How The West Was Spun

Winter Weather

I normally start work before the sun is up in these days where the hours of light are so short.  My office window has a southern exposure, and I can sort of feel the light in the east coming up behind me, and I like to peer out the window and see what the dawn is like.  It was spectacular on Tuesday a.m.:

But you know how the old saying goes - Red sky in morning, sailors take warning:

It had clouded up and started snowing by late afternoon yesterday, and here in the southern part of the valley, we got another lake-effect snowstorm this morning.  Temps are chilly today too - down below freezing for most of the day.  The horses and bunnies all got a little extra food last night, since they were wet and cold (the horses anyway) when they came in for dinner.  Newman's been sitting on the heating pad I've got for him and I can tell his toe stumps are bothering him.  He's a trooper though, and will come over to see me if I've got some treats for him.  I try to keep his hay in reach of his warm spot, so he can snack during the day and still keep the footsies warm.

With all the early darkness, I've been putting in some knitting time on a handspun project for a gift.  (Yes, Sharon - ENOUGH!  I AM working on the damn scarf too. It's half done as of last night.) 

Some of you may remember I was spinning up a rather interesting blend about a year ago.  (Daniel - if you are here, go away.  GO AWAY.)

It was an alpaca and Max-the-dog blend. I finally got it spun up and cast on for a hat.  Pattern courtesy of the Ravelry database.  I wasn't 100% sure I was going to have enough yarn spun for this, but in the end I squeaked through with just enough to finish the last short-row panel and sew the edges together.

Project Specs:

• Pattern:  Sideways Short-Rows hat, found on Ravelry.  Pretty dang simple, and I didn't change a thing.  It's got 8 short-row panels.  The hat is knit in garter stitch sideways with the short rows shaping the crown and then seamed up the back. 
• Yarn:  Handspun.  I didn't count wpi, as I cast on as soon as I had it plied, but I would guestimate worsted-esque 2-ply.  Pleasantly, this does not have too much eau de Max smell about it.  Probably will be quite "aromatic" when wet, but that'll be Daniel's problem when he's wearing it on his head.  The garter stitch of the pattern helped coax a little bit of stretch out of the yarn, which otherwise is inherently un-stretchy.  It is, however, insanely soft. It sort of feels like angora bunny and even has a bit of a halo to it.  This is in the natural "Max" colorway, which will be nice, since it will match everything Daniel normally wears anyway.  Max is nothing if not a hairy, shedding behemoth 362 days out of the year.
• Needles:  Size 6 U.S. circulars, but only because I was too lazy to go find a set of straights to use.
• Modifications:  None - can ya believe it?

This is a great easy hat pattern that would also work nicely with 1-skein leftovers.  I think the total yardage I had was just under 150 yards (something like 143, but I used every last millimeter of it).  You could also get rid of the brim, or extend it a little if the recipient wanted something with an extra layer to completely cover his/her ears. 

And just in time for the cold, snowy season!

All for now.

Easy as Pie

Without further ado, here's my somewhat bastarized version of the Bourbon-Apple-Walnut Pie recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks - Hay Day Country Market Cookbook by Kim Rizk.  There are a lot of good veggie-oriented dishes in this one, although it's not a vegetarian cookbook, per se.

You'll need 1 pie crust.  You can either buy pre-made and roll it out to fit a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan, or check out Carole's blog archives for her stellar pie-crust recipe.  For the rest of the ingredients you will need:

• 1/2 cup of dried cranberries (you can also use raisins, but I like the extra tartness)
• 3 tablespoons of a good single-malt whiskey (bourbon is called for here, but we use Bushmills' Black Bush irish whiskey, a taste we acquired at the distillery last summer - this is aged in sherry casks and has a nice fruity aroma)
• 6 cups thickly sliced tart apples, peeled (I like Granny Smith)
• 1/3 c. granulated sugar
• 3 Tb all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup walnuts, lightly toasted (use a 325-degree oven for about 10-15 minutes or so, and turn at least once)

And for the topping:

• 1 cup walnuts coarsely chopped (don't toast these)
• 3 Tb light brown sugar
• 3 Tb granulated sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

To assemble:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine cranberries and alcohol of choice in a small saucepan over low heat, usually about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat while assembling the rest of the pie, to allow time to infuse.
3. Toss the apples with the sugar, flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Add toasted walnuts and cranberries (include the soaking liquid!) and toss to mix.
4. Place the pie crust in your pie plate, and then spoon in the apple mixture.  (Note that this is a huge amount of fruit and will make a large mound, likely sliding off somewhat onto your counter.  It's okay.  Cram it all in there; it'll bake down.)
5. In another smaller mixing bowl, combine all the topping ingredients.  Stir thoroughly and then sprinkle over the fruit.  Bake until the apples are fork-tender and the topping has browned, about 45 to 55 minutes.  Remove pie from oven and cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before serving.
6. Note:  You'll likely want to put a cookie sheet or foil on the rack below this one, as it tends to bubble and ooze a bit onto your cooking elements until the apples start cooking down.

It's easy - and we never have much left over for the next day, but it's pretty darn good heated back up in the microwave on day #2 as well.

All for now....

What I Did on My Vacation

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving - my folks were here and Margene and Smith were here for dinner.  We ate far too much, I suspect, and I'll be happy to post the apple/walnut/whiskey pie receipe here in another day or so, once I double-check my somewhat cavalier measurements against the actual original recipe.  Friday a.m., we put D on a plane for New Zealand, where he is now recovering from horrendous jet lag and preparing to deliver a paper on stable isotopes. 

I had a very relaxing vacation with 6 days in a row off!  I had plenty of time to hang out with my folks, watch some foosball, and do some fiber things.  So, here's where I stand in the knitting category:

6 more repeats done on Sharon's Orchid Lace scarf - check - and almost to the halfway point. 

Two more squares done on Lizard Ridge - check.  (But no pics; they all came out blurry.  I'll try to get more later.)

AND, I even sat down at my wheel and spun for a while.  I started on the bison roving that's the next subscription kit for the exotic fibers club and OMG - y'all are going to love this stuff.  Once you get the hang of the shorter-staple fibers, it spins like buttah!  It is a gorgeous soft, rich, warm brown too.

In really big news, I have made actual, real progress on the dye studio.  Daniel and John came over yesterday and my dad helped put the row of cabinets up on the wall and then installed the countertop/workbench area which is set on top of a group of drawers with larger kitchen cabinets underneath.   There is plenty of morning light (which you can see from the pictures) to work by.  The worktop is just formica, so I won't worry much about staining it, and I now have lots of space for all my dye bottles to be organized within easy reach.

After the boys left (filled with a half-dozen cookies I baked for them), and my dad went off to watch more foosball, my mum and I spent the afternoon building shelving units, and I was able to get the bulk of my personal AND shop supplies on them.  There is fourth shelf not visible in the above picture next to the dye counter, where I have all my cones and boxes of skeins of undyed yarn.

I still have some organizing to do, as you can see - the tubs on the floor need to get sorted and put into half-empty spaces I've got in other Rubbermaid tubs, but this is wayyyyy better than just having things stacked in unmarked boxes and piled in a closet.

Finally, here's where the sinks are gonna go.  We need to put up wall board and a backsplash behind the sinks, but the pipes are run and the drain is connected, so once we add a wall in, we'll be ready to hook that up.

A very satisfying end to a quick week of R&R!

All for now.....

Twas the Day After Thanksgiving

And I am soooooo not going shopping.  I take that back - I have to buy a bag of horse food, but that's it.  I refuse to go to the mall the day after Thanksgiving; it completely ruins my holiday spirit.

We are having a quiet week here.  My folks have come to SLC from back east and have done a downtown tour, and we've watched some football, and generally visited a bit, since it's been over a year since I've seen them.  I'm mostly sitting around being a huge slug.  Apparently that's what I needed for my "vacation".

So, today, even though I've not got knitting pictures or things like that to post, I want to mention how thankful I am for everyone I have met through my blog and my online store and the greater knitting/fiber community that lives out in cyberspace.  One of my favorite online reads/friends is Liz; she and I have a lot of things in common, and I know I can always hit her blog when I need a little eye candy break, or wander through her links when I need something thought-provoking or visually stimulating. 

And in the spirit of giving thanks, I'm one of the links in the "Pay It Forward" concept that she's posted about eloquently on her blog.  The basic premise is this:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

So, if you'd like to Pay It Forward, just be one of the first 3 commenters on today's post. 

It's my little way of saying Thanks to all of you who read, comment and generally support my wacky endeavors through your kind comments and emails on this blog.  Virtual hugs to all!

All for now......

November Shop Talk

We are introducing two new year-long subscription clubs through the store this month, rather than have an individual kit of the month.  We'll be offering one more sock kit for 2007, so more on that in December.

To order either of the subscription clubs listed below, please visit our store at www.woolywonkafibers.com.  Click on the "online store" link, which is in the left-hand side bar, and then scroll down the list of Catalog Headings that will come up.  The clubs are located at the bottom of that list and can be ordered from there.

First off, I am really pleased to tell you about a year-long subscription kit club for lace knitters.  Here's what we've got on tap:

A CHANGE IN SEASONS SUBSCRIPTION LACE CLUB

This is a year-long subscription club for all the lace-lovers out there! We will be featuring 4 designs over the course of 12 months (1 kit every 3 months) which will chronicle the changing seasons throughout the year.

Spring: Our first design is by Miriam of Mimknits. She's got a beautiful design on tap featuring spring motifs to kick off the club.

Summer: Things heat up with designer, Susan Lawrence's "Heat Wave". This season's offering will feature a lusciously cool, 100% silk yarn in hot summer colors.

Fall: This season's kit will feature a very special marriage of another great design from Anne Hanson of Knitspot, and an exclusive artisan-spun wool/alpaca/silk blend yarn just for us. The theme for the season will be "Rock Walls": Think granite gray stones with moss and lichen. This yarn will be featured only in our store and Anne's got another great piece from her ManLace collection on tap for this season.

Winter: New to our design group, our final offering for the year will feature a "Solstice" pattern by Lori Law of Oceanwind Knits, in a merino/silk yarn with icy blues and grays, just in time to wrap up and wait for Old Man Winter's chilly blasts.

The first kit will be sent out on March 1, 2008, with subsequent kits mailed on June 1, September 1, and December 1, 2008. Each kit will contain a pattern with enough yarn to complete the pattern as written for the kit. All prices include shipping in the continental US. (Canadian and overseas customers, please contact me via our Contact form, and I can calculate a price for you to include the shipping.) These patterns will not be available through the designers' websites until AFTER the subscribers have received their kits. These kits will be offered with exclusive yarns and/or colorways, and will not be duplicated exactly for individual customers at a later date.

Please note there will be a limited number (100) of subscriptions available for this club, and when they're gone, they're gone!   Price for this subscription club is $195.00 for the year for US residents.

**********************************

AND, if that's not enough for you, we've got a year-long roving club (with the option to purchase a half-subscription to arrive every other month).

WOOLY WONKA ROVING CLUB

This is a year-long club, with an option to purchase either a yearly (12-month) subscription, or a bimonthly (6-month) subscription, to receive 4 ounces of roving with free shipping!

The club will consist of offerings including hand-painted wool roving (at least 2 per six months), hand-painted exotic roving (at least 2 per six months and may include angora, silk, alpaca, bamboo, or tencel plus wool), and our custom-blended artisan rovings (at least 2 per six months and may be a blend of wools and exotics, silks, angelina, etc.) All will be high-quality, great-to-spin fibers.

The kits will be mailed out around the 15th of every month. If you choose to have a 6-month subscription, kits will be mailed out around the 15th of every other month. Please choose whether you wish your club to start in January or February; your roving packets will be sent out according to the schedule you pick.

All subscriptions include free shipping within the continental U.S.  Price for this kit is $120.00 for the 6-month subscription, or $240.00 for an entire year of spinning fibers.

Overseas and Canadian customers, please contact me for an adjusted kit price that will include discounted shipping for you.

All for now.....

A Little Startitis

Having finished the Orchid Lace Mitts, I went ahead and started on the next project in the set - the Orchid Lace Scarf (also available from the Knitspot Catalog. 

Oh, um.....whoopsadaisy.  That's not looking much like fine-gauge merino/tencel lace, is it? 

One of the simultaneously great and evvvillll things about Ravelry is, as you drag out your stash to catalog it, you find those "Oh yeah!" lone skeins saved for other projects.  Well.  I found a skein of Noro Kureyon and thought that maybe that was indicative of a sign from the knitting powers I should start the Lizard Ridge pattern from Knitty from last Fall.  And of course, since I only had 1 lone skein, I went trolling on Ravelry and found OTHER lone skeins, and traded for or otherwise liberated them from other stashes into mine.  I now have eight lone skeins of Noro.  Y'all know how this whole thing goes.  Your stash to my stash to your stash.  Anyway.  If you have a lone skein you want to jettison, unless it's one of the 8 colorways I've got already, I will likely be happy to take it and put it to good use.

And NOW the Orchid Lace Scarf (because Sharon will not SHUT UP ALREADY! about how cold it is in western Washington State - I GOT THE HINT!)

It's looking a little squished as lace is wont to do, but I have every confidence this will block out very nicely.

And a closeup of the border:

Not too shabby for a handful of evening hours of work.  And while I have hospital coverage this weekend, and have to work Monday, I am off for 5 full days in a row from Tuesday through Sunday, and the weatherman is calling for cold and some more cold and maybe some snow here for the holiday, so I'm looking forward to cranking up the fireplace and getting some knitting done!

All for now....

Orchid Lace Mitts

Ok - I'm back.  I'm better.  I exorcised the bad juju or something this weekend.  D and I decided since it had been something like 8 WEEKS (!) since we had both been home on a weekend and not up-to-the-eyeballs busy, we would make a point to knock off chores and things by late afternoon and relax a little.  Just what the doctor ordered. 

But despite that, we got the garage cleaned and all our camping gear put away for the season and moved all the cabinets for the dye studio out of the garage into the downstairs.  We just need a strong back (well...stronger than mine anyway) to help D hold the cabinets in place so they can get screwed into the wall framing we've got in place.  We took an entire carload of recyclable paper products (old journal articles, data sheets from D's master's work, and cardboard boxes) to the school's recyclable paper bins.

I got all the informational packets and fiber weighed out and packaged for the next exotic club shipment.  I did a bunch of skeining and some dyeing.  Lark brought me by some more alpaca/soy silk laceweight to dye for her too, on Saturday, and I generally got some things organized in my office.

AND, I finished up Sharon's Orchid Lace Mitts (pattern by the Other Anne).  They are still a little damp after their bath this morning, but I am very pleased with how they came out.

Here's the full elegant wrist shot:

And here's a detail of the cuff detail and the lace pattern on the thumb:

Project Specifications

• Pattern:  Orchid Lace Mitts available through the Knitspot On-Line Catalog or through My Store.  The pattern is well written and fairly easy to follow.  I wouldn't recommend it for folks who had never done either circular knitting or lace patterns, but aside from that, even an adventurous beginner could handle these.  There are a couple of places you just need to be sure you have the right stitch count and things lined up correctly on the needles.  These would be great to do as a quick holiday knit project.
• Yarn:  Wooly Wonka Fibers Merino/Tencel fingeringweight yarn.  Colorway: Desert Rose.  I think I've said before I'm not a fan of tencel blends.  Or I should say now, other tencel blends.  This one is custom spun for our store and it has a much nicer, softer hand than most of the other tencel blend yarns I've worked with.  It's machine washable and takes dye really well.  How could I not love it?
• Needles:  US size 2 DPNs.
• Modifications:  None.  Just a straight knit version. 

Once these are dry, they are off to live with my friend Sharon, and I've already started the matching Orchid Lace scarf to go with them for her.

All for now.....

A Weird Funk

I dunno.  Maybe it's the changing weather, maybe it's post-ride let-down/electrolyte imbalance, maybe it's just that I need a vacation, but I have been in a Grand Funk for the entirety of the week.  Blech.

Not that I'm Little Mary Sunshine, but normally I pull out of these quickly and I move back to my normal self.  Somehow not this one. I am feeling quite unsettled and like I need to make some major changes, but I'm not really sure what needs to be changed.  Ever feel like that?

D and I have decided we will be doing a large cleaning and reorganization project this weekend.  Our friend, John, who owns a remodeling/contractor business was redoing a kitchen and scored for me a countertop, plus a set of under-counter drawers and over-the-counter shelves (for FREE!) that I can finally use to finish off my dye studio space.  They were just what I needed.  However, when he and Dan (who works with him) dropped them off, there wasn't space down in the studio to set them up, so they got stacked in the garage and now we can barely get the car in there.  So part of the great reorganization is to tear down some shelves in the studio and move the cabinets and countertop down there to set up along one wall so I have some sunlight to work with.  And then reorganize all my dye supplies, plus my yarn stocks (personal and store-oriented), and then D is going to tackle the garage.

I guess in the spirit of all that, I'm in a purging mode.  I sold a saddle yesterday which doesn't fit either of my boys now.  (Too bad, really, because I loved it, but a sore horse isn't a happy horse).  I am also trying to get rid of the large Western saddle that fit Hap when she was 250 pounds heavier, but no longer.  That will be one less thing in the garage.  This morning, I posted and sold my loom.  I know.... I know.... but I NEVER have time to weave anymore and it is just sitting taking up space, and the gal buying it is going to use it and it was exactly the kind of setup she was looking for, so shouldn't it go someplace it will be used and loved?  Yup.  I think so. 

I have several knitting projects I'm mulling over (still working on your mitts and scarf, though, Sharon!) and when I was down surveying my fiber stash, I have a lot of small stuff I'd like to either jettison or get spun up, depending on my attachment to it.  I love Margene's idea of having a spin-more-stuff month.  I could use a kick in the arse like that too.  I have a couple of projects that need to get finished up and off the wheels - like Dan's Max-the-Dog hair blend and the buffalo roving I need to spin for a project for the fiber club.

Maybe my problem is I feel like I've got too many things I HAVE to get done and not enough fun things I WANT to work on.  Hm.... I feel a bout of startitis coming on.......

All for now...

Moab Canyons Endurance Ride

Friday, MJ and I trailered down to Moab, Utah, in her big 4-horse, living quarters trailer with her arab gelding, Beau, and new horse, Bhen, for the 2-day endurance ride.  Although 75 people had preregistered, and the ride manager (Sheri Griffith, who did a fantastic job handling all the logistics) had a BLM permit for 100 people, 150 riders showed up (which also meant she had to call BLM offices at the last minute and try to get her permit capacity bumped up - a huge headache for her, I'm sure).  When we arrived around 12:30, the parking area of the camp was already filling up quickly.

We got the boys out and built a temporary corral for them, and got them fed and watered so they could relax a bit.  Here's Bhen:

And Beau (hoping for a cookie):

We took the boys for a walk after we got everyone settled in so they could tour camp, and then got our rider numbers for the next day, and took the boys over to see the vet to be checked in and make sure they were sound to ride for the race. After a quick dinner (and the addition of a lot of warm clothes plus some blankets, because the temperature drops quickly in the desert when the sun goes down!), we attended the riders' meeting and got the trail maps for the next day, plus some information about places to watch footing on the trail, where the water stops were, and so on. 

There were a LOT of riders signed up to do the 25-mile race.  Like 73.  That's more than sometimes attend an entire race.  I'm not sure how many folks signed up for the 50-miler, but it was a similar number.  MJ, who graciously agreed to ride with me (even though she is normally kicking arse and taking names in the 50s), and I plotted a little strategy.  Since it was so dusty and there was such a large field, her suggestion was to get out of the pack early and stay out front so we weren't going to be eating dust all day.  Good plan.

The next morning, after a chilly start (we blanketed the boys overnight and it was good we did as there was ice on the water buckets), we got checked in with the officials, and trotted around a bit to warm the boys up and by 8:00 a.m., we were off just as the sun was peeking up over the mountains. There were about 6 riders that went out in front of us.  We let the boys trot quietly for just a few hundred feet, and then MJ yelled out "GO!", so I clucked to Bhen and asked him to pick up the pace.  We called out ahead to let the other riders know we wanted to pass so they were aware of us coming up. 

One cowboy-type (wearing jeans and no helmet) on a BIG black and white paint looked down at us as we zipped by and said "Is that thing even a horse?  It's too short to be a real horse."  Uh huh. (Bhen is the same size as Digger, a manly 14.2 hands high.)  I told MJ later I didn't care if we were 71st and 72nd out of the 73, but I was not gonna let that guy finish in front of us.

At any rate, we zipped past this group and I let Bhen go out in front for a while, sitting a brisk pace.  We took a quick break at the first water stop, but the boys were ready to keep going, so we settled them back into their trot and rode on.  The scenery was absolutely beautiful.  Red rock canyons, sandy washes, and miles and miles of sagebrush.  We trotted on, following our blue ribbons that marked the 25-mile trail, and came into the vet check (at about the half-way mark) second.  However, the guy riding in first place had been pushing his horse hard to stay ahead of us, and he couldn't get the horse's pulse down.  When we came in, the boys had a drink, and they were checked in under the 60 beats per minute pulse parameter to continue, so we went ahead and had the vet check them out, to be fit to continue - which they were.

After a 40-minute mandatory hold, with a break for more water, some nice mush and a bit of hay, we remounted and sent the boys out on the trail again.  By about mile 20, I was so very thankful I had MJ with me.  I fell last Monday (not horse-related, just on some wet stall boards), so I had been riding with a cracked tailbone, and by then, I gotta tell ya - it was a HUGE pain in the arse.  MJ put Beau out in front and set the pace for us, and we chit-chatted our way to about mile 24.  As we were coming towards camp, we could see a group of riders, who had passed us and one of the guys in that larger group had been thrown from his horse (inexperienced rider on a horse that wasn't his).  We all stopped and waited, and one of the other riders (who was riding with all her western tack and gear) went out and caught the loose horse, and brought it back to the rider.  We all agreed she got to go to the head of the line for "good samaritan" points, which she deserved.

Since we were only about a mile in from camp, we basically all stayed in line and came into camp in a group of about 10.  A couple of the folks up at the front who had been pushing their horses hard took longer to pulse down to the 60 beats per minute criteria, so we wound up coming in ahead of them by AERC rules.  (Your completion of a 25-mile race is when your horse has met pulse/respiratory rate parameters, not necessarily in the order you come in, so sometimes it's better to be slower than faster at the end of the race, to give the horse time to catch its breath.)

Bhen and I came in 7th, and MJ was kind enough to let us go ahead of her in the standings.  (Honestly, she has like 19,000 competitive miles and a gajillion Best Condition awards, and she coulda totally waxed everyone's fanny, but she is a kind, dear soul that way - very very generous). Our "prize" for completion was a great photo taken out on the trail just before the vet check.

How fun is that?

The boys both did great and were bonded pretty tightly by the end of the weekend together.  We trailered back on Sunday (with me and my arse sitting on a heating pad most of the trip) and got the boys home.  The ride was a total blast and I'm looking forward to next season already!

PS - The cowboy on the big black and white paint?  Didn't even finish the race.  He got pulled for Lameness at the vet check.  In this case, it sure isn't size that matters, dude.

All for now...