Summer means…
29 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Farm Fresh Foods, Finding my Green Thumb
STRAWBERRIES!
In our ongoing bumbling attempts in the garden, we decided to plant a strawberry patch this summer. Actually we tried it last summer, and the area we selected as the “patch” was quickly overgrown in weeds. Because of the mild winter, however, when we went out in the spring the plants were still going. I transplanted them to some spare pots and then almost killed them for lack of watering (is it any wonder things in our yard don’t grow?)
This year, Wes suggested we turn a small area near the house into a patch. He found some retaining wall cinder blocks at Home Depot that he liked and set out to create a few semi-circular beds. On Saturday, he went to what I affectionately call the local “dirtmart” to pick up some soil. We filled the semi-circles and then went shopping for plants. A little work on Sunday morning and we were set.
Two beds of strawberries:
And one little watermelon plant:
One last addition to the “garden” was a plant I have always wanted: a hydrangea. I think these are so beautiful and I’m absolutely fascinated that you can change the color of the blooms by changing the acidity in the soil. This is prettying up my front steps and making me smile:
Yarn Tree
23 May 2012 1 Comment
in A Picture's Worth 1000 Words
Yarn bombing in China. All I know is I want a yarn tree in my front yard!
The Spins: April & May
18 May 2012 2 Comments
For my three readers who are still with me, you might have noticed that I skipped the April spins. I did this because I was working on a larger project and it wasn’t quite done. I was waiting until I had finished for the big reveal. Here it is:
A few months ago my friend K suggested a spin-a-long (SAL). The challenge was to combine two different braids of fiber to result in three skeins, one of colorway A, one of a mix of colorways A and B, and one of colorway B. This results in a really neat gradient effect as you’re knitting. Of course, since I have to supersize challenges, I thought it would be a great chance to spin up enough for a sweater. I used this amazing sweater designed by Tanis Lavallee as my inspiration.
Photo Credit: Tanis Lavallee
I had three braids of falkland dyed by Funky Carolina in a bright pink, and I was looking for a way to tone it down, so I ordered three braids of falkland from Fat Cat Knits in the colorway Esther.
So I spun in April, and I spun in May.
First I spun the two colors together to see what they would look like.
Then the pink:
And then the multicolor:
Altogether I now have about 1700 yards of luscious yarn (from 24oz of fiber).
I have two other spins for the month as well.
First up, a club colorway from Two if By Hand, Superwash Merino in the colorway Little Plastic Castle:
And second, an oversized braid from JulieSpins, Falkland in the colorway Spring Tide. I love this one and got 457 yards of squishy goodness, a record for me!
Both of these two skeins are available over in my shop!
That brings my yearly total to 109.1 oz or 6.8 lbs of fiber. Well on my way to my goal of 12 pounds in 2012!
Wee little gnome.
13 May 2012 Leave a Comment
For my birthday last week my mother in law sent me a box of garden related items. Most of them were to be used for a drip watering system, but she tucked a wee little garden gnome in there. I might possibly be in love with this little garden gnome.
The land of mismatched socks.
09 May 2012 2 Comments
in Funny
Lost Sock Memorial Day
When : Always May 9th
Lost Sock Memorial Day recognizes your drawer full of unmatched socks. Each unmatched sock represents a missing sock. We never throw away our unmatched socks. After all, it may show up someday.
On Lost Sock Memorial Day, we suggest you spend a little time (as little as possible) searching for those missing socks. After a (very) brief search, and in good “Memorial” spirit, spend a minute reflecting upon how warm and comforting the missing socks were on your stinky toes. Then, by all means, get on with your life. Today is also a good opportunity to toss out all of your unmatched socks.
P.S. It doesn’t matter what happens, if the socks are handknit I’m not throwing them away!
Thirty four.
07 May 2012 2 Comments
in Notes to Myself, Off the Needles, Spinning a Yarn
I thought maybe I’d post something witty over the weekend, to celebrate my thirty-fourth birthday, but who am I kidding? This site hasn’t been witty for a while. Mostly it’s just a collection of crafty stuff.
Did I say crafty stuff? This is what 34 looks like with crafty stuff.
The hat is new (the pattern is “Rikke”) and I love it despite the fact that it was in the 90′s this weekend and clearly inappropriate weather for a wool hat.
Other than knitting and spinning, I got to go see the touring production of Jersey Boys for my birthday and then have a delightfully delicious dinner at my favorite Kansas City eatery, Piropos.
Yesterday I ran all kinds of errands and came home and got cracking on getting my spinning and weaving shop ready for the Creative Hand Craft Show this November where I hope to be selling my wares for the first time. I ordered new business cards this morning and I need to get treadling! My favorite photo from the shoot yesterday? A rainbow of handspun:
And finally, just for a little extra excitement, we spent last night hunkered down in the basement listening to the tornado sirens. There were two tornadoes that touched down in Olathe, two houses caught fire after being struck by lightening, quarter sized hail pelted the area, and we’re still under flash flood watch. Who knew 34 would be such an exciting year?
Keeper
04 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Deep Thoughts, Funny
At bedtime last night:
Him: “I know why you’re sad.”
Me: “You do?”
Him: “Yes. You’re sad because you’re old.”
Me: “Oh.”
Him: “And I’m usually very, very sad because I’m very, very old.”
Yup, that’s my honey. He’s a keeper!
