Spinning and the belated painted rooms
Learning to Spin
Because I needed yet another hobby on which to spend time and money, I’m learning to spin! Thanks to Inga for showing me how, and guiding me through this awkward new craft. My first lesson was at my May stitch-n-bitch. I was introduced to the drop spindle, and the basic mechanics of spinning, though managing the wool proved to be challenging for me. I put it down for a few weeks, not sure I was going to continue.
I went with Inga to a local meeting of the Northwest Regional Spinners Association (NwRSA), and spent some more time at it, while observing everyone else spinning with their wheels. I finished the two samples on the left of natural wool.
Then I went to a spin-in at Weaving Works in Seattle, again with Inga, and Kindel joined us as well. Things finally started to click, and I finished spinning my sample of black wool (center). Inga showed me how to make it into a 2-ply, and now I just have to figure out what to make from it – someone suggested a cat toy as a good project for such a small sample. Next, I’m going to spin the beautiful purple fiber on the right – purchased by Kindel at Weaving Works, she gave me a good chunk of it to spin! Hopefully in the near future, I’ll take a class, and move on to spinning on a wheel.
The Paint Job
A belated post of the rooms I painted several months ago. The green room is our bedroom – I left the trim white. The yellow room is my craft room at the moment, but Baby Sinkula will occupy it later on.
June 20, 2010
Posted in: Knit and crochet 
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Return to Tucson
I spent a beautiful Memorial Day weekend in Tucson, staying with Bridget and the kids. I finally saw Rachel in a dance recital, which was all kinds of wonderful. It was a production of Snow White, preceded by a tap and jazz recital. Although I needed Bridget’s help picking Rachel out at first, the entire show was a real treat. Rachel and Bridget allowed Maddie and me (and my inferior artistic abilities) to decorate a pointe shoe for the boutique, which I saw was bought by a little girl in a deer costume. For myself, I bought a pointe shoe that was decidedly “evil”.
For Bridget’s birthday, we had dinner at a diner called Little Anthony’s. Mark got a bit jealous of the waiters when they gave Bridget her birthday kisses, but ice cream sundaes all around made up for it. Plus, we got to channel some Elvis and Marilyn in front of the restaurant before we went home. Somehow after all that ice cream, we still managed to find room for some chocolate strawberry birthday cake!
I was glad to also be able to visit with my friend, Kim, and go for a nice hike through Saguaro National Park.
Mostly I enjoyed the time spent with Bridget and family, watching movies, playing a couple board games and catching up on some reading.
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- Maddie and a sculpture
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- Maddie and “A” Mountain in the background
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- Pointe Shoes in the Boutique
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- Maddie had the best Marilyn
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- Mark as Elvis
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- Marilyn (me) and Elvis (Mark)
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- Me as Elvis (yes, I know I’m making a weird face)
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- Rachel, Mark and Maddie
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- Rachel, Mark and Maddie
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- Bridget and Mark make up after the waiter incident
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- Rachel and Maddie not prepared for a photo
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- Evil Pointe Shoe
June 9, 2010
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Patchwork Afghan in Progress
9 squares and counting. I fell off track with my 2009 Block-a-Month afghan, but now I’ve taken the hook back up, and added 3 squares in the last week. I do think 12 squares will be rather small, so I think I’ll continue past that, maybe go to 20? 4 x 5 seems a good size. We’ll see how motivated I stay – I’m running low on appropriate shades of red at the moment, so it may be time for a trip to Joanne’s…
April 3, 2010
Posted in: Knit and crochet 2 Comments
Ravelympics 2010
Look at my medals! The 2010 Winter Olympics were not so much fun to watch on NBC, but participating in the Ravelympics did make it better! I entered two projects in the Ravelympics, and finished both with a couple days to spare.
February 27, 2010
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Crocheted Chainmail Tunic
Fit for a Warrior Princess, this crocheted chainmail tunic is made in a fine sparkly yarn for a look of silver (or mithril, if you prefer). This is made for a pre-teen girl, probably close to a woman’s small or x-small.
Yarn: Vanna’s Glamour in Platinum (3 balls)Â I used exactly 3 balls, including my gauge swatch, so make it 4 if you plan to increase the size or add sleeves.
Hook: N (9 mm)
Gauge: 10 hdc and 8 rows = 4″
January 31, 2010
Tags: crochet chainmail Posted in: Knit and crochet 2 Comments
Purple is the new gray
Today Kindel and I indulged in some Kool-Ade dyeing. The plan was to get a nice purple so I can make myself a new wrap. I bought 3 skeins of Knit Picks Bare Superwash Merino DK, and 12 packets of grape Kool-Ade. Straight grape produced a beautiful purple, but when Kindel and I started dyeing, we can’t stop with one color. I created a buffet of colors, starting with a violet made from Wiltons. Some of this was mixed 50:50 with grape. Then I made some Black Cherry, and mixed this with grape, first in a 50:50 ratio, then a 25:75 ratio. This last was the winner, and we accented the grape yarn with touches of this color. Finally, some straight Black Cherry in the crockpot, and quick pass through for each skein, and the color was done (center):
January 2, 2010
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How I love period dramas!
What started with a general idea to read a few remaining Jane Austen books has led me into a renewed interest in period dramas. While in Chicago recently, I picked up a copy of Persuasion. After reading it rather quickly, I did my usual post-book routine – I searched for the best film version of the story, the version that matched my imagination most accurately, that would be the final piece in full enjoyment of the story. Well, the first version I found (and watched online via Netflix) did not satisfy, and while waiting for another version to arrive in the mail, I started browsing similar movies. Now my queue is full of period dramas, some romantic, some not. A few I have been able to watch online, instead of waiting for a DVD.
The first new one I watched was called North & South, about a country girl moving to an industrial town, and becoming an advocate for cotton mill workers’ rights, clashing with the mill owner while at the same time falling in love with him. It far exceeded my expectations, and made me realize that Jane Austen is really just a lot of fluff. Don’t get me wrong, I adore her characters and stories, but to find equally endearing characters in the setting of a meaningful and interesting plot… Sorry Jane, but you’ve officially become the harlequin romance novelist of the period.
Next up (also watched on my computer) was Bleak House. Based on the Dickens novel, this story centered on a never-ending inheritance legal case, with plot twists and connections unexpected and brilliant! I chose to watch this because it had such a high star rating on Netflix, and it featured Gillian Anderson (who was perfect in her role). I couldn’t have been happier with the whole thing, and wish it could have lasted longer. I will have to add the book to my short list of must-reads.
This weekend, I’ll have some Jane Austen fluff in Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey, but I mean to follow these with Cranford, another series based on several novels by Elizabeth Gaskell. I saw a bit of it on TV last year, but I’m looking forward to seeing the whole thing.
In short, my winter (and spring, andpossibly part of the summer) will likely be spent reading and watching Gaskell, Bronte and Dickens, and on the look out for more new stories.
December 10, 2009
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Lemon Snowflakes
Ingredients
1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix with pudding
1 egg
2 1/4 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Mix the cake mix, egg and whipped topping together. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended (batter will be sticky).
3. Drop batter by teaspoonfuls into the confectioners’ sugar and roll to coat. Place cookies onto ungreased baking sheets and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
July 3, 2009
Posted in: Food One Comment
What I’m Dyeing Tonight
I’m experimenting with shades of blue and green. Using Wiltons, I made one color with a pea-sized blob of sky blue and about 3/4 cup water. Second color was same amount of sky blue and water, but with 50% amount of leaf green. I have 3 – 100g hanks of Knit Picks Bare Superwash Wool DK in the crockpot with about 1 cup of vinegar and hot water. I have two more hanks of this yarn to dye when this batch is done. I’m going to let it cook for a couple hours, then turnit off and leave it over night. Good luck, yarn!
June 5, 2009
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What I’m working on today…
The Icelandic Turtleneck (from Crochet Me: Designs to Fuel the Crochet Revolution) was one of the first patterns I wanted to make when I really started to become (let’s face it) obsessed with crochet. Now, over a year later, I’m finally making it. Read the rest of this post »
May 30, 2009
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