Spinning for a cardigan

Was greeted with this carpet yesterday morning when I went out to fill the bird table. Unexpected preview of winter. It was  23 F overnight last night, Thursday is supposed to be 74 F. Boing!

 I have settled upon a kitting project: A cardigan. I've wanted one for some time so I've started spinning for one. The pattern I have chosen is called "Ship Shape Cardigan" by Heidi Kirrmaier. Pattern can be found on Ravelry: Ship Shape Cardigan . I won't be knitting it in stripes, though.

I got inspiration for knitting this pattern from Kate at The Last Homely House YouTube channel. She has recently made a video about her adventure knitting it in a solid color. I love the way it looks on her. 

I need DK weight yarn (11 wraps per inch) and I've been auditioning some mixed wool I bought from Wellington Fibers in Canada years ago. I've spun up a bobbin full and plied it 2-ply to knit my swatch with. I'm getting about 11 wpi but my swatch stitches are just very slightly too big, so I'll have to spin a bit thinner than I originally thought.

It's making nice stitches, though. I won't be using this yarn for the sweater because I don't have enough wool. I've ordered some new wool from the same company in a subdued purplish colorway. It should arrive any day now and I'll be able to settle into spinning.

The yarn will be spun from this colorway:

Album: Our Home

I walked up the trail that starts a few hundred feet from my driveway this afternoon. I am told the trail is the work of someone who once had a cabin way out back, but it has also been used as a logging road. The land, almost 1000 acres, is in conservation and we are free to hike at will.

There is a junction at one point where the trail meets Hog Hill Road, now a defunct thoroughfare. It's because of that I was going to name my place Hog Hill Homestead, but there is a multitude of ferns growing at the edge of the field/forest behind my house so I decided to name the place Fernwood.

It's an absolutely beautiful walk and there is so much texture in autumn's outfit. And so quiet and peaceful. At times, only the sound of the babbling brook is heard; some times only the wind flowing through the baring trees. Highlights of the walk were the milkweed seed heads all burst open, sending their progeny to establish themselves further on, and the brook, of course. Glimpses of it meandering at the bottom of the bank, and at times out of view.

I walked as far as the water fall--about 3/4 of a mile--which is barely a trickle now. But after downpours and in the spring, it's a proper water fall, all gurgling and gorgeous. The solitude, and step away from modern life steers my mind to pondering the Native Americans who at one time roamed these lands. The sense that this is our home, this beautiful planet earth, is vivid in these moments.

 

Crazy

Well the month is flying by! To be honest I'm glad election day will soon be behind us, even if the bedlam isn't over after election night. I never thought I'd see things go so badly in the US, but here we are.

The crazy quilt pillow is finished and I'm well pleased with it. I'm feeling inspired to make a full sized quilt now. It could happen. This was a good practice piece to 'get the hang' of it.

This will go on the bed, solely for decoration. The insert is a $5 pillow from a big box store that I opened up to un-stuff a bit and re-sew it shorter, to fit my cover. Works a charm.

Work on the Christmas runner has progressed well. It will be finished soon, probably this week.

Last Sunday's Harvest Festival in a small, nearby village was great fun. I had my three spinning wheels and took them in rotation, demonstrating from 10 am to 3 pm. I also had a couple of my quilts hanging up as backdrops and they got lots of good comments. It's great to see people taking an interest in how wool is spun. My friend from high school had an antique corn shucker that he was demonstrating just outside the door of the barn in which I was stationed. That was also popular.

I was surprised to see how many artisans were displaying and selling their wares. For such a small town, it puts on a good show. Craftsmen and women from all around. A very good turnout as well. I had a very nice, lengthy conversation with a woman from Virginia! And another from Maine!

I made a batch of soap about 3 weeks ago; something I haven't done in quite some time. It should be ready in early December, just in time for the holidays. I scented it with cedarwood and balsam. A small batch, just 6 molded bars.

Making soap is another one of those deeply satisfying endeavors. There is something about taking raw materials, be it lye and fat, or wool, etc. and making something basically useful from them. It just feels great!

I finally learned how to make decent garlic sauce like one gets at Chinese restaurants and I've been making it often. LOL. For a single meal for one, about 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, about 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, about 2 to 3 teaspoons of rice vinegar. Mix those together. Heat a bit of oil in a pan (or wok) and gently saute a couple cloves of crushed garlic and some minced ginger (about a small fingernail amount). Then add the liquids and heat it up. Mix a teaspoon of cornstarch with a teaspoon of water and add that to the sauce and bring it to a boil to thicken. Stop when the consistency is right. I've been steaming a bunch of vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, green pepper, onions, etc.) and sauteing some shrimp, then adding it all to the sauce. The whole thing can be done in a wok as well. Yum yum.

Lots of cello work and piano work last week and I can feel it. Feels good.