June « 2006 « Twists of Fate

Friday, 30 June, 2006

Mmmm.

Filed under: brain_dump, personal, spinning-fleece — moiraeknits @ 4:17 PM

Nine jars, most of them out of the bath just 10 minutes, and most of them have already gone snnnnnk!

The color looks better here, I think, than the other batch of jam. But I could be prejudiced towards rasPberries.

I need to get a bigger pot for making jam. This batch totally overflowed the sides and let me tell you, raspberries cooking right on the gas burner is really kinda stinky. I felt like I was trapped inside a jolly rancher. Or a big wad of cotton candy.

I’m really looking forward to sampling some of this! :D [/dork]

Fiber content? Well, I’m still working on socks. When I get home from dinner tonight, fleece washing will start up again. I should say, I’ll put a batch in to pre-soak, to wash tomorrow. The back room is clear enough to set up drying racks now that my bro has moved on to stay with friends of his in the area. Woo!

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Monday, 26 June, 2006

jams!

Filed under: brain_dump, personal — moiraeknits @ 9:57 AM

Two posts in less than 12 hours. Be still my heart. Actually, I’d settle for some sleep. See, when it gets fairly warm here (it was over 90 I think yesterday?), I have issues with sleeping. Add to this activities yesterday that raised the temp in my apartment by about ten degrees and, well. I went to sleep at 12:30 this morning, and woke up at 2:05am, never to get back to sleep. And unfortunately, I couldn’t go crash out in the cooler room in the back, because my brother is here for a week or so, sleeping on the couch.

Some days, there is not enough coffee in all the world.

Anyway, here’s what I was up to yesterday.

Has anyone who reads this actually had gooseberries? I haven’t. I don’t know what possessed me to buy two quarts of them at the farmer’s market yesterday, except that I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen them before in person. They’re *fuzzy*! And plump and green and OMG tart! Note the spiffy new food processor (there’s a blender part that goes on the base too…yay CostCo!), the first small batch and the rest waiting to visit The Blades of Smooshingness.

This is after I started processing the first batch. Canning is, in no real way shape or form a fast activity. Washing, stemming (is that an actual activity?), prepping the jars, and lids, etc. Anyway, after it was all said and done, I had seven half-pint jars here after their water bath.

It’s a bit dark, considering how vibrantly green the berries were to start. I used the cane sugar you get at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s rather than bust open the enormous bag of granulated sugar I bought at the store yesterday. I’m not even really sure what this is going to taste like – I was so tired after a day filled with activities (not really by my choice…what is it with my siblings that they must GO GO GO all the time?) and dehydrating other fruits in Arthur, the new Excalibur food dehydrator, that I just wanted to get it done so I could sleep.

The irony, it burns.

Anyway. I was jammin’ yesterday. And I will likely jam today, after I get some sleep. There’s four quarts of strawberries slowly turning to ooze in my kitchen, and they need to be dealt with STAT.

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Sunday, 25 June, 2006

A successful spree

Filed under: personal, stash, yarns — moiraeknits @ 11:50 PM

The sun moved into Cancer last Wednesday, and hey guess what? My Sun sign is Cancer. So as a happy early birday to me, and to celebrate the longest day of the year, I splurged.

First stop was Weaving Works to pick up the newest issue of Spin-Off. Love those sheep puppets! So cute! However, the best score of the day was as I wandered to the back of the store, while they were looking for a Schacht Matchless double drive band for me. Sccccooooooooooooooooooore! Lovely. 30% off. Mine!

All aglow from a nice find, I headed next to Third Place Bookstore. And look! They had the one thing I went in to find! I read about this in a story I was reading the other day, and Oh. I love Siamese (even if cat dander does NOT like me), and the book is titled Minou. I think it’s about the adventures of a fairly pampered feline in Paris who is turned out on the streets after her owner passes away. Or something. I haven’t read it yet, but will soon. I also picked up an obscene number of paperbacks by my favorite ~~trash~~ romance author. If you like fantasy and/or Buffy-type things, you should totally read her Dark Hunter series. She also writes as Kinley MacGregor if you like your commercial smutfic on the tall, dark and historically Scottish side.

Hitting an even bigger high, I hopped back in the car and hit Village Yarn & Tea for the first time. Oh! The lovely, lovely things!

I got my Hazel Rose Looms in the mail the other day, and will use the Encore for an afghan. That will probably match the couch that these pics were taken on. Whatever – it’ll look fabulous and very fall-like.

The colors of the Koigu just screamed Summer to me. Summer in the Caribbean with a frosty beverage, on a float, and a hot poolboy to serve me. Er, my every whim. Or something. Whatever. This makes me think of bronzed skin, taut muscles, drinks with umbrellas and the fantasy where I’m a size four and can turn heads for the right reasons. The other, lighter skein is one of two Lorna’s Laces that made me think of sherbert, which is something I really could’ve used about then, because it was hot and I was sweaty. And not because of the fantasy mentioned previously.

But the best score was the Fleece Artist sock yarn. Found at an actual store near me. I was so happy I nearly plotzed right there. I limited myself to three skeins, but man I could’ve picked up one of every color, and there were at least eight. I resisted mightily (mostly because I didn’t have a basket…I know, I was optimistic too…and was about to drop it all).

Temptation was rife, so I fled to my astrology class, by way of Alderwood Mall, the Sephora store and a Bare Escentuals kit.

My life philosophy – if you’re gonna splurge? GO FOR IT!

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Wednesday, 21 June, 2006

Happy Litha!

Filed under: combing, pagan — moiraeknits @ 5:56 AM

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, enjoy the longest day of the year! Bask in the light and the warmth, and revel in this period of bounty! I know I plan to today. The fact I have plans to go to two LYS has nothing to do with it.

Really.

Why are you looking at me like that?

Also, here’s a question for blogland. I’m waffling between the Alvin Ramer super mini combs (probably in cherry) because I was recced them three times over. However, the Forsyth four pitch comb set looks really stinkin’ nice too, mostly because I see reports of them separating dual coated fleeces really well. I like this idea, as I have a bunch of Icelandic and Shetland in my stash.

So, recs on either? Pros? Cons? Help?

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Tuesday, 20 June, 2006

Request for a favor

Filed under: brain_dump, personal — moiraeknits @ 4:21 PM

Long time no update. Still here, still working with some fiber. I ordered a base set of Gaywool dyes online and they should be here sometime this week. In the meantime, I’ve turned most of my attention to:
- organizing the yarn stash a bit because I need a few of the storage bins for
- candlemaking supplies. I’m doing a batch of candles tomorrow to capture the energy of Litha (Summer Solstice) so I can smile and remember the strength of the light later this year when it’s rainy, cold, grey and dark here in Seattle.
- working on organizing supplies for and reading up on canning. I’ve never done it, but now I have all the stuff for it, and I’m looking forward to learning how to do jams, jellies, preserves and other good stuff to also enjoy later in the year, as well as
- learning how to make goodies like fruit leathers in the new Excalibur dehydrator my sister and I bought together. I have custody for now, but she has visiting rights just about anytime, and dibs on an occasional overnight stay at her apartment.

Lots going on in this week or two I’m taking off. My contract ended last week, and I’m…. Actually, I’m not sure what I am. Except exhausted, confused and cranky (thanks PMS).

And now, a personal request. For those of you who like short films, and who wouldn’t mind helping out my sister, please take a moment to head over to the Curiosity Festival Toronto to maybe view & vote for her film Wide Awake and Dreaming. The winner gets a super cool camera package, which she is DYING for, and I’d really appreciate your help.

Spread the word if you can! :D

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Friday, 9 June, 2006

Psssst

Filed under: spinning-fibers, spinning-fleece — moiraeknits @ 10:15 AM

OK, I’m being selfless here. Sorta. See, Melissa Lines of Skylines Farm has posted her remaining 2006 handspinning fleeces for sale. I love her fleeces, and she’s a wonderful person too. Her farm uses organic practices, and you can see what a fabulous life the sheep have in the super cute photos page.

These Romney and RomneyX fleeces are the most wonderful I’ve worked with so far. Silky, soft, lustrous…just a joy to experience.

I, uh, went shopping again and now that I’m done (and reserved for 2007), I thought I’d pass along the good news to you. So go check out the page – I’m pretty sure you won’t be sorry!

I can’t wait to end my current contract here at my former place of employment. It shoudl be the end of next week. After a short period of doing absolutely nothing at all (OK, probably watching yet more Stargate: SG-1, and maybe finishing off Veronica Mars S1), I’m diving into learning more about dyeing, blending and spinning. I can’t wait to work on one of my Skylines Farm fleeces!

This gushing, fangirlish (woolgirlish?) post brought to you by lack of coffee + the thrill of new wool!

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Tuesday, 6 June, 2006

Day of the Beast!

Filed under: books, knitting, spinning-fibers, yarns — moiraeknits @ 11:57 AM

I’m hugely amused by the date today: 06/06/06.

While my co-worker thinks Satan and I are BFF (Best Friends Forever…it’s a long story about stupidity and religious intolerance that I’m not going to get into here), and I’m heroically resisting the temptation to do ebil things to my work cube with red food coloring and some feathers, I thought I’d take a moment and post about some stuff. And things. Stuff and things, you know.

I had most of this draft written up when The Harlot posted about her postman and the latest packages. She scooped me, dammit! However, my love for one of my most recent lovely mail packages has not dimmed, and I’m sharing with you.

My very best RL friend EVER sent me a packaged packed to the gills with wonderful things.

Like this brown merino lace yarn. So soft. Such a subtle sheen. So freakin’ amazing and fabulous and I LOVE EET! I’m not really sure how I’m going to ball this up with the winder. Is this where those toilet paper cores come in handy? I am vaguely recalling something about cutting a notch in one end, slipping the end of the skein in the notch, slipping the core over the ball winder center and away we go. Am I correct in thinking that? Help me out here peeps.

Digging a little bit deeper into the box, I gasped and then did an actual happy dance of glee when I unearthed these. Bundanaurriklaedid!!! Y’all, I’ve been DYING to get this book and the attendant English translation for at least a year, though I’m pretty sure it’s been longer. I really, really love the shawls in this book.

Something about the Faroese-style shawls really appeal to me. The book was OOP for a while, I think, and I lusted after them on the Schoolhouse Press site for a long time, and they were a little beyond my means at the time. I checked out the local liberry copy over and over again, but finally had to return it. Very reluctantly, but I did it. I was pretty proud of myself, even if no one else knew. Fear the wrath of the librarian, y’all. *nods*

Last but not beast, I mean least, is this handful of wild buffalo fiber. MVBRLF’s (My Very Best Real Life Friend’s) SO at the time gathered this on a hike through Yellowstone. This is so cool…I’m pretty much speechless about it. I’m also gonna feel really dumb if I misremembered and this isn’t actually buffalo, but I’m pretty sure it is. It was like an article out of Wild Fibers landed right in my living room when I got to that part of the box. So, so cool. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it yet – I’ve just been feeling it up like a frat boy at Mardi Gras for the first time, and I didn’t even have to buy it a drink first.

Presents rock yo.

In between eps of Season Six of SG-1 (I cried so hard at the end of S5 and my absolute favorite episode EVER in Season Six, “Abyss”…see my LJ for details), and actual spinning, I’m daydreaming and looking through the book and trying to decide which shawl I’m going to cast on for. Decisions, decisions.

Thank you MRLBF A!!! *peppers you with smoochies*

Next post – actual spinning done! I plied another skein of random singles, and did another bobbin of a fabulous blended batt. Stay tuned for actual spinning content, coming to a smart ass blog near you!

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