Cosy

Thanksgiving was nice. I rather enjoy "cooking" with my sister (by which I mean preparing most everything the few days before and making sure it's all warm by dinnertime) and we had plenty of chance to laugh together and hang out. It was pleasant. And then we had friendsgiving, which was just about perfect. We still have pie. 

I finished a tea cosy. Since I only finished it a few hours ago, I haven't yet updated the Ravelry page or anything like that, but there it is, keeping my teapot nice and warm. Bu has requested hot chocolate cosies, too, which I think is completely fair. We can't let the tea have all the fun, right?

 The bedscarf continues, poco a poco. Since it's in blocks, I'm not terribly worried about when it's finished. I just want to do a block when I feel like it and I'll eventually end up with a thing.

I don't really have that much other knitting or crochet going on. I've been a little scattered as far as crafting goes.

Rufus is settling in pretty well and there's no doubt that he's well-loved here. I'm getting used to being a dog owner and finding out that it's not so bad.

There aren't that many posts remaining until the end of the year and I've been rock-tumbling about what I want to do with Project Make (All the Things). I feel like I petered out in the middle of the year, but there's still something I can do with the idea. It seemed like most people were confused about what, exactly, I was trying to do and I think that I didn't do a very good job of defining it and/or that the scope was too broad.

Next year, I'm thinking of having a year long along of alongs, many of which will probably overlap with other alongs. If, say, I'm doing spinning in July (Tour de Fleece!), that's easier to along than "Umm... make some stuff." I might also steal from Bekah and start doing separate FO posts. This year, however, I've posted much more regularly than in previous years and that's a win. I've only missed a couple weeks and I'm darn proud of that. 

The year's not over yet, though. There's still a fair bit of making to be done in the next few weeks and hopefully plenty of finishing, too. 

Happy Everything!

Happy October!
I'm having a busy month already and it's only the first. In fact, I'm a little late in posting today because I've been busy doing important parenting things, important household things, and important things that are not blogging. It's the start of Aegletia, and if you've never heard of it, no one will blame you. Apollo is going on vacation at the end of the month and there are a few of us who send him off over nine days with a candle-lighting ritual. We've only been calling it Aegletia since last year and I'm strongly considering some small, appropriate gifts and/or special Aegletia foods that may or may not include underwear and/or eggplant, respectively.

This is close on the heels of the Fall Equinox Annual Perennial Exchange Party (Happy Fall!), which was low-key and delightful. The darling eldest made some labels for the seed bar, which was kinda fun, and we traded flower bulbs, too. Some time when it's not raining, there's going to be a great planting of things and I may or may not plant the crocuses in random spots around the yard.

There have also been computer-related shenanigans and my nerd-based confidence was boosted this week when I took a useless paperweight of a netbook and turned it into a learning machine that both children want to use. It's still a little slow, but it's actually functional and has lots of great programs for anyone of any age who might want to learn things. Bu even learned how to use a track pad.
I may or may not be a little proud. maybe a little

There's also been a great deal of spinning going on. I finished all the singles for the fiber Koren gave me to spin up for her as one of her stashdown prizes and I've been working on it when I can during Cubs games.
It seems to help. I'll have to be sure to have the wheel out when they play the Pirates for the wildcard spot.

The plying on the copper is done now, so it just needs to be washed, measured, weighed, and given the stern pinky.

Two pairs of jeans need patches, too, so that and a couple rounds of sweater sleeve also got worked on today. The sleeve is less interesting. It looks like a sleeve.

Anyhow, the sashiko patches are holding up well. They seem to do better than other kinds of patching techniques I've tried.

This was going to be a nice photo of the nice things to eat at the Fall Annual Perennial, but some goofball photobombed. We had noshes. It was yummy.

It's the Month of Cosplay, so I hope to have some costumes in progress very very soon. Happy Cosplay Month!

Only a Half Dozen Different Things

First, an arctiid moth, because they're cool.

Second, an FO. This is Meditations on the Holy Mother, Leto by Diana Rozenshteyn. I used size 3's and lace weight, so it ended up being more scarf-sized than stole-sized, but it drapes beautifully. The brown is Misti Alpaca Lace in NT-304 and the green is Knit Picks Shadow in Lost Lake. The Shadow was deep stash from 2009 and the Misti Alpaca was from 2013. That's 819 yards out of stash, bringing my annual totals up to 6,287 yards in 14 projects. The sizing and yarn choices were the only modifications, but if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have done the provisional cast-on since the ends of the scarf/stole aren't particularly directional.

 Third, a cake! The eldest wanted a Steven Universe-themed birthday party, so of course I made an appropriately themed cake. This is a show that I would recommend to just about anyone. It's goofy and silly in a lot of places, but there's also a complexity to the characterization that's slowly revealed over the course of the show. You can watch this one with littles, but some of the more emotional parts might even make the grownups cry (ONLY A LITTLE! ::sobsobsob::).

Fourth, some crochet. This is from the Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework and if you clicky that link, you'll find that there's a familiar photo under this particular pattern. Turns out that one wasn't in Ravelry's database yet.

This is going to be something for the holiday table and I'm using some ancient and venerable handspun stash that was too skritchy for pretty much anything else.

I also finished the drawing of Princess Luna I'd been working on. The app has been updated since I finished, which I hope means more versatility. I'm still learning how to get the most out of it and I hope to be drawing more-- not just fan art, but just more in general. 

Lastly, something for Mom. She's pretending to crochet here and wrapping the yarn around the hook several times, but she kind of has the idea.

Fall seems to be creeping in

Sometimes, the FOs are tasty. This is about eight jars of peach nutmeg jelly that I put up this weekend. It's even husband-approved.

I have a mind to do some apple cinnamon jelly as well, but I want to get some apple pie filling done first so that I can have the peels and cores.

Jelly is kind of magical in that I feel like I'm getting something from practically nothing.

The spinning queue is moving along, too. Most of the time, I try to spin while listening to the Cubs play. At this point, I'm 3/4 of the way through the silk. I've got one more not-for-me spinning project to do, then it's on to spinning my own stash again.

I've also been working on some mending this week. When you have a pair of jeans you like, it's really hard to let them go. I'm liking the different sashiko stitch patterns and I feel like I get a sturdier patch this way, since no fabric is lost by cutting away the old fabric for the new. 

With other kinds of mending, the patch tends to pull on the old fabric in such a way that often results in even more holes, so you get caught in an endless spiral of patching or you just give up on the garment altogether. Because sashiko patches are quilted to the old fabric, there's no significant pulling at stress points like corners. The whole patch moves with the rest of the fabric. 

Next up is some embroidery for some of the smaller/more difficult holes on the side seam.

I've been wearing my plaid shirt this week, especially in the cooler early hours of the morning and, as Bu has also observed, it is so comfy. This is a sewing win.

And I did manage to get a picture of Iris in her natural habitat. The other pictures are a bit more flaily, but I thought this one was nice (garbage can notwithstanding).

Season of Cake

Last week was my birthday and, of course, there had to be cake. Cake season has officially begun at our house. Between late August and early November, there's a pretty good chance there's going to be cake in the house of some kind or another. I spend a lot of time trying new recipes or decorating so that each person gets a really special cake. This year, I made Hershey's especially dark chocolate cake and some jam-based frosting as follows:

Jess's Jam-based Frosting

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter (4 oz), at room temperature

1 brick cream cheese (8oz), at room temperature

1 lb. confectioner's sugar

1/3 cup jam 

Combine all ingredients and mix with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed until thoroughly combined. Try not to eat it out of the bowl. 

Have a taste anyway. 

Frost when cake is cool. Share cake with friends and family.

This year, mom gave me a jar of black raspberry jam that she made out of berries from her garden and it made amazing frosting. The pink is strawberry from my own stash. I think this counts as this week's technique. I'm gonna count it. 

I also finished a couple of those dish towels and used up some kitchen cotton stash. This is Lemon, Tan, and Green, which includes the Ballband Dishcloth by Peaches and Cream via Mason Dixon Knitting and a simple towel of my own design. All that is is linen stitch with a moss stitch border, which I didn't have to think about too much.

I've also been working on Leto, which looks about the same as it did last week, but with a little bit more brown on it.

Amazingly, I've even been spinning! I think the back to school blahs are about done. This is a 100% silk top dyed by Rain's Obsessive Stitchery in a beautiful coppery color. I'm spinning woolen, which makes for a smooth, shiny single and I'm very excited to see how it turns out. 

It's a shame I don't get to keep this one.

And here's a little something in Crayola crayon based on a pysanka design that I did this week. It's a little wobbly and squeewonked in places, but I wasn't aiming for precision. Crayon is a highly under-appreciated medium, I feel. Just because we've been using them since Kindergarten doesn't mean it's an inferior medium at all. This guy "paints" with plastic bags and his work is amazing. 

And here's a picture for mom. Here, Bu is coloring with a little friend at dance school while she waits on Big Sister to finish her class. Bu started her first class this week and loves it so far. I keep trying to get pictures of Iris, but she's about as easy to photograph as Bigfoot. I'll keep trying.

Panathenaia

Toddler for scale.

In ancient times, people would make a pilgrimage to Athens right around June or July for the Panathenaia. Back then, one of the things they did was to dress the statue in new clothes, which, considering that it was 42' high, was kind of a big deal. Fortunately for me, "pilgrimage" really only means about a half an hour drive. Why go all the way to Athens when we've got a perfectly good Parthenon just up the road?

So every year, right around June or July, we head up to the Parthenon and have our own festival. For us, this means a picnic and some time to be quiet and present in the temple cleverly disguised as a tourist attraction. I'll bring an offering of wool, leave a prayer, and knit or spin while I listen to what Athene has to say. Most of my prayers are for my kids, but not all. We had a picnic after and this year was particularly nice because we had the opportunity to stop by the SSK marketplace afterward. I brought home a skein of Miss Babs' Yowza in the colorway Joan of Arc and Iris brought home a little something for herself with which she might make a hat. Bekah summed up the visit pretty well, actually.

This is Sam's brother, Frank.

The fiber arts mean a lot to me, if you haven't noticed. They've shaped who I am at least as much as any single event or even my academic pursuits (also the purview of Athene). Especially when I'm sewing, there's a connection to the people who taught me or inspired me. Mom taught me to use a sewing machine and Mamaw (her mom) gave me a sewing kit that I gave to Iris. I'm not that far removed from those who had to sew from necessity and though I don't really have to, there are lessons I've learned from sewing and later quilting, knitting, spinning, and weaving, that have been invaluable. I won't go naked if I don't sew or knit, but I still need to for other reasons.

On a completely physical level, I would not have the dexterity or spatial reasoning I do now if I hadn't learned to sew at a very young age. Understanding the connections between fiber arts skills and academics is, to me, like saying that spoons are great for both soup and ice cream. ...I'm not entirely sure that makes much sense, but here is a goddess who presides over two very important parts of my life that often overlap in unexpected ways. I can't not seek excellence in both, not only because She expects that of me, but also because there is so much joy to be had when the socks fit or when your paper is well-researched and clever. No small part of that joy is gratitude toward the ones who taught me and who continue to teach me.
It's not so much that I'm learning particular skills, but really that I'm continuing to learn, period. Focus, patience, and perseverance are each part of what it takes to become skilled in a craft and you have to practice those so that you can practice the things like cabling, buttonholes, afterthought heels, spreading butterflies, writing papers, making distribution maps. By extension, Project Make isn't about making things, as such, but really about making a better me through practice. That's where the wisdom is.

I'm rambling today. I hope you'll forgive me for it.

I don't do posts like this often, but knitting is happening, too. I've got one heel done on these.

And the BFF cowl is back on active needles. 34 sts, as it turns out, was the magic number. 

And I froze some corn this week, which isn't really related.

And this happened. There was a laundry basket, so she climbed in it. You might remember the shirt from earlier.

I'll try to be back next week with a more regular post with a little less incoherent philosophical rambling and a little more actual fiber arts content.

Rainbow-themed Jubilance

This week has been a pretty darn productive one and, looking back on June, I'd have to say I'm pretty happy with the way things are going. 

Thematically appropriate mug choice for this week.

I just want to knit and sew rainbows all over the place, but I have a shirt and a shawl to make for OAL shenanigans and will not be distracted from my goal. You will be mine, plaid flannel shirt, Oh yes, you will be mine.

Cutting continues at a slow pace and, wouldn't you know it, I didn't have enough interfacing. It's always the interfacing. I think I have some, but "some" always turns out to be maybe a quarter of a yard if you were to line up all the scraggly little pieces into a sort of rectangular shape, between which no actual pattern pieces will fit. 

It's fine. I bought more. 

I also came home with three new patterns because McCall's were on sale: 6613 is to replace the one I'm currently cutting, 6964 is for... because t-shirts, and 7141 is for my sweet otaku Fluffalo. 

I do still have some rainbow socks on the needles for the aforementioned Fluffalo, though, and that satisfies my need for rainbow-themed jubilance pretty well. They're my purse knitting, though, so aren't seeing much action. 

What is seeing a lot of action, though, is Trillian by Martina Behm. It's the second half of the OAL and my morning knitting. I'm well into the 2nd of three balls of yarn now and knitting with laser focus. I want to be done and I'd like to step up the pace on the Stash Amble/Mosey (aka Stash Dash for those doing more finishing than I). 

I did finish Die grünen, Easy Ribbed Legwarmers by  Carol Wells:

And those ended up being over 300 yards of old stash. I really love them, even though they're about the simplest thing you could knit, and I'm hoping to get quite a bit of wear out of them in the cold months. 

Then there was jam:

The observant among you will notice that my floors are really clean. Generally, while I wait for the jars to cool, I use the water from the canner to mop the floors. Most of these jams will be retained for us to have through the year, but some will end up given away at some point. There's still jelly to be made in the fall, so I'm sure there will be plenty to share. I'm toying with the idea of selling a few jars, but I haven't decided. What I may do is offer a few jars at the end of 2015 as part of the culmination of Project Make, but at this point I'm just thinking out loud.

This week's technique is processing jars of jam for safe storage. The best resource is the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning and I'm a big fan of federally funded science that results in the common good, but I'll also outline my method here as simply as possible. 

• Before you start, sanitize your jars on "Heat Dry" in the dishwasher or in boiling water for about five minutes
• Make the jam or jelly, put the jam in the jars with about 1/4" head space (the gap of air between the jam and the lid).
• Heat lids in warm water, not boiling, five to ten minutes, until the plastic seal is soft. Use new lids. They're a couple bucks for a dozen, which is a bargain for food safety.
• Carefully wipe the rim of the jar clean as clean can be
• Place a lid on each jar and secure with a metal ring
• The metal ring should be secure so that the lid stays on and in place
• But not so tight that air cannot escape
• Submerge jars in boiling water that covers at least an inch to two inches of the jar for seven minutes
• Remove from the boiling water, you'll want a jar-grabber thingy, and let them cool until you hear a POP! from every jar. 
• The jars that don't POP! can be re-processed in boiling water or refrigerated and eaten right away. 

Looking back, I like what I'm seeing. I feel good about the things I'm making and because I want to continue this trend, I'm going to be bold and set some goals for this month:

1. Finish the plaid shirt
2. Finish Trillian
3. Find a neglected project and begin working on it before month's end
4. Sew a t-shirt for myself
5. Card the rest of the black alpaca and finish spinning it

Those are completely doable goals, I think. It's okay if I don't get all of that done before the month's out, but I'm so focused on the few things I am doing that I think I can get much of this short list done.

So (Sew), Strawberries.

I love these. Five bags out of fabric stash in colors that remind me of my garden in springtime when the phlox are in full bloom. The strawberry one is my favorite, hands down, and while that's the last of that fabric, this bag was the perfect thing for it to be. There's a grosgrain ribbon attach me! loop on the side of each one and though they're pretty simple, they're sturdy and well-constructed. I did my best here to pay attention to the details, even though they're "just" project bags. This is the part of Project Make where it's about doing my best work.

I'm considering stash-diving for summer fabrics for a similar collection of project bags and I'm almost certain there are colors in my fabric stash that will speak to me of summer flowers and sunshine. My more immediate sewing concern will be two more shirts for Bu, but I need to be getting on with that pretty soon if I'm to finish before our trip to Florida (which still doesn't seem real and won't until we're there). The pink and blue fabric to the right is going to be something, but I haven't figured out what just yet. It's vintage silk sent to me from a far friend as an act of kindness and I can't even with how beautiful it is.

And then there's these.

Twenty-four hours ago, these little beauties were hanging out on a vine down the road a ways and now? Now they are jam. Jam season has officially begun.

Everyone helps at our house.

Strawberries don't last long, but I sure enjoy the heck out of them while they're around. The great thing, though, is that just when they're gone, there's something else new and exciting coming into being. The boysenberries and raspberries won't be far behind them, I've planted grapes, and the blackberries are growing stronger. The tomatoes will bloom and fruit, and with some luck, I'll also have peppers and basil and other things from the garden.

Dat cuff, tho'

In non-strawberry news, I finished the alterations for the four boys' dance shirts, the last of which will soon be delivered and paid for (hooray!). I sort of wanted to spend a little more time to make them perfect, but perfect was not the end game for this particular project. Expedient and good enough for two shows and a rehearsal was the goal and I think I got there.

I wouldn't want to do this sort of work for a living, but it was a good side project and some good learning happened, too. I feel a lot more comfortable with knit fabrics now and that opens up possibilities for garments like swimsuits or t-shirts. The possibilities are endless!

There is knitting happening, too, and there may or may not be a spreadsheet stolen, copied, totally plagiarized, inspired by Bekah for purposes of Stash Dash. As it turns out, if I were to finish everything currently on the needles, I'd be about 183 meters short of 3k. Fortunately for me, spinning totally counts. I may also be starting a sock if the yarn would like to kindly tell me what sock it will to be.

Recital week is next week, so I hope that means a little knitting time when I'm not actually dancing. (You guys, I'm dancing in the thing!)

Love is: Pictures of knitwear in the snow

Looks like Elsa had a vendetta.

I am in a blanket fort right now. My dear friends up Nort' could make actual castle-sized snow castles from all the snow they have up yonder and even their normal unflappability when it comes to snow is currently being flapped. Our winter weather is by no means a comparison to being actually buried under snow, but still: My subtropical bones are cold.

We are effectively down to one car for the time being, since just the one has any sort of defrosting capabilities. That one, pictured here, was de-iced yesterday so Husband could go to work, which is fine, because I'm not going anywhere any time soon. School has been out all week and dance classes have been cancelled.

You don't know nothin'

And I am rediscombobulated. I was starting to feel well and truly combobulated again, but my routine and momentum are pretty much shot. I want to hunker down and eat everything. Tuesday was spent playing video games when I could have been doing pretty much anything else, but I did eventually manage some tidying and a bit of finishing and I've baked both muffins and cookies this week. Because cookies.

It's really very pretty outside, but I am (and have been) ready for Spring. I can tell that my plants are waiting to just bust out and be fabulous. So am I.

Summer's hanky got some attention this week and even though I've been having a little anxiousness about how it's not symmetrical, Summer was all awesome and beautiful about it and it's apparently fine. I've learned some very good lessons about symmetry, though, and how I'd do a similar project differently.

The biggest lesson I've learned is that the double herringbone stitch makes my eyes cross. The section I'm working on now is the biggest chunk of double herringbone and I can only really do it in very good lighting. Alas for old lady eyes.

I've also worked on the SoUP batts and midway through plying, the end of the bobbin was...

...no longer attached.
You can imagine my dismay.

Somehow, by the grace of blessed Athene, I managed to glue it back on without disturbing the yarn, assemble everything back again, and continue plying as though nothing had happened.

I like what the fractal plying is doing and I'm certain I can do something with an overdye that will improve the color, but I kind of want some warmer weather before that happens. I've got two ounces to go for this batch and then I'm on to the other half of the fleece.

In spite of this

This happened. 

I also finished the first link of the BFF cowl for Bekah and we're both now at the same place. I'd started the 2nd link, but it ended up being a false start. The pattern we'd chosen for link #2 was far too wide and I'm not a hundred percent certain I can fiddle with it so that it works out right. We may end up picking a different pattern altogether.

It's the color of love.

After vacillating about buttons for three days, I finally finished Baby Ruth's Classy Sweater.

Come visit, Roo's mama! 

There is nothing I don't love about this project. It was fast, fun, colorful, and for a little person I haven't met yet, but already love. This was an entirely self-indulgent knit, even though it's a gift for my proto-niece.

The pattern is Baby Sophisticate and it was knit in Plymouth Yarn's Fantasy Naturale Multi in the aptly named "Blue Purple Green" colorway. I didn't change a thing about the pattern, but I did contemplate pockets. Babies totally need pockets.

Since Roo is a summer baby, I worked the 6-12 mos size, so I'm hoping she'll get a lot of wear out of it.
This week's technique:

• The double herringbone stitch (embroidery). In the video below, Ms. Corbet does a fine job of showing how to make a beautiful double herringbone in a sensibly-sized yarn. I learned it from the Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework and I'm using thread a quarter that size and stitches that are much, much smaller. I've always done small stitches because that's how I learned, but if I were to use this stitch again, I'd likely try to do it bigger than what's in Ms. Summer's hanky, just so I could see what I was doing.

I'm also working on:

• Fork in the Road socks in Andey Originals sock yarn - I'm at the toe of sock #1
• Paisley Fabulous DPN case - I have measurements and a plan, I need to iron the fabric and get to cutting

And I'm down to 5 WIPs. I'm sensing a great casting on of things come March.