Fiber Arts and Equipment – Page 17

Our Day

Some people don’t like Valentine’s Day, a related contact on social media posts a meme of Cupid face down with an arrow in his/her back every year. I love Valentine’s Day, the day my love and I married 44 years ago. He picked the date, 6 short weeks after our engagement. Over the years, we have gone out for nice dinners at some fine restaurants. When the kids were small, my parents or a babysitter if it was a weekend would take over their duties so we could go out. Sometimes when it worked out, we would stay overnight in a hotel to extend the evening. Later when the kids were grown, we would often go to a B&B for the weekend closest to our anniversary.

Four years ago, we took a cruise to the south Caribbean, swam with dolphins and skates, took a tour of Belize City, another of Tulum, and rode horses on the beach in Honduras. We did the Chef’s tour on the ship one night and ate all of the tiny portions they kept bringing out until we were miserably stuffed and then were treated to an anniversary dessert.

Last year because of COVID restrictions, we bought BBQ dinners from a local restaurant and ate them from Styrofoam boxes in the car sitting by the river. Tonight we will go to a local, nicer restaurant that is limiting seating to 50% and eat out, something we haven’t been doing much lately. And my love gave me a gorgeous new spindle as a gift.

It is a special day in our lives and I hope there will be many more.

Yesterday, I made two batches of soap that is saponifying in the utility room window.

The little dish on top was extra from one batch and will be used as a travel bar if travel is every on our agenda again. Later today, they will be unmolded and cut into bars to cure. One batch is for a friend to have part of, the other, my go/to bath/shampoo bar.

Last night, during the Super Bowl, I sat and wound the 4 ounces of wool that hubby gave me for Christmas into a ply ball, then plied it on my wheel so it would be one nice gradient skein instead of 4 smaller ones that I would have to have to ply on my spindles. It ended up a fine 18 WPI yarn before it is bathed. My experience with this breed is that is doesn’t bloom too much, so a light lacy scarf pattern will be selected once I wind it off and see how many yards I am working with.

The spin started with the dark end of the gradient and ended with the lighter end, so it plied in reverse with the darkest part on the outside of the bobbin. It is a perfect color of wines and should make a pretty scarf.

There are more fibers to spin, several spindles to spin on, now 3 gifts from the man I love who indulges my hobbies.

Happy Valentine’s Day to the lovebirds out there. May you have many, many more happy years together.

Market Day

We have snow showers in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow morning. They salted the roads yesterday which will send everyone scurrying to the grocer to buy up all the bread, milk, and beer (it is Super Bowl Weekend). I don’t drink, don’t need milk, can make my own bread or get it at the Farmer’s Market, so I will avoid the grocer. We supplied up on dog foods earlier in the week, but are having difficulty getting hubby’s preferred cola. The shelves have been stocked with lots of options, but not caffeine free diet and this has been an off and on problem all fall and winter. I don’t drink soda either, but it is his preferred beverage. I’m not braving a grocery today for it though.

My preorders were be ready at the Farmer’s Market and I scanned the other vendors to see if there was anything else I want. The Market was a zoo, too many people for my comfort level. Hubby wanted one thing for breakfast out that could be picked up and eaten in the car, I didn’t want that and figured to just get breakfast at the market. All of the lines were too long to wait, the local coffee shop near the market had people out the door, the local bagel shop near where we drop off eggs was mobbed. Fortunately, after trying two other places, we found one that I could get a bite and coffee. Weekly eggs were delivered, we took our walk and came home. There are a few chores to do like vacuuming, but there is an obstacle in my way.

The old guy won’t get up on his bed, but he does use it as a pillow and since we have to use a beach towel under his belly to help him get on his feet now, I don’t want to disturb him.

We may or may not leave the house tomorrow depending on whether we get a dusting or several inches, there is no need at our ages (or any age) to risk going out on snowy roads when unnecessary. I can always make chili for lunch or dinner. And since I got fresh cornmeal last weekend, corn bread is always favored, hot from the oven. I once ordered a tiny skillet of cornbread that was topped with goat cheese, it was maybe the best cornbread I have ever had, but have never been able to duplicate it.

This afternoon is Zoom day with the spindle group. A visit with them is in order as I missed last weekend because we went into town to get a pizza from a small chain restaurant but when we arrived the line was out the door. There was an indoor track meet with 4 Universities over last weekend and three hotels within walking distance. As we sat in an Asian fast food drive thru line instead, the waves of college students swarming around our car was a good indication that we had chosen the wrong night to get the pizza.

The month is almost half over, we will celebrate our 44th anniversary on Monday. Four years ago we were on a cruise to celebrate the 40th. Maybe someday we will be able to safely travel again. With only the couple of weeks behind me, I have already nearly finished my batt of colored wool that was my February spin challenge, have finished 25 grams of another fiber for my second blanket, knit two breeds on to the blanket. I have picked another fiber sample new to me to spin and it and plying the fiber below and the one for my blanket will occupy the rest of the month.

A relatively quiet weekend, just the two of us.

From Fog to Frigid…

And snow flurries. Nothing extreme, no real accumulation expected, just the lightest dusting on surfaces frozen solid from the temperature fall into the teens. Yesterday morning it was 52 f when I arose, by the time hubby arose a couple hours later is was 43 f and it continued in that direction all day and overnight. It is 20 f and very windy now and not expected to get out of the 20’s today.

I have to think seriously whether there is anything I need from the Farmer’s Market to go shop in these conditions, but feel I should support the vendors that brave the cold to come out and supply us. There are no fresh veggies this time of year. The vendor that provides them all winter from large tunnels decided to just vend from their farm store until spring. It is too far to drive to the farm store for $20 worth of produce. I have signed up for the “chose your own CSA” again beginning in the spring when they return. The support of the vendors won out over the comfort of home, eggs were delivered, cheese, fresh milled corn meal, potatoes and turnips, maple syrup, and some protein obtained. While in town, we found out that there was a shooting in downtown last night in a Hookah bar that left one person dead, 4 others wounded. This is not the type of incident we see in this small University town and it alarms me. The news reports hint that the shooter was not identified nor caught last night.

Last night I pruned back all the lettuces in the hydroponic garden and harvested enough for 2 side salads each for us, but three of the plants were too bitter for hubby’s preference, so they were pulled and new ones started. It is nearly time to start tomato and pepper seedlings in that unit.

The hens were really slackers this week, not even providing what is needed for the three households that get their eggs. Their coop needs cleaning again, but not until a warmer day this week, if there is one. A warmer day is needed to do some midwinter garden clean up as well or it will be over run with a weed that seems to be able to withstand the freeze. I have been saving newspaper and as I pull the weeds in an area, I am going to put down a thick pad of newspaper and anchor it with wood chips. The area that is the worst is above the bed that never got it’s 4th side screwed on last summer so never got cardboard and mulch applied. I guess some bagged wood chips will have to be on the purchase list sometime soon. I wish I could get a truck load dumped up here without paying a fortune for them.

The second breed blanket is growing. I added a 5th breed and found a skein I had spun after the other was done, so a 6th breed is being knit on now. Some spinning is getting done, but not a lot. My friend in Sweden sent me more Jämtland wool, a lovely dark, soft brown and enough to do a blanket panel and still have enough to knit a hat and or fingerless mitts for myself. Her package arrived so quickly, I was amazed. I mailed one to her the same day, it will be interesting how long it takes to get to her. I think that will be my next fiber to spin after the wine colored batt. In December, one of our spinning group who is a contributor to a local community magazine, did an article on our group and the edition just came out this week. As I had been the topic of another article when I completed the Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em challenge, I was not part of the interview, but when the photographer came a couple weeks later, I was putting my Breed Blanket together and my old hands working with the blanket in my lap was the lead picture. Photographed here with my second breed blanket progress and current spinning project. The spinning is really more wine colored than this photo shows.

The sun is out, but it is still too cold to want to do any chores outdoors that can wait a few days until we get back into the low 40’s, so knitting, spinning, and reading will occupy my afternoon.