A Relaxing Sunday

 At a very slow pace I managed to get a lot done.  Laundry, shopping, finishing  4 projects for small holiday gifts so no pictures tonight.  I even cooked dinner for 2 nights.  Even some random acts of cleaning.  

Tomorrow I will set up the Halloween goodies bags.  I will have a table out side as I have the past 2 years. I get to watch the trick or treaters on the outside camera.  Not quite as much fun, but with COVID19, Flu and RSV numbers really high. Yes, high enough to make national press coverage. This is the safest way for me.  I will also let the kids take what they want.  Pencils, erasers and bubbles seem to go faster than Candy.  All the leftover candy will be sent to work with John.  All the leftover non perishable things like pencils and erasers go back in the closet for next year.

I Lost Them

 I must have been very hungry when I left the plaza that Grandma’s Spinning Wheel and By Artemesia are located. I left my spinning bag with 3 lace weight drop spindles, 1 plying spindle,  a Knitty Noddy customized with my name and a Neosprine. Along with a batt. I will have to wait for Tuesday to track it down.  Both shops are closed Sunday and Monday. Plying will have to wait.  

How was your day?

A Busy Day

 I had a very busy day. With brunch out. Shopping for smaller pants, I got 1 pair. Coming home and cleaning.  Giving 4 mudd rugs their hot bath and agitation. Plying and setting 1 very small skein of lace weight yarn that was completely spun by hand.  The yarn is now drying in the garage.  The mudd rugs have been moved inside to hopefully finish drying.  I put a baking cooling rack over my hand washing sink.  They are still quite damp so I do not expect them to be dry by morning.  I also tried to catch up on paper work, my never ending battle.  Some progress was made. 

Now it’s time to put my feet up and knit.  

All’s Well That End’s Well

 All is well that ends well about sums up my day. I woke up to a really bad body day. I was really hungry after breakfast and wanted a sweet roll but had a half a pound of carrots and celery instead. I then crawled  back in to bed for a nap.

Once the aspirin kicked in the day went better. I finished weaving two more holiday gifts. Then warped a small loom for another. I just have to wind the yarn into a ball or cake.

I also found out that if you fill the paper shredder to capacity it automatically shuts off and won’t work anymore until you empty it. My house work today  consisted of emptying the dishwasher and taking out three bags of recycling. I should not forget about the trip to the grocery store. Am I the only one who still wears a mask inside anymore?

A Red Pot Recipe

 Ok here is another recipe that is low in fat and high in vegetables. Of course it is being cooked in my Red Le Creuset Soup Pot. For us this is enough food for 2 to 3 meals for the two of us when you have kids at home this should hopefully make it through 1 meal.

Chicken Vegetable Soup 

1 3/4 pounds of cubed Chicken, I used white meat chicken   Which is lower in fat.

2 Tablespoons of California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Oil

1/4 teaspoon of white pepper and salt

1 Very large Sweet Onion or 2 smaller onions 

1 pound each of chopped celery, sliced carrots and mixed mushrooms 

1 pound of frozen mixed vegetables 

In your soup pot add the olive oil and heat on medium heat.  Add the chicken, salt and pepper.  Cover and keep covered as much as possible. Cook until no pink shows. Change your stirring  spoon and spoon rest. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Stirring occasionally and keeping the lid on In between. Add the celery, carrots and mushrooms. Leave on top until there is room to stir them in. Lower the temperature to medium low or number 2. Simmer for at least 3 hours.  I have not added water, but be sure to keep on eye on the broth.  If the level gets to low add water or additional broth.  

30 minutes before dinner add the 1 pound of frozen mixed vegetables. Stir in.  Bring the temperature up to 4 or just below medium heat. Serve when the mixed vegetables are totally cooked. 

The picture is after I stirred in the fresh vegetables. This will have over 4 pounds of vegetables.  You may add more if there is room in the pot   

Of course no one is paying me to share the brand names.  These are products that I use at home and bought out of our household budget. 

The Hunt Starts

 The hunt for smaller clothing started today with p.j.’s. I really lucked out on this one. Because of the sale at Kohl’s and the only fabric that I could wear, I got 2 pairs of p.j.’s for the cost of one pair.  This is a good thing.  I just don’t know how long I will stay in this size. I also lucked out by finding Simply Vera by Vera Wang.  She knows how to design for curves. The p.j.’s are well made too.  

Next on the agenda are pants and a warm sweater. Yes, I know that I have enough yarn to knit a couple of sweaters but the chances are that after a month or 2 of knitting that they will be to big. I have done that twice before.  So I am going to get a sweater to tide me over along with a couple of pairs of pants.  Wish me luck on those.  

So instead of knitting for me I am knitting for the kids again for next winter. At knitting guild we tend to knit a year ahead.   I have 2 scarfs going for young teens that are going to be long enough to wear in different ways. I also have 2 hats going. I hat needed to be tinked out about 3 inches because I was not paying attention and lost a stitch marker. I did not notice it until I had 4 stitches on 2 double pointed knitting needles and a whole bunch on the circular knitting needles.  That is all fixed and ready to go again.  I also have the 2 weaving projects going.  

It’s going to be busy tomorrow.  Do it is time to call it a night.  

Single Serving Sugar Free Apple Pie

 I have been.craving holiday foods just because it is fall. I really wanted to go out and get a slice of apple pie today. So going out to get a fat and sugar laden piece of pie is out of the question right now. So here is my elegant solution.  

Sugar Free Apple Pie

Serves 1.

1 apple cored and cut into chunks

cinnamon 

30 grams or 1 ounce of the nut of your choice. If you have a nut allergy skip this ingredient. 

In a microwave safe bowl toss the apple chunks and the amount of cinnamon desired.  For a hardier taste I like more cinnamon.  Sprinkle with nuts.  Microwave on high for 2 minutes.  Rotate a 1/4 of a turn and microwave for 2 minutes more.  

I know some people put cheese on their apple pie, so place the cheese on when you take it out of the microwave oven..

Please enjoy.  

Clothing Casualty

This pair of pants from Brynn Walker Is the first casualty of mine and of my new lifestyle plan. They will be heading off to the Goodwill box and when the box is full you’ll be able to find some really nice pants Goodwill.  I had to go through my closet a day to see what fit. I know they’re will be more of this in the future. 

I know we will be driving to Scottsdale for a shopping trip since the Tucson Bryn Walker got priced out of the rental market.  By the way the store is still sits empty.  Such a smart move by the owner’s rental property. 

Getting Scrapy

 I am currently working on another Stash Dive Scarf by Summer Lee Designs. It is not exactly as written.  I have gathered all my small skeins of sock yarn and cotton yarn.  As you can see by the second picture there are a lot of the smaller skeins.  The first picture the very colorful scarf so far. I am trying to do my best to make a fun and colorful scarf.  This scarf is going to be between 5 and 6 feet long so it is definitely going to a 7th or 8th grader. With all my recent destashing I now have room in my closet to store it until next fall.  

I also think that I over did it a little on my errands.  I was only out for 1 1/2 hours.  I did 4 errands today.  On the 3rd errand I found kids fall socks on sale for 70% off. This was my *Ganga of the day.  So I went back and grabbed a shopping cart and pick out a whole bunch of socks for the clothing bank I support. Yes, I filled up half a huge bag.  My hope is that the kids who get them, like them.  I then came home and slept for 2 hours.  I still managed to get 1 out of 2 loads of laundry folded, but not all at once. I also managed to mis match the colors on 2 pairs of socks, oh well. No harm no foul.  I still have to put the clothes hanging in the garage away too.  

*Ganga is Tucson speak for a great deal.  

A Day of Color

 After working on a black and white scarf for a few weeks I really need some color in my life right now.  So for television knitting I am doing a Stash Dive Scarf by Summer Lee Designs, the pattern is on Ravelry.  I am really diving deep for this on with all the bright and pastel colors I can find.  I am also using a bunch of small skeins really bits and pieces. It will be going to a teenager in Northern Arizona next winter. 

I am also doing a bit of weaving.  Today I started a shades of Blue Mudd Rug with yarn left over from a cowl that I knit for myself.  

The Monet inspired miniature tapestry is coming along very slowly. I worked on it for 2 hours today and only got 3 row’s finished.  I have some very over plyed yarn that I am wrapping around each warp thread by hand.  I am picking up the warp threads individually for each weaving stitch.  I still have to finish the green grass. Then the yellow and purple flowers will be added on top.  The sky and clouds will follow.  Then and only then will I add the embellishments of bottoms, beads, and embroidery. I will sew the edges before I take it off the loom.  Then I will have to figure out how to mount it so I do not lose the depths that I have created.  I have not taken a class on this project. This is all from my creative side.  I like that I am finally relaxed enough to let the creativity flow. 

I some how find that the tapestry is easier to weave from let to right. The yarn just seems to flow into place. I really have to think about my weaving when going from right to left. Can anyone explain this to me? Maybe if I would have taken a class I would know the answer  then again maybe this piece would not be a piece in progress.  I am sad that I can’t show the finished piece to my friend Kathy. I hope she likes what see sees from heaven.

Helping Younger Artists

As an artist I know how a fabric store, big box craft store, local yarn shop, local bead shop, you can fill in your favorite shop if I failed to list it can be like a Candy or Toy store to a kid.  I really get that. Finding projects to do is an art project in it self. Completing that purchased project is another project in it self.  Which leads to the beginning of a conversation with artists over the age of 60. Yes I did say 60.  

Now is the time to evaluate all your art supplies. You need to start asking rational questions like am I going to finish this project? Do I still love the project? Was this project a splurge because you weren’t feeling well? Did you buy the project when your kids were little and you knew you’d find time to make it for them? Do I still want to do the project? Does your kid want the completed project now that they are adults? That fabric was lovely and I know I can find something to go with it, but never did. I love the yarn, but I’ve torn out that sweater three times. I am not teaching that anymore, do I still need to keep the supplies. You can add whatever questions you want here. I know everybody’s will be different. The item was on sale for a really good price.

I don’t expect you to do it in a day, after all it took decades to accumulate all these supplies. However, you aren’t getting any younger. Your spouse and kids are hoping that you’ll get rid of a lot of it. My humble suggestion is to divide your art into different areas. Focusing only on one drawer or one tub at a time will make the job easier. I have a 5 minute Zenning rule that I go by. I set the timer to 5 minutes.  If at the end of 5 minutes I am frustrated, I stop. If at the end of 5 minutes, I am into it I keep going.  I know I’ve been doing this for a couple years now, so I feel like in talk about it. This is an evolving process. You might look at some thing 10 or 12 times before you decide to either finish it or it Has to leave the house or the studio. 

When it leaves you have many options. You can amass stuff and having a yard sale, I did not find this very successful. What I did find successful was gifting to friends. Gifting to mothers with young kids who wanted to learn a craft but had no money to buy supplies, Be sure to try to doing this when we are not on holiday surge postage it will save you about 20%. You can give some of the simpler items to adult day programs.  You can send upscale supplies to younger artists who have no money for supplies. You can Donate to Goodwill. I have a friend who I know I can give lots of yarn to for other weavers.  You can use yarn or material as package padding if you are sending a gift to a crafter. You can donate to church quilt groups, material is so expensive right now. I got rid of 2 car loads this way and the church ladies loved the fabric. 

I know that everyone one will have a different route.  However you choose to go on this journey is fine.  This is a journey that can be gut wrenching at times. Don’t beat yourself up for past purchases. Don’t beat yourself up because your eyes were bigger and faster than your hands. Don’t feel you have to do this in a day. I have been on this journey for almost 3 years. Remember to give bins away so you won’t have the urge to refill them. Redesign your work space. 

This will clear a lot of mental weight off your shoulders. You will start creating more when you know where everything is. You will have less UFO’s. You will feel better about you. You will have more time to create.  This will make you very happy. If it doesn’t, at least your spouse and kids will be happy. 

Lemonade Anyone?

I screwed up and cast off a scarf 3 inches too soon. So tomorrow I will embellish one edge with six rows of double crochet. This turns a mistake into a design element. Since I wasn’t using a specific pattern no one will know the difference except the people who read the blog and me. It will still be one cool scarf for whoever gets it.

I also managed to finish the second mudd rug today. I will do the hot water and soap thing tomorrow. Since it is too short to thwack the Traditional way, I think I will throw it at the table a few times. I think that should work. If not I’ll throw it in the dryer on air dry and let it tumble with some dryer balls.

A Side Effect of Looking for Craft Supplies

 I found another UFO today. This one was a coaster project. One of the two coasters was halfway done. I finished the one that was halfway done and started the second coaster aka mud rug. I am using hand spun yarn made on one of my drop spindles. Finding the UFO was unintentional, what I was really looking for was a Navajo weaving needle that was between eight and 10 inches long. Obviously I did not find the weaving needle. I don’t think I have one.

Since I will not be going to any more yarn festivals this year I hope to source one or 2 Navajo weaving needles on line. Wish me luck.  If you know a source, please let me know  

I have found that weaving during the day makes knitting easier at night. Did you know that weaving uses more yarn than knitting. To my family that must be a plus. Another plus is that if you would like a unique one of a kind gift for the holidays I will be selling the pair as I have all the coasters I need in the house. They are made from wool which will help absorb moisture. The pair will sell for $25.00 which includes postage in the United States. After I finish weaving the second one, I will wash them in hot soapy water to set the weaving. Then they will be trimmed. And ready to go. Email me if you would like them.  Then I will mark them pending until payment is received. 

A Life of itOwn

 The weaving project is starting to take on a life of its own.  The yarn is saying what it wants to be. This is always a good thing. Yesterday I warped the loom and put in the header. That alone took 2 hours. 

Today I started on the design. This skein of very over plyed art yarn just popped up in my search through the spindle spun yarn and art yarn basket.  The basket is about the size of a large laundry basket.  I made a lot of little skeins. The section of orange yarn wanted to be twisted, turned and wrapped around individual threads of the progress was very slow. The small section of orange and the few green leafs took 2 hours of work.  Although I do love the very dramatic effect it has on the project so far.  The up side is that I am so in love with it so far. The art work and the loom. The down side, sorry that there is none.  I am having so much fun.  Tomorrow I might add a river bank and stream  I have the yarn picked out   

I did not sketch out the design ahead of time.  I want this to be a very organic piece.  I want a piece that brings me joy to create. Joy to look at. And joy for other people.  I also did not want this to be a flat tapestry, lots of people do those.  I also know that the weaving and spinning purest are going to hate it. That’s fine with me. This is my art on my terms. 

Playing Around

 I got a new to me Hockett Loom. I warped it today.  I tried to weave with the tools it came with.  That did not work.  So I pulled out my Navajo made weaving tools and they worked like a charm. For hand weaving always go with Navajo made tools, they have generations of knowledge that they rely on.

Right now I am just playing with some small skeins of hand spun and pretty commercial made yarn to make random patterns. This is kind of like a test drive for Weaver. I will show my finished projects on the blog just let me know if you’re interested in them. They will all be one of a kind as I see what I can do with this loom. 

Finally Finished

I am finally done with the lady does of post surgery eye drops. It seems to me like I have been doing them for ages.  

The black scarf is slightly more then 25% complete. 

The arthritis flare up continues.  

Black Yarn and more

 Every once in a while black yarn makes it’s way under cover of darkness into my yarn stash. Since this was a very good quality yarn I decided to keep it and make something with it.  So I gathered up the black yarn and a couple of my yarn butlers and set to work making a scarf. I decided to knit it in the round so that I would not have to look at the work while I was knitting. As you can see one skein has some white in it.  So when I run out of that yarn I will probably use some white yarn to keep the theme of black and white.  

You might be surprised to see me using 2 yarn butler’s. I am using 2, because black yarn is impossible to salvage when it gets tangled. Also I did not borrow one, I have five. I have four wooden yarn Butler’s and one 3D one that John made me. I find that for some projects yarn butlers are essential. When working with very dark yarn. When working with very large skeins of yarn. I also like to use John Butler’s when I am warping my looms. So there are a couple reasons that I have five yarn butlers. 

Talking about multiples of things, some days I wish I had two clothes dryers. I start doing laundry this morning after breakfast and just after 10 PM I put the last load in the dryer. It took a while for the blankets to dry. If I can’t get the big quilts washed in hot sunny days it takes about three rounds in the dryer to dry the big big quilts or bedspreads.  I am doing good so far with laundry. I have about 1000 yards a freshly spun, washed and thwacked yarn drying. Also the clothes I hung up with this morning. The only loads that have not been put away are the ones drying on the clothesline and the sheets that I just put in the dryer. So I think I conquered laundry today.

A Joyus Day

 Today started out on very bad footing. My neck and right shoulder hurt to the point I had to turn my body to look right. I was out of precooked home made oatmeal and did not have the time to make any before I had to leave. 

At lunchtime things began to slowly change for the better. I was just wishful thinking when at my favorite bread spot in town Beyond Bread, I asked if my favorite sandwich the Avi’s Avo could be made without bread or mayonnaise.  They said yes.. they really said yes and asked if I would like Romain lettuce instead of the bread. Of course I said yes. They brought out an overflowing bowl of lettuce, cucumbers, Sprouts, and turkey with two small cups of guacamole on the side. It was absolutely amazing paired with gazpacho soup and I was in heaven. Thank you Beyond Bread.

The day got even better my day got even better when I was working with my knitting student. The first thing we did was casting off a table runner That she had been working on for about a year. All it took on my part was showing her how to cast off just two stitches and she cast off the rest. The smile on her face for the accomplishment was just so wonderful. It just filled my heart with joy.

We then had to tackle the fringe on the table runner. First we pick the length the easy part. We use the short side of a CD case because it was the perfect length. First she learned how to cut the fringe. That was another easy part. Then we worked on putting the fringe in. That took a little more work, however she got the hang of it and got almost 10 inches of fringe done today. She had never picked up a crochet hook in her life. She learned how to put the crochet hook in the right stitches. How to do a quarter turn and pull the yarn through. And then how to tighten the fringe.  She was so excited and happy it was just absolutely amazing.

John managed to quickly get the spasm out of my neck and shoulder and now at bedtime even though I don’t have full range yet, I don’t hurt. I am hoping that a good nights sleep will take care of the rest. Having my neck and right shoulder hurt threw my whole body out of alignment. 

I did not get any spinning done today. I did manage to get 3 loads of laundry done with 2 being put away. So it turned into a good and joyous day. 

Turkey Taco Salad

 This is a new recipe to our house that became an instant family favorite.  It is a one pot meal that makes 4 servings. It takes about 15 minutes to put together, with breaks in between to do things like hang up laundry or other quick chores. It does take about 30 minutes total cooking time.  When I call out brands, they are the brands that I use at home on a regular basis.  If you have your preferred brands that’s fine too although the taste may differ from mine. I also have not asked permission from the brand’s to list them in the recipe and if asked I will change to a generic listing.

This recipe makes 4 servings or more if you have small children. This also reheats well  This recipe may be double. You may also use this recipe in tacos or burritos.

Turkey Taco Salad

1 Soup pot, I use my Le Creuset soup pot

1 pound 99% fat free ground turkey

2 Tablespoons of  California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 teaspoon  each of salt and pepper 

1 Tablespoon of dried Onion Flakes or 1 fresh onion diced.

1 Tablespoon of Penzey’s Spices Chicken Taco Seasoning 

10 ounces of Mirepoix mix

1 - 12 ounce package of Good and Gather mixed vegetables 

2 - 2 1/2ounces cans of Early California Sliced Ripe Olives

A nice fresh vegetable salad with your favorite vegetables. We use romaine lettuce as the base. 

Optional: shredded cheese

Cooking Instructions:

Add the olive oil to the pan and heat to a medium heat.  Add the ground turkey, salt, pepper, and dried onion flakes. With a spoon mix in the spice’s breaking up the meat. Cover and let brown. Come back every few minutes to further break up the meat until it is crumbled and no pink shows.  Change to a fresh spoon once the meat is thoroughly cooked. Add the chicken taco seasoning and mix in thoroughly. Then add the Mirepoix mix and if you are using fresh onion, stir in and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the sliced olives and the frozen vegetables and thoroughly mix in. Cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the frozen vegetables are thoroughly cooked.

While the frozen vegetables are cooking make up the salads. Place 1/4 of the mixture on top of the salads. 

Knitting

I finally finished a couple of knitting projects. It was to dark to take good pictures tonight. So tomorrow you get pictures. 

I also avoided the donut monster today. 

Buttercup Yarn

 I have finally finished spinning the buttercup roving and plyed it with Ito raw silk yarn. Here is a picture of the last 2 skeins in the middle.  I have not counted the yardage but I am sure that I will have enough to knit a shawl.  The single skein I finished yesterday is on top. The one I finished today are in the middle. The top one was photographed on a light grey table with an Ott light.  The middle 2 skeins were photographed on a brown couch with an Ott light. This is a perfect example of how background color can modify the look of any yarn. The gray brings out the yellow tones while the brown brings out the white tones and mutes the yellow. 

I skeined the yarn tonight during the Lord of the Rings Trilogy fight scenes. I know fight scenes are part of the book. They are also part of the TV show. That does not mean I have to watch them. Skinning each bobbin took up one fight scene. 

The bottom photo is the start of 4 ounces of super wash BFL. It is obviously still on the spinning wheel.  It is not going to be an art yarn. Since it is a super wash wool, I will be using it in charity hats.  My rationale behind this is that a few hundred years ago this was the normal thing.  It will also give me another one of a kind hat.  Just because the kids may get them from the clothing bank does not mean all the hats have to look the same.  The teachers usually get to pick the hats out for the students, so I try to give each on a unique personality. 

Life Happens

 Well this week has been interesting to say the least. Friday I dropped my favorite tea cup when my silly arthritic hands lost my grip on the cup. Apparently it dropped at the perfect angle to fracture into many pieces. The fantastic news is that is was empty at the time.  I will also never have to wash it again. The question remaining, is will I be able to “Keep Calm and Carry Yarn”? The cup has permanently retired from carrying tea. I think it will be hard for me to stop carrying yarn.

Speaking of tea, yes I was speaking about tea. I have discovered that at my current age I will no longer be able to drink caffeinated iced tea with dinner. It called for Tums tonight. Maybe I should just carry some herbal tea with me and ask for hot water and a cup. Otherwise it will be iced water with lemon. 

I also figured out while I was having trouble with my spinning wheels. The very good news is that is was not me. It was a positioning problem. With my Cubii2, I needed a 2 inch cushion on my spinning chair to be in the best position. The only problem is that my spinning chair is the perfect height to spin with , without the cushion.  Yes, that’s why they call it a spinning chair. So today I removed the cushion. I filled 1 bobbin with merino wool. I then plyed that bobbin with raw silk for a beautiful skein of yarn. 

This is my first skein of yarn for Spin Together 2022. Since I used a commercial raw silk yarn for the plying I could only count the 366 yards of the merino.  You will notice that it is a thick and thin art yarn. I have 2 more bobbins to ply that won’t count for Spin Together 2022. The yarn will be a Shawl with the pattern  Count 1,2,3,4. Yes it is one of my designs. You can get the pattern from Raverly, LoveCrafts.com or your local yarn store. Have a good rest of the weekend.