Kay of the Milky Way during her sitting. Yes, she has a tiara. And a big satin sash.

Big fat pickle:
...and last but certainly not least: big fat fat in the guise of deep fried cheese curds. I wait all year for these lovelies.

Oh how I love my state.

2008-08-21T12:21:00.001-07:00

First day of the Minnesota State Fair. Best new food booth IMO:

Yes, it was truly both big and fat and on a stick:

(bonus points if you can tell which 2 are mine...)

They also get props for the best signage:

(and yes, that is in fact a teeny tiny picture of Kevin.)

...and shirts:

(they need to sell these...)

Sold by this fine bacon lady and her family. Nothing like supporting the local economy.

Yep, it's a camel.

2008-08-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

In a trailer. On I94 outside of Kenosha. With 2 humps. Yes, I was hanging out of the window.

What I did in Michigan

2008-08-21T11:53:00.000-07:00

There were classes. There was people meeting. There was fiber purchasing. There was much booth tweaking and sitting. Thankfully there was also much selling.

The March Hare fiber display.

And her purty sock yarn too...before the scrum that occurred when the buses arrived from Chicago. Oh how they luved Meg's yarn!

I miss my dog

2008-08-20T11:56:00.001-07:00

We saw a pair of bulldogs while picking up meds at the vet today and I'm weepy all over again. I miss Willy...that's him sitting up. Emma needs a doggie friend. The kids are good with her, but she needs a dog to play with and take care of. Drat bulldogs for being so darn expensive. Drat kids for being so darn expensive. The two seem to be mutually exclusive at the mo'. Drat.

What makes me smile today

2008-08-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

My mug.

Made by my friend. Gifted to me for Roadie services rendered. It was a great trip. More to come.

On the Road

2008-08-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

At the in-laws in Milwaukee. Quick UFO update for y'all. Thanks to tons of late night Olympics watching (I do not sleep well when the hub is not with me), the Depths of Montego Bay scarf is finished, 40 braided fringies and all. Have broken out the languishing Strong Heel socks and #2 is happily cast on. Had forgotten how nice this Regia bamboo was. The road trip to Michigan with Jennie the Potter starts tonight. Bracelet class tomorrow afternoon. Soap classes Thursday. Selling stuff and trying to resist mass consumption myself Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

Haitus warning

2008-08-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

Dawn shall be out of communication with the web-osphere until 8/18. There shall be driving to Milwaukee. There shall be hanging with the kids at the in-laws. There shall be some kids going to Chicago with my sister while others stay with the inlaws while I go play with jenniethepotter in Michigan. So yes there shall be more driving. And more driving. And more driving. But there shall also be soap making. Sterling bracelet weaving. Hanging out with cool pottery and it's cooler potter. Hopefully a gala of March Hare fiber selling.

A few pictures to catch you up:

I finally washed all of my handspun. Luv it all.

This one is a mega 5 ounces.
I made this a bit ago. Great hair scarf in Summer Tweed.
Am taking UFOs with me. The Montego Bay scarf is very close. (really not a UFO, but it doesn't seem right to stop working on it to pick up something that has been sitting. first things first eh? why do i feel differently about this than i do abandoning a WIP for a bright shiny new project?) Socks need to be finished. Hopefully there shall be much to show you when I come home. have fun and play nice while I'm gone, ya hear?

Flash Back

2008-08-07T08:55:00.000-07:00

Sigh. There are tantrums today. I had forgotten how loud being 2 1/2 is. So much drama. Can't I go back here please?

Crocheting on the boat while the small people are not trying to kill each other because they are happily entertained by nature?

With the awesome rocks? They're so quiet.

Evening cocktail cruise?

Nope? Fardles. I want a lake.

What's in the box Wednesday!

2008-08-06T09:39:00.000-07:00

Quick reveal. Kids going nutso today.

Tomatoes!!!!!
okra
basil
peppers of green and red
cucumbers of various persuasions
various baby squash
beans
eggplants
red cabbage
salad greens
chard

am thinking veggie risotto for dinner. side salad. or maybe we'll make a bacon run and do up the first tomato of the season in style....mmmmmmm, bacon.

Check it out!

2008-08-02T07:06:00.000-07:00

So just what have I been doing with all of these boxes and boxes of fiber and yarn?

This.

For my friend Meg who is awesome.

What was in the Box Wednesday?

2008-08-01T15:01:00.001-07:00

Apparently inquiring minds want to know. I love that you love my CSA.

english cucumbers
eggplant
carrots, beets, young potatoes
green and purple string beans
baby beet greens
summer crisp lettuce
red cabbage
huge bunches of basil and parsley
smaller bunches of thyme and oregano
celery
various summer squashes
probably something else I am forgetting because we ate it immediately...

On other topics, I made these to teach a friend and the small people to spin. They are remarkably nice to use. I am most pleasantly surprised.

Next I shall try stone whorls.

Got another secret package. Spent the morning playing around photog-ing. Fun, fun, fun!

Therer are not words...

2008-07-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

Oh but my. I have no words to explain the pristine awe in which I have been spending my days this week in the lake country of just shy of Michigan but still Wisconsin. Bald eagles buzz our boat daily. They poo in our pines. Seriously, do you know just how big these birds are??? I picked up a feather off of the beach the other day. It's 20 inches long. Insert google eyed smiley here. Big. Bird.

I pulled a solid orb of quartz out of the lake...and it's the size of a large grapefruit. This rock hound is in h.e.a.v.e.n. We're on Jute Lake and 75% of the shore is state park. We're the only ones inhabiting the 7 ish houses here. I canoe with the loons. I never want to leave.

Pictures, pictures, pictures

2008-07-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

Lots to catch up on as usual. Finished spinning the Aisha Celia fiber. Andean plied.

Moving onto some fiber from the Alaskan adventure. Merino from RavenFrog Fibers:

The Seven Deadly Spins Club package #3 came! Hat pattern by StitchStud. Looks to be quite the challenge, It will have to wait until I've cleared some UFOs first so I can concentrate fully. This one might be my favorite so far. Very much my colors and the challenge I was hoping for. Bitsy little ball of angora to line the earflaps even!

Then we get to The Secret Project. These landed on my doorstep this week. All the way from Mountain Home, Idaho.

Retired to the backyard in extreme anticipation.

What's inside? FIBER! Lots and lots of Border Leicester roving from my friend Meg. She's been sitting on the fruits of her ranching labor and I am helping her liberate it.

This is lambs wool from Mattie and Gabriella. More caramel-ish than it looks here. It's all buttery soft and sproingy. I'm in love.

Peanut's lambs wool. Warm brown.

Snicker's Hershey lambs wool. Cooler brown. Bit more caramel.

Beulah's yearling wool. Brown shot with grey. Fabulous.

Packed up in 4 oz. bundles. Haiku by Meg attached. It's headed for a fiber fest in Chicago this weekend with Jenniethepotter, then to Etsy if there be anything left.

2008-07-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

Personal responsibility and common courtesy are the foundation stones of a civil society. I understand the small people in my life have a learning curve. What excuse do so very many adults have?

Some days I mourn for our world.

Catch-Up

2008-07-13T10:31:00.000-07:00

Quick game o' catch-up before I return to the assault on weeds.

1) The veggies. To this point utilized in the form of: many green salads, cucumbers n feta n olives, zucchini pizzas with gobs of basil, potato salad with spring onions some parsley and olive oil, snackin' stuff. In the line-up: risotto with peas and parm, whole wheat capellini with sauteed garlic scapes and baby beet greens, carmelized radicchio with onions, spicy cabbage salad, roasted curried cauliflower. I. Love. My. Farmers.

2) The Tea. Cold brewing RULES. Today's batch = passionfruit/hibiscus. Have learned to sweeten it when necessary by adding concentrated sugar or honey water. Made the cheater way by dissolving a tablespoon or 2 in a cup of water and microwaving for 2 minutes. Put this in the bottom of the pitcher, plop in the tea bags, fill with cold water and stick in the fridge overnight. Happiness in a glass.
3) The Bread. I will say it once again. BUY THIS BOOK. This method of wet and cold rise dough makes for sublime bread. I can bake bread in the cool of the morning. Pizza dough is at my finger tips always. Revolution in my mommy life.

4) The Tour. I have been very remiss in filling you in on the spinning. Learned on the cruise. have not stopped since. Doing the Tour de Fleece this summer to make myself commit to improving. This is what I have accomplished in week 1. The green is my second ever completed blob of batt. Silk/wool blend. About 4 ounces. Very laceweight. The pinky red is a wool blend from Aisha Celia. To be plied on itself Andean style.

Day 6

2008-07-11T13:43:00.000-07:00

Pictures are coming, I promise. Just haven't been able to stop spindling long enough to 1) take them and 2) crop them and 3) upload them.

Addicted. Yep I am.

What's in the Box Wednesday!

2008-07-09T08:34:00.000-07:00

It's CSA pick up day! So, what's in the box? An organic bounty:

one head each of broccoli and cauliflower
a bunch of carrots
bursting bags of snap and shelling peas
multi-hued green beans
several summer crisp lettuces
brilliant baby beet greens
one head of radicchio
2 English cucumbers
bunches of cilantro and basil
summer squashes of all colors and sizes
one head each of chinese and green cabbage

It's finally summer in the very upper Midwest!

Preventative measures

2008-06-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

Guess whose glass the sick midget keeps drinking out of? Mmmm Hmmm. Lucky me.

It's a good thing our CSA is serving up large bags of bountiful greens right now. I so do not need raging fever. Calling all antioxidants!

How many greens can one girl eat? Only time will tell...

Cold Brew

2008-06-26T16:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's like 90 here in the land of humidity and mosquitoes. The dew point is something obscene.

And of course I spent the day covered in a furnace of a fevered achy 2 year old that could not be put down even to go to the bathroom. Sticky doesn't even come close to covering it.

When I finally pumped him full of enough ibuprofen and acetaminophen to break things enough for him to sleep I ran for the fridge only to find the iced tea pitcher bone dry. SOB! For the sake of household harmony I shall cast no aspersions as to the ID of the culprit, but I was indeed left with a conundrum. There was no way I was possibly going to boil enough water to fill said pitcher and set it to brew and I have a pathological fear of sneaky bacteria infiltrating any attempts at sun tea.

So I went to my local tea gurus and happily they had the solution. Cold brewed tea. It's sitting in the fridge as we speak and by tomorrow afternoon I shall have a briskly refreshing glass of contentment awaiting my pleasure. Apparently it really is the little things. I'm like deliriously happy just knowing it's in there. (that and the fact that they have a tea of the month club...how awesome is that???)

Fever Dreams.

2008-06-26T16:23:00.000-07:00

Ah vomit. An unfortunate natural phenomena that today reminded me that 2 year olds do indeed need to be taught to chew their food.

Curly noodles. Antique Indian rug. There are no pictures. Rejoice.

ah, nature

2008-06-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

A garden can make up for a legion of grumpy running amok.

The Loot

2008-06-17T16:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, I finally have pictures of the goods I so liberally bought on the cruise. Hang on, it's a looong and fibery ride. See?

First you should know the one overriding rule I set before heading out. No buying anything available at home. Nothing I can walk into one of the many fiber stores dotting the cities may come home with me no matter how gorgeous it be. All purchases shall preferably be of local origin, with one exception given for Handmaiden, though that's not really much of an exception since only very rarely do I see some rogue Fleece Artist about these parts. We all clear? Good, let's go.

Starting in Seattle:

OK, so this is from California. But it's gorgeous bamboo blend. And the 2 hanks of camo on top are perfect for the long awaited clapotis of my dreams.

Once on board (which is a story unto itself....and for another day) there were several freebies nestled in the swag bags:
Next stop Ketchican:

The Raven Frog Fiber Arts is a silk blend and frabulous. Sheen, sheen, sheen and very subtly shaded in silvery goldish tones. In front we have some great tweedyness by Purple Carrot Creations that was a blast of sunshine in a veeeery rainy day. Both dyed by Alaskan dyers.

On our roundabout way to Juneau we hit Disenchantment Bay for a bit o' glacier viewing which made me determined to find a yarn to capture even a bit of that surreal setting.

This is my favorite pic of the bay itself, though it comes nowhere near to capturing the varied colors I'm talking about...and is frankly in the exact opposite of the glaciers, but hey, I'll get you some of that later. It does give you some idea though of what I was looking for...

...and happily unearthed at Skeins in Juneau!

There are bits of startling turquoise in there amidst the deeper blues and greys. Raven Frog Fiber again. The color is Stormy Seas, which is so appropriate given the weather we powered through.

Then we come to Victoria, and the Churchmouse. Really, I thought I had prepared myself. With reportedly the biggest inventory of Handmaiden and Fleece Artist I was prepared to be fairly liberal with myself. I will go into this saying that I put back at least half of what I was at one time hoarding. Easiest decision first, the yarn with which to work up the wonderful comp sock pattern by Chrissy Gardiner we all received. What better than working seaweed in cashmere?

And then it got sticky. Deep breath. Here goes, full disclosure:

Really, how could I be expected to not by Camelspun??? It's part SILK.

...and again with the SILK. This I am imagining some sort of complex, perhaps freeform beaded stole. Uh, a really big one because the ever enabling Heather Ordover said she would feel horribly if I went home and did not have enough to do what I wanted. Mmhmm. So I of course readily bought 2. Baaaaa.

...and yet again with the SILK content. This time with the linen thrown in. I blame Amy Singer and her no-sheepy ways fully for opening my eyes to how very lovely linen is and how horrid it is that I had none with which to craft. I wish I had smello-blog-o-vision. This is the epitome of earthy silky warmness.

So. Seven hanks of Handmaiden in one fell swoop. Deep breath. That's not even all...there was fiber too:

Those 4 braids at the bottom? Yep, ya guessed it, Handmaiden. The pinky tanish is a merino/silk blend, the sea tones are straight up merino. The autumnal wad is more from Raven Frog Fibers, split with the frabulous Jenniethepotter, as was the other blueish blob I believe from the Purple Carrot peeps. And why was there so much fiber? Uh, because I learned how to spin too. It's a disease, I fully admit it. My name is Dawn and I am a full-fledged follower. Baaaa.

...and so it begins

2008-06-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

Friday marked the big kids' last day of school, so we are now officially 2 days into summer vacation and life is indeed looking rosy. I love the ripe prospect the beginning of summer holds. Plans and ideas are running about absolutely higgledy piggeldy amok in my temporarily unburdened brain.

Our CSA has had the rough end of Minnesota's lack of spring and crazy early start of serious storm season, so weekly deliveries that in better years began weeks ago should start Wednesday if the fates smile upon us for a few more days. I absolutely CAN.NOT.WAIT. Opening that box and delving into the mystery bounty within is the best weekly treat ever. makes my day every single time. So to tide us over #1 and I ran to the Saint Paul Farmer's Market this morning. Today's haul:

Asparagus...GROWN IN MN!!! This is a first for me, and the result of several long year's TLC for the grower. It's amazingly sweet and tender.
Picked this morning pea shoots, mixed lettuces and red spring onions.
Pasture raised chickens and their beautiful eggs.
Jalapeño cheddar brats.

...and the world slid sideways

2008-05-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

Everything slid a tad off kilter as the enormity of slurping lusciously fresh watermelon on Memorial Day weekend in Minnesota landed in my head.

Our world is at times ever so surreal.

On Superior Fish Names...

2008-05-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

Halibut.

I like saying "halibut". Even "tuna". Try "mahi mahi" out.

Lake fish...not quite so poetic. Northern. Walleye. Muskey. Pike. All best said with thick Minnesotan tripping off the tongue. Then we reach the ever lovely "crappie".

SIGH.

Ah, the wonders of nature.

2008-05-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

One must admit, one was not expecting to arrive at the homestead fresh from one's intrepid adventures in the wild to find odd natural phenomena right in one's own back yarn. Or one's garage for that matter. It seems some of the local squirrels have not only developed thumbs, but have gained the oppositional abilities necessary to use said new evolutionary leap appendages to both open car doors and reprogram the stereo buttons found within. Apparently they have a predilection for country music yet unheard of in indigenous populations. One can only marvel at the ingenuity of urban wildlife...

Yo Ho, Yo Ho...

2008-05-17T14:24:00.000-07:00

...a pirate's life for me!

Yes, the great sea voyage quite agreed with me. Great folks. Great scenes. Great yarns.

Um, perhaps a few too many great yarns.

I'm still staggering around like a drunk puppy though so for today I shall leave you with this not even a fragment of how stunning it was in person shot of Hubbard Glacier.

Can one be in lust with a glacier? I'm starting to wonder, because all I desire at this moment is to be in it's majestic presence once again. (as I penned in my kayak journal just moments ago...) If I could live on a float in the middle of this bay without freezing to death I so willingly would. We're about a half mile off the ice cliff itself here, what our captain informed us was the legal limit for closeness between such a large ship and such a large lump of ice. And yes, those lumpy things in the water are indeed icebergs.

I know, I'm a tease. The pictures shall start flowing once I have some time to play with them.

It's A-live!

2008-05-04T18:51:00.000-07:00

'Tis true. I am slowly climbing out of the pit of sick, clogged, flu-ish allergy ridden days that became my April. A pox on April. It also snowed here like 4 times. Foul month.

Playing major catch-up, so there shall be more pretty, pretty pictures for you. Lucky dogs. (and speaking of, yes, I still miss Willy daily, particularly when the 2 year old wanders about looking for him, but our little girlie doggie is taking a turn for the frisky and has anointed herself protectress of the realm. Single dog-dom just may suit her.)

Twas a month o' socks. I finished the first of the Family Adventure socks in Paca Peds:

The Sock Madness rounds flew fast and furious over the past weeks, and as vacation, dog mourning and illness subsumed my life and knocked me out in round 2, I have me a new host of socks in progress to share:

Reversai. In a Trekking tweed. Totally reversible sock. Same patterning inside as out. Sole is garter and quite comfy squishy.

Round 3. Slippin' Strippin'. Double stranded laceweight. I'm using Dream in Color Baby. Quick workup but a bit futsy as you change up the color combo every 10 rows.

Round 4 was the Hippie Ripple sock. My first successful toe up attempt, though man I ripped Judy's magic cast on and EZ's firm backward loop increases about a bazillion times before I got it right. (thank you once again knittinghelp.com!) More Paca Peds. Better pic tomorrow. They rock.

Skipped round 5 completely though I scored some undyed from Aisha Celia to do it up right in later. Very purty lace pattern you overdye after it's done. Afterthought heel scared me. Currently have 2 at a time toe up going for the optional all play round while the front runners get a bit of a rest. Another great pattern. Pics soon.

...and last but certainly not least my Seven Deadly S(p)ins Club project #1, which just happened to be a sock also:

That brings the sock tally up to date. I've also got a recipe for you soon. And a crochet treat. And an update on the crazy packing going down this week. There's a trip on the horizon. And a mystery person sent me a book! A Diana Wynne Jones even. SO the best surprise ever. Whoooooooooo are you, (who who, who who) mystery benefactor???

Fevered fun with socks...

2008-04-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

Things got a little loopy around here yesterday:

Had to frog the heel and foot I powered through despite the fever...it was, uh, a bit creative to say the least. As long as I was at it, thought perhaps a sacrifice to appease the evil Fates of Reversai was in order. Something's just gotta reverse this bad mojo we have rolling.

You know you're seriously sick when...

2008-04-10T08:51:00.001-07:00

...you find yourself totally enthralled by the crazy oil painting people on PBS.

(for those still managing to keep track, #3 and I are still in the thick of it and now The Big Boy just brought #1 home from school totally fevered too)

I am not going to die...

2008-04-09T09:57:00.000-07:00

I am not going to die, I am not going to die, I am not going to die.

It just feels that way.

In fact it is just a nasty fevery achy flu.

But I am not going to die.

But I am very out of the Sock Madness running, for which The Big Boy has been thanking all manner of deities because now perhaps I will start taking care of myself. But I think someone else has to do that at this point because I just want to lay here on the floor. The floor is good. Cool and gooooooood.

Heart.Ache.

2008-04-05T18:37:00.000-07:00

We're home.

There's a hole here...a big one.

I don't know how to fill it. He's missing and I hurt.

The tears started as soon as the plane touched down. Waves and waves and waves of ache.

Our little girl dog is so not OK. She crawled to the door when we came home. She's scared. She's going to be coming everywhere with us. I can't bear to leave her.

The Big Boy is very sick. Major league flu sick. In bed feverish can't even think sick. #1 and #3 show signs of possibly heading that way. Moan. I need to fall apart and I have to be the one holding it together. Somehow I have to hold it together. Some one has to hold it together. Us together. Right now I need to be strong. Steel. Stone.

Doomsday ahead...

2008-04-03T14:42:00.001-07:00

Got shamelessly drunk at our datenight dinner last night (yay grandparents!) due to the big boy plying me with $10 glasses of kiwi sav blanc...needless to say no progress was made on sock madness' newest Reversi gansey pattern, but the time was indeed well spent. ;)

Plus side:

The weather is beautiful, wish you were here (Indian Rocks Beach just outside of Tampa).

It appears you can consume multiple gin and tonics and still knit coherently if you also swim and sweat profusely.

Big scary down side:

Tomorrow looms large in my psyche. We head for home Saturday morning, so have figured to tell the small people about Willy tomorrow. (found a pic of him snoozing that I had posted on The Chum here BTW) Oh how I dread that. We lost my parent's dog just before the holidays and it was very hard on #1, #2 as usual took it in stride, very circle of life, and #3 in true two-ish style still asks after him everytime we visit. I think telling them will be the equivalent of ripping my heart out of my chest with my bare hands....

A Wally World respite...

2008-04-01T20:31:00.000-07:00

The hub and I woke this morning determined to turn this mojo around. (though the FIL is now sick....but I absolutely refuse to contemplate the infectious implications of that right now)

Despite my prophesy, we did indeed find Busch Gardens open and delightfully slow this morning. We had a fab day with #1 and #2. There were hippos. There were soggy rides. There were french fries. There were several free beers.

Oh yeah, and we found a kick ass french bakery within walking distance. Complete with french baker. #1 has rightfully declared the superiority of the croissant as a bread form.

Much better. A bit peaceful, or at least calm.

...and I managed to not cry a once.Until now that is when I noticed the big gaping hole in my heart again. The next few days I hope are as good as today...but I want to stop time. No more passing minutes to bring us closer to hell please. Let's just stay here in purgatory please.

Nothing's really real until we get home. Until we tell the kids. Is reality strictly necessary? Isn't there a way to get around that? No? You're really, really sure? Well bollux that.

For those of you that want to keep score...

2008-03-31T13:06:00.000-07:00

...here you go, my tale of woe. Start counting the ways in which the fates are mistreating me while on vacation.

1) The cab company sent a car instead of a van to pick us up, resulting in much scrambling and a last minute dash to the airport, where we got on the plane to find that NWA had reassigned our seats even though they knew we were traveling with 3 small children leaving us split up all over. Wonderfully nice people accommodated us and then watched the stews watch us install a carseat then inform us that it couldn't be in a row behind an exit row, necessitating removal and repositioning of said carseat and all 5 of us yet again while several hundred people glared holes in our heads. Y'all know about my compulsive tendencies...you can guess how wound I was by the time we got down here.

2) Less than 24 hours in Florida and the better part of a day is spent on the phone with our house/dog sitter, my parents, our vet, an emergency vet and various neighbors after our oldest dog collapsed. We had to have him euthanized while we were thousands of miles away. Seriously. This goes into my "proof that there is no benevolent god" file. No goodbye. No holding his big slobbery head in my lap as he faded out of our life. We weren't there when he was hurting and confused. He's just gone. He won't be there when we get home.

Somehow I have to find a time to tell my 2, 5 and 7 year olds that he won't be waiting for them when we open the door. This blows. I can't even process it or I cry and cry and cry. THIS IS INHUMAN.

3) ...and to top it off a contractor set up a wet saw outside out condo this morning to work on a remodel next door. Do you have any concept of how loud those are? So we re packed 7 people and 2 now full kitchens and spent day 2 of vacation moving to a new, hopefully quieter, condo.

(which has WIFI, so I can keep you, constant reader, informed of all our mishaps)

4) ...and we just tried to wander across the street to get an icecream after all that and guess what? Of course they are closed. Seriously, cut a girl a break please!

I fully expect to arrive at Bush Gardens tomorrow and have it be closed at which point my husband will start channeling Chevy Chase and I may become an alcoholic.

Seriously. I'm on vacation and I just want to go home because now I'm so worried about our little girl dog. But I don't ever want to go home because Willy isn't there. Looking out at this beautiful expanse of Gulf of Mexico and all I can do is cry because part of my life has been ripped out of my heart.

ESCAPE!

2008-03-28T19:46:00.000-07:00

I'm off on vacation! Tomorrow! Really, really early! Like so early I don't think the grown-ups in our house will sleep at all because we have so much to do! There is so much bickering! I am crabby! I may have an aneurysm before tomorrow comes!

Oh so much to say (one of those weeks with more than my fair share going on) but oh so little time, so here are some pretty pictures:

This is the stash I am contemplating bringing for the start of Sock Madness round 2. I really shouldn't. It's not starting until Tuesday and by then I'm sure everyone will be in full meltdown, but I don't know if I can help myself. We've got DIC Smooshy in Gothic Rose sitting under Cherry Tree Hill Supersock that I can't remember the name of and the band is in the middle of, which is sitting next to 2 balls of Trekking that used to be part of a hat I was crocheting but when I saw the pattern teaser I frogged it cause I think it might be perfect. The big fellow on the end is Lisa Souza Sock! in Marsquake. The DPNs are my first, bought because I fear what airport security just might do to my Addi Turbo lace circs that I magic loop on.

...and the plane project. My first Seven Deadly Spins Club shipment. Mmmmmm gluttony.

OK kiddies, that be it. Off 'til the 5th. Play nice. Have fun. Try something new.

Zombies Vanquished!

2008-03-19T08:25:00.001-07:00

The Big Boy walked in the door as I was tossing dinner on the table and I literally grafted the last toe and weaved ends as the fam ate. Was among the first 20ish finishers in my division, which is quite respectable I believe. Here they are, my vanquished zombies:

The yarn is by Dye Trying, done just for me by the dyer Tikabelle herself as a part of a L&V swap. Lovely zombie skin colorway, eh? The pattern is wicked stretchy with all of those dropped stitches, perfect for ridiculously wide feet like mine.

Lesson learned: Perseverance pays. Patience is a virtue. (and helps you not split the yarn when grafting which is a MAJOR problem when you go to snug those handily kitchnered stitches and you find yourself having to take many, many deep breaths and tear it all out and redo it when you hear a clock ticking like a fog horn in your head and all you want to do is dash out the door to meet fabulous friends like Bubbo and Joy for a bit of crochet and dinner and dessert and a beer thrown in for sanity's sake.)

Off to rescue the house and catch up on STUFF. So much STUFF in my head that needs letting out it's amazing my brain hasn't exploded. I'm sure the madness has killed off some brain cells. Let's hope the new neuronal connections were worth it.

Madness....

2008-03-16T18:31:00.001-07:00

One Zombie down, one to go. Waaaaay too much going on around here for me to be very efficient, but it seems I'm still in the mix.

Today's lesson: Tim Tams rock. International law should read: "Every man, woman and child residing in either Australia or New Zealand shall forthwith send regular shipments of Tim Tams to peoples deprived of the aforementioned sugary goodness by their lack of geographic proximity to establishments that sell said biscuit wonderfulness."

ZOMBIES!!!

2008-03-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

The Zombies have taken me hostage. There shall be little chitter chatter until they are complete. Want to know what I be blabbering about...go here.

Lessons learned thus far:
1) Sprint type activities are perhaps not advisable when you are responsible for small people and animals. They simply do not understand and try to play with the yarn.

2) Knitting instructions are at times mind-blowingly obtuse. Take this whole slipping stitches thing. For some reason you are supposed to possess powers that allow you to know which way to slip said stitches under about 5 million possible scenarios without the specifics being stated. I now know that in an eye of partridge hell flap the slip stitches should be done knitwise if they are alternating with knit stitches or else it looks like a big square o' nothin'....or in my case half a square o' nothin' and half a square of pleasingly patterned knitin'.

Live and learn.

Fun and Games, Part the First

2008-03-11T07:02:00.000-07:00

If you don't want to know, go no further. This week is apparently dubbing itself "Week O' Fun", starting off with a huge bang. My first package from The Seven Deadly S(p)ins arrived with yesterday's mail!

Again, I warn you to venture no further unless you really want to know. Here there be gluttony:

(how fun is that??? 4 , count them one two three FOUR colors specially made by the Unique Sheep in FOUR sickeningly sweet colorways to be merged together into one sockishly sweet, overindulgent creation.)
...and it's associated goodies (cause come one now, it IS gluttony...there must be goodies):

That teeny hank? It's called "sinful" yeah for chocolate! And the jelly bellies...inspiration of the unique sheepy dying goddess be my guess.

The specs are up for the first sock maddness pattern, to be released Thursday. I am a ball of anxiety trying to figure out how I will find time to make a genuine try at getting through the first round...must start swatching!

It's a week of long overdue fun. Hang on, hopefully it only gets better.

It's NatCroMo...come play!

2008-03-05T12:58:00.001-08:00

It be National Crochet Month, and Kaet is doing a NatCroMo Freeform CAL. She posts a prompt each and every day, gently leading you through the scary-to-some (AHEM) process of freeform crochet. They're short and sweet and oh so doable in only a few minutes with only a few scraps of yarn. That's mine, after Day 4. It has a little stumpy squiggly tail. I loves it.

No pink elephants!

2008-03-04T11:58:00.000-08:00

Good news, good news!

There is no pink elephant in the middle of the living room. At least the one that has spent the last few weeks pounding on the front door and trying to sneak in the back has for the time being vacated the premises and we hope he won't be back.

Yes boys and girls, this means that as far as we know there is nothing absolutely nothing wrong with #2's heart, brain or eyes!

IT IS NOT A TUMOR! (best said Schwarzenegger-style)

We've ventured into the deepest, darkest realms of scary land and emerged relatively intact. Last week literally brought me to my knees. There were moments I couldn't breathe, couldn't stand, couldn't think. #3 picked up on it all and regressed to his monkey child ways, constantly attached to one or the other of us and waking up I swear a million times a night. #1 was snarky as only a snarky 7 year old girl could be. #2 was of course his ever mellow, oblivious self, charming the socks off every nurse and doctor he came within 20 feet of.

Can one have an emotional hangover? I believe I have one. After an initial few days of giddy relief, I have crashed HARD. All I want to do is sleep, eat, sleep some more, play with yarn and sleep yet again. Hopefully we'll all get back on track soon. If not we'll drown in dirty laundry. Here's to hoping!

Now we wait to see if there are any more "episodes". Hopefully it was all a fluke and they won't be back. If not, we start checking out stuff like blood sugar, brain waves and the like. All things meds handily deal with. These I can handle. (not that I want to, but hey, it's no brain tumor!)

After putting it down for fear of doing permanent hard to wither it or myself, I have again picked up my Secret of the Stole ii:

I'm into clue 3, somewhere's around row 158. As clue 7 came out last week, I'm a tad behind. Can't be helped. Lace apparently should not under any circumstances be attempted with a brain the consistency of marshmallow fluff. Believe me, I tried...and wanted to poke my eyes out for all the tinking. I do think I have some idea of where she's going with the clues. Seems my musical geekdom is serving me well....or at least it seems that way. We'll see how things play out. Only 2 clues left to come, so I'll know shortly.

In a moment of crazed desperation, I joined Sock Madness, which should kick off next week I hope. I cannot be held responsible. It's sock knitting. It's a contesty game with PRIZES. And it's technically considered research for some crochet fun and games I've been mulling over with Bubbo. Sock Wars turned out to be totally not my style, but I have hopes for this model. They're very organized, orderly and have a set of clearly laid out rules and regs...and there is no postal complication, no performance tied to that of others...it's all you and your needles in clearly defined rounds with beginning and end points. I love the orderly life!

They posted some general material guidelines for the seven projects they have planned...and that sent me stash-diving:

This is all of the un-committed sock yarn I have. Most of it from swaps last year. A couple I bought for myself without plans for it's future. Enough for 14 pairs of socks. Uff. Hopefully this will see 6 of them meet their sock-ish destiny. Materials for the 7th pair they listed I got to shop for. At the Loopy Ewe. Can you feel me smiling? They had used some superwash laceweight (yep lace...don't ask, I don't know how it all works up yet, but they hint at some dual colored sock with a slip stitch pattern...) from Tess' Yarns, but Tess was closed for 2 weeks to attend Stitches...so I went looking...or really I didn't quite have the fortitude for that, so I just emailed Sheri and she popped right back to me with Dream in Color Baby...superwash merino heaven. In my weakened condition I was really powerless to resist the suggestion:

These are Cocoa Kiss and Lipstick Lava (with the fun little Loopy extras they toss in their packages). I've got about twice as much as I'll need, so I'll even have enough for something extra fun afterward. I figure it's justified since it's the only yarn I'll need to buy for the games. Right?

That about catches us up, though I'm sure I've missed something. I don't think all my neurons are firing in quite an orderly fashion yet. Things pop in and out and I rarely keep hold of them for long. Eternal thanks for all of the support. All of your messages, prayers and magic mojo are deeply appreciated. It apparently takes a virtual village to maintain my sanity in times of crisis!

One.More.Day.

2008-02-25T06:12:00.000-08:00

One more day. One more test.

Tomorrow #2 goes in for a MRI and angiogram of his brain. Then we shall know if there's anything we need to know. Everything else has checked out okie dokie, so we're now down to the big one. Cross those fingers, toes, hooks and needles people. We need all the luck we can get.

In the meantime, MY brain may explode. If there existed a word to describe something magnitudes beyond "stressed" that would be me. I swear I've gained 10 pounds in the last 2 weeks. And I've developed a twitch below my left eye. Put that on top of the sleep deprivation and I probably look like a freakin' maniac.

...and this is my punishment

2008-02-12T13:18:00.000-08:00

I, Dawn, solemnly swear to never, ever, ever again be sarcastic about my child's maladies.

See, last Friday wasn't the first episode of green sight for kiddo #2. He had actually been seeing things in green a few weeks ago. Coupled with the other minor oddities that accompanied the greenishness, flags have been raised and we're in for a slew of medical tests over the next few weeks that I sincerely hope come to a big bunch of nothing...but my pediatric physical therapist brain that for years only saw the worst possible testing outcomes is kicking the monsters out from under the bed in droves.

So, we're going to the land of pretty, pretty pictures again:

Sock club once again led me far astray. Three (yes one, two, three) hanks of Paca Peds came home with me. (oh, don't you start, you would have bought them too...with the club discount I'm lucky I only came home with 3.) The above are Caribbean Chocolate and Harvest. Here's Fireside being worked up to be Nancy Bush's Family Adventure Sock:

The stripes are PERFECTION and the yarn is fabulous for this pattern (which is a nifty 2 row repeat that gives great effect). It's got great hand feel. Love it.

One more thing off the to do list:

The next iteration of the Mossy Cowl (free Interweave pattern!), this time for my sister in frosty Milwaukee. Again done with one strand of Knitpicks Alpaca cloud held with one of a mohair/silk blend. May it's peppermint perfection keep her toasty.

Have a few other projects finishing up as well as a SOTSii lace update (though that's going nowhere fast with my brain creating stressed out spaghetti of my attention span), hopefully soon. Send healthy brain waves our way, eh?

SIGH!

2008-02-08T11:41:00.000-08:00

All set to post, HUGE picture fun filled post, then I had to pick up sick kid #2 from school. Think it's bad to be seeing everything green? Y-eah. Will be getting back to you all a bit later.

Tomatoes CAN rock all winter long...

2008-01-24T14:38:00.000-08:00

Back on Tuesday, when I wasn't doubled over trying to forcibly expel my lungs from my body 500 times a day, that day when the house didn't look like this:

...yeah, that last day when I felt I could tackle a project...that dayI succumbed to my tomato craving.

It hits about this time every year. I start dreaming of those tiny grape ones fresh off the vine. BLTs with a HUGE slice of heirloom T. Big bowls full of tomatoes and basil tossed with some great olive oil and syrupy balsamic. SIGH, what's a gal to do in January in Minnesota?

Nab a bag full of the pathetic pale pink excuses for plum tomatoes gracing the local produce section and f ire up the oven...that's what.

Confused? Don't be. I am here to share the mid-winter key to the tomato-y goodness of your (erm..or perhaps only my) dreams.

Here's what you need: several pounds of plum tomatoes, a head or two of garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar, salt/pepper and a roasting pan.

Here's what you do: roast them. Set your oven to 275ish degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the tomatoes into quarters length-wise. Scoop out the seeds. Throw those away. Put the tomatoes in the roasting pan. Peel a head or two of garlic. Leave the cloves whole. Put them in the pan with the tomatoes. Toss with a couple of chugs of good olive oil, a tablespoon or two of balsamic vinegar and a tablespoon of sugar. Salt and pepper to taste. It will look something like this:

Put the pan in the oven. Check on it in an hour or so. Give it a nice stir. Talk lovingly of it's grand aroma. Pop it back in the oven for another hour or so. Try not to salivate all over yourself. Stir it again. Continue until it looks something like this: (really, this takes hours and hours and hours)

The tomatoes will be very shriveled. The garlic will be lusciously golden. They both will be coated with a thick, syrupy sauce. What you have now is a big pan of caramelized tomato/garlic heaven to toss with pasta, dress a bowl of arugula or adorn thick slices of crusty bread. Buon appetito!

I'm sick.

2008-01-23T07:23:00.000-08:00

I'm so sick my coffee tastes a bit like pooty.

Pooty with stale cigarettes floating in it.

UGH.

The Eye Candy Post

2008-01-22T09:02:00.000-08:00

Lots of pictures for you...very few words. I'm foggy from lack of oxygen again me thinks...yes, #3 and I are apparently facing yet another bout of crud. Darn gooey germy "huggy mommy" demanding teething toddler!

I've been lax in picture posting, so here you go...eye candy. No pattern links now. If you see something you like, lemme know and I'll get it up.

The Mossy Cowl I made Icy for my mom.

The baby's Alpine Boots. (All 3 got pairs for the holidays, but I only have pics of these. My bad. I was just so happy to have them all done...)

Yes, one of the Ripple blankets has actually become a real, functioning blanket. Also for #3 for the holidays.

FINALLY something for me. Fleece Artist Sea Wool in Rainbow, worked up into Chloe Nightingale's big Bobble Headband.

Soaps in Sacks....or how I endured supporting my husband during the Packer's dismal playoff performance this past Sunday.

The first of 2 socks I promised #2.

...and because I don't have nearly enough to be working on right now...

...I started Secret of the Stole ii.

Yes, my name is Dawn and I fully admit that I have a BIG problem.

Vengeful

2008-01-14T12:47:00.000-08:00

Yes, thoughts of sweet, sweet vengeance have filled my heart.

The brilliant powers that be that recently decreed that since pediatric decongestants do not actually cure the incurable common cold and some people apparently can neither read nor follow the very clear dosing instructions printed on the package...those powers that be that therefore pulled said decongestants off the shelves entirely, stating that home remedies are just as effective...those very powers that be need to be locked in a very small house alone with a very congested, goo dripping, not sleeping or eating because they are so unfalteringly stuffed up toddler for a week armed with only a steamy shower and a nasal aspirator.

My bet is pediatric decongestant would be back on the market pronto.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaa

2008-01-09T13:14:00.000-08:00

I am such a sheep. Saw this thread on the L&V Message Board of Dooooom and of course proceeded to start my own starter. In 10 days, Amish Bread-y wonderfulness shall be mine.

It could be yours too. How-to here. Why it works here.

(and it so should be fermenting away in your kitchen right now. if you haven't had the pleasure before, this stuff is gooooooood. makes the best apple bread evah.)

Finishalongapalooza, Stage Two....

2008-01-07T12:58:00.000-08:00

...is apparently denial.

The frog pond projects have been dutifully liberated, are entered in my Ravelry Stash so I stay accountable to them, and are now in happy pretty balls residing in baggies with the patterns they hopefully will be worked into this year.

...but apparently I figure as long as I don't face the mountian of WIPs I unearthed it's ok to start more. Damn sock club. Just look what it made me do:

Mmmm-hm. That is in fact Chery Tree Hill Silky Kid, Peacock colorway. It totally doesn't suit the club's cable eyelet cable pattern this month, but who could resist??? So, I've found a happy lace pattern in Ann Budd's Knitting Socks and am into the first repeat.

Really. It's not that bad. If you consider that I already had the perfect squishy, quick to work up yarn in my stash:
(Dream in Color Classy in Beach Fog) Really. Don't look at me like that. Is one not allowed to purchase sock yarn at sock club with the express purpose of making socks...in this case just not the socks for the club.

So now I have a few more things to finish...who's counting?

Finishalongapalooza, Stage One.

2008-01-02T08:38:00.000-08:00

On their latest podcast, the Misses Lime and Violet announced their new marathon "along" for 2008...the Finishalongapalooza. Idea being you actually finish what you have started, freeing up mental ram, hooks and needles along the way, purging your soul of the guilt inherent in stashing languishing projects behind pieces of furniture thus accruing good yarn mojo. Details are still to come for the most part, though there is a thread on their Ravelry board. If you're operating outside of Ravelry, hang on, it shall come...in a big way judging from the banter.

You've most likely gleaned from things laying about here that this is something I need to embrace. Yeah.

So today I started the process of unearthing projects...and about doubled the horrifying list I had in my brain. Made me a bit ill. Decided I must start small or sink forever into despair. Today's baby step is facing the frog pond:

...which really was not as large as I thought it would be. We have"

one baby hat (the green thing in the corner. great pattern the yarn obscured totally so I never finished)
the Lisa Souza Violet's Pink Ribbon misty meadow (pattern out of Scarf Style) scarf. (I will never ever finish it and let's face it, pink scarves are not me. This shall be repurposed as socks.)
2 pairs of socks from my sock club. One in Tofuttsi (love the yarn, but why oh why did I think I would wear daintily ruffled socks???) and one in Wildfoote (on which I am enjoying neither the yarn nor the cable charts. cables will just have to wait a bit longer it seems). The Tofuttsi I shall set aside for another pattern and the Wildfoote I shall attempt to find a new home.
In the middle is an Insubordiknit monster hat kit, one of two I bought before I was even knitting...purchased with the express purpose of creating fabulous crocheted versions of her patterns. One worked gloriously (you'll hear about that in Stage 2) but this one not so much. Needs to be frogged and given a new, much more glorious form.
The pinkish/purplish projects to the leftish are two attempts at fingerless mitts. Neither attempted very well. Now I have some bulky Aisha Celia wool and 2 skeins of Atacama to do something with. SIGH.
Deep, deep SIGH for the last. The brown mass at the far left is 2800 yards of Ecowool originally destined to be the Cinnabar Coat from Interweave Crochet. About half way through I came to the realization the I don't like wearing fitted coats. Played around with knitting it, but urg, what I was attempting was just not right, and let's face it I haven't been knitting long enough and don't have sufficient garment experience to wing it. Am thinking some of it shall be an oversized pullover hoodie of some sort, worked in the round if I can find such a pattern.....hmmm, now that I'm thinking about it, me thinks there was some sort of crocheted hooded cardi in that same issue of IC...will have to check that out.

So, 8 never to be finished projects unearthed and faced...to be lovingly frogged and rewound in hopes of resurrection. Check.

Next step: face the WIP line-up...shudder.

Of certain things we shall not speak...

2007-12-27T10:29:00.000-08:00

Namely the mossy cowl I was making for my sister that #3 got his sneaky sticky little toddler handses into whilst I was making lunch. It's very bad. So bad I had to stuff it's lovely laceweight alpaca/mohair/silk self back in it's bag and bury it because I simply cannot bear to attack it with scissors at this time. It's that bad.

My head temporarily exploded and said sneaky toddler was put in the protective custody of his crib until I could gather all the pieces and work superglue magic putting it all back together again...where he mercifully fell asleep.

So whilst softly singing "lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala" and rocking back and forth I have wound up a lovely ball of rainbow sea wool to make this whilst I try no to think of the bag at the bottom of the pile behind the living room chair.

Yes Virginia, it's THAT BAD.

Loom Stalker...that's me!

2007-12-26T20:33:00.001-08:00

Oh for joy of having new toys! Have spent spare minutes today Googling loomy things. Oh for joy:

eLoomNation has fabo vintage Weave-It .pdfs...and other great info on little looms in general. Love them.

Then there's the Buxton Brooks website. How great is a company founded after finding loomy gold in your grandmother's attic??? Literally found Weave-Its and decided they were too good to be extinct, so now they make Weavettes. Love them.

Weavies in MN!!! Oh for quilt-like joy!!!

StitchDiva Studios of course has wonderful hairpin lace tutorials and patterns. DROOL.

Going for "Maltese Crochet" landed me serious vintage fabulousness at Iva Rose Vintage Reproductions

Oh now I have so very many more projects dancing in my head...oh for serious joy!

Thoughts on a more self-centered holiday

2007-12-24T08:50:00.000-08:00

There's a definitely trend and pace to the holiday season for me. I give and give and give and do and do and do for everyone around me. Baking treats and giving the perfect gift makes me inordinately happy. I always, always, always plan way too much and spend the 2 weeks before Christmas crashing into the brick wall of reality. I sleep less. I crab. I grouch. I wear myself waaaaaaaay too thin trying to do about 5 million more things than would be possible even for Martha.

...and usually end up sick and miserable.

So this year I have approached the holidays with a deliberately conscious train of thought: Do less. Say No. Think me.

I know, I know...so not "in the spirit of the season", but frankly that drat spirit was trying to kill me. This is working so much better.

I said no to cookie exchange craziness. I chucked a half-made blanket for #1 out of the queue entirely weeks ago in lieu of some fortuitously stashed Playmobil. Same for the spiral hat for #2. Fortuitously stashed trains fill that void. (yes, I am now seeing the beauty of buying on clearance throughout the year even if we don't need it right now. this toy stash thing is gold.) I took time out from baking last week to make my sinus stuffed self this:

I have decided that my sister will love random drops of hand knit socks and me-crocheted cowl throughout the next few frigid months. She's getting a coupon that states such.

I told the big boy that it of course didn't matter if the LR and DR were half painted throughout the season...our friends will love us anyway. (and frankly expect our home to be peppered with half-finished projects....I suspect we're a morale booster.) So, I didn't yell. I didn't badger. I didn't leave paintbrushes laying about will-nilly for him to find and feel guilty about.

...and he got it finished. All by himself.

And when in the vintage shop unexpectedly open yesterday morning, fruitlessly scoping for a candy dish like my grandmother's to give my sister I bought myself this:
Yes, my fingers are twitching to play...but that just has to wait a few more days. I can handle it. I can wait.

Yep, this holiday season is lookin' good. I'm one happy momma.

The Wall Street Journal?!?!?!?

2007-12-18T06:55:00.000-08:00

Oh but seriously.

Sock Wars journalistic cred here.

...and yes, am sick again.

...and a bit of mindless fun

2007-12-13T16:48:00.000-08:00

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Lady Madame Dawn the Precocious of Throcking by Hampton
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Pictures and treats and goodies oh my!

2007-12-03T11:34:00.000-08:00

Swap goodies! Butt dance of joy for the love of day brightening swap goodies! And I'm nice enough to share with you. I know, store the adulation for later, I'm just that way. :)

This actually came last week...no make that before Thanksgiving? Oye. Week o' sick kid and I can't remember anything! Anyway, it be my L&V MB Winter Warmer Swap loot from Tikabelle of Dye Trying. SWOON! She dyed yarn just for ME!!!! And sent me her favorite novel and teas! Squeeeeeeeeal! Tikabelle rocks the swappiness! Thanks and kisses and hugs! (no pictures of the package I sent off to the UK...sorry, but I was in a frenzy to get it out. They are getsing sunshiny bright Tofutsies, some of MY fave teas, the holiday and winter IK issues and some chocolate yummies. shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.)

Now dear readers, you don't know cause I haven't told you...I was flaked on in another swap. At least it appears that way. Perhaps life got rough. Things do happen, but I cannot know of them or be all understanding or patient if I am not told of them. If I am told "things are on their way, then oops, not, but they're on their way now...or I mean now...or actually someone else was supposed to mail that, I'll check on it and get back to you"...well, when it's that I am not so nice. But I try to hold it in. I ask polite questions....and I alert the authorities...who in this case were on top of things. SO on top of things in fact that just when I lost all hope, I found a surprise package on my doorstep today:

So I get to kick off a spooktacular holiday season after all!!! I shall go on record as saying Wierdlings is the bestest, bestest swap coordinator ever, ever, ever. She should get lots and lots and lots of cookies and bonus karmic points for making others happy when she has been sad. Here's what I found inside:

EEEEEEEEEEEE! Not one but TWO sock yarns! Front and center you have Lana Grossa Meilenweit Bosco, color 3512...browns with bits of oranges and golds. YUM. Hiding behind be 2 hanks of Gypsy Girl Creations superwash fingering weight in Trick-or-Treat. Double YUM. And dominating them both is my new Ugz pet...Ozy/Sloan the conflicted space monster. Now I just have to find somewhere to keep him out of all the grubby little hands around here...he's MINE.

...and SWOON! Handmade Stitch markers with awesome beads...and 2 Imps Ears of (drum roll please...) BLACK PHOENIX ALCHEMY LAB!!! Siren and Dance of Death. I am in love. Even the little bag they were snuggling in smells warmly wonderful.

And various other sundry spooky things. Plastic spider rings. Pumpkin Peeps. Stickers and notepads and TATOOS!
The hub will be so very confused later!

And white Fimo...me thinks snow ghosts be in order. :)

...and as if that isn't enough for one day, my Interweave Crochet Winter came too.

Whee-hee, I'm all bright and shiny inside!

Excuses, excuses, excuses....

2007-12-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

I won't bore you with them, because they are indeed b.o.r.i.n.g. It's been too long...yada yada...won't happen again...yada yada...dust bunnies running amok...yada, yada

I'm snuggled up in my fave humongo sweatshirt and have a cup o' tea to hand, so let's get down to it, shall we?

1) It's December in Minnesota and finally we have snow before Christmas again! Winter Storm Warning Weekend! Big fat fluffy flakes for days if we're lucky.

2) It's December and I have 4 handmade gifts finished already...personal record, and I l.o.v.e. them all.

The Mermaid Scarf in The Natural Dye Studio's BIFL for the Kindergarten Teacher extraordinaire:
This yarn is fabulous beyond my ability to use words to describe it. Got it in a swap and oh my oh my oh my am I wanting more, more, more! (and drat it all, but they're in the UK!) Not sure on some of the details, like colorway or weight as they weren't given me, but as it's a 2-ply I believe it's their DK.

The Boteh ever popular crocheted scarf of the moment for First Grade Teacher fabulosa in Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock Lakeview colorway:
The Round Ripple (pattern out of my head as it went) for #3 in Fantasy Naturale cotton fantasticness:

...if I can get it away from the old dog:

Fiber Trends' Alpine Boots for #3 as well, felted in Lamb's Pride with anonymous furry trim:

3) Trips to the in-laws just got a LOT sweeter...new yarnshop (River Boutique) in town less than 5 mintues from their house, coffee shop directly across the street and I totally scored over Thanksgiving:
Boo Peep's Not Just for Socks yarn in Black Cherry. Yum.

4) ...and the ultimate score...are you sitting, cause you so should be sitting for this one...sadly my sock club LYS is going out of business (Clickity Sticks & Yarns in Minneapolis...but they still shall be on the web!)...but I found these rummaging the closeout this morning:
Yep, that be handspun. $11 a hank. The tan is 100% alpaca, a bit over 100m. RK Fiber Designs. The other silver alpaca plied with natural black merino, again a titch over 100m. Southern Style Spinner (aka Jill Lundgren). SWOON. Also nabbed some 40" size 4 Addi Turbo's for $7...I kid you not. DOUBLE SWOON.

So that brings you up to speed , kind of anyway. Lots of projects remain in hopper. Lots of frantic Decemberish things to do. Stay tuned, with a little luck I'll be back soon.