Last week was our first week of fresh veggies from my CSA. Given that we didn't get the box until Friday, not everything was perfect, but I was still enamored with the contents. This week was no exception. We got:
Rainbow Chard
Lettuce Mix
Loose Spinach
French Breakfast Radishes
Green Garlic
Spring Red Onions
Fresh Strawberries
This may, perhaps, sound like less than last week's contents, but that's not necessarily bad. My last salad was eaten the day of arrival for the other box! Anyway, I've not made as much of a dent in this box so far, mainly because I'm still buried under the box of cherries from the orchard, but I'm sure I'll manage to eat all of it.
All that waits until Sunday because we're going away (yet again) for a weekend with friends. My cohorts in crime, Amy and Beth, and I are all turning 40 this year. Our menfolk took it upon themselves to "do something about it" and this weekend is the big deal. The boys did a superb job of keeping things secret, and even managed to ensure that none of us planned anything on our calendars, and they finally started spilling the beans a few weeks ago. Suffice to say, they've done a fabulous job. We're having a weekend of wine tasting, cycling, general mayhem and the crowning achievement is dinner a The French Laundry. I really don't know how wonderful it will be. It's been getting mixed reviews from customers over the past few years (service declining, less variety of menu, prices skyrocketing) but it's still one of those "lifetime" things.
My plan? Close my mental checkbook, open my mouth and enjoy. See you all Monday.
Template woes - and new stuff!
Well, I've managed to delete all the customizations I've made to the blog - but then again, maybe that's a good thing. I still can't get the archive calendar to work properly, but maybe that's ok, too. I'll try and take this as an opportunity to "restart" all this stuff and do a little housecleaning.
Anyway, it's Memorial Day weekend here in the us and that means a long weekend. It's a happy coincidence that this extra day off coincided with the end of our extended vacation; I wish I could take credit for planning it that way, but no dice. Doesn't mean I won't take that extra day off!
The weather has been pretty crappy up here on the mountain and today was the first bit of sunshine we'd gotten since coming home. That was enough to motivate me outside for a run (everything now hurts) and I'm glad I did. It's been too long since I'd run and I'm looking forward to getting back to it in a serious way.
On the handicrafts side of the house, I've gone off and ordered a small, rigid heddle loom from Schacht. Looks like this:
I'm just tickled at the prospect of being able to burn through a HUGE amount of stash in no time at all. Scarves and wraps from all that lonely sock yarn are destined to be gifts for family and friends. Rumor has it that I can warp the loom, weave a project and finish it in a day. Now *that's* the right speed for me. Plus, it's a nice way to ease into weaving. I really see this as a first step toward full-time fiber arts.
Anyway, it's back to the salt mines for me tomorrow. 8a meeting. Can you believe it?
Anyway, it's Memorial Day weekend here in the us and that means a long weekend. It's a happy coincidence that this extra day off coincided with the end of our extended vacation; I wish I could take credit for planning it that way, but no dice. Doesn't mean I won't take that extra day off!
The weather has been pretty crappy up here on the mountain and today was the first bit of sunshine we'd gotten since coming home. That was enough to motivate me outside for a run (everything now hurts) and I'm glad I did. It's been too long since I'd run and I'm looking forward to getting back to it in a serious way.
On the handicrafts side of the house, I've gone off and ordered a small, rigid heddle loom from Schacht. Looks like this:
I'm just tickled at the prospect of being able to burn through a HUGE amount of stash in no time at all. Scarves and wraps from all that lonely sock yarn are destined to be gifts for family and friends. Rumor has it that I can warp the loom, weave a project and finish it in a day. Now *that's* the right speed for me. Plus, it's a nice way to ease into weaving. I really see this as a first step toward full-time fiber arts.
Anyway, it's back to the salt mines for me tomorrow. 8a meeting. Can you believe it?
Back from holiday - and fresh greens!
I can't believe how quickly three weeks went by. We had an amazing time in New Zealand, Australia, and the Kingdom of Tonga. The first two points were more "transit stops" than destinations, but I managed to completely fall in love with the kiwi lifestyle and am scheming ways to move down there! Sydney was also good - but the highlight of our trip was 11 days of sailing in Tonga. There's just too much to tell about it, but suffice to say, we all had a wonderful time.So, we're rested, relaxed, and ready to start working again next week. But, since it's a holiday weekend, this leaves me time to get acquainted with the box of fresh veggies dropped of by my CSA. I've bought a weekly delivery of fresh veggies and I think that the quantities should be more than sufficient for the two of us. This week, we got:
Romaine Lettuce
Red Leaf Lettuce
Red Russian Kale (this is a new one for me!)
Spring Bunched Carrots
Spring Onions
Green Garlic (also a rare treat)
Arugula
Radishes
Strawberries
I've been casting about for a recipe for the kale - and so far haven't been really taken by any of them. At a minimum, I'll be stuffing myself with salads for the next few days!
Happy long weekend everyone! It's great to be home.
A little fibery goodness
Just so that you don't think I'm making up all the stuff about finishing socks and spinning yarn, here are a few pics of what I've managed to do.
First of, I really want to make C. a pair of handspun socks. I've gotten confident enough now with my knitting that I'm sure they'll fit right. Spinning up some good yarn for the project is the real challenge. The March fiber from Spunky Eclectic's Spunky Club was just the ticket. Base fiber is a dark Blue Faced Leister (BFL) with dyed segments of teal, green, red and brown. A very manly set of colors on an easy to spin roving.
Since it's for socks, I wanted a true 3-ply yarn. That meant tearing the roving into three equal parts. I then split each part into four strips and spun each onto a bobbin. Finally, I plied the three together. In the "good karma" department, two of the three bobbins emptied out *at the same time*. There was not more than 10 yards of single left on the third bobbin, so there was almost no waste. Finished product looks like this:
Spun S, plied Z. Final size around 16 WPI. Just about 375 yards. I think the initial weight was a little low, but I'm still quite happy with the yardage.
Today, hot off the bobbin, is a 100% Merino superwash roving from Zen Yarn Garden's Spin Art Fibre Club. It's the April colorway, inspired by Georgia O'Keefe's "Red Canna" painting. I did this one as a chain ply (just because I need to get better at it) and because I thought the colors would be more interesting if I could preserve them. Anyway, yarn looks like this:
Once again, spun S, plied Z. Final WPI again around 16. This time, it's just *over* 400 yards - plenty for socks for me (yeah, we just talked about not chain plying for socks) or maybe a nice scarf.
Both these yarns go on vacation with me this week. Woot!
First of, I really want to make C. a pair of handspun socks. I've gotten confident enough now with my knitting that I'm sure they'll fit right. Spinning up some good yarn for the project is the real challenge. The March fiber from Spunky Eclectic's Spunky Club was just the ticket. Base fiber is a dark Blue Faced Leister (BFL) with dyed segments of teal, green, red and brown. A very manly set of colors on an easy to spin roving.
Since it's for socks, I wanted a true 3-ply yarn. That meant tearing the roving into three equal parts. I then split each part into four strips and spun each onto a bobbin. Finally, I plied the three together. In the "good karma" department, two of the three bobbins emptied out *at the same time*. There was not more than 10 yards of single left on the third bobbin, so there was almost no waste. Finished product looks like this:
Spun S, plied Z. Final size around 16 WPI. Just about 375 yards. I think the initial weight was a little low, but I'm still quite happy with the yardage.
Today, hot off the bobbin, is a 100% Merino superwash roving from Zen Yarn Garden's Spin Art Fibre Club. It's the April colorway, inspired by Georgia O'Keefe's "Red Canna" painting. I did this one as a chain ply (just because I need to get better at it) and because I thought the colors would be more interesting if I could preserve them. Anyway, yarn looks like this:
Once again, spun S, plied Z. Final WPI again around 16. This time, it's just *over* 400 yards - plenty for socks for me (yeah, we just talked about not chain plying for socks) or maybe a nice scarf.
Both these yarns go on vacation with me this week. Woot!
Where did April go?
So there I was, intrepid readers, poised at the brink of April, ready to get back to a life of knitting, spinning and blogging. Now here I am, a full 23 days later, with nary a post to show for it.
First of all, a big "I'm a knucklehead" to Tina. Yes, I did get your email. I even marked it as "unread" so that I wouldn't forget to respond to you. I shall do so, this weekend.
Second of all, I did get a lot of spinning and knitting done. I finished 2.5 pairs of socks, am about halfway through a random scarf with my virtual friends from The Unique Sheep and have spun up singles for a scarf, a true 3-ply for socks for the hubby and am madly working on another chain-ply for socks for me.
What does all this lead to?
Vacation.
We're about to set off on a 3-week odyssey to points south and west. There's a 10d trip onboard a catamaran with 3 other couples (this will be excessively fun) as well as a few days in New Zealand, and hopefully some in Australia. Basically, the month of May is "out the window".
But, with three weeks of time on my hands, along with 2 18h+ plane flights, I hope to get some serious knitting done. This will include the aforementioned handspun socks (hopefully) and I'm also eyeing the Botanica Medallion Cardigan from the Spring/Summer 09 VK. Ravelry link, here. This one'll be a stash-buster and perfect for those warm nights on the boat. Assuming it gets done in time.
Fine. I'll try this again.
June will be a month of posts. I hope it includes my classes for SOAR, some pictures of spinning/knitting (if I can *EVER* find my camera!) and a nice talk about my trip. Time and internet connections permitting, I may blog from the southern hemisphere.
Cheers!
First of all, a big "I'm a knucklehead" to Tina. Yes, I did get your email. I even marked it as "unread" so that I wouldn't forget to respond to you. I shall do so, this weekend.
Second of all, I did get a lot of spinning and knitting done. I finished 2.5 pairs of socks, am about halfway through a random scarf with my virtual friends from The Unique Sheep and have spun up singles for a scarf, a true 3-ply for socks for the hubby and am madly working on another chain-ply for socks for me.
What does all this lead to?
Vacation.
We're about to set off on a 3-week odyssey to points south and west. There's a 10d trip onboard a catamaran with 3 other couples (this will be excessively fun) as well as a few days in New Zealand, and hopefully some in Australia. Basically, the month of May is "out the window".
But, with three weeks of time on my hands, along with 2 18h+ plane flights, I hope to get some serious knitting done. This will include the aforementioned handspun socks (hopefully) and I'm also eyeing the Botanica Medallion Cardigan from the Spring/Summer 09 VK. Ravelry link, here. This one'll be a stash-buster and perfect for those warm nights on the boat. Assuming it gets done in time.
Fine. I'll try this again.
June will be a month of posts. I hope it includes my classes for SOAR, some pictures of spinning/knitting (if I can *EVER* find my camera!) and a nice talk about my trip. Time and internet connections permitting, I may blog from the southern hemisphere.
Cheers!
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