Sayonara, Sandy!

Well, it appears we are safely past the crisis with Hurricane Sandy. Schools are still closed, but hubby's work place has re-opened, and life is beginning to go back to normal.

I did a lot of cooking early in the day, anticipating a power outage, so we would at least have one good meal and some treats before being left in the dark.

For the third time, I made a batch of my Storm Cookies. The first two times I made these in the face of a major storm (one Nor'easter and one Hurricane), we did not lose power, though many folks around us did. I hardly dared hope that this might work a third time, but it did. I now believe quite firmly in Storm Cookie Mojo.

I shared the blog page with the recipe among a group of friends on Ravelry, and am utterly gobsmacked at how many hits this blog got as a result! Not only that, a bunch of people also made them yesterday, in hopes of spreading more good mojo around to others caught in the storm's path.

Here's all we have left of mine.

Also, since we never lost power, I got a bunch of knitting done, and this morning I put the finishing touches on my second Westknits Rockefeller Shawl.

With the first one (pictured below) I ran short on my chosen yarns, as did a lot of other folks who made this when it was a Mystery Knit-Along. Even though I loved what I ended up doing to salvage the first one, I was determined that such a thing would not happen again, and so dyed more than enough of my own yarn for the project. (Onyx kettle-dyed, and Borealis hand-painted).

I have a dress that goes well with the first one, and also a black turtleneck dress that will be perfect to wear with the new shawl.

Now, I am officially suffering from post-project let-down, and need to find either something new and exciting to make, or finish one of my many works-in-progress...

Seasons - a new song

We've all had them. You know, those relationships and/or friendships that seem so fresh and vital while we're in the midst of them, and then one day, for no apparent reason, that oh-so-important person just -- disappears. Your phone messages go unreturned, and your e-mails and letters unanswered, and soon it feels like the thing never happened in the first place.

You think to yourself, was I crazy? Was I dreaming? Or worse still, I must have done something wrong.

You re-examine every written word that ever passed between you and that special person, and you find -- nothing. Or at least, nothing that would offend YOU, if you were that person.

Sometimes, one has to simply walk away, but me being me, I can never do that completely with anyone. Just like Motel 6, I'll leave the light on, and when the bulb burns out, I'll replace it as many times as necessary.

Whatever, whenever, I'm still here. Until...

Seasons

Seasons come and seasons go;

Oh, how I wish it were mine to know

If we'd have years of seasons, or only a few

Passing in the blink of an eye.

What has become of you, my friend?

You've disappeared; will you return again?

Or are there one too many links

With the sorrowful past,

And in this world is anything ever

Destined to last?

Seasons come and seasons go;

Oh, how I wish it were mine to know

If we'd have years of seasons, or only a few

Passing in the blink of an eye.

The silence is deafening...

Threatening...

Menacing...

And I can't help feeling that this bodes ill,

And I'll wait for some word from you, until...

Seasons come and seasons go;

Oh, how I wish it were mine to know

If we'd have years of seasons, or only a few

Passing in the blink of an eye.

Time to journey on; maybe we'll meet again,

Or maybe this is really the end.

I'll pretend I'm tough enough to say goodbye,

Then I'll hide away alone and cry.

Seasons come and seasons go;

Oh, how I wish it were mine to know

If we'd have years of seasons, or only a few

Passing in the blink of an eye.

CP Warner

25 October 2012

Can't make it to Rhinebeck?

Well, I can't make it to Rhinebeck this year, either.

You are not alone.

Still need a yarn/fiber fix? Here ya go!

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Thanks for looking!

Mad Angel Creations

Interior Color Changes

We finally painted over the ugly wood paneling in our front foyer. The color is brighter and golder than I could capture in the photographs, but it sure makes a huge difference!

The bureau belonged to my grandparents aeons ago, and various family members have been urging me to get rid of "that ugly old thing" for years. But you know what? I LIKE that "ugly old thing." It has an unusual shape, and now has a proper "distressed" look about it. It ought to look "distressed." It has been moved to various houses and apartments many times over the years. Steve finds it a handy place to perch whilst spying on the dogs.

And finally, my bedroom. Yes, it really is THAT purple. Now, to find all the knick-knacks and personal kitsch hubby put "in a box someplace," so the room doesn't look quite so bare. Also, need to switch the bureaus around. This one does NOT belong in this corner! Hubby asked to me to consider. Well, I looked, I considered, and I vetoed.

This coming weekend, we will hopefully finish the hallway, which is going to be a dark mossy green color.

Adding color is so exciting, after years of all the walls and trim being either cream-colored, or non-descript wood paneling!

More Teeswater

These are the last two Teeswater rovings for the moment. As soon as the order I just placed for more arrives, I'll be painting again, and listing. I'm really trying to resist the urge to just keep one of these for myself.

This is Red Hat Gal, in celebration of having turned 50 this year, even if I don't have time to get involved with the Red Hat Society.

And this one is Violets in the Grass. No one will make THESE violets disappear with a lawnmower!

Both of these are in the shop now.

Still Life with Cat, & some Dyed Teeswater

Steve decided to arrange himself on the kitchen table with the gorgeous eggplants we got from our garden yesterday. I have to confess, I arranged the eggplants around him for the best effect. Picturesque, isn't he?

Here he looks like he's wondering if he needs to kill them for me.

But no. That would be too much work. When in doubt, take a cat nap!

Friday I finally got around to painting some lovely Teeswater roving. I love, love, LOVE Teeswater! Longwool breeds are wonderful, but Teeswater is the best of them all. I tried combing and spinning some dyed locks over the summer, and thought the yarn came out really nice. So nice, in fact, that I am hanging on to it until exactly the right project comes to mind. It's really special stuff.

THEN I found out recently that sometimes one can get Teeswater in roving form, so I bought a pound. That seems a decent amount to invest in for dye experimentation, and just to see if the roving was as nice as those locks. Well! I haven't spun any of this yet, but I can imagine it would be much like spinning the locks, once pre-drafted and fluffed. The natural sheen of the wool is fabulous, and it sucked up the dye better than just about any roving I have ever hand painted. Needless to say, I ordered more to paint up, and will probably hold about four ounces back for myself. But what colorway to do for my own?

"Copper Blue," pictured below, is tempting. It seems to be a pretty popular colorway, too. I've sold it in various types of yarns, and a couple of different types of wool roving. (Bob Mould has an album of that title, with his band, Sugar, allegedly one of his/their best, but please do not mistake me for a fan. The roving is copper and blue, so the name suits the fiber well. But I am a tried and true Grant Hart Fan, as anyone who has read this blog more than once knows!)

Anyhoo, "Copper Blue" is still available at Mad Angel Creations, AND I am still running my Customer Appreciation Sale. Now through September 30th, use coupon code SEPTEMBER15 at the checkout, and you will receive 15% off your entire. Includes  EVERY EVERYTHING (hee-hee) in the shop, and as always, free shipping for US customers.

This one, "Borealis," sold within a half hour of being listed! I guess I'll be painting more like this when my next batch of Teeswater arrives. And until then...sigh....I'll just have to content myself with painting some superwash BFL and some superwash Merino....sigh...

Oh, and FYI -- they are all approximately 4 ounce rovings, give or take a few tenths of an ounce. Plenty to do a pair of socks, or a scarf, or fingerless gloves, or...???

My Next "Rockefeller" Shawl!

Well, the next Rockefeller is underway, and was, in fact, cast on the very day I took the first one off the needles and blocked it.

This is "Borealis Tweed Sock," my own hand-painted creation. It's a neat Merino yarn made up from one strand of superwash Merino, and one plain. The two fibers take up dye at different rates, which results in a lovely tweed effect. I painted two skeins, so this time I am guaranteed not to run short on my yarns, and won't have to go hunting for a complementary third color two-thirds of the way through the project.

This is all of Clue # 1, and a large portion of Clue # 2. Must say, I am really liking this colorway!

And here's a close-up shot. The black is the same base yarn as the multi-colored yarn, but it was kettle-dyed, not hand painted.

Am I bored, or even remotely sorry I started a second one hard on the heels of the first one? Heck, no! And if I do find myself getting even faintly bored, I am still working on the latest hat project, and have one more to go to complete the series. That, plus a bit of spinning now and then, should give me enough variation to save me from boredom. Not to mention that although there is a LOT of stockinette stitch in this shawl, there are also enough "pay 'tensh" rows to keep me on my toes!