Saturday, August 18, 2007

Tomatoes!


The tomatoes we planted by the patio are the ones that seem to be undisturbed by the rabbits and squirrels. I think we can thank the trusty Beagle for that. We planted Italian plums in this area. But, one of the plants turned out to be a cherry tomato plant and the other just a plain tomato. Fine with me. So, I'm making tomato soup. It's nice to have the homegrown tomatoes for this. The ones you buy in the store are always waxed, which is disgusting.

I also made more of the multi grain bread. I added ground flax seed to the grain mixture this time. This loaf turned out huge! I also worked on the sour dough. After reading the recipe a little more carefully, it has to ferment at room temp today and spend the night in the fridge before baking day. I also check out "Beard on Bread' from the library and plan on making a whole grain recipe using whole wheat kernels. Probably later in the week when I have my time off.

Our air conditioner stopped working lat night around 7 p.m. It's amazing how these things ALWAYS break after business hours. We couldn't get anyone out until this morning, so we had to tough it out last night. Fortunately, it was about 78 degrees last night an only around 80 in the house. I was a little hacked off because I replaced the air conditioner around three years ago. I was hoping to avoid having the damn thing break during Kansas August weather. As it turns out, one little piece had worn out and it was a quick and inexpensive fix. Here I was thinking it was going to be hundreds and hundreds of dollars but it was just a little over $100 because of the service call.

Nell (aka The Piddler) was up a lot last night. Man, I was tired this morning. I've figured out it was because of the heat. All of the pets have slept peacefully all day long.

After winding the Bonkers yarn last night, I really wanted to cast on for a new project. I even had Sam choose the next one. But, I stuck to my guns and worked on the KP&S Cardigan today. The Addi Turbo has helped tremendously and the knitting is much easier. I'm a little nervous about the yarn yardage.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Machine Gun Nell



Here is the reason I haven't posted in a while. Introducing Machine Gun Nell, the Basset pup. The Beagle isn't too happy about it. I hope this blows over, as I was hoping that they would be playmates.
Other than taking care of Nell, I have been working on the beading of Nikko. I wish I could say that I have been enjoying the time beading. I went back to the bead store and got a bead needle threader and a magnifying contraption. It's still slow going. I remember when it was no big deal threading needles when I made jillions of smocked dresses for the girls. But, that was over 15 years ago. Maybe I'll figure out why this is a favorite past time for some folks.
I also bought an Addi Turbo needle to use for the KP&S Cardigan. The Denise needles are hugging the yarn too much, and I have to spend a lot of time rearranging the yarn, which takes its toll on my wrists. Since I spend most of my day typing, I have to do what I can to preserve my wrists. I have over 7 inches done so far.
Today, I made the barm for my sourdough bread. I should be able to bake it tomorrow. I'm also soaking the grains for another load of the multi grain bread. For some reason, the last loaf went fast.
Caitlin comes home on August 23. I've taken a big block of time off (over a week). I'll get the house nice and clean before she comes. And then I'll have time to spend with her and her partner, Danny. I think the last time I took a week off was in December of 2006. And lots of time to have fibery fun.
The Bonkers yarn is wound, beckoning me to cast on for the Cobblestone Pullover. As you can see, there are two dye lots. There is tons more of this yarn. It just wouldn't fit in the picture.


And yet, I do want to cast on for the Eleanor Wrap. This is the Soy Wool Stripes yarn.

What's a girl to do?

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Playing with String Some More



My dang computer was down yesterday.

We had a busy morning with Sam's folks. In the afternoon, while Sam took a nap, it was time to play with string in a different way.
I had made all the pieces for a v-neck sweater some time ago. But, the size was all wrong and the colors turned out wonky. I used this fabulous hand dyed yarn I bought from Bonkers Fibers. It's the picture of yarn I have at the top of my blog. At the time, I didn't realize that you need to alternate every row of knitting since hand dyed yarns never really match. So the back, front and one sleeve were all one dye lot and then the last sleeve was a different more brilliant version of the colourway. So, to the frog pond it went.

First, I ripped out the knitting and wound the yarn around an old packing box. You have to tie the loop of yarn in a couple of places to hold it together. It's best to use a contrasting yarn. I used a bright red mercerized cotton yarn.












Then, a soak in the sink with Eucolan. The yarn will look like Ramen Noodles and you want to relax the yarn so it can be knitted again.



Then, squeeze most of the water out, place on a towel and roll up to get more water out and hang to dry. After the yarn is dry I will wind it up for a different use. This is the second time I've ripped this yarn out. I just haven't found the project that does this yarn justice. I'm thinking of doing the Cobblestone Pullover by Jared Flood in the current Interweave Knits.





After frogging the entire sweater, I looked in my closet and found my Haiku sweater that I made several years ago using Peace Fleece. I never really wear this one either. So, I started frogging this one too. This one was more difficult to frog because I had actually put the sweater together. Hopefully, I'll salvage enough yarn to make a vest or something. I love Peace Fleece yarn. It's just too dang hot to wear indoors.

After an afternoon of ripping, I was pretty hungry. Caitlin had mentioned that she prepares her own juice concoctions when she gets hungry in the afternoon. I don't have a juicer, so I made this green smoothie. It was delicious. I'm definitely having this again.












I've reached the stall wall an the Nikko wrap. I've purchased the beads and the beading needles. But, I cannot for the life of me get the damn needle threaded. The eye of the needle is so small I cannot see it! I even bought a damn needle threader and it got stuck and broke off in the needle. I guess I'll have to call the bead shop and ask that awful woman what I'm supposed to do. It's frustrating.