The Gathering at Sage Creek Farm and a couple of finished objects

Last weekend was The Gathering at Sage Creek Farm. Sharon and Ian hold a yearly gathering of their large circle of family and friends. Some folks come for a day while others camp out in tents or trailers.

I took my little 1953 travel trailer up on Friday and stayed until Monday. I only checked my email a couple of times. OK, once per day.

The weekend started hot, then shifted to windy and cool as a cold front swept in. There was lots of visiting, knitting, eating, and just general hanging out.

I took about 550 photos with my new camera and zoom lens. If you are incredibly dedicated you can look at 368 of them here.


Getting away for the holiday weekend gave me the chance to make some knitting progress. I finished my current carry-along project - a scarf made from a skein Raven Frog superwash wool that Eileen brought me from Alaska. The colorway is listed as "Kelp Bed". By a little experimentation I came up with a simple reversible lace pattern that is as follows: (over a multiple of 5ss plus 1) K3, YO, bring yarn to front between needles, P2TOG, repeat. That's it. It makes a lovely stretchy fabric that naturally accordion pleats around the neck. I worked on this for a few months while walking between buildings to meetings and finished it off at the Gathering. Note about Raven Frog Wool: It is superwash, so I washed it, and it went a bit limp. It is very soft, but no longer springs back into accordion pleats. I suggest handwashing if you want to keep the stitch definition and springyness.

Knowing the end was near on the Kelp Bed scarf, I resurrected a stalled project that I found stuffed between shelves in my living room. The project had been sitting stagnant since 2006, when I spun and dyed rather hairy suri alpaca and cast on for fingerless mitts. I had made it as far as the cuffs before burying the project. Making up the pattern as I knitted, I put chunky purl rings around the palms. The finished mitts are a bit funky looking, but they are comfy and warm and the Michelin-Man-like purl rings give great padding for carrying around my new heavier camera.
Now I can start another carry-along project. Maybe a scarf could be knit from the leftover log cabin afghan yarn. It is mostly blue yarn left, but I could over-dye. Blue plus red makes purple....

Another Fair gone by

The 2008 Nevada State Fair is over. Mim and Becky have reported on it already. The Spinners and Weavers tent and demonstrations was a great success, thanks to all the many folks who donated their time and effort. Here are a few photos taken around the fairgrounds. (Click on them for bigger images.)

The Friends in my Garden

Sadly my work life has recently been overshadowing my home life, thus I haven't had much to blog about. This weekend I managed to break away a bit and spend an hour or two in the garden. Although the lavender blooms have faded a bit with the 100 degree weather, the garden is still abuzz with bees. I dug out a few ginormous weeds that had taken advantage of my absence and added a few rocks to the nascent wall.

When I look at my garden I am reminded of some special folks. When I first moved into my house, Linda gave me the yellow Potentilla. She said all desert gardens should have potentilla. I am embarrassed to say that I nearly killed it twice before it settled in and grew back. It is a spunky little survivor.

The lemon thyme is blooming. It reminds me of my friend Laura, who had it growing in the front yard of the little house she renovated, before moving out to Red Rock, and ultimately to Oregon.

One of the enthusiastically overgrowing Russian sage along the front of the garden was given to me by Sharon, who dug it out of her own yard. The Russian sage, along with two more varieties of lavender, have grown into a fragrant hedge. The ground around them is deep purple, covered by cast off blooms.

And of course the lavender reminds me of my mother, who loved the fragrance and the exotic culinary touch of herbes de Provence that could be made from the dried blossoms.

Repurposing

It is always gratifying when you can rescue something from a future in the landfill and find a new life for it. We are having a grand clear-out at work since we are moving to a new building. One of the items that would have been tossed was a 1950s-era wooden base that would have held a brass nameplate. The engraved plastic nameplates of today do not fit the narrow slot. Wooden objects within my general vicinity are all subject to fits of... er... improvement via burning tool and paintbrush. I decided to rescue this chunk of wood from an ignominious fate and turn it into a nifty photo holder to add individuality to my new office.

First I sanded the old finish off with my Mouse palm sander (I love that tool!). I also chipped off the lumpy petrified felt from the bottom. Still a bit stuck in a design rut, I penciled on a pattern of snakes and vines. I know I have already used this pattern several times, but I still like it and it is fluid and fun to draw. The wood was pretty grainy, so it did not burn very evenly. I pressed on anyway. Then painted the design using acrylic paint with plenty of matt medium to let the woodgrain show through. Three coats of satin spar urethane later, I now have a new desk accessory. This was a super quick project, conceived yesterday and completed today.


Now, what else can I burn?....

Nessie

I made this Loch Ness Monster for a friend using a pattern from Hansigurumi. The color had to be deep-dark-loch colors. I used 2 colors of mohair boucle, holding them together to make a tight furry fabric. (OK, Nessie is probably not furry, but I dare you to prove it.) The pattern was very easy to follow, though the tiny horns were a bit tough to do well in the round.

I am happy to report that the recipient was totally tickled with the gift. :-)

Pleasure of a full bobbin

There is nothing like the joy of a full bobbin. It is something beyond the sense of accomplishment or the possibilities of finished objects to come. You KNOW that fiber. Every bit of it has passed through your fingers. You have put some of yourself into it, and thus it is a part of you. You have transformed it from one stage of its being to another, and knowing it so intimately, you see the beauty of its simplicity and form. I imagine woodcarvers and potters and other folks who make things with their hands feel similarly about their process and product. How does one distinguish an artisan from an artist? In my mind (as of this afternoon, anyway) an artist is all about the completed idea, while an artisan is about the interaction with the materials and the skill of the execution, in addition to the beauty and usefulness of the finished object. This is why I prefer to be an artisan rather than an artist.

Apparently a full bobbin inspires philosophizing, too.

One-Skein Bamboo Neck Pillow

I am very pleased with how well my neck-pillow-for-migraine-sufferers came out so I thought I would write up the instructions. It is very easy and can be made by anyone who can knit in the round on double points. Gauge is not particularly important. It could be scaled up to make an ice-filled lumbar cushion or it could be stuffed with ordinary stuffing to make a travel pillow.

So here goes my first try at publishing a pattern:

BAMBOO NECK PILLOW FOR MIGRAINE SUFFERERS

Materials:
- 1 skein of Southwest Trading Company 100% Bamboo (or any other non-itchy yarn that suits your fancy)
- 1.5 yards ribbon or other material to make ties (twisted cords made of the Bamboo would be just fine)

Tools:
- one set of four or five size 4 (3.5mm) double points (or size to suit your yarn)

Gauge:
- Mine was 7ss/inch, but anything close will work.



DIRECTIONS:
Cast on 60ss (using whatever cast on you prefer) and join into round.

SECTION 1:
Rounds 1-2: *(P1,K1)* repeat to end of round
Round 3: *(K2tog, YO)* repeat to end of round (be sure to remember the final YO)
Rounds 4-5: *(P1,K1)* repeat to end of round

SECTION 2 (the boring part):
Knit straight for 9 inches
(You could add a color pattern to make it more interesting, but avoid adding texture unless you want to emboss it into your neck.)

Section 3:
Rounds 1-2: *(P1,K1)* repeat to end of round
Round 3: *(K2tog, YO)* repeat to end of round (be sure to remember the final YO)
Rounds 4-5: *(P1,K1)* repeat to end of round
Bind off all stitches fairly loosely.

END RUFFLE:
(Note - you could substitute any lace pattern that works over 60ss)
Pick up 60ss around one end of tube. Distribute onto 3 or 4 needles as desired.
Round 1: K
Round 2: *(K1, YO)* Repeat to end
Round 3: K
Round 4: P
Round 5: K

SIDEWAYS GARTER EDGING:
Increase 4 stitches on first needle as follows:
Knit 1st stitch, but do not remove from left needle. Instead put loop from right needle onto left. Now knit that loop and put it also on left needle. Continue 2 more times to make a total increase of 4 stitches.
Row 1: K3, K2tog, turn
Row 2: K4 (to end of needle), turn
Repeat these two rows until all stitches are consumed.
Graft last 4ss to first 4 increase stitches by either Kitchner or simply binding off and sewing together.

REPEAT END RUFFLE AND SIDEWAYS GARTER EDGING ON OTHER END.

Weave in any loose ends. Weave ribbon or other cord through the eyelet holes made in SECTION 1 and 3.

To use: put ice in a small zip-top bag and roll bag in a wash cloth. Put roll in neck pillow and cinch ends. Enjoy!

Log cabin with a twist

Sorry for my lengthy absence. SO much to talk about! Since I last posted I have been to Kentucky, finished two projects and started 2 more.

I will start with the long promised debut of my mystery project. It is related to the trip to Kentucky, as it was a wedding gift for my nephew and his intended (now wife). I wanted to make the happy couple something extra special, so I spun up a fleece that I have had in my stash for several years. Here's a picture of Tippy, a cormo lamb whose hoggett fleece was fine, soft, and very white. I spun up the yarn, then immersion dyed it, first blue, then (after removing half) overdyed it with yellow to make the emerald green that is one of the bride's favorite colors. I held two strands together as I knit to make a very cushy, warm blanket. To give the log cabin pattern a modern twist, I varied the thickness of the stripes as I went along, instead of doing the traditional balanced squares. I thought I could finish it by the end of April, but with a busy schedule I found myself still knitting away until the end of June, sweating under a heavy blanket in 90 degree temperatures. I think it was worth it. I am so pleased with how well it came out that I want to make another in purples for my trailer. Here's the happy couple with the blanket.

One-skein Bamboo Blues Solved

Just one skein of fancy purple oh-so-soft bamboo yarn. What's a girl to do? Set it on the coffee table and contemplate it for a month or two. Not enough for socks. Too nice to serve as a cat toy (thus we remove it from the cat and put it back on the coffee table). It came to me in a flash of pain. Really. Migraine pain. The perfect use of this super soft, but decadently priced yarn would be a neck pillow! One that can accommodate ice wrapped in a washcloth. I started with eyeleted rib for a ribbon drawstring at each end, then will pick up the cast-on and cast-off to add a little lace at each end. And if I have enough yarn left I can make an eye mask for the full anti-migraine experience.

Shrinkwrapped literature

What I could do with the help of a few hundred serfs...

OK, so it is not the Great Wall of China or the Pyramids of Egypt. Just the Minor Wall of My Front Yard. I have managed to put in an hour or so of shifting stones after work each night. Turns out I was absolutely right in my suspicion that dry stack walls are harder to pull off then they look. The problem is that you tend to quickly use up all the conveniently rectangular stones, then are faced with all the funny shaped ones. And one little knobby bit on a rock can leave it wobbling precariously or stubbornly refusing to fit into the space you just know it should fill admirably.

Still, for my first attempt I am learning a lot. For instance, tomorrow I am running out at lunch to buy a chisel.

Eco-chic

First, happy Father's Day to all you fathers out there!

Despite (and perhaps because of) my currently busy work schedule, I have managed to complete a carry-along project. Carry-along projects are necessary to keep one's sanity by allowing a little knitting between meetings and while toing and froing across campus to even more meetings. I have become quite adept at garter or stockinette stitching while walking without running into trees or cars. By the end of this summer I may even be tackling lace while walking.

This particular project was about as eco-chic as it gets: Its yarn is made of recycled sari silk spun by a womens' coop in Nepal and sold at 'fair trade' prices, allowing the women to supplement their families' income. Beyond the feel-good aspects, the yarn is a mix of the most gorgeous colors that only silk can provide. I bought mine at a small imports store in Yachats, Oregon, while vacationing with Sharon and Ian. It has been sitting several years, waiting for just the right project. I started to knit the "unraveled" pattern from Knitty.com, but decided the resulting bag would be too shallow. I frogged it and started again. I knit two 11.5" x 9" garter stitch rectangles, then a wide band that goes around the bottom and sides, narrowing at the top of the sides then continuing as the strap. I liked the result so much that I actually dug out the sewing machine and made a lining, complete with 2 large pockets and a cell phone pocket. To continue the eco-friendly theme, I made the lining from cotton fabric scraps left over from the trailer curtains. Many thanks to Allison, who suggested I let the singles yarn unwind a bit as I went along to soften the resulting fabric.

Progress

The foundation stones have been placed and backfilled. Now the tricky-artsy job of fitting stones begins. Note: Rocks are really heavy.

Way behind

No, I have not dropped off the planet. I have just been totally consumed with non-bloggable activities. These include work, and ... well, mostly just work. This totally busy time will pass, but for now I have to shoehorn in other activities were I can. I was going to comment on how unnaturally hot it was. Then I was going to comment on how unnaturally wet and cold it was. Now it is pretty much normal, so there isn't much to say about it.

I did manage to finish the white cotton sweater, except for sewing on the buttons - hand sewing even something as simple as buttons is something I actively procrastinate.

My most treasured progress has been on the foundation ditch for my rock wall. It will be a low dry-stack wall, so I dug a ditch about 10 inches deep and spread sand in it. The sand is to give a nice level surface for the first rank of ledger stone. In a flash of inspiration I used the "car-weight" sand bags that were taking up space in my garage. I used to put these bags in the back of my pickup each winter to add traction. Now I have a heftier 4-wheel-drive, so the sand can go to a higher (or lower) purpose. And tada! I have more space in my garage! I need to pick up one more bag of sand, then I will be able to start moving rocks. I hope to place at least a ceremonial first stone this weekend.

Meanwhile, with absolutely no help from me, the garden has sprung to life. The lavender has sent up bloom stalks, the curl-leaf mahogany have become proper willowy shrubs, and, after a severe pruning, the Perovskia have filled in with dense crops of new leaves. Every year since I bought the house the pink peony has given forth exactly 2 blossoms. Sure enough - 2 more this year.

On the knitting front, I have frogged the recycled-sari-silk bag and restarted it to my own pattern. It will be handbag-sized using squares on both front and back and a shaped strap that forms bottom, sides and strap. Hard to describe, but I have a vision. I'll post pictures if it works out. The surprise project I have previously alluded to is still in progress, so no pictures of that for now.

That is about all for now. I'll take pictures of my ceremonial first rock. Maybe I should break a bottle over it....

Old Stuff

After putting much time and sweat into the garden this weekend (report to come), I decided to play hooky for a few hours and go browse my favorite (air conditioned) antique mall. I don't do this very often since my house is already up to its gills in stuff. Do I really need more old stuff? "Antique mall" in this neck of the woods pretty much translates to overpriced thrift shop, but if you have persistence and a treasure seeking soul you can find some gems. Well, if not gems, then items that are better living with you than with their last owner.

I think I did quite well today. The little sheep will join my flock at home, but the cool little "Black Bull" Scottish Whiskey bottle will join the livestock in my office. Yes, it did come with contents intact, but I am not brave enough to drink something I found at an antique mall. Perhaps Magnusmog can give me a critique on "Willsher's Black Bull Scottish Whiskey".

The expandable carpenters ruler I bought out of pure nostalgia. As a child I was fascinated by one my Dad had. This one expands to 72 inches and has a cool brass slidey bit for an unknown purpose (the numbers are worn off there).

Most useful is the coffee mill. I have been looking for one for my vintage (no electricity) trailer. Most of the used ones you find have corroded mechanisms. I doubt this one is very old. With a bit of trial and error I have been able to adjust the mechanism for the finer grind I prefer.

I also found a hot/cold server (read ice bucket) that was too cute to pass up, and a 1947 knitting book with patterns for interesting things like "gilets" and "godets". Some of the pictures remind me of my Mom's high school and college pictures. I will probably never make the wool bathing suits (yikes), but the pattern for the "Swagger Coat" looks really interesting. The pattern for the Men's Swimming Trunks calls for 6 oz of 4-ply wool and a "bathing belt" - I wonder where you get one of those....