|
|
|
March 13th, 2017
06:22 pm - Fibering Away
The big excitement this week (both in general and for my fiber hobby) was the Jefferson City Fiber Retreat this weekend. I went with K, who is becoming my favorite fiber buddy. I took four classes, one which was excellent (shibori dyeing), two of which were vaguely OK (spinning dual coat fleeces in the grease and fractal spinning), and one of which I almost strangled the instructor (spinning fun yarns). It was a cheap conference, especially since you could bunk at the 4-H grounds for $15 a night and they provided all of the meals. Sadly, this was the last year of the fiber retreat, as their location (farm extension for one of the universities) is starting to charge for use.
It was a little weird because K's mom passed away Friday night. It was not unexpected, and K is the type to have everything organized, so she decided to continue with the conference (which was nice for me, so I didn't have to figure out how to get myself and my stuff home, or back and forth between the 4-H grounds and the farm). I mostly asked her how she was holding up and made jokes.
I'm glad I took today off of work, to give myself time to like people again. I unpacked my dirty laundry and washed it, and unpacked my purchases and logged them. On the way home, K and I talked about going to Fiber U in July and maybe someday going to a master spinner class.
I also made good progress on March's project. I'm into the striping down the body. I'm afraid it is going to be a bit long, but I think I'll just plan to wear it over skirts. I also made stitch markers to match. I've been using a pair of split rings (with string tied on the end of round marker), but today I sat down with wire and pearls (in honor the pattern name). I still haven't grafted the under arms of February's project.
This entry was originally posted at http://affreca.dreamwidth.org/380250.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
|
March 6th, 2017
07:40 pm - Yarning to the Storm
Spring in Kansas. It was crazy windy all day, and had a strong but quick line of storms blow through this evening. Hopefully pressures will settle down, they haven't been playing nice with the light cold I'm fighting.
February's project isn't done, but almost so. After fighting with the last bit this weekend, I just finished binding off the neckline. I still have to graft the armpits, but I'm not up to learning the kitchener stitch tonight. So that, then block. I can see all the problems other people have had with it, but it worked out in the end. The neckline is wide in the shoulders, but it isn't enough to continue futzing with.
March's project is coming along. I've changed the neckline to a v-neck, and I think it is working. I've got the back, left front and half the right front shoulders done. The arms are a new style for me, so we'll see how that works out. I haven't made a new set of stitch markers for this project, which is probably wise. The selection of split rings came in, and I've been some of them.
I finished spinning the BFL/silk. I still need to set the twist, but I did get enough yardage out of 8 ounces. It will probably be April's project. I will use the rest of the top I bought for another project. Possibly the grey sweater.
This entry was originally posted at http://affreca.dreamwidth.org/380147.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
|
March 4th, 2017
09:15 am
Per ![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png) james_davis_nicoll; books I have are bold, books I have are bolded, books I've read are italics. Authors I have or read other works by get the same treatment.
A Door Into Ocean by Joan Slonczewski
A Voice Out of Ramah by Lee Killough
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
China Mountain Zhang by Maureen McHugh
Don't Bite the Sun by Tanith Lee
Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Galactic Derelict by Andre Norton
Gate of Ivrel by C.J. Cherryh
Golden Witchbreed by Mary Gentle
Jirel of Joiry by C.L. Moore
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Female Man by Joanna Russ
The Many Colored Land by Julian May
The Next Continent by Issui Ogawa
The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge
Warm Worlds and Otherwise by James Tiptree, Jr.
So that's 12 I've read, and 11 I own. I would quibble on the chosen books for a couple of the authors (I'd pick Dawn over Kindred for Butler, and probably a different Cherryh), but it includes several of my recent favorites (Ancillary Justice and Ninefox Gambit) and several of my formative favorites (Dreamsnake, Snow Queen).
This entry was originally posted at http://affreca.dreamwidth.org/379685.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
|
March 1st, 2017
09:07 pm - Fiber Update
Well, I did not manage to finish February's project in February. Changing patterns twice will slow a woman down, and February is a short month. I did finish the lace portion of the yoke today, so almost done. Due to the heavy yarn, once I connected the body and arms, it got to be to heavy to take with me to work and I've been only able to work on it in the evenings. And then I spent two evenings celebrating my birthday and Lawnchair's promotion..
But since I couldn't take February to work, I've been taking March's project with me to work this week. I actually knitted a full sized guage swatch (4" by 4"), and cast on the back shoulders today. I shall knit a project with different colors! I mean in the same project. Considering it ranges from purple to green, not actually different colors than I normally use. I carded several random braids into 10 different colors, and spun them up. Hopefully I estimated corrected how much of each color I need. I'm still trying to decide if the stripes are going to go in order (purple, blueish purple, purple blue ... to green) or out of order (purple, purplish blue, green blue, blueish purple ... to green). There's also a bit of black for framing stripes.
Next up is finish plying the white BFL/silk for a Melusine shawl. And dig through the stash for some fiber to send. And inventory the KAWS door prizes.. and everything else.
This entry was originally posted at http://affreca.dreamwidth.org/379449.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
|
February 5th, 2017
05:33 pm - State of Projects
I have managed to get through the tricky part of February's project's sleeves, now onto lots of cabling. The honeycomb pattern does not thrill me, and I'm worried that the yarn is to heavy. This is going to be a damn warm sweater, and wear like a leather bomber jacket. It might even turn knife attacks.
Thursday was the monthly spin in at Yarn Barn, so I started back spinning the yarn for the mermaid sweater (hopefully March's project). The combination of not loving honey comb and touching my wheel got be excited about the mermaid yarn again, and today I finally finished carding the wool for that project. I'm pretty pleased by the color gradation.
This entry was originally posted at http://affreca.dreamwidth.org/379331.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
|
January 29th, 2017
06:55 pm - Ignoring work guilt with crafts
I'd told myself that I'd read a couple of documents for work this weekend. Like everytime I tell myself that, I get to Sunday evening hating the idea. And I'll be out of the office most of the next two days...
So I knit. I finished my January project (Campbell & 2nd using my handspun in purple and greys) today, except for weaving in ends and blocking. It is a couple of days early, but I then cast on for February's project. This will be try number two to use the yarn I spun for the sweater that got ripped out after sitting unfinished for two years. It's a two ply, roughly aran weight, in Ashland Bay's English Garden merino. I love the color (in fact, the sweater I finished at Christmas is the same fiber and colorway, just spun finer). February's project (subject to change) is a free cable sweater (Lempster), and we'll see if I can make it work. Thankfully there are enough people who've made it to explain the corrections needed.
Soup of the week is a triple batch ofmeaty lentil soup, made with ground beef. Last week's potato leek soup was OK, but I ended up freezing over half. Hopefully I'll like it better when I need fill in soup.
This entry was originally posted at http://affreca.dreamwidth.org/379035.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
|
January 22nd, 2017
12:18 pm - This week's soup
Still on the stove, so I can't say if it is a keeper yet or not. Following the recipe at Cooking and Beer.
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 large leeks, dark green parts removed, diced (greens go in crock with chicken bones for next stock)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 cloves of garlic, finely minced (or more)
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
6 cups chicken broth
1 can drained garbanzo beans
1/2 cup tahini (or however much is left in the bottom of the jar)
1 cup heavy cream
1) Melt the butter in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Once melted, add the leeks, and dried thyme. Season with salt and black pepper. Stir. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the veggies are tender. Add the garlic and potatoes, cook for 2 minutes before stirring in the vegetable broth. Bring the soup to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.
2) After 2 minutes, stir in the garbanzo beans and tahini. Simmer for 5 more minutes until the beans are warm and the tahini is fully incorporated.
3) Blend the soup until smooth and creamy with an immersion blender. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and then add the heavy cream. Cook for 5 more minutes until nice and warmed through.
This entry was originally posted at http://affreca.dreamwidth.org/378631.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
|
January 11th, 2017
06:35 am - Lentil Soup
I am not a regular poster, but.. And after years of trying, I think I've managed a lentil soup that tastes close to the one at Aladdin Cafe. I just needed to suck it up and use some tomato sauce.
1/2 onion (1/2 cup)
1 carrot (1/2 cup)
2 cloves garlic
1 small can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp Turkish spice blend (Penzey's)
6 cup chicken stock (1 large tub)
1 1/3 cup red lentils (rinsed)
Put a little oil in the pan, start cooking the onion and carrot. When the onion is mostly translucent, add the garlic, then the tomato sauce and the spices, then the stock and the lentils. Bring to boil, then simmer 15-20 minutes. When lentils are soft, mash with stick blender. Add salt to taste.
This entry was originally posted at http://affreca.dreamwidth.org/378587.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
|
August 22nd, 2016
04:16 pm - Week's Soup
Chicken, Lentil and Barley Soup
Ingredients
1/2 cup dry lentils
1 cup sliced leeks or chopped onion (1 mid sized onion)
1/2 cup chopped red or green sweet pepper (1/3 green bell)
1 clove garlic, minced (2 cloves)
2 tablespoons butter
5 cups chicken broth (stock)
1 1/2 teaspoons snipped fresh basil or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1 teaspoon snipped fresh oregano or 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
3/4 teaspoon snipped fresh rosemary or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed (skipped, none in house)
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey (chicken thighs poached in stock before started soup)
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots (3 carrots)
1/2 cup quick-cooking barley
1 14 1/2 ounce can tomatoes, cut up
Rinse and drain lentils; set aside. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven cook leeks or onion, red or green pepper, and garlic in margarine or butter until tender but not brown. Carefully stir in chicken broth, basil, oregano, rosemary, pepper, and the lentils. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
Stir in chicken or turkey, carrots, and uncooked barley. Simmer, covered, about 20 minutes more or just until carrots are tender. Stir in undrained tomatoes; heat through. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
This entry was originally posted at http://affreca.dreamwidth.org/377885.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
|
August 10th, 2016
06:56 pm - Reading Meme
Migraining today, so not enough energy to do the what I've been reading.. but I can do the 60 Essential SFF Reads meme
What I've read from renay's 60 Essential SFF Reads:
Bold = read, italics = read another book by the same author, strikeout = didn't finish
Grimspace by Ann Aguirre
Primary Inversion by Catherine Asaro
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear
Flesh and Spirit by Carol Berg
Chime by Franny Billingsley
Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop
Tithe by Holly Black
The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett
Cordelia's Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold
War for the Oaks by Emma Bull
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Synners by Pat Cadigan
Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Survival by Julie E. Czerneda
Tam Lin by Pamela Dean
King's Dragon by Kate Elliott
Black Sun Rising by C.S. Friedman
Slow River by Nicola Griffith
Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly
Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
The God Stalker Chronicles by P.C. Hodgell
Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson
Valor's Choice by Tanya Huff
God's War by Kameron Hurley
The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Daggerspell by Katharine Kerr
The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein
Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress
Deryni Rising by Katherine Kurtz
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
Ash by Malinda Lo
Warchild by Karin Lowachee
Legend by Marie Lu
Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey
Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre
The Thief's Gamble by Juliet E. McKenna
Sunshine by Robin McKinley
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
Diving into the Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
The Female Man by Joanna Russ
Old Man's War by John Scalzi
A Door Into Ocean by Joan Slonczewski
The Grass King's Concubine by Kari Sperring
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
City of Pearl by Karen Traviss
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree, Jr.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge
Farthing by Jo Walton
The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells
This entry was originally posted at http://affreca.dreamwidth.org/377658.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
|
|
|
