Spinning

Yes, I really have been spinning.  And I finally found my camera in the bottom of my spinning basket.

See – I finally got the hang of spindling spinning and as you can probably guess… I am addicted to spindling.  Now I have been purchasing spindles for years with the high hopes of falling in love with it.  It just took a little time to warm up to it and get the hang of it.

As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve even taken to making spindles similar to this one, but I just don’t have the artistic flair to embellish them as nicely as this one is.  And one thing I have discovered that although I have a beautiful walnut spindle and another fairly fancy one.  It’s these simple spindles that work best for me.

I also dragged the wheel out, to spin some of that lovely alpaca I had carded up, only because it was so lovely and I still have more control with the wheel than I do with the spindle.   So let me share my two skeins.  On the left is the alpaca.  See how thin and lovely it spun up.  On the right is the corriedale cross I picked up this year at NHSW.  Both of these are two ply.

Only 4 more days until we go camping!!!!  Now I just need to decide what fiber to bring with my spindle

Breaking a sweat

Finally summer weather!  This weekend was perfect – mid 80s, low humidity, cool evenings perfect for sleeping.  I am ignoring the few leaves at the tops of trees that are starting to get that tinge of red.  Today it’s in the 90s and the humidity is beastly.

Since Saturday,  looked like it was going to be perfect weather all day, I washed this.

Remember this?  It’s the California Red wool fleece we got this past spring.  It’s lovely and although I was disappointed that there is not a hint of red.  It cleaned up nicely and the crimp is great and it’s very soft, so  it looks like it will card and spin up into something lovely.  Once I got it rinsed and laid out on the back deck to dry, I headed over to the studio.

I love when it’s cool and quiet at the studio.  It was so nice, I decided to spend most of the day there enjoying the cool breezes, a large Dunkin Donut’s Iced Coffee, NPR’s Prairie Home Companion on the radio and coloring fiber.  I finished dyeing at least 18 skeins and I carded up some luscious grey alpaca.  The alpaca is the one I got at the CT S&W in 2007!   It was rather dusty when I first got it and I did rinse it several times last year, it’s still a little dirty but not too bad.   It carded up beautifully.  I only ran it through the carder twice and there was hardly any veggie matter.

Last week I had made 8 simple drop spindles from 2 1/2 inch wooden wheels and dowels.  So I put together some Learn To Spindle kits – one drop spindle, a few ounces of fiber and written instructions.  I was going to try to embellish the spindles but I’m running out of time.

I would love to get Lee, from the studios to teach me how to turn wood to make some spindles… or even better con talk him into making spindles.  His wood work is gorgeous!

My friend Alicia and I are planning on playing with a glass melting kiln that works in a microwave.  I’m thinking glass whorls for spindles and buttons!

So many ideas, so little time.

All this is in preparation of the Lowell (city-wide) Open Studios on the weekend of September 26th and 27th.

Then Saturday night I took Alicia’s daughter (who was home alone) to see Julie and Julia.  We both thoroughly enjoyed the movie.  Who knew Julia was not only passionate about food, but passionate about life and love too.  I should have known.  Now I am looking forward to reading her biography and memoir.

Of course after a movie of all that food, we were famished when we got out in spite of the popcorn we had devoured,  so we stopped for some take-home chinese. YUM!

By the time I got home I was too tired to knit or even watch TV so I just jumped into bed.  The weather was perfect for sleeping – cool and dry, so I actually slept in (8am) what a luxury.

Instead of the usual Sunday morning ritual of coffee in the sunroom with the talking head political show(s).  I got ready and headed back to the studio to re-skein the now dried skeins that I had dyed the day before and card a little more of that alpaca.  Cindy stopped by to pick up the finished skeins and some fiber cones to wind off into more skeins to be over-dyed.  87 more to be exact.

Again it was a lovely quiet day so I cleaned up the mess I had made the day before, and called it a day.

A quick stop to pick up some salad fixings and I actually got home in time to have an early dinner (grilled steak, fresh salad, and baked potato).

Before I settled my butt in front of the TV for the evening,  I dragged out my wheel from the corner of the room, dusted it off, oiled it and dragged out all the singles that were languishing in my spinning basket and plyed them up (1 skein of a brillant white romney, 1 skein of charcoal shetland) then the carded alpaca started calling to me.  This stuff is divine!  It’s spinning thinner than anything I’ve ever spun before – real frog hair.  I think it wants to be a shawl.  Like I said there was little veggie matter, and I had rinsed this a few times when I first got it, but it’s still a little dirty.   I finally had to force myself to stop and go to bed.

Tonight I will spin the other two batts, ply the singles and wash up the sample skein.

And now the start of yet another busy week filled with getting the car fixed (fan belt needs replacing), dentist appointments, and getting packed to go camping.

I’m so excited that Grace and I are taking the pop-up camper on it’s maiden trip to Hermit Island for a week.  I cannot wait and hope to hell the weather stays like this!  I doubt that I am going to make it to Fiber Revival or not, probably not as that is the last day to pack up the camper and care.

I think I will just have to settle for doing some demo spinning at the Westford Farmers Market tomorrow afternoon with some of the ladies from the Westford Spinning Group.

Boarding House Park

Last Thursday we went to Lowell’s Boarding House Park to see Joan Baez.  It was a great show!  She sang Joe Hill, Silver Dagger, Christmas in Washington, Diamonds and Rust.  She mimiced Dylan in Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright and finished off the encore with The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.  AWESOME!

Good Eats :)

Chili Relleno Casserole

Preheat to 350F  – butter a 9 x 13 baking dish.

5-8 Poblano Chilies – roast, seed, peel and chop into 1″ pieces

3 (small) cans of mexican chopped chilies – drain well.

2.5 -3 cups grated monterey jack cheese

2.5 – 3 cups grated cheddar or colby cheese

In a blender:

6 large eggs

1 cup evaporated milk

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cumin

Blend until foamy.

Starting with a mix of the peppers make a layer 1/3 of the peppers in the baking dish, then one third of the cheeses, continue to layer for 2 more times, ending with the cheese.  I compacted the peppers and cheese just a little bit.

Then pour the egg mixture over the top.

Bake for 45 mins to an hour until set in the middle and brown on the edges.

Let sit for 20 minutes before serving.

Easy Peasy Cornbread

Preheat to 350F – butter an 8 x 8 pan

1 pkg of  Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix

1 pkg of Jiffy Yellow Cake Mix

Add 2 eggs and 3/4 cup of buttermilk

Mix well pour into buttered pan

Bake 20-25 minutes

As soon as it comes out of the oven, in a small boil mix 1 tsp. sugar with 1/4 tsp. salt and sprinkle the mixture lightly over the hot bread.  Let sit to cool for 20 minutes then cut and serve.

Finished Socks!

SEE!  I really am knitting!  Sorry for the blurry cellphone photo.

Basic Sock Pattern with a seed stitch ribbing and a flap heel.  I don’t like ribbing or any pattern on my foot, so I keep it simple on the feet.  These were really mindless to knit but satisfying too.

Malabrigo Sock Indecita I think is the colorway.  I love this sock yarn.  I hope it’s durable yarn too.

Fireworks

The fireworks in Groton were spectacular as usual.  There were a lot more people  attending this year.     Maybe it was because it was a Monday night, or maybe it was the lack of other fireworks in the area that were cut due to budget restraints.

We had fun on the fourth with friends, and lots of food!

I brought shrimp to grill.

1  package frozen Emeril’s Louisiana Shrimp (Jumbo) raw, cleaned and shell off.  These are American wild shrimp and they taste better than the other shrimp.  Defrost in fridge overnight.

Then about an hour before you are going to grill them, rinse the shrimp well and add your favorite marinade.  I used a yummy Cajun Citrus Marinade that I found in the store.  I did add some extra lime juice and lime zest.  It’s very spicy!  I reserved  about a 1/4 cup of the marinade and mixed that with about a 1/2 cup of mayonnaise to use as a dip for the shrimp.

Grill them 3-4 minutes per side or just until firm and pink.  Don’t over cook!

I also made a Szechuan Cold Noodle Salad

1 lb. cooked and cooled angel hair pasta

Dressing

3 tbsp. tahini

3 tbsp. tamari sauce

2 tsp. sesame oil

1 tsp.  thai chili sauce (or more to taste)

2 cloves of garlic- grated

1 inch knob of ginger – freshly grated

mix well then toss the noodles in and coat well

Add whatever veggies you like – I used

1 chopped cucumber (unseeded)

1 chopped red pepper

1 stalk chopped celery

1 cup mung sprouts

3 – 5 scallions chopped (green parts too)

handful of grape tomatoes halved or quartered

Chill and server cold or room temperature.

I was hoping for leftovers, but there weren’t any.

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I have been working on the malabrigo socks.  Unfortunately the ball o’ yarn has become a tangled mess and I’ve been avoiding dealing with it.

No spinning – no Tour d’ Fleece sadly – not from lack of fiber, just the lack of time right now.

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Best quote that I heard from a friend of mine.

“I’m not afraid of death….  I just want to save it to the very end.”

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Hermit Island in 40 days!

oh where, oh where has our summer gone?

and when will it get here?

The rain finally quit long enough for me to get the pop-up opened, wiped down and the camping gear loaded.

Mary and I set off on the campers maiden voyage to Crown Point, NY on Lake Champlain.

We skirted rain along the way through the Green Mountains of Vermont.  Most of the nasty weather seemed to stay just south of us.  When we arrived a the campground if fortunately was not raining, and after many attempts to get the camper level so we could set it up we did and not too late as the rain came just as we finished the setup.

There are two bridges that cross Lake Champlain and this is the one we came across from Vermont into New York.

The rain finally let up so we could get out and scout some local wood for the campfire and ice for the margaritas coolers.

On our way back to the site the sun popped out and made rainbows.

So we walked down to the lighthouse on the campground and we could still see the rainbow through the trees.

It didn’t rain for the rest of the evening so we cooked some hot dogs and s’mores over the fire…. YUM!

Sure it looks easy – but I am not telling about the place I got the car and camper in – lets just say I am now an expert at backing the camper up now.

Saturday a high school friend (Rick) and his wife (Brittany) stopped by.  We grilled lamb speidies with salad and cocktails.  Then we walked over to the old ruins of the forts (Fort Frederic and Fort Crown Point) to check out the museum and the area.  What spectacular views of the lake – yes we all forgot our cameras and phones… sigh – but it was gorgeous.

After they left Mary and I settled in for another night of cocktails, campfire, dogs and smores.

Sunday the sun popped out so we decided to take a drive down to Lake George.  It was a lovely ride and when we got to the town proper, we checked out the local craft show and some of the shops along the main drag.  We thought about taking a cruise, but decided the weather was a bit too iffy.

We got back to camp around 5pm (bearing more ice and fire wood).  Margaritas and Tacos for dinner.  A bit of knitting by the fire until it got too dark to see.  I think I managed to get about 4 inches knit on a sock all weekend.

I think it rained a bit Sunday night but when we got up Monday am it didn’t look promising.  So we got our stuff together, the camper and the cars packed up and ready to go.

Things we learned…

1.  if you cannot push the beds in chances are you forgot to put the galley down so it’s blocking your path.

2.  be careful when taking down the awning – if it has rained then chance are one of you (in this case ME!) will get a load of nasty COLD water dumped on your head.

and finally… duct tape doesn’t stick when it’s been damp and wet for a month…  we did manage to save most of the pots and pans that flew out of the one of the compartments of the camper as we were climbing the Green Mountains on our way home.  Fortunately there was a turnout so we could pull over and retrieve the items in the road.  We did end up sacrificing the coffee pot – it had fallen out about 2 miles down the mountain road and I wasn’t going back… I think we lost the griddle too.   Oh well, note to fix the latches before we head out camping again.

Also add swivel tongue jack to list of camping items to get from the RV store.  I’m sure the list will get longer.

In spite of the rain…

My friend Mary and I headed up to New Hampshire this weekend to pick up the camper. YAY!

What a blast.  Every time I am with the girls I laugh so much my sides hurt.

I only had my cellphone camera so excuse the blurries.  The food was awesome! The company was great!

Mary and Kathy with my ‘new’ camper in the background.   I was very warm, dry and comfortable sleeping in my new play house on wheels.

And the good news is we got it home all safe and sound.

Once I got home I got a call from Gracie.  Apparently she and Bob have become adoptive parents of three baby raccoons, she has named Peanut, Butter, and Jelly.

They think Grace is the mommy because she chitters at them.  The mommy raccoon apparently was hit and killed by a car sometime last week.  Bob called about every rescue facility in a 100 mile radius and they are overloaded with raccoon rescues right now, so ‘unofficially’ they are helping Grace and Bob keep these babies going until they either have room for them or they can be released into the wild on their own.

They are so damn cute and although they were in pretty bad shape after a week with no mama, they have come to life with some warmth, a little puppy formula,  water, granola and yogurt chips and a surrogate mom to scritch and give them love.

There just seems to be some poetic justice that Grace is up all night worrying about her ‘babies’.   And yes I am enjoying this fact.

No more rain! No more rain!

Wasn’t that the chant from Woodstock?

I think we are all starting to grow mold from all this rain. The good part is that everything is green and lush. I like that.

The bad thing is I barely get enough of a rain break to get the lawn mowed so it doesn’t look like an abandoned meadow.

The hydrangea love this weather – it’s a beautiful blueish yellow.

The honeysuckle is grown wild and it smells lovely too.

I am working on a shrug for a friend and it’s coming along nicely (no pics) they might see it before it’s finished.

Spent the evening yesterday hanging in the hot tub with darling daughter instead of knitting – it was really nice. She gave me a pedicure and manicure afterward while I watched the Red Sox kick butt again.  Not sure who is the cutest Jacoby or Papelbon (sigh).

After multiple trips and a few hours at the DMV I finally got the plate for the trailer. Only to get the registration renewal for the car today. I was just thanking the gods that I could do it on-line and not have to actually go to the DMV…. but then I noticed the little note that says that you should check your MA license because they do not sent out license renewal notices anymore. Yikes, I have been driving with an expired license since JANUARY! Back to the DMV for a new license. I am so glad to get a new photo because the last one was so bad – the lighting at the DMV makes me look like Uncle Fester.

Bob helped me get the hitch installed yesterday, and pick out (we hope) the right adapter for the camper to car hookup and with any luck Mary and I will be bringing home the popup this weekend! Wish us luck.  I am so looking forward to camping in it this summer.  Lake Champlain in a couple of weeks, and a trip to Hermit Island for sure!

Busy Weekend

Friday was Laural’s birthday – Don’s was the week before and Scott’s is next week, so we had an impromptu gathering with lots of food and fun Friday night.

Saturday was World Wide Knit in Public Day.  So I met up with Cindy and Kristine and drove up to Nashua’s Greeley Park to meet up with all the lovely people from Ewe’ll Love It and from around the area.  I brought my spinning wheel since that is where my current creative mojo is taking me. 

Got home and fixed myself dinner then sat spinning while watching the Red Sox. Since I was too lazy to change channels during the rain delay I got to see this.

Papelbon and Delcarmen as Nilli Vanilli – Blame it on the Rain

It is very VERY funny.  Enjoy!

Sunday it was rainy when I woke up, so I just rolled over and snoozed.  I finally did get up and went down to see Mom.  I brought dinner (bay scallops, zucchini, summer squash and asparagas) Yummy.

I so don’t want to be back at work today.