House of Hues

Homemade bread using my treasured Kitchenaid Mixer

Love this quote from Matthew Henry:

     "The world is a great house consisting of upper and lower stories, the structure stately and magnificent, uniform and convenient, and every room well and wisely furnished." 

Wherever you live in the world (I live in North America, near Nashville) you probably have some sort of dwelling you call home.  Maybe an apartment or condo, maybe a house or mobile home, maybe a dorm or even a tour bus.  But the world at large is kind of like a house, and the quote above reminds me of that.  We live in a beautiful, fully furnished world, we just need to take a look around, sometimes to appreciate it!

KNITTING
On a recent trip to the library, I found the Treasury of Knitting by Barbara Walker, and brought it home.  For any of you non-knitters, this is THE encyclopedia of stitch patterns, and there are several volumes.  This is volume one, and I decided to swatch a little Meyer Lemon Yellow wool yesterday.

mismatched needles, size 3

one and a half pattern repeats

The wool is tiny and so are the needles, so one swatch was all I was interested in.  I'm a bit under the weather, and kind of drugged up, frankly.  (Thank you Dayquil/Nyquil!)

SPINNING
I've been working on this Ecru colored mohair blend on my Kromski wheel.  It is has a bit of sparkle and halo but is not very squishy.

carded, spun and plied Mohair blend

People often ask if its the preparation (carding or spinning) that makes a yarn full and comfy, but its really not.  Mostly the actual fiber itself is the culprit.  If the staple (think hair) is curly or straight, the resulting yarn will probably be the same. 

PERSONAL
My friend, Debra, and I had our first wine tasting of the year.  She opened up her home graciously, providing snacks and two bottles of wine.  I brought two bottles as well, and along with our husbands, merrily sipped a little bit of each wine (really only three of them) and made our decisions.  All agreed that a 2005 Russian Moldova wine had gone bad and was a definite thumbs down (tasted like licorice). The bottle of Red Guitar wine from Spain was thumbs up by everyone, and the Pinot Noir I brought was pretty good.  All of them were red so we did not open the Cupcake wine.

My contributions - both under $10

I am excited about a new Bible study I'll be going to on Tuesday mornings.  Its close by, and we're using a Beth Moore book.  I love Beth Moore, and think she's a hoot! 
I am mostly excited about getting to know some girls in my community.  Looking forward to making new friends from my church.

Heartbeat

So we're smack dab in the middle of winter.  I'm listening to the Kopecky Family Band sing Heartbeat. You should too. Laundry is all washed, mostly dried and the rest is hanging all over the laundry room on hangers and on the folding wooden "clothesline".

SPINNING
My sweet husband really encouraged me to order my birthday present(s) today. Without much arm-twisting I did!  Two Bosworth spindles.  One is a Morado Midi and the other is a Bloodwood Mini. They should be shipped in a week. Like the Kopecky song says,

       You make my heart beat beat a beat, like a drum for you
      Everyday it's closer....
 
I'll let you know when the spindles arrive!

I jumped in with the spinning challenge from Ravelry mentioned in my previous post.  I spun these colorful samples on my Turkish spindle and plied them on the Louet.

KNITTING
I finished the Lilac Two Needle mittens and started another pair in the round. I really don't like seaming, and the finished seam looks a little wonky, if you ask me.  Its on the outside edge of the hand.

And I completed the Angora Beret for my daughter.  Beads added.  Frayed ends tucked.  Voila! So, so soft!

A great, big, wonderful thing happened this morning while clicking links to various websites.  I found a link to a tutorial for steeking!  One of my resolutions is to learn to steek this year, and after looking at the pictures and skimming the instructions in the tutorial, I feel very confident that I'll be able to tackle this scary giant of a technique.  Once again, my heartbeat is like a drum!  I can do this!

PERSONAL
I finally gave up on the mystery I was reading.  I just didn't care any more, and I decided enough was enough. So I ordered the book I wanted to read all last year. The newest book by Kate Morton. Its on my Kindle now. Be still my heart!

Oh, and did you notice the nail polish in the first picture?  It may be from Target, but its on my nails right now! Btw, another resolution was to keep my nails polished weekly. So far, so good!

Bad Boys

After a full house for the weekend, I felt the need to sit on the couch last night, with my knitting and a glass of wine to watch Downton Abbey. A great weekend remembered is a beautiful thing. I'm so thankful!

We love our family and our home and feel blessed when we have company; it is a pleasure to give back just a little of what we've received over the years.  Hospitality is so important here in the South, and I plan to keep up the tradition as best I can.

Two needle mitten pattern and homespun wool

KNITTING
The knitting I picked up is worsted weight Lilac wool and a two-needle mitten pattern from my friend.  I've never done this pattern, but it seems quick and fun, a great start for the new year.

The needles are these bad boys: (straight needles are getting a bad reputation!) a pair of Inox size 9's and a pair of Bates size 7 vintage aluminum.

Bad boys of knitting needles!

Inox 9's just looking for trouble!

bad boy Bates!

After working with circulars and dpn's, these feel like you're eating spaghetti with a post-hole-digger.  They are long and weighty and cumbersome.  But......the slippery-factor is a 10 on a scale of 1-10!

thumb increases

While watching the show last night, (accompanied by my father in law, who asks more questions than a 7 year old girl on the way to the Build A Bear store) I had to prop the needles under my arm and across my knees to keep them stable.  But....again, the slippery factor made it worth my while!  EZ Knitting!

SPINNING
I'm contemplating the Ravelry Spindlers monthly challenge. Each month you have to spin and ply a skein of yarn on a spindle.  This month's challenge has to be something to do with rainbows, but I can't remember the title exactly. I have a whole storage closet of wool just waiting to be spun, so I may have to light a fire in the fireplace sometime today and do a little wool blending on my new combs.

PERSONAL
Today we say goodbye to an unseasonably warm weekend, filled with tornado warnings on our cell phones, and taking shelter in the hall during football games.  Today it is supposed to snow/sleet, but they call it a wintry mix.  How sweet!  I'm hoping they give everybody a snow day.  :-)

I've been trying to finish a book I started before the end of last year, but instead, I quickly completed a small gift book I got a couple of weeks ago.  A Gift from the Sea by Anne Lindbergh. 

Hopefully this week I'll finish my mystery, so I can start on my reading goals for the new year.  I did, however, get out my iPod last week, and listen some more to Laura Bush's biography, that I got a couple of years ago, and never finished.  Thanks to Audible, I have lots of great books, but I am behind on at least a few!

Upstairs Downstairs Upgrades

We have two and a half baths in our house; one full bath upstairs and one and a half baths downstairs.  Most of the time, overnight guests use the upstairs bathroom, where the guest bedroom is. When people come over for dinner, they use the downstairs half bath, just off the kitchen.  Since we've been updating things around the house this year, the time has come to tackle these particular bathrooms and I am so glad to have one "under the belt" so to speak.  The upstairs bath has been repainted and the light fixture and towel bar upgraded. Woo hoo!!
Today we're working on the downstairs half bath, having already taped and cut-in the corners and edges for painting with a small paint brush.  Last night we bought the upgraded light fixture, t.p. holder and towel ring.  My dear husband has his work cut out for him! 

My dear husband (he looks shorter in this toolbelt)

 We're working quickly since this is the bath my father in law uses.  He moved in with us a year and a half ago, and lots of places around the house bear his mark.  This little bath has all his what-nots on the counter, and the bathroom has become less and less a guest, powder room, and more and more a pharmaceutical display.  Hopefully, as we update the little room, it will return to its former state.  :-)

Budget updates for the bathroom!

KNITTING
After starting the cute little hat for my daughter, knit in the round from an angora blend yarn in my stash, I found it to be really large and loose.  I realize my daughter has a head full of lovely blonde hair, but I doubt it will ever fill up this beret!  Maybe if her hair were in curlers, like back in the 70's......

Finishing the top of the angora hat!

Frogged  2x2 ribbing - yikes!

 So, anyway, I picked up a row of live stitches just above the ribbing, and frogged the lower portion.
For a while I felt like I was undoing knots from a fishing net.  What a mess I made! 
But now, I've got things semi under control, and will check with her before I re-knit the band.  With significant decreases this time. 

SEWING
Last week I pulled out the cutting board and made an attempt at sewing a crib sheet for my granddaughter. She's three months old now, and extra crib sheets are always handy.  We have several barely used sheet sets from my father in law's previous home, and I thought they'd be the perfect re-purpose project.  Its a fitted sheet and they are always tricky to fold, but thanks to Pinterest, I've got it covered!

Know when to fold 'em!

Simpatico - agreeable, likable

Now that winter is in full swing, the obvious thing to do is think about spring. Right?  I mean, we all long for cooler weather when its warm, wish for snow at Christmas, but once January is here, we grab the only bits of daylight available and dream of warm, sunny weather.  

I just remembered that my salmon colored tulips on the hill will be blooming soon enough, and the soil will need enrichment before you know it.  That excites me!  I love spending time on the patio, cooking out on the grill and walking around the back yard, checking out all my plants. I guess we all  must look to magazines and seed catalogs to get our fix until its warm enough to go outside and play again.

This morning I went to a friend's house.  She is a shepherdess, and she raises Shetland sheep.  She also keeps French Angora rabbits. I went by to purchase some of her angora, for spinning, and while I was there I saw she had one lone bag of cashmere wool.  Last year, one of my few spinning goals, and the only one I did not keep, was to spin some cashmere. 

How cool was that, to walk into her parlor and see that bag sitting in the box of Angora bags?  It practically had my name written on it!! 

French angora and cashmere - heavenly!

But I was determined to buy some angora and could not afford to spend all my money on the cashmere, so I asked if I could buy half a bag, or about 1.5 ounces.  She reluctantly said yes, and told me that the one bag was entire year's supply from one animal.  A whole year for only 3 oz. of usable fiber! Of course it had to be combed (dehaired) which was very laborious.  I can't tell you how precious this little bit of goodness is to me! 
I also bought about 4 oz of Shetland/angora blend blue roving. I feel like I've been to the fair and come home with one of those huge Teddy Bears!  Wow. 

The Color of Money

After blending this beautiful green roving a couple of weeks ago, I have spun almost the whole *sample* on my Louet spindle.  Its a little heavy, and towards the end, the spinning became somewhat laborious, as spinning goes. :-) Anyway, the roving looked like the leaves of a dried money plant and when it was plied, it was the same green as a dollar bill, don't you think?

This color is right on the money! (I had to say it)

This pic is way too green!

top of my Louet spindle

I finished this scarf, too late for a Christmas gift, but nice anyway.  Simple, easy rib pattern from Jacob fleece.

Long John Scarf

Long John in progress

I'm starting to spin this lovely mohair/Angelina blend on my Kromski wheel.  It really sticks to my pants and sleeves, so I'm thinking of getting a little apron to wear while spinning it.  Love, love, love the soft creamy look and feel. Its gonna be gorgeous!  Perfect for a shawl, later in the spring maybe!!

My New Years resolutions are pretty much set up, so here we go:
There seems to be a theme, that I mentioned in my last post.  I feel like "Off The Grid" says it well.  I'll start with spinning since that's been more obvious in recent blog posts.
 Spinning for 2013 will consist of carding any and all existing fleeces that I possess.  And I mean it this time!  I will do my best to spin at least half of the time on spindles, but plying will most likely take place on a wheel.  I'd really like to spin half of all existing wool, etc. That's a goal, mind you.  But I'm all over it, like white on rice!

Knitting shall consist of learning to steek.  I will say it again. I will learn to steek this year.  Look it up, if you don't know what that means.  Its a technical term, fyi, and again, I'm all over it.  White on rice, you know.

Reading is a bit more tricky for 2013.  I've started to read through the Matthew Henry commentary on a daily basis.  I don't, in my wildest dreams, anticipate finishing it this year. The book is almost 2,000 pages long and I am only reading a couple of pages a day.  Its more of a Bible study, and his writing is very rich.  Its deep and confrontational, in a good sort of way.
I intend to read at least 6 biographies this year, most likely about women, and I hope them to be about First Ladies of the United States.  I will also read a few Agatha Christie books and a couple more of my favorite authors, whose new works I missed out on in 2012, due to last year's resolution. (to not buy or read new books)

Personally I plan to do my nails every Sunday night.  No biggie there.  I have no weight loss or exercise goals.  I am, however, determined to eat more for fun.  I want to try new wines (Wednesdays, maybe?) and experience some decadent foods that I've never tried before.  But not in excess.
Lastly, I am looking at meeting with friends much more than I did last year.  Last year was a tough year, and I really feel like I was isolated and prone to melancholy at times.  This year will be different.  I have made the connection and plan to not let it happen, if I can help it.

I pray that your new year will be blessed and joyful.  I pray that you will experience no less than the best life has to offer, and that you'll give back in equal amounts, if not more!
Happy New Year, ya'll!!

Secundum Artem - paper or plastic?

   When I was a kid, the bag boy in the grocery store always grabbed a paper bag and shook it hard to open it up. He would set it on a little board at the end of the grocery check out stand and fill it with whatever groceries my mom had just bought.  If we were in the A & P, there might be a coffee grinder at the end of the conveyer belt where your Eight O'clock coffee was ground. (what a great smell that was!)

   Today the general rule of thumb is for the checkout girl or bag boy (at Kroger) to grab a flimsy plastic bag and start to fill it with whatever comes off the conveyer belt. Occasionally they will ask if you prefer paper or plastic, but that has really become a thing of the past.
   When I'm choosing things for my home or personal use, I almost always choose natural products over plastic.  Wood or paper or fiber or leather.  I have wondered if it was this early attachment to paper grocery bags that makes me so inclined toward the natural.

Study in contrasts!

   It has occurred to me lately, especially in light of recent violence in the news, that we are far from home as a country and really, the world at large.  We not only seem bent on violence and selfishness, but we are determined to find our end, it seems.  We have no "big picture" any more.  People seem to exist to find momentary pleasure and satisfaction, but with no thought of the repercussions of our choices.  The ripple effect, if you will.
   So, as I do every year, I am contemplating what kind of New Year's resolutions I want to take on.  I really love this time of year, because it means I get all kinds of do-overs.  Lots of chances to try-again; lots of opportunities to make things better.

Spindle spun wool 

   With that in mind, the phrase "off the grid" has been hanging around in my thoughts.  I'm not advocating anything weird or anti-social.  In fact, just the opposite.  I want to find Center.  I want to go back to a more simple point of view and make real true strides at what is really, truly important and valuable.  What really makes a difference in the world.  And of course, I can only start with Me.  No one else.  But maybe my ripple effect will be positive.  I hope.
    So far the list of resolutions is pretty vague, apart from some home improvements and one reading goal and one knitting goal.  They may not even be fully ready to start on for another week, but I'm okay with that.  Until then, I finally got this book and I've been completely immersed in it.  Oh, and I started a hat for my daughter. A hat that should have been made by Christmas!  Sorry Betsy!

Respect the Spindle!

  

A Tisket a Tasket

On our way to babysit Charlotte last night, we stopped by my friend Carolyn's house to pick up a stash of baskets. I know Carolyn from my spinning guild, and she offered all these baskets to me for free.

A world of baskets!

They are all beautiful, and I admit to not knowing a thing about basketry, except that I love baskets.  My dad took a basket weaving class in college, but I've never seen any of his work.  And I believe my friend made some of these baskets! I especially like the one in the back left corner that has a lid - so unique.

They will do nicely for keeping my spindle projects in the coming year, I'm sure.  I love the way baskets make everything look more earthy and approachable.  Very tactile and inviting. Who doesn't love a pretty basket?

recreational vehicles

I started a golf club cover for my son in law, hoping to apply this fleur de lis pattern, which may turn out to be a disaster.  You never know how weird some well intentioned knitting pattern will end up.  I only hope it doesn't look like some obscene hand gesture.

Fleur de lis for golf club covers

While listening to a podcast this week about a KAL, I commented about a phrase I'd heard and my DH remarked that some people need to get a life. We both laughed out loud and realized how much we love not "living in the fast lane".  He plays the guitar and I spin and knit.  We love coffee and reading and the odd TV program.  That's about it.  Plain and simple. Ecclesiastes 3:22

Money plant and matching wool

So what else is new?

• Well, I'm listening to an audio book by Georgette Heyer called The Reluctant Widow.
• I just watched the movie Larry Crowne and loved it! So cute.  
• I've been reading Three Blind Mice by Agatha Christie.
•  I'm formulating my new year's resolutions, bit by bit.  
• I finished the gingerbread village.  Not a work of art, but not bad if I do say so myself.  
• Updated my Ravely projects list and joined a new group (Spindlers)

Thomas the Train in the hood

Life is pretty good, all in all.  I am appreciating the small stuff more and more.  Doing things light lighting a fire in the fireplace.  Sitting down and doing nothing for a few minutes is really hard for me, but I'm working on it!
I've got a lot to be thankful for, and it takes concentrated effort sometimes, to make the connection between the subconscious and the conscious.

Scarf-lette O'hara

The Long and Winding Yarn

A few months ago I got several new-to-me drop spindles.  These are different than the few spindles I already had. These are called bottom whorl spindles and none of them had the little hooks at the top which I was accustomed to using when spinning.

Spindles with hooks at the top

Instead they use a method of catching the yarn called a half hitch, where you make a little slip knot thingy (pictured below).

Half hitched

The spindles are so simple and earthy looking but I could never seem to get the hang of it (no pun intended) when it came to actually spinning.  Well, this week I did it!

After I got back from my trip down south to see my sister, I came home home inspired to spin. While there, we had taken some walks on the beach looking for sea shells, one of which I would use as a diz when combing wool.

Perfect seashell for a DIZ

 Once I got home with all these sea shells, I had to try them out, finding one which really suited me, although it was not polished and shiny. It was dull and had lots of wiggly lines in the surface from its life in the sea. But the key ingredient was a little hole right in the center of the shell. This is where you pull the wool through, right off your wool combs.

Sea shell collection

The perfect diz

Now that I've got all this great wool, in roving form, I HAD to spin it.  So I grabbed one of the spindles from my new collection and gave it a whirl.  (once again, no pun intended)

I had seen on a youtube video that when using the bottom whorl method of spinning, you had to catch the yarn below the whorl, then bring it up above the whorl to the top and use the half hitch.  This seems like such a little thing, but I'm telling you, it was a EUREKA moment for me!!

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

By all accounts, the holiday season is upon us. All stores are fully stocked with things red and green and sparkly.  Social media is full of photos of homes decorated and Christmas trees lit up.  We are here!
For me, last year marked a sort of new beginning with at least one holiday tradition, I think.

Christmas 2011

I made a gingerbread house with my daughter and it was so fun, maybe even the most fun of the whole holiday, that I've decided to do another one this year.  While we were shopping last night, I happened upon this little kit. It seems to have everything you'd need to make a little gingerbread village, and I have a little train set that I think will go perfectly with it.

Gingerbread village kit

KNITTING
I knitted another pair of gloves that my husband immediately took a likin' to.  Very "Old Navy-ish" in color, and very organic in their origin.  The wool is very coarse, bulky yarn I made years ago.  It's dyed green or "jade" on the dye package.  The needles used were bamboo double point needles in size 6.  They took about a week to make, and would have been finished much sooner, were I not busy with some special family visits.

I started another pair of gloves with some yarn I bought a few years ago.  The yarn is man made cotton novelty yarn but is really soft and washable.  I tried a new thumb on the last pair of gloves (gusset) and will probably do the same with this pair.  The gusset is knitted as-you-go rather than afterthought style with picked up stitches. What a pain!

BOOKS
My book world has a very short shelf life, pun intended.  I've been hooked lately with ebooks and audio books from my library.  Last year I made a resolution to not buy ANY new books.  I kept that resolution and the only new book for me was obtained with a gift card. 

I've read and/or listened to books all year long from alternate resources, and I'm amazed at the variety of books I've found.  This was one of my better resolutions, if I do say so myself.  Books were supposed to come from my shelf.  Books that I'd never finished or never even started.  Well there's a reason why they never got read, and I found that out after just a couple of months.  They weren't any good!  That's why I never finished them, at least some of them. So I had to resort to the library and my Kindle account where I discovered authors I never would have read otherwise.

PERSONAL
My mom and dad came for a quick visit this week to meet their new great granddaughter.  We went over to her house on Tuesday to babysit while my son went to a quick business meeting.  My parents immediately fell in love with her, just like I did when I met her.

This coming year I've already started to make a mental list of resolutions I'd like to try.  One for knitting would be steeking. One for my inspirational life is to study more in depth some books of the Bible.  I've read through the Bible many times, and this year I did it again.  VERY worth it, if you've never done it. 

Today  wraps up a week long second honeymoon of sorts.  My husband and I are caregivers for his father who lives with us.  My father in law spent this past week with his other son a few hours away and we had a little stay-cation.  It was marvelous, and that's all I will say.  Tomorrow things go back to normal.
On Monday I'm driving to see my sister who I haven't seen since 2009.  I am super excited.  Seeing her was another one of my new years resolutions!

My house is decorated for Christmas, and tonight we get to babysit  you-know-who.  I need to come up with a cute nickname or acronym for her. I'll keep you posted!

Christmas 2012