T.V.

I really need to stay up on my shows.  I don’t have many of them (CSI, Heros, House, & Medium) but I’m always too busy to watch them while they are on.  Then I’m too busy to watch them later.  I end up waiting anywhere from 1-6 weeks before I actually get time to watch something.   House is the only one that is on during a time that I don’t seem to be busy because I can stay on top of that one.

Anyway, the reason I’m posting about this.  I just watched the November 15th CSI.  I’m floored.  I’m going to stick the rest of this behind a cut for anyone who may be like me and not watch stuff for weeks.

Seems like a good start.

I’m using this video from youtube to help guide me in getting started. I’ve spun a bit of the yummy merino and I’m liking how it’s turning out. Some of the sections are thin but I’ll get the hang of it soon. Here’s a photo of what I’ve done for the past half hour or so.

I just realized from the grumbling of my tummy that I haven’t eaten very much today. I’ve been so excited! I plied yarn all through my lunch break and now I’m spinning through dinner. Geez…. I need to control my yarn hunger and eat real food!

EDIT: *Squee*  Charlie Brown Christmas is on!!

Hoooooo Whaaaaaa! (and other band geek cheers)

My momma does read my blog! 😀 I made this post a couple of weeks ago and today my wonderful mom (and best friend) brought me these goodies! Link & Link. When I made the handmade pledge last month, I hoped this would extend to anyone who may give a gift to me as well (I’ve been emphasizing the handmade thing to everyone). Both of these fit with the pledge – Hurray!!

The fantastic super duper soft roving is so much more than I expected. I really didn’t think that 4.5 oz was really that much but I’m blown away by how much wool it is. I’m ecstatic and can’t wait to get home tonight and start spinning this baby up. The colors are so beautiful in person. I got a freebie gift of some non-dyed Blue Faced Leicester roving as well – which is dreamy creamy yummy soft. Now I’m not sure which I prefer merino or the BFL. I also got an excellent roving postcard as a freebie.

I’m impressed with the drop spindle too. I really didn’t expect it to have such a large whorl (I think that’s what it’s called). The ones that I’ve seen photos of are only a bit over an inch & a half to two inches wide. This one is 3.5 inches.

I’m having a great mail day today too! My copy of KnitKnit finally arrived. I won a $20 Amazon gift card from Jennifer Estep’s contest she had earlier in the month and I just had to order it. I also ordered a copy of Jennifer Estep’s Hot Mama but it hasn’t arrived yet.

 

I will post some photos of all this when I get home this evening – I’m on the job at the moment and don’t have my camera with me.

EDIT: As promised here are the pics!
I used my drop spindle to ply these two yarns together. I wanted to get a feel for the thing before diving into the yummy roving. The purple is a recycled acyclic and the blue is 25% mohair and the rest acrylic/nylon. I really like how it turned out. I think I will call it Sugar Plum Fairy though I’m not sure what I will make with it yet.

This is an up close shot of the roving 😀

Record days!

Thanks guys!  This week my little humble blog has had record numbers.  😀  The daily views have tripled!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

On to some personal post stuffs.  I used some of my birthday money today for some handmade goodies from my Etsy favs list.   I ordered some yummy handmade soaps and body butters from Vixen & Venus.  I also ordered this adorable little Robin’s Nest Ring from Starry Designs.  I cannot wait to get these!

It’s beginning to look alot like Christmas….

Last night I put up the Christmas tree and put some lights on the porch. Last year we didn’t have any decorations because Raisin was still a teething puppy. This year we opted for the 3 ft. tree and plastic ornaments – just in case she gets a hold of one of them. Here’s a photo –

This morning, ten minutes after I got up, I heard chomp chomp chomp in the hallway. Raisin had nearly demolished one of the ball ornaments. I know the cats are knocking them off. The hubby has suggested that we re-do the ornaments in all edible things. Cookies and popcorn. I’m thinking that would be our best bet.

I have a few things that I’m working on that should be popping up in the shop sometime this week including some book ornaments and a black knit handbag.

Town Christmas Tree

I was so excited to see this last night.

It’s our town Christmas tree! It’s lit every year from Thanksgiving to New Years.  It’s on top of a very tall hill in the center of town and can be seen from just about everywhere in town limits.

When I was a kid the lights were all different colors.  I miss those days but the white lights are ok with me too.

Paste Paper Tutorial

I use paste papers as inside cover pages for some books. This is a tutorial for how I make paste paper.

Wheat Paste Materials:
Wheat Starch or Unbleached Flour
Sauce Pan
Wisk
Wooden Spoon
Air Tight Container – I use the Rubbermaid TakeAlongs Sandwich containers.

Wheat paste can be made from wheat starch or unbleached flour. Wheat starch is not available in my area so I use unbleached flour. I use 1 part flour to 5 parts water. Wisk water and flour together to get rid of most of the lumps. Heat over Medium heat stiring constantly. Patience is key because if the heat is too high the flour will burn and stick to the bottom of the pan. When the flour thickens and turns sort of translucent it is ready. The paste will thicken more as it cools. Pour into an air tight container. Keep in the fridge or a cool place. Pour water over the top of the paste so that it covers the entire surface. This will help in keeping the paste air tight and reduce the production of mold. I toss any left over paste after a week.

Paste Paint Materials:
Wheat Paste
Small Containers – I use the Rubbermaid TakeAlongs Small Round containers.
Watercolor or Acrylic Paint
1 inch or larger brush
2 Damp Cloths
Cup of Water
Pattern tools – For this tutorial I used a hair pick, paint brush, rubber stamp, and a mug.
Paper – I used Mohawk Superfine Text Weight

After the paste has cooled, spoon a few scoops of paste into a small container and mix with a drop or two of paint. Watercolor or acrylic paints can be used to tint the paste. Watercolor mixed with the paste is very light and translucent while the acrylic is bolder and gives more coverage. Use a damp cloth to dampen the paper. Don’t make the paper too wet so that the water pools on the surface and don’t rub the paper to much. Using a large brush and working from the center out, brush the paste paint onto the paper using large brush strokes that extend over the edges of the paper. If the paste is too thick to spread evenly, dip the brush in water and brush through the thicker parts to thin them out. After creating patterns, lay on a flat surface to dry.

I used a few different tools to create patterns on my paste papers. I used a hair pick, the end of a paint brush to draw, a rubberstamp, and the bottom of a mug to create circles. Below are a few photos of how these turned out.

Here are a few photos of books that I’ve made that used paste paper.

Swirl Foam Stamp Paste Paper covers.

Sunshine Paste Paper inside a case bound book.

 

 

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Thanksgiving Silliness.

My mom, step-dad, SIL, niece, and myself were sitting at the table playing Phase 10.  From the den we hear BOOM! CRASH!  Silence fell.  Immediately following we hear “I DO NUSHING!” from the three year old.  LOL.  It was no big deal (something fell over loudly) and my hubby was in the room with her.

Earlier she made a huge mess but explained “BahBee Doo!  BahBee Doo!”  Which means Barbie did it.  My mom told her to tell the truth but she held to her story that “BahBee Doo!” and would then lean over to my hubby and whisper “I make mess.”

Lots of yummy food, lots of fun (Scatagories and Phase 10), and my bro slept in his turkey induced coma on the couch.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I know I did.    🙂

On a side note, I put something other than books in my Etsy shop.  I listed a neck warmer that I made yesterday from some recycled yarn.

Hat! Hat! Hat!

I made a new hat! I’m happy about it if you can’t tell. I’m picky about hats and I really like this one. Pattern is from Cosymakes called Train Tam. I’m a big fan of her work and I really love this pattern. I made this with Paton’s Merino in Leaf Green.

My MIL sent me $10.00 for my birthday. I wanted to spend this as frivolously as possible, because well, it’s birthday money not bill money. I first stopped and picked up the newest copy of Hack/Slash at G2k Games.  Then I went to Dollar Tree and picked up a Christmas door mat, two cereal bowls, a pack of pretty paper, and four bulky acrylic scarves. I frogged all the scarves last nights and this is what I ended up with.

It’s acrylic, but it’s really soft acrylic and it’s bulky. I’m loving them. Seriously I couldn’t have bought that much yarn for $4.00. I measured around the large ball of tan in the back and it’s 15.5 inches around.

I made this a month ago, but I finally stitched him together yesterday. It’s another knit Kitteh. Made with Knit Picks Telemark in Black.