I updated most of the yarns and fibers. There are a few more to go and I’ve been dyeing up a storm. There will be another update before the end of the month. I promise.
And of course, lots of fiber
The shop is about to make her debut.
When I got home from VT Sheep and wool the shop looked like this:
And like this
I was able to fill it back up on Monday but yesterday I was able to add the final touches of a table and another loom. Lets take a little tour… The fiber/spinning side of the shop:
If you walk past the wheels, you get to see the wall of fiber.
Sure the wall looks bare but I have about 10 pounds drying right now.
Then if you look to the other side you see the yarn and weaving side of the shop:
Did you check out that table? There is an antique shop near here going out of business and I just happened to stop in thinking maybe they have something fiber related or a table. And there was this lovely table with bright yellow chairs. I knew the shop had to have it. Here’s a better look:
It’s not in perfect shape, it is 50 or so years old. But it’s clean and it’s in pretty good shape. It was also really inexpensive, the most important part of that equation.
Now some announcements.
The shop hours are expanding a bit starting the 17th of September.
Monday 10-7pm - Spin Night 4-7pm
Wednesday 10-3pm
Saturday 10-3 pm
I’m having another Fiber Lovin Spin Saturday this Saturday - September 15th. So drop on by with your wheel or your knitting. Bring some munchies or just bring yourself. The get together is from 2 to 5. You can come in, try one of the 9 or so wheels, the more than 80 spindles form 9 companies or one of 3-4 looms set up. I have 2 of the looms all warped so you can try them out, The 3rd loom I’ll be warping on Saturday, if anyone wants to drop by and watch a warping, drop by early. I’ll even let you help.
There will be an online shop update soon. I have most of the photos done. I’m going to try to get it up for tomorrow and then have another update soon. I know you want some of the stuff that’s been dyed and drying. I’ll of course send out the notifications when I get the update done.
As a treat to myself for getting so much done in the shop, I grabbed one of these:
and this is what it’s looking like so far:
This is my spinning for a Spin A Long on Ravelry. The other 2 that were in this dye batch will be up in the shop soon. Which means I should probably quit gabbing and get to working on the site.
Not me, the recipe I have for you today.
I’ve embraced the use of the dehydrator. I want crackers and chips but I’ve been looking for more healthy alternatives to the conventional fried chips or gluten laden crackers. Jennifer brought in some crackers that she gave me a couple of appointments ago and they were amazing. I haven’t been able to get mine as thick as hers but what I’m making is satisfying the chip craving.
Left to right: Zucchini/onion, Spicy Salsa, Veggie Medley
Zucchini Onion has Zucchini, Braggs and Onions.
Spicy Salsa is my Salsa recipe from the other day. I used it before canning so it still qualifies as “raw food”
Both of those I just whizzed up in the blender (you may need to add water if it’s too thick for the blender to go). I added flax seeds and whizzed it up again. Then using a spatula I spread out a thin layer on teflex sheets and put it in the dehydrator.
Veggie Medley is one of done several times. This particular one has Zucchini, Green Peppers, Tomatoes, and Onions. You can really add in any vegetable, carrots, garlic, corn, etc. The process for making this was the same as the others, except that after I spread them out on the sheets, I sprinkled black sesame seeds on them.
They were all put into the dehydrator at 115 for 6-10 hours. When I do a small batch it takes less time. What I do is I check it at the 6 hour mark and if I can peel it off the sheets safely, I do that and put them on the screens without the teflex, it makes them dry faster and you want them to continue to dry until they’re crisp. Then I put them in containers and store them in the fridge. They stay crisper in the fridge. My Uncle gave my Mom a bag sealer doodad so I plan to make some ahead and store it. But really this is a project that can easily be done in the morning, then set up the dehydrator to work away while you are away at work.
Don’t have a dehydrator? I googled and found this Homemade Dehydrator. I can’t guarantee how well it works. Experiments are always fun though.
Just so there isn’t anything fiber related here. I picked up the first few Merlin Tree spindles. I have just a tease though. I’m offering them to blog audience first. There are only 3.
Left to Right - Merlin Tree Tree, Snowflake with Purpleheart band(sold), Snowflake with brown wood band(he dropped them off and I didn’t get to talk to him about them to get the wood types). I hope I’ll have more soon but I don’t know when that will be. Dave explained that he’s been busy with work and not in the wood shop as often.
Side views of the snowflakes:
Side view of the tree:
And he has those grooves on the bottom of the shaft like Golding:
Which was one of my most favorite things about the Golding spindles.
So if you want one, let me know (first come first gets). If not, I’ll list them on the site soon.
*edit* I should have mentioned. They’re $38 each plus shipping.
Oh, and did you notice the fiber it was sitting on. That was my only purchase. Some fun wool from Pippikneesocks. I hear she’s going to update soon.
Thank you everyone for stopping by for a visit over the weekend. It was great to see old faces and meet new ones. If you didn’t go you totally missed out on seeing Pippi live and in person with her own table of fibers and yarns. I think she might be doing it again so you may sitll have a chance. It was a great weekend though I’m completely tired out. I need to unload the truck in a few minutes and set the shop up again. I’ll have to take photos so you can see why I have to close the shop when I leave for a show.
It’s a 5 hour drive to Essex Junction, Vermont. This makes for incredible knitting time since it’s quite straight. 145 miles on I89 alone. That means no navigating, the co-pilot can rest her eyes on scenery and knit. On the drive there I finished the sleeves to Baby Boogie’s sweater only to realize that I forgot the needles to make the body. I was a spaz. Husbeast likened it to a heroin addict. I need my needles man! Because of a lack of needles for that, I worked on a new project. Thoguh I found a new project, I still continued to lament my lack of needles for the baby sweater project. I started to make a sock for the Big Girl:
Luckily I had the forethought to at least grab another project if I didn’t think about the needles. I had actually finished the sock but somehow I had messed up the toe and made it so it wasn’t even with the heel. I ripped it and I’m redoing it. The yarn is the club yarn “celebration”. I hope the girlie likes them, they’re super cute with the little picot edge that you can’t see in my incredible photo taken in no light.
Back to the addict without her needles. I was seriously obsessed. After getting the booth set up on Friday and getting de-stinkified, there wasn’t a knitting shop open. Husbeast talked me down from going door to door looking for needles. Really what was the chance there was a knitter in the hotel that would understand. Actually, our hotel was filled with hockey players so while I would have gotten to meet lots of college age boys, the knitting needles probably were a little unlikely. I worked on the sock and I eagerly awaited the next day….. I took a quick look around the show before everyone was finished setting up and Husbeast searched the show later for me. Not a needle to be found. Luckily I had work to do so the shakes I had were probably just passed off as looking like I was busy working.
At the end of the day I decided to cave and just get some other needles and I’ll figure out my gauge later. When lo and behold I saw them. Shining like a bright star in my dark obsessed sight. They were so beautiful. A rack of needles I hadn’t seen before. With shaking hands I leafed through them…. 19’s, 13’s, 11’s, 8’s oooh oooh we’re getting closer… 5’s, 4’s, 3’s!!!! There are 3’s! shaking a little more now…..20 inch 3’s! it’s the size! It’s the exact size I needed!!!! I skipped over to pay for it and told her I was going to kiss her. NO, she wasn’t impressed with my enthusiasm. Having some pink haired tattooed strung out knitter kiss you, probably isn’t at the top of everyone’s list. I bought them at Ellen’s Half Pint farm but I neglected to get the name of the person helping (It wasn’t Ellen). I was just too darn excited I don’t think I could see straight. I had needles!!!!
I skipped back to the booth and exclaimed rather loudly that I had my needles.
I HAD MY NEEDLES!!! and I didn’t compromise! They were perfect.
The other knitters in the area that had heard my plight (at least once) and had to listen to my whining (many times) were thrilled for me. Either that or they were thrilled they didn’t have to hear me talk about my need for needles and my jittery attitude. I happily clutched my needles to me.
I HAD MY NEEDLES!!!
And this is what I was able to do with them.
Saturday night I was so tired, I cast on and then promptly fell asleep. Most of the knitting was done walking around and working on Sunday and then I got the arms attached on the ride home. I worked until I was too tired to do anything well. I’m in love with how this yarn striped. Boogie Baby is going to look smashing in this. Don’t tell her it’s for her, it’s one of her birthday presents. Her special day is at the end of the month and I’m hoping to get at least this and the mittens done. Oh, and I need to find buttons to finish the lacy cardigan I finished a few weeks ago.
I have my needles and they are the most beautiful needles I own….
I promise you a recipe tomorrow. I just had to get out my needle story today. I knew you all would be happy that I had my needles. And probably very happy you didn’t have to hear my whine all day Saturday.
I’m shipping this morning and then the rest of the day is going to be spent packing and getting ready to leave for VT sheep and wool. I think I have enough stuff. What equipment to bring is the real question?? ANyone want me to bring something in particular? The only 2 wheels I’m sure to bring will be the Fricke folding DT and the Victoria. I have decided though on the knitting I’ll be bringing:
First up are Baby Boogie’s Mittens:
I’m using handspun from the club this spring. It’s Corriedale called Strawberry fields. I made it as a nice Navajo 3 ply so it would be good strong yarn less likely to pill. The baby has been dreaming of these as mittens forever:
And now that she’s got one. I asked her to try it on so I’d know that it fit and I can work on the other one this weekend. First she showed me the hand without a mitten. And then decided if she had to show me the mitten, she had to show me that one hand is still cold:
And then because my Boogie Baby has a birthday coming up I’m working on another sweater for her. I think all her gifts from us this year will be knitted. I might sew her a doll too if I somehow am able to find the time. This is the sweater I’m working on this weekend:
I worked up enough of the sweater and mitten that I can work on them over the weekend and get the right sizes. It’s happened before that I worked on something all weekend only to have to rip it all when I got home. Not this time.
Have a great weekend everyone. If you’re in the area, stop by and say HI.
