The We of Me

Without going into too much detail, my marriage is ending. Shit happens and then things change.

Outside of all that crap, I've been spending some time spinning. And dyeing. Part of the Wednesday night spinning group is getting together at a local Saturday market to sell our hand made fibers. I sold my first hand spun yarn this past Saturday. (After my booth fee, I was in the green 50 cents.) But, who wants to buy wool when it's 100 degrees? I figure business will pick up when things get cooler. It's nice to sit with the gals on Saturdays.

I've enjoyed my dyeing and spinning so much I'm contemplating canceling my Spunky Eclectic fiber of the month club. I'm still on the fence.

I'm also making my first pair of socks using my own hand spun yarn. I've always wanted to do that. They are fairly thick. But, I figure I'll get better at spinning sock weight yarn.

I've been enjoying the CSA booty. My cooking has changed since it's just me now. So, I don't go to near the trouble I did before. Simple is good right now.

It's been very rough and rocky. But, my friends and family have been so supportive. And for that I thank you.

It's good to be back. Pictures soon.

Happy Independence Day

It's unseasonably cool today. In fact, we have the windows open. I don't think I can remember when it's been cool enough to have the windows open on the 4th.

Here is the July 2 installment from my CSA:

Corn, peppers, cucumbers, basil, green beans, chives, and broccoli. I had a couple ears of corn for dinner. They were so yummy they didn't need anything on them at all!

Wednesday evening, I met up with PJ instead of meeting with the Renegade Spinners. PJ gave me my June installment of Cottage Fiber's fiber club.

I just love the colors. And there is a whopping 11.7 ounces of fiber! I should be able to make something very cool with it once it has been spun.

I also picked up this:

It's a Drum Carder! Now, I will be able to card all the wool I have washed. PJ was kind enough to allow me to make payments. So, on Thursday, I fiddled with the drum carder and carded and spun up some of the Romney wool I have.

It's kind of blah as it is undyed. I'm thinking of dying this wool red. Because it is gray, it will turn out very muted when dyed, which I think would look good. The picture above is 2.8 ounces of wool. I have 3 pounds of this particular wool. Hoo boy. While Romney is easy to spin, it is not particularly soft, which is disappointing. I'll have to think of some type of outerwear for this wool.

So, most of Wednesday and Thursday was spent spinning. The rest of the Spring Flowers roving is spun. I did, however, work on the Mud Season socks:

Don't blow your fingers off setting off firecrackers!

CSA Booty, FO, and one down

The first tomatoes of the season! And a bag of FRESH green beans. We had catfish last night using Barbara's recipe last night along with the green beans. I'm a convert now too. This is a terrific and easy recipe.

Today, I made a vegetarian cabbage Borscht soup using the cabbage from this week and the beets from the previous weeks. Tonight, I will make the very first BLT's of the season. It's hard to beat BLT's with vine-ripened tomatoes.

The Peacock Cowl is done.

Cowls are a terrific short project. Perfect for gift giving. I highly recommend them. They are also good because nothing is hanging down. Nothing gets in the way when you are picking up dog poop or riding your motorcycle.

I've completed the first British Columbia sock and I'm about 5 1.2 inches on the cuff of #2. Thanks to the craptastic picture, my foot looks like a tree stump, oui?

Please cast your vote for the next sock or I might be forced to draw numbers!

Happy Feet and some FOs

Tonight is Spinning and CSA pick up. The weather continues to be gray and wet. So, no wool processing. But, it's supposed to be nice for a few days, so maybe I'll do some tomorrow.

I got some new shoes. I love the colour.

And I finished the second Snow Squall sock. (It's about time!)

I wanted to get my size 3 needles cleared off for Vacation Sock knitting. Currently, I'm working on plain stockinette socks using the Perfect Storm colourway from Spunky Eclectic. It's all fine and dandy, but I'm knitting them on size 0 needles. I know I'll love them when they are done, but they will take for-freaking-ever. So, I think I'll bring some new fatter yarn for socks for vacation knitting and then pack these in case I actually get the vacation socks completed.

I also finished both pairs of the Felted Mocs for Caitlin and Danny. It's a pattern from Little Turtle Knits, which is out of print now. Too bad, because it's a great pattern. I'll take pictures when they felt them to fit. They are very cute felted up.

I'm knitting my first garment using my own hand spun yarn. I'm making the Baby Surprise Jacket. I've been reading about this pattern for some time on Ravelry and I wanted to take a swing at it. Supposedly, hand spun yarn makes the jacket look even better.

I realized that I missed my Blogiversary. I thought I had started last year on Memorial Day. But it was May 20. I'm always a day late and a dollar short. I'll have a celebratory give-away once I return.

I've decided to upgrade my Spunky Eclectic from the Sock Club to the Fiber Club. Now that I'm feeling a bit more confident with my spinning, I think I'll enjoy the fiber more. Plus, I have enough sock yarn to last me for the rest of my life. And then some.

Two and Three

Tuesday, I decided that I would give NOT accomplishing a lot a whirl.

Everything is measured where I work. How much work you do and how well you do it. It's kind of hard to get out of that mode of thinking. So, instead of processing wool and cleaning out closets, I decided to poke around a local book store. I bought a hard covered book. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles. I felt a little guilty buying it. Funny, because it's no big thing for me to get a new cook book or a knitting book. I like it so far.

It's all about Chinese here as of late. The cilantro chicken with the fresh water chestnuts we made Monday night was delightful. Fresh water chestnuts are fantastic! Though Sam remarked that it was too complicated or a weeknight meal. And I've been making things from my Kylie Kwong cook book. However, I've learned her recipes are far too salty for my taste, so they all need to be adjusted.

I finished the recycled sari silk garter scarf. I have yet to take a picture of it. I wasn't paying much attention when I cast on. I just wanted to be sure it was long enough. When I finally cast off, the sucka is about 10 feet long. Dustin and Tate stopped by in the evening to hang out. Luckily, I had made Jamaican Jerk Burgers, slaw and baked sweet potatoes, so there was plenty for everyone. I offered to give Dustin the scarf, but he declined saying it looked "older lady-ish." Grreaate. I cast on for a simple garter shawl using a beaded rayon yarn I bought years ago. But, after knitting a little bit, I just didn't like the way it looked. I actually wondered what possessed me to buy the yarn. It looked fugly to me. Does anyone have any ideas? Or does anyone want it?

Lately, that's been happening a lot. I get a small portion of a project done and it just looks fugly to me. So, I found some organic cotton in my stash and started the garter triangle shawl. It's very soft yarn. Last night I wondered if it, too, was fugly.

Wednesday, I cleaned the kitchen and refrigerator like a mutha. It was also the first pick up day for my CSA. This week's bag contained bok choy, spinach, lettuce, spring onions, and asparagus. I also got a dozen eggs and a small container of raw milk. I think I'll make a frittata for dinner tonight using the spinach and asparagus. And then a nice salad.

It was so nice to go out to dinner with my family Wednesday. The restaurant is less than a mile from my parents' house. It's increasingly harder for my Mom to get around. It was hard for her to walk from the front door to the table and to get seated. And it was kind of sad because neither one of my folks can hear very well, so conversation is hard in a public place. I ordered a soft shell crab appetizer and the veal liver. Tate got crab bisque and sea scallops. It's very kind of my cousin to spring for such an expensive extravagant meal.

I realized that I have the second felted slipper to complete for Danny before I go to Victoria. This morning I dug through the UFO basket and found it, but I couldn't remember where I had stopped. So, I frogged it and started over. That's okay, I hadn't gotten that far. Next, I have to make Caitlin and Danny a pair of the recycled sweater slippers. Those just take a few minutes to make.

June 14th is WWKIP Day. I'll be heading over to the Plaza for that. Anyone want to join me?