Mid-May update

You may have noticed that I have not said much about fiber stuff lately. Partially it has been due to inactivity, or rather over-activity in the work half of my life. And partially it has been due to my working on a not-posted-until-it-is-gifted project. I have been taking pictures of this project and will post all the details later in the summer.

There are 2 other in-process projects I can report on:

First, I am mostly done knitting a simple white summer cardigan out of some French purl cotton I bought ages ago at a Stitches West vendor booth. I am using the Summer Cardigan pattern from Knitting Pure and Simple. The plan is to have the cardi to put over a sundress I will be wearing to a wedding in July (hot for the ceremony, but air conditioned at the reception). Oddly enough, when I washed the swatch it came out noticeably whiter, which will suit the outfit perfectly. Just need to finish a sleeve, then do the button bands.

Secondly, perusing the Knitty.com archives I came across the pattern for a bag called "Unbiased". It calls for 11oz of recycled sari silk from Tibet. By happenstance I have 2 skeins (12oz) that I bought several years ago in a little imports store in Yachats, Oregon. I have many special memories of that trip, so a bag made from this yarn will be both a handy knitting bag and a treasured memento. For now the project is my carry-along knitting. When finished, I can use it to carry along other carry-along projects.

One more fiberish note: After a long period of resistance, I have allowed myself to be swept into the world of Ravelry.com. My spot on the waiting list came up today and I have set up my profile. An initial look-around tells me I could spend days inside. Although I don't expect to index all of my needles and fiber stash (it is enough to be a librarian by day) I do expect to find lots of tips, patterns and inspiration.

As for the garden, I finished spreading mulch in the front yard (all 60 bags of it!), trimmed back last year's bloom stalks from the Perovskia and Caryopteris, and have dug the first dozen feet of foundation trench for my rock wall. After all that work I celebrated by adding a garden ornament to the lavender bed.

mulch

Water-wise organic gardeners learn quickly that there is no such thing as too much mulch. It keeps the moisture in and the weeds out. Many desert gardeners use gravel between their plantings. I prefer cedar mulch for several reasons. As it breaks down it adds acid to the soil (something much needed in my neighborhood). It does not hold heat like gravel or reflect the heat onto the house. It holds moisture better than gravel. The cedar oils are naturally insect repellent. It is easier to change out should I change plantings. The color is warmer. And, importantly, it is far less likely to kill my back. The only down side is cedar mulch's defiance of the law of conservation of mass - it somehow disappears over time. (Yes, I know my front yard is not a closed system, but it doesn't appear to be piling up at the downwind neighbors either.)

I replenish the cedar twice a year. In the spring I add a thick layer and in the late fall I add some around the more sensitive of the plantings to give them a little insulation. This weekend was spring mulching time. I spread 40 2-cubic-feet bags of western red cedar. Since each bag had to be shifted onto a cart at Home Depot, then shifted into the truck, then shifted out of the truck, then moved to its end destination, I figure I have moved a cumulative of 320 cubic feet of cedar mulch this weekend. And I am not done. I need at least 6 more bags for the front yard, and a bunch for the back yard. Spreading mulch is labor intensive and sniffle producing, but it lends a fresh clean look to the yard. Sort of like a fresh coat of paint.

Once the mulching is done I will have no more excuses to avoid starting on the rock wall.

In other garden news the lilac has started to bloom. Lilac experts say that a heavily overgrown lilac should be pruned back to its optimum over three years. Lilacs only bloom on new wood, so an overgrown lilac won't bloom very heavily. I started the 3-year pruning process last year and it looks like I will be rewarded already with lots of almost-purple flowers. In the front yard, the first green leaves of the Salvia reptens have appeared to quench my fears that they might not come back from the winter. Each year they die all the way back to the ground, so I anxiously await the first bits of green peeking through the mulch.

Earthquake casualties

Reno has been experiencing an earthquake swarm (I didn't make that up - that's what the seismologists are calling it). We have experienced over 5000 "events" since February. Most have been below 2.0, but last week we had several 3s and 4s, with the strongest at 4.7. The folks in Mogul, about 7-8 miles west of my house have been close to the epicenter and losing a lot of sleep. We are expected to have one over 6.0, but for now they have slacked off a bit. So far I have had only 2 casualties. This lovely little wooden sheep was grazing too close to the edge of a shelf and took a dive during the 4.7er. Splintered off both of her port-side limbs. The now-legless robot fell off my desk at work. Time to get out the superglue I used on the 10.5 needle. Meanwhile I have corralled the rest of my breakable sheep into a padded paddock.

Adding to all the earthquake fun, I had a home-repair speedbump that may adjust my home renovation priorities. The outgoing sewage decided to bubble up into my backyard. Not pleasant at all. The fine employees of Jet Plumbing managed to unstop the stoppage for now, but it looks like a portion of the outgoing sewer pipe has collapsed. There may be much digging and repiping in my backyard's future. Or my neighbor's backyard. I am hoping plumbing calamity will hold off until after the summer. To earn good-house karma, I stopped at Home Depot on the way home tonight and bought 34 cubic feet of cedar mulch to begin spreading in the morning.

My Favorite Tree

First: Many thanks to Carma at Lantern Moon who saw my last post and generously offered to put a new 10.5 in post to me. You can't beat that for great customer service!

My favorite dogwood tree is gloriously in bloom. OK, the iconic four petals are actually bracts, not petals, but who's counting? I have been watching this tree through every season for over a decade now. For the last few years I have made it my own little photography project. Here is a slide show of this wonderful tree through the seasons: The Dogwood Tree

Speed Bump

The perfect activity while home sick (snuffle, snort, grab a tissue) would be to work on a somewhat brainless knitting project, for which I am facing a serious deadline. Sadly, just as I have reached the sick-enough-to-not-leave-home phase, my pretty-but-pricey Lantern Moon ebony 10.5 has self destructed. Major sigh. I don't have another 10.5 long enough to continue the project. (It's a present, so no details or images until it is done and gifted. OK - you can see a sneak peek in the picture above.) I think I will take the Kleenex box and go back to bed.

.... A much needed nap later....

I found an aged, but still viable, tube of super glue in the garage. It seems to be holding so far.

Spring has Sprung

Mother Nature is granting northern Nevada with a few days of unseasonably warm weather. Two days of temps in the 80s and, wonder of wonders, on a weekend! It would have been a crime to stay indoors! Sadly I have lots and lots of work to accomplish before Monday morning rolls around. Yesterday I took the laptop out to my "outdoor office" in the back yard and labored under the boughs of the gloriously blossoming cherry tree. Knowing Sunday would require an entire afternoon inside a building, far from even a decent window, I soaked up as much spring ambiance as possible. Today I go to work (Kleenex in hand to deal with the, um, overabundance of spring ambiance) and will toil at the computer with visions of cherry blossoms in my head.

Oh, what a beautiful day!

Enjoy spring while it lasts!

Earth Hour

Yesterday my sister asked if I was planning to participate in Earth Hour. Once I knew about it, I had to participate. Here is an excerpt from the site:

"Earth Hour 2008 was a remarkable global event, and in towns and cities across America people "turned out" to lend their voice to the worldwide call for action on climate change.

On March 29th, people everywhere turned off their lights–to make a statement, to help find new ways to reduce their impact on the environment, and to start a movement that ends with a solution to the common challenge we all face."

So at 8pm PST I turned off the computer, the printer, the television, the DVD player and all of the lights. I lit a couple of candles and sat, thinking about how I live and the impact it has on the planet. One of the first things I discovered was how many little green/orange/red indicator lights still burned, showing the electricity I was still sucking from the grid. A tour of my small abode uncovered 19 such lights. 7 were power strips. Also on was the wireless hub, the computer speakers, the backup drive, 2 clocks, 2 nightlights, the CO2 detector, the VCR, the cordless phone, and an odd light switch that glows. A look in the garage uncovered 3 more lights, all associated with the garage door opener. Why so many surge protectors? 1956 house. Why not shut off the wireless hub? It can take hours to get it connected again. I did manage to shut off 3 of the strips.

So, did that one hour make much of an impact on the health of the planet? Maybe not, but it did make an impact on my own outlook, and firmed up my resolve to pay more attention to the little ways I can help. Ultimately, both large and small efforts will be required to stabilize the planet and provide a decent standard of living for the future. One of my favorite quotes is a proverb (I once heard it is Ethiopian, but I am not sure): "When spiderwebs unite they can tie up a lion".

I am not promising huge things, but I will start by turning out the lights every once in a while.

Southwestern interlude

I recently took a quick trip to Tucson, Arizona for a conference. I love Tucson. It was my home for many years, and living there contributed greatly to my love of saturated color and nature-inspired folk arts. This was a quick trip, but happily I had some of the final day to wander about the historic El Presidio neighborhood and take some pictures.


Just down the way from my hotel was a beautiful little pocket-sized park. Two men were tending it; clearly an older man and his grown son. I complemented them on the design and upkeep of the park and the older man told me how he helped to build the park over 25 years ago and he and his son come back regularly to maintain it. It is clearly a labor of love.


I wandered through Old Town Artesans, a set of old abobe buildings set around a courtyard that are home to shops selling art and handcrafts, some wonderful and some not. My favorite was a shop filled to the rafters with a jumble of Mexican folk art.

Houses in the El Presidio neighborhood primarily date back to 1900-1940 and include wonderful mission revival bungalows with wide front porches and courtyard gardens filled with colorful bougainvillea and orange and olive trees.


The area borders on downtown and includes the Tucson Museum of Art. I had enough time to tour the Museum (sorry, no photos allowed) and its restored historic homes dating from 1850 and 1907. Well worth a visit if you are ever in Tucson.

Brief Oasis

Spring is slipping in and will pass faster than an otter into the waves. The busier I get, the easier it is to miss the special moments in the sun. Luckily I have friends like Allison who provide the occasional calm oasis of spinning and laughing in her wonderful garden! Here are a few pictures from last Sunday.

Thinking ahead

As is usually the case, the snow is still melting, yet I am thinking ahead to the summer. I already know that I will have severely limited free time this year (due to work stuff) so I will have to plan carefully to maximize my time. There are two big projects. First, I really do need to get on with building the wall in my front yard. Once it is done I can put in some white lavender. Second, I need to take the front aluminum "skin" off my trailer and fix the rotted wood around the front window. Since I have absolutely no idea what I am doing, this will be a big job for me. I suspect there will be some 2-person moments, such as when I take out the window. I have been browsing the internet for advice. On one site they describe taking the skin panels off and screwing them to the side of their barn so they don't get wrinkled. I don't have a barn and I can't screw through the asbestos siding on my garage. I'm glad I found this site because it never occurred to me that I need a place to store the panels. I wonder if they are too big to layer with blankets and store in the back of my truck? I'll have to measure.

Until yesterday I had been slightly torn about how much effort to put into my trailer. Despite still loving her compactness, it became clear on her first trip that having a single dinette that converts to a bed is awkward. It requires finding someplace to stow the bedding during the day, and makes taking a quick nap a production. Also, her lack of storage space convinced me to remove the port-a-potty to make room for somewhere to stow my clothes (and the bedding). I had pretty much concluded that I would eventually trade up to a slightly larger model.

No longer the case. I spent part of yesterday morning in the trailer measuring and plotting. The key is to give up on my fancy wood-burned table. I never used it much anyway. Instead I will leave the bed set up at all times. My duffel (or baskets of clothes) will slide under the bed. I will make seat pillows for the exposed ends of the benches. I will build a drop-down desk top and attach it to the wall below the coat rack. I will find a wooden TV tray-style folding table that can be set out when I want a place to eat (the 2 bench ends will provide seating for 2). I will cut the bench lids so that it is easier to access the under-bench storage. And, since the bedding will stay on the bed and the clothes will be under the bed, I will be able to restore the potty closet to its former purpose. Tada! Still small and cute, but more practical.

Of course this means that I will no longer have my fancy table as a focal point. Maybe I can do something interesting with the bedding. I have some fiber-reactive dyes I have never tried. Tie-dyed bed sheets, maybe?....

Something New

One of the great joys of finishing a project is the anticipation of a new project. There are so many options! When I finished the socks, I set about starting another similar-sized carry-along project. It was not to be. Sitting on a shelf in my fiber room was 3 balls of intensely red cashmere-merino yarn. It has been there for years, quietly biding its time, not being the least bit intrusive into my creative process. Suddenly it has become pushy, crying for incorporation into something soft, cuddly, yet elegant. I tried to ignore it and launch into something sensibly portable and reasonably doable in distracting environments. Maybe another pair of socks, I thought. But still the red yarn wormed its way into my consciousness. And it had to be a lace something. So here it is in its embryonic form: the Kimono Shawl from "Folk Shawls" by Cheryl Oberle. I want it a bit bigger, so I have increased the width-wise pattern repeats by 50%. (Sorry about the poor picture.) I hope I have enough yarn!

February FO (Finished Object)

Last night, while procrastinating other tasks, I finished the Anti-Gray Socks. I made them just a touch large, knowing that "superwash" will shrink slightly in the wash. Just to be safe, I washed a swatch to see what would happen. Although it didn't shrink, it did fade a touch and lose some stitch definition to increased fuzzyness. So today I am wearing the slightly large, yet-to-be-washed, socks in all their brilliant glory. Soon I will throw them in the wash, so I felt they should have at least one outing in full color. The fancy lace pattern does not show in the picture.

As is my custom, I now get to start another project. Hmm... so many options...

Stage 2 finished

The Great Front Hall Project continues. Stage one was to remove the vinyl top layer. Stage 2 (a particularly arduous stage) was to heat and scrape up the cardboard backing layer. I have finished this process, except for the bit under the metal threshold. I'll wait until it is a little warmer for the threshold operation, since I will have to work with the front door open. That leaves the residual glue mess you see in the picture. Miscellaneous advice on the internet recommends dissolving the glue with mineral spirits. Of course this advice is from the same optimistic folks who said the glue would easily scrape right off when heated. Still, worth a try. And since I am fresh out of mineral spirits, I can use this excuse to visit Home Depot - I have been thinking of buying a reciprocal saw... And maybe collecting paint chips for after the wallpaper is removed....

Progress

Escalation

Those who have visited my little 1956 house know that I am in a long-term war against 45 years of questionable decorating. When I bought the house a few years ago I made great inroads on the flooring front by removing the unusually blue carpeting that was smothering perfectly wonderful honey-oak hardwood, and replacing many of the ugly-puny light fixtures. I was victorious again when I successfully tiled the fireplace, banished all popcorn ceiling and replaced tired tan wallpaper with paint in the livingroom. Since then the war has been stalled. The greatest ongoing battle is being waged in the front hall. Years ago someone glued down faux flagstone sheet vinyl directly onto the beautiful hardwood floor. Who would do such an atrocity? And the walls were covered with 2 layers of wallpaper, then painted, then covered with 3 more layers of wallpaper; all of it ugly beyond belief. For at least 2 years now I have been scraping at both walls and floor, hoping to preserve what lies below. Considerable elbow grease has resulted in little progress. To add to the, um, scenic nature of this battle zone, Zach has decided that if I can scrape at the walls, so can he. He has designated one of the walls as a scratching zone. It was clearly time for an arms escalation.

I am now the proud owner of both a heat gun and a wallpaper steamer. You can rent either of these tools, but the number of hours needed would cost more than buying the equipment. I spent way too many hours yesterday wielding the scary heat gun. I know it was way too many hours because I can hardly move today. Encouraging instructions on the 'net say just heat the surface and the flooring and glue will easily scrape right off. Not exactly. Six hours of heating and scraping cleaned up about 4 square feet of flooring. Still, this is more progress than I have managed in 2 years.

Next weekend I'll try out the wallpaper steamer. War is Hell.

Socks for a dreary winter weekend

The weekend was gray and cold with intermittent snow flurries. I went out once on Saturday to fill the birdfeeders and once on Sunday to shovel the driveway. Other than that I cheered myself up by working on some socks that are the opposite of gray and dreary. The yarn is some commercial superwash wool that aways back I tie-dyed with black cherry Koolade. Then it sat for over a year because it was oh-so-ugly, brick red and white. Last week I tossed it in a bright yellow dye bath and, voila!, it is transformed. These will be my first toe-up socks, using short-row toes and heels. I love the technique! It is from my favorite sock book: Simple Socks. The lace pattern is "Small Capitals" from Sensational Knitted Socks. I chose the pattern because it looks kinda like flames. Sort of.

Camouflage

Can you spot the hidden goldfinches? A whole flock is hanging out in the winter skeleton of the mock orange. Despite the drippy, snowy, frigid weather they are sprinting back and forth to the thistle socks on the back porch. Only two quail have been so brave, scuffling around below the seed feeders. There is also a scrub jay, sitting on the fence, ready to do battle with anyone who dares to raid his suet feeder. No one has shown up to take the challenge. Too cold and drippy, I guess.

First Finished Project of 2008

I cast on for these mitts on New Year's Eve at the Motel 6 in Beatty, Nevada. I made the pattern up as I went along. Been pretty busy so I have just finished them. I have made fancy lacy alpaca Delicato mitts before, but they are reserved for chilly days at the office. I wanted some hard-wearing no-nonsense wool ones for field trips with the camera. These are made from 1.4oz of handspun, hand-dyed grey coopworth wool.

Quail Graffiti

Quail scribblings from my backyard:


Roughly translated, I think they say, "Fill the birdfeeders already, Dammit!"

2008 non-resolutions and wishful thinking

As soon as I make a resolution I am doomed to feeling stressed about not achieving it. The new year should present a wealth of possibilities, rather than a list of new deadlines and tasks to complete. If I want the adrenaline of multiple deadlines I can always turn on the computer and read the thousands (I'm not exaggerating) of work emails in my inbox. So instead of resolutions, I present to you a short list of possibilities for 2008. I could:

- build a lovely rock wall in my garden and plant a cloud of white lavender around it.
- Spin and knit a snuggly mystery project (it's a surprise) using a very special fleece from my stash.
- Burn and paint a wild folk art pattern all over my kitchen table (why not?).
- Visit Yosemite with my Dad.
- Make pine needle basket desk accessories so I can remember the mountains while toiling at my computer. Felt a mousepad while I am at it.
- Paint blue sky and white fluffy clouds across the side of my little vintage trailer and spend a few weekends with it parked under a pine tree, far from internet access.
- Spin up crazy multicolor wool and knit it into a bouquet of wild looking socks to keep my toes oh-so-cozy.
- Find the perfect chewy molasses cookie recipe and try out my javelina cookie cutter.
- Build an entire wall-sized cat scratcher in the front hall to make Zach very happy.
- Take lots and lots of photographs of any cool thing that catches my eye.
- And of course, find lots of big and little opportunities to spin/knit/hang out/laugh/eat/laugh some more with friends and family.

Welcome 2008!

I spent the holidays in Tucson visiting family. I drove down in my truck and Mittens made her first road trip with no problems.

Christmas Eve in my Dad's neighborhood everyone puts out luminaria. If you are not familiar with them, they are lanterns made by putting a scoop of sand and a candle in a paper lunch-size bag. (Be sure to fold down the top to avoid sudden little bagfires.) Some folks have fancy metal ones, but the glow from the paper bags is warm and friendly. All of the streets of the neighborhood are lined with the lanterns and families go out walking (or driving) to see the show. This year there was also a great big full moon to add to the atmosphere.

I headed back towards Reno on New Year's Eve. Traffic seemed pretty light so I took the road across Hoover Dam. Just to spite me, there was an accident on the Dam, so I spent an hour waiting to cross. That gave me time to take lots of pictures. If you have never driven across the dam, you may need to do so soon. A bridge is being built to have traffic bypass the Dam. I don't know when it will be finished. Currently you can see the huge supports in the distance that will take traffic over the Colorado River at a very scary height.

After an uneventful night in the Beatty Nevada Motel 6, I drove the rest of the way up Highway 95 to Reno. Winter in the Great Basin leaves the high desert scenery pale and faded, but a lucky confluence of jet trails made for some interesting photo shots near Walker Lake.