Thanksgiving was great fun.
Sharon and Ian adopted me for the weekend and let me spend the holiday with their large rambunctious family. Friday we went up to Plumas National Forest, uphill from Frenchman's Lake, and cut Christmas trees. The trees are cut by permit from areas that are being thinned.
I picked out a lovely little California fir. It is set up in my livingroom awaiting decoration.
Saturday, before heading back into town, I was able to make it to Joe Winter's semi-annual studio sale.
He and his wife make fabulous pottery. There were lots of amazing pieces on display in the studio and outside in two sheds. (Yes, I shopped.) I was also able to get a look at his wood-fired kiln. I especially like the display space/grid he had on the outside of one of the sheds.
I think it would be cool to build something like that on the outside of my back porch to display natural stuff like interesting rocks, etc.
Sunday I started another basket. I think it is important to practice a new skill right away, or it may get put away in a closet and forgotten. It is amazing how addictive this form of basketry is. Before Thanksgiving I collected a shopping bag full of cast off pine needles from the Jeffery pines behind the Ag Building on campus. These are about 8-12 inches in length and soften up nicely when soaked overnight. I am using artificial sinew that I bought at Tandy's Leathercraft for sewing the coils together. (It was sort of a trip back in time going to Tandy's, which I swear has the exact same collection of kits that they sold in the 1970s.) My second basket is much bigger than my first (about 3 inches in diameter) and will have a lid that I plan to add some beads to. I will post a picture when it is complete.
Tada!
I have just triumphantly removed the last batch of rosemary-cayenne roasted pecans from the oven. That makes 20 lbs of them (even heavier with all that butter). I wasn't going to make them this year, but a few folks (I won't say who) begged. I have 4 pans that can roast 1 lb each, so I production lined it. This is the 4th or 5th year I have made them so I have the process down to an exact science. 
In the 10 minutes it takes a batch to roast I am melting butter, measuring spices, openning pecan bags, mixing butter/spice/nuts together, removing butter wrappers from the cat, cleaning pans for the next batch, etc. 20 lbs takes about 6 hours and leaves behind a very buttery kitchen. And a heavenly smell. I only burnt myself once this year! Tomorrow, when they are completely cool, I will package them in tins. (Yes, Dad, you are getting another decorative tin. Just be glad I only do this once a year.) 
This is what has been keeping me away from blogging. I am pleased to say that all the boxes to be mailed went out this morning. I wrapped the presents in gold paper (not recycled, but using up existing closet stock), tied them with purple knitting ribbon, and used key tags as gift tags. Kudos to any diligent reader of my blog who remembers why I have a stash of key tags! I think they look kinda cool, anyway.
Here's a tip: my scissors had gone AWOL so I used the rotary cutter and mat I have left from all the sewing for the trailer. It was great! I was able to cut the paper straighter and faster than ever with the scissors. Made a big job so much more manageable.
As promised, here is my second pine needle basket. I thought the opaque blue glass beads had a nice vintagy look. As you can see, the basket is a bit bigger than my first one. This basket will be a Christmas present for one of my family. (Which family member? That would be telling. ;-))
Friday night I did a bit of kamikaze dyeing. No planning ahead - just mixed up dye in plastic cups and went to work. I pulled merino roving, targhee roving and coopworth handspun out of my stash. Some I painted with dye, wrapped in plastic wrap, and steamed in the microwave. Some I immersion dyed. By the end of the evening I had a wealth of green and blue drying over the heat vents. Sunday, after smugly admiring the (now dry)results, I went back into my chaotic fiber room to put it away. I had an inspiration - since most of the roving was still on the plastic hangers used for drying, why not leave it on the hangers and park them in the closet? The resulting light and airiness (along with some of this year's lavender harvest)would discourage moths, and a simple glance into the closet would remind me what I had available next time I wanted to start a new project. 
