Q4'21 Finished Things (7)

I was so narrowly focused this year on finishing the Pub Quilt (which is in the closet right now for the Christmas Quilt season)... After I'd completed it I felt somewhat disconnected from my other projects. Anyways, I'm back on track now. For Q4, I did the following:

• Made a tablet woven mask lanyard
• Practiced my woolen spinning by turning a blue batt and some green wool into yarn.
• Took a class in ruler quilting, making a really ugly quilted table runner.
• Took a class in reduction lino print making, and made a 3 color print.

Wove two ikat scarves.

===================

With the 29 projects I finished during the rest of the year, the total for 2021 is 36! That's really high for me, considering 2 of those were a queen sized quilt.  There are a few things very close to completion that I almost powered through today but then decided I had other priorities, and a silly number isn't everything.

For 2022, I'd like to do more mosaic, more printing, some sewing and some band weaving.  On my mind right now are:

Owl wonders why there's no 
cat time in the 2022 list?

• A vest
• There's fabric that is still on the loom from the second overshot class.
• A vest made from that fabric.
• A cardwoven band to adorn the vest.
• Paper yarn
• I spun paper to knit with but ran out of paper... I just got more paper so hope to finish the yarn in Q1.
• I'd like to weave a paper sample from it, and start knitting something from it.
• Spin the silk I just bought for card weaving.
• Spin more cotton.
• Play with Paltiya.
• Fix the two needlepoint pillows that are falling apart.
• I finished two guest room towels in Q3; the other two still need hemming.
• A summer sweater that K and are I talking about
• A shirt for S
• I need to perfect the pattern then
• Find Fabric
• And sew him a shirt

Let's add to this that I'll have a wet studio by the end of Feb, I need to pick up the pace on my workouts, and I'm learning to play piano. And with any luck, we'll be able to start travelling again in 2022. 

First dinner party in what feels like years

We had some friends over for dinner on Saturday... Seems like forever since we've done that! I made a simple Lamb Tagine from Easy Entertaining, with couscous, and a salad with oranges and fennel loosely following this Martha Stewart recipe (butter lettuce instead of arugula) I really liked the salad dressing and I think the Tagine will become a go-to dish! For dessert I made a flourless cake which was meh... but also passed some homemade peanut brittle and some chocolate marshmallows which we dipped in dark chocolate... I think this candy making thing is going to become a yearly event.

Things have slowed down in the studio but I suspect with two weeks of rain on the way I'll be busy. I'm still working on the knitted shawl, the two ikat scarves, and the fabric from Janet Dawson's class. I'm also trying to get a pattern that works for a shirt for DH; I cut out a muslin today and will sew it up later this week and then try it on him for fit. I'm also half-heartedly trying to take the backs off of two pillows where the backing was disintegrating so I can sew them up all nice and new... We'll see what I can finish by the end of the year.

Three color reduction lino print

I'm taking a zoom class in reduction lino printing from Nick Collins via Palo Alto's Pacific Art League.   I'm learning a lot but also watching a lot of YouTube videos; I have so much to learn!

The image is from a photo I found on the internet. I decided I would do 3 colors; a light yellow-orange, a dark orange and a black. I resized and traced the image onto a piece of linoleum with this in mind. 

For the first color, I eliminated everything on the block that I wanted to be white, then printed it. I liked the "chatter marks" in the direction of flight so decided after a test print to leave them. This is made with Caligo Safe Wash ink (an oil based ink that cleans up with soap and water) on Strathmore 300 printing paper. I mixed the extender with yellow and red paint and I love the painterly effect it has. I also like the wash of color and will try to do that purposefully in the future. 

If I do a border again, I won't leave a 1/4" white space outside the border; it adds nothing. It's also possible that such a large white space is not a great idea... And, I'd wanted the butterfly going the other direction but got so excited about carving that I forgot to flip the image.

The first coat took overnight to dry; meanwhile, I carved out all the spaces I wanted to stay yellow. Then I printed with a darker orange.

I started with red and added yellow; then couldn't get the red light enough. One of the videos I watched recommended adding the dark color to the light for manageable results. I could have started over with the ink but just went with it. I carved out some of the chatter marks so I'd have yellow in the sky as well. I am using too much ink.

Here's the final! Only one of the 16 had good registration. Clearly some practice is needed... My big issue was with registration, plus the inability to look at a mirror image and figure out which way to move to adjust the registration. There are a couple of ways of getting truer registration and I'm going to try them on the next print! And probably just try 2 colors. 

The plate only has the black lines left... so I can't print another series of this. But I might trim the plate down and print some watercolor post cards; I can color in the yellow and orange bits and I think they would be fun.

Mid-November already?

I've neglected mentioning the cookbook challenges... October was Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking; I made halibut in a yogurt sauce and sauted spinach and peppers. November's cookbook is George Lang's Cuisine of Hungary.

It's also been a fall of apples. LOTS of apple crisp, apple butter, apple sauce, apple salads. The red with the larger fruit tastes best; the smaller red are good the longer they are on the tree.  They're tiny enough where I use a corer to core them then they are 4 bites. The green are very tasty too although a little sunburnt; I just finished stripping the tree. I'll miss them!

• I haven't spent much time in the studio lately, but today I spent most of the day there. I have a really long warp on the loom for Janet Dawson's class; I abandoned the samples and have decided to weave off the rest in petit point and sew something with it. It's complicated to weave so I'm taking it in small doses.
• Plied the singles I'd spun woolen from a blue/green/black art batt and plied more paper yarn. I also plied up little bits of stuff I was playing with in classes.
• Finished the runner I started in the ruler work class.

I took a class in andamento which is how to place the tiles in a mosaic to create a flow; the teacher teaches the classical method but also talked about some of the contemporary treatments. I have a couple enlarged drawings that I might mosaic.

I am also taking a class in print making. Or course there came the part of the class that I dread, in which the instructor says "Okay, draw something". I just took an easy photo off my phone (of the ground cherry) and used that; we'll see how it prints. For next week, we'll need an image for a multicolor print; I'm likely to steal one of the fetching drawings out of my child's Beginner Piano book and do that; they're super cute and I think would adapt to a learning situation.

Pub Quilt finished and on the bed! And Cape Gooseberries!

 I’ve  been waiting for the DH to take some glamor shots of the finished Pub Quilt, but with everything else going on I suspect that’s not going to happen soon.  So I took a couple of plain photos...

Heres's my side

I did want to note that I did straight grain binding but now I've done it I prefer bias; also, I did 2.25" binding and I think I prefer 2". 

I’m very pleased with myself. I’m still trying to figure out when I started it; it was between  28 and 30 years ago. I finished it a couple of weeks ago and I’ve been playing since then.

And here's his side

Specifically, these are the other projects:

• I’ve been spinning paper, with a goal to knit something from it. Below is a knitted sample, using silk singles as a  binder. The yarn is between light fingering and lace weight from 1/4” strips of sewing pattern tissue paper.  1/2" strips make a thinker yarn. I'm using some roughly spun silk I got from someone's destash as the binder on the yarn for the knitting project... (In case I forget, I'm adding twist to the silk with a 4 count out and a 4 count in, and plied it with an 8 count out and 2 count in. 

• 

  Knitted paper yarn!!!

  I’ve been spinning a blue stashed batt with a woolen draw, to get ready for the next project. The singles are ready to be plied.
• I carded the green fiber from 2020 CNCH some random silk bits, and some zwartbles together, and will spin it into a 2 ply woolen yarn. There's a competition for the yarns, which is why I'm practicing with the batt.
• I spun some cotton but need to work more on this.
• I’ve been weaving some of the samples from Janet Dawson’s class but am not ready to share. There are some fun and some overly fussy samples.
• I cataloged my sewing fabric and patterns with an eye towards engaging a sewing tutor; I put together a list of goals.
• I took a class in ruler quilting at PIQF, made a super ugly runner which needs to be bound.
• I have a mosaic class in Andemento coming up in which we won't be doing any mosaic, but really just drawing pieces and grout line.
• I enrolled in a Lino block carving class and got to order art supplies!!!! Hurray for art supplies! Sadly it’s nearly impossible to get red ink right now.
• And yesterday I dyed the yarns for the next run of ikat scarves. It was an utter disappointment; I'll detail that later!

Now I need to think about how to structure my life so I can get all this shit done.

New Pool Toy

Meanwhile, construction continues on the laundry room that will morph into a dye studio, and I'm taking piano lessons. We had a huge rain storm in which my favorite oak fell into the pool, and we had several new leaks. Good thing we have contractors working on drywall right now anyways.

And last but not least, the cape gooseberry crop came in just in time for me to candy these adorable tiny fruits for DH's birthday. We had these for the first time at a rural hotel in England, as part of a dessert tray, the year we got married. So I guess 27 years later is the magic year to get things done. 

Things From SOAR

I often take classes then don't practice what I learn, then I forget what I learned. I promised myself I wouldn't do this with the classes I just took at SOAR. So...

Here's a lovely finished object from SOAR... a tablet woven mask lanyard. It's 20 cards of 10/2 cotton in Egyptian diagonals pattern (iron age tech), started in a class with John Mullarkey. It's about 3/4" wide and 35" long with lobster clips. I sloppily zig-zaged it together by machine; I need to find a better way.  The double diamonds in the center section were a mistake! You'd think I could have watched my weaving and caught it... but I liked it enough to replicate it (with John's help). I have notes!

Speaking of card weaving, my new friend S. pointed out this delightful site: http://ladyelewys.carpevinumpdx.com/. She's hosting a weave-a-long for historical card weaving that includes historical or archeological information. I'm hooked.

I took a break from The Quilt That Must Be Finished this morning to practice a couple things from SOAR. I had cut up some pattern paper in 1/2" strips and tried spinning it on my Kromski wheel; it spins beautifully but will not feed on. The orafice is more convoluted than on the Louet, and all the little hooks seem to be a bit of an issue. I'll go back to the Louet and try it again. I've also bought some colored tissue paper from Target; one of the ladies had brought it to the workshop and Judith had declared it fabulous, so I'll give it a try some morning. 

I also tried some tweed. I took the green fiber from the CNCH Return to Sender challenge and carded it with about 15-20% Zwartbles wool  and some silk floor sweepings from John's class; it ended up being a lovely olive green with the little silk bits showing through. My spinning technique, however, needs some work... So I'll spin something else up with a woolen draft before I go back to this. The good parts are very good but there are some unattractive lumps...

Zwartbles

Zwartbles, by the way, are a Dutch sheep breed that are naturally black in their un-unburnt state; the wool goes a little brown on the older sheep.  Here's an awesome photo of them from https://zwartblesireland.com/. They're milk and meat sheep; the wool has a good crimp but is in the 30 micron diameter range which makes it a little itchy for next to the skin use.

The aforementioned quilt will be done this week!

LOTS of cool things going on...

It's been a while since I posted last and a lot is going on but with very little to show for it.

First and foremost is that darned quilt. Yes, I am obsessed with it to the point where I'm not really working on much of anything else, which is a shame. The good news is that I am nearly done with it and will have it on the bed by the end of October, hopefully sooner for DH's birthday. I've been spending afternoons on the deck in the shade quilting on it with the cats, who are much better at staying off it outside than inside...

Boulder Chautauqua, view of the Flatirons.

The other big news is I travelled to Boulder for SOAR (a small retreat devoted to spinning). It was at the Colorado Chautauqua, so I got to learn about that movement, which was super interesting. More importantly, I got to go somewhere new and interesting and take classes with some of Spinning's luminaries! I learned to spin paper and to make tweed yarns with Judith MacKenzie, practiced long draw with Maggie Casey, and got attention on my bad-boyfriend charkha from Kate Larson; then, a two day class in spinning silk for cardweaving from John Mularkey!!! I have Plans to practice what I learned... just as soon as the quilt it done...  so expect some more posts on projects from that event in the next couple of months.

On the project side,

• I signed up for and warped the loom for Janet Dawson's class, Overshot Departures. I've woven one overshot motif to check the threading and nothing more yet.

SQUEE!!! They're so cute!

• I finished two cute little hand towels for the powder room; DH asked "am I supposed to use them or just look at them?" I told him either was fine but that they require ironing to look their best, 'nuff said. Two more towels are draped over the loom waiting hemming.
• Fiber is here for the rug, rug is designed. 
• I promised my study group I'd show them how to wrap for ikat... so I put the last set of random ikat scarves on the warping board and demo'ed. Then realized that I needed to have the warping board free for a guild demo and so I tied the rest of it in a hurry! I have the dye but haven't dyed it yet.
• I finished spinning the dark blue singles that I've been working on for the last year or so; some is plied.
• Construction started on the laundry room/dye studio, which is not something I'm personally working on but it's an exciting prospect.

Does it feel like there's a lot of projects that are languishing? There are! It's that darned quilt! Every time I think of another project, I am pulled back to it. Am I obsessed because I need a new quilt on the bed? Excited to have a new quilt? Or just tired of thinking about it? Maybe the trail of cotton lint that will follow it until it's bound haunts me? I feels so close yet so far away... Meanwhile, I'm carefully dancing around an overuse wrist injury, and thinking about spinning cotton on my newly tuned little bad-boyfriend book charkha.

The Little Bad-Boyfriend Book Charkha spinning cotton.

Q3'21 finished things (4)

Nothing to do with anything, 
but still a pretty sunset

Done:

• 2 huck baby blankets
• 2 of 4 of the hand towels for the guest bath; the other two are siting on the loom, unhemmed.

In Progress:

• 2 more hand towels for the guest bath; okay, they just need hemming
• The Pub Quilt! I'm on border 4 of 4, then have to bind it and do a litttttttle more quilting on the inside. Honestly, nothing else is getting done 'cause I'm obsessed.
  

Still on the list but what was I thinking?

• Make the Get Weaving Vest pattern in handwoven or stash fabric. 
• Start an overshot throw in champagne and white for the den.
• Make more progress on the new mosaic table (more than just one poppy).
• Okay, I did a second poppy but that was it.
• Make another grocery bag! 
• Make a piece of Andean Pebble weave that's wider, on the loom. 
  
• More towels for another towel exchange, maybe using info from Tien and Janet's class.
• 2 Ikat scarves, for M. and for C. (these are tied but not dyed or woven).

Monagamous! and Fricassee

With all vacations cancelled, we're back to the cookbook challenge, and DH picked Marcella Hazan's The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking again. I wanted to cook a recipe that seemed more like home food than restaurant food (although I can't tell from the book), something that isn't typical to Italian restaurants in the US, and something DH did not expect: Chicken Fricassee in Red Cabbage. The cabbage is cooked down with onion and garlic, then the browned chicken and red wine are added and cooked a while more. It was excellent!  I cooked and served it with a California pinot noir, and accompanied it with polenta and spinich and shallots sauteed in pan drippings from the chicken. I'll make this again!

On the fiber front, I continue to be monogamous. 

I'm quilting away, often on the deck by the pool, when I can negotiate with the cats for access to the quilt. I'm more than half way done with the background, then it'll just be the borders! This afternoon's task will be to mark more quilt. I did sign up for a ruler quilting class at PIQF in mid-October, and I'm invited to the local quilt group meetings where I hope to find out if anyone can coach me through quilt-as-you-go.

Negotiating who gets
which part of the quilt

I'm weaving hand towels for the bathroom, and those are going well. I finally conceded that I need 6-8 inches to get used to pattern and beat before my project looks good. I just signed up for another Janet Dawson Overshot class so will warp the little loom for that; I'm also about to order fiber for the rug by the kitchen slider and flirting with a bound weave project for later in the year.

I'm only really working on my knitting one evening every other week. Two weeks ago, I encountered an error but put it out of my mind, so last night I rediscovered it and spent an hour picking it out. I'd picked this project for travel and now that travel isn't happening I confess I'm looking at other projects.

I hosted two spinning classes taught by guild member BP; I brought out my wheel and continued to spin that blue merino mix that has been making me so unhappy. The good news is I'm almost done with the spinning, then I'll ply that and the brown singles I have (not together). I also took out the charka and tried some cotton but I fear that'll have to wait until my class at the end of September.

I've also been spending lots of time in the garden; I've convinced the gardeners that we need to finish one project before we move to the next. So large parts of the garden are looking much better.

Two new baby blankets for two new babies

Wet finishing makes the difference

Lighting is obviously an issue with the two photos, but here there are, two fresh new baby blankets right off the loom.

I used a long staple 8/2 cotton ("Baby Soft", from ETC) which makes a lovely soft drapey fabric...

The two photos here (lighting is terrible! Sorry!) are off the loom and machine washed (left) and on the loom (right). Note how the threads shift a bit on the lacy parts to make them more, well, lacy. The texture is wonderful.

I'm still having issues with tension, especially with wider pieces; these were 39 inches on the loom. I had waaaayyy too much draw in while weaving, and that caused issues too.

Still on the loom

Regardless, I'm ludicrously happy with how they turned out and thinking I might need to make a throw blanket like this for one of the sofas... Thinking this might end up being one of my go-to baby blanket patterns.

One blanket is going to KC's g-grand-baby and the other to Taipei for M&R's little boy.

On other fronts, I'm still working on the pub quilt and will be for quite a while; I spent a couple of afternoons on the deck in the shade working on them so it feels like there is progress... Also knitting a few rows on the poor little drag along shawl. I've started pulling a warp for towels for the guest bath in 10/2 cotton; I suspect DH will hate them but I'm doing it anyways.

Mid July Feels Like the Doldrums

 I'm working on a few projects that are long term projects... So I think it'll be a while until I post significant progress. The main projects are:

• The pub quilt (between 1/3 and 1/2 done, close to 1/3). It's coming along nicely.
• The huck baby blankets (one done, one still weaving, on the loom).

  

  Super hard to see the pattern when 

  both warp and weft are white 

   

  
  
• The little shawl that only gets attention every other Monday at knit night, so it's going to be awhile. 

I did start spinning some blue roving at a recent online guild meeting; and I'm winding a warp for the next-on-the-loom project, which will be hand towels for the guest bath.

I've spent zero time in the mosaic studio but hope to in the next few weeks!

Other than that, we're getting out and about a bit, which is fabulous. We cancelled a trip to England, which is not fabulous, but I think inevitable; we're waiting to see if a trip to Canada to see G&M may materialize. Between waiting for the Covid situation to explode and waiting for the next fire or smoke event, it feels a little like sailing with light unpredictable winds waiting for a sudden storm...

Q2'21 Finished things (8)

 My rate of finishing things feels like it's slowed a bit... Here's what's done: 

• Get a vaccine appointment and in fact both vaccines
• Finish the doubleweave class sample.
• Finish the 2nd band of Andean Pebble Weave on the loom.
• Finish the towels on the loom. (4)
• Bootlaces, 5' x 3/8" each
• Make the pub quilt quilt-able

Here's one reason shit doesn't get done

I'll leave the same items on the list from last quarter.  This all isn't going to get done...

• Keep quilting the Pub Quilt! It's about 1/3 done right now.
• Make the Get Weaving Vest pattern in handwoven or stash fabric.
• Weave Baby Blankets; they're just on the loom.
• Start an overshot throw in champagne and white for the den.
• Hand towels for the guest bath.
• Make more progress on the new mosaic table (more than just one poppy).
• Did a second poppy
• Make another grocery bag!
• Make a piece of Andean Pebble weave that's wider, on the loom. 
  
• More towels for another towel exchange, maybe using info from Tien and Janet's class.
• 2 Ikat scarves, for M. and for C.

What else is going on? We had a visitor, we traveled a bit, and we're enjoying local restaurants. I'm also training for a possible 6 day walk next month...  it's been great for my fitness and for turning my brain off but has really hurt my productivity! I'm working on a shawl at knit night, from yarn DH brought me from Iceland, and also working on the Pub Quilt. 

No photos but a great Carolina Slaw recipe...

May's cookbook challenge was to cook off the internet. So when we hosted lunch for my nephew, his mother and his grandparents, I made the following:

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/spicy-oven-fried-chicken-103512

If I made that chicken again, I would only bread the top. Also, I skipped the step where you pour on the butter and it's really necessary. Otherwise, it's a tried and true favorite that I haven't made in a long time.

https://www.thespruceeats.com/carolina-slaw-3053928

I used the full meausure of sugar in this and WOW it was sweet! But it got a lot of complements. My DH has asked for it again. Next time I'll let the dressing cool a bit more before pouring it over and reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup.

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/buttermilk-cornbread

Well, I burnt the top. But it was still moist and tasty; I'd make this recipe again.

I also used a non-custard ice cream recipe to make vanilla ice cream, adding a tablespoon of Kirsch; then I folded in a cup of whole Amarena cherries. Next time I'll cut the cherries in half or quarters, and add the cherry syrup to the mix. DH has asked for this with chocolate and nuts folded in for this birthday.

I've been diligently quilting away on the pub quilt; also started a shawl using natural dyed yarn DH brought me from Iceland. I'm also 1/2 threaded on the baby blankets.

The thing that's been sucking up my time is the guild! The towel exchange is almost over; all I have to do is complete a slide show and finish distributing the towels, both of which I hope to do this week. I also wrote up a description of how I secretaried and sent it off to the new Secretary, wrote up a justification for giving a donation to Deer Hollow Farm, and oh yeah! I'm hosting a workshop via zoom. I'm slowing down on what I'm volunteering for though... By the end of the month, I'll be down to being LIbrarian, running a study group, and helping plan a summer social.

Life is looking livelier!

Probably the most exciting news is that I just completed the two week waiting period after the 2nd Pfizer vaccine! Now I feel more comfortable being out and about, so will start catching up on doctors appointments, hair cuts, etc; we've booked dinner at a restaurant1 I got some seriously swollen lymph glands (yay! my body is making antibodies!) but things are starting to calm down and getting back to normal.

In no particular order, here's the rest of what's going on.

I finished and delivered the bootlaces to my beloved brother. I think he liked them. Here's some technical notes on the aglets: 

• Sew 1/2 inch or so into a tube with sewing thread
• With doubled 10/2 and a big honking knot, pull needle up towards tip of lace; whip stitch the end 3-4 times, take yarn down through the middle then back up again.
• Trim fuzz from tip, then thread needle through the shrink tubing; use the needle for tension, stroke the tubing onto the band until you're just past the whipstitching. Trim off the whipstitching.

Ready for basting

I've also finished the Pub quilt top (and basted it)!!! This is big news, having been in process for the last 27 or so years. 

I completed the knitting on the little summer jacket; it needs some finishing work, which has been languishing while I got the quilt top ready. I don't think this will ever be an attractive garment so I'm going to let it be what it is. Meanwhile, I dragged the knitted skirt out of hiding and have decided to re-start it as TV knitting.

I made some dal makhani from this recipe. DH think the clove is bit heavy in it; I think the clove and the cardamom amplify each other. It mellowed out after a couple of days and is now in the freezer. 

Procrastiweaving

Andean Pebble Weave band on the loom

I feel like lots has happened in the first two weeks of April!  Not surprisingly, I finished the doubleweave class sample and I've taken the towels off the loom (but not yet hemmed them).  I also finished the second Andean Pebbleweave band. 

Look! Brand new towels!

I've started some new things, or taken up old things:

• I wound the warp for the two huck lace baby blankets but haven't moved it to the loom yet. 
• I'd started a loom shaped garment (vest? sweater?) to combine with some knitting years ago but could not figure out how to finish it... I'm knitting away at that again. I'm still not sure if I'll end up adding a collar or any other touches but am happy adding length to the bottom with half linen stitch.

  

  Bootlaces of 
  the Pandemic

• I've completed all the simple star blocks for the Pub quilt, and all the stars for the side triangles. I'm currently worried about not having enough material, so am avoiding it my procrastiweaving.
• What is procrastiweaving? That's when you start a new weaving project because you don't want to work on anything you're supposed to be working on. I warped up the band loom with 4 yards of 10/2 cotton (54" of bootlace x 2 laces + 20% takeup plus 20" for loom waste). It's yellow and grey, which happens to be the Pantone colors of the year.  The yellow is for hope and the steely grey for fortitude.  The wavering borders are the path I've been walking the last year and the eye in the middle is the focus needed to stay on course. From the Pantone website: "As people look for ways to fortify themselves with energy, clarity, and hope to overcome the continuing uncertainty, spirited and emboldening shades satisfy our quest for vitality." 

On food news, I'm cooking from the Dishoom cookbook.  I would love to travel to London and eat at one of their eateries!  This week we had:

• Prawns Moilee (a coconut curry with shrimp) with cauliflower over rice with a lovely Italian Pinot Blanc, a good pairing.
• Grilled Spicy Lamb Chops with Gunpowder Potatoes last night with a Rioja (not quite as good of a pairing).
• For dessert, Kulfi, a lovely cardamon spiced ice cream. I may make daal and biryani before I'm done with the month.

Q1 '21 Finished things (17)

I have been unusually productive this quarter; I don't know why. I'm not going to question it though. All of the finished things were made from stash! Yet why doesn't my stash feel lighter?

Owl contemplates this
quarter's accomplishments

The Finished List:

• Double Your Pleasure Cowl
• 4 sets of 12 merit badges (that's 48 badges); I'll count them as 4 objects. 
• 1 set of 2 Adulting awards 
• A baby sweater 
• 3 overshot runners
• 10 oz brown/purple yarn, "Wood Nymph" from Wonderland Dyeworks. 
• Mittens for G from Anna Zilboorg's Magnificent Mittens book.
• Mittens for M from the same pattern book, from a kit that's been in my stash forever,
• One yd of warpwise shibori fabric in tencel, which was my Study Group project.
• Doily from a textile fragment that had been haunting the studio.
• I used the embroidery machine to embroider two hockey skulls and put them on a quilted grocery bag.
• An 80" band of Andean Pebble weave. 

--------------

Here's what's either in progress, or on the wish list from Q1 that didn't get finished. I could probably power my way through one or two of the first 3 but given that I'm not short on finished objects for Q1, I'll push them to Q2. If I finish anything before the end of the month (3 days) I'll edit this.

• I'm not done with the doubleweave class sample
• I have one more towel on the loom, then this will be done.
• I have a 2nd band of Andean Pebble Weave on the loom.
• I didn't make any clothing from stash or handwoven. 
• No bed covering.
• I'm working on getting the pub quilt ready for quilting but am probably a month away.
• I make meager progress on the new mosaic table (just one poppy)

--------------

For Q2:

• Get a vaccine appointment.
• Finish the doubleweave class sample.
• Finish the towels on the loom.
• Finish the 2nd band of Andean Pebble Weave on the loom.
• Make the Get Weaving Vest pattern in handwoven or stash fabric.
• Weave Baby Blankets.
• Start an overshot throw in champagne and white for the den.
• Hand towels for the guest bath.
• Make the pub quilt quilt-able.
• Make more progress on the new mosaic table (more than just one poppy).
  
• Make another grocery bag!
• Make a piece of Andean Pebble weave that's wider, on the loom.

--------------

For the last Red Sage meal of this month's cookbook, we used a squab recipe and substituted duck breasts.  I marinated them in a gloopy preparation heavy on orange juice and ancho chile and DH grilled them; we served it with polenta and wild rice cakes fried in ghee and sauteed red chard and onions, and paired it with a 2013 Seasmoke Pinot Noir. DH declared it a restaurant worthy dinner! I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it was a nice meal. The polenta was interesting; as it fried, little bits of polenta would explode and skitter across the kitchen; it reminded me of tiny popcorn kernels.

Warp all the Looms!

Doubleweave technicolor

I took Jennifer Moore's Double Rainbow Doubleweave course over the last two weeks... I still think I have about a yard of warp to weave on it. It's a delightful class; she's a wonderful teacher;  and I can see using her techniques!  Still working on this warp but hoping to finish by the end of the month.

Kitchen Towels

Meanwhile, on the other loom, I'm working on a towel kit I got from Eugene Textile Center. Yes, I have Plenty Of 8/2 Cotton but for some reason couldn't come up with a pattern, so I bought a kit. It's like magic; the selvedges are as good as I've ever done, tension is good so far, it's almost as if someone else is weaving it; and I can weave a towel in two days, while doing other projects. I've done the two solid colored ones and one of the striped weft. One more to go!

I'm taking a class in Andean Pebble weave on an inkle loom from Laverne Waddington. What fun! I've made one 80" band from 3/2 cotton; it's addictive. The second class is tomorrow and I'll post photos of the bands when I've finished the 2nd warp.

The 2nd set of mittens is done! Mittens were washed and blocked, then I'll put them away until October, when I'll send them to their forever home. 

Also started piecing the intermediate blocks for the pub quilt. DH has suggested I piece all of them (they'll be differences) before I continue... Sadly he's probably right so I'm stalled until I can get more machined blocks complete. 

On the cooking side of things, I made pork chops with blackberry sauce from Mark Miller's Red Sage Cookbook; the sauce was primarily blackberries and ancho chiles. Had I not known better, I would have suspected there was tea or tobacco in it; then realized that the blackberries have a high tannin content! Mystery solved.  I also grilled a New York Steak using the Buffalo Rib Eye rub from the same cookbook. I think their might be one or maybe two more dishes from this cookbook before the month is over!

The Hockey Grocery Bag

I found this embroidery design from Urban Threads and thought it would be a perfect accent for a new grocery bag for DH. I embroidered it on a hand-dyed yellow cotton then added all of the fun hockey fabrics languishing in my stash. 

Hockey Rulz

The purpose of the Bag Project is two fold... one is clearly to have reusable easy identifiable bags for DH's grocery runs; we're always fighting over whose natural colored canvas bags belong to whom. The second purpose is to allow me to practice my machine quilting.

On other fronts, I've been working through the homework for Jennifer Moore's doubleweave class! Too much fun. I'll post photos when it's done. I'm doing that while threading the OTHER loom with towels for the guild towel exchange.  In the evenings I'm knitting on the 2nd pair of mittens. 

I have a couple dozen other projects on my brain and seem to be running out of pandemic to get them done in. Hurray! Can't wait to sideline the projects. I see restaurants and museums in my future, maybe even travel! We're impatiently waiting for our turn for vaccinations... 

Meanwhile I'm starting to dread going to zoom meetings where folks are talking about getting their doses and getting back to normal activities. The adult part of me is thrilled for them but the little kid in me feels like the only child in the class who didn't get invited to Sally's birthday party.

It's March!

What's been going on? 

There's been a LOT of time spent in the garden and some time futzing around the house while there have been workmen around. I'm also trying to ramp up the exercise as I feel I'm running out of time to lose another 15 pounds during the pandemic.

I had a piece of cloth left over from the runner I made way back when and covered in this post, and have debated for awhile whether it should be a "doily" to replace a knitted lace one, or a lovely colorful wine bag. I got tired of pushing it around the sewing table for a year so  I hemmed it into a doily, and put it to immediate use. It makes the room look coordinated in a wonderful way and replaces a crocheted lace doily. Don't get me wrong, I love my crocheted doilies but this suits the room better.

I'm part way through the 2nd set of mittens! Loving it... I decided I'll finish the mittens and then start work on the quilt.

I've got the loom warped up for Jennifer Moore's double weave class; I just need to put in a header and verify everything is threaded correctly.

I wound a warp for towels; it's twill blocks, a kit I bought from Eugene Textile Center.

I also need to repurpose the warping board as an inkle loom prior to Laverne Waddington's pebble weave class.

I sewed together and am quilting pieces for a grocery bag for DH, featuring hockey related machine embroidery and hockey fabric. DH has called the project "garish" and it may offend his sense of dignity, but if he doesn't like it I'll make him one that's less cute and more serious. Meanwhile, I'm playing with some of the machine quilting techniques that I want to practice and will have a practical bag when I'm finished. 

Food wise, I made Sierra Soups Tuscan Peasant Soup this week; it's a bagged mix, mostly yellow split peas, with simple directions and a couple of fresh ingredients...  also added the rest of the celery, some garlic and some sausage; between that and a trip to our favorite noodle place in Burlingame (take out, of course), I haven't cooked much.  The March Cookbook is Red Sage by Mark Miller. This week will feature fawaffles (waffles made from falafel mix), so it'll likely be next week before I get to the cookbook.

Supplemental warp project: weft wise woven shibori

 On the weaving side, I wove a disaster project for my study group's supplemental warp project. Let me detail the issues.

For my study group's supplemental warp project, I decided to do a warp wise shibori without doing a sample and not from a published recipe.

I turned a simple monks belt pattern and decided to go with it instead of consulting some woven shibori books for guidance or suggestions.

Turned Monk's belt

I only measured my guide string once so I wound a 2 yard warp instead of a 3 yard warp. It's about 16 inches wide for a shawl in white 8/2 tencel and two stripes of off white 8/2 cotton for the pulling threads.

Why 8/2 cotton? I recall reading it somewhere, but I don't recall where. I had a minor twinge about it not being strong enough to be a pull thread, which I ignored.

Happily weaving

I beamed both warps together on the loom; bad choice, as I was supposed to weight the supplementals off the back. I rigged some weights on hooks and went on.  I had constant issues with tension because of this.

As I wove away, I decided not to fix a few weaving errors near the edges  (I'm okay
with this). The plain weave was pretty relaxing, so much so that I'll do some plain weave in the next few months.

Gathered and ready
for the dye pot

I pulled the warp from both ends as I was supposed to but as the thread gathered on the supplemental warp, some of them broke. Some of the areas are not well gathered because of that, or maybe because there may have been some snarls due to the  tension inconsistencies mentioned earlier.

I failed to measure the dye or mordant correctly because Oh Just Because, so the piece is a lighter green than I expected.

Woven shibori

Looking at the finished piece, I see a couple of things. 24 EPI is too close of a sett for 8/2 tencel in plain weave (yep, there is documentation on the internets that confirms this); the fabric is firm and would make a nice vest fabric, but not the drapey shawl goodness I was expecting from the tencel. Some reflection on the process is making me wonder if I needed to sett my supplemental warp as dense as the background warp; I think every other dent would have worked better.   A small amount of research into woven shibori and a quick peak at a master yarn sett chart might have given me more info. In the absence of that data, sampling might have given me the information I needed.

Closeup

 Why was this project so under-thought and full of errors that I could easily have avoided? My brain was not engaged. There's been a lot going on lately, and these things happen from time to time. Still, after all this is said, had I measured correctly and come up with a 3 yard fabric, it would have made a lovely shawl. As it is, it's a lovely sample and will go into the fabric bin for future use.

A bunch of links I'd like to check out

Nothing to see here...

Ma 2006 double weave pillows for living room and monks belt for lodge

https://www.craftsy.com/class/the-scrappy-market-tote/

 https://www.craftsy.com/class/free-motion-quilting-essentials/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/28-days-to-better-free-motion-quilting/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/wild-quilting-creative-free-motion-combinations/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/the-secrets-of-free-motion-quilting/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/machine-quilting-negative-space/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/free-motion-fillers-vol-2/

https://botanicalcolors.com/madder-root-instructions/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/the-art-of-cloth-dyeing/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/throughstone-sweater-knit-along-with-bonus-videos/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/tealeaf-sweater-knit-along/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/sweater-modifications-for-a-custom-fit/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/machine-embroidered-classics/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/hoop-savvy/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/continuous-line-embroidery/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/big-embroidery-with-a-small-hoop/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/painting-pop-art-portraits/

No info on design, just how to

https://www.craftsy.com/class/modern-handcrafted-candy/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/essentials-of-mexican-cooking/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/jacques-torres-ultimate-box-of-chocolates/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/the-art-of-caramel-techniques-treats/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/latin-american-street-food-empanadas-arepas-tostadas/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/the-everyday-guide-to-wines-of-italy-by-the-great-courses/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/the-everyday-guide-to-wines-of-california-by-the-great-courses/

The Pub Quilt, a way forward

Finally after a dozen or more years and lots of failed designs, I have a plan for the pub quilt. I've spent the last two days working with my quilting software, swearing a lot, and coming up with lovely designs that would be living hell to piece together; then I simplified, added some bling and voila! I have a plan to go forward!

A star system is born

I'll note a couple of particulars.

The stars are all different and all bordered by an inch of fabric; on 4, it is grey, on the rest, the ruddy brown. I did this for a different layout that I didn't execute on because the end product, while beautiful, was not as friendly to how we lay the quilt on the bed; I think I like the way it highlights those blocks. The large star is trimmed with a slice of that lovely border print.

The little stars floating in the background will are 5" as shown; I'll make a variety of 4.5" and 6" to simplify the piecing. They're a 3x3 grid, so MUCH easier if the finished size is divisible by 3. 

The plan as shown is 100 inches square; I'll aim slightly smaller, but still want the design to float on the background by a couple of inches. The border will be either 4.5 or 6 inches (it's the div by 3 thing), and will be that same border print. 

Next step is to layout the blocks until I get an arrangement that is pleasing to us (me and DH), and start working on machine sewing little stars.  I think I can get started on piecing the blocks together pretty quickly!

Mittens, and a lot of "I'll tell you later"

Mitten and pattern

I just finished knitting mittens for my dear friend G who has up and moved to Canada with M... her mittens are next on the needle but I'm unsure whether I can get them done before things thaw for the spring. I combined two patterns (one for the mittens and one for the cuff). I had intended on doing a some embroidery on the hand but can't find a combo I like so I may leave them as is.  The patterns are from Anna Zilboorg's Magnificent Mittens. I wonder how she's doing and if she has moved off of her mountain yet?  Anyways, I had some issues with the thumb settling in nicely, will have to figure that out on subsequent mittens.

I also cut a little glass for the poppy mosaic... It's been cold and rainy and I haven't been motivated to be down there.

I wove and dyed my woven shibori piece. I'll detail that elsewhere.

I'm also working on the pub quilt. Yes, I realize I say that a lot but honestly I am working on a design using my fancy quilt design software. So far I've come up with a  lovely design that is mostly unpieceable. Stay turned.

January has been very productive for me!

Destined to adorn nightstands

More from Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food: I served the braised pork with chiles with polenta, and it was fabulous. The lemon sherbert was excellent, as was the sauteed fennel. We had the same baked fish again, this time with a garlic, lime, and jalapeno butter. I'm officially closing that cookbook now and moving to February! I'll publish the name of the cookbook in a later post, but it's one of Julia Child's... On February 2, I made the Provencal fish with some halibut and tomatoes that needed cooking up. Very nice with a French Chardonnay.

It's found a home on this table, 
but the table is moving

The same day I finished the overshot runners;  the star fashion and rose fashion runners, and a 3rd runner of my own design adding a second pattern color. My design looks very much like other designs in the group but I did work through all of the design particulars so I feel good about what I'm doing. 

I finally finished the baby sweater from JC Briar's class; it just needs a bath, a better photo, and a toddler.

Baby sweater in search of a baby.

I finished spinning and plying the purple/brown merino that's been in my stash forever. 

Newly born yarn

I also embroidered up a couple of hockey motifs that'll go on a bag; I haven't made it back to my sewing machine yet, but I will!

I'm going to put a list of the weaving projects I'd like to take on while I'm still in captivity... I'll do it here.

1. Turned monks belt warp shibori scarf in tencel for my study group. (March deadline)
2. Double weave sampler in Jennifer Moore's class (March deadline)
3. Doubleweave pillows from MA05 (the cover photo) in colors that match our living room.
4. M's and O's towels from Handwoven JF06, for the towel exchange (May deadline)
5. A new rug for the den slider.
6. Towels for the powder room.
7. A overshot coverlet.

Let's get this New Year Started!

I've been doing some cooking this month from Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food.  So far I've baked salmon and served it with a garlic, lemon, and cilantro butter, and tonight I'm cooking a slow cooked pork shoulder with chiles, which we'll have with polenta. This cookbook is as much a collection of cooking techniques as it is a collection of recipes, and I would certainly be a better cook if I read it through!

But instead I've been working on other things. In the garden, I've been dismantling the madder bed, pulling out all the roots and sifting the soil to make sure there aren't any bits and pieces that will sprout later to cause issues. I've got a good quantity of madder drying in the garage and will dye with it in the summer. 

Woven in star fashion

On the weaving front, I've been working my way through Janet Dawson's overshot class. The written lessons are absolutely amazing; the webinars have been okay to good but her teaching style does not necessarily click with my learning style. Regardless, I'm learning LOTS about overshot. I've decided to use the first 2 projects to make runners for the nightstands in the guest room, using a light grey-green 8/2 unmercerized cotton for the weft, and a natural 8/2 unmerc cotton in the weft, with 5/2  mercerized cotton as the pattern weft in a dark green called loden. Instead of making placemats I'm making runners for the guest room nightstands.  So far I'm pleased with everything but the edges... why is it always the edges?  This one is woven in star fashion; the 2nd one will have a different treadling and will be woven in rose fashion. The "fashion" just describes whether there are obvious crosses or poofy circle motifs.

I'll note that I'm using Texsolv cord for the tie ups on the baby Mac instead of the hooks that have given me so much grief; it's MUCH nicer. The Mac, though, is a little small for me and I find after using the Gilmore that the Mac feels more like a toy.

On the knitting front, I finished the Double your Pleasure cowl! I like it.  And it's subtly warm without being overwhelming.  

I also fished out a baby sweater that I started about 2 years ago in a class by JC Briar on how to do set in sleeves. The baby sweater was to teach us the methodology and I figured I might as well do something useful...  I had the best intentions to finish it quickly so I wouldn't forget how. I did find the pattern and the extra yarn and so am finally finishing it!  All I have left is the color, button band, and hiding all the ends.

I'm still spinning away on some purple/brown merino that's been in my stash forever. I finished one of the 5 ounce-ish braids and am maybe 1/3 of the way through the second one. I'll do a two ply then figure out what to do with it!

On the mosaic front, I've got the substrate for the table ready to go. This run of lovely weather has driven me into the yard instead of the studio, but I'll get to it soon.

4 sets of these for my niece and
her family

I made these nifty badges for my niece's family on the embroidery machine! I still need to get them in the mail... I also found the skull with hockey sticks and I'm making some quilt blocks for a machine quilting class; once quilted, I'll make more grocery bags from them, probably for DH. 

Aside from all this, I'm suffering a bit from pandemic-fatigue and I'm doom-scrolling the political news more than I need to. Somedays I feel like I'm trying to swim through peanut butter! Writing all this down is certainly helping me realize I'm actually getting things done.