Make Me

I'm Charmed

I just borrowed Charmed Knits from the library. I guess when I first looked at it in the bookstore, I thought it was cute, but mostly items that I wouldn't have use for - wand holders, witch robes and hats and the like. But I guess I really didn't take a good look.

When I saw it at the library I grabbed it and have since taken the time to review it at a more leisurely pace.  I love the sweaters and the socks!  How did I miss the socks?  Quiddith socks! Elf Socks! House Socks! Dobby Socks!  I want them all!

This brought me to the realization that I haven't knit sock since....April?  That is a crazy long time!  I have two single socks waiting for mates, yarn for about 10 more and about 30 in my Ravelry cue.  Guess I better get crackin'!

Vision in Turquoise?

Vision in Turquoise
Originally uploaded by Hilari

I've been working on my Etsy merch photos. This is on my balcony railing that is actually a dark, dark green. Think this is a good background?

You can see the full listing here with all the photos.

I Love SD!

Well a week in the Arizona sun had me kissing the ground of San Diego upon my return.  Actually, the first couple of days were only slightly miserable weather-wise at 103 degrees.  Later, when it was 107º, I thought my brain was going to melt and ooze out my ears. Even the pool was too hot because the part of you that wasn't in the water baked in the sun. And let me tell you, if you need proof that the sun is a dominatrix that will beat you till you don't even know you're being beaten anymore, go sit poolside in Scottsdale. Gives "leatherneck" a whole new meaning.

Still, it was great being with family and I had a lot of fun. 

I also finished my Kiri Shawl in time to get my Ravelympics medal in the Shawl Relay. 
I haven't blocked it yet and I was too tired to get a better photo, but I put a snazzy frame around it with Picasa, so that should make up for the photo quality.

The garden fared relatively well in my absence.  I hoisted all the plants to Priscilla's because as it got warmer, they really did need watering twice a day.   The lemon verbena and lettuce planter took a header in the parking lot.  And that lettuce was about three weeks from eating, too! I tried to stick the verbena back in the planter but it looks like it gave up the ghost a shortly after.

Ella Eggplanted was marvelous. We enjoyed her in a scrumptious omelet. The tomatoes were heaven and the basil to die for.  Although Mom said it tasted "bitter" I thought it was sweet like candy.

I did a lot of cooking during the week. It was fun because I don't really cook for myself too much in the summer because my place gets so hot so quickly.  Meals for 8 are a lot of work!  If you have a large family to cook for every night, my hat is off to you.

Some really good news is the Kathie I always refer to now has a blog!  Yay. Go visit and encourage her to make stuff - she makes awesome books and gourds and jewelry and everything.

Happy Etsy Friday!!!

New treasury today. You can view it until tomorrow here.

Now I'm off to AZ for family time!

Cheerleaders Bad

Just a quickie. 

We get a variety of different camps on campus during the summer: weight loss, golf, basketball, drum major, computer, cheerleaders. They stay in the dorms and are there for at least a week if not more.  The eat in our cafeterias - three meals a day.  Everyone is pretty well behaved. 

Last week we shared our caf with the cheerleaders. Thought it would just be noisy but OMG! These cheerleaders were like Feral Pigs!  They threw food, wasted food, made a HUGE mess in 45 minutes that hundreds of undergrads don't come close to in a 24 hour period. Overturned cups, deliberate messes, uneaten, unopened food. Just a big crazy mess.  The staff had to come out with carts and trays to clean it up.

And let me tell you, those girls have some food issues.  There was no middle road. Either they had a diet of fried foods or a lettuce leaf and half a jicama slice - and then they had to debate the calories of said jicama.  Cheerleader mamas?  Watch your girls. And teach 'em some manners, please.

Grow A Bean, Knit a Shawl

I'm in the RavOlympics, doncha know.  What can I say, I'm a joiner.

I'm making the Kiri Shawl.

It's next to bloody impossible to get the colors right in a photo, but I like the way the pattern and yarn are shaping up.  I think the drape of this Blue Heron yarn is ridiculous.  It's amazing to knit with.  I'm on row 69 of about 131 so I'm more than half way to the edging.  Of course it's nothing but increases on each of those rows, so cross your fingers I get it done.

I'm on the Bravo Whore team for the RavOlympics where we love all things Bravo, 'specially Project Runway.  Wanna see my way cool avas?

Hmmm. They looked a lot better in 100x100.  There's some serious blur about Tim Gunn.  Or maybe he is always surrounded by a soft focus glow like Barbra Streisand.

You can check the Bravo Whores group on Ravelry for more great and inspirational avatars.

In the garden things are...well, they are what they are.

Firstly, I managed to get rid of the white fly with regular sprayings of the water/soap mix and foil. I dunno what exactly did the trick.  The spraying seemed to have gotten the population down, but about 3-4 days after I put up the foil, the flies were very nearly gone.  I also trimmed back the verbena quite a bit. Blogless Kathie read that using old reflective cds also did the trick, but by the time I got them out (took a while to locate them) there weren't any flies! Oh! And the Bronner's soap, although it smells strongly of peppermint, did not leave any weird residue or flavors on my plants. Yay!

The tomatillo grows about a foot a day it seems. And the beans aren't really producing yet.

Ella Eggplanted's big day is tomorrow. She's not growing much and the other flower should have bloomed by now.  I've picked about 4 tiny romas and they are sooooo tasty!  Maybe I can make an impromptu bean & tomato salad for lunch tomorrow.

This one is taking its sweet time. Hopefully getting sweeter.  The waiting is crazy. There's only one other tomato on the plant. Not much yield for all the effort.  I'll do better next year. At least 3 varieties planted in early spring.

Of Palms and Cactus

Had some free time before a party last night.  Decided to use it taking photos using the different settings on my camera.

This cactus was fascinating when I first saw it in 1977. It's just huge. I wasn't really fiddling with the settings, just took it really fast as I was on the way to the bead shop.

Playing with the zoom feature. I was across the street from this palm, about...50 feet away? I'm terrible at judging distances.

The landscape setting says it makes the blues and greens more so. 

Dyed

I was bored. I had yarn. I had koolaid.  I dyed a little.

I did it in the bathtub on saran wrap. I mixed the koolaid in empty water bottles, punched holes in the bottle caps with a nail and screwed them all on extra tight.  I followed Kristi Porter's directions on Knitty.

The bottles make it easy to pinpoint the yarn where I want it to go.  It doesn't matter how much water you use, the depth of color comes from how much of the koolaid. I used a lot of blue and it came out too light.

I got all excited about the dyeing process and forgot to take pictures. Also, once the alpaca got wet my bathroom smelled of molting yak (do yak molt?) and I just wanted to through on the dye and run.

The first time through dried with a very pastel bent. Too light for my liking.  After it dried, I dampened it again and darkened it up with black cherry and a little more blue.  Better, but not quite.  The third dye job was the blue with a little of the black cherry mixed in the bottle.  It still didn't come out exactly how I wanted, but I'd run out of the blue.

   

I think it will be some sort of scarf.

Here's the Extreme Closeup.

Or, I should say, the Extremely Badly Lit Close-up.

 

The Beedles, Etsy Friday and Then Some

Got an email this morning that the The Tales of Beedle the Bard is due for release on December 4 and you can pre-order copies now. There are two editions - a nicey-pricey one at $100 and the standard at...$7.59?! Yeah, I think I'm pre-ordering.

In my serious effort to de-stash myself of all these crazy supplies I've hoarded over the years, I sat down last night to make some tags.  First I cut squares in two sizes 2" and 2.25" from random bits of paper I had lying about.

Then I matched them up and glued them together.  Some of them have the smaller squares glued to the larger ones and others match in size front and back.

I've listed them in my new Etsy shop where I'm selling craft supplies.

Got a new treasury, too.  Or clicky-biggy the picture below.

Looking forward to a lovely weekend in Alpine at my friend Shona's.  Lori's Fibers has some new books and Rowan in that I'm dying to see. And we're updating her Ravelry profile. Freak her out and friend her (Paintjet) for kicks and giggles.