Spring has sprung! (and a childish giveaway)

It's sprung all over my car if the thick chartreuse layer of pollen is anything to go by. But it has gotten very pretty out.


This is looking up the hill to one side of the house. A downed tree back near the white dogwood has allowed a lot more light into that part of the woods, which is why that white dogwood is so full. The pink flowering tree in front is a redbud.

The tulips are almost past due to some extra hot days, but these pink and white ones called "Angelina" (not the fiber!) are hanging on and looking very festive. They're almost like roses.


It's most definitely May. Of course, May 1 means a giveaway here on my little blog. I was fooling around with shrink film last week and feeling like a kid again, so I've decided that this month I'm giving away shrinky dink plastic film. Yeah, you heard me right. I used to cut down those plastic clamshell packaging for things like baked goods and stuff and shrink them in the toaster oven, but in this case I have the "real thing".


That's 6 sheets of frosted shrink film, one sheet of opaque white inkjet shrink plastic (not pictured), some pre-punched circles, and a box of colored pencils.

They're suitable for making all sorts of knickknacks, and there's nothing easier for personalized stitch marker charms. Colored pencil is permanent once the pieces are shrunk and the color remains bright and vivid and won't transfer. Just make sure to punch a hole (1/8in or bigger) for the jump ring before shrinking the plastic down!


To enter, please comment here with something crafty you enjoyed doing as a kid, and if you still like doing it. I'll randomly pick a winner next Saturday, May 7th. This month's Rav group giveaway is identical, but as always it's fine to enter both.

Happy May!

A day late and a...n update!

First things first, I should have done this yesterday but I was figuratively snowed in under digital photographs. The recipient of this month's giveaway of itty bitty needles and yarn miniskeins is Rebecca! I'll be emailing.

Meanwhile, back at this also figurative ranch, I have finally updated the shop again, and will continue to do so as I can get the pictures done. Not with the entire backlog, that's still overflowing. I have pictures for a few more things including Silksheep fiber and some Arctic Hare, and I want to get that done asap. Still, I've listed the entire backlog of Jackrabbit. It feels really good to have 6oz skeins back in the shop.

I'm still amused by the Cobalt colorway in Jackrabbit.

I did a few "looks like a semisolid even if it isn't" in what could be considered a straight "color" instead of a "colorway" for the festival last autumn. Mostly for completeness' sake because I always have big gaps in my spectrum. Of course no one paid any attention to those colorways. I should really stick with my strengths and leave the rainbows to other people.

Still, I'm rather proud of Cobalt as I think it manages to capture that almost cadet blue of the lighter portions but the inky purple tones in the deep parts that cobalt colored glass has. Well, depending on what one considers cobalt blue, of course.

More nattering under the jump cut.

A day that can't be misconstrued as a bad joke (and yes, a giveaway)

April fools' day is one of those days I enjoy but also find a little dismaying. On the other hand, the ouroboros of irony in this Reddit prank is sort of amusing, if only that the second pick for "most boring video" was a knitting tutorial. I think a link to This Is Handmade would have been more appropriate.

Then there was this:

This was around 10am yesterday and it snowed for hours. It was all gone by the evening after it warmed up and rained, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted to wake up to!

I was also out all day yesterday having a delightful fibery time with some far flung friends. By the time I got home this blog post just wouldn't coalesce, (a cocktail might have contributed to this fact). But I have a giveaway to give! This month I'm giving away something a little quirky, to go along with April 1 (a date which I've now avoided).

This month, I'm giving away this:

No, not the plate. Look closer. I swear there's something there sitting on the yarn. Really! OK, it's a set of double pointed needles I bought from China a few years ago. They're a set of 4 steel needles about 9.5in long, size 16. This size 16 is, I believe, from the old UK scale and so these needles fall between size 00/1.75mm and size 000/1.5mm. I'm also including the 5 mini-skeins of assorted sock yarn in a mostly blue palette. Just in case the idea of knitting with 1.6mm needles is daunting, you know?

When I was in Shanghai I would see women knitting elaborate single colored sweaters in the round on long dpns like these or longer, with one or more strands of lace weight yarn. The smallest sized needles I could find were 18s. Since I was running around with a short US#7/4.5mm circular needle and a heavy worsted weight yarn, I felt very fish out of water.

The knitters were often sitting outside their booths in assorted marketplaces, and I once saw a woman winding yarn with a vertical wire swift. Most of the yarns being sold in the markets were unlabeled and in big hanks sorted by fiber content. This was very different from the yarn and fabric shop I visited where everything was in a glass case or in boxes along the wall, looking very much like the balled yarns we see here, and with heavier weights available.

I'm going to let this one run through Friday, April 8th, and I'll pick a random winner on Saturday. This time around I'd like to hear a story about yarn craft in public, either your own or seeing someone working on something in public. Comment here with a story or anecdote to be added to the drawing! And yes, double dipping with this month's Ravelry group giveaway is fine. And remember to leave a way for me to reach you if you've won.

Chocolate noms

I made a dessert tonight that was so fast and simple and delicious that I have to share it here. Molten Chocolate Cake, also known as chocolate lava cake. It's fast and easy to make, has a short list of ingredients, and it's sooooo good.

I dare you to keep decorum past the second bite.



Recipe with my modifications after the jump.

Japan

Some things.
Help_Japan on LiveJournal, along the same model as Help_Haiti etc. An auction where people offer things and other people bid on them, and the winning bidders donate directly to aid orgs and the offerors fulfill the bids. No money changes hands between offeror and bidder unless shipping costs are figured in, but that's at the discretion of the individual offerors. The comm is also collecting links to charities and of news value here.

I have four auctions up. Bidding is open, and the comm is still open to new listings. The auction will be open for new offerings through the 26th and will close bidding on March 31st.
Custom yarn or Corriedale spinning fiber offer - 2 100g skeins of wool/nylon sock or superwash worsted or 12oz of fiber.
2 skeins of 2ply New Zealand Gottland wool in natural grey. (I've decided to match this donation myself to NZ earthquake relief.)
Autographed Equus playbill, signed by Richard Griffiths.
Knitted dumpling toys, catnip optional.


And some links I've collected from friends, etc.
Global Voices Online - Waiting for the right moment to help - this is addressed to people who could conceivably get up and drive to the affected areas, etc, but I think it's worthwhile to think about what it says regardless. Aid efforts have to be coordinated to be useful.

Oregon Live blog - Helping Japan: how your knitting can (and can't) help. - I pretty much agree, so I'm putting this here. I've seen a lot of people eager to knit for Japan and I know that impulse too. It's a generous one and it's not coming from just knitters but all sorts of people who feel helpless and that cash is not enough. Still, misguided or unfocused assistance can cause more difficulties than it alleviates and it can divert energy that eventually goes nowhere instead of into actual assistance. Which is actually what the previous article was kind of saying. So really, my plea is that we all be thoughtful about giving and whether or not we're actually helping, or if we're making more work.

AsiaJin blog - lots of interesting content about internet efforts since the disaster began.

MIT NSE Nuclear Information Hub - There's a lot of scaremongering about the nuclear power plants, as well as misinformation, truncated information, etc. (including the jerk who spread the fake nuclear fallout map). This blog is updating regularly with more information as they get it, but of the greatest value to me was the first post at the bottom explaining how reactors of this type work. The entire blog is useful, however, in explaining and contextualizing the actual information, rather than saying "radiation contamination" and leaving us to wonder if things are going to start glowing in the dark.

Scientific American - Radiation's Complications: Pinning Health Problems on a Nuclear Disaster Isn't So Easy This article is talking about Chernobyl and is interesting in its own right, but it's additionally topical now of course. For another interesting read, check out The worst nuclear plant accident in history: Live from Chernobyl.

ShelterBox - they're not taking directed donations, but they are on the ground in Japan working to get their boxes to the critical areas. I'm posting this here because I'd never heard of it before this event, and it's fascinating what they're doing.

I know some people want their money to go to whatever cause they specify. I'm comfortable with MSF/Doctors Without Borders being my "go to" charity in situations like this even without a directed donation set up. I'm not so picky as long as it's an organization I trust to actually spend the money wisely instead of eat it up in administrative costs. There's so much need, after all. New Zealand and China are both still recovering from recent earthquakes. Haiti is still trying to recover, and there's no lack of disasters both natural and human created before or since. CharityNavigator is helpful when making choices as well as weeding out potential scams.

Blogging my dinner again

So, yesterday was my birthday and for my birthday I decided I wanted to cook a very complicated dinner without concern about costs. Some of it was very successful and some of it could have been improved, but all in all I had a fantastic time shopping and cooking and cooking some more. Dinner was tasty, my plan for how to prepare and serve everything went almost without a hitch, and we ended the night full but not in distress from overeating. Considering the meal had 8 courses, this last was probably my greatest achievement!

Whoops! It's Tuesday

And I was supposed to announce the giveaway recipient yesterday. *scrambles*

The winner this month is Jamie! I'll contact via Ravelry regarding the McMorran balance.

I'm going to blame my lack of focus on dyeing yarn inside. All those fumes, you know (not really). This is why I'm mostly seasonal and usually do my dyeing only in the temperate months. It's both easier and harder than when I can set up my station outside. For one thing, there's half as many pots going, and everything takes an interminable amount of time. And while it may be more comfortable, it's also cramped and messier.


That's two measly pots and all that will fit in the bathroom where I dye in the winter. I managed four batches of yarn yesterday. 12 is typical of a normal day when I've got 4 pots cranked up. *sigh* So instead of 2 days dyeing, I'm going to do three and hope to finish up properly tomorrow.

I have to finish by tomorrow because Thursday is set aside for shopping and cooking because Friday is my birthday. I decided this year that I just wanted a nice dinner at home, but I wanted DINNER, and I wanted free rein to go to the supermarket(s) and buy anything I wanted to make anything I want whatsoever, and damn the cost. Which, given how I can shop for food will be not inconsiderable.

I have a menu already and it's 7 courses. I've got my shopping list and my prep schedule and I'm debating what to drink with dinner and if I can include a new bottle of gin in the total. We'll see. But it should be good.

More after the jump, including a very limited time coupon code for the shop, so click through!

It's that time again (a well balanced giveaway)

So I may be a little flaily because I have so very much to do and never enough time in which to do it, but that doesn't mean this post can't be well balanced, like a healthy breakfast.

Or this McMorran balance.


Yes, today I am giving away a metric McMorran yarn balance. These nifty tools are used to determine the meterage of a given quantity of yarn. The balance is very precisely weighted and when you drape a bit of the yarn over it and then trim it until the arm is level, the length of that remaining bit of yarn will tell you how much yarn per gram you have. Weigh the remaining yarn, do a little basic math,and Bob's yer uncle. The instruction sheet is included, but it's really that simple.

It's not as accurate with yarn that's slubby or thick/thin, but it can still generate a good ballpark figure. Can you do the equivalent with a scale sensitive enough? Yes, but do you have a scale that goes to at least 2 decimal points to the gram? If so, then you don't need this. Which would also be the reason I'm giving it away.

I'm a little fried and crispy around the edges so just comment with anything to enter this drawing, and remember to make sure I have a way of contacting you if you win. If you've got a fun yarn or fiber (horror or otherwise) story, even better. I'm going to let this one run all the way through Sunday the 6th and pick a random winner on Monday March 7th because my plate runneth over all this week. As always, you can double dip with the Ravelry group giveaway. That one is foam display heads this time around.

But hey! I finished my weaving.

It came out 54in long after soaking it in hot water and the silk bounced back to it's pre-tension length. Ahh, relaxation shrinkage, at least I have a name for it. And I have decided I can never complain about weaving in ends in knitting again. I wove back every single warp thread along itself to finish the piece. I'm sure there's a better and faster way to finish a piece of fabric without fringe, but I was too impatient to research it. After all, it only took me 6 hours to weave in 100 warp threads. *facepalm*

The scarf is really light, but the silk gives it a bit of body so it doesn't feel insubstantial. The wool softened up as well and I'm really pleased with it. And I doubt I will ever need to weave anything again. That particular urge is well satisfied and my mother likes her new scarf.

Short attention span

Deadlines in February always have a sort of headlong quality to them. The month is only short by a couple days, but those extra hours add up when March 1 is within sight.

I've been participating in Nerd Wars all month, and I have a weaving project to finish. This was it last week. I have 18in left to do and not much time to do it in. We'll see if I get it in on time.


It's a backstrap loom warped with some matka and noil 2ply silk I have, and I've been weaving with some 2ply Gottland wool. I've started splicing in extra silk where the warp is thin, so we'll see how that changes the character of the fabric. I do like how it's turning out, but I will never really be a weaver. I much prefer my knitting needles.

I've also wanted to post the most ridiculously easy warm apple deliciousness ever, and since I had three overripe Golden Delicious apples and the desire, I made it this morning. I've got the method after the jump as it's not really a recipe so much as a thing to make when the ingredients match up with the inclination. There are two ingredients, apples and butter, and it can be eaten by itself or as a condiment.

I should learn to luge

First things first, I forgot to do this yesterday. The entries for February's giveaway really cracked me up and the winner of the giveaway stitchmarkers is Bretta! I'll contact via Ravelry.

Meanwhile, this winter is certainly full of enough ice and snow. We've been on ice since the sleet storm, with an impassible driveway. Rather, we could get down but getting back up again is always the kicker. This was the top of the driveway this afternoon. This is after a couple days of thaw, but it hasn't dented the inch thick layer of compacted snow and ice pellets.


Digging around in the shed revealed a bag of rock salt and a bucket of sand, so everything visible in the picture was given a going over. This allowed us to get out and, more importantly, back up again with staples like milk, eggs, and cat food. That last one is really important. We are perfectly capable of surviving until spring thaw with what's in the freezer and pantry, but the cats are more particular than we are. :P

Not only that, but there's been a stranger cat visiting late at night since the 3rd. It's a large black and white long hair, very skittish and it runs away whenever I turn on the light and go out to look for it. But it lingers around the house and cries and cries. I think it may be a housecat that got out and is now lost in the wilderness of ice and snow. I've been putting food and water out for it, so hopefully it will become less skittish over time and I can see about finding where it belongs.

Being iced in gives me a weird sense of limbo. I've been knitting up a storm and getting not much else of worth done. I'm separating some 6ply silk into a 2ply and a 4ply for a weaving project I want to do (which is a special sort of tedium since I don't have a wheel) and I've been making stitch markers, but there's no urgency to anything. Getting to the mailbox has been hard enough, let alone the post office. With the second half of the week expected to go back down to single digits overnight, our driveway is unlikely to improve very much. I feel like I'm hibernating.

Still, one thing I did do was post my free knit jiaozi pattern to Ravelry, and I made a little instructional video, too. Both links are in the sidebar, too.

Ravelry pattern page
Ravelry pdf download link
YouTube supplemental tutorial

These dumplings were a good idea, actually. The cats have been going stir crazy indoors, and so I've thrown a bunch of these around and it lets them blow off some excess energy. Not all of them have catnip in them and they still seem to work.