SpriteHikes

Renaissance and Walnut

2012-01-17T02:53:00.000-06:00

I've been a total sucker for the new show Once Upon a Time. It's become pretty engaging after the initial few so-so episodes. In a recent chapter, Rumpelstiltskin starts off the episode at his spinning wheel, as a shepherd in his early years before turning evil. The wheel is turning way too slow to actually be working, but I still freaked out about it anyway. Spinning!

I've gotten in some spinning myself. I made progress on the Lincoln-Corriedale fleece from ages ago in 150 yards of bulky-weight two-ply by the name of Walnut.

I tried combing through the locks and then creating roving using a diz, but that took way too long for the quality of roving I was making. I ended up just separating out locks from the bag of wool and spinning from the cloud of locks. The resulting singles was pretty slubby, but it evened out in plying.

The yarn is more brown than the photos show. I'm not crazy about this yarn, but it's not half bad, considering it started out greasy, dusty, and straight from the farm.

But this other yarn, Renaissance, is fabulous. I used roving from Sue's Luxury Fibers, which I love. I think I bought six batches of fiber from Sue at the Lake Elmo Shepherd's Harvest Festival this year. She does an amazing job with rich, royal colors. To showcase the colors and texture of the roving, I spun 150 yards of a sport-weight singles. When knitted up, it will be self-striping.

I haven't set the twist yet, so that's why the skein looks extra twisty.

I'm not sure what to make out of either of these yarns. I could definitely work Walnut into a sweater, and I have a heck of a lot of that fiber still left to spin, so I could make something big with it. Renaissance might become outerwear baby gear. We'll see!

SpriteLite

2012-01-09T14:16:00.002-06:00

Recently, I've been hunting down blogs by other female hikers, and I'll get around to adding some to my blog roll soon. I've noticed a common thread running through several of them, that the women had never hiked before their first backpacking trips as adults. This was not my experience because I've been lucky enough to have gone camping all my life. Aside of extensive camping with my dad during college, my whole family traveled west several times during my childhood. Here, I've gathered together a few adorable photos from a trip during my formative years.

Me and my sibs at Devil's Tower. I'm the one disregarding the camera.

Sibs, me, and Mom at Yellowstone. I'm more fascinated with what appears to be a feather than with the geyser.

The swan song of the orange pup tent that housed all five of us. We had to upgrade to a dome tent during this trip.

Me and Dad, chilling.

Clearly, Yellowstone smells bad.

So cute!

A Funny

2012-01-07T21:41:00.002-06:00

This video has gone viral on my Facebook news feed. Just sharing the laughs.

Reflection

2012-01-01T15:15:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year! I rung in 2012 watching Cold Mountain with my mama and nursing a bad head cold. I would have missed midnight entirely if it wasn't for my neighbors shooting off fireworks at 12:00 on the dot.

But now it's time to reflect on my resolutions from last year. Getting to the point: I failed miserably at my 2011 challenges. However, I spent a lot of time working and was busy the last few months moving, so... excuses, excuses. I was in the woods for, like, three weeks this year too, so that was a lot of time spent planning and organizing. Whatevs. I was busy in 2011. It was a good year.

2011 Challenges:
- Make soap.
* This didn't happen.

- Make cheeses.
* Also didn't happen.

- Visit a fiber farm and a goat farm.
* No on both counts.

- Learn how to use my pressure canner and then use it.
* Well, I learned how to use it, and I let some people borrow it, so someone used it.

- Make at least two types of jam, certainly jalapeno jelly.
* Certainly did not. I made raspberry cinnamon jam, which we still have several jars of. Success!

- Go on a one-on-one date.
* Success number two! Learned that I'd rather be knitting anyhow.

- Spin enough fiber to knit a cardigan or sweater.
* You know, I'm really darn close. I just need to do some plying. Eff it. Success number three!

- Weave more!
* Nope!

- Knit five pairs of well-fitting socks. FIVE.
* I knit three non-matching socks. Huge fail.

- Go on at least three days hikes a month around city parks.
* Ha. No.

- Make more time for my garden.
* Success number four!

- I'd like to get a tattoo, but I won't resolve to do that, maybe just consider it more.
* Yeah, I thought about this a lot and almost pulled the trigger. I've decided on getting a pine tree, if and only if I can find the right artist to design it.

- Maintain my healthy habits and continue eliminating the bad ones.
* Success number five! I eliminated a lot of my vices and tried to conquer some fears. I made a lot of good decisions this year. Another good decision: I'm not making a challenge list for 2012. Focusing on failures takes the shine away from all the other great stuff I did this year.

I tried to be really thoughtful in 2011, spending my free time doing what I want, when I want. I was able to go on several backpacking trips and visit Isle Royale for the first time, putting about 100 miles on my boots and experiencing new things. Spinning and knitting was put on hold for a while because of the move, but now I'm getting back in the groove. I've already finished what was supposed to be my 2012 sweater, and I made an adorable hat over the past two days. Baby sweaters and a huge crocheted afghan were some other fun projects this year.
Gardening with my Dad was a great decision, and we had a very successful year. I'm thrilled about gardening in 2012, having learned some valuable lessons this year.

2011 was a good year for me. Being single and living totally alone (plus Wendigo) gave me a lot of time to consider what I want to do with my life. I'm still happy with my job, where I was able to advance a little bit and now feel very valuable. Having some alone time as I edged into my later mid-20s gave me some clarity on where my life is headed and if I'm happy with how things are going. After my tumultuous early 20s, I'm excited for this new chapter of my future. The last few years have been a huge learning experience, and a lot has been humbling.

I'm looking forward to what I can experience in 2012, and it's gonna be great.

Scenes of Egress

2011-12-29T01:45:00.001-06:00

I Need Your Vote!

2011-11-26T11:02:00.001-06:00

Cold Antler Farm is hosting a bit of a competition for a homemade jar cozy for keeping your coffee warm. I entered the knitted cozy above, and it was just listed as part of the top ten. Yay!

If you like it, please visit the Cold Antler Farm blog and cast your vote: http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com/. The winner gets coffee, books, and bragging rights, and those are my favorite things. There are also some other really cute designs posted and more coming later today. If I wasn't in love with my own creation, I totally would have voted for the one with a mushroom applique.

Thanks!

One for the Baby Ladies

2011-11-08T14:18:00.000-06:00

This tiny sweater has been sitting in the yarn box for a long time now, just waiting for the finishing details. It was originally intended to be a boy sweater, but the light blue Caron Simply Soft yarn combined with an empire waist detail changed that. I finally got the chance to use some of my favorite vintage buttons from my stash as well. I really love this little sweater...I think I'll save it for a family baby.

With Love from Fire King

2011-10-28T14:01:00.000-05:00

I think every baker probably has a favorite mixing bowl. Mine is a white, vintage Fire King bowl I found at a thrift store. It looks like a huge eggshell. It came with a matching smaller bowl. It's the most gorgeous thing, and it scrapes clean very easily. It's also super delicate, heavy, slippery, and doesn't have a spout or any kind of handle, and you really have to grip it while stirring because it'll just shoot right across (or off) the countertop.

But it's so pretty.
What's your favorite kitchen bowl?

San Diego Baby

2011-10-27T13:00:00.000-05:00

I can't be seeing my lease paperwork every time I open my blog, so I'm bumping it with some knit goods. I made these little items for an expecting friend who lives in San Diego. To my Midwestern sensibilities, San Diego must be as hot as the center of the sun, so I made the bib and vest in cotton.

Both patterns were found on Ravelry. The bib is super easy; I think it took me two hours to knit, maybe one hour. The vest is simple, but it gets a little tedious. You have to rejoin the yarn several times for the yoke and shoulders, and I'm grumpy about rejoining yarn. However, there's no seaming, so it's a trade-off.

Clearly, these are gonna be for a little boy. All my friends are having boys, seriously: Kaito, Owen, Charlie, Micah, I'm talking about y'all! Where are all the little girls? I think there'll be a wave of baby girls soon.

Short-Lived Makeover

2011-10-26T12:26:00.002-05:00

So that's happening. Blurg. The landlord increased rent more than I'm willing to pay for this neighborhood (which, at this point, is $0), and after three years, it's time I move on anyway. I just hate the stress.

I've recently redecorated my living room, which I will now enjoy for two months, for most of which I'll be taking it apart. Such is life.

Here's the original living room, complete with AWFUL AWFUL HEAVY HORRIBLE couch. I needed three people, blueprints, and a miracle to get that thing out of my life, and it's finally gone. Also note the novelty print dragonfly curtain.

For a while, I was feeling really trashy...

But then I visited Ikea with my Dad, and we found this little gem of a love seat. Its name is Solsta. I took a black curtain from my bedroom to replace the dragonflies and then crocheted a little buttoned tie-back for it. I love the new room. If anything, the style will be easy to replicate in my new place, and Solsta is a helluva lot easier to move than the old couch.

Also been sewing...

And doing some cables in handspun...

But pretty soon, I'm just gonna be making lists. Like for today:
Write intent to vacate letter
Fax crap to slum lords
Visit liquor store
Knit more cables

High Kicking

2011-10-23T23:03:00.000-05:00

I just have to share this. My hiking partner took this picture months ago on Isle Royale, and we are just now getting around to swapping pictures. My feet were bleeding, I was out of water and dehydrated, several miles to camp, and still literally kicking.

A Real Sweater

2011-09-29T14:05:00.000-05:00

I finished this sweater late last spring, too late to wear it at all. Now that it's September, it's cool enough to wear. Recently, it made its debut at a Sunday family dinner, and I coerced my brother into taking lovely photos with his digital SLR camera.

I modified the pattern a bit. The pattern is designed for a small/medium using bulky yarn, so I increased the stitch counts to accommodate a thinner yarn and a larger size. I added long sleeves and repeated the twisted rib section on the cuffs and hem.

It did turn out a bit large, but I'm really warming up to it. It's very warm, and I love to wear handmade stuff. It is a little unflattering, in that it makes me look about four sizes larger, but that happens. I can imagine myself throwing on this sweater when I go to milk my dairy goat on crisp country mornings. One can dream...

Land of 10,000 Lakes...

2011-09-15T11:38:00.003-05:00

But also, Land of Zero Water on the North Shore.
The photo above is me filtering water on the "raging" Encampment River last Sunday. My hiking partner and I held out until Wednesday, thanks to cached water and state parks.

We were not near the wildfires, and we were so out of touch that we didn't even know about them. However, I'm really not surprised that a fire was sparked off. It's ridiculously dry up there.

More photos to come soon, just saying I'm back home and safe! And drinking tons of water!

Saving Tomatoes

2011-09-09T13:40:00.004-05:00

We've had an excellent tomato crop this year, so over the past few weekends, I've been taking home as many as I can and saving them in different ways. The amount in the photo above was probably 1/3 of what Dad had picked.

I started with some really basil-heavy marinara sauce. I used my food mill and blended an entire summer squash in there as well. It smells amazing, but the texture is a little weird. It would be good in lasagna, though.
Then I cooked, peeled, and froze something like 12 tomatoes. I'm not sure what I was thinking. So now I have these frozen bricks of delicious tomatoes. I need to go find an army and make it chili.
The roasted tomatoes were the BIG WINNERS. I halved cherry and pear tomatoes and quartered some small tomatoes, tossed with 4 peeled garlic cloves, some rosemary, oil, salt, and pepper. 200 degrees for about two hours. I had to freeze them fast because I just kept eating them.
Here is the "after" photo of the first image of this post. I also blanched and froze some green beans and sliced and froze the green peppers.
I'll be out of town for the next week, but I hope there are still tomatoes in a couple weeks, because I have got to make more roasted tomatoes! Best thing ever.

Fair Food

2011-09-05T21:33:00.005-05:00

I did my best to photograph all the food I consumed at this year's Minnesota State Fair. It was a tough task. 2 gig isn't that much room.

Day 1:
Mom and I ate a wild rice cheeseburger with...
A funnel cake! Breakfast!
We spent hours with the barn animals (photos of that later), and then we tried 2011's fad food: deep-fried pickles. They were good, but a serious flavor overload.
Then I saw a sign for chocolate-dipped cheesecake and ate that.
Then I got the sleepies, so Mom ran to get me Swedish egg coffee. I'm not quite sure what the "egg" part is, something about being brewed with eggshells? Regardless, damn, that's some good coffee, very smooth.
We watched the parade, and then we got some cider freezes, one of my all-time faves!
A giant loop was walked, and we got deep-fried cheese curds, a Cherry Coke, and checked out the Creative Arts Building:
The day ended with the Amateur Talent Contest, a Summer Shandy, a Honey Weiss, and a long sit:
Day 2:
Breakfast was a foot-long hot dog, which did not last long enough for a photo to be snapped. NOMNOMNOM.
Holy cow, it was really crowded on the final Sunday of the Fair, so I snapped this pic of our delicious strawberry-rhubarb malt from inside a crowd. Mom's holding it, but I ate almost all of it. SO GOOD.
We didn't eat anything for a long time, so around 1:00, we both ate a gyro:
To take the edge off of walking through the crowds, there was more Summer Shandy and another funnel cake. I got powdered sugar everywhere.
Then we got amazing seats for the Amateur Talent Contest Finals, and the Summer Shandy-ing got EPIC.
Then we also had a TUB of popcorn and a PAIL of cookies...but it was dark, so I didn't take pictures. I love the Fair. I'm so sad it's over.

Isle Royale

2011-09-02T14:00:00.003-05:00

I'll break up this series of backpacking posts soon, but I finally posted my Isle Royale trip report to YouTube. It's definitely not my best work; the Memorial Day video was much better. I'll get back to crafting and stuff after I get back from my next hike, but my head's already in the woods. But anyway, so here you go:

Paper Blogging

2011-09-02T01:22:00.008-05:00

While on the AT, I kept a daily journal. There is a link on my blog-roll if you're interested. I wrote my journals by hand and mailed them home, where my dad would transcribe them onto a site designed for backpacking journals.

This was the only time in my life when I've been able to keep up with a daily journal. At times, I felt obligated, because I wanted to keep the journal continuous, and I knew that my family enjoyed reading them since I could not call them regularly. But as the trip went on, my nightly reflections allowed me to experience the trail in a much more cerebral way than I'd expected. If I skipped a night and had to catch up, I could feel the shallowness in those entries. I was able to be creative with the simplest of mediums as I wrote them in vital moments.

I've gone through my AT photo folders and found the images my hiking partners took of me while journaling. Writing took up 15 minutes to an hour every day of my hike, but, of course, I could not take a picture of myself doing it, and that makes me treasure these images more. After each photo is a snippet of the journal entry that I was writing at the time.

Moreland Gap Shelter, mile 439.
I am writing by headlamp.

One reason that we were sore and slow today was we were carrying two pounds of Kielbasa. Okay, I was carrying the Kielbasa and Mozzie had two onions and a tomato and oil. We made Kielbasa fajitas! Woo-hoo! It was one of our best dinners. It was real dinner. The shelter smelled just like home, when Mom is caramelizing onions. I can hear thunder coming, so it’s a good night to be in a shelter.

Thomas Knob Shelter, mile 485.
Psycho hair, dirty socks, sunburn!

Dude, I was hiking by 9:20 this morning. I know! Way early! About one million daddy-long-legs were having an orgy on my tent door. I flicked them all off; it’s an innate gift, bug flicking.

Mozzie gave me red-eye gravy and country ham grits for breakfast. It was so needed. I love ham, I love grits…god, so hungry! I’m damn hungry all of the time. Meals and snacks only relieve the merest iota. Plus, I want hamburgers. Not trail food. We saw a herd of cows at Elk Garden and I started salivating. It took a lot of talking from Mozzie to convince me that I couldn’t slaughter one with my Micra. Oh, red meat.

Partnership Shelter, mile 522.

I pulled another unusually easy 10 miler out of my hat today. Some bits were steep uphill, but they were brief enough not to do much harm. Again, it thunder stormed in the afternoon. I suppose the weather will be a regular event through June. Today, once it started raining it didn’t stop, but we made it to the nice shelter just before the downpour.

Lamberts Meadow Shelter, mile 643.

We all played with the turtle. Then, out of nowhere, BT comes running NOBO without a pack and sprints flat-out right past us. You just never know how she’ll turn up. Apparently, she got side-tracked below the cliffs and only came back up when she heard our voices. This area is so well-used that there are trails all over; it’s easy to get lost, especially if you are BT.

Wicked Hard-Core

2011-08-25T14:08:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I look through my Appalachian Trail photos and think, "Holy cats! I was in great shape!"
I invite you to click on this photo to enlarge it and check out that ridiculous arm muscle. I'd say that developed entirely from hoisting up my pack ten times a day. I can only wonder what I'd have looked like if I'd been able to finish the other 2/3s of the trail.

Garden Pickle Recipe

2011-08-10T02:22:00.002-05:00

Here is the recipe for the fridge pickles I posted about a while back. Thanks, Mama!

We used about 8 cups of veggies including: yellow squash, 1 white onion, 3 large carrots, 3 green onions, 2 cucumbers, 2 large watermelon radishes.

Syrup:

2 cups sugar

3 cups vinegar (I used 2 cups cider vinegar plus 1 cup white vinegar)

4 dried red chilies

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. dried dill weed

1 Tb. kosher salt

Boiled syrup, add chopped veggies, boil 5 minutes.

Fill hot jars. Add hot lids & rings.

Cool. Store in frige up to three weeks. Yum.

The Photographer in the Family...

2011-08-04T12:49:00.002-05:00

...is clearly my Dad, who emailed me these pictures of our garden last night, and I was amazed.

Garden Pickles

2011-08-02T00:38:00.005-05:00

MAMA! I need the link to the recipe that inspired these fridge pickles. The only part I had in the making of these pickles was the harvesting of veggies and then consumption. My mother, bless her talented heart, made these beautiful jars of goodness.
We started with the harvesting. From the garden, we used: cucumber, yellow summer squash, watermelon radishes, dried chilis. From the fridge, we used: carrots, onions, green onions.
Watermelon radishes are amazing. They are absolutely massive this year. The insides are a deep, bright pink, and they've dyed the pickles in shades of pink and red.
Chop chop chop! There's a beet in that photo, but we went ahead and ate that raw. Beets don't last long around me.
Mom made some concoction of vinegar, sugar, and spices. The pickles are kind of sweet and sharp, like tart bread-and-butter pickles. I love all the colors in this photo.
Into jars they went, and Mom adjusted radishes and chilis so they were prettily displayed.
This was my dinner following the pickling. YUM. My favorite pieces are the summer squash (they squeak!) and the carrots, so we're considering making a couple jars with those as the stars. The radish pieces are delicious as well, but sadly, their season is over. I still have these in the fridge, so I'm going to go eat some right now to add some class to my french fry dinner.

Shepherd's Harvest Fiber Fair 2011

2011-07-29T12:44:00.005-05:00

Wow, better late than never, right? I think I uploaded the photos from this year's fiber fair to Facebook, and then I just figured that everyone who reads this blog probably saw the photos there anyway. But whatever...

We started off the day with some shearing...
We spent a lot of time around the miniature alpacas. They were so scared and clustered together, but so so so cute.
My sister and I had differing opinions on this sheep, a Babydoll Southdown. I think they're one of the cutest breeds, especially when their fleece is full, but Beth thought it looked a little dumb. I suppose so. It's just a sheep after all.

Lots of shepherding! Last year's festival was cold and rainy, so it was a treat to sit in the sun in early spring and watch the sheep scuttle across the field.

The ever important stash pic! I didn't go as crazy this year, since I'm still working on fiber bought last year, but I still found some goodies.
From the left: dyed roving 2 oz., undyed oatmeal-colored wool 4 oz., sheared Angora rabbit 2 oz., blue and red rovings, black alpaca 2 oz., more dyed roving 4 oz., dyed mohair locks 1 oz., brown alpaca 2 oz. I also got some fawn colored alpaca, 3 oz., but it's not in the photo.
Bottom line: spending the first nice day of spring with my Mom and sister and a couple hundred fiber animals--paradise!

It's a Jam Bar

2011-07-25T00:44:00.011-05:00

Mama taught me how to make raspberry jam. I had the best Saturday ever.
We started with 10-11 cups of frozen raspberries, picked from the backyard in the last week. It didn't even make a dent on our raspberry stash, and we picked another several pounds on Sunday. Drowning in raspberries.
We cooked these down. At one point, an apple was added on a whim along with a generous hit of cinnamon. After the mixture boiled and reduced for 15 minutes, we added 6 tablespoons powdered pectin and then 5 1/2 cups white sugar. The heat was turned up, and while stirring madly, the mixture was heated to 215 degrees or so.

We made up the recipe based on the pectin bottle, a Betty Crocker cookbook, and a bit of haggling between the two of us.
I have mad funnel skills. Not really. I made a mess. If you click on the photo and enlarge it, you can see the jam spots over my work space.
We used Mom's canner. I love how vintage it is. It makes me think of farmhouses. My pressure canner looks like a time capsule. It makes me think of spaceships. We processed the jars for 12 minutes.
Oh, my God, they're so pretty. We ended up with 10 half pints.

10,000 New Best Friends

2011-05-25T03:39:00.002-05:00

I visited some bees today! A coworker of mine has been keeping bees for two years, and we had a grand morning seeing what her bees have been up to this spring.
First, we got suited up. Jacket with a mesh hood, canvas and leather gloves, and pants tucked into socks. I'm holding a hive tool in that photo, but it's just a prop. I didn't mess with the actual hive this time.
My job was to keep the smoker smoking, which I did. Those were some calm, stoned bees after I was done with them. The smoke just makes them go eat honey. Isn't that ADORABLE?

And then when they're all mellow, you can take the hive apart and see what they're doing. In the above photo, the shininess in the hexagons is honey, and the white spots are bee larva/baby bees. I learned that the newly hatched bees are pale and their stripes aren't defined yet. They really do look like newborn bees.

We opened the whole top layer, and everything looked good. (So I was told. I wouldn't know.) Bee activity is a lot more intricate than I'd thought. I figured everything would be pretty orderly and predictable, but each rack was different and so busy. The honeycomb was arching across panels and underneath the racks. There was activity everywhere. So fascinating. I am excited to go back later this summer.

Anagramenga

2011-05-20T02:19:00.006-05:00

The most fun I've ever had at 2:30 a.m. was playing with an online anagram generator, using my awesome name.

Here are some of my favorites:

- Batman Met Grim

- Gambit Remnant Yam

- Bargain Mammy Tent

- Baying Merman Matt

- Baa Ramming My Tent (bad sheep!)

Using just my last name:

- Magma Men

Heehee, the first one to come up using my dad's name:

- Madman Gnome

And for something really creepy, using my cat's name (nickname and full name):

- Mad Mean Mewing

- Damning Mega Meow

http://wordsmith.org/anagram/

Sincerely,
A Dingbat Want My Merman

Always Be Prepared

2011-04-19T14:02:00.004-05:00

Hey, I knitted another hangy towel. This photo is to be enjoyed by people who only read this blog for the craftin', because the rest of this post is about backpacking.

I've given my backpacking first aid kit a major upgrade.

Here is the before. I'm calling this "The Asking-For-Trouble First Aid Kit."
Seriously, this is what I carried my last two trips, my safety tether in the middle of the woods. Two Band-Aids, one roll of athletic tape, triple antibiotic ointment, and two wet wipes. Not even alcohol wipes--frickin' wet wipes from a barbecue place.

What injury could that kit treat? Small blisters or dirty hands or a paper cut.

After a trip to Target, here is my "Boyscout First Aid Kit."
Meandering from the left: ibuprofen, Ace bandage, triple antibiotic ointment, tiny backup flashlight, Molefoam blister pads, stack of Band-Aids, wet wipes (will be replaced by alcohol wipes), sewing kit (polyester thread, needle, safety pins, all on a bubble tea straw), roll of duct tape, two toe warmers, Purell, athletic tape, plastic toothpicks, Benadryl, Midol. I also wanted to carry Sudafed, but, of course, my neighborhood never has that for sale.

And it all fits nicely into a quart freezer bag. I guess it weighs about 10 ounces, maybe less. The Purell stays in my hip-belt pouch.

I'm a Lady

2011-04-15T02:40:00.002-05:00

I have the least feminine shoe collection...ever.
But I also have the best tool box ever, 'cause it's red and old-school. Sometime this summer, I'ma go through it with Dad and figure out what all is in it. There's a couple hammers; I know that much and only that much.

I Dare You

2011-04-12T04:05:00.001-05:00

I dare you not to laugh at this picture. Double DOG dare.

My World

2011-03-31T03:29:00.002-05:00

Every night this week, I've intended to go to bed by 3:00.

By 3:30, I stop caring.

Thank you, swing shift.

Tsumami Kanzashi

2011-03-19T21:47:00.010-05:00

I blocked my first ever knitted sweater today. In the future, I'd love to knit more sweaters, but I'll have to find someone else to block them for me. What a hassle! I didn't have a vessel large enough to soak the sweater, so I put it in my largest mixing bowl and poured water on top. I know. I cringe as well. Then I had no work space large enough to press out extra moisture.

Surprisingly, the Lion Brand Fishermen's wool that I used was full of dye! The wash water was dark orange and very, very sheepy smelling, almost like raw fleece.

I laid out the sweater on a towel on my bed (my bed is boxes, yep), and then this kept happening.
And to quote myself: "No, no, please! Don't claw it! DON'T CLAW IT! You're out! Get out!"

Also, the sweater is giant. It's proportionate but allover huge. Humans don't come in this size. Oh, well. Better luck next time...or gauge swatch next time. Ha, like that'll happen.

I've also picked up a new craft: tsumami kanzashi, the Japanese art of folded fabric flowers. I like it because I already have all the materials, and you probably have them too. You need fabric, a needle and thread, and buttons, beads, and whatever other adornments you'd like.

Here was my first try:
And an in-progress picture:
It's a fantastic way to feature those lonely vintage buttons we all love to collect.
I made another flower from orange fabric and attached it to a clip:
These are a ton of fun, and they're really quick to make. I skipped starching the fabric, and I only finger-pressed the folds, so that saved some time and effort. However, I sewed everything instead of hot gluing, so maybe not so much time was saved.

Here are some links:
http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/tsunami_kanzashi_flower_2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaerMKBS8S8
http://vimeo.com/6608216

I've only tried the flower in the first link, and after looking at the tutorial again, I see that I made some errors. Now I must go make some more and see what I come up with!

Adrift

2011-03-16T02:07:00.003-05:00

When I am feeling adrift, I have myself some Wendigo time. She loves me even when I'm a paranoid, socially anxious mess.

I feel strange tonight because there were people in my apartment while I was not there, and I see little traces of them in my sanctuary. It was the bug crew, so I appreciate their efforts, but my stability is interrupted.

They left a pencil with a chewed eraser on my kitchen counter.
They moved my fridge 3/4 inch closer to the wall, and I had to move it back because the door wouldn't open properly.
They put an old motel business card in the trash, something they must have found while moving the fridge. It was trash in my trash that I didn't put there.
There are bug traps where the cat-baby can play with them.
There is a mysterious white powder along the edges of the walls.
They tracked in dirt and pine needles.
They moved my yardstick.
They pulled out a chair and didn't push it back in all the way.

These infractions are all so minor, but my apartment is so small that every inch matters. It's like a Jenga puzzle, and they shook the table. It's frazzling.

Also, I have an alcohol stove workshop happening on my kitchen table, and, honestly, it looks like I'm building a bomb to the untrained eye. Unsurprisingly, nothing was touched there.

It's 2:20 a.m., and I won't be able to sleep until I clean the hell out of my kitchen and reclaim it.

I'm sure there's a medication for this kind of anxiety, but I'll calm down with a classic combination: cleaning and cat.

Fed Up

2011-03-13T22:52:00.007-05:00

2008: Climbing on Charlie's Bunion in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I am wearing an XL men's shirt, and it rides up like this all the damn time.

I've been on a bit of an angry email rampage recently. No less than six outdoor clothing manufacturers have received my much-needed suggestions on expanding their women's sizing. Specifically, I think it's bull[bleep] for them to offer a men's size XXL but not a women's. I feel like these companies are marketing to a specific type of athletic woman without realizing that plus-size divas can be active as well.

Here's a sample of my emailings. These are the two nicest ones that I sent earliest. My comments have just gotten furious since then, and I'm a bit embarrassed at my rage.

This was sent to MontBell:
"I suggest that you add extended sizing to your women's jackets. You have lost my business by not making a product suitable for me. I recommend that you up your sizing to a women's size 18-20, or XXL, which you have in men's. A men's XXL does not properly fit a woman's curves, so I will not invest in that product.

There are many, many plus-size female backpackers, and we are tired of dealing with improperly fitting, men-specific clothing, just so we can zip it up. Open up your market to us, please."

This found its way to REI:
"I just wanted to express my concerns about REI brand women's clothing. Several years ago, your plus size line was launched, but there doesn't seem to have been any expansion since the start. Right now, there aren't even any sleeveless shirts listed, much less any variety, and this goes for all other types of clothing as well. At the most, you have one type of long underwear, in one weight, one option. I want to find clothing, not a uniform.

Also, in regular sizes in women's clothing, your color choices are seriously flawed. There are a lot of female backpackers out there, and I doubt that any of us would feel comfortable in a baby pink or pale yellow shirt for long-distance backpacking. It would be filthy by day two. Please return colors like royal blue, green, black, brown, and dark purple to the table. Stop only offering pastels. I want to buy your product, but it needs to make sense.
I hope you hear this."

Since then, a plus-size REI Tech Tank Top was released, which is a great product, but again, it's only available in horrible Easter egg pastels. Click for stupid.

It's not just me. There are plenty of female outdoor enthusiasts out there who happen to be larger than a size 14. We do buy men's clothing, and the fit is terrible. We have to constantly tug down straight-waisted shirts as they ride up, which is not easy to do under a pack belt. We have to deal with the embarrassing junk pouch on the front of men's long underwear. Zip-up jackets strain across our chests and hips, which diminishes the insulation properties. The rise on pants is too long, so the waist hits us at the wrong level. It's infuriating that the products simply aren't available, and we have to pay high prices even as we compromise.

I have a couple women-specific pieces: an Osprey pack, Mountain Hardwear raincoat, Patagonia Cap-1 T-shirt, La Sportiva boots. These are notably my favorite pieces of gear. The difference in comfort and function is amazing. I wish all of my gear could fit right, but it's not available.

So I suggest, if you read this and if you have felt this way about any company, get those keys clicking and make yourself heard. Plus-size women are not men, and we shouldn't have to wear their clothes.

SpritePlants

2011-03-04T01:02:00.005-06:00

They are praising the sun and protecting my wireless from Wendigo. Multi-use!

I appreciate my cactus' refusal to accept winter.

I planted some snap peas. I feel bad for making them grow indoors, but I love their delicate, hopeful beginnings.

Three

2011-02-27T12:47:00.004-06:00

Today is the third anniversary of my launch from Springer Mountain. I awoke to an email from a hiker who was inspired by my online trail journal. That was nice to read.

I still think about the AT a lot, but there's so much to do in the Upper Midwest that I'm not making plans to go back East any time soon. 2011 already has backpacking plans for Mille Lacs, Isle Royale, and the Superior Hiking Trail. Also, I want to see the Badlands again.

Other stuff: Winter is killing me, so I'm hibernating a bit.

I've been knitting a hat for my sister. I tried to finish it last night, but it turned out too short, so I had to rip out the entire crown. That was frustrating, because I am making up the design as I go and I don't have a pattern to fall back on. I'm going to try to finish it tonight. It's adorbs anyway.

I've been sewing camping gear, stuff for my hammock, ya know...

I'ma go eat a doughnut.

Math

2011-02-12T12:47:00.002-06:00

Set the scene: 4:30 a.m. on a Friday, or Saturday technically. I've been knitting for two hours, and it's time to divide the stitches on my first raglan cardigan for the sleeves and body. I've already heavily modified the pattern for my size, so I search through Ravelry for dividing percentages.

I go ahead and divide 291 stitches into 15%, 20%, 30%, 20%, 15%. Then I consider that maybe I could measure myself and find MY percentages and use them to divide the stitches.

Then I realize, this is one of those situations that high school math teachers mean when trying to convince you you'll use math in your adult life.

Needless to say, I went to bed at this point. Math is not how I spend my time.

Woods Fever

2011-02-03T02:08:00.004-06:00

I just recently got around to transcribing my journals from my last backpacking trip, which can now be found here along with a partial gear list and photos. Naturally, I began browsing trailjournals.com. This is a terrible idea in winter in Minnesota. Now I'm all hopped up on backpacking dreams, and the typical daytime temperatures are in the single digits. Normally when I get like this, I can go out for the weekend to Afton or Lake Maria, haul 40 pounds of stuff on my back and get dirt under my nails, and the fever fades. Right now, it's raging.

I even started looking at the 2011 Appalachian Trail preparation journals. I was shocked as I began reading them, because I realized that all the naivety I was reading was exactly what I wrote before my thru attempt.

It's hard to believe that my mind once functioned that way in regard to backpacking. There is such a mentality that if you have the right stuff, everything else will work out. I remember that feeling of being so focused on getting just the right kind of socks, just the right kind of cup, and being so opinionated on which guidebooks were the best or how to stay warmest at night. I was such a backpacking rookie, like so many of these journals I was just reading. Really, the best thing they can do is just go backpacking. The experience shows you how little those things really matter. "Things" are not what hiking is about. "Things" are what shopping is about.

Backpacking for me now is what I wanted it to be then: peaceful, natural, relaxing, second-nature, flexible.

So as much as Springer Fever tries to hook its claws in me, those sentiments listed above are what turns me off another thru-hike. I do not remember the Appalachian Trail as being any kind of peaceful. There was so much pressure, such a dichotomy of failure and success in day-to-day encounters. The sheer mass of people on the trail was overwhelming, and in that large yet compressed community, gossip and malevolence was more common than I'd ever imagined. I think that by being slow-paced, I interacted with more people on the trail than is typical, and in that, I saw more negativity than most thru-hikers who stay within a single group.

Anyway, what I'm trying to put into words is that I love backpacking, but I really don't agree with thru-hiking. I feel like thru-hiking is the antithesis of all things that I love about backpacking, you see? Thru-hiking is about conquering a challenge, defeating a trail, defeating your weakness, achieving a goal, testing your limits, proving yourself to others, proving yourself to yourself.

I just want to hang out in the woods, enjoy a cup of cowboy coffee with a friend,

watch the sun set and then rise and walk with it as it travels the heavens.

But--Uh--ERR!

2011-01-28T00:49:00.003-06:00

Oh, man, I'm going crazy right now biting my tongue.

So there's this confidentiality deal that we all have to sign at work because we frequently caption, describe, and subtitle projects well before their release. Normally, this is not a problem. For the Minnesota branch of the company, we don't have contracts for anything spectacular like, say, the Twilight Saga or American Idol, so people don't really care about whatever educational series or fishing show I'm working on.

But I signed on to Facebook tonight after work, and someone had posted an update about how excited they are for a certain film to be released at the Sundance Festival this year. I just subtitled this film two days ago.

And I can't tell them how terrible it is!

Oh, this is frustrating!

Not a Solution

2011-01-27T12:46:00.002-06:00

I've been talking to more people in my life about wanting a farm. My family and close friends have all been very supportive and interested, but I'm running into a little frustration with some other friends. I've received the same sentiment no less than five times: You don't earn enough to buy a farm; you would need a partner, a double income.

Um, no. I really think it's foolish to tether in my goals and wait for another person to support them.

Seriously, if I really can't afford a farm on my salary, then my dream isn't the problem. My job is the problem. It's frustrating to talk with my coworkers, because we're all in the same boat. Our job only pays us enough to live in an apartment in the city. For most of us, it's very hard to save anything at the end of the month, much less accumulate enough for a down payment.

I'd like to reiterate: I REALLY love my job, and I'm so grateful to have a job at all. Like, I seriously love my job. I don't think anyone at the company loves their work as much as I do. The only problem is the salary...and the terrible insurance, but y'all already know about that.

But I have to figure this one out on my own. There is no way in hell that I'm going to stop looking for a farm and start looking for a sugar daddy. There is a way to make this happen by myself; I just have to discover it.

Closure

2011-01-26T00:40:00.002-06:00

I think I just understood a little something about blogging here. I was in the process of writing a lengthy post about a rather emotion-provoking card I just received, and then I realized how little good it would do to put that information into the world.

I have no problem sharing this part of my life with the blogosphere, especially considering who my readers are (you know who you are), but maybe I just have to process this one on my own.

However, it's limitations like this that keep blogs from reflecting reality. This blog here really doesn't show what's going on in my life. If it does, I typically delete those posts the next day in a bout of Midwestern shame. I'd rather emphasize the good things, like gardening, knitting, spinning, happy things. These are the things I want to write about, the things I want to learn and better my life from when I read them elsewhere.

Truth is, for the last couple years, my life has been an emotional wreck. I rarely updated my blog because I had so few happy things to write about. Posting only about happy things made it look like my life was happy, when it was really a day-to-day struggle. Those weeks that passed without a post didn't happen because I was busy; they happened because I was depressed and angry.

With this card, I've gained a lot of closure, and I've found the ability to reflect on my past without looking through a patina of anger, regret, and frustration.

Hopefully I can learn from these past few years while putting them behind me.

What I'm trying to get at is this: I don't want to change my blog to reflect my life. I want to improve my life to where it is accurately represented in a joyful blog.

A joyful life.

Whole Wheat Bread

2011-01-22T16:24:00.005-06:00

Major bread success today. The yeast performed beautifully from the start. I've never had it activate so quickly. Since I don't have a cooking thermometer, I bloomed the yeast in water that felt like a good temperature for showering but not as hot as for dishwashing. I followed this recipe, but I used all whole wheat flour instead of white bread flour and cooking oil instead of lard.

After kneading and the first rise...

Shaping, and second rise...
After baking...
Devouring...
It's hard to tell, but the bread turned out very light and fluffy. Normally, my breads turn out pretty dense and chewy, but this is perfect. It'll be great for toast. Very pleased.

EDIT: OMFG this is so good. Eating some with Guggisberg colby now. It's getting fluffier as it cools. Oh, man, this is great.

Spindlin'

2011-01-19T13:01:00.003-06:00

My friend Kate gave me this roving for Christmas. I love the colors so much, and it's spinning up very easily.

I am both Talented and Awesome

2011-01-17T13:24:00.004-06:00

Can I dye your eyes to match your dress?
No.
But I can knit a hat to match your mittens...and I can also knit the mittens.

Lighten up with Ikea

2011-01-16T23:12:00.005-06:00

My old bathroom was a sad and dark dungeon.
If you wonder why the door is in the way in the photo, it's because the cabinet in the bathroom prevented the door from opening even halfway.

The new bathroom was outfitted mostly by Ikea with a little help from Menards. I got a new curtain, adorable new rug, some accessories, and a new toilet seat. I also moved the cabinet into the hallway, and there was much rejoicing and added square footage.

My favorite thing is the new toilet seat. It has a cover. You don't realize what a difference a toilet cover makes until you don't have it. It's the difference between a home and a hourly rent motel. I love my new bathroom. There isn't a window in there, so it's really important to make the illusion of light. It's all super girly and glorious for only about $25.

Also, I like what my hair is doing tonight.

OMG BFF

2011-01-15T01:18:00.002-06:00

I have the best sister in the world.

They Don't Pay Rent

2011-01-14T14:11:00.002-06:00

In the Great Stuff Purge 2011, I am down to the big pieces of furniture and electronics that I can't move by myself. This is a wonderful feeling.

My kitchen has cabinet space to spare. My bedroom looks like a bedroom, not storage. I know where everything is, and nothing is set up like a dangerous house of cards anymore.

Once I get rid of a huge TV, a dresser, a giant terracotta pot, and a couple other pieces, I think I'm gonna be done. Ah...

So...does anyone want to move stuff for me? :-)

The God of Humble Plants

2011-01-13T01:54:00.004-06:00

One of my favorite vegetables is the yellow zucchini, the summer squash. It's delicious, filling, easy to cook, edible raw, fun to grow and pick, cheap to buy.

For dinner tonight, I caramelized 1/4 of an onion in 1 tbl. butter. I added a medium sized chopped yellow zucchini and cooked it until slightly translucent, medium heat. Added a dash of Pickapeppa Sauce, salt, pepper. Topped with parmesan cheese and sour cream.
Totally filling meal, only one pan to wash. Dinner for the win.

Almost as delicious as my dinner are the textures on the socks I'm knitting.

Moving on

2011-01-11T10:52:00.001-06:00

When I get tired of looking at knitting patterns and Shetland sheep pictures,

I go here: http://damnyouautocorrect.com/category/best-of-dyac/

Recovery

2011-01-11T01:32:00.005-06:00

Here's a trick my sister taught me to get my out of my panic spirals: think up a list of the good things, get some perspective. Aiming for ten things.

1. I don't have any debt. In this, I am very lucky and in a better position than most of my peers.
2. I have savings. My issue with bills is that I have trouble adding to my savings, not that I cannot pay the bills. This is a problem with my head. Money is used to pay for things, not to be hoarded like a leprechaun or dragon.
3. I have time in my daily schedule to do the things I love: knit, spin, hike, read, listen to music, cook, bake, bike, garden.
4. I have a family that loves me even though I'm a damn mess half the time.
5. I am young still. I have tons of time to fix things and get the life I want. Just because I can't afford things now doesn't mean I'll never be able to afford them. This is a hard one to remember.
6. I am healthy. I don't have recurring medical expenses, so I really shouldn't complain for the few bills I do have when so many other people don't have the money to pay for the treatments they need to survive.
7. I don't have a car, so I don't have to deal with that giant expense OR driving on winter roads.
8. I have a job that I like. Maybe it doesn't pay much, but I am excited to go to work every day, and I'm smiling while I'm there.
9. I have a job, period. Tons of people don't, tons and tons.
10. It's snowing outside, and that's pretty.

Gosh, I feel better. I'm not much of a list maker, but this one never fails.

Poor Turkey

2011-01-10T13:56:00.003-06:00

So I made tacos this weekend. They were pretty good; it's hard to go wrong with them. But after I cooked up the ground turkey, I started feeling kind of low. I had to ask myself:

What kind of life did this turkey live that I was able to buy a pound of him for $1.99?

I eat meat maybe once a week, just because it's not very fun to cook with, but I don't know if I can keep eating mass-produced meats like the ground turkey pictured above. I am not ignorant. I know how these animals are treated and what they have to go through so that I can eat cheaply. I would have less of a problem if I was raising the meat myself. It's not the killing or eating of the animal that's the problem; it's the life that they had that bothers me.

Maybe I don't earn enough money to eat only heritage and organic, but I definitely earn enough to go vegetarian until I can raise the livestock myself.

Handspun Buttoned Cowl

2011-01-09T15:57:00.008-06:00

Hey all!
I wrote a pattern for all you spinners out there reading my blog.
If you've been following the blog for a while, this yarn should be familiar to you. You saw it dyed as combed top and then wheel-spun into a bulky yarn named Mountain Fury. Now it's a cozy, smooshy cowl. I couldn't find many patterns on Ravelry that would emphasize the textures and drape of handspun, so I made it up myself. Here you go.

Handspun Buttoned Cowl

31x7.5 inches after blocking.

You'll need:

Approx. 110 yards of bulky weight handspun

Size 10 straight needles

5 1-inch buttons

Needle and thread for sewing on buttons

Darning needle for weaving in ends

CO 26 stitches.

Knit 4 rows of garter (knit every st)

Pattern Rows:

Row 1: Knit

Row 2: (k2, p4) repeat to last 2 st, end with k2

Continue in pattern until piece is approx. 25 inches long, or however long is comfortable around your neck as folded in picture. Mine became 4 inches longer with blocking, so consider your handspun characteristics when deciding on length.

Buttonholes and finishing rows:

Row 1 (RS row): k2, yo, k2tog, k3, yo, k2tog, k4, yo, k2tog, k4, yo, k2tog, k1, k2tog, yo, k2

Row 2: Repeat Row 2 of Pattern.

Row 3-5: Knit

Row 6: Bind off.

Finishing:

Weave in your ends.

I wet-blocked my piece. It was Kool-Aid dyed BFL, so it needed it to rinse out some fruitiness. Blocking will relax the piece and make it longer and wider with better drape. Don’t be afraid if the piece looks super long after being soaked; tug it out width-wise on your blocking board to smooth out the ribbing, and it will shorten up quite a bit. Use your best judgment based on your handspun.

Sew the buttons onto the RS of the beginning of the scarf, vertically along the right-hand side. Reference your buttonholes for spacing.

Eatin'

2011-01-08T13:22:00.004-06:00

Honey-oat bread, roasted potato soup, nutmeg custard.
The kitten particularly enjoyed the custard.

My Sweet

2011-01-08T01:16:00.005-06:00

Sometimes she is destructive...

Sometimes a bit sharp...

But always, she is the beloved, the precious, my sweet...

Why Anywhere Else?

2011-01-06T13:41:00.002-06:00

In all my thinking about buying a small farm (fiber CSA, yes?), I've never considered buying land in any states other than Minnesota and Wisconsin. The thought just never enters my head. You are probably asking why. After all, these two states get so much snow, so much ice, for such a long time. The landscape is kind of mellow, even bland in rural areas. But really, those are the only negatives in my mind, and they can be considered positives with the right mind-set.

I don't want to live anywhere without snow. I love winter more every year, and the year would be incomplete without snow. Also, you can't raise thriving sheep in a warmer climate. They just cook in the summer, angora rabbits too. The land is at the proper altitude here where I don't get earaches; this is pretty much the reason why the Appalachians are out. I'm less inclined to buy mountainous land because of the rockiness, altitude, cost, and other associated dangers of the West. If I decide I want interesting terrain, Wisconsin is very hilly.

The Midwest already has a great community of CSAs, organic farms, and universities with great extension programs, so there's a fabulous support system. Depending on the area, land can be inexpensive here and still come with the benefits of a town nearby.

Last but definitely most important, all my family is here.

And there's great cheese.

Ain't Nothing Wrong

2011-01-06T01:07:00.002-06:00

I'm having a stress day. There is absolutely nothing that should be causing me stress right now, but I've had a really gloomy, nervous day. Half of it could be blamed on the maintenance guys, who have woken me up early three days in a row. Urgh. The rest...that's just me. I think that I over-think things, and that can lead me into a guilt-shame-anger-frantic spiral.

Luckily, there's always "Bed Intruder" therapy when I need it.

So having stress with no cause is really, really, really dumb, so dumb.

Homeboy.

One Sock, Two Socks, Four Socks.

2011-01-05T01:16:00.002-06:00

In an effort to reduce the unfathomable boredom that comes along with knitting the second sock of a pair, I've developed a bit of a leap-frog method.

I've finished one sock out of a wool-bamboo blend. I am absolutely bored with everything about it, even though it was great fun to knit and a lovely fiber. So instead of powering blindly through the matching sock and hating every moment, I've cast on a new sock pattern with different needles and yarn. Once I finish this other sock, I will complete the first pair, then complete the second pair. I think this is a great plan. I believe that I will complete more socks and have a better time of it.

I've also been spinning llama and baking bread. Baking bread is my new weekly challenge. Last weekend was a honey-oat loaf. It would have turned out better if I followed the recipe. I didn't have instant yeast, so I had to adapt the recipe for regular yeast. The bread just didn't rise as high as it should have. I want an airy loaf, but so far, they've all been kind of...rustic and dense. This recent one was the best so far though, and baking bread is so freaking fulfilling and rewarding.

My mom gave me a great tip about making a softer crust, as in, a not rock-hard-break-your-teeth crust. When you're preheating the oven, place an empty pan inside the oven to heat up as well. I'm using a 9x13 pan that served me well once but is now rusting. Once the oven is heated, put your loaf inside. Now quickly pour water into the hot pan and shut the oven. This kind of steams the bread, I suppose. The crust turns out ah-maz-ing.

2010 in Review

2011-01-02T11:19:00.004-06:00

Let's reflect on my resolutions posted last January.

"Take photos of all 2010 stuff for this post next year."
- Err...Maybe check Ravelry for that one.

"Make better quality projects instead of quick 'n dirty knits."
- I definitely got this one done. I started getting lazy in the last couple weeks with a headband or two, but now I got socks going again.

"Attempt to make something to enter into the Fair."
- Attempt? Whatevs. I fracking ribboned!

"Weave more."
- More like weave none. Yikes!

"Learn many spinning techniques including dyeing and plying."
- Totally done. Go me!

I had a pretty successful year with those simple and easily surpassed resolutions, so I'm going to make more challenging resolutions this year and lots of them. I've already got company on a few of these, so I am super excited.

2011 Challenges:
- Make soap.
- Make cheeses.
- Visit a fiber farm and a goat farm.
- Learn how to use my pressure canner and then use it.
- Make at least two types of jam, certainly jalapeno jelly.
- Go on a one-on-one date.
- Spin enough fiber to knit a cardigan or sweater.
- Weave more!
- Knit five pairs of well-fitting socks. FIVE.
- Go on at least three days hikes a month around city parks.
- Make more time for my garden.
- I'd like to get a tattoo, but I won't resolve to do that, maybe just consider it more.
- Maintain my healthy habits and continue eliminating the bad ones.

Okay, so the last one was a little vague, but you know what I mean.

Now for some 2010 totals:

Knit: 8 hats, 4 shawls, 2 scarves, 2 cowls, 3 dog sweaters, 2 pairs of socks, 1 4-piece kitchen set, 1 pair of mittens, 1 pair of fingerless gloves, 1 vest, 4 dishcloths, 2 pair baby booties, 1 coffee cozy.

Crochet: 1 afghan, 1 pair of slippers, 2 headbands, 1 scarf, 1 hat, 1 rug.

Weave: Nuthin.

Spin: 15 skeins/projects, wide variety, not sure how else to account for it.

Happy New Year! For me, 2011 is already great.

Everybody say aww!

2010-12-28T11:38:00.001-06:00

Awww!

Edit: Please notice that her cat basket is to the left in the photo, yet she chooses the flower pot.

Srsly, Dorothy

2010-12-22T02:15:00.004-06:00

Dorothy, the antique saxony, is dying. She's lost her take-up, and I can't figure out how to fix her. A spinning wheel is pretty simple, but I just can't work it out. She'll take up some yarn occasionally and unexpectedly, but I've been having to hand wind almost everything.

In the daylight, I'm going to dissect her and see what's up. In the meantime, the drop spindle and I are gonna have some quality time.

Edit: I took her apart. She's in rougher shape than I thought. I had to do some gluing, sanding, and bending. She might need to be retired.

Distant heroes.

2010-12-21T12:42:00.003-06:00

"And I strongly believe loving this lifestyle—whether that means a goat in your Seattle backyard or 40 acres in Swoope, Virginia—is the the only way to be successful. And by successful I don't mean a thick wallet, I mean a life that makes you happy, surrounds you with good food, and builds community and a sense of place.

If you are truly in love with the idea of producing your own food and caring for your own livestock, then it will happen because it simply has to. You won't be able to be content until you do, you'll give up what you have to give up. You'll take the leaps and risks that you need to take, and you'll sweat and work until you can't see straight or feel your hands through the calluses. You'll do it because it sustains you. Because the lack of it will become a cancer."

http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com/
From the blog of Jenna Woginrich,
one of my modern-day heroes,
for living the life that I am too timid to risk.

I've been enjoying a lot in my life because of hopes. I imagine what my life could be, and that is sustaining. But this woman, see above, is living the life that I want. She is a brave one, much more so than I am, but seeing her success makes me believe my own could be possible.

Her blog is good, but her books are better. Check 'em out.

something out of nothing

2010-12-12T13:29:00.008-06:00

Minneapolis is snowed in. My one big chore is to go throw out garbage today, and it involves going...outside. Boo.
So I couldn't go grocery shopping like I wanted to either. If you think it's hard driving in this snow, try walking to and from the grocery store carrying a bunch of breakable and smashable food. So, no, that didn't happen. Even though I have no food in the house, I have a lot of nonperishable ingredients. Oh, dear. I cooked. I made food and none of it was desserts. Wild!

Two loaves of yeast bread, one giant chicken-and-rice hot dish. I'm surprised at how good it was, considering my terrible kitchen history. I got a lot of advice from my mom, so that really helped to make it all edible.

I also spent the day updating my Ravelry with photos. Here are some:

My sister is having an Elf-themed party, so I made some pointed slippers this weekend too.
And I still have the rest of the weekend to go. What else to do?

Edit: Oh, right, I meant to tell you all to follow me on Twitter: @Brittato. I update that a helluva lot more than this blog.

Thankee

2010-11-25T10:25:00.002-06:00

I'm thankful for my family.
I'm thankful for my sister and her tireless support.
I'm thankful for my coworkers who never let me walk home on these dark, cold nights.
I'm thankful for my Wendigo, the feline force of destruction who is the light of my life.
I'm thankful for positive changes.
I'm thankful for all the time I have for crafting.
I'm thankful for my wildly successful green bean harvest.
I'm thankful for Thanksgiving Days where the sun is shining.
I'm thankful for loud neighbors who move away and are replaced by stewardesses.
I'm thankful for Bon Iver and the Scissor Sisters.
I'm thankful for each day that I wake up smiling.

Exhibit A

2010-11-04T12:47:00.002-05:00

I need a new spinning wheel with a jumbo flyer.

I'm dyeing...

2010-11-02T01:06:00.006-05:00

5 ounces Corriedale from the fiber fair. Also, cat butt.

15 packets of Aldi brand Mixade: Grape, Cherry, Orange.

I love this dye job. The Grape flavor had so many shades of blue and purple, and the Orange did a great job of dulling the neon fruity colors into bold colors. People always say to not mix orange and purple because it will make a muddy brown, but I really like the mild brownish patches.

I can't wait to spin this. Neither could Wendigo, because she got into this while I was at work and pulled off a few tufts. Luckily, she didn't do too much damage. She so untrustworthy.

Cuppy Cakes

2010-10-31T12:55:00.005-05:00

Happy Halloween!
I am not very interested in doing anything this Halloween because of a lingering illness, but I did make some autumn-themed cupcakes for the community garden harvest party a few weeks ago, and I took pictures!

Yellow-cake mix with red and yellow food coloring to make it pumpkin-orange. It's a bit of a psychological trip to eat a pumpkin colored dessert that doesn't taste like pumpkin, but there were a lot of kids at the garden party, so I wanted to make something all the picky eaters would like (and they did).

24 orange cupcakes in foil cups...because that's the only kind Rainbow had. I prefer paper cups because the foil ones always burn my fingertips.

Chocolate frosting for "dirt," white icing colored with food coloring for "leaves and vines," two candy punkins apiece. I put the chocolate frosting on first and then put the cupcakes into the box. I did the rest of the decorating in the boxes so that I wouldn't have to touch them again and risk ruining the vines.

This is a good tip: The boxes are donut boxes from the grocery store. They make your cupcakes look pretty professional with the cellophane window and all, and the cakes are much easier to transport by bike when in tall boxes like this.

They were a big hit, and I think these are a lot easier than most of the novelty cupcake ideas out there, since pretty much everything is already made for you and you just have to assemble.

Happy Halloween!

A Bit Less Hippie

2010-09-05T22:25:00.005-05:00

Before:
After:

Then my sister turned me into a fembot/stegosaurus:
Then I took my haircut to the State Fair, where I revisited the 4-H building and saw a chicken-scratch embroidery piece I missed the last time around. Here's me and mama. The embroidery is just behind us.
And I ate another foot-long hot dog, which you can see on Facebook as my new profile pic. And here's me with chickens, but I mostly just want to show off the new purse that I stitched up. Ain't it cute?
Wow. This post is really a lot of my face. Go me!

Great Get-Together on a Stick

2010-08-27T10:50:00.008-05:00

I win! Second place in novelty yarn category. I was so excited to see it on display. I believe there was jumping, grabbing strangers from the crowd to tell them about it, calling people on my cell to tell them about it, and also, really bad pictures of excited me.

My traditional yarn (the Colonial Top two-ply that I was complaining about a month ago) sadly did not place, nor did my mid-weight handspun shawl. But I so do not care. I'm going to be languishing in this red ribbon glow for several weeks.
Here is a picture of the traditional yarn. It's the solid teal-bluish-green one in the center of the display, on the right side, not the blue-brown stripey one. Even though it didn't place, I think it's still the best yarn I've spun yet. I'm excited to see the feedback from the judges on all of my entries.

If you go to the Fair, I do not suggest looking for my shawl on display. It's on the left side of the sea of knits display, folded into a tiny package and placed on a rack. Very hard to find even for me, who spent months knitting it. See below, it's the mostly dark-brown one on the right side of the photo. Can you see how the edges have curled up? I'm sure that counted against me...and the fact that it's a total beginner project.

I am a little surprised at how the judging went. I entered the art yarn on a lark, and I was convinced that it would win nothing. I was so convinced of this that I looked right past it, trying to find my traditional yarn, which I was sure would place.
I made the art yarn in a single evening of spinning, with a bottle of wine and reruns of Star Gate: Universe. I have referred to it as a "mangy 50-yard skein of junk fluff," but it must have fit the category well. I think the judges liked the beads on it. It was the only beaded yarn. So that yarn took one evening of work. The teal yarn took about a month of pretty consistent spindle work, and the shawl was knitted over five months, on and off. So you never know what's gonna happen at the Fair.
This was a seriously excellent experience.

The rest of the Fair was great this year, of course, as always. I've been sick for a while, so I didn't eat nearly as much as I should have, but I still had cider freezies, a Kiwanis milk shake, mini donuts, tons of root beer, and a foot-long hot dog. The talent show was good. There wasn't anything new or spectacular at the Fair as a whole, but that's fine. It's always amazing.

The 4-H building and the Miracle of Life center were two fun places that I normally don't visit. The 4-H building had a really impressive photography display, and the knitted and sewn articles were fantastic. I'm sewing a dress right now, and the same pattern had been sewn by a 4-H kid and was on display. Small world.
The Miracle of Life center was actually not nearly as gross as I remember from past visits. The ducklings were great, and the only things that made me queasy were the cattle and the pigs, so I dodged them. There was a baby Boer goat that I wanted to take home. He was so tough and cute.
And check out this bunny with eyeliner!
And this sheep!
I love the Fair.

People Doing Stuff

2010-07-31T14:14:00.007-05:00

I've been busy! With this...

Psst, that's my brother! And my new sista. And a really long drive to Michigan. Totally spectacular.

Also busy with this...
Fully half of my freezer is stocked with my own garden-fresh green beans, and the tomatoes are doing swimmingly now that we lock the garden gates.

And I've even made time to knit on socks, shawls, dishcloths, and spin up stuff for the Fair.
Here's my handspun shawl project that I started months ago. It's done now, just needs blocking.

I love the colors so much. I'm probably going to enter this in the Fair just because I love the colors. It's really simple, no technical stuff, just knit purl yarn-over. So it won't win anything, but it's. just. so. pretty.

Processing Fleece

2010-07-07T13:20:00.003-05:00

Processing fleece is something I will never again do in the summer or in this apartment. It is a hot, long, sweaty, sheepy ordeal. I can imagine it would be great fun to do in the autumn, with a pot of water heating near a bonfire.

I had to wash the fleece twice in a Dawn detergent bath and then do many rinses. It's very humid here, so the fleece has taken about three days to dry, and I'm going to give it a fourth day for good measure. I rigged up a drying rack using an old mesh bag stretched over a laundry basket, and I'm leaving the fleece to dry in front of a big old square fan.

Here are some photos:

Fleece while very damp.

Fleece all dry and fluffy!

That is some combed wool and a little practice two-ply. The fiber is so silky soft when spun. I'm pretty pleased with the end result, but this was all too much work for not a lot of monetary savings.
I combed out the locks using a metal pet comb. Works like a charm. Just hold the lock at one end, comb it out gently, then comb out the other end, and discard the neps and noils. It takes longer than using real combs, I assume, but it's free.

SCU

2010-07-04T15:35:00.003-05:00

Whoo! Been active this week...or just today.

Knitting: Not a stitch.

Spinning: I finished the spinning for the BFL monster skein. It's about 250 yards of a fingering weight two-ply. So that was 500 yards of singles. WHOO buddy. I haven't set it yet, but it's a light fingering, so I don't think it will fluff up to a sport weight. I am probably going to dye and set it at the same time, later.

I whipped out the drop spindle again. I'm spinning 4 oz. of Colonial Top into a lace weight two-ply. Yeah, lace weight two-ply. It's going really well. It doesn't take too long to get proficient at a spindle. No slubs, very consistent, no unintentional over or under spinning. I'm not crazy about the Colonial Top, though. I keep running into matted sections, and I actually have to predraft. Boo. This is the first time I've ever predrafted, but this top really needs it, or else you run into a matted section and all goes to hell. It probably wouldn't be as much of an issue if I wasn't spinning frickin' thread.

Also in Spinning news, I've started spinning in public. This is fabulous entertainment. I've spun in the public park in front of my workplace and in my community garden. There were a lot of kids in both places, and they were mesmerized. So cute. They had no clue what I was doing, and they seemed even more confused when I explained it.
Two tips: if you're spinning over concrete, bring a towel or blanket to protect your spindle if you drop it. I got a little scratch on my whorl from an unexpected drop. And don't break off too much fiber for your fiber supply if it's windy out. That's just obvious.

New category, Processing:
Right now, I'm washing my first pound of raw fleece. I got a beautiful brown Lincoln-Corriedale bag of fleece from the Fiber Studio for this experiment. It was pretty clean, not too much VM, and well skirted. All I have to do is wash it and pick through.

My first step was to take it outside, pick through it, and place it in a mesh laundry bag. I have it soaking in a tub full of hot water and Dawn detergent right now. It's really gross, but I actually like the sheepy smell going on. It smells like a homestead in here. It's also REALLY HOT. I think in the future, I'll save my processing for the winter when it's enjoyable to play with hot water.

Okay, time to go rinse. Wish me luck!

SCU

2010-06-27T10:14:00.003-05:00

Crochet: I finished a birthday present for my Mama's special day today. I hope to grab a photo of it later today. No more talking about that, lest she be reading this right now.

Knit: I've been experimenting with double knitting, which has been really rewarding. I've made a cotton headband and a cell phone sock. It's a very neat and clean technique (ugh, "technique" is programmed into my short forms at work and I HATE typing it out, boooo).

Loving double knitting. It seems to take a long time, but it's two layers of fabric, so I have to reconcile that in my head. You should try it too. Basically, cast on an even number of stitches. The repeat is *knit 1, slip one purlwise with the yarn in front*. I had to actually do it for it to make sense, but it works.

Spinning: I'm working on a monster skein of two ply, wheel-spun BFL that I want to natural dye later.
I went to the Wild Wool Market in South Mpls yesterday and found some adorable little packages of dyed wool curls. I picked out some pink, purple, mauve, navy colors and I want to spin them into a brown roving I have. The wool market was a lot of fun, only a couple sellers and lots of conversation. I almost walked out with a whole fleece, but the self-control monster reminded me I was riding my bike. Great fun.

Other news, had a long doctor's appointment where I got drained dry of all fluids and poked and prodded and EKG-ed and reprimanded for my schedule of seeing a doctor once every three years. Doc thinks I might have Lyme disease (I'm so hard core) so I'm taking an antibiotic that makes me feel like vomiting (I'm so pathetic). I don't think I have Lyme disease, but I feel better with the antibiotic. I just hope I don't have to go back there for any reason. Clinics make me too paranoid.

Try double knitting.

Probably Lead Poisoning

2010-06-22T02:22:00.003-05:00

So I've had this scratch on my temple for about a week. It is very itchy and resistant to healing. To make matters worse, it's exactly in line with the ear post on my glasses, so it's constantly being irritated.

Of course, during all this annoyance, it never occurred to me that the glasses I've been wearing for, oh, ten years straight just might be the issue, the cause, the irritant.

After close inspection, I've discovered that the colored plating on the wire has completely worn away in several spots on the glasses, exposing the rough and toxic innards of the wire. I'll bet the manufacturers only designed the plating to last for a decade or so, during which time most people would get new glasses. Now, I did get new glasses, thankfully, so I have something to wear now, but I loved the old glasses. They were just perfect. Now they're done.

I'm really paranoid now since I've been wearing metal ON MY FACE for a decade that is clearly reactive with my skin. I've been wearing poisonous base metals near my eyes. Radioactive isotopes wrapped around my brain. Basically, headgear of death.

Okay, or it's just nickel.

Glasses fail.

Where da grits?

2010-06-11T12:23:00.003-05:00

So I'm going on a little weekend warrior backpacking outing this weekend, and I was planning on bringing packets of instant grits, specifically the red eye gravy and county ham variety, but...

Minnesota has no grits.

Repeat, we are gritless here, which makes us so, so lame.

Okay, so they sell the big canister of 5-minute grits at my regular grocery stores. Eh, no good. I don't want to be simmering first thing in the morning. I want to be eating.

I was finally able to find a box of instant packet grits, regular flavor, at the Wal-Mart in Saint Anthony. For serious. For pete's sake.

On the AT, those flavored packets were raining from the sky. There were always several in the hiker boxes. I hardly ever even had to buy them. They were a given.

Stupid north.

SCU--Plying Video

2010-06-06T12:37:00.004-05:00

I've actually been able to craft a little bit this week. I'm working on Christmas gifts already so that I don't get rushed in November. My mom's gift is almost done...but I can't show that on here, now can I? So it's secret crafting.

But I'm spinning too. I made a little video of me plying on my wheel yesterday. Check out my hat too. I love that hat. Anyway, here's a little awkward, lispy video of me in my incredibly cluttered apartment.

SCU...eve

2010-05-22T21:39:00.002-05:00

I either want to garden all tomorrow or ride my bike, so you get a craft update a bit early.

After seeing a hanging towel on my friend Geode's Ravelry page, I had to have one. So yes, I copy. Copy cat, right here. So I'll pay her back with a link. Go check out her new spinning wheel on her blog!
I normally don't show off kitchen/bathroom cotton projects, but I adore the button that I found for this. Happy.

I finally finished my handspun Felicity hat. I am sure you remember my wheel-spun blue Merino single from a few weeks ago. Well, most of that went into this hat. I absolutely love how it turned out. It was a lot of stitches after the increases and many hours of after-work knitting, but it's done, and it's maybe my favorite hat I've ever knitted. Love love love. For details, check Ravelry or email me.

I am fascinated at how the thick and thin sections combined to create this texture. The hat is slouchy and slinky, but it still has the bulky bits that I love without being too hot. It's perfect.

Confess

2010-05-21T12:37:00.001-05:00

I love rainy days because the garden waters itself, and I get to spend the morning drinking coffee, knitting, and listening to moody music.

Ah.

Seward Neighborhood Garage Sale--2010

2010-05-15T18:34:00.004-05:00

Every year, the Seward neighborhood (connected to my neighborhood, East Phillips) has a community-wide garage sale. I didn't get over there until around 1:00 today, so it was pretty picked over. I am so mad at myself for not bringing my camera, because I found the twin of my bike, but it was a tandem! Same color, same vintage Schwinn Breeze, same decals, but a tandem! I even got a buddy to take it for a spin with me. It was $300 and way too small, but I still wanted it. They match! The owner was thrilled about it too. What were the odds? I can't get over it. Anyway, for only about $15, I got all this!

Generally from the left: two bike bags, a garden weasel, a Nalgene, about three yards of a loose weave plaid fabric, a little hibachi type grill that fits into my front basket, huge yellow cup, several knives and a huge fork, a little pot for pouring melted butter, a small aluminum pot, two white enamel pots, a CorningWare dish, some kevlar tape, a retractable clothesline, and my fave, two bento boxes with separate nesting dishes inside. My bike was mighty heavy once I got home.

I absolutely love these little boxes. I can't wait to go on a sushi picnic with them. Speaking of sushi, I'm quite successful at making it, all thanks to this tutorial: sushi! I used to really hate seaweed, but no more, and I'm having a great time making sushi at home.

Do you see the sauteed greens? Those are some of the Swiss chard that came back this spring. I love that I can already eat from my garden. Nomnomnom. Gosh, I'm gonna make sushi tonight. That picture just made me starving.

Other news: After almost two years of no incidents, I finally got into a minor bike accident yesterday. I ran into a fence on the way to work. It was kind of like the Titanic hitting the iceberg. I was looking away, and when I looked back, I was heading right for a chain link fence. I tried to turn, but I ended up just sideswiping a couple yards of the fence. I jammed my pinkie up pretty bad and bruised a lot of my calf. Luckily, the pinkie is not broken. That whole half of my hand was swollen yesterday, so I had to take a half day at work, but it feels better now. The swelling has gone down, but I've got some pretty bruises. It could have been a lot worse, and my bike is totally fine, so all is well.

State of Fair

2010-05-11T11:55:00.004-05:00

I am crazy excited for the Minnesota State Fair this year, okay, every year, but I'm especially excited this year because I'm going to enter some items for judging. The Fair just released their 2010 competition booklet with all the categories and rules. So fun. So many categories with so many teeny-tiny specifics.

Minnesota State Fair, this is the big leagues, friends. I'm going into this telling myself that my items will not win. There is no way they will win. This way, I can't be disappointed. I would love to get a ribbon, any ribbon, really. "Participant" would be fab, but I would just like to see something I made behind those glass walls.

I think that I will enter a lightweight shawl (three shawl/stole categories just for knitting!), a wool yarn, and a novelty yarn, if I create a nice one.

However, I think the Fair is missing some handspun categories. I can't be too picky, since they do have categories for wool yarn, other animal hair yarn, plant fiber yarn, and novelty yarn; but I wish they would have a drop spindle category and an art yarn category. I love the art yarns that have found items, bits of nonfiber material, all sorts of crazy stuff spun in there that makes it impossible to knit or crochet. The novelty yarn category doesn't totally seem to fit with art yarn, since novelty yarn is typically knitable. And drop spindle yarn is slightly different from wheel yarn, and I would like that to be featured. Maybe they have a suggestion box...

Items aren't due until mid August, so I'll keep you all updated.

Fiber Fair

2010-05-09T11:36:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I had the best time going to the Harvest Fiber Festival in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, with my mom. This is the fiber event of the year, and I'm certainly going next year.

Here's some animals:

Lovely alpacas.

I wanted to bring home this Icelandic sheep baby.

Cutest little caramel goat.

Mom with a super woolly, horned creature.

Excellent shepherding demonstration. Look at that form!

There were four BARNS of vendors. I hardly took any vendor pictures because I was having a fiber induced euphoria. It was a glorious shopping experience.

There were spinners set up all over the place. Almost no one had an antique wheel, sad, so I have to bring mine next year and show them how it's done. However, I adore this blue spinning wheel. Isn't it gorgeous?

In the end, here's the STASH (generally, from the left):
5 oz. light brown CVM roving
5 oz. dark brown merino, corriedale, etc. blend
8 oz. spring green MERINO top
2.75 oz. dyed Corriedale roving
My fave: 8 oz. targhee, llama blend with neps.
This blend was crazy cheap because the neps were a mistake, but I adore the little bumps, and it's so deliciously soft.
4 oz. bag of Colonial top, colorway "Northern Lights"
4 oz. bag of Colonial top, colorway "Teal"
4 oz. bag of brown mystery wool ($3!!)
2 oz. drum carded batt
5 oz. white Corriedale top

I think this is enough to last me a while, for sure. And it's all just so beautiful.
No waiting, here's the dyed Corridale going strong:

wiki fail

2010-05-01T23:53:00.001-05:00

"He was taken to hospital to be treated for kneck injuries..."

Thanks, wikipedia, for ruining my knight.

just died a little

2010-04-28T02:06:00.003-05:00

Bicycle Clothing
Originally uploaded by Mikael Colville-Andersen / Zakka

I came across this photo while looking through Copenhagen Cycle Chic. It makes me start wheezing mentally.

Edit: Oh! Oh. no. Read the fine print. You could buy it for CHILDREN as well. Oh, no. Oh oh oh. *flaps hands*

SCU--Art Yarn

2010-04-25T21:30:00.006-05:00

Spinning:
First off, here's a photo of Night, my navy blue merino single from a while ago. There's about 300 yards. The color is navy, I swear.

I tried my hand at art yarn this weekend. Very fun. Very educational.
I used the BFL from the Crock Pot dyeing tutorial.

Which I spun with a Z twist into a thick and thin single and then thread plied with sewing thread for the final effect.

I named this yarn Dorothy's Revenge because the beehives look like tornadoes, and my wheel, Dorothy, taught me a lot about her limits during this project.

There was meant to be big puffy beehives at every blue section, but they turned out more difficult than I'd reckoned. The orifice on my wheel is quite small, so trying to force yarn thicker than my thumb through it was impossible. Some of the beehives were completely destroyed in the process. I also had some things like this:

Major f** up. Not even in the blue section, not a beehive. But I actually like these little mistakes. I just like yarn. I see nothing wrong with that bobble, but it wasn't exactly what I was trying to do.
By the end of the plying, the bobbin was practically groaning under the strain. It was much too full, but look at all the variety!

So another problem was in the hooks. Newer wheels have larger hooks on the flyer, some even have nearly closed loops, and now I understand why. When the yarn was too thick or too loose, often at the same time, the fibers would get hung up in the hooks. I did a lot of hand winding onto the bobbin. Probably about 50% of the skein was hand-wound. It wasn't frustrating, but it was another step.
I had my Adele station playing on Pandora the whole time, so that also helped a little with the minor mishaps. All in all, I'm extremely pleased with this yarn. It isn't exactly what I had envisioned, but it's actually better in some ways. Very pleased.

I also finished my flower crown this weekend. I've been wanting one for a while, you know, for everyday wear, so here it is. My favorite part is the flowers. They are so pretty, I thinks.

In this case, my stew pot was the best model.

EDIT: There are more pics of my stuff on Ravelry (SpriteHikes) and on Flickr.
EDIT II: I added a Flickr gadget to my sidebar, in case that helps with access. It's getting crowded now...maybe I should start tweeting just to add a Twitter gadget, make it really hard to load my blog. Okay, byez.
EDIT III: Okay, whipped out the rusty HTML skillz and changed up the looks. Please let me know if anything is screwed up too bad.

Whoops

2010-04-23T12:24:00.003-05:00

Sometimes there's too much yarn. Sometimes, not enough.

Bullcrap

2010-04-23T02:53:00.003-05:00

So apparently, "Bicycling" magazine recently ranked Minneapolis as America's number one bike city. Absolute crap. Since we can't win by statistics, the author said that Minneapolis was great because we have bike racks on buses, a whole bunch of trails, and people bike in the winter. Well, no shit. If we didn't winter bike, we wouldn't be biking at all. I'm fed up with these yuppies thinking that the bike scene is so good here.

I'm on my bike every damn day, wearing the helmet, flashing lights, using GIANT turning signals, and I'm still subject to assault by pedestrians and vehicles. If I ride on the road, as is legally required, cars yell that I should be on the sidewalk. But why should I ride on the sideWALK? I'm not WALKING. And by the way, there's something like 7,000 kids in East Philips, and they typically hang out on the sidewalks since there are neither yards nor parks. So no, no bikes, nowhere. I just have to tuck my elbows in and pray that I can get to the Greenway, and then once I'm there, pray that I don't get knifed or mugged.

This is not America's best bike city. Maybe America's best "one Saturday in the summer put your tight shorts on and feel green about yourself" city. I can imagine that if you bike here, heck, even twice every week, you would really think that this city is the cat's ass of cycling opportunities. But if you're out here daily, using the same routes, using them to get to work, to get groceries, hell no. The bike trails are dangerous. The roads are hostile. The casual bikers are absolute fools.

And there's really nothing you can do about it. You follow every damn rule and the car people still blast you with all their road rage. Hey, buddy, no matter what, you're still gonna get there faster than me. Just pass me and move on. Don't try to run me off the road. It's not like you can get in a fender-bender with a bike. You sweat me too close and I get vaporized.

City cycling is damn stressful. I'm just grateful that I work the swing shift so I get to bike home at midnight while the gangs are out roaming the streets, because they are safer to be around than any damn car.

"Bicycling" magazine fail.

Also, major Minnesota nice fail.

Before and After

2010-04-20T12:58:00.002-05:00

Before and After
Originally uploaded by SpriteHikes

This is a great comparison pic. See how all the crimp comes back into the wool after dyeing? Neato.

Dyeing Roving in a Crock Pot

2010-04-19T12:44:00.008-05:00

Thanks for putting up with the lack of SCUs. I finally got around to uploading photos only to discover that I haven't been doing much crafting at all recently. I've been knitting a lot of washcloths (but no one cares to see that) and then spinning and such. So instead of doing my list, I'm going to rap at you (lots o' words) about Crock Pot dyeing. I'll be using photo examples from some very successful dyeing yesterday, but I'll link this to some more photos on Flickr once I upload there as well.

Two quick rules for preventing felting:
1. Do not agitate, wring, twist, or fuss with the fibers at all.
2. Do not put wet wool into a liquid of a cooler or warmer temperature than the wool. Match temperatures when moving the wool into different baths.

Materials:
Water
White Vinegar
5-10 packets of Kool-Aid, unsweetened
3-7 oz. processed wool roving
1 old Crock Pot
1 large plastic bowl
1 white plastic spoon
Hangers or a rack for drying the roving
A lot of free time or hang out at home time

I used BFL roving for this project. I broke apart about 4 oz. of roving into three equal length strips, about 4-5 feet long. I chose to do three strips so that I could braid them when finished. You can use as much or as little roving as you'd like, it just has to fit inside your Crock Pot easily. I can fit one more 4-5 foot long strip in mine for about 6 oz. of fiber.

Now pour a glug of vinegar (maybe 1/8 to 1/4 cup) into your plastic bowl. Fill up the rest of the bowl with lukewarm water. Loosely coil each strip of roving and press it gently into the water, one on top of the other. Let the roving soak for 2-3 hours. The vinegar helps the roving to absorb the dyes better, preventing fading and all.

Once the soaking is done, you're ready to dye. Add some lukewarm water and another glug of vinegar to your Crock Pot. Place the first coil into the pot. Now you're ready to add your dye in layers.
I picked out some blue, purple, and red for this roving. I have a giant stash of Kool-Aids to use in dyeing. I just stock up when they go on sale at 10 to 15 cents apiece.

I wanted to divide the colors, so I would tear open a corner and carefully sprinkle a FULL packet on one third of the roving layer. I wanted really vibrant and dark colors, so I went all out. So I sprinkled one grape on one third, one blue on another third, and one strawberry or cherry on the final third.

Add another coil of roving and sprinkle on the same colors in the same spots. The second coil will look dry and powdery since there won't be water soaking through it. That's fine. Use your spoon to spread out any clumps very gently. You don't want to agitate the fibers ever. Then add your final coil and do the final dyeing process. I ended up adding a second blue packet to the top layer, since the Blue Raspberry Lemonade color is very faint. All in all, I used 10 full packets of Kool-Aid/Mixade.

Now you need to add more water. I just use my old soaking liquid to fill up the pot. I haven't noticed any problems doing that. You do not want to pour water directly on the fibers. This will displace the dyes and agitate the fibers. I use a small cup to carefully pour the liquid on the lip of the Crock Pot so it flows down the sides of the pot. Even doing that, I still rotate around the pot so no one section gets too much agitation. I fill up the pot to about 2 inches from the top. You want at least enough water to cover the wool and then some.

You'll learn this quick, but one aspect of dyeing is that the water amount doesn't really matter at all. The dyes get absorbed into the wool, and the water becomes clear. You need enough water to cover the wool, but in a Crock Pot, do not worry about adding too much water. It's a non-issue. You just don't want to skimp on the water. I could only imagine that doing so would promote burning or scorching of the fiber.

Once all the water is added, you can add some more dye if you wish, but remember that that dye will probably only affect the top layer. Continue to be careful and precise if you add dye. With the added water, the dye will spread quickly.

Now set your Crock Pot to Low and cook it with the lid on for 6-7 hours. Use your plastic spoon to press down the roving after a few hours, especially if the top looks dry at all. I open my pot all the time to look at it, but I haven't noticed any problems from that.

This is an older picture to show you that the water becomes clear after a little while. Use your white spoon to check the color of the water, but if you want divided colors, maybe wait a couple hours before doing this so that you don't disturb the dyes. I continue to cook another hour or two after the water looks clear. I don't know if this is necessary, but I don't see it hurting this wool. Maybe a more delicate fiber would be more sensitive to prolonged heat.

Once the color is all absorbed, turn off the Crock Pot, remove the lid, and let it cool to room temperature....about 3-4 hours.
I know. This is a really time-consuming process.
You need to let it cool so that you can rinse it and not have it felt. If you have one of the Crock Pots with a removable pot (sadly, mine is connected), remove the pot and place it on a wire rack or something to promote cooling.
Once the wool has cooled, place the coils into clear, clean lukewarm water to rinse. Do not agitate. Just let the coils sit in the rinse bath for another hour.

Now you should be done with dyeing and rinsing. Gently remove a coil and carefully squeeze out excess water. You can even place the wool into a towel and press out excess water there. Many people seem to use a spin cycle on a dryer to speed up drying, but I can't advise about that.

Now start at one end of the roving and carefully spread out the fibers. The wet roving is one thick rope, and you want to spread out the roving to it dries quicker. It's also easier to draft and split the roving if you spread it out at this point. Squeeze out and separate all three coils and then place them on your drying rack setup.

I use a few layers of a kitchen rack as my drying rack. Works fine. Let this dry for at least 24 hours. Wool feels dry long before it really is. Lord knows you don't want to pack damp, fruity wool into a container. Once it's fully completely dry, have at it. It's ready.

Isn't that pretty, though? I can't wait to see how it looks spun and plied. I love the different purples made with the mixing of blue and red, and the deep, dark red is better than I expected. I'm so pleased with this experiment.

Although this was really wordy, I hope you all can see how easy it is in principle. Just soak, dye, cook, cool, soak, dry, done. Measurements are not critical. Timing is not critical.
Just lots of fun.

Goodness

2010-04-15T13:58:00.003-05:00

I've been really stressed out since my last post. My weekends have been totally booked for weeks, and all I really want to do is pull out the Singer and alter about 1,200 items of clothing for summer. Also, I want to dye some more wool for spinning. I just don't have enough hours in a day for all the junk I want to do. I suppose it doesn't help working the swing shift, but that's the last thing I would change.

One change needed: Schedule and routine.
I need to go to bed between 2:00 and 3:00 and then wake up by 10:00. I could get so much done in the mornings! Just this morning, instead of knitting or watching bad TV, I cleaned the apartment for about 1 1/2 hours. It looks so much better, so I feel better.

I also have about 7 pounds of condiment packets. Srsly. No joke. It might be more than 7 pounds. Condiment hoarding.

Another change needed: Really, not so much crafting.
Knitting and spinning take priority over so much, and crafting messes and clutter are somehow immune to needing to be cleaned. Like, kitchen messes, dirty floor, smudged mirrors--oh, no, unacceptable.

Yet, piles and piles of yarn scraps, plastic bags of wool, needles, hooks, pins, ball wrappers, fabric scraps, items that may become crafting material, they have free reign. So I need to organize and (gulp) throw away a lot of my crafting crap, and I need to set a time limit on how much I knit and spin per day. Maybe one hour total?

I'm also getting my garden rolling, but I seriously cannot spend any more time looking at gardens on other blogs. I cannot plant my garden this early because it can still freeze at night here, but other bloggers already have produce. Like, agh. Come on. There was nighttime snow in the air recently here, but people in other parts of the nation already have tomatoes.
But this weekend, I'm taking a chance and planting beets, peas, and lettuce. Yeah, I'm gonna.

Also, crazy gardening thing: Two rows of Swiss chard and a Brussels sprouts plant came back. Came back from underneath two feet of snow. How did this happen? So weird.

Lazy

2010-04-06T12:50:00.003-05:00

The absolute last thing I want to do right now is find my camera cord, so no photos. I did just totally clean my kitchen, though, so that's productive.

I've been cruising on spinning. I've spun and plyed all my Kool-Aid roving. It's....er, kind of ugly. Most of it is bright lime green, but then a good chunk is kind of light brown from where I sprinkled a little grape on top of the whole mess during cooking. Both colors are nice, separately, but I can't really see them working knitted together. I could always just use pieces of it for edges, trims, stripes, etc.

I started wheel spinning what I hope will be a fingering weight single to make the Felicity hat on Ravelry (you probably have to be a member to view that link). The fiber is a beeeautiful navy blue merino. It wasn't actually expensive, but it's so lovely that I'm nervous while spinning it. I don't want to mess it up too much.

I'm having a little trouble with the merino, though. The staple length must be at least an inch shorter than the BFL, so I feel like I'm drafting all wrong. I'm back to racing the wheel, and I cannot figure out the right tension. I just so badly want it to be nice. It's good practice anyway.

In other (noncrafting) news, I've taken my mama's advice and started washing my face with baby oil. I was planning on putting a link in here about using baby oil to cleanse, but I couldn't really find good info online...which makes me think my mom made this up. Even if she did, it works like a dream.

Anybody who knows me knows I have fussy skin, so I was really skeptical about putting more oil on my face. Basically, you just rub about a dime-sized pool of baby oil all over your face, and then you steam it off a couple times with a hot washcloth. Great use of those fancy stitch washcloths we knitters all have! But that's it. You don't go on to properly wash your face or anything. I think that the oil works to balance my skin.

I've been using this method for two days (two days!) and already all dryness has gone, no breaking out, redness is evening out, my skin feels LESS oily all day long, even scars are diminishing. I wear these huge padded headphones for 8 hours a day at work, so I was concerned about the oil being trapped under the foam and creating problems, but actually the opposite happened. All the rough patches and clogged pores caused by my headphones are cured.

Why don't more people do this?
It's cheap, natural, and it works. Heck yeah. Wish I'd known about it in high school.

Sick day

2010-03-31T20:02:00.003-05:00

I hate sick days. I hate them. I'd rather be at work. To try to stay entertained, I tried my hand at Kool Aid crock pot dyeing. And let me tell you, the odors of hot lime Kool Aid and vinegar do nothing to soothe an upset stomach and raging headache or lower a fever.

[bleep] crappy day.

Here's a picture of a delicious sandwich from a recent camping trip. That's all I have to say.

Conquering the Precious Factor

2010-03-29T11:41:00.006-05:00

Sorry about the photo formatting. I had to use Flickr today, which is so ugh to me.

In the process of spinning, the hardest thing for me to do is just keep going until I reach the knit stage. As so, last night was the first time I've ever knit with my own handspun. I attribute this to the Precious Factor. This factor starts to develop when the yarn is skeined. It's all set and delicious looking in a curly twisty skein. Like this:

My Dad once said that a skein looked like a baked good or a pastry, something like that. It was a while ago, when I was showing everyone my first skein, but that kind of expresses how precious the skein is. So cute, smooshy, twisty, pretty.

The trick to conquering the Precious Factor is all about time. After skeining your yarn, take a photo, squish the skein a bit, snuggle it, and then turn it into a center-pull ball. Do not wait. I have four skeins sitting around that I cannot bear to unskein.

Making of the YARN CAKE:

But I would not let this happen with Mediterranean. Last night, I wound both skeins into center-pull balls using my thumb. Here are some photos:

So I take the looped end of the yarn, hook it around my pinky, and then wind the yarn around my thumb evenly. The bit on the pinky will be the center of the ball. So you must keep it separated. And then:

Start winding the yarn around your thumb. It's kind of like a nostepinne. You wrap around the thumb at slanted angles to make a nice yarn cake. On the second cake, I was able to wind it so that I covered the bottom hole, but it's not important. Just wrap evenly at an angle and do not remove your thumb until all the yarn is wrapped. And then:

You have your very own yarn cake, which totally has its own Precious Factor, but since you can actually knit straight from this, it's much more tempting to start using it than just keep mooning over it. Aw, yarn cake.

This yarn is pretty itchy, but the colors are so wonderful. I wanted to make a shawl, so I found some brown alpaca in my stash and started a basic, top-down triangle shawl with the alpaca. After knitting until the top edge was long enough to go around my neck (to keep the alpaca next to my skin) I switched to MY YARN. Oh, that feels good.

So, so pretty. So, so full of myself and my awesomeness. I've done several more rows since this photo, and it's starting to stripe with orange, rust, and green as well. Yay!

SCU

2010-03-28T11:40:00.009-05:00

Well, I guess the rabbits will have to wait. I am still gainfully employed. I'm not pleased about choices the lay-offs at all, however. My best-good friend at work was one of the unlucky few. I already miss her so much. [sighs]

Knitting: None?
I can't remember really knitting at all this week. How bout dat.

Crochet:
I made a new coffee press mat, like I've tutorialed before. The old one now cleans my stove top.

I made a new smooshy thick hat just in time for....spring? Damn it! But it's all right. Winter will be here again in a couple weeks anyway. I used Berroco Tweed for the top, a vintage fishermen's wool for the band (both yarns from the thrift store), and 4 stash buttons. Then I take a happy happy close-up photo.

Spinning: (photo warning: It's impossible to take good photos of yarn. Here's the best of the bad.)

Spinning was the craft of the week by far. I had something on the spindle, on the wheel, and drying in the bathroom nearly every moment this week. Checks it out.

This is the final 40 yards of a yarn I've entitled "Rust and Purple." I know. My naming needs some work. It's a mostly-worsted single from my workhorse drop spindle.

This is about 200 yards of a sport weight single called I've named "Mediterranean. " This was all done on the drop spindle since Wednesday. I did the second 100 yards in a single day, just a couple hours before and after work. Sha-zam! Hmm. They don't show up in reality, but I don't like those fuzzy loose bits in the photo. Pleeze ignore.

Ooh, 100 yards of the super smooshy BFL wheel yarn! All done, all set! Although I didn't mean to do it, I actually really love those thick bits in the yarn. It's so homey. Er, I think I'm calling this "First Wheel Yarn" until I get around to dyeing it.

This new toy (a niddy noddy, for those unfamiliar) is why my spinning is so speedy now. I used to wrap the yarn from my spindle around the legs of my sewing chair. It was very tedious and pretty tough on my back and also impossible with the wheel. With the niddy noddy, the yarn almost wants to be wound on. It's so easy and fast, and it's great to measure with, makes really nice skeins. Thanks, Ashford, I am so your groupie.

Oh, while I'm at it, here's a spinning in progress photo too.

2 Hours

2010-03-26T13:41:00.003-05:00

Why I hope my job survives the lay-offs to come in 2 hours:

My back-up plan is to move into my parents' backyard, live in one of these, and raise some of these.

Completely unreasonable.

The worry of these last few days has sparked stress spinning. I've spun about 200 yards, set the twist in all that, and have about another 50 yards on the workhorse drop spindle. The yarn is lovely and very even, but it has so much mental tension spun into it that I'll always be reminded of this awful week when I look at it. Oh well.

I have to recommend this book: Intertwined. It's a fabulous tome of a book all about art yarn, which is the best kind of yarn. I can't wait till I have a big stash of fibers that I can just play with and create some of these interesting yarns. My first art yarn will have beads in it, and I hope to make it soon.

The Blahs

2010-03-25T12:14:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was an absolutely horrible day at work. My job has one of those secrecy clauses to it, so I don't really know what I can tell you, but it was an awful staff meeting that announced changes for the company's future. And I think with any job, "changes" and "future" are never a good thing.

I think it was said best in 13 Going on 30:
"Richard, redesign is a death sentence."

So I'll know by the end of the week just how much my future will be changed.

In the meantime...Where's the kitty?

Time Lapse Spinning

2010-03-24T12:36:00.007-05:00

I've taken these photos over about three days of spinning. Each one was taken after approximately 15-30 minutes of spinning.

You can really see in the final picture how even the yarn is becoming. I still don't feel as in control as I do with the drop spindle, but I'm not concerned. It's still just practice.

The best analogy I've thought up for spinning on a wheel is that it is a lot like going from hand sewing to machine sewing for the first time. In hand sewing and drop spindling, you create each twist action slowly and deliberately. There are only two things that can happen--forward spin and backspin--just like in hand sewing, as you typically just go in and out of the fabric with your needle.

Then when you get on a sewing machine for the first time, you're absolutely startled at the noise, the speed, and the lack of control to begin with. All of these apply to a spinning wheel. If I over spin, I kind of just deal with it, whereas I can unspin more easily on a drop spindle. Like a sewing machine, the spinning wheel pulls the material away from you seemingly of its own volition. That is a big change to get used to. I have to draft faster, so I draft thinner than I want, and I kind of feel like I'm racing the wheel.

If this analogy holds, I will eventually feel more in control of the wheel, just as I felt more in control of the sewing machine after several practice sessions. It's just a machine after all, and it doesn't have a mind of its own, even though I talk to it.

So the drop spindle definitely has its good points. My spinning is more even on the spindle, I can take it anywhere, it's nice and quiet, easy to control. So just like I still hand sew, I will still spindle as well as wheel.

Anyway, yarn yarn yarn yarn.

The Fiber Studio

2010-03-22T13:35:00.008-05:00

Once I received my spinning wheel, I needed to purchase some wool to practice on. I had already been to Depth of Field and The Texile Center, but neither shop really had the variety I was looking for. While at The Textile Center one day, the cashier recommended The Fiber Studio.

The Fiber Studio is located about four miles from my apartment, so I took a scenic bike ride to get there. I planned my visit on a Sunday, in hopes of catching the bimonthly spinning group in action, and in action they were. I got to meet several local spinners as well as the shop owner, and they all had great advice and spinning tips. One woman even gave me a string to replace my drive band, and it works great. Yay!

My favorite display was the wall of merino roving shown above. So soft, so many colors, and such a reasonable price. I got about 3 ounces of a deep blue merino. I also bought 7 ounces (seriously, about the size of my head) of a "mystery wool." It's a very nice and soft wool. It's only called "mystery" because the shop owner confused the labeling while restocking. I really love that the store is run so honestly. She could have just guessed or assumed the fiber type, but she lowered her price for a really lovely fiber to keep things honest. I appreciate that. Every time I visit, I can be sure of the quality and type of fiber that I'm purchasing.

There were also silk, alpaca, and bamboo blends, silk cocoons, creative batts carded by the owner, raw fleeces, drop spindles, felting supplies, and some yarn skeins created by local spinners.

I adore these fluffy batts. So smooshy.

Another thing that I appreciated about this store was how friendly and modest everyone was. I've been to enough yarn shops where everyone you meet is just (candid) full of themselves. Several spinners here had been spinning for 20, 30 years, and they didn't even give me a clue how advanced they were. Everyone was so interested in helping me figure out my wheel. It was just honest friendliness. I really want to attend a spinning meeting sometime and show them my wheel. I'm sure I could learn a lot from the spinning group there. They are there for spinning, not for winning.

I just had the best time. I can't wait till my spinning skills improve so I can invest in some of these interesting blends. I can get everything here that I drool over on Etsy, and I don't have to pay shipping.

Any cons? No, none at all.

SCU--This is a good one!

2010-03-21T19:11:00.007-05:00

Knitting:
I made a cabled cozy for my coffee press. I made up the pattern on my own, which is new and special for me, especially when cables are involved. There are details on Ravelry on how to make it, kind of. It's a little sweater for my coffee press. What more to say?

I also whipped up this Summer Kerchief from The Purl Bee. I absolutely love it. I made it with larger yarn but the same 5s recommended. The only alterations I made in the actual pattern were the length of the strappy bit (for the huge head of mine) and I picked up about 15 stitches fewer for the triangle. I still picked up 13 inches along the strap, but since the yarn was thicker, it didn't need as many stitches to fill it up. I'm already making another in neutral colors. It's perfect for padding underneath my headphones at work.

Oh, the socks are done. Did I show you a photo already? Well, here's one.

Spinning:
BIG NEWS BIG NEWS BIG NEWS.
I got a spinning wheel! I sent out a plea to the world over Craigslist, and a local spinner sold me her old antique wheel for a quarter of what I had budgeted. My wheel is a real beauty. I love her so!
(Sorry for the bad photo. My apartment is justsosmall.)
She still needs a good, solid name. I've tossed around Mary Beth, because she needs something classic. but that doesn't seem quite right. Maybe Dorothy.

I spun this "mystery wool" after I figured out her quirks. Spinning is so fast on a wheel. My quality right now is not near what I get on a drop spindle, but what can I expect from 2 hours of practice?

So it's been a great weekend! Stay tuned for a report on my new absolute favorite fiber store.

SCU

2010-03-14T17:23:00.002-05:00

Knitting:
Only 3 inches left for the second sock. I should be doing that right now, but...ehhh.
I'm nearing completion of a dishcloth with a seed stitch border.
3/4 through a goldenrod headband.
Want to cast on a cabled cozy for my french press.
Acquired lots of material for T yarn.

Attention span clearly dissolving with the snow.

SPRING.

Home Again

2010-03-07T16:38:00.002-06:00

SCU would be a waste of time this week. I spent most of the spare time during the week getting ready for a little weekend getaway, so barely any crafting was done. I went to Wild River State Park for a little cabin time, and it was super sissy and relaxing. I'll write more about it later.

I came home to a nearly empty inbox (yay!) and five dead mice in about twice as many pieces (yay and yuck). I suppose it's time to replenish the Mouse Magic.

yawn

2010-03-03T00:56:00.002-06:00

Tired yet alert. Kitten feels my pain. Loves da Wendigo.

Best Brownies Ever

2010-02-28T16:31:00.005-06:00

SCU is ousted in favor of a recipe. These brownies are the absolute best. My mouth was watering while I was eating them. So amazing.

I got the recipe here: Easy Banana Brownies. Apparently it won third at the MN state fair last year, so it has to be good. Anyway, the recipe listed needs a lot of modifications since the submitter made changes and only entered them in the "reviews" field. To save you some time, here's the recipe with her changes added. So this is not my recipe. All credit goes to GLORIA LEE on allrecipes.com. This is just for easier reading.

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
4-6 inches mashed banana (the more you use, the more banana you taste. I used about 6 inches.)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup flour

Preheat oven to 325. Grease only the bottom of an 8x8 pan.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Remove from heat and melt in the chocolate chips. Let cool for about 5 minutes.

Lightly beat the eggs. Stir in brown sugar, mashed banana, vanilla, and salt.
Stir in chocolate and butter mixture until well mixed.

Mix cocoa powder and flour.

Add flour mixture to chocolate-banana mixture until just incorporated.

Spread batter in pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. Let cool in pan on cooling rack. Serve warm, cool, whatever, with ice cream, coffee, in bed, etc.

I'm not crazy about bananas, and I love these. So if you love bananas, you'll probably freak out when you try them.

In other news, I finished my first sock. Woot! It only took a week, and I didn't even touch it for about 3 of those days. Here's a craptastic computer photo.

Two Years

2010-02-27T19:36:00.004-06:00

Two years ago today, I first set foot on the Appalachian Trail.

I remember the agony of planning and waiting, the anxiety upon first seeing the eastern mountains and knowing that I had underestimated them, the inability to eat, the uncontainable thrill of seeing the first white blaze, and barely even breathing on the drive up Springer. I did around eight miles on the first day, and I can still remember nearly every step, as though the stress burned it into my brain.

For about a year after getting off the Trail, I had no desire to go back. I didn't even want to go car camping. My legs and feet were so torn up. I could not imagine hoisting a loaded pack again. That feeling has faded now. I can still remember the pain, but now when I think about it, I don't actually feel it. I enjoy Ramen noodles and oatmeal again. So, of course, now I would go back.

But in these years, I've really become a changed person and am in a very different situation in life now. I've learned so much about life and how the world works. I don't know if I could ever go back on the Trail and not be worrying about life after the Trail to the point where the experience isn't worth it.

There are many times where I feel crushed under the weight of my possessions, where I miss owning only what could fit in 3,800 cubic inches, where I feel trapped by my apartment and bills and roommate and cat, where I resent my job for being perfect for me when I am still so obsessed with the Trail, where I am suffocated by the lack of open space in Minneapolis and the mass of selfish urbanites around every corner. Daily, I remind myself of the pain and stress of the Trail and try to prove to myself that the pain and stress in the city is less. The tally changes hourly.

After two years, I'm at the point where I would go back, but I'm not at the point where I can. So I look at my photos, riffle through the memorabilia, and try to remember the experience as accurately as I can. When the time is right, I will go back.

But until then, I'll learn how to cook new things, master new crafts, make new friends, mend my family, and organize my life. Then maybe, I'll be ready.