Sunnyside Ellen

People say that you cross a line when you have more than 2 cats, especially if you are a single women. Last week I think we crossed a different line, when I bought a table loom. We now have 2 sewing machines, 1 serger, a spinning wheel ( I do not own it, but it’s here), a yarn stash, a fabric stash, a button stash, yarn dyeing equipment and all kinds of fibre related tools and now a loom. I think the only thing missing at this point is a sheep in the backyard ( or maybe an angora rabbit?)

As I have mentioned before my 10 y/o daughter has fallen in love with weaving. ( Maybe it has something to do with the fact, that this is the one thing I do not do?) I bought her a small loom last year and they also did some weaving in school. She told me the other day, that she would like a larger loom. She had some birthday money left so I started searching.

I looked at new looms and used looms on E-bay and Craigslist. I found out quickly, that looms are not cheap and it was hard for me to figure out what she needs. In the end I called someone who had listed a table loom on Craigslist at a very reasonable price. When I saw it I could not believe how big it was. I thought table loom meant portable, but I was wrong. The loom has the size of a child’s desk. It comes with its own stand. The weaving width is 32 inches and it has 4 shafts. It is made out of pine, is about 40 years old and from Norway. It is beautiful.

I just stood there for a while and stared at it. Then I asked every question I could think of, trying to find out if we could make it work. The owner of the loom was very patient and finally found a book for us as well. It is Learning to Weave by Deborah Chandler and I think it is great.

Later at home I took a crash course in weaving, figured out how to warp the loom for thicker yarn and off she went. ( She likes this style of weaving: thinner yarn for the warp and thicker yarn in the weft.) She is now weaving her second scarf, this time in a twill pattern and is absolutely in love with her new loom. I am astonished how fast she is and how quickly she figured out the pattern.

Do you think I can borrow it some time? I have already subscribed to Weavecast.

I am knitting the Drop Stitch Scarf using my very own first handspun, that I have spun on a wheel. Clearly it is not very good yarn, because I did not know how to adjust the yarn uptake as the bobbin got fuller and also the wheel needed oil.

But I enjoy knitting with this yarn so much! I love the way the colours change and play with each other. I think the places where the yarn is really fat are cute. There is even one spot, where they really pile up. The pattern is very pretty, too!

The fiber is a very soft superwash Merino top that I have dyed. I have plied the yarn with a cotton sewing thread, which keeps everything together. These are the first 2oz. I was much better spinning the other half and made a regular 2ply out of it. I hope, it will look nice when I combine these.

I was done by 11am and the party started at 1:30pm. No problem, right? I have to admit, it was not as tedious as I though it would be to open up all the seams I needed in order to unravel the right front. But I was nervous about getting it done on time. The stitches are not as even as they should be, but that was caused by the curly yarn. And of course, I had not time to wash the cardigan.

Yesterday I went looking for buttons at my local sewing store. The blue buttons they had had all the wrong shade and the orange buttons were shiny, which I did not like. So I used the white buttons, that I had in my stash. I also made a label with iron-on transfer on knit fabric.

Stats:

Pattern: Devan from Knitty in size 1-2 yrs

Modifications: used the same yarn allover, 1*1 ribbing instead of rolled hems

Yarn: my own hand-dyed, colourway “Sunset” in Louet Gems Merino fingering weight, with plenty left over

The baby’s first birthday is on Sunday. I thought I would have the cardigan easily done by then. I had it seamed, had the button band knitted on, then (!) blocked it. I was just trying to find out if I had matching buttons, when I was distracted by the way the fronts looked funny.

One side is longer than the other! As a first aid measure I frogged the button band, hoping that I had cast on too many stitches on one side. But no, one side is larger than the other.

I can’t tell you how stupid I feel. It is also not the first time, that this happened. ( Remember?) I hope, now I will have learned my lesson and stop measuring so sloppily on the go!

OK, I have to fix this - until Sunday! Sigh!( I think I need to lie down now.)

My apologies for not writing anything lately, but I must admit I find this summer thing a bit difficult. Finally the weather is really nice and there is all the fun not to be missed ( the beach, fireworks, boat rides etc.), but the truth is, that there is also a lot of work to be done. It is even worse, than in normal times. One trip to the beach results in sand everywhere and an extra load of laundry. Well, I am not complaining, just explaining my absence from my blog.

I have also been busy with making Strawberry jam ( yummy!) and ever since I have that new oven I have been baking up a storm ( Somebody stop me, please!) I have made several breads, Pizza, Lasagna, Muffins, cookies, a clafoutis and a few cakes.

One thing that also has brightened my daily routine, is that we now have a weekly menu plan. I fought this idea for quite some time, because who wants to be so organized? Where is the spontaneity and creativity in a menu plan? As it turned out the feeling of doom in not knowing what to make for dinner at 5:30 pm clearly outweighs the feeling of being tied down by a plan.

Besides the advantage of being prepared it also gives everyone the chance to vote for a special dish and an opportunity for negotiations. ( “I take your Risotto on Tuesday, if you eat my Toast Hawaii on Thursday.”) Try is, it’s fun!

I found this cute pattern on Ravelry, but decided to crochet it instead of knitting and made it up as I went along.

The yarn is from my stash. It is a superwash wool in worsted weight, but I do not remember the brand.

I think, I will gift this in a brown paper bag. Fitting, no? It is for the same teacher who lent me her spinning wheel. I believe, she will appreciate it.  

Here is how I did it:

I started out with a small ring of 5 slip stitches that I increased with single crochet (increasing every stitch) until I had a disk 12 sts around. I placed a marker to show the beginning of a round. Then I increased 4 sts * every round until I had 60 sts. After that I went straight for 2 rows,  crocheting back and forth from this point to create an opening. In the following rows I decreased 4 stitches every other row.  When I had only 12 stitches left, I crocheted a small loop and cast off. 

The stem I made with 5 slip stitches, turned and then stitched 1 single crochet into every loop. For the leaf I made 3 slip stitches, crocheted in single crochet 2 rounds, increased to 6 sts the next round, continued straight for a few rounds and decreased until I had 1 stitch left. 

The embroidery is a simple back stitch. I folded the leaf in the middle lengthwise and stitched it together in the end to give it more shape before I attached it to the apple.

* stitch 3 increase 1, repeat ;  next row: stitch 4 increase 1, repeat;  next row: stitch 5 increase 1, repeat  etc. 

I had a great time last night! It all went well and my nerves did not get the better of me. I had a lot of fun dancing for all these people (the theatre seats 1.200) , but most of all I enjoyed being a part of it. There was a lot of excitement, laughter, hugs and cheers and a few tears.

There is a group of young adults that are graduating this year and some of them have been dancing for 15 years in this studio. They did a special good-bye piece for us and it was incredibly moving.

Oh, and talk about moving: read Franklin’s post.

No - but I have to do it anyway! Tonight is the night. We practised our shuffle draw-backs, our para diddles and most importantly the time-step since September. Tonight while waiting in the darkness in the wings of the stage I will wonder if it was enough.

This is the weirdest feeling ever:  Time stands still while you wait in the darkness, glimpse the group that is dancing on stage, trying to prevent your heart from jumping out of your chest. Just breathe, just breathe.

Then the stage turns dark, you walk on, lights on, the music starts and off you go. (Don’t stumble and remember to SMILE!!!) It is all over in what feels like seconds. ( It is 3:31 minutes, actually)

Wish me luck!

I made these for the Cake Walk at our school. Taste-wise the little cakes are pretty basic, but they were a lot of fun to decorate.

This is the recipe ( makes about 12):

Preheat oven to 350 F, spread parchment paper on baking sheets

Cream 130g butter and 180g sugar, add 1 tsp of vanilla and a pinch of salt. To this mix add slowly 4 eggs, wait for one egg to be incorporated before you add the next. In a separate bowl mix 500g flour with 5 tsp of backing powder. Stir the flour into the dough with 3/4 cup milk.

Using a large ice-cream scoop portion the dough onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of room. Bake for 15 minutes then brush the cakes with milk. Return to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes.

To decorate I used icing sugar with a bit of milk added and spread this on the bottom of the cakes. For the dark icing I just added cocoa powder.

My son piped the hair and mouths, while my daughters added the noses and eyes. I was very grateful about their help, since they did a great job and it was quite late when we started.

 My latest knitting project is a cardigan for a toddler. The pattern is called Devan and can be found here. The yarn is my own hand dyed. It is fingering weight and therefore relatively slow going, but then the stockinette is pleasantly mindless.

Etsy is having a Yart (Yard-Art) Sale starting Wednesday, June 11to Friday, June 20

~ FIRST ANNUAL KICKOFF TO SUMMER YART SALE ~

 An Artistic Slant to a traditional Yard Sale. 10 day countdown to the first Day of Summer.  

To find items on sale type the word “yart” and whatever you are interested in ( i.e. “necklace”) into the search engine and you will find many items.

To narrow it down it helps, if you exclude what you are not looking for by adding “NOT gold” or “NOT beads”. Also you might want to check out your favourites. Maybe some of these items are on sale.

http://www.etsy.com/index.php