I need voom*

yes I do... (and other ups and downs)

I'm suffering from a terrible case of lethargy, combined with an overwhelming desire to knit, perhaps due to the switch back to cold rain and wind from the relatively warm and sunny yesterday. Applied I-cord is my new best friend, it is the Fjord pony of knitted edgings being round and tidy and amenable, and it makes me very happy. It is not fast, but there is something about the simple repetitive process that is oddly and particularly soothing and meditative. Fifty years of knitting and there are always new things to learn. (This video tutorial was very helpful) The stripey "thrifted-gifted" vest is now getting knit-on edging, and once that is completed, and a bit of beaded embroidery added, it will look very much like my sketch, and can start keeping me warm. Winter isn't over yet.

Applied I-cord being added to neckline
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The kitchen here is still a marmalade madhouse. Last night was Meyer lemon, and tonight, after I finish writing here, will be time for kumquat vanilla. What can I say, marmalade is my most favorite preserve. What I have been doing is trying some of the other approaches to the process, different from my "boil until collapsed" usual method, to see if I like them any better. Unless New Seasons gets in any organic Seville oranges, this might be it for the year, though a triple-citrus with star anise recipe found online is very tempting...

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With the intention of adding some very local greenstuff to the larder here at Acorn Cottage, I am returning to my hippie heritage and have begun a sprouting experiment. Since my lovely sprouting trays are lost in the mists of time, a mason jar will have to do. Some of the stainless steel mesh (from the unsuccessful kombucha-strainer experiment), cut into a circle and fit into a canning jar ring will make life easier. Rather than alfalfa, or mung beans, I'm going to try pea sprouts; if I can get the pea seeds to germinate, I'll then plant them atop a flowerpot and let them grow a few inches tall. They sell small pots of pea shoots in the produce department and they are a tasty salad-ish kind of thing, I just hadn't thought about attempting to "grow my own". Here's hoping...

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Needless to say, with all these projects, as well as my usual work, and the two tiny textile contest entries, Acorn Cottage looks is a mess. I'll need to do some tidying if I am having a teaparty this coming Sunday, which will happen, at the usual time. Come on over for tea and craftiness. I'll have some treats, and maybe open a jar or two of marmalade to taste, and I'm planning on having some paper and glue and colored pencils and paper doilies, in case anyone wants to make valentines...

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*just in case you forgot about voom...