Friday was cool, with a high of only 16C.   I used the cool weather as an excuse to make some black cherry jam.   I had frozen berries which needed to be used up.  I chopped them up in the food processor and used them for jam.  The jam is spectacular.   I love apricot and cherry jams.   I can't find them in the supermarkets, so I have to make them myself.  It's better jam albeit more work than purchasing a jar.  I can't decide which one I love better though.  It depends on which jam is on my toast at the time.  Last year there weren't any apricots available locally, so I hope I can find them this year.  Then I'll be set for favourite jam for the whole year, for me,  for gifts and then some.

 There are something like 7 trails or more within a half hour drive.  They aren't long and difficult trails but just small, local trails.  They are groomed, usually quite well groomed to make them easily accessible.  So while not challenging or difficult in any way, they are relaxing and fun to ramble over and through.  It's nice to get out of the house, even if it's a trail which is 12 minutes from your house and that's because they just graded the gravel road. We've been doing a different trail every weekend, though this weekend we did 2 of them.  This morning's ramble had some excitement.  It was through a hardwood bush and during the most recent storm a couple of trees had fallen.  They looked like ash trees, and since they are pretty much all dead, they are susceptible to the high winds.  Anyway, right after we parked our car, a guy pulled up in his truck and dragged out his chainsaw.   He told us that the ministry of whatever government agency which looks after the parkland, usually only deals with dead falls every few months.  When trees fall and he finds them, he just chops up the bit on the trail and moves that part of the log, to keep the trails open.  His daughter was pushing a stroller with a baby in it, accompanied by a very wet dog, so I can understand why he wanted to keep the trail open.

This however, has been the main time stealer.   Getting the sunset, cotton/wool yardage off the loom took much more time than anticipated.   I finally cut it off this afternoon.   I have 5 yards, 10 inches in length and 20 3/4 inches wide.   I still need to wet finish it.  I'll do that tomorrow since my son has his laundry on the clothes line today. It's soft and drapey.  It would have made lovely shawls.   I have it in my mind to make a sleeveless tunic, jumper or pinafore dress (the same garment with different names) with this, to go over winter t-shirts and jeans.    I will need to run to the fabric store, which is nice that's it's open now.  I'll need some lining fabric, a bit of interfacing, a zipper and some thread to make this into a garment.   I can also get the fabric for lining the bodices of the 1830 and 1860 gowns which are patiently waiting in the project queue.   I have everything I need for them except the bodice lining. 

Rug Hooking

I've started hooking the tulip rug pattern.   I have some odds and ends of wool that I picked up, but not enough to really coordinate anything, so it's really going to be a bit of a hit and miss sort of pattern.   I thought I had plenty of green, but ran out much sooner than I expected.  I'm also not sure of what colours to use for the last 3 tulips, since I don't  have enough of any colour to complete a single flower, let alone 3 main colours and 3 contrasts for the lot of them. 


The running out of green problem I solved by taking a bunch of yellow bits and pieces and dumping some blue and yellow dye on them, using a mason jar technique.  Then, I did a second dye, where I dumped them all in a pot and married the colours - forcing the dye to bleed out, then hitting them with a bit shot of acid to force the now blended colours to take.  This gave me  slightly mottled and more similar shades of green.  Having distinct greens in lights, mediums and darks worked for shading the leaves, but the green that the yellow wool gave me was one I didn't particularly like and there was too much contrast with the yellows and the green.  This way, although I loose the shading, I gain in a green that I like, which has some texture but not too much.

 Not having access to a  wool strip cutter is getting a bit tiresome.   I'm cutting everything with a rotary cutter.  My strips are a bit larger than I'd like, but I can't get them much narrower.  Maybe lack of skill on my part, or my ancient cutter, which has a wobbly blade sometimes, and  tightening screw which is either too tight or gets too loose very quickly.  It's getting tiring cutting all those strips by hand.  I spent over 2 hours cutting and hooking today.   All I had to show for it, was a little pile of strips and all I had hooked was that little bit of black/blue background.  

Mister supervisor Phil also impeded my hooking time by deciding that he needed to check out the underside of my pvc frame. 

The end of May happenings

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A post event sigh and lots of colour

My time over the past few weeks was taken up by an SCA  arts and science event that is normally a long weekend camping event.  However, with pandemic precautions and still under a state of emergency order with gathering prohibited, we moved the event online.   This was the 13th event in a row and Loki wreaked havoc.   Misinformation given to our tech steward was incorrect, requiring her to revamp the whole process overnight.   The next day, the platform we were using crashed for parts of the whole world, and yet our tech people dealt again.   In the end, although a lot of extra work for those working the tech end, it was a great event.   Should we ever have to do this again, I will put out offerings for whatever gods I can think of, and for Murphy, just to be on the safe side

Finally, the winds have stopped, the rain has eased off, the snow has gone someplace else and I've been able to play in the garden. That's practically all I did this week.   There was much weeding, a bunch of planning and a trip to the garden centre.   I was worried because people here seem to think that social distancing is passe, but it was almost empty when I got there, so I had an uneventful trip.   Although the gal at the checkout tried to not sell me a hose nozzle, which I needed and was more than happy to spend $20 on it, so I didn't have to go to another store.   It turns out that it was well worth the money, so I'm happy.

I need to pick up a couple of herb plants.  Basil, because I forgot to plant seeds, parsley, because purchased plants always seem to grow better than mine, maybe oregan, and Lavender if I can find it.   With the pandemic and the cold weather, everything seems delayed.

I will plant beans, zucchini and cucumbers this weekend, plus one more planter of flowers perhaps, if I can find ones I like at the feed store.  Lettuce and peas were planted in March and are doing nicely, albeit a bit behind due to snow and frosty weather between then and now.   Multiplier onions are almost ready to harvest and the dutch set storage onions are all planted.  Tomatoes are in the ground, the Dyer's Knotweed is planted and the strawberries are starting to bloom.   I'm keeping it simple this year.

I wound a warp of 2/8 cotton in black and in purple cottolin.   I got it on the loom and am now weaving with the handspun varigated yarn I spun a while ago.   I'm thrilled with the results.   I'm not rushing it particularly, but am enjoying the process.  It is like weaving a sunset.

It is a bit difficult sitting down at the loom when the weather is perfect to be outside and playing.

Blues

 We found this Blue Jay feather on our deck. So pretty.

 I was out walking and found this little freshly hatched Robin's egg on the lawn.

I've no idea where I put my lovely brass reed hook, so I had to use the plastic one.  That makes me a bit sad.  The tip broke on it.  It still mainly works, but it's a bit icky to use at the best of times.  Now it's ickier and trickier. That makes me  a bit sadder.

Pretty colours to start off new projects

 I made an apple pie.  I was playing with 1830 -1860 recipes.   Lots of them are pretty interesting and a bit different.  But some are really what you'd think of as a modern apple pie.  Many use puff pastry instead of a short crust.  I didn't have any puff pastry, or extra butter to make it, so I used a short crust.   The recipe uses much less sugar than a modern pie, and nutmeg as the flavouring.  It was delicious and didn't last very long before it disappeared, so I'm guessing I'm not the only person who liked it.


 I did some dyeing in mason jars.   This is wool fabric rather than yarn.  It's pretty easy to do.  
1-presoak the wool
2- set jars in a pot of water like a double boiler. Next time I'd use a trivet in the bottom of the pan, just in case, but I didn't have any issues without it.
3-Add water with half the vinegar you are going to use to the jars
4- add the dye stock to make the desired colour and depth of colour you want.
5-stuff the wet wool into the jars
6-heat the jars slowly until the water just below a boil.  After about 30 minutes, stir in (a plastic chopstick works well) the rest of the vinegar and simmer for another 30 minutes
7- let cool in the water and when room temp, rinse, gently squeeze wool in a towel to remove excess
water ( or spin in your washer)
8- if fabric for rug hooking, toss in the dryer. 
If for some other reason, hang to dry.

 Merino and silk blend.  It was seconds so I don't know the percentage of either.  However it was super slick and has huge lustre.  You could see the silk in the roving.   It's lovely, lovely, lovely, despite me having to hand card rolags because the roving was a little iffy in places.   This is a worsted weight.  It's going to become a toque.  A lovely, warm, lusterous winter hat.

I spun this up years ago, meaning to weave fabric for a vest.   It's singles that are slighly larger than 2/8 cotton but not as thick as 4/8.   It's polwarth I think.  I had picked up 500g at a show and was going to order a second batch, when the company announced they were retiring and there was nothing more available.

I had wanted to weave it so it was a random plaid pattern as it's a variegated yarn.   But I was going to need more than 500g, so the bag of singles got set aside.   I dug them out yesterday.   I'm winding a warp of 2/8 cotton in black and the same weight of cottolin in purple.   I have about 2500 yards of the varigated wool.  We'll see what happens.   I'm only putting a short warp on the loom - 20 in wide by 6 feet long, so I should have enough singles. I will admit I'd have preferred a wool warp for this, but nothing suitable is in my stash, no black or similar colours of roving in my stash, so I'm using up what I have.

I'm tired of snow and cold weather.  It's May and supposed to be spring!  

Spring Garden Colour

 I started some woad seeds a few weeks ago.  The seedlings took forever to germinate.  The weather however has been generally cold and wet, with tons of wind.  I put the seedlings outside on the  few good days, but when it was hovering at just above freezing, with rain, winds and egads, even snow and ice, I had to keep them inside.  They started getting leggy, so much that I worried the stems would break. They were much smaller than I'd have liked, but I got the cheap plastic cloches from storage, prepped the bed and planted the woad seedlings out.  Of course this week the weather is supposed to be well below normal in temperatures, with frosts and possibly some snow.   I think I'll have to cover them at nights, just to help them out a bit.  I left a couple of plants from last year to go to seed for future harvests.

The lettuce and peas that I direct planted in March are now coming up!  They do like this cooler weather.  I'll plant more lettuce seeds in a couple of weeks for multiple harvests.

 The Scilla is starting to grow out to carpet the lawn in the spring. It is so beautiful with that blue colour.  I'd wanted to do this by planting Crocus bulbs through the grass,but hubby wasn't impressed by that idea.  This however is happening courtesy of Mother Natures, so I'm not complaining and he's putting up with it.

The black currant bush is starting to flower.  I had issues with the European black currants that I'd planted when we first moved in.  They would flower early, we'd have a few cold days and the flowers would drop off before they were pollinated.  Thus I had huge, healthy bushes and never any fruit.   My son dug those up for me and I replaced them with North American currants, a similar plant but supposed to be much hardier.  Last year I had a handful of tasty berries which I ate off the bush.  This year it seems to be loaded.  I hope the weather this week doesn't harm the flowers.   There is a volunteer currant bush on the other side of the yard, which is at a similar stage of development.   I'm hoping it's a black currant bush too.  The red currants aren't flowering yet, so fingers are crossed.

The hyacinths are blooming.   It's been such a cold and windy spring that there hasn't been one of those warm, still days where I can sit out on the deck and just enjoy the hyacinth scent.   No days like that in the next week or so weather forecast though.  I hope the blooms may last long enough for at least one cup of tea with hyacinth perfume wafting through the air.