The end of May happenings

I finally got the go ahead to order some new rug hooking supplies.  I was out of linen backing.  I had some Monk's cloth, but it's a much finer weave.  Since I don't have access to a rug hooking cutter, I'm having to hand cut my wool strips.   They are thicker than the size that I want to use on the monk's cloth.  

I'm using a variety of sizes on the Tulip rug, mainly because I'm using a bunch of noodles (the name used for the cut wool strips) that I got at a guild sale at a winter meeting.  It's a bit of a hodge podge effect as there isn't enough of any colour to coordinate the whole rug.  However this was going to be my Westfield rug to work on over the summer.  Since we're still unable to gather together, and Westfield is closed, I'm doing in in the fashion I'd have hooked it over the summer, while in costume and demonstrating the technique.  Many antique rugs show that when you run out of one colour, you just pick up another colour and keep on going.  That is what I am doing.

The white lilacs are blooming.  This photo was taken a few days ago, when they were just starting to bloom.  We'd had some crazy warm days and the scent carried, perfuming the whole yard.  I'd bring my tea outside and enjoy them.

  Then the weather changed and got crazy cold.  I mean it was 29C with a humidex of 37C one day and then poof, it went down to 3C at night.  Luckily the beans had started germinating and they survived.  I forgot to move the cotton plants and the lemon tree under shelter, and they were fine.
Even the Dyer's Knotweed  seems to have muddled through the 2 cold days and colder nights. 

I found this Jack in the Pulpit growing in the area where hubby splits wood.   There it was bravely blooming amidst the unstacked wood, the wood chips, bits, and other pieces.   While I was photographing it, my sweetie was yelling at me to move and I'd look around and could see nothing dangerous.  No toppling towers of wood.  He wasn't tossing split pieces my direction - nothing.   He came over to point out I was precariously near an ants nest that he'd disturbed with his slicing and dicing of downed maple tree.  They didn't seem to bother with me and it was pretty neat seeing a wild flower like this.  

I whipped up some hamburger buns to eat with leftover burgers.  They were so much nicer than commercial buns.  The fact that they were super easy to make was nice too.  I did take the time to measure the dough into 8 equal weight pieces before I shaped them.   That was the only fussy bit.  It wasn't really necessary I guess, but each bun was a different size the first time I cut it into pieces, and I was a tad worried they'd all cook at different speeds.  Hindsight says that they were only a few grams difference in weights, so it would have been fine.  However, producing near perfect hamburg buns was also nice.

I've been weaving off the wool/cotton yardage.   The pictures are all the same - purple sunset fabric.   I'm on the home stretch now, with only 1-2 yards left to weave.   Because the yarn is variegated, I am winding each bobbin twice, so I can keep the colours in the same order as they are winding off the skeins.   It's been working well.  The yarn has certainly been strong enough, despite being singles, except in one place where it looks like a kitty got curious and I found some yards of  shredded yarn singles that were covered in cat spit.  At least I hope it was cat spit...