tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70200521821946611632024-03-18T13:27:16.284-04:00Odette's ObsessionsNatural Dyeing, Spinning, Weaving, Other Fibre Arts, Gardening, Cooking,
Costuming, and...Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.comBlogger887125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-87863731295920355592024-03-18T13:26:00.001-04:002024-03-18T13:26:17.529-04:00Silk Hanky - Mawata experiment<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK2j4eJIv05G9E-H0AGr1aAMeunNaAQwCU1m3TXufuHFeIm5LAUefTm2JpoZ7gswum7d0aPL2cC3kW4zt0pKayKBKS-4LsZC2KL2snnq2ex3c4Kl8cuMy5CSP0jY4thkrbnT6doeLWys-WRGZ1U6eEf8dJ_9HFrjAo2tc9UlVtnm6yu91LEg1PPHhsGnY/s288/silk%20frame.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="288" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK2j4eJIv05G9E-H0AGr1aAMeunNaAQwCU1m3TXufuHFeIm5LAUefTm2JpoZ7gswum7d0aPL2cC3kW4zt0pKayKBKS-4LsZC2KL2snnq2ex3c4Kl8cuMy5CSP0jY4thkrbnT6doeLWys-WRGZ1U6eEf8dJ_9HFrjAo2tc9UlVtnm6yu91LEg1PPHhsGnY/s1600/silk%20frame.JPG" width="288" /></a></div> I was looking for silk cocoons several years ago to make my own silk hankies, or mawatas and couldn't find affordable whole ones. They're a bit icky, because they still have the larvae in them. Of course now, the prices for cocoons are crazy high, plus I couldn't find anything that didn't have to be imported. Finally with a bit of in from Michael at Worm Spit, I decided to try the cut cocoons for facials. Since a portion is missing, I figured that I'd need a smaller frame. It was faster to take my 6 inch continuous weaving frame that my husband made for one of the Olds Master Spinner levels and remove most of the nails. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Vb4N0qFtgP9CfkJzJjxklgSWsqYVgQcIiHp_9R3LADsDkhEuL3JtpV3hdNSAvgEOyfTgBwhE8dVKcQBsBpv8BaWGSpAFyPYAkKHaUmXZr6zFDRxdFPols5IdoWuKmCECQPDp6hNluhEt3qyy3Yv88O40Zv7eP9sCo-eU1kJZIom9jgUsyD3zZSYfNG4/s288/silk%20coccoons%20washing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="288" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Vb4N0qFtgP9CfkJzJjxklgSWsqYVgQcIiHp_9R3LADsDkhEuL3JtpV3hdNSAvgEOyfTgBwhE8dVKcQBsBpv8BaWGSpAFyPYAkKHaUmXZr6zFDRxdFPols5IdoWuKmCECQPDp6hNluhEt3qyy3Yv88O40Zv7eP9sCo-eU1kJZIom9jgUsyD3zZSYfNG4/s1600/silk%20coccoons%20washing.JPG" width="288" /></a></div><br />Before the cocoons can be stretched, you have to remove the sericin which is the glue that binds the silk filament together. I simmered them in a solution of soap and sodium carbonate or washing soda. First, I let them simmer for too long so they were really soggy. Then I realized I'd used too much soap, so rinsing has been a big job. The cut cocoons are a bit more delicate than the whole ones so they flatten and get a bit misshapen while simmering. As well, they have a few more loose, cut threads of silk so a couple of them clung together and had to be separated when I pulled them out of the bath.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioM4IiVDRhoEhGr3o2cvrimnUa5rqQQUKzfRsK7zgiafX03_Q4bFDoIU3hqQZTfWLUBPcpkkq2LGWhcUU0tRN0k_UmQOt5Cb6KQToiSv1JSL0K4T_lBFA64oN8IaJA1OFazkY_ofhqGTtV2JO2StOnWZv5qdA4jRvolsi8JqABSoRNBT4QNquhc7PJb1s/s288/silk%20on%20frame.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="288" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioM4IiVDRhoEhGr3o2cvrimnUa5rqQQUKzfRsK7zgiafX03_Q4bFDoIU3hqQZTfWLUBPcpkkq2LGWhcUU0tRN0k_UmQOt5Cb6KQToiSv1JSL0K4T_lBFA64oN8IaJA1OFazkY_ofhqGTtV2JO2StOnWZv5qdA4jRvolsi8JqABSoRNBT4QNquhc7PJb1s/s1600/silk%20on%20frame.JPG" width="288" /></a></div></div>They stretched on the frame fairly easily, although they were a bit fussy at times I think due to being cut. It wasn't onerous though and once I got into the rhythm, it went quite quickly. I did stretch a few by hand to square up the edges a bit. I think my original frame had side nails to help with this, but I remember thinking that they were less helpful and made the process a little more difficult. I left them out this time and had no issues. It was easier to stretch them on the diagonal first and then to the remaining nails.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAJ-SuX1Eu4bsm03ie5lz3T7PpvInq9_ZvyBv1yE0-WSay3uct4fapaN-ux9EWTDvDi9uzdExuZexnpyGaFzjcLxuBIHS6beaiCbA_JO0SULxJA_Aw49Kcqjxao8rnjq-BtyBx9q_GFvio60rYJwlkvZKaz-zdL7cir5WaBYWMdKwoEhGgOz5sdBpv6NE/s288/silk%20hankies.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="288" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAJ-SuX1Eu4bsm03ie5lz3T7PpvInq9_ZvyBv1yE0-WSay3uct4fapaN-ux9EWTDvDi9uzdExuZexnpyGaFzjcLxuBIHS6beaiCbA_JO0SULxJA_Aw49Kcqjxao8rnjq-BtyBx9q_GFvio60rYJwlkvZKaz-zdL7cir5WaBYWMdKwoEhGgOz5sdBpv6NE/s1600/silk%20hankies.JPG" width="288" /></a></div><br />Even without a lot of side manipulation to square them up, this was what I woke up to this morning. A lovely bundle of 12 cocoons to make up a good sized silk hankie. I was very happy!<p></p><p>I have a few full cocoons to add to the rest of the packet of cut cocoons. I'm prepping for a class which will hopefully happen in May, so people will get to try both the cut cocoons and a couple of the full cocoons, to get the whole buggy experience! </p><p>They can be dyed once this process is finished. When you dye the whole cocoons, much of the dye is absorbed by the sericin and just washes out once you remove the sericin. They dye beautifully in the hankie stage though. These are easy to draft the fibres out, which can then be spun, knitted or used in felting. I've only spun them though. <br /><br /></p><br />Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-38992942325818121782024-03-03T14:44:00.000-05:002024-03-03T14:44:08.863-05:00A lot of fibre projects getting finished up!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg62ePE7ZVCV9i2RiiHVcX5vztjpdWlP6kFZcT20CVkAMkvTf48u2fYaRyjBKw-rfk1eoH_whGvxVEBAdfAU4_9Xia6r9kOULeM8q9xuHdnfm0u48dsu6HxPzbSiMvR-GJpl8rTCQlYFIi7-0zsnBBQuvcSnV4FxCWWFVMj92q5MgLvUZ77TPo_FJhcitw/s384/first%20syrup2024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg62ePE7ZVCV9i2RiiHVcX5vztjpdWlP6kFZcT20CVkAMkvTf48u2fYaRyjBKw-rfk1eoH_whGvxVEBAdfAU4_9Xia6r9kOULeM8q9xuHdnfm0u48dsu6HxPzbSiMvR-GJpl8rTCQlYFIi7-0zsnBBQuvcSnV4FxCWWFVMj92q5MgLvUZ77TPo_FJhcitw/s320/first%20syrup2024.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Last weekend's maple syrup production was just over 2 litres. Not a lot, but enough for a nice taste now and again. The partial jar was taste tested for my lunch, and then for a batch of Maple Butter Tarts that I made a few days ago. It's very good. Of course we haven't had a year where it was awful, so I'm not sure that the pronouncement of very good means very much. <p></p><p>On a good weekend we can process up to 9, 23 litre buckets (5 gallons) of sap. The weather on the weekend was ideal, but the temperatures bounced around. The sap only flows when the temperatures are above freezing, so those cold days, not a single drop of sap dripped into the buckets. We only had 5 buckets of sap so this was a fairly good result. We have 7 buckets of sap this weekend to process, despite having 2 days of freezing weather. We're hoping for 3 1/2 litres from this It's a 40:1 ratio of sap to syrup. It won't be one of our better years, but we missed the first window and the way the trees are budding, it will be a short season. Once the trees bud, the sap loses it's sweetness and gets bitter.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnAwVFq_ejR6Dv0EFffkWAzf8H58bB2khk0n9VScIdCSs8Xw_oHQdSMm7d5X2pBEgNGDsk-NIgjb7ewLPG-BIuDSk1QSs5AYC4u_kOAB5gQoT-aey4dwQAl796bGPJcySC1JmzEQeDu20E4mP5NQctYlVcgp0HOyrJ4YK2M5VZmCHrom7RPym-GN4rKLg/s384/socks%20feb-mar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnAwVFq_ejR6Dv0EFffkWAzf8H58bB2khk0n9VScIdCSs8Xw_oHQdSMm7d5X2pBEgNGDsk-NIgjb7ewLPG-BIuDSk1QSs5AYC4u_kOAB5gQoT-aey4dwQAl796bGPJcySC1JmzEQeDu20E4mP5NQctYlVcgp0HOyrJ4YK2M5VZmCHrom7RPym-GN4rKLg/s320/socks%20feb-mar.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I made some socks. I didn't count in any I made for myself, like the one's I finished from the handspun yarn, which were so very soft and warm! These are for my kids. I need to do some finishing of the socks, kitchenering up the toes and sewing in the loose ends. The three folded pairs on the right are ready to go. I'm happy that I found a compromise for my daughter who has specified that she only wants black, grey or dark blue socks - boring to knit! I found the grey and black yarn, the solid blue that I added a coloured heel and toe to make the production interesting and the blue/wine coloured yarn was found in the bottom of a bin. It's a nice yarn and it's too bad that they don't make it anymore. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnjI5UlUBC7tWkwq6k_i6EvOSTouI-zKcDJnCCvkCAFhe6w7PUB_7a53bHLssK-M9ppxpBxkk0pqlIa6OOpX8-qqg909XlkC0jfxDddLAHnTY60nGb-IDTrk4Yu2c79KChEJwLPdi2XSYKiKqcvkrMzNXoINDay-dx32PqJgcnlgoGqwz96g8MdGyJPHg/s384/sparkle%20shawl.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnjI5UlUBC7tWkwq6k_i6EvOSTouI-zKcDJnCCvkCAFhe6w7PUB_7a53bHLssK-M9ppxpBxkk0pqlIa6OOpX8-qqg909XlkC0jfxDddLAHnTY60nGb-IDTrk4Yu2c79KChEJwLPdi2XSYKiKqcvkrMzNXoINDay-dx32PqJgcnlgoGqwz96g8MdGyJPHg/s320/sparkle%20shawl.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>The sparkly shawl is off the loom. It looks striped in the photo and in person. However, I separated all the colours out and wove it up as a plaid or checked pattern. I separated out the purples and the darker blues and wove them in blocks with the reddish stripe in between. You can't tell that I went to all that work to do so. It all just blends in seamlessly. If I were to use a yarn like this again, even without the sparkle, I might just not separate the colours and use it in the manufactured gradient in the original sequence. They weren't equal, so the variation would be in there. If I could find that yarn without the sparkle, I'd maybe try it see see the difference. The sparkle is one of the plies of the yarn, which runs the whole of the yarn. You couldn't really tell that from the skein. The effect was different depending on the light. A lot of the time it was as though there were rain drops on it or a layer of frost at other times. Always though, the darned things sparkled!<br /><br /><p></p><br /><br />Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-58096000884697417162024-02-28T12:09:00.000-05:002024-02-28T12:09:18.454-05:00Syrup, Socks and Sad Jelly Moulds<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVzt-M4KSdPi0IasmEBH6C_l_A9zJj0e9MxWHfqQB0SC5__H3kb1rvjvu6_TWWEE8Nn68de8oJBRSqRwErjzK5j_JAEJ4cJPsHSNuOi2BZjXbORKGce9ZjfJXtGuIZjiYWRCO9ypXNJbv9JQmj6gUWJTZ3N1c2lTZ4TPvZkNZ4tOwS8zKddsI5ZX9iNlc/s384/sap%20bucket%20droplet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVzt-M4KSdPi0IasmEBH6C_l_A9zJj0e9MxWHfqQB0SC5__H3kb1rvjvu6_TWWEE8Nn68de8oJBRSqRwErjzK5j_JAEJ4cJPsHSNuOi2BZjXbORKGce9ZjfJXtGuIZjiYWRCO9ypXNJbv9JQmj6gUWJTZ3N1c2lTZ4TPvZkNZ4tOwS8zKddsI5ZX9iNlc/s320/sap%20bucket%20droplet.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>We missed the first run of sap collecting and maple syrup making because it was a warm spell in early February. We've found that there is only a small window of a couple of weeks for our spiles when we tap the trees, before they start healing up and the sap flow is diminished or stopped completely. It was worse when we took advantage of an early warm spell a few years ago, so we waited. Now people are saying that the maple sap season could end much earlier than expected. Still, we got our first trees tapped a week ago and had over 100 litres to boil last weekend. <p></p><p>With our set up, the old Franklin stove over the fire pit and 2 roasting pans, 1 to heat the sap and the other to reduce it, it's about the minimum we can do to have a reasonable batch of syrup to finish. Hubby gets it most of the way and then I finish the syrup in the kitchen. This way I can be more accurate with getting the syrup to the desired temperature - which is 219 F. This is about 66% sugar content, and is very shelf stable. Then I need to filter/strain the syrup to get out any ash and other icky things, re-heat it </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6DkdXA7LB9V-oep4Vn9Sl9V9GVN6mG0CnZMAW-IZL16PabTDLuQaxb2oOp2OAoT4nwCbmhyphenhyphenfBZHjzc_7EZ8y5M5h62pAYajXbMAGEk98Lm5r3aZ3iO-wktthvkeExJyBrRTsd3zki_MpwMj2GsR0EDw0F3fTWpU7FsbWel2R9FlkL6CgBSAmAccmEr5g/s384/1st%20syrup%20boil.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6DkdXA7LB9V-oep4Vn9Sl9V9GVN6mG0CnZMAW-IZL16PabTDLuQaxb2oOp2OAoT4nwCbmhyphenhyphenfBZHjzc_7EZ8y5M5h62pAYajXbMAGEk98Lm5r3aZ3iO-wktthvkeExJyBrRTsd3zki_MpwMj2GsR0EDw0F3fTWpU7FsbWel2R9FlkL6CgBSAmAccmEr5g/s320/1st%20syrup%20boil.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>to boiling, and put it into canning jars. This takes a few hours. It was a bit risky this time as not one but both of my candy thermometers decided to not calibrate and wouldn't show a temperature above the boiling point. I ended up sticking my meat thermometer in and figured out how to set it for the desired temperature and boy, that instant read probe showed 217F. It was only a few more minutes boiling until we got to the right temperature. Once I'd done the filtering and canning, and cleaned up, and had my cup of celebratory tea, I tossed both of those uncooperative thermometers out. We have just over 2.25 litres of syrup from this batch. <br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBBOIPvLA6Si60KWhnjpCgpAs08aVLZZ_IJwGHaXYKY3T6PwItmlEoRo1aAXW4DVTR8cFJk1mfYWOkLzh0bbghXJvP278lIzsE3JUfH3zEyURhYX3x3a9dzwm1J_dc06NVmIv62QUFu_BFIG7-P78Zb4dLAB0nNBqX8ElP74eNUzBx8BQeMRl4FMRUALg/s384/handspun%20socks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBBOIPvLA6Si60KWhnjpCgpAs08aVLZZ_IJwGHaXYKY3T6PwItmlEoRo1aAXW4DVTR8cFJk1mfYWOkLzh0bbghXJvP278lIzsE3JUfH3zEyURhYX3x3a9dzwm1J_dc06NVmIv62QUFu_BFIG7-P78Zb4dLAB0nNBqX8ElP74eNUzBx8BQeMRl4FMRUALg/s320/handspun%20socks.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>I spun some yarn with mill ends of a merino/cashmere/silk/nylon blend. Most of them were fine but there were a bunch that needed to be re-processed by hand. Mostly, the yarn was really nice, but a few of those re-processed bits were harder to spin, so there were a few uneven bits in the yarn. However, it was between a sock weight and a sport weight after dyeing, so I tried it on the sock machine. It was a little iffy in a couple of places, but mostly this was a really nice pair of socks to machine knit. They are definitely a little heavier than I like, but next time I'll aim for a slightly skinnier yarn and I'll take more care to make sure that my roving or rolags are more carefully prepared. Or I'll just use commercially prepared wool and skip that first step completely :)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmY0MDdxcbW2gjJ0r2OTJy0fvJZ_J9xyHtpmqdr_P9yWhGeIG9BS6gooRVHCuynoOJeoscrOb1jwORZJjrfQtwEtvrQVgnnTnn1ufxaV8LjhP7onXdh4g1AF36dGhq7HJmEbjMTH3qs2JoJZc7swR-lrIL6zntoK7CgbabrnsNcKNXzUaEhp7ZiJcZx4/s384/copper%20moulds%20ruined.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmY0MDdxcbW2gjJ0r2OTJy0fvJZ_J9xyHtpmqdr_P9yWhGeIG9BS6gooRVHCuynoOJeoscrOb1jwORZJjrfQtwEtvrQVgnnTnn1ufxaV8LjhP7onXdh4g1AF36dGhq7HJmEbjMTH3qs2JoJZc7swR-lrIL6zntoK7CgbabrnsNcKNXzUaEhp7ZiJcZx4/s320/copper%20moulds%20ruined.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>The kitchen is almost finished after 13 years. The walls got painted 2 weeks ago. I'm not sure I like the colour I chose. If I'd gone with the first colour it would have been fine, but I switched last minute and it's a lot cooler of a colour than I thought. It does go well with the cabinets though. I had taken down m copper jelly mould collection to store it before painting. This was 3 or 4 years ago... I went to put them up and found 3 of them damaged. Something had dripped on them and corroded the metal. It was weird because there was a puddle of it in the rose mould which was gummy like a silicone or a weird dry wall compound, but we couldn't figure out how they would have come in contact with anything while stored in a box. </p><p> I'm pretty sad about the melon mould because that was one which makes very Victorian shaped deserts. That one and the one with the roses are designs I've not often seen so they'll be more difficult to replace. The dots and lines one is a duplicate that I got because a) it was $2 and b) was a very red copper rather than the gold copper that was already in the collection. I've seen more of those around. Most of our thrift stores have been shut down, which was my main places to find them. I've seen a few in antique and vintage stalls, but they are much more expensive.</p><p>Otherwise - I made 3 pair of socks for my daughter for her tiny, skinny feet and another pair for her husband who had dramatically larger feet. I helped prep and run a craft session at the museum for a whack-load of kids. We were told that there could be 150 kids or more. Luckly there were just half that amount, which was plenty to do a craft with in the just under 4 hours we were allotted. I saw a flock of swans overhead on my way home from Westfield, although I was unable to get a photo because they were flying so very quickly. February has flown by. While the weather hasn't been horridly cold or miserable, I'm looking forward to warmer temperatures and yearning a bit for my garden.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-53124861280914430312024-02-10T19:12:00.002-05:002024-02-10T19:12:50.112-05:00Springlike weather : blip or early spring?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYjrWuuh6yXlAgXB7AG96jKz-UO5OUSB3tLvqiJ4TNUrH5ij5ueOqHVldwBUR0jTg8xOMFniTPjX2PJxR_MECKEuz9wzQaONo1OPryd3ELSD1rVzIfM_5w_XorJf5-D1yoAC4E-ayCajVMQnQRsesLUTQK9EBal_GxJ0e8Ksk1qw5WGHU119nxQjD0H0/s412/Nina%20socks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="412" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYjrWuuh6yXlAgXB7AG96jKz-UO5OUSB3tLvqiJ4TNUrH5ij5ueOqHVldwBUR0jTg8xOMFniTPjX2PJxR_MECKEuz9wzQaONo1OPryd3ELSD1rVzIfM_5w_XorJf5-D1yoAC4E-ayCajVMQnQRsesLUTQK9EBal_GxJ0e8Ksk1qw5WGHU119nxQjD0H0/s320/Nina%20socks.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I just took these springtime socks off the CSM. I haven't had time to kitchener up the toes yet. I saw this skein of yarn on sale for under $10. They colours reminded me of spring, new growth and the end of winter so of course the yarn, especially being on sale, had to come home with me.<p></p><p>They worked up so quickly and easily that I am thrilled with that sock yarn. It was nice because I made a pair of socks with some cotton/wool blend yarn that I received in a yarn swap some years ago and they are a bit harsh. Maybe they'll be nicer after washing them a few times.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIzdyyYOsLr7fGZuBu_ZUDHyPmLq60wS28HjJtBhYOaPAYKz1MCR7xhawQoR00kSufC3EQHaHIkhuqs2PPV_o3GdUj8SCVIFMbkYZkpTiqlO1M74l-EyBWsr0j9ZEei-BnDyeodw2xjI0VjFa4DfcZzO3iYfL0cY6tyI5oh0NZzjub70EAyzF4_HujEbk/s288/kevin%20on%20warp2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="286" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIzdyyYOsLr7fGZuBu_ZUDHyPmLq60wS28HjJtBhYOaPAYKz1MCR7xhawQoR00kSufC3EQHaHIkhuqs2PPV_o3GdUj8SCVIFMbkYZkpTiqlO1M74l-EyBWsr0j9ZEei-BnDyeodw2xjI0VjFa4DfcZzO3iYfL0cY6tyI5oh0NZzjub70EAyzF4_HujEbk/s1600/kevin%20on%20warp2.JPG" width="286" /></a></div>I'm way behind on getting the warp on the loom for my friend's apron. It's been kind of crazy here. First we had snowy and blizzard like weather so getting into town to get the sizing I needed didn't happen. Finally I got it, then had to find the time to size the yarn. It's been awhile and I realized that I didn't have a place to hand the skeins. Not only had I always dried them outside in the past, but I'd put a light weight on them to keep the skeins in order. Instead, I had to dry them inside, with no place to hang them - we don't have a bathtub with a shower rod - plus they weren't weighted at all,so they dried all krinkly and it took several days. I had to bring the skeins out and set them in front of the wood stove to dry in the end. Then it took days to actually wind the skeins into useable balls because of the kinky bits of yarn getting stuck to and caught under other bits. It was a slow process. Now Kevin seems to want to use the wound balls as a napping place. Because Kevin doesn't like me disturbing him, and I don't want him to pee on my shoe or something like that, I've left him to his peace and quiet. <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQ0Be2X8zWx0Styyb9H8vCnh-2GH8c2sqAtSrHBM9lkJFboy9AT2LfnqaR9rsK8lyBxTXJ6p8Hb8WlJ9ShGsdF1-l5ew32Jl-iDjDYcqGbFiH5JllieG7SHr8po2Vslntfjv6zGZAd-WdCiW4485f24nuO6i2VM3wEpmRs_d7gUQ73YumDN2BRET35b8/s408/Feb%20laundry%20line.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="408" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQ0Be2X8zWx0Styyb9H8vCnh-2GH8c2sqAtSrHBM9lkJFboy9AT2LfnqaR9rsK8lyBxTXJ6p8Hb8WlJ9ShGsdF1-l5ew32Jl-iDjDYcqGbFiH5JllieG7SHr8po2Vslntfjv6zGZAd-WdCiW4485f24nuO6i2VM3wEpmRs_d7gUQ73YumDN2BRET35b8/s320/Feb%20laundry%20line.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>The prognosticating rodents (groundhogs) in the area all predicted an early spring, but this has been a bit ridiculous and unexpected. The weather has been so unseasonably warm the past week. Some people have even started their syrup/ sap collecting. We discussed it, but decided to wait. The last time we put our spiles in early, we had a great start, but once the daytime temperatures drop to below freezing the tree starts to heal. So instead of having to re-drill holes, we're waiting and hoping that we get some colder weather to stop the sap running for now. Then we can tap our trees later in the season.</p><p>It was warm enough to hand out a laundry, albeit a small load. That blanket is beloved by Dion kitty. He wasn't impressed that it was shiny clean and smelled all fresh and outdoorsy. He gave it a long stare and then had to be enticed on to it before he settled down for his nap.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-7687483413294556762024-02-03T22:39:00.001-05:002024-02-03T22:39:18.989-05:00Walking and Weaving<p>We had a lot of rain a little while back, which was on top of snow. If the snow pack is deep enough, it will absorb a lot of the rain and hold it. It wasn't though, and the temperatures were unseasonably mild, so a bit of rain made the snow heavy with the extra moisture. Then the excess rain started collecting and running in little streams on top of the frozen ground. Then, because it's been above freezing the snow melted, creating more water running. The water ran from the fields beside our house, through our back yard and into the chicken coop soaking their bedding and then out to the neighbour's fields on the other side. This is now the second time this winter we've had to change out the wet bedding.</p><p> Usually we use a deep bedding process in the chicken coop, where the chook droppings mix with the bedding and slowly start to compost, giving off a bit of heat in the cold. We just toss in a bit of fresh shavings periodically to cover eveything. Not this year though. Luckily chooks are pretty hardy animals. They don't like the winter, that's for sure. I let them out to free range and if there is no snow on the ground, they run to the bird feeder to see if there is a snack for the on the ground. If there is snow, they barely peek out of the barn and they won't leave the area to feed anywhere else while the ground is cold. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmtiYGvN7FlPADgAQTt82SM5B1qK7Uu8H-0DCzeD3_jqCmgpRcmJbGdJ1Eay7tN6IWmU7_RMa1lSalfhzMZgy9Q7JfIqhbwffI0htCj8pSS7yr6qvyPzAtWsr2e1Fud_XdLIjztbP3_bsyt62_ciaknvtqxqYb4wMgwx4baG1K-0ZvftzLAcfgaR0wFc/s384/burgess%20flood.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmtiYGvN7FlPADgAQTt82SM5B1qK7Uu8H-0DCzeD3_jqCmgpRcmJbGdJ1Eay7tN6IWmU7_RMa1lSalfhzMZgy9Q7JfIqhbwffI0htCj8pSS7yr6qvyPzAtWsr2e1Fud_XdLIjztbP3_bsyt62_ciaknvtqxqYb4wMgwx4baG1K-0ZvftzLAcfgaR0wFc/w200-h150/burgess%20flood.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />We went for a walk down one of our favourite trails a few days ago. All this rain has left the area rivers and streams running high and in low areas there has been flooding. This part of the trail was impassible due to the flooding. You can see that the water level has already started dropping by the dark, wet marks on the tree trunks. The water is flowing quite quickly too. <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKhkolTnHfPqekT5BDFiM12UAY01dVrWIJULnbKli_k9jEz6jeKhHk0tr0bRiGcLufyNFpHxWIa5-TrjAqz_qhly-aEHsI94YPlA1vhxczk7L2LGaDkglRTAg-UVcybL1v627AThClzkmfBBzR5Q5lxVWe0X4y4nu_WEMVHfqB5Yy5qu156Bp2SZrQSkE/s384/beachville%20lake.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKhkolTnHfPqekT5BDFiM12UAY01dVrWIJULnbKli_k9jEz6jeKhHk0tr0bRiGcLufyNFpHxWIa5-TrjAqz_qhly-aEHsI94YPlA1vhxczk7L2LGaDkglRTAg-UVcybL1v627AThClzkmfBBzR5Q5lxVWe0X4y4nu_WEMVHfqB5Yy5qu156Bp2SZrQSkE/s320/beachville%20lake.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Today we were at another trail, which has a much higher elevation. There were a few muddy bits and one shady area which was a bit icy because the sun hasn't reached there yet. Mostly though, it was easy to traverse. We had sunshine today (gasp!), which was lovely. We don't get a lot of sunshine here during the winter, so the trail parking lot was full of people out enjoying the weather. The little lake is still mostly frozen. There is one area that is open and another where you can see it starting. It's not safe to walk on or play on although it can look deceiving. <br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS2rXorL1KbN4Qf30HvFCvUGh48HrvZYOijahbhKOvmvZ9unfjQF9s5vphac3TSUesPQHiU_hUC1-wSql0Aj46jo4boVnkrVFLsMx34xuL4tYdw9OxkhT-8dttz3x-JI19ZBOvjdeHk_k-ggbBf8KB8IbhPTAzsXrZLLsJ3WyenL2wjViceMCHmURsPho/s384/sparkle%20stripe.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS2rXorL1KbN4Qf30HvFCvUGh48HrvZYOijahbhKOvmvZ9unfjQF9s5vphac3TSUesPQHiU_hUC1-wSql0Aj46jo4boVnkrVFLsMx34xuL4tYdw9OxkhT-8dttz3x-JI19ZBOvjdeHk_k-ggbBf8KB8IbhPTAzsXrZLLsJ3WyenL2wjViceMCHmURsPho/s320/sparkle%20stripe.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p> I bought some pretty yarn a few days ago. It was on sale for a good price. It was purples and blues, with a silver metallic sparkle running through it. I got only 2 balls because I'm pretty sure this won't sell or be a hit, but I really wondered what it would look like woven up. The yarn is good acrylic and has a lovely hand: soft and drapey. I separated all the colours and did a stripe to make a checky pattern. I think this might have been better served leaving it as it was and just having random stripes as the amounts of each yarn varied. As well some had a clear demarcation between colours and others had a long transition with the colours blending. There was only enough of the teal to do those thin stripes, while there is tons of paler purple left. I'm doing random weft stripes of the light purple and the darker blues, with a couple of the purple/red colour in between. You can't really see the purple red stripes in the busyness of the other colours and all that freaking sparkly silver. There is so much of it. It sure didn't look like that in the skein. I'd be all over this yarn if it didn't have the sparkly ply because it's so easy to weave with. I think so much sparkle takes away from the lovely colours and how they work together, and the softness of the yarn.</p><p>SO MUCH SPARKLE!<br /></p><p></p><br /><p><br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-87087304386085145352024-01-29T14:45:00.001-05:002024-01-29T14:45:53.031-05:00Weird things and hat experiments<p>Weird things I've noticed lately -</p><p>I started to read a novel - just some random ebook to that was an obvious "story" and a work of fiction, only to find a notice at the beginning of the book that this was a work of fiction, and not true. Is this a thing now, that we have to warn people that a story, which is obviously a made up story has to have a warning that this is fiction and not true? I worry about humanity's future.</p><p>Kevin has been behaving nicely. What's with that?</p><p>All the lemons on my little lemon tree house plant, ripened at once. Now I have to figure out what to cook with 11 lemons over the next couple of weeks.<br /></p><p>Many years ago, I subscribed to the only spinning magazine available. In one issue was a felted hat made with handspun, and a pattern for it. Not being a regular crocheter, I was careful about following the pattern. I ended up with this huge football shaped thing which would fit nobody's head. I contacted the company concerned that there might have been a missing instruction or something, only to get a rather curt and rude reply that there were no typos or missing instructions and the fault was my own. A few years later, I had learned bit more about crochet, and I tried carefully to keep my gauge to same as they instructions suggested and follow the pattern. Again, I ended up with something that didn't even resemble a hat. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGch2TaBFodEg8ZbIg81fz4rwJ2FmxPXxtltCDdlmhAWeYnptyffJ9VfHFGsEPAHi6t1FIWPKlI6XRu2bxuUOwOO3XHAHYt0wMh3sQTexjB2or2An0IF1ZPIvAc47YRpKioVhBqCC0gy1c-ygJcRUPFuYsyPQ7NibU19oDA-kC4YxiyCfuicSXB_zZKU/s384/felted%20hat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGch2TaBFodEg8ZbIg81fz4rwJ2FmxPXxtltCDdlmhAWeYnptyffJ9VfHFGsEPAHi6t1FIWPKlI6XRu2bxuUOwOO3XHAHYt0wMh3sQTexjB2or2An0IF1ZPIvAc47YRpKioVhBqCC0gy1c-ygJcRUPFuYsyPQ7NibU19oDA-kC4YxiyCfuicSXB_zZKU/s320/felted%20hat.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I decided that 3rd time was the charm. I watched some crochet videos. I made sure I had the recommended hook. I practiced until I new for sure I had the correct gauge. I followed the instructions, knowing that I was ending on the correct stitch and had the right number of stitches on each row. I ripped and remade any row which might not have been correct. With much anticipation, I felted this new hat in the washer and put it through the drying cycle. I took it out and did this whole felting routine 2 more times just to make sure...<p></p>This football shaped hat will fit nobody I know. It was still huge, with something like a 28 inch head circumference and comes down past my nose in depth. I have come to the conclusion that I'm missing something in those instructions. It's too bad because I liked all the yarn that I used on those hats, some handspun and this one not, in order to try to keep it within the pattern parameters. I will be looking for a new hat pattern. <br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-4209403595805583662024-01-17T05:30:00.001-05:002024-01-17T05:30:00.143-05:00Lustreware bargain<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilEMEETDMX8VWu0l-UfhNgGnZ_FRi5sQo8x_hhIByLJkOSyhLw3XgRWgRxspRfcEo8qGNtQpPuLC24Ez-frBY8uMWdtWeKTK8nzg1ipanQPoFKvMYKqU5prDPaE5oMd8g4-vuJHWATH4iOKaNRsQFK-FQFVEAqrrN86qaPkLOLQu6V4CULbiATCw80OSg/s160/tea%20set.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="94" data-original-width="160" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilEMEETDMX8VWu0l-UfhNgGnZ_FRi5sQo8x_hhIByLJkOSyhLw3XgRWgRxspRfcEo8qGNtQpPuLC24Ez-frBY8uMWdtWeKTK8nzg1ipanQPoFKvMYKqU5prDPaE5oMd8g4-vuJHWATH4iOKaNRsQFK-FQFVEAqrrN86qaPkLOLQu6V4CULbiATCw80OSg/w320-h188/tea%20set.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bad photo of lovely tea set which was only $11<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> Weird winter weather this year. We had a mini blast of winter in November and then December was mild, wet and wetter. One of those wet days, we wanted to go for a walk. Instead of hitting a trail, DH suggested we go to the antique mall to get our walking in. It's always fun. I wasn't really looking for anything in particular, just getting in steps. However, tucked back in a corner of a booth with almost no china, but lots of other odd things, was this little lustreware tea set. It was very pretty and a design I didn't have. Also, it was $14. Now lustreware isn't usually horribly expensive anyway, but a few of the booths had ridiculous prices on some of their lustreware, so that seeing this at an affordable price was very nice. Then I looked up to see the big sign, that proclaimed that there was 25% off that day. It had to come home with me. With tax, the total was $11 for the teapot, creamer and sugar bowl. I was smiling for the rest of the day. Once in a while I actually make tea in my lustreware instead of the huge pottery mugs that I normally use. It's pretty delicate though so I don't do it very often. <br /></p><p> We had a storm with "blizzard" conditions roll through. It wasn't a true blizzard, but the crazy winds made for a couple of days of miserable weather. The power grid has been so stable lately, since they came through and trimmed everything possible after the ice storm a few years ago, that we neglected to prepare properly when the power started flickering. Usually we load up some buckets with water for flushing the toilets, and fill up some pots with potable water, just to supplement the jugs we keep on hand for power failures. Being on a well, rather than town water, we don't have an operational well pump if we don't have hydro. </p><p> Sure enough, a few minutes after I popped supper in the oven, the power went out. I had just enough time to get some candles lit so that I could suddenly switch up supper to a cold one. It's been a while since I've cooked by candlelight, but it was doable. I made a salad with white beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, red peppers and feta. Then I laid out some cheese and bread. By this time the generator was going to keep the stove fan and the sump pump going. Of course as soon as everything was set up, the power popped back on. It was a good reminder to keep emergency preparedness in mind, a little more often.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI31GMVjmQM8RP5Qx4urB0LhJdQm4ER6yIWOscJElf8JVYjotwmAdXPSACJKHOvYQnFlI5rAlqA5cEc86y-Ah6gNogHpiQbXUYnetKrP7kiXfF_TBz6-He55iGB6_UWTZexePOnVDxuwm20vuZqXzFewcAl34BOQOZGai1O-TF8S9QvwKMlwZpKCiiAOM/s384/toms%20yearling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI31GMVjmQM8RP5Qx4urB0LhJdQm4ER6yIWOscJElf8JVYjotwmAdXPSACJKHOvYQnFlI5rAlqA5cEc86y-Ah6gNogHpiQbXUYnetKrP7kiXfF_TBz6-He55iGB6_UWTZexePOnVDxuwm20vuZqXzFewcAl34BOQOZGai1O-TF8S9QvwKMlwZpKCiiAOM/s320/toms%20yearling.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>Here is a photo of the neighbour's Standardbred yearling or almost yearling anyway, to make up for the lack of photos. I couldn't do a cat photo because there is a compatibility issue between some of the photos on my phone when I tried to transfer them to the computer - the the horse it is. He's got a very pretty face though and was very brave to come right up to me to say hi!</p><p>And I just changed my settings to avoid the HEIC format, because it's suddenly corrupting more photos on transfer than not and that doesn't make me happy at all.<br /></p><p><br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-46093119544327701292024-01-10T06:30:00.001-05:002024-01-10T06:30:00.134-05:001924 Devil's Food Cake <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWP0-DIaJLS3OnmViDovGqbRYf5NH1io8z6NYqpiJzQ8B6YSDp__ikS4wKE0rDXdzC7PIzreFfWK3tK998DXOJ0C6YtDE4QJRV1k9KOdzwBm2k62Yl2vinlkTAizPF93eI3rkqkHgvZNIZsOkHzYWKL6Pm2qMkd2jBEBkn2WACnb1B5fW-211vKmKxfX4/s384/chocpotato%20cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWP0-DIaJLS3OnmViDovGqbRYf5NH1io8z6NYqpiJzQ8B6YSDp__ikS4wKE0rDXdzC7PIzreFfWK3tK998DXOJ0C6YtDE4QJRV1k9KOdzwBm2k62Yl2vinlkTAizPF93eI3rkqkHgvZNIZsOkHzYWKL6Pm2qMkd2jBEBkn2WACnb1B5fW-211vKmKxfX4/s320/chocpotato%20cake.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> It looks rather modern with the gummy worms and cookie crumb dirt. However, this is a modern birthday cake made with a Devil's Food Cake from 1924, called Cake Secrets. The booklet was produced by the Carnol Tonic and Restorative company. Alternating pages have either recipes for cakes, frostings or fillings and the opposite pages have testimonials for the tonics. I noticed that some of the recipes seem to be from other cookery books. As well, some recipes have suggested fillings or frostings, but the recipes aren't in the book! <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKcG_m0m5iykSrVfgcLdln0zBRdTdadBDGLMJPDe-kDUbTdd5dmBXLEGQaqBFY7f3uswN1Or3sWSKc7RJh-mJBVF_F4hVLI-bWyrqC64JRsTavHqn9rw_2e9yDJ3s0-S4c_u-7_l5kaLE0MBc1WJ-d5VrLdnIo8kSDBcS0JUNhPd2a3oJP_XMTsICLgc/s386/1924%20devils%20food%20cake%20slice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="386" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKcG_m0m5iykSrVfgcLdln0zBRdTdadBDGLMJPDe-kDUbTdd5dmBXLEGQaqBFY7f3uswN1Or3sWSKc7RJh-mJBVF_F4hVLI-bWyrqC64JRsTavHqn9rw_2e9yDJ3s0-S4c_u-7_l5kaLE0MBc1WJ-d5VrLdnIo8kSDBcS0JUNhPd2a3oJP_XMTsICLgc/s320/1924%20devils%20food%20cake%20slice.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This recipe was chosen to fulfill a challenge using ingredients which you wouldn't normally use together. In this recipe, it's the use of chocolate and potatoes, which I'd never, ever imagined would be ingredients that I'd put together. Because I had no leftover mashed potatoes, I had to actually boil, mash and cool the potatoes before I made the cake. I frosted the cake with a whipped ganache. Usually this is a simple and nearly fool proof frosting. Unfortunately the kitchen was cool and the chocolate seemed to start setting up before it was completely incorporated into the whipping cream. It tasted superb though and wasn't noticeable when eating it. Only that it was a little bit rough in looks.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGSsRR6KfaXRhFD1A-zrsooyruxzJHU0enzDmSJES5D-FQRI8fIEtM3ayLp2Q2gh5s_T9L9tYqKV7phyiiCanR8pHL0CTjFrZrYDb1DtEiCF6y3DTrRv77I8u2D7EON0TVCRfi0CllEgug-3wbs-T-v921e6lS_de0prnXjZXqOBMMfBP-BPevKbqN0Sc/s757/1924%20devils%20food%20cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">d</a></div><p>I didn't add the nuts to the cake, though it would have made a nice addition. I used one of the layers that this cake made to take to a pot luck luncheon and left the nuts out due to possible allergies. </p><p>It says to bake in 3 layers, which I took to mean to bake in 3 separate pans. I only had 2 the same size though and ended up overfilling the pans, which might have contributed to the denseness of the cakes. I would definitely do 3 thinner layers next time. Also, not having Swans Down Cake Flour, or any cake flour on hand, I just used scant cups of all purpose flour. This may have made a difference as well</p><p>In all, it was a very rich and moist cake. After 4 days, the cake was still moist and not showing any signs of stale crumbs at all. In fact, when I tossed the remaining bits, they were as moist as when it was first baked. This is definitely a good recipe to play with, plus it was very tasty. Everyone who tried it liked the flavour and texture.<br /></p><p><br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-3859366228932550362024-01-07T08:00:00.001-05:002024-01-07T08:00:00.251-05:00Weaving with Singles - a Viking apron dress<p> I was going to update the blog background to a wintery photo, but instead am leaving it in it's autumnal glory. We've had so much rain, fog and overcast skies that the bright flowers make me happy. We had a couple of hours of sunshine today, which was glorious. I'm not sure where Kevin was hiding, but Dion found a spot which was near enough the woodstove but was also a sun spot. That kitty surely lucked out on his timing for that nap!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaICV49KhAvXEMPh4t7W2G7cPK3j9veieU5Ozp1lHmTu8eaj5oZsv6wfQlUXFWk0rVj3J7n6xh15_r3l48H3wC2FDPD2LAGqyETdqhJbYEvgs5-1FufR81-a3FzNOVkzUqswmiDFQzze4G2DExNwBoXUjlEuRUL0JKnNk7GiR6Oyk7guf5650vND-EAeo/s384/orla%20white%20yarn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaICV49KhAvXEMPh4t7W2G7cPK3j9veieU5Ozp1lHmTu8eaj5oZsv6wfQlUXFWk0rVj3J7n6xh15_r3l48H3wC2FDPD2LAGqyETdqhJbYEvgs5-1FufR81-a3FzNOVkzUqswmiDFQzze4G2DExNwBoXUjlEuRUL0JKnNk7GiR6Oyk7guf5650vND-EAeo/s320/orla%20white%20yarn.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />I've been working on a simple viking apron dress panel for a friend. She's getting an award and doesn't want a cloak which is one of the normal gifts. It's one of the older, no longer thought to be historically correct apron designs. However, since she is always working with metal and flame etc, this is a well thought out costuming piece on her part. She asked me to weave it. I decided that I will also spin the yarn for it because I didn't have a lighter weight wool yarn on hand, and this fabric really does need to be lighter than the commercial wool yarn that I have available.<p></p><p>I had a pound of merino roving in my stash, so pulled it out and started spinning. This is going to be the requested diamond twill. I'm spinning it to weave at about a sett of 15. Because it's merino, it will full up nicely. This is important because I'm passing the woven piece on to another friend who will embellish it with crazy beautiful embroidery. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1fC_qyQMXtr0Y-GDN18-proiANOwMLPG9MRn0CdEmMgw_pvX-c84dL6YUOm5DyOd0CGTPJfcZeCx-9Q3hi0Sbeh6gjY4K8f7lQ6JYWGnQXw7kV9qkOEbLBesyeuRzMWk9hr21hT7nLOJ3BPYltjZR52mIzv_6Q7CA1t6cfOVMRj2-LPGCqtrpgeXyS8Q/s384/blue%20yarn%20orla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1fC_qyQMXtr0Y-GDN18-proiANOwMLPG9MRn0CdEmMgw_pvX-c84dL6YUOm5DyOd0CGTPJfcZeCx-9Q3hi0Sbeh6gjY4K8f7lQ6JYWGnQXw7kV9qkOEbLBesyeuRzMWk9hr21hT7nLOJ3BPYltjZR52mIzv_6Q7CA1t6cfOVMRj2-LPGCqtrpgeXyS8Q/s320/blue%20yarn%20orla.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>The yarn is spun, with adequate extra, hopefully for any possible <br />miscalculations. I know someone who insisted that you only need to spin 10% extra yardage. As nice as that sounds, I've found that if I do 30% more yardage, I have bases covered for any breakage or math errors. ( or you know, naughty kitties)<br /><p></p><p>As much as I wanted to dye the wool with indigo, I don't have the chemicals needed on hand and ordering it in would take too much time away from weaving. Since I really didn't want to rush the weaving on this project, I used commercial weak acid dyes. The warp is blue. I added a bunch of black and thought it would grey out the colour a bit. It did, but not as much as I expected. Still it's a really attractive blue. The photo isn't quite accurate. The funny thing is is that I've some indigo sampling from past dye vats which are a very similar colour, so there is that.</p><p>The weft is spun but still needs to be dyed. I've been waffling with what colour to dye it or if I should leave it white. A pale blue would show up the weave structure less boldly than the white. With the embroidery, I don't want the weave structure to compete with the pretty designs. I do want the pattern to show up a bit more than doing it the same colour would. Grey is another option. </p><p>The warp needs to be sized. I use a double strength gelatin for sizing and it works very well. This sizing adds some strength to the singles and helps protect against some of the abrasion from the beater. I really means that weaving with singles is so much easier. I usually size the yarn before I wind the warp. This means I'll also have to wind the yarn into cakes before I wind the warp, just to make sure I don't tangle things up.</p><p> In between all of this, I need to dye the weft. The weft doesn't or at least shouldn't need to be sized. I may weight it when I'm drying it to make the yarn a bit easier to work with. Now I need to decide whether to put it on the table loom or the floor loom. I think it will take a little bit longer to dress the floor loom, but will be a little bit faster to weave off. I find that the table loom is faster to dress, but takes a tad longer to weave. Because the process on each loom equals out, it is no help at all as to what loom I should use. Oh the joy of 1st world problems :)<br /></p><p><br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-25672570024668661502024-01-04T06:00:00.016-05:002024-01-04T06:00:00.141-05:00CSM - Sock machine update<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCo6YJRIVwf3TponABTD0M85K7Z5ldFKdvMIXQTEP2SU0kTJTPsvaaH1SS0MiaWCKt3NREMqTVzAUbdsHB7ef9oywCJzw1WTqGzN1Yjmcqwuyqzi8a9oU5UiHXibpxEKJNCWH-ZEGc-PMzEOYA7nQtizmYEGjZibMy9xRd09fFIpwodMjvD3BGO9OHYqU/s384/60%20cylinder%20oops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCo6YJRIVwf3TponABTD0M85K7Z5ldFKdvMIXQTEP2SU0kTJTPsvaaH1SS0MiaWCKt3NREMqTVzAUbdsHB7ef9oywCJzw1WTqGzN1Yjmcqwuyqzi8a9oU5UiHXibpxEKJNCWH-ZEGc-PMzEOYA7nQtizmYEGjZibMy9xRd09fFIpwodMjvD3BGO9OHYqU/w150-h200/60%20cylinder%20oops.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cranky 54 slot cylinder</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The sock machine uses cylinders with different amount of needles to help with different gauges and sizes of socks. I've been using the 72 needle cylinder which makes a slightly wider sock. It fits my men folk fine, but is a little loose in the foot for me. It's still wearable. When I wanted to make a child's sock, I switched to the 54 needle cylinder and had lots of issues. I felt really lucky to get a pair of kids socks done. I thought I'd solved the issue, but when I went to make socks for my daughter who has tiny, skinny feet, I had nothing but issues. I kept having a spate of dropped stitches. I switched out needles. I took all the needles out and shook them in lots of oil to get rid of any accumulated static. I even cleaned all the nooks and crannys to get out any fibre which may have accumulated. However, there were still issues with dropped stitches, and a weird noise which I wasn't happy with. In the end, I just walked away for a few days and stopped worrying about it. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaQhrK7A2gW5q_F8jcmz2Hjr3qPJNti_h257iY7qrFPWm_lQ3C5CbwMy9SHtrw1-QVXJMO1xzU2ITHCcxWMSzqkLpDpZGiEs0_tfdNw5YlA_HI5To-agiNTwZldOfu3SNMmBUp_du04OJro36CGWgqMiMIV987uDqhpUThTzwSNjxT1VAO2rqLgi7_LWw/s384/60%20cylinder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaQhrK7A2gW5q_F8jcmz2Hjr3qPJNti_h257iY7qrFPWm_lQ3C5CbwMy9SHtrw1-QVXJMO1xzU2ITHCcxWMSzqkLpDpZGiEs0_tfdNw5YlA_HI5To-agiNTwZldOfu3SNMmBUp_du04OJro36CGWgqMiMIV987uDqhpUThTzwSNjxT1VAO2rqLgi7_LWw/s320/60%20cylinder.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p> Why wasn't I worried about it? Not only could I not do anything about it for a few days, but I knew that <br />under the Xmas tree was a box from Chambord, a Circular Sock Machine company in Canada, which makes lovely parts for old machines. In that box was a 60 slot cylinder. I knew this because I ordered it but wasn't allowed to open the box until Xmas day!</p><p>It's beautifully made and finished really nicely. I didn't get the ribber stopper for it though because it's a separate item and all the prices just went up, so I kept within my budget. When I changed out the cylinders, I cleaned everything up again. CSM's use a fair bit of oil to keep them cranking smoothly. It took a few oilings before this new cylinder ran smoothly. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_gkfyZci48DJvhN89gqp1IapSr_yo-Fq2Pdbl7PoNdCc6p6FY1juT7yRJbI_jAF-ey1PUfpIXxgTB1AUWn4TYJpug3fBPmbv_W0OmVDUQaZ0qZgLJ_zPf2evIY9oW0TiBC5tA3EcyLJ0dNkT8GvvuhpPlF56YjZDgd0NdlrxPp-uEDgMZGGzsvluiDWo/s363/xmas%20yarn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="288" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_gkfyZci48DJvhN89gqp1IapSr_yo-Fq2Pdbl7PoNdCc6p6FY1juT7yRJbI_jAF-ey1PUfpIXxgTB1AUWn4TYJpug3fBPmbv_W0OmVDUQaZ0qZgLJ_zPf2evIY9oW0TiBC5tA3EcyLJ0dNkT8GvvuhpPlF56YjZDgd0NdlrxPp-uEDgMZGGzsvluiDWo/s320/xmas%20yarn.jpg" width="254" /></a></div><br />I've been cranking out gauge tubes and a few sample socks from yarns I'd not used on the other cyinders, to see how it works and what the tension knob does when moved. My sweetie gave me some sock yarns that I definitely wouldn't have bought myself because I usually balk at spending $33 or more on a single skein of yarn. So before I make extraordinary socks for myself, with lovely, lovely sock yarn, I want to know how the tension settings will work on similar yarn. I don't want to make mistakes on the really, really good yarns! The mauve and grey yarn is Fleece Artist organic and is nice. It's from a company in Nova Scotia. The other is from a much closer, Ontario company called Timber yarns. It's two matched small skeins, to make matching socks with no measuring or math! It's got a really, really nice twist to it. These are definitely socks for me! <br /><p></p><p><br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-10919370319145439542023-12-31T20:43:00.000-05:002023-12-31T20:44:21.966-05:00A day can make a difference<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiiEIL1C-Vlo8DuswZxpLq3nMz0Ij4-Pnh03wIZtxifdR6ft-5F_uh8u9x05qY7vuUKL3G-MeBe5BXL_3Gyc_5lhGOUqwhah87jq6ZnnNU2wBCaOLDLfXR-OUMfVOv5MrVVszYPiWqKUj7R6TEUklS7Od9ajywSVXBBcK8FbMSkpr_5iYRZFjZcj76vqY/s384/card%202023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiiEIL1C-Vlo8DuswZxpLq3nMz0Ij4-Pnh03wIZtxifdR6ft-5F_uh8u9x05qY7vuUKL3G-MeBe5BXL_3Gyc_5lhGOUqwhah87jq6ZnnNU2wBCaOLDLfXR-OUMfVOv5MrVVszYPiWqKUj7R6TEUklS7Od9ajywSVXBBcK8FbMSkpr_5iYRZFjZcj76vqY/w150-h200/card%202023.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><br /> December was an odd month. We went to a concert in November and a few days later, we got sick. Really sick and it was into December before we were well again. Non-contagious, but still had lingering effects for even longer. It ticked me off because we'd had our jabs updated several weeks before, so should have been protected. I shudder to think what it would have been without those jabs. Anyway, I ended up not getting all my seasonal cards out, which was too bad because I was really happy with them. That being said, everything else went okay. I got socks made for all my kids. I also dug out a few things that didn't sell at the guild show and the kids scooped up the hats and tea towels very quickly!<p></p><p><br /></p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuhwrnQKkspedPEYAgZiffmsOeqicn-dya9NGdgrwudSYDjYvoSww53UtqURzdM24mxZWIthOh2CDkLtlZxGwy6iUisPt4VlFfAd-dPZILu4B45lkLsQruVnrytHZ8_uy1EIRldY5cehKE8_e1WKGAcrTVd7xBE363ggKOaCuIRxh7BOlaUaiwId79ldc/s384/burgess%20river%20meeting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuhwrnQKkspedPEYAgZiffmsOeqicn-dya9NGdgrwudSYDjYvoSww53UtqURzdM24mxZWIthOh2CDkLtlZxGwy6iUisPt4VlFfAd-dPZILu4B45lkLsQruVnrytHZ8_uy1EIRldY5cehKE8_e1WKGAcrTVd7xBE363ggKOaCuIRxh7BOlaUaiwId79ldc/s320/burgess%20river%20meeting.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The meeting of two water sources<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Yesterday we went for a walk along a local trail. Half the trail is by fields and a little bit of bush, but the<br /> other half meanders by the river. It's simply beautiful and I always feel like I've wandered into a fairy tale when we walk that half. It's a circle trail, but we walk the river side part way and then turn around and come back, missing the boring side completely. </p><p> The river water level was really high and had flooded over the banks, due to all the rain we've had. You could see the water marks on the far trees which show the water levels have dropped at least 30 cm.. The path is raised and there was only one little boggy area where we had to walk around a puddle. It was interesting because there is a stream which flows into the river. The river is running quite fast and is very silty right now, so you could see exactly where the two water sources met. It was really interesting to watch the flow and swirls of the currents. The clear water is the stream and the brown, murky water is the river.</p><p>The ground was damp because we've had a lot of mild temperatures and an awful lot of rain. We were driving to a family gathering and I was truly thankful that the temperatures were warm enough that it was rain, because if it had been cold enough for snow, nobody would have been going anywhere!<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9yscJKn2ymdU44DrEV6j8hspfl39qKu_Hecf5h8yuTh6MKlwuwm0eBnuk75-UWzA5pkutc-tFJXgS1BW7id9T4Z8JPiU1VsA7Vj2Kea2U9urH5B5RzQAVLljcWKxAlnO3B2io-w_rQele-a09FyBAuSogtsmY5vKonzuEtVhjjRybLcsI6jkM0GUx_w/s384/blackberry%20bushes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9yscJKn2ymdU44DrEV6j8hspfl39qKu_Hecf5h8yuTh6MKlwuwm0eBnuk75-UWzA5pkutc-tFJXgS1BW7id9T4Z8JPiU1VsA7Vj2Kea2U9urH5B5RzQAVLljcWKxAlnO3B2io-w_rQele-a09FyBAuSogtsmY5vKonzuEtVhjjRybLcsI6jkM0GUx_w/s320/blackberry%20bushes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />The different between yesterday and today is amazing. Yesterday was yet another cloudy, dismally grey day. It was crisp and cool but still a nice day to go walking as there was no wind. Today however, we stayed home! The weather was definitely a little different. I snapped this photo when I locked up the chicken coop for the night, at 4:25 pm. These are the blackberry canes. They're very resilient though and always seem to pop right back up when spring comes and the snow melts away.<br /><p></p> What a different a day can make!<br />Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-89851955207906606622023-12-09T20:23:00.001-05:002023-12-09T20:23:34.086-05:00More sock stuff<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ54pn8ezYreXbJ1bsyQctjkwFiQXjNW_5kr-qJB45K5Ft2qrHPeT1J9w8AEkTBh8EqW3hjsXx__vsg7UrLjJvuwyblTfekFUH9AF3LvNky1otDcuD_zKUqAly2JMPYf53qhPZ5DebKQJ0JUgw443LWzU-49WS9T8D_fz0b-dSat38hOxOvt3SkV0w9xc/s384/heelsandtoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ54pn8ezYreXbJ1bsyQctjkwFiQXjNW_5kr-qJB45K5Ft2qrHPeT1J9w8AEkTBh8EqW3hjsXx__vsg7UrLjJvuwyblTfekFUH9AF3LvNky1otDcuD_zKUqAly2JMPYf53qhPZ5DebKQJ0JUgw443LWzU-49WS9T8D_fz0b-dSat38hOxOvt3SkV0w9xc/w150-h200/heelsandtoes.jpg" width="150" /></a></div> I'd tried a couple of times to do the toes and heels different colours but had a few issues along the way. I watched a video which mentioned a hint on a way to do this, just in passing. I tried it and poof, success! Well mainly success. The socks were supposed to be navy with pink heels and toes. I'd grabbed both the pink and purple bits from my scrap bin and for some reason wound up the purple instead of the pink. I didn't really pay attention to it until I was doing the toe of the first sock. By then, it was navy socks with the purple because I wasn't redoing the sock just to change the colour to pink. They worked out beautifully though, so I was happy enough with them. I have more navy for another pair of socks, so no worries there.<p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAKWiP_wLYwaxIQ9ZIcqU8Gxnm8O0_1bS_UuEU6VQ7Y1rRTT9hDZM-sfU4yflEun2q1SIsn6QdGI05RKdVUw8JxS2qf9CB4FJGeWraoq276-l_MTlx5gSciuUenW7535k9RJZRKTvNt3uNux2mqprJvHf6fAlq0wDcSpjn_jCfoKud20pjUyC2uzGLlAc/s442/kids%20socks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="288" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAKWiP_wLYwaxIQ9ZIcqU8Gxnm8O0_1bS_UuEU6VQ7Y1rRTT9hDZM-sfU4yflEun2q1SIsn6QdGI05RKdVUw8JxS2qf9CB4FJGeWraoq276-l_MTlx5gSciuUenW7535k9RJZRKTvNt3uNux2mqprJvHf6fAlq0wDcSpjn_jCfoKud20pjUyC2uzGLlAc/w131-h200/kids%20socks.JPG" width="131" /></a></div>Then I knew a friend from out of town was visiting, so I made a pair of socks for her. However I wanted to make a pair for her kid too, so I changed out the 72 cylinder to the 54 needle cylinder. This is what I started with and I remember thinking that the 72 was a whole new game when I switched them out the first time. This time though I had huge issues. It's like the cylinder is just a smidge bigger than the 72. It cranks differently and pushing the needles up is stiff and doesn't feel the same. I did a test tube to check tension and it was fine, but lifting needles and going backwards was definitely different . It took me 3 tries to get 2 kids socks, but I got the socks done.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgleZqZ75jL5CQOcv0Dpd3cwEaZpg4MSGKHboTcgE3cleQcIqNM7yUxka709RllyGYdaY3BKY4sFv5bVwH-HPV7Wje5yC-muf5QGqJW-zuFf3xFVfwUQhoof_51qBN1hFhuo3qFfCGZIa0Pg-8OCo7wT7y8On6xgaZIwLuTE50lRfxxhNV16u8GQbaKxjs/s384/54%20empty%20cylinder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgleZqZ75jL5CQOcv0Dpd3cwEaZpg4MSGKHboTcgE3cleQcIqNM7yUxka709RllyGYdaY3BKY4sFv5bVwH-HPV7Wje5yC-muf5QGqJW-zuFf3xFVfwUQhoof_51qBN1hFhuo3qFfCGZIa0Pg-8OCo7wT7y8On6xgaZIwLuTE50lRfxxhNV16u8GQbaKxjs/w150-h200/54%20empty%20cylinder.jpg" width="150" /></a> Then I tried to make a pair of socks for my daughter who has tiny, skinny feet. Stitches kept dropping and then the whole machine seized up. Because I'd changed out the yarn carrier for a pretty, new slotted yarn carrier, it meant that I had several possible issues. The most likely was that I had a bent needle or two causing the jam though, so I pulled all the needles, and replaced them one at a time cranking several times around for each needle. I found one which pinged, so I pulled it because it shouldn't ping! I readjusted the yarn carrier and tried again. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpD-5CoHSy4wNB4wg5Cz7VtZKY8dcya_g7H_JfML3V8lDVjQay_40ewVgNjGbee7cxZXg5Rw4Lz-bglRRqAKrijuWPuR85StXfZE6cfiaz-ODmDRKaEUDb5vNM78Xf8Mg6V60oo7P52US-_IChPxeYvmzyNmcbaV8IXMDrSdraLkVURyyqtuqNaGaY8Zc/s384/dropped%20stitches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpD-5CoHSy4wNB4wg5Cz7VtZKY8dcya_g7H_JfML3V8lDVjQay_40ewVgNjGbee7cxZXg5Rw4Lz-bglRRqAKrijuWPuR85StXfZE6cfiaz-ODmDRKaEUDb5vNM78Xf8Mg6V60oo7P52US-_IChPxeYvmzyNmcbaV8IXMDrSdraLkVURyyqtuqNaGaY8Zc/s320/dropped%20stitches.jpg" width="240" /></a></div> The nice thing about this new slotted yarn carrier is that when there is an issue like this, I can just lift the yarn out, instead of cutting it and having to join the pieces together. But all my fussing and readjusting didn't stop this from happening, several times. Now I'm just beyond frustrated since this 54 slot cylinder is still working slightly differently from the 72 slot cylinder and while I've ordered a new, made to order 60 slot cylinder, it won't be here until after Christmas. I'm hoping to have these socks made for her for a present. I still have a few days to play with them though, after a big cup of tea!<br /></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /> </p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-21481809907452475812023-11-26T16:35:00.000-05:002023-11-26T16:35:42.433-05:00Spinning - gasp- and more socks<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdQywfX-h_Al5iDQCx5F8REKXWEC-HpOt09rIbQj9g5l_zYlZzBgPWe76wNAvQW7eocSh3_yzZh-h-ESyEJnnRpZ1UPn56Dg9Y1eqUgRJedYJGq_OeG9b97sZDBnIl7bN6linao3osZoWLZgVhhTlndX3WlzLzF0mWMOWAe9uz-P0QzmlsYV1VmTiQV2U/s384/nov%20socks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdQywfX-h_Al5iDQCx5F8REKXWEC-HpOt09rIbQj9g5l_zYlZzBgPWe76wNAvQW7eocSh3_yzZh-h-ESyEJnnRpZ1UPn56Dg9Y1eqUgRJedYJGq_OeG9b97sZDBnIl7bN6linao3osZoWLZgVhhTlndX3WlzLzF0mWMOWAe9uz-P0QzmlsYV1VmTiQV2U/s320/nov%20socks.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Just a few of the November socks. There are more unfinished ones in the work basket waiting for me . I'm also trying out ideas for labels for my socks. I think I want a band type label for them so that the pairs are easier to keep together. They seem to look neater, although I know a hang tag might work well too, and it's possible I could simply design one tag which would work for both socks and wovens. It's been interesting playing around with label design apps and programs. They sure aren't as simple and easy as they were many years ago.<p></p><p><br /></p><p>November has been an interesting month and one that I don't mind not repeating. I managed to muck up my rotator cup. Thankfully due to some anti-inflamatorys and a lot of diligence with my physio, I was able to get back most of my shoulder movement in fairly quick time. I'm pretty sure that was more painful than getting either of my hips done. But they said moving it breaks the pain cycle, and sure enough pushing through, did exactly that. I'll be a bit careful in the future though, not to over-do it because the problem that caused it in the first place, irritating two tendons is still there. </p><p> <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiwlR6cRZSjWFW1NvZm8MmsW3PW8qNKaIOqIk2-XQhKpQx1Kb_vHzsnUXz7sRvCA9s8A7ZueTPiCatEDUX1swRnQsA2RmHcdP-KA5_Z9fvIEDSZTVd3pcyuq6j8K6dvJIA7CyXsktKZSObRN6FyC_s9h627EXphF3utxpiIZuvJIYKrobs5KBmmAkpzGY/s384/sock%20spinning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiwlR6cRZSjWFW1NvZm8MmsW3PW8qNKaIOqIk2-XQhKpQx1Kb_vHzsnUXz7sRvCA9s8A7ZueTPiCatEDUX1swRnQsA2RmHcdP-KA5_Z9fvIEDSZTVd3pcyuq6j8K6dvJIA7CyXsktKZSObRN6FyC_s9h627EXphF3utxpiIZuvJIYKrobs5KBmmAkpzGY/s320/sock%20spinning.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Not feeling like kitchenering up the toes of the socks, I dragged out the Minstrel and started spinning up some mill ends which I've had for several years. This is superwash merino/cashmere/silk/nylon. I've no idea about the percentages. It's nice enough to spin for fibre that was like $8 a lb. Most of it needs carding. I've been hand carding it until I have a huge pile of rolags. Then I can have a lovely, leisurely spinning session. I'm on the second bobbin. Now I need to figure out where I stashed the rest of my bobbins. I don't like to ply very fine yarns from centre pull balls as I have too many issues with tangling. A little bit thicker grist and up is great plying ends together for me, but not the very fine stuff. I'm hoping that I'll get enough spun to dye up and crank a pair of socks<br /></p><p>Christmas card painting is on the list for soon. It was supposed to be earlier this month but not with everything that's happened so far. Then I figured today, but that didn't happen so tomorrow for sure. I got a bit of a walk in though, which felt so good. Then there were ice pellets and now it's raining, and "they're" calling for possible snow. :( We've been having windchill in the morning too and it just feels too early for waking up to -10 blasts of weather. I've definitely a bit spoiled from living this far south. I mean the ground isn't totally frozen yet and still I'm complaining.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-9418435215368747972023-11-12T17:34:00.000-05:002023-11-12T17:34:28.673-05:00Colours of November<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ6hLhyphenhyphenQKh0k6lgiMLVhZi4nas9HZLiZiciECK2M3nmdqiDtWthIKQt0P3ovQ2Nfi3D0Fo11VyR2V8dZj60p1tDG1n48FtzyCfTuvK4HmhZ7WszrkRyLtEOAseT27o7o2fjDueAG0Qymn942aXwZzS97WRFwNgoYcrfjKyeBugXQmhrT99wDbfJ4fqsf8/s384/beachville%20trail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ6hLhyphenhyphenQKh0k6lgiMLVhZi4nas9HZLiZiciECK2M3nmdqiDtWthIKQt0P3ovQ2Nfi3D0Fo11VyR2V8dZj60p1tDG1n48FtzyCfTuvK4HmhZ7WszrkRyLtEOAseT27o7o2fjDueAG0Qymn942aXwZzS97WRFwNgoYcrfjKyeBugXQmhrT99wDbfJ4fqsf8/s320/beachville%20trail.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sunny hike on our favourite trail<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyEButqlwiv9l7H_qo1BH9yxGoi6OW7Fnt49lCBPrxOJLwkTsfUNa8KWpltulXpysSS-XmfG0_SHIZZHpQhhgtNKV-E8a_b7rLX8kXxE0rVoF0nZSc6nOU5e4DdelCsFJ0AbIIQmxx2_qkCYeS6-p3mX8Ebt0soNVRTVqHKYSusheaYsMYLx-8Y3nEf0k/s384/mirror%20river.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyEButqlwiv9l7H_qo1BH9yxGoi6OW7Fnt49lCBPrxOJLwkTsfUNa8KWpltulXpysSS-XmfG0_SHIZZHpQhhgtNKV-E8a_b7rLX8kXxE0rVoF0nZSc6nOU5e4DdelCsFJ0AbIIQmxx2_qkCYeS6-p3mX8Ebt0soNVRTVqHKYSusheaYsMYLx-8Y3nEf0k/s320/mirror%20river.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The river was so still it was like a mirror<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4mz3nxXIWtv2iV_KI7Y0BHB1LDHSwwY87gH5Nn0ed_7ym8koxZ1UY4s5S3jwjT15C7_y_7C2TpPV1t0NyNYKpNadVdpPn_NY9sSIAY3nJL9vVmlYGrBrMGI7M17GjkNJTfQjhkj3QhtK8zIpNkfE35RHP9scQNdAqAuQXA2g7EwzcKMd4Wqg_p-8sGS0/s384/trilliumwoods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4mz3nxXIWtv2iV_KI7Y0BHB1LDHSwwY87gH5Nn0ed_7ym8koxZ1UY4s5S3jwjT15C7_y_7C2TpPV1t0NyNYKpNadVdpPn_NY9sSIAY3nJL9vVmlYGrBrMGI7M17GjkNJTfQjhkj3QhtK8zIpNkfE35RHP9scQNdAqAuQXA2g7EwzcKMd4Wqg_p-8sGS0/s320/trilliumwoods.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An impromptu hike because the shop didn't open 'til noon</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOeAVT6m750niWLTb71Kbe6vZkhvcUUdc96cnFMVmhPDRaSv7VSe7Krq6dmMokGaod94LBpE_250g3Ad3JnNCExLoj5eb25923WQuO8j1uYr8JmhERQNc-t_M1PlP2O62BhjExZZa9kDqgMCnCm4Vr1ww7xudayjiDIUODcg8D1JtCi_h2MiC024qbmAA/s384/last%20laundry%20on%20line.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOeAVT6m750niWLTb71Kbe6vZkhvcUUdc96cnFMVmhPDRaSv7VSe7Krq6dmMokGaod94LBpE_250g3Ad3JnNCExLoj5eb25923WQuO8j1uYr8JmhERQNc-t_M1PlP2O62BhjExZZa9kDqgMCnCm4Vr1ww7xudayjiDIUODcg8D1JtCi_h2MiC024qbmAA/s320/last%20laundry%20on%20line.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">last day warm enough to hang laundry<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-17568038532328396022023-11-02T22:02:00.000-04:002023-11-02T22:02:37.242-04:00Endings and Beginnings<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpKq3W-5VMPiLGiQa8OmVuLW0OJ0xcRFPsDeRN9RX9hOFZZ5oo23V5XrnlEU0J2m7oVBCRJQy6GtuRgIRWHA4vJh_vbFv3u9BqT6toLgFXH0kn0QVhihKv_44TCaAIjzYjRPk2t67n28dPe3JpDDTxnN8wFl0j_EMQXR9vSatnSTKJDz79kxdHugvWR9o/s511/painted%20warp%20towels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="511" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpKq3W-5VMPiLGiQa8OmVuLW0OJ0xcRFPsDeRN9RX9hOFZZ5oo23V5XrnlEU0J2m7oVBCRJQy6GtuRgIRWHA4vJh_vbFv3u9BqT6toLgFXH0kn0QVhihKv_44TCaAIjzYjRPk2t67n28dPe3JpDDTxnN8wFl0j_EMQXR9vSatnSTKJDz79kxdHugvWR9o/s320/painted%20warp%20towels.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The towels with the painted warp off the loom. They were hemmed and hung to take a photo. I like them a lot. The black one shows off the colours really well, however it looks out of place with the rest of the towels. The other ones are a bit less dramatic but they look really nice. Even the green one which I wasn't sure about. <p></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOOO6YSua3pABlBTs4mm2A75INXjMNCq1-GT3L1zFDCziD7ZYCySGipEgqGFMorRTNsA4nv1m3-JZshme7EsjCLIakNPUG6839m4HvRa-yJ5fDLGQQXKeMTgBb6WjSxBb8RpweRnh2VXxNWuYBaxgK3W3-csFImPmuY2CfAlZWiwlY4fTsWVKyaWe8ARE/s341/painted%20warp%20folded.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="341" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOOO6YSua3pABlBTs4mm2A75INXjMNCq1-GT3L1zFDCziD7ZYCySGipEgqGFMorRTNsA4nv1m3-JZshme7EsjCLIakNPUG6839m4HvRa-yJ5fDLGQQXKeMTgBb6WjSxBb8RpweRnh2VXxNWuYBaxgK3W3-csFImPmuY2CfAlZWiwlY4fTsWVKyaWe8ARE/s320/painted%20warp%20folded.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Folded up they look nice too. I think the purple is my favourite, but the teal is close. They are all boxed up and ready to be put on sale this weekend.</p><p>I thought that I didn't have very much to put in the sale. Because of the hip replacement, I haven't spent any real time on the floor loom. What I hadn't realized was how much I've actually woven on the rigid heddle loom. In this case, my big bin that I thought was too large, was actually full to the top! That doesn't mean anything will sell though because buyers are fickle, money is tight for most people and lots of folks just come out for an interesting day out. If things do sell though, it does help with buying yarn for next year.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn5_UHgYaTtUlKNFuucokIEGtIgUus4T7Y8OglU2Cbz0YEZ3JitC0-n2wLqeSLfYUpshj-VlcpmlFlwwrHaYEawi2T6atqkK4i2G9K6L3BSiwaqYYQz4QN7OsOA2oy_ASuIKucT1OzdwY5mnXKU1YTMnKZCd-Fo6eEYCw2yaV0uJcQSljNsLxMFVY0UYE/s368/sale%20yarns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="368" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn5_UHgYaTtUlKNFuucokIEGtIgUus4T7Y8OglU2Cbz0YEZ3JitC0-n2wLqeSLfYUpshj-VlcpmlFlwwrHaYEawi2T6atqkK4i2G9K6L3BSiwaqYYQz4QN7OsOA2oy_ASuIKucT1OzdwY5mnXKU1YTMnKZCd-Fo6eEYCw2yaV0uJcQSljNsLxMFVY0UYE/w200-h156/sale%20yarns.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p>Len's Mill Store sent out digital coupons and the yellow tag items were 80% off. This is a pile of yarn which would have been $80 before tax. With tax, I paid $17 and change. Most of these are for the rigid heddle loom. One is a ball of Hygge, a very thin fluffy yarn which has come to the notice of sock machine knitters as you can use it to line socks to make slippers. The horrible yellow is sock yarn. It's ugly and bright and was $1.88 after discount. There is enough other yarn there for 3 shawls or maybe 4 or 5 scarves. When I'm able to get yarn on deep discount, or at least on sale, it means I can sell my non- wool or silk scarves at attractive prices. I like that because it means that handwoven items are available to those people who may not be able to afford them otherwise. It's nice to let people have a choice.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisi9Zkj-SD5PUit5gK7OJIHUPSqH-lnsGYtlPDi-uvj6GKC8uq4m6SNSPW6f4MVUE18A4eisMUNjUuoCnnJuzkQy-yGKLvd8Sml1ln1hyzEfb6ENvGepg7jZKWruXm8FEH7NDrlW2me_m3UNZJomT3TGKZly20N3XBuDgLiHWZtcmOZYj_BjQA3Ufwr9w/s384/inkle%20strap.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisi9Zkj-SD5PUit5gK7OJIHUPSqH-lnsGYtlPDi-uvj6GKC8uq4m6SNSPW6f4MVUE18A4eisMUNjUuoCnnJuzkQy-yGKLvd8Sml1ln1hyzEfb6ENvGepg7jZKWruXm8FEH7NDrlW2me_m3UNZJomT3TGKZly20N3XBuDgLiHWZtcmOZYj_BjQA3Ufwr9w/w150-h200/inkle%20strap.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><p>I warped up the Inkle loom. I used 4/8 cotton that I'd purchased years ago when I had this idea to make guitar straps for my family. I'd already made 2 for myself - a banjo strap and a ukelele strap. However there were still 3 kids plus 1 spouse who played, so I thought it was a good idea. It took so long to make mine, that I ran out of time. Plus, I'd thought that I'd be able to dye all the white to customize them and that really didn't happen either.</p><p> I need to make a new Birka bag and my old strap is wearing where it attaches to the handles, so I put this project on for that purpose. But, the tele was on and I was dressing the loom while I was watching some very compelling crime drama on Britbox. I should never do things like this. The stripes are different sizes and I missed a peg on 2 different threads so had to cut the strap off early because I could no longer pull the strap forward to weave. It's about 12 inches too short! <br /></p><p>So sometime this week I need to find table space to paint my Xmas cards. I still need to make a couple of pairs of csm socks. I also want to put a new scarf on the rigid heddle loom to have something alternate to play with. This all sounds doable except for the fact that hubby has a week off and who knows what will happen then.<br /></p><p><br /><br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-82947019706144494362023-10-27T14:43:00.000-04:002023-10-27T14:43:15.779-04:00Don't Do What I Did!<p>Way before my hip replacement, I planned a project to put on the loom for my recovery. I'd totally forgotten that it would be weeks before I'd be cleared to weave again, so it was kind of a useless idea. In the end though, it meant I had the warp almost ready to go when I needed it months later.</p><p> It was 2/8 cotton and I did stripes, navy with painted warp stripes in between. The painting of the warp was very successful. It was a beautiful warp. I started winding the navy stripes but only got halfway done before climbing up and down to the basement to my warping board became difficult. The project was left, semi-forgotten in a bag on the back of my desk chair. Eventually though, time passed and I realized that I had 3 1/2 weeks left before the guild sale. Discussion at the last meeting suggested that our stock of tea towels was low, so I decided to get this project on the loom. It's an easy to weave project, the ubiquitous "friendship towels", from Schacht. It's a delightful project, fun and fast, and also easy to change up the colour for each towel. They've also provided the draft free, which was really nice of them.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghv6FtpVf8SXUMPaP5CDzFWEgrs75-KrOJqD3YL4VhElOXCPg1quWXQGFWqGpVdC9uJXmajpR2JPq5I1MH50uzxawuNpU-5fmkV9OCbvJKxq9IdyXAEvJTyMj51Sek17i9Zns4rRQ1fz9qCLQeX-dfGHkPw3lgJptMixw_BeZmELP_zzuWXK2978nkNKM/s384/figure%208%20ties.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghv6FtpVf8SXUMPaP5CDzFWEgrs75-KrOJqD3YL4VhElOXCPg1quWXQGFWqGpVdC9uJXmajpR2JPq5I1MH50uzxawuNpU-5fmkV9OCbvJKxq9IdyXAEvJTyMj51Sek17i9Zns4rRQ1fz9qCLQeX-dfGHkPw3lgJptMixw_BeZmELP_zzuWXK2978nkNKM/s320/figure%208%20ties.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See the twisting! The navy was so much worse!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>So step one - When I dye warps I put tight figure 8 ties in the cross and also one at each end, to keep the yarns from slipping. However all the rest of the figure 8 ties are tied loosely in a bow, so that a) it will be easy to dye the whole length without those white marks from a tight choke tie and b) using a bow so that when the warp is dry, I can tighten up the figure 8 ties to keep the warp contained and straight. </p><p> First mistake was not retying the figure 8 ties to make firm choke ties. This allowed the painted warp to twist around itself, making for not so fun warping. Secondly, I know that I painted the warp in a particular order. I neither marked each of the painted warp chains with the order number, nor did I take proper notes. I have a basic explanation of the project, a quick diagram with numbers etc, but absolutely none of the details which tell me what I was truly planning at the time. My third mistake when starting this project, is that while I wound each stripe in the painted warp separately, I didn't do that for the navy stripes. I wound about half of it in one bunch, and then because I neglected to note how many warp threads I'd wound, when I went to finish winding the warp 3 weeks ago, I figured it was easier to wind the second half of the navy stripes in one bunch too. I'd counted my navy warp 3 times, and had 3 different numbers, so took the average and wound the rest of the stripes together as one warp. This wouldn't have been such an issue if the navy cotton yarn hadn't been really over twisted, so it wound around itself something fierce and was so difficult to work with. </p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLCWcRKx1Iecqym6X68Bqux482o-nKxmPGbnWnhTB1fcn2tLHj2uFtyzNuh9Oq-bvwbj2pv9KMovIySUa_8EyDklsyGC_gwZdHtNCFdKSQu7O21gHK5i6C8TxzHWGkLSs2HGa3sJmFqpfy2gZtAXQf9ijsXM31DJkLgk6HDG5nVmroZsFwUwvsVQmETng/s384/friendship%20black.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLCWcRKx1Iecqym6X68Bqux482o-nKxmPGbnWnhTB1fcn2tLHj2uFtyzNuh9Oq-bvwbj2pv9KMovIySUa_8EyDklsyGC_gwZdHtNCFdKSQu7O21gHK5i6C8TxzHWGkLSs2HGa3sJmFqpfy2gZtAXQf9ijsXM31DJkLgk6HDG5nVmroZsFwUwvsVQmETng/s320/friendship%20black.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">painted warp and navy stripes, black weft.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />After much fussing, winding, a few crossed threads and some broken threads from the over spun yarns twisting in the heddles, the warp was on the loom. This was not a fun process and if I didn't absolutely love that warp, if it wasn't maybe 7 feet long, so 6 tea towels, so a lot of thread to waste, I might have cut it off. Once it was on the loom though, it was very pretty. I wove off two in a teal colour, one in a lighter green which was nice but not spectacular, two in purple which were awesome and one in black which is stunning. I hadn't realized that I had any 2/8 black cotton in my stash or their would have been more of them. I used all the purple I had. My initial thoughts were to use the navy for the weft, thinking the navy on navy would give a sold stripe against the painted stripes. However to my eye, because the navy is a broken twill, it just looked a bit messy to me.<br /></p><p>1- take lots of notes, even if you don't think you'll need them. If you put that project aside for a bit, you'll really want to know those details that don't jump out at you, including warp length, that the yarn is over twisted or delicate or just fine etc.</p><p>2- document numbers - how many are in each stripe, how long, did you add extra threads for use in breakage etc.</p><p>3 - don't wait until last minute and have to rush. Give yourself time to enjoy the process. </p><p>4- sometimes it's best to wind your stripes in the right number of threads to facilitate that enjoying the process bit :) <br /></p><p>The towels have been washed and dried. They are waiting for me to hem them. I'm happy with the outcome. <br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-54108178302684113172023-10-17T18:03:00.000-04:002023-10-17T18:03:01.059-04:00Historical Kitchen Fun<p>I can't believe how busy it's been or at least seems to have been. I thought after the fair demos things would settle down. However it took a bit longer than that. My car was acting odd on my last trip to Westfield and we took it in to get looked at and boy, were we lucky. The hose to the transmission had worn and was leaking transmission fluid. But it seems like we may have caught it in time and it was only $650 instead of $3000. Hubby says this could be normal wear and tear. I think though it's the excessive bouncing over the train tracks on the route I normally take to town. The asphalt is always pitted and cracked around the tracks and you have to slow down to a crawl to go over them unless you are a huge farm vehicle with giant flat, seemingly solid tires!</p><p>Besides that, I've been dressing the floor loom and that is fodder for another post. Just... next time. I've made some socks. I've planned a new Birka style bag on which I've planned some Bayeux stitch embroidery - also for another post.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsl0mWrmaU1jTw9DwxlPk3knbaJd0VgP4EYWnn3PKDDjNr_86RqEXRm1OK-wSk2FoUj5Kp0AiNWsBQpNdCalzq9SHfvlJPdLl9v6EM394zsUjYGqZwFSLkuGMKgmZqQklJ4pAbcjx6ofhBn7lYvavLWx3aw-dGEELw2tVj3CywRwz8m1N_yycSNo-P7Sc/s384/Dundurn%20Stove.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsl0mWrmaU1jTw9DwxlPk3knbaJd0VgP4EYWnn3PKDDjNr_86RqEXRm1OK-wSk2FoUj5Kp0AiNWsBQpNdCalzq9SHfvlJPdLl9v6EM394zsUjYGqZwFSLkuGMKgmZqQklJ4pAbcjx6ofhBn7lYvavLWx3aw-dGEELw2tVj3CywRwz8m1N_yycSNo-P7Sc/w150-h200/Dundurn%20Stove.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A gorgeous and functional stove<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />However, last Sunday I took a cooking workshop at Dundurn castle. It was much less a cooking workshop than a tasting class. It was still fun though. I got to cook on the stove which is a pretty awesome beast. (Well, I stirred onions in a pan, but it's still cooking!) It was about soups and it was quite informative. I like the booklet we got, which has some new cookery sources in for me. I also realized that the people running the course are simply people like me, and while I didn't butt in or anything, I did know the answers to the information that they forgot. There is another workshop coming up in December, on puddings, which could be fun, but it's a tad more expensive and I spent the rest of my discretionary, non- yarn budget inviting my daughter along with me. I sure would like some other insight into steamed pudding though, considering the several recent failures I've had.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyU30v4k7Hfl8VlpUgBoNJ2_HMyoX6y4L_ZCuBwvfOvLuiy7fAnKc2I6rFtnC_PPOG5fkRek3O-ApoILsZSAqGGuMTAUYilAR60giE8t3mo2V3vhp2jFqEpZGVu6W-hxsXoAcALu5R_9XYMotihqPSbiN3A1jKn-ajpTwkz4p3zaWa7gUgn-QJR8vYAM8/s358/dundurn%20transferware.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="288" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyU30v4k7Hfl8VlpUgBoNJ2_HMyoX6y4L_ZCuBwvfOvLuiy7fAnKc2I6rFtnC_PPOG5fkRek3O-ApoILsZSAqGGuMTAUYilAR60giE8t3mo2V3vhp2jFqEpZGVu6W-hxsXoAcALu5R_9XYMotihqPSbiN3A1jKn-ajpTwkz4p3zaWa7gUgn-QJR8vYAM8/w161-h200/dundurn%20transferware.JPG" width="161" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the transferware in the kitchen<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The soups were all easy to make and most were quite tasty. Even though I'm not a huge fan of tomato soup, the fresh tomato soup was quite nice. The pumpkin soup was good although I'd make it with broth instead of milk as the milk sort of overwhelmed the pumpkin flavour if that is possible. The onion soup which I helped caramelize the onions for, was delicious but it was really just a lot of fried onions in broth.</p><p>There was a huge display of transfer ware. I didn't get enough time to check out all the patterns, but gosh, it was beautiful. I do love transfer ware and really wish I had a bit of time to check them out.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX7WtHeflCxntRo5CyJC2qmVotA7DwZjc90ohUXNgGqcpoySSLdDCmdyGJeJayoSAL0XBhkdd_DnDg9e6S3vQJFwmZpbSlcE9tT8sBqKV6qqh2n2nhLFQ7UvQ-sRHJJlcuwruPRyfWa3yqUWYbZ2ZSRlB01oLeoje0RIe7G9_l3ZuH9Uh9XSVqnpLDas8/s384/Dundurn%20kitchen%202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX7WtHeflCxntRo5CyJC2qmVotA7DwZjc90ohUXNgGqcpoySSLdDCmdyGJeJayoSAL0XBhkdd_DnDg9e6S3vQJFwmZpbSlcE9tT8sBqKV6qqh2n2nhLFQ7UvQ-sRHJJlcuwruPRyfWa3yqUWYbZ2ZSRlB01oLeoje0RIe7G9_l3ZuH9Uh9XSVqnpLDas8/w150-h200/Dundurn%20kitchen%202.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>This is a picture of a cupboard in the kitchen which I really liked. I could see this as a yarn cupboard - or yarn-oire which I've been asking for. It was a decent size and would hold a lot of stuff, as well as keeping it out of sight.<br /><p>The amount of period equipment in the kitchen was quite amazing. It gave me a lot of ideas and inspiration. In all, it was a good morning. It did begin with the person escorting us into the kitchen telling us that the scaffolding on the outside was period in that in October of 1850something, they were planning for one of the daughter's weddings. To make the house more grand looking, the front pillars were installed. It was a fun bit of information to start the day.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtk0RAPQtZCaWA5zIZ4Pjo_8Tl8As3yCcAsuDp0LNNO9FstP2tdx1KBRB7gqiys2JUffbyTG6OKRiWZvM8ZkxLy0vhCJWFqeK6nNvDTO2z0UxxKxizKoej0JfkRGlzxYUH6Ai13L84TT8ByHeEtQQD_Selye3Is-a8wR3JWeL-UH_sZCx9mgCutCP0tAE/s384/dundurn%20cooking.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtk0RAPQtZCaWA5zIZ4Pjo_8Tl8As3yCcAsuDp0LNNO9FstP2tdx1KBRB7gqiys2JUffbyTG6OKRiWZvM8ZkxLy0vhCJWFqeK6nNvDTO2z0UxxKxizKoej0JfkRGlzxYUH6Ai13L84TT8ByHeEtQQD_Selye3Is-a8wR3JWeL-UH_sZCx9mgCutCP0tAE/s320/dundurn%20cooking.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Proof I got to use the stove!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-33695121936957855762023-09-26T15:26:00.008-04:002023-09-26T15:26:58.074-04:00Fall Fair Weekend<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHqOtHTNm_EvPQKW0M87I3lEcsgiG6jKFppQG7aUwmLFD8rM132j6hS-fIfZfFdccXwhjXL9lFLjL6HzHXwamFQZOEW2OM0GhAbd0S3uEDkv5o5IvyWBPm8BPoqAsipjeYxwc8FCoBrZ6r8PGo8rAt1TSrOrix63d3rKfGzyAoqvM0lcBs3Uk8WtrzDi8/s457/drumbo%20spinning%20display.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="457" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHqOtHTNm_EvPQKW0M87I3lEcsgiG6jKFppQG7aUwmLFD8rM132j6hS-fIfZfFdccXwhjXL9lFLjL6HzHXwamFQZOEW2OM0GhAbd0S3uEDkv5o5IvyWBPm8BPoqAsipjeYxwc8FCoBrZ6r8PGo8rAt1TSrOrix63d3rKfGzyAoqvM0lcBs3Uk8WtrzDi8/s320/drumbo%20spinning%20display.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Last weekend I was one of the hand crafters asked to demonstrate their craft at a local Fall Fair. On the Saturday I was asked to demonstrate spinning. This is my display table. The colour wheel is of nature dyed yarns. Almost all of them were either harvested locally or grown in my garden, except for the Cochineal reds and a logwood purple. The rest of the yarns were examples of different yarn structures or different fibres. Sadly this is the only photo I took. It was a lot of fun. I talked with a lot of people and even helped a few gals with some spinning issues they had. It's amazing how many people see spinning as "keeping a skill alive", and don't realize that there are many modern spinners out there, making miles of yarn.<p></p><p>On Sunday - and I wish I had photos- but I forgot to bring my phone or a camera. On Sunday, a bunch of us got together to do a Sheep to Shawl demo. The demo was nice because we didn't have to rush things. It also allowed us to have a beginner spinner with us, who learned but was under no pressure to produce yards upon yards of consistent yarn. We had a shawl warp on a table loom and 4 spinning wheels. I also brought the same table cloth (which is an old sheet) and the nature dyed colourwheel. The colour wheel became a good talking point, which lead to the spinning and weaving. And the loom became a talking point which lead to the wheels and the yarns. The spinning wheels became a talking point which lead to the dyed yarns and the weaving. We talked with so many people. At one point, 4 of the 5 of us were talking with small groups of people. There weren't many slow times, but mainly steady people through. </p><p>The whole team was comprised of SCA members and we were all dressed in garb; mainly viking. People commented on how good we looked (yay us!) and how right it looked that we were weaving and spinning. I had to appreciate that people recognized that the skills were ancient but no one realized that our equipment was thoroughly modern! Still, a good impression was made and many people were amazed and intrigued by what we did. And nope, we didn't finish the shawl. I think we got it half woven. However we went in with the goal of education, and there was no need to finish. Regardless, it was an awful lot of fun, with much socializing. We took lunch breaks and saw some of the fair. It was a very good day. I'm a bit sad that I didn't get photos though.</p><p><br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-939734799430564472023-09-15T13:29:00.000-04:002023-09-15T13:29:21.135-04:00The fun stuff and not so fun<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEtSTkcqGZrrbRK06oTH-NVVPfX9kAcVKDmiiACGnqI_L3f_F2veIHI4mJ2GYFw0v4y3x29x75KR98Qk5ZUbOwQYorniN5nqopMY0WLVM1bN1vQZ1O_UYjyioWqEPjNADdavOiTCrsE14ER2X5HMpRoDBvC7gXCuW-IOzV-sUehfkHoaY-sYGRGZ7EHas/s400/guild%20processed%20flax.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEtSTkcqGZrrbRK06oTH-NVVPfX9kAcVKDmiiACGnqI_L3f_F2veIHI4mJ2GYFw0v4y3x29x75KR98Qk5ZUbOwQYorniN5nqopMY0WLVM1bN1vQZ1O_UYjyioWqEPjNADdavOiTCrsE14ER2X5HMpRoDBvC7gXCuW-IOzV-sUehfkHoaY-sYGRGZ7EHas/s320/guild%20processed%20flax.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>At our last Weavers Guild meeting we had a guest speaker. Cat Haggert came to speak to us about processing flax. After a brief introduction on how to grow flax, she showed us how to use her processing tools. These were modern tools that were made by a fairly local gentleman who makes and repairs spinning wheels. Cat also showed us how to process flax using easily available tools - an ice scraper and a dollar store pocket comb. Of course these are only useful for small amounts but they did the trick. These are some of our guilds results. The top 2 small stricks of flax were processed by me and the bottom two were Iva's and Ashley's, who gave them to me to spin up. It was a fun program. Cat is incredibly knowledgeable and an excellent speaker. <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIao1gXLxumHRD-Na9IUBU6CA5X3upuXe1npBl1J5kUMnDwf9NCxai__uxPvXD55rCt9l2XmPRGv9sUBDrefDoLmwNX6zoYgEypdgaB861B3a4WRzvJz-GC_OvuTKcH1ke0q7Qq65ARiAZJcGcKijtvv_TjATw3l-mfsZlce3bglLOKZqxvPpMDXFHekc/s349/sept.socks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="288" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIao1gXLxumHRD-Na9IUBU6CA5X3upuXe1npBl1J5kUMnDwf9NCxai__uxPvXD55rCt9l2XmPRGv9sUBDrefDoLmwNX6zoYgEypdgaB861B3a4WRzvJz-GC_OvuTKcH1ke0q7Qq65ARiAZJcGcKijtvv_TjATw3l-mfsZlce3bglLOKZqxvPpMDXFHekc/s320/sept.socks.JPG" width="264" /></a></div>These are a few of the socks I've made this month. I finally found the right tension for this yarn. I've one more pair to make and I have all the Xmas socks done for my kids and their spouses. I was having issues with sizing in that they were coming out too small or odd. One pair was even different sizes between socks, which were done in one shot.<p></p><p> One day I read an online post from one of the prolific sock makers/teachers. He said the weights should be changed up for different weights of yarn. His thoughts were 1 weight for super fine or laceweight yarn, 2 for normal sock yarn and 3 for bulky sock yarn. A single weight is 580g. Adding the second is 1159g, and with the third weight it weights 1589g. The next piece of information he gave was that the spaces between stitches while you're knitting on the sock machine should be about the size of the yarn. </p><p>I removed a weight while knitting up my regular sized sock yarn and all of a sudden, everything was good. My sizing was spot on and as a bonus, there were also fewer dropped stitches. The dropped stitches though could also be me reminding myself to pay more attention to needle latches and toe V hook weight placement too.</p><p>I asked for some info before trying out my ribber. I was directed to search for videos. I've been watching SockTV - yes it really is a thing, which was one of the suggestions. However while this summer has been the summer of ribbing, it's all about different ribbing patterns. As a hand knitter of socks, I already know I can do any ribbing patter that my stitch count will allow -and subsequently, how many stitch combos the ribber will accommodate. What I didn't have information for was how to set up the ribber to get started. Luckily there is a gal out in Vancouver who has put together a whole bunch of very beginner videos on sock machines. She had one on how to get the ribber set up her machine. Happily I have the same machine that she used for her demo, so I don't have to work it out on a different machine.</p><p><b>Blackberry update </b>- 2 kg of berries are in the freezer, waiting for me to make jam! There are more on the brambles, but the weather has cooled dramatically and now they're starting to get smaller and seedier. I may call it done for harvesting them. </p><p><b>Tomato update</b> - The tomatoes in the garden are finally ripening. I've managed to can 5 jars of the plum tomatoes. They are really nice fruit, but ack, having them ripen this late and slowly is frustrating. I've no idea how many more will ripen in time to be used.</p><p><b>Threes</b> - the oil light on the truck came on... The lawn tractor will only run for 10 minutes at a time and periodically, the new battery dies... The sole of my only pair of running shoes has detached from the shoe... I hope that's it for now. While I'm sure we can replace the shoes, a new truck and lawn tractor aren't in this year's budget :(<br /></p><p><br /> <br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-13522169549374998902023-08-30T16:54:00.003-04:002023-08-30T16:54:49.843-04:00Preserving the harvest<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgolduXv7W8MeAC8bKfQjuYqPf88PCbZJE-7wFQYtkX7UvmY6LBSOQ7vMF6axg8xiX5KPxRbrazIGEctgpgG3GZr4hOrlODMLaj3EjnfP-3p0sL0Vxbo6IbluxvYU-R_MfNDEZyf3y_MNd435VUFgK6QFznmv-gui1GzV56d0qHbI2E2FGQyOD3cKkpAvQ/s384/green%20tomatoes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgolduXv7W8MeAC8bKfQjuYqPf88PCbZJE-7wFQYtkX7UvmY6LBSOQ7vMF6axg8xiX5KPxRbrazIGEctgpgG3GZr4hOrlODMLaj3EjnfP-3p0sL0Vxbo6IbluxvYU-R_MfNDEZyf3y_MNd435VUFgK6QFznmv-gui1GzV56d0qHbI2E2FGQyOD3cKkpAvQ/w150-h200/green%20tomatoes.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>The weather this August has been cool, wet and very grey. Many people are saying how many plants in their gardens are slow to ripen. My tomatoes are definitely on a slow pace to ripen. So slow that I worry they may not ripen at all this year. There were no Amish Paste Tomato plants in the garden centres this year, so I had to settle with the only Roma style tomato plant that I could find which was San Marzano which has a longer time to ripen. Next year I may break down and start my own tomato plants, to get the ones I know will work in my garden and climate.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8FZb2JRMthSMQy09Kdf0uvyBbFMSUAb4GjCWh-XGR-wdQ5z8v1HajA1tN2n2uxsaZj0Dzic3ZrJtvAUh0VU0LqbvMNOcLUgauqbc1l6YylA1vC9NGQ7r6xL11nCkQkKMRCuph2mZ-PTMYmTry2BH0T9yc0DvxSDBdcuI7dKcDZ3hqJ_UV8LKmxv_dJU/s384/tomatoes23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8FZb2JRMthSMQy09Kdf0uvyBbFMSUAb4GjCWh-XGR-wdQ5z8v1HajA1tN2n2uxsaZj0Dzic3ZrJtvAUh0VU0LqbvMNOcLUgauqbc1l6YylA1vC9NGQ7r6xL11nCkQkKMRCuph2mZ-PTMYmTry2BH0T9yc0DvxSDBdcuI7dKcDZ3hqJ_UV8LKmxv_dJU/s320/tomatoes23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Because all the tomatoes are still green, I ended up buying 1/2 bushel of tomatoes at the market. There were few to choose from because even the farmers are having issues with slow ripening this year. They were still not quite ripe enough, but luckily I was away all day after purchasing them. I ducked out of the house until the evening on Saturday so when I started canning on Sunday, they were just starting to be perfect. I got over half of them done, in 2 canning pot batches, and a third on Sunday finished them off. I have 20 pint/500 ml jars in the pantry. My hot water bath canner will do 7, 500 ml jars at a time. If I can get at least two more batches done, there should be enough for the winter. <br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNbVMKepfoBfk3mXqX8RR_8jjCT6sTSvGYdU3Dhmxg4gYg0fT5wbGkb_AhOGHWN5yQ57z41Wa6Ug_dYGNGGK53MYpRV6JAyC-9ByeiikMg5C_kdHexQ_XNkYc7l8l_D8uSJ5W5dcPYmiwV4zMU7qVhqTTV7mO3i17v19Ao6gOMj8tOa92M-Xq7IozSZVY/s384/blackberries%2023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNbVMKepfoBfk3mXqX8RR_8jjCT6sTSvGYdU3Dhmxg4gYg0fT5wbGkb_AhOGHWN5yQ57z41Wa6Ug_dYGNGGK53MYpRV6JAyC-9ByeiikMg5C_kdHexQ_XNkYc7l8l_D8uSJ5W5dcPYmiwV4zMU7qVhqTTV7mO3i17v19Ao6gOMj8tOa92M-Xq7IozSZVY/s320/blackberries%2023.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />The blackberries are also ripening this year. The past few years I haven't had enough berries to harvest, but this year the patch has finally matured enough. They are late though and with the weather, I'm only able to harvest every 2 or 3 days. However I already have 785 g of berries and there are still many more unripe berries on the brambles. I'm washing them and tossing them in the freezer. My plans are that when or if I get enough berries, I will let them thaw and push them through a sieve to remove the seeds. Then I'll make seedless blackberry jam. With the batch of apricot jam I made earlier, while not having a great variety, there will be more than enough jam and 2 of my favourite kinds.<br /><p></p><p><br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-64345163651250859582023-08-22T15:27:00.004-04:002023-08-22T15:27:31.226-04:00Sewing tricks and csm grafting socks<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTwOahVhZR6wVaQ6KQ_5E5yjbERrgSYsGlKH8vEmAbOqRbZDKh2vS0VEMjKQBFRIqJOrp1aukOfqjr6oEGMCqS4LrhtW-VYfiNISPPKlVlukbsYVOCmsSTRg8VyT1h6R0lXWSquXQG07FN-Bu5yX0zUoUHHvWLotwhJmRzcS-6NyauRa6zz4GzBl7DE3k/s384/swung%20armscye%20dart.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTwOahVhZR6wVaQ6KQ_5E5yjbERrgSYsGlKH8vEmAbOqRbZDKh2vS0VEMjKQBFRIqJOrp1aukOfqjr6oEGMCqS4LrhtW-VYfiNISPPKlVlukbsYVOCmsSTRg8VyT1h6R0lXWSquXQG07FN-Bu5yX0zUoUHHvWLotwhJmRzcS-6NyauRa6zz4GzBl7DE3k/s320/swung%20armscye%20dart.JPG" width="240" /></a></div> I sent in my volunteer availability to Westfield for the next couple of months, and got my building assignment already. Since I'm in the Misener house, which means a great woodstove for cooking and baking, I decided to make myself a new work dress. I've several dress lengths of 1860's prints from when a local store had put them all on clearance. I got a couple of them on sale for buy 1 yard, get 2 free, and they were already reduced to begin with.<p></p><p>Anyway, I chose the blue one, not because it was my favourite print, but because I looked in the bag and I already had purchased the thread and notions. That was a no brainer. </p><p>I was trying to find my pattern, which already fits. I obviously put it in that pit of despair known as a "safe place", and not my pattern file, so I'm redrafting a pattern. Last week was a write off for getting anything worthwhile done, but today I picked it back up. I was only able to get a fit that I liked by using an amscye dart, which I've not seen on any photos of that period of garment. A bit of searching though, came up with instructions on swinging the dart to a waist dart. I wasn't sure about doing this, but I bravely cut the first dart and although I had to make it a tad longer, it worked a treat and the muslin now lies flat. I'm hoping that it fits as nicely.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF1Oxwa8aKXlccR7wl8iOJ81DrgE9zotrhExZ4JUAKcpO1EWOe-T57KMWQa0COdPxpKZpjgp6BiG-fRNpsCyNDYe33ao5KJDIcCjuW4ViFzVVO7OERAisnVmfvEWQakWZscMtYR44cl4gzhLTWmuAQcAOLHqWT252mZNuTsw5CvUU0TaPq1VE5sPYwwDY/s4032/IMG_5128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF1Oxwa8aKXlccR7wl8iOJ81DrgE9zotrhExZ4JUAKcpO1EWOe-T57KMWQa0COdPxpKZpjgp6BiG-fRNpsCyNDYe33ao5KJDIcCjuW4ViFzVVO7OERAisnVmfvEWQakWZscMtYR44cl4gzhLTWmuAQcAOLHqWT252mZNuTsw5CvUU0TaPq1VE5sPYwwDY/w150-h200/IMG_5128.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>This is a toe that I just grafted closed with a kitchener stitch. It's a lot more grafting with a cranked sock than with a hand knit sock. In this case, 36 stitches on each side to graft together. I'm not that fond of grafting but it's easier on the cranked socks because you have to do it from the back. The stitches are held in place by waste yarn rather than needles, and there is no need to make sure you're picking them up on the correct side like pearling or stockinette side. You do them from the backside and it's just stitching through the previous stitch and the new stitch, previous stitch and the new stitch, until you're one.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm3ZUGibE61hTEjKBE56vWJQTw15_W6QNZx1LEJpMdDHFp1juUv3ubNwN3aIaJtm4iCi9BPChi34cHtHNMO1EIhPXeTzbmFUkteojk_6Ks1Qv-KXCmmBKtWiug6v2nVXsl7X9SFqRk1kI9dlfugXNFDIoU1aDhNrG8-Or9oGgUT2JA7LG62LoyEZZ6ieE/s315/grafting%20csm%20toe.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="315" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm3ZUGibE61hTEjKBE56vWJQTw15_W6QNZx1LEJpMdDHFp1juUv3ubNwN3aIaJtm4iCi9BPChi34cHtHNMO1EIhPXeTzbmFUkteojk_6Ks1Qv-KXCmmBKtWiug6v2nVXsl7X9SFqRk1kI9dlfugXNFDIoU1aDhNrG8-Or9oGgUT2JA7LG62LoyEZZ6ieE/w200-h183/grafting%20csm%20toe.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>The downside is that there are things to get in your way. If there isn't enough contrast with your waste yarn, you can't see the stitches to pick up. If you don't have enough light, it's also difficult to see those stitches. Plus, you have to be careful not to pick up the waste yarn when you're grafting the live stitches. On the upside, it's pretty easy to do and I found it easy to get the tension pretty close so it's difficult to see where you've grafted.<p></p><p>Another downside is that it sort of looks like a hungry worm monster which wants to eat your arm when you don't get it stitched up quickly enough. Once the seam is closed, I'll just pull out all the white waste yarn and the sock will be done! Otherwise, that partially grafted sock could be inspiration for nightmares!<br /><br /></p><br /><br />Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-51088607824185246262023-08-15T12:12:00.002-04:002023-08-15T12:12:20.878-04:00And Then There Were Two<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGTbaD92fE9HYxn4fNayyX9gKss57YNXe0XN8wDm98mXedUBXUWb_EH_CZfU6FqbaQjWzJ9yknCi4gnwVian-NnvLaRlipXqFgiBLRlNCNtJwA2LOgWrvf_dsFn1zGEPVjCk_oO8IepN5Lmk02fQO0lmcWGALZVZwZiJUbVlsIQssmo_13NfjisL0TQeI/s384/philblanket.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGTbaD92fE9HYxn4fNayyX9gKss57YNXe0XN8wDm98mXedUBXUWb_EH_CZfU6FqbaQjWzJ9yknCi4gnwVian-NnvLaRlipXqFgiBLRlNCNtJwA2LOgWrvf_dsFn1zGEPVjCk_oO8IepN5Lmk02fQO0lmcWGALZVZwZiJUbVlsIQssmo_13NfjisL0TQeI/s320/philblanket.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Last week on Thursday, hubby asked me if our kitty Phil was okay and I said I thought so but would check. On Friday, I thought that something might be wrong. On Saturday we realized he wasn't eating his kibble, so we gave him extra gushy food. We even got him some special food just for him. We thought maybe he had a bad tooth or something. Then on Sunday we noticed one pupil was larger than the other, that there was now a lump on his neck or under his chin and his breathing was odd. We got him to the vet on Monday, in the only emergency time slot that was available. Monday afternoon we brought him home to bury him. <br /><p></p><p>We were totally stunned and hadn't expected to lose Phil at all because a few days ago, he was his normal self. An xray showed his lungs were full of fluid, so much that there was barely any clear area and it had pushed his esophagus along his spine. The vet said that the pupil size differences suggested that this was an incurable virus that he'd picked up as a kitten and that there was no cure, at least that is available here. We had to make the difficult decision right then. We really weren't prepared for this and had no expectations that we wouldn't be bringing Phil home.<br /></p><p>Phil was my lap cat. He slept on my legs almost every night. Many days he demanded that I let him nap on top of me in the afternoons, which lead to a lot of novels being read, with a cat snuggled on me. In the winter he would crawl under the covers at night. He'd figured out that if he wiggled his head up near the pillow, so that his head wasn't under the blankets, he could sleep there for hours or all night. </p><p>He chose us as a home. One summer we kept seeing an orange cat around the property for a few weeks. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Tc3KuPQQxBKKJmklm9CybTBxFnr6RaBEDOKUXhopJY_eBFD8hTqwY0kr7_NhPVNjGHWIgvn9KyB1XtCygOc7xAfJ9E-00iv-i-VMfOKB4G_2D8Psgh-d8qiMLUZZSEr_mcBwo09iVxofvTLhmvzOS4JTGJNn8A_q0f21mhlSfYxgl961UrSOih2tDaw/s400/phil%20hooking%20small.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Tc3KuPQQxBKKJmklm9CybTBxFnr6RaBEDOKUXhopJY_eBFD8hTqwY0kr7_NhPVNjGHWIgvn9KyB1XtCygOc7xAfJ9E-00iv-i-VMfOKB4G_2D8Psgh-d8qiMLUZZSEr_mcBwo09iVxofvTLhmvzOS4JTGJNn8A_q0f21mhlSfYxgl961UrSOih2tDaw/s320/phil%20hooking%20small.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Supervisor Phil asleep on the job<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> Then one morning I was outside and he came up to me on the deck, crying and meowing. I didn't know what to do, but I brought him some food and water, as he was so very skinny. The next morning he showed up with his brother. After a couple of scary incidents with predators, the two boys became house cats. <p></p><p>They were both sweeties and didn't act like feral cats. We thought they may have been drop offs, which sometimes happens in rural areas. They were both well socialized and accustomed to people. They fit into our family perfectly. Phil was such a character that he was best friend to all of his chosen people and shared his affection freely. He was a helper kitty, curious and liked to supervise everything. I will miss him thinking that every skein of yarn was his to play with. I will miss his cuddles, his charm and his personality. This loss will be difficult to get over as it just hit us without any notice or time to prepare. <br /></p><p>RIP Phil, and safe trip over the rainbow bridge.<br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-54090087537778222532023-08-02T13:24:00.000-04:002023-08-02T13:24:58.337-04:00More socks, and odd things happening<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5tZXD_oYxpG73j4NWPd27Z4hVlGtsZjxr07DCpyiyE9jNX1GFCnYt3RyuQDvc0qiYWK65xNFvk2H225m0zp3sUEaQIhmqtpW9Ew_e_A0_GB9TnU8E2z27tQE0l1v4vxHFgIp6i2uEguxcfKizx6geVs3O5PexvEJl3QZuYuFpBRCAlvwNkIO1ENBkw8/s384/truck%20tailgate%202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5tZXD_oYxpG73j4NWPd27Z4hVlGtsZjxr07DCpyiyE9jNX1GFCnYt3RyuQDvc0qiYWK65xNFvk2H225m0zp3sUEaQIhmqtpW9Ew_e_A0_GB9TnU8E2z27tQE0l1v4vxHFgIp6i2uEguxcfKizx6geVs3O5PexvEJl3QZuYuFpBRCAlvwNkIO1ENBkw8/s320/truck%20tailgate%202.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>We don't have a bush lot, so we buy our wood in logs from a local tree service, in dump truck loads. What type of wood we get and when we get it, depends a lot on where he is cutting and for whom. We've been getting a lot of maple this year in smaller sizes, which slices and dices so quickly. Last week he dropped off a load, but one long, skinny log got caught under the dump truck tailgate. It unlatched half of it, and while trying to hook it back on, it dropped on the other side, and crashed to the ground. Unfortunately, he couldn't pick it up until the next afternoon, so it sat in the middle of our driveway looking quite sad. I got photos but I didn't run outside to do so, as I didn't want to get in the way, or make the driver feel badly.<p></p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-Q27h1EL-WCSrEabPBO3GR5ynfUYvxhdFrraqX-aD0NdhLPgjYsGbxkmmcdQU6KevzSKKAXznILVg9SJrL6oiuc3Wds71h3D8jG9jXkuW2ViDT4i_RGjhu-81RBqfwX8MtpbtRvOgz07AMUwTMCtQ5wn2seK3zB7_hkZvfcQ4fDpJCE7gAGgOFkT8QI/s384/sock%20anatomy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-Q27h1EL-WCSrEabPBO3GR5ynfUYvxhdFrraqX-aD0NdhLPgjYsGbxkmmcdQU6KevzSKKAXznILVg9SJrL6oiuc3Wds71h3D8jG9jXkuW2ViDT4i_RGjhu-81RBqfwX8MtpbtRvOgz07AMUwTMCtQ5wn2seK3zB7_hkZvfcQ4fDpJCE7gAGgOFkT8QI/s320/sock%20anatomy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sock that wouldn't fit anyone!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>I've been making socks, or trying to. If you don't want to practice and practice some more, this is not the<br /> fibre art you want to try. The learning curve is huge, but if you practice, watch videos, read and have someone to either help you out or answer your questions, it's not insurmountable. I'm having successes now. I went to a "crank in" on the weekend. That's a gathering of people who haul 50 plus lbs of cast iron and aluminum bits and pieces, plus some yarn, and crank socks together, while socializing. It makes for a fun day, but very little productivity, because counting and chatting doesn't work for me. Not having a physical counter on my Legare, I have to count in my head, and as soon as I drift off to a conversation, I lose my count. At the end of the day, I made one sock which wouldn't fit anyone in my family. I also forgot to write down the various numbers of rows for each step, so I wouldn't be able to make a second one. The whole event was very good for me in that I learned a couple of things, but moreso, I realized that even experienced crankers are making the same mistakes that I am making. Plus I had a lovely compliment from the gal who sat next to me, who hadn't realized that I was a "newbie".<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTk2YNpld_vphAyP54YZndCE39VJ521FMv2I-AETeYFjheNXple0GSkdObcwyZ4McexwvhIplAufQbwgRg8xQdTVa6yRUFl8LKKzVSdEo3xclKQlst4BItnh2oUZuU5ZI0Yfi69i_hlaFlcquuQAWt48tvYHiHFAiERJQTFGFw1IFM5mHzlvJwCmo0r1w/s384/cast%20on%20bonnet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTk2YNpld_vphAyP54YZndCE39VJ521FMv2I-AETeYFjheNXple0GSkdObcwyZ4McexwvhIplAufQbwgRg8xQdTVa6yRUFl8LKKzVSdEo3xclKQlst4BItnh2oUZuU5ZI0Yfi69i_hlaFlcquuQAWt48tvYHiHFAiERJQTFGFw1IFM5mHzlvJwCmo0r1w/s320/cast%20on%20bonnet.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />I went with a friend who is the mentor who is answering my many, many questions. I'd asked her about cast on bonnets with metal rings. She gave me some rings, plus teeny tiny stitch markers to try. I made a cast on bonnet with the rings yesterday. It's different, and when it works, it was really easy to use. A bit faster than a traditional one, in that I didn't need to fish out the little bit of yarn and manually hook it on a needle. However, it was pretty easy to get a ring hooked on a needle without yarn, which causes a jam. I'll try it a few more times before I make a judgement. I've realized though that having a few extra cast on bonnets is a good thing.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgX_pA22ZNjwASmNpwgdguDU0JBbOowN1Q5HSoRmKbr2FcG2jhTjaglYY-rcnt4VmOet4ymxX6igx_wzrAW7JJIeb6Ca8n2Iovqb1euHoafdVgxd3XsTNOwIvcTXJgDsMnDi6GTzJXwvIFUw9bez0LgGeTn0Fa0R_qVBm9eexe-Eg-kswbjKIesrPhUP0/s431/mock%20rib%201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="431" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgX_pA22ZNjwASmNpwgdguDU0JBbOowN1Q5HSoRmKbr2FcG2jhTjaglYY-rcnt4VmOet4ymxX6igx_wzrAW7JJIeb6Ca8n2Iovqb1euHoafdVgxd3XsTNOwIvcTXJgDsMnDi6GTzJXwvIFUw9bez0LgGeTn0Fa0R_qVBm9eexe-Eg-kswbjKIesrPhUP0/s320/mock%20rib%201.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I tried out the new cast on bonnet last night, making a tube at various tensions to test gauge of this yarn. Today I did the math and made this mock rib sock. It should actually fit someone! Once I make it's mate (yes, I did write down the pattern this time), I'll have to learn how to graft the toes together. It's a bit different from doing it on hand knit socks. That being said, I've also been told that I start to knit my socks from the wrong side, probably because of that hand knitting. I don't think it really matters in the end, as long as I can translate any written patterns I might use.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkOGpNKlG3IVorVj9iqW2hm5PHvWU9LifITVL96bc-CQmjCx0SUJkFSbvoTyXqRen-Tnh8Yl9ijxtyN6djzjLiYqpTaPgYMlUKZMBQQs8EE-QBP57woJC_J30aGrX-GgPzfvUohWIc0SfR89w3jF9tngEM2PRpa6s4b375XAy5V5EAKpCpZ7TmP3y5z4/s319/chipmunk.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="319" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkOGpNKlG3IVorVj9iqW2hm5PHvWU9LifITVL96bc-CQmjCx0SUJkFSbvoTyXqRen-Tnh8Yl9ijxtyN6djzjLiYqpTaPgYMlUKZMBQQs8EE-QBP57woJC_J30aGrX-GgPzfvUohWIc0SfR89w3jF9tngEM2PRpa6s4b375XAy5V5EAKpCpZ7TmP3y5z4/s1600/chipmunk.JPG" width="319" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">chipmunk for cuteness factor<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-4272336202655169132023-07-25T21:01:00.001-04:002023-07-25T21:01:37.845-04:00CSM practice<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJ-c59D4U70jqI4MeUi0HqS-BZsU7HQ-GNokZjKqNmbI4ZvgQmjpfPxOj8EeZ_HOQ-7FM8TH83FpzMnirZLC4eCl1ibzxFOVQ0gbt55BxLDK1rOK_Z7_XKI8_FUzrpFMMab-XUiw4JgucnCfI1Pj_2qFh-zSx1AQ_GBr6YPtbPODZiqkGjyuIONmzewY/s400/2%20matching%20socks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJ-c59D4U70jqI4MeUi0HqS-BZsU7HQ-GNokZjKqNmbI4ZvgQmjpfPxOj8EeZ_HOQ-7FM8TH83FpzMnirZLC4eCl1ibzxFOVQ0gbt55BxLDK1rOK_Z7_XKI8_FUzrpFMMab-XUiw4JgucnCfI1Pj_2qFh-zSx1AQ_GBr6YPtbPODZiqkGjyuIONmzewY/s320/2%20matching%20socks.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>This is the first pair of matching socks I've managed to knit. It was with a fairly thick sock yarn, with only 150 yards per 50 g. It was only $3 per 50g, and there was no choice in colour, and as you can see, the patterns don't actually match. I first thought it was a tension issue, but I redid the one sock and it was the same. This sock yarn though, is insanely soft. I've never wanted to just fondle a skein of yarn as much as I'd have liked to do this stuff. They are too small for me but they'll fit my daughter, except that I think they may be too wide. They are just sitting there waiting for me to decide whether to rip them out and redo them or finish them up for her. Except of course that I changed to a different cylinder with more needles, so one way or the other, they'll have to wait.<p></p><p>I've started knitting several socks a day over the past week. I've learned to remind myself to rehang the weight before cranking after starting to hang the hem. I can't believe how many times I did this, only to have stitches drop and tangled yarn, leading to taking it off the machine, ripping it out and starting again.</p><p>Then I got the hem hung and the leg of the sock knitting and halfway through the heel, some stitches would drop, usually on the left side. It turns out that sometimes the brake doesn't quite tighten the yarn up all the way, leaving a loop which is too large to make a stitch. If I'm slow and watching carefully, it's avoidable. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihlNizPwgyZo-GDtt9hmMOY7hrYVk2PIk6b1JgBt1LQyNQRp-d7dRQlEHMcFAa5daV_BosfTny5wme6cddy6gUPPpU5ack8eK_uz8F4DZ05nP3RAG4qzkmQ1xTpgcLoXohDD-jffZ79KGDSpyuCFrGKEHBH8fvAU5Q3-g_08CNjEt9TsCROFy7glDtgtA/s384/Nina%20socks%201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihlNizPwgyZo-GDtt9hmMOY7hrYVk2PIk6b1JgBt1LQyNQRp-d7dRQlEHMcFAa5daV_BosfTny5wme6cddy6gUPPpU5ack8eK_uz8F4DZ05nP3RAG4qzkmQ1xTpgcLoXohDD-jffZ79KGDSpyuCFrGKEHBH8fvAU5Q3-g_08CNjEt9TsCROFy7glDtgtA/s320/Nina%20socks%201.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Then I realized that I was using cheap sock yarn and it had little recovery or stretch, which made for difficulties in itself. I don't know if it was because I was reusing the same skein over and over, or if it's all the yarn from that company. It was $5 /100g, so it's super cheap, but maybe not the best to practice with. I bought a bunch to make practice socks for my kids, but I'm not so sure if it isn't yarn that I might need to wait a bit to use, until I have more experience.<br /></p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxncXqPVo2MGq0zZpeXnlZq0iednAq23iJmKdCn2ta9VmnSPkVW2dExNrIzrpAaPktz_ErbBdAUkfWJ5G0sYjA_ZkzjH01LnhvEZ-0sSlpR7orOjNfHtNFueR-r3wMN5hi8X_Po_DGKtDXf50jIYdCMG0d-oduVf-rS9_iSt53p7psT2OVekWNiqiIDvg/s384/Nina%20socks%202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxncXqPVo2MGq0zZpeXnlZq0iednAq23iJmKdCn2ta9VmnSPkVW2dExNrIzrpAaPktz_ErbBdAUkfWJ5G0sYjA_ZkzjH01LnhvEZ-0sSlpR7orOjNfHtNFueR-r3wMN5hi8X_Po_DGKtDXf50jIYdCMG0d-oduVf-rS9_iSt53p7psT2OVekWNiqiIDvg/s320/Nina%20socks%202.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">socks are different heights - but otherwise good!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Today, after a false start, I made a whole sock. I'd done the math to hopefully get it to fit. When I got to the toe, I was a little leary, because yesterday I also made a sock which made it to the end, and them my waste yarn didn't catch and I'd ended up casting off the whole sock. No waste yarn means that stitches drop and you can't graft the toe together. But the waste yarn was fine. Then I put some crochet yarn in for a separator and knit the second sock. Somewhere in there, hubby started talking to me and my brain, which was counting rows went AWOL. The results is 2 socks which are almost the same. Sock 2 is just a tad too long for my foot but it's also 1.5 inches longer than the first sock!<br /></p><p>This yarn was mid priced, and I'd tried to hand knit a sock from it, but it wasn't my favourite because it's a bit splitty. However, it knit up on the machine quite nicely.</p><p>There aren't quite enough hours in the day for all the things I'd like to accomplish sadly. </p><p>This weekend we're doing a cooking class about hearth cooking. I set the menu as Vegetable soup with forcemeat balls, waffles, carrot pie and lemonade. Forcemeat is sausage, and little balls were made and either cooked separately or just popped into the soup to cook, to enrich it. Waffles because I got a cast Iron waffle maker and haven't had a chance to use it yet, and carrot pie to show how to bake in a dutch oven. Carrot pie is like a pumpkin pie, but using carrots instead. It's surprisingly good.<br /></p><p><br /> </p><br />Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020052182194661163.post-4108030129914214922023-07-14T21:39:00.002-04:002023-07-14T21:39:16.042-04:00Legare 400- <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTfoPfBynuOg86sqP-gTdO1U3jBy5DqY7y7VO1a82V2Uw3eLrJ4LYA2HzM1k2jipMY6GwPz4MgfIeZgEfI5ylIBAJ4gqLrsaOJKAV_omRnoG5ZuUJuPbny2jG9kXGw0ZQhGIhtvTHqDK5BK9-fjJJKyJ61nwUM3PGmTyu-OKtQs5PoR8-0XS_vOITBMHk/s384/Legare1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTfoPfBynuOg86sqP-gTdO1U3jBy5DqY7y7VO1a82V2Uw3eLrJ4LYA2HzM1k2jipMY6GwPz4MgfIeZgEfI5ylIBAJ4gqLrsaOJKAV_omRnoG5ZuUJuPbny2jG9kXGw0ZQhGIhtvTHqDK5BK9-fjJJKyJ61nwUM3PGmTyu-OKtQs5PoR8-0XS_vOITBMHk/s320/Legare1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> It's here! "It", is a Legare sock knitting machine my husband purchased for my birthday. It's a newer model, but I don't really have a date for it, just that it was one of the later models. It's mostly complete. It doesn't have the box and is missing a couple of tools, but otherwise, it's functional. It's heavy! I knew it was heavy, since it's cast iron, but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so heavy.<p></p><p>Unpacking it was fun. It was packed into this tiny box, with lots of paper, bubble wrap and tons of packing tape was securing everything. I know what most of the pieces do and where they go, but one is still unknown. It's a tiny little key thing. The manual is in french, and my francais isn't good enough to understand it. My French is good enough to say that "My French isn't good enough to understand the manual in French" though. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYlY9DssLkn_zFMcG2wUR5TY6s3U-VRDelY40C-jpsOb6mYeqSWNeoMCA2xfNGvV4WO2SoQdU9nRdhIX5xK7aAfcVHGPphKvVqEpQKKaUbLAH2K6qxQrfZTHwy1JqPF1gVBjZ6F9bQ4YK_SI66lF3_6ElliN5WQfSx7XHBghFp3KdJEe1RZ_pKy3yfnA/s472/legare2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="288" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYlY9DssLkn_zFMcG2wUR5TY6s3U-VRDelY40C-jpsOb6mYeqSWNeoMCA2xfNGvV4WO2SoQdU9nRdhIX5xK7aAfcVHGPphKvVqEpQKKaUbLAH2K6qxQrfZTHwy1JqPF1gVBjZ6F9bQ4YK_SI66lF3_6ElliN5WQfSx7XHBghFp3KdJEe1RZ_pKy3yfnA/s320/legare2.JPG" width="195" /></a></div>Legare - was a company from Quebec, although the Creelman company in Ontario actually made the machines. It's a closed cam machine, which means it's pretty quiet. While I'd have liked a new machine, because they are really state of the art and lovely, the cost is just too much right now. This one works though and I've assembled it, learned to make a tube, hang a hem, make a picot, make a heel, and right now working on the toe. It's a bit confusing to me, that since the toe is the same as the heel, that I should be having issues with the toe. I also learned to cast on 3 different ways: with a web, using the cast on basket, and then with a cast on bonnet, which was the first project I made.<br /><p></p><p>The first day I assembled it, and worked on trying to knit a tube. I managed to get the yarn stand assembled backwards. I found a video which showed the proper way to assemble it which was nice, since while it did work backwards, it was confusing to me because I couldn't figure out how the heel brake worked. It's all good now though.</p><p>I've been running through all my little partial balls of leftover sock yarn in playing with it. Then I used some yarn which I had a full 100g of, but it got crunchy after a short while, so it's been sitting, waiting for a project. It was lovely stuff when I purchased it, but I've no idea why it changed. It's never happened before, but it's now harsh and icky. This is what I made the cast on bonnet with. It's never going to touch a foot, so it doesn't matter that it's a bit harsh.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhld7eDV2FTb3q3bts4GcknEP8pAF4FFTRLBrJkCwPHJs0xI56I3aBsL2l0oTS4OkbJ6VmZn1Fmjh70jYiVi1c8Esmi0ai0G-vPFf0NYg_T67Du8hIBXo3Ka_yBmw6CpCx6XJGD0kfbs7xTDc76lTfuSGzi9vDoECXoj0MS1X2yQRBVu_6BSEUroZt2EIs/s384/legare%20heels.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhld7eDV2FTb3q3bts4GcknEP8pAF4FFTRLBrJkCwPHJs0xI56I3aBsL2l0oTS4OkbJ6VmZn1Fmjh70jYiVi1c8Esmi0ai0G-vPFf0NYg_T67Du8hIBXo3Ka_yBmw6CpCx6XJGD0kfbs7xTDc76lTfuSGzi9vDoECXoj0MS1X2yQRBVu_6BSEUroZt2EIs/w200-h150/legare%20heels.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><p>I took the rest of the crunchy yarn, after I'd made the bonnet and practiced some heels. I actually made a tube with 7 heels on it. I was having issues, and then I managed to look at a diagram of the cylinder from another company's manual ( maybe Creelman?) and saw where I should put the heel hooks. I am currently using just the one V hook which was original to the machine. Once I figured out where to place it when making the heel, it was a game changer. It's supposed to be the same for the toe, and since the toe is exactly the same as the heel, I'm not sure why I keep dropping stitches. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4LZxnOBw2zmLhXfUNZN96J6XKm85eSd4DQo1GqASw_2fRFJ8Y5Z4frZlt2Fcf0r_EqxY7T-Tft-95ZUM7ZDuaPvMma2TvWG4PVDR9Cli3y9s8dCRAtQs_x5XFwru_asymIWs5F5hNuMLeAh7MmHzmlGOWrFKqFz8YxGO72lI2GS4fkJyDxoNB2Nm2UY/s384/first%20sock.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4LZxnOBw2zmLhXfUNZN96J6XKm85eSd4DQo1GqASw_2fRFJ8Y5Z4frZlt2Fcf0r_EqxY7T-Tft-95ZUM7ZDuaPvMma2TvWG4PVDR9Cli3y9s8dCRAtQs_x5XFwru_asymIWs5F5hNuMLeAh7MmHzmlGOWrFKqFz8YxGO72lI2GS4fkJyDxoNB2Nm2UY/s320/first%20sock.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>How do I know I'm having problems with the toes? I found a formula for making socks to size. I knit a tube to check the tension of this yarn, and then followed a formula to work out how many rows I'd need for the foot. Everything is good until I get to the toe. I'm guessing that I just need to figure out where the weights should go for the toe to make it perfect.<br /></p><p>Yesterday my V hook fell apart and one of the very sharp hooks fell out of the brass tubing. Hubby re-crimped it into place and it's working just fine now.</p><p>This sock yarn is a bit thicker than most, It's lovely and soft though. I will rip this one back and try again tomorrow. Everyone has told me of the really huge learning curve to making socks. I've only had my machine for a week, so I'm pretty happy with what I've accomplished so far. I'm even keeping notes! I've a book in which I'm writing down my steps/patterns, so I can make a matching second sock, and then duplicate them if I like the yarn and can get more of it. I'm also keeping a running list of tension settings and stitches per inch/gauge, so that I can also have a starting point.</p><p>I've been reading blogs, forums, articles, books etc, and it seems some people use only specific yarn brands, which would definitely make it easier to keep your tension and gauge even. However, I do enjoy a good sale, so some of the yarn I have is off brand yarn, and sometimes name brand stuff, that I got at bargain price. I recently got some yarns to practice with that were $4.99 for 100 g. That's a very good price for sock yarn. This will make practice socks and I'll save the good stuff for when I know what I"m doing. I've gotten all my kids shoe sizes, so I will use their feet to practice getting different sizes. :) Now to find a 60 needle cylinder, a buckle and some heel forks. And.. yarn, lots more sock yarn.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Ninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049476969325691637noreply@blogger.com0