Vacations

It is amazing what can be done during a vacation. Even though school is starting to pick up (just started a mini boot camp for incoming Kindergartners), I am  still finding time for me. Last weekend, I spent the day at the annual dyeing party for our guild. I tried the painting of a sock blank (will load those pictures when working on that project) and dyeing a warp and a fleece.

There is actually 4 chunks of fleece. This fleece is from a german dairy sheep from Blewitt Pass. I visited the sheep last summer and they looked like happy fleece (especially when it was time for the milking).

Over 3 days, I finished up the spinning & plying. Still need to work on not overspinning but I still like the product. Not sure if it will be part of a hat or something else (I think there is less than 50 yards). Will need to think about it...

Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece: Custom-Color Your Favorite Fibers with Dip-Dyeing, Hand-Painting, Tie-Dyeing, and Other Creative TechniquesHand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece: Custom-Color Your Favorite Fibers with Dip-Dyeing, Hand-Painting, Tie-Dyeing, and Other Creative TechniquesTeach Yourself VISUALLY Hand-Dyeing (Teach Yourself VISUALLY Consumer)

Pickled

This summer has been an eye opener for me. I am reading Animal, Vegetable, Mineral  and really thinking about the food I eat. I signed up for a share of local produce from the local CSA. I am trying new vegetables because of this (which means I am looking up new vegetables).

 I tried the jam earlier and will try not to buy a jar this year. Now onto the vegetables. Between my produce box and sister-in-law. I had enough beets to try to pickle them. I had never tried a golden beet so I look forward to opening that jar.

 

I love the colors of these jars. What I am learning is patience. With jams, you can crack open one of those jars and enjoy (and also find out if this grand experiment worked). With pickling, you have to wait. Before this batch, I pickled wax beans. Only have to wait 2 weeks for those. With beets-not even supposed to touch them for 24 hours, then let them sit for a week to develop their tastes. As I told my husband, it is going to be a long wait.