things of unexpected size and other tidbits

in which our plucky heroine takes advantage of a sunbreak...

Yesterday when speaking with Maeva about if the quince might be ripe, her advice was to go outside and have a good sniff, and if they were, that would make it clear! Sure enough, when the weather allowed earlier today, not only was it obvious even before immediate proximity, but one of the larger ones was on the ground next to the downspout. (Wondering if they were thinned early this year, as the ones on the tree now are so MUCH LARGER than any prior year) The one windfall quince weighed over 1½ pounds and is about the size of a baby's head. There will be much preserving this year.

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~ no bigger than my own wee paws ~

Time for a bit of exploration and adventure, an excursion to part of the city far from Acorn Cottage. PDX Dinorama had mentioned online a "tiny Little Free Library, and sure enough, it was so small, being only a bit taller than my (admittedly stumpy) hand length. And there was an assortment of very small blank books, one of which came home with me to eventually join the other volumes in the Shadowbox Library, once it acquires some content...

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Next week there will be three days of free ephemeral online presentations as part of  "Block Printing Fest 2025"... I'll definitely try and find time to view some, betwixt and between. 

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(whinges) Day four of medication. Less heartburn (which was not my main complaint), but throat "lump" sensation (which was) is, if anything, more bothersome, and appetite has not returned. Sigh. 

Further attempts but still the laptop doesn't know there is a printer. Deleting and reinstalling Photoshop did not give me a useable program, so now there is no image processing program either. Snapseed on my phone can do some image correction, but the photos remain too large in dimension and in data.

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Lovely alternating rams horn variation card weaving pattern, seen on FB's "suggested" and managed to track down. Has me wanting to set up a band loom of some kind again. The pattern is from Cerelle Woods, who says "Picks 1-16 repeated yield the band pictured. Picks 17-32 repeated will reverse the twist." There's S threading, which is when the thread comes through the holes from the back side of the tablet, and there's S slant, which is when the threaded tablet, when it's tensioned in the warp and viewed from above, has the same slant as the letter S (\). For Z threading the thread comes through the holes from the front of the tablet, and for Z slant, the warped tablet has the same slant as a Z (/). So! Depending on the weaver, S and Z can mean one thing OR its exact opposite. When I use S and Z, I'm referring to the threading, not the slant." 
If I try this, I will have to experiment to figure out if the threading shown in her diagram matches or is opposite from the Applesies and Fox Noses notation for threading, which is what I prefer.

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	6 lunaria pod ornaments	wheelbarrow tire	greenwaste bin
2	5 more lunaria ornaments	cardigan cuffs	recycle bin
3	5 golden origami dragons	reattach wheel to wheelbarrow	recycle bin
4	5 mini amanitas	vegetable steamer leg replacement	recycle bin
5	18 penny luck envelopes	leather scissors sheath	-
6	10 holly&bells ornaments	x	x
7	more penny luck envelopes	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes - 
- the scent of quince fruit
- having Mindy show up at Crafternoon
- found a free online utility to resize JPEG images (one of the several tasks that I'd normally use Photoshop for, sigh)

Time of Isolation - Day 1951

Friday fragments

in which our plucky heroine does her best...

Sometimes incremental progress is really incremental indeed. That said, I am moving forward bit by bit on my enameling work, as well as in textilia projects, and housey chores...

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I've been working on yet another Pelican medallion, somehow summertime is when this sort of regalia is most in demand... I rather wish it was more needed in the winter, when turning on the kiln was a treat. (1300 to 1500°F really warms up the workroom)

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Textilia updates: I have been steadily stitching one square of the Moody Blues patchwork every day. Only a few more squares and the top of the coverlet will be complete. It will be a pretty change to have it as a warm weather bed covering. 

More than half of the rainbow tablet weaving is completed, and soon it will be time to decide how best to use that, as a headband or as a hatband on a simple headdress.

The rainbow linen gauze cowl is complete; with all the edges and seams handstitched. It turned out to be fairly easy to remove enough weft threads from the edge of the fabric to be able to stitch the edges with some of the same linen, and the linen itself is of good enough quality that it held up well to such use. I've chosen (for now) to not add little tassels to the edges as I just couldn't figure out what color(s) would work well, and can always go back and add them if a better idea occurs to me in the future...

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I was poking around online to see if I could find any way to make a really smooth-textured hummus. I've been removing the skins on the canned garbanzo beans already, but it still is sort of more "chunky" than I prefer. One recipe I found said that a ten minute simmer with ½ tsp of baking soda would make a big difference. I figured it couldn't hurt, so I gave it a try... lo and behold, it really softened up the canned beans, and the resulting hummus was the best textured I have yet made. Using the Soom tahini also made a big difference in improving the flavor. I wish I'd had some fresh lemon and fresh garlic, but needs must use what is on hand, and I am grateful for bottled juice and garlic granules... The hummus will make a nice lunch for the next several days, particularly combined with some salad and the gluten-free flatbread I recently made (still need to figure out how to cook that on the stovetop without burning the pan, as both the cast iron griddle (that I used the first time, and a heavy steel frying pan (that I used the second time) both ended up with carbonised surfaces that needed much elbow grease to return to useable condition

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It has been a rough week in the lower spine, and I just haven't felt like checking in here. I have been doing various stretches in addition to my PT exercises, and my back  is very slightly better than a week ago, but only slightly... Hopefully my next acupuncture visit will help.

There have also been all sorts of paperwork confusions with renewing my prescriptions, despite they are things I have been using for many years now. Each day I either talk to the pharmacy or to my primary care doctor office and get told something different each time. It is really frustrating. I hope it gets sorted out before I run out of medication completely.

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June SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	some quilt squares	tea rose temperature	rose and grapevines
2	tinyprint fox	partial backyard mown	some grass
3	arm protectors	Acantha cereal bowl	some more grass
4	moar quilt squares	tie dye scarf	recycle bin
5	tinyprint fan	white horse print frame	yard waste bin
6	denim daypack	rewarp rainbow Laurel	yard waste bin
7	yet more patchwork	x	recycle bin
8	rainbow cowl	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. improved hummus texture hack
2. a slightly reorganised pantry... I was able to put away about half the wayward canned goods, and my kitchen countertops are a lot more clear. I've also a better idea of what is in the pantry, and therefore what I do or don't need to can up this autumn.
3. Despite stupid levels of pain, I've managed to do some work, and also do small things that unfuck my habitat, each day this week.

Time of Isolation - Day 1104

not quite totally miserable Monday

in which our plucky heroine is weary...

I don't understand why my SI joint hates me so much. I had a very helpful acupuncture session and massage a week ago, which gave me complete relief for a very short while and put everything back where it belongs, but the hour+  car ride home did me in and I was in terrible pain again by the time I was back at Acorn Cottage. I don't know what an actual solution would look like. I have assorted Salves of Anodyne to apply to my back, PT exercises to attempt, hot and/or cold packs, formerly helpful stretches and so forth. This time there was absolutely no reason for my SI to secede from the rest of my body, it just stopped cooperating three weeks ago. Sleep is very difficult, work is difficult. Sitting down is the worst of all, and I cannot spend all my time standing, walking, and riding my bicycle.

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I've been distracting myself by imagining all that would be involved in creating "my perfect kitchen". Writing it all down, it isn't quite a huge a set of changes as I had imagined, though still well beyond my current resources. And that has also led me to imagining what sorts of things I could do to move incrementally towards that kind of space. I could get a better wall phone. I could find or create a floorcloth to cover the burned places, even if re-flooring is not an option now. I could paint the upper cabinet doors. and I could certainly give away all the assorted kitchen gear that I am not using and am not likely to ever use.

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~ in the creativity corral... ~

Switched out the grey background on the tablet weaving for black. It seems a better choice, at least enough to continue weaving the Laurel headband. Slowly continuing to make progress on the Moody Blues patchwork coverlet top. Only one long row of squares left to piece, then it will be time to cut out a whole lot of bias strips for the edging, and attach the layers together. Later tonight will be one or two more tinyprints, and in a day or two, making a toile of the sunhat for Cathy, so I can send it up to Mud Bay for her to try on.  I also received confirmation and a deposit for an additional Pelican medallion, with a very short timeline of two weeks, so need to get moving on that one right away.

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June SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	some quilt squares	tea rose temperature	rose and grapevines
2	tinyprint fox	partial backyard mown	some grass
3	arm protectors	Acantha cereal bowl	some more grass
4	moar quilt squares	tie dye scarf	recycle bin
5	tinyprint fan	white horse print frame	yard waste bin
6	denim daypack	rewarp rainbow Laurel	yard waste bin
7	x	x	recycle bin
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. the enamel I ordered arrived, with a lagniappe of some millifiori discs
2. switching out the grey warp for black was less difficult than I feared
3. an new regalia commission, for someone I admire

Time of Isolation - Day 1100

more steps back than forward

in which our plucky heroine is flummoxed ...

Normally when I use this weaving draft, I have the "vine and leaves" be basically one value, and the background be either much lighter or much darker. So, today I learned why my instinctual choices are, in this case, absolutely correct

I had the intention of creating a tablet-woven rainbow Laurel headband... My current attempt, however, is not being successful. Too much hue and value contrast within the "rainbow" (yellow is really light and blue is almost black visually) and it is difficult/impossible to separate the rainbow leaves from the grey background, and the whole thing looks quite colorful, but unidentifiable as a Laurel wreath

Not sure where to go from here, but it sure doesn't feel like spending additional time on this makes sense, with hours of sunk time-cost in setting up for weaving already gone. I am going to try switching the background to black, as that will allow me to salvage the already cut and threaded cards, with only replacing the grey with black required.

I may also try changing out the vivid yellow for a softer color, and the too-dark blue for one that is just a little lighter. I do wish that it was possible to purchase DMC heavy pearl cotton locally, but will make do with whatever embroidery floss I have on hand instead. I miss the Before Times, and I miss the grand old now long gone Fabric Depot, with their myriad aisles of not just fabric, but all sorts of haberdashery. It is eversomuch easier to pick colors when the whole range is visible, and various combinations can be judged for how they interact.

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June SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	some quilt squares	tea rose temperature	rose and grapevines
2	tinyprint fox	partial backyard mown	some grass
3	arm protectors	Acantha cereal bowl	some more grass
4	moar quilt squares	tie dye scarf	recycle bin
5	tinyprint fan	white horse print frame	yard waste bin
6	denim daypack	x	yard waste bin
7	x	x	recycle bin
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. I am alive
2. cool enough in the middle of the night so I can cool the house in the early morning
3. many suggestions for ways to improve weaving

Time of Isolation - Day 1099

FAFO and other fragments

in which our plucky heroine manages temperatures in several aspects...

Keep on moving fans around at different times today, as enameling was on the schedule so I tried to get the house as cool as possible beforehand. I also rode my bike to the hardware store in the cool of the early morning, cool enough that I wanted my chore jacket, and got some duct tape to build my first Corsi-Rosenthal box.

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Seen while out and about on my bicycle...

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figured out why I like the mango coleslaw so much, it reminds me of Frisco chicken - note to self, try making some teriyaki chicken to go with, the next time I make some...

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~ fun for FAFO ~

Concomitant with Pride Month, the FAFO Garb Challenge sort of exploded this last week in the online SCA community starting here in An Tir and gathering speed all around the Known World. "The FAFO Garb challenge: Make a period(ish) outfit inspired by a pride flag (or multiple) or a cultural reference that means something to you. Wear it to your group’s Yule/12th night celebrations and post pictures - that gives us 6-7 months to do this! ... Let’s take up space. Let’s be visible. We are here, and our SCA is Inclusive, and there is no place for hate in the SCA."

This, and the discussions and comments over on FB as this idea took root and spread, gave me a lot of food for thought, about how I wanted to participate, given that I am not attending in-person indoor events, and about things I rarely ever think about regarding my identity, and about what would be appropriate, (and fun) to add to my SCA wardrobe. I decided that I could start with a new tablet-woven Laurel headband, with the laurel leaves in rainbow stripes. These, and some other ideas (new panova in rainbow plaid wool? new headwrap/veil in rainbow striped linen) I have are very much in the "C is for Creative" end of the SCA, rather than in the historical end, but we actually do live in both worlds. And someday I hope to be able to go to SCA events again, at least some of the outdoor ones, maybe even later this summer??

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Well that was super annoying! One of the three enamels I have been working on all this week failed - the background turned an strange murky brownish color instead of transparent golden yellow. Bah! Now I need to create a new backing disk, complete with engraving and stamping, and a new set of cloisonne wires, and I am darn good and sure to make a new bunch of samples to see if I can suss out what went wrong before starting over on that one. Fortunately the other two seem to be behaving...

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June SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	-	temperature/tea rose	-
2	-	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. our first attempt to zoom with Mom on Wednesday went well, it will be repeated each week from now going forward...
2. My beloved Mud Bay pals passed their final inspection and received their official "Certificate of Occupancy". They can, finally after all these years, move back into their house!
3. I might be behindhand, but after a day of experimentation, I think I figured out what the variable was that caused the issues with the enamel, and what to do about it. Temperature. If I keep the kiln around a hundred degrees or so lower than my usual 1500F, the transparent golden color seems more stable. I did a few additional tests with transparent flux, as I will need to use that to avoid the yellow turning orange/pink. I also prepared a new base plate with engraving and stamping. Tomorrow I will work on bending the cloisonne wires. It also occurred to me that the enamel with the color shift in the background could have a solid opaque background instead, rather than being scrapped. Hmmmm...

a bird list for Kestrel: House Finch, Scrub Jay, Crow, Dark Eyed Junco, Starlings, Peacocks.

Time of Isolation - Day 1077


(for my Mud Bay Pals)

something old something new

in which our plucky heroine begins planning and cogitation...

in a way, this is the part of the year I enjoy, looking over what I did in the last twelve months, and thinking over how to try and arrange my life in the next year in a way that is satisfying and moves me in healthy directions. What do I want more of, what can I let go of, and where can I apply my own tiny amount of leverage to the world...

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With the tablet weaving set up in the hallway behind the computer desk, I've been able to make steady progress on the trim for the commissioned daypack. At this point the woven trim is more than halfway completed, and I should begin the actual sewing as one of the first textile + sewing projects of 2023. Still need to acquire garment leather for the daypack base. I will be using the Range Backpack pattern as my starting point, just as I did with the one I made for myself back in the spring of 2019, which has been in steady use since then...

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~ book report ~

"Sweet Thursday" by John Steinbeck is my current audio book.  I think of it as actually a romance, in two ways. Aside from the central romantic involvement between two unlikely protagonists, most of all it is a loving look at an interwoven community, depicted in the vivid and unmistakable voice of the author. This was the second Steinbeck book I ever read, and the first one I enjoyed. (I've never gone back to reread The Red Pony, which I picked up from the library as a child under the misapprehension that it was a "horse story", and is definitely not the tale to read when sick in bed with a sore throat)

"The Raconteur's Commonplace Book" by Kate Milford is my current hardcopy book -  the texture and flavor of her writing is just the right sort of decoratively detailed for what I feel like reading right now, bon mots and descriptions, like the sort of fruitcake that is studded with assorted flavors of good dried fruit. I'd not call it deeply nourishing like a good stew, but for a treat, it is being worth the time spent reading it,

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Cookery notes: the gyoza I made last week, with the thicker storebought wrappers will be great for soup, not so much for potstickers. They cook up quite acceptably, but the balance between is off. Fortunately it is soup season, and what is too much wrapper in a plate of gyoza works really well as noodle substitute

The lamb cheek stew filled the house with smell so delicious that it rivaled the crispy salty scent of bacon in tempting me from winters featherbed. The stew was almost as succulent as oxtail. I am glad I chose to cook the lentils separately rather than adding them in, I discovered that really old pantry lentils don't get soft even if cooked in the slow cooker overnight. I guess if I want to make the Roman lentil barley leek dish, (and I do) I will need to acquire some less venerable lentils!

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I am really liking the 3 good things tool, because it is a this-helps-me way to shift my focus that I can actually use. Taking time during the day to notice even small good things really does help. I have been doing a number of slightly different things towards the end of 2022 with that intention. I recently have been really looking when I am outside to find something to photograph, as a contradiction to feeling limited by my surroundings. I remember taking up that sort of looking after my first cancer surgery, when my limitation was how much effort it took to walk even a block or two, and how absorbing it was to rest my mind for moments just looking at moss on a wall, for example.

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December SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	skull collar #2	over sink light	recycle bin
2	2 baprons for Liam	crock pot lid	recycle bin
3	8 jars strawberry rhubarb	replace furnace filter	recycle bin
4	quince paste	alter colorful huipil	recycle bin
5	8 jars persimmon ketchup	vertical loom	recycle bin
6	4 more Liam baprons	mend grey dress	x
7	calendar masters	insulate AC	x
8	6 jars quincemeat	x	x
9	4 lg jars strawberry rhubarb	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. good yarns in the stash boxes, I've started on a new pair of long fingerless gloves
2. I am comfortable with knitting in the round on multiple needles. While it looks alarming, I find it much easier for complicated objects like cephalopods, and gloves.
3. Tullia sent me some beautiful colorful tiny glass "ornaments" which will be perfect for making a mantlepiece garland for the tinyfolks fireplace

Time of Isolation - Day 1028

Tuesday tidbits

in which our plucky heroine has a slow day...

Feeling better than I did yesterday, if only a bit. Still drinking massive amounts of water, with the obvious result. Had a number of online conversations and zooms with friends, which I find most heartening, and I keep finding flickers of creativity from what have for too long felt like dead cold cinders. Pulled out all my teal turquoise fabrics to look at my garment sewing plans for 2023, and found the box of lingerie fabrics, in case my Sewing Nomad pals and I do a lingerie SWAP*.  Adding things to my list** of hoped for activity I can do with the tools and supplies I have available.

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creativity challenge:

I made a thing! (vertical warp weighted tablet weaving setup) using a stick, some scraps of heavy cord, and a large binder clip. It handles the cards and weaving warps just how I had hoped!! And being set up in the hallway, attached to the back of the computer desk, means it is both out of the way and readily accessible if I have a moment or two to spare. So far I have woven almost 9 inches today, so will be likely able to have the whole 32+ inches needed for the trim by the end of the week.

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The first two episodes of the new BBC podcast dramatisation of Susan Cooper's "The Dark Is Rising" are now available online. What a wonderful seasonal treat; I am really looking forward to listening to the whole series!

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Feeling rather wiped out, but that is likely the action of the antibiotics. My symptoms are receding, which is a relief. Being too tired to cook dinner, I ate up most of the leftover lasagna instead, which had been meant to put in the freezer for a future meal! Instead, I will do some expermentation with the frozen 5 flavor eggplant I discovered, and see if I can turn it into a lasagna like substance, by adding cheese and noodles, and the remainder of the cooked spinach... I also took out the pot sticker wrappers, so that they could thaw. I will prep the napa cabbage tonight as well. I am getting better at making meals ahead, making enough that I need not cook like a madwoman every night. If nothing else, it does reduce the rather astonishing amount of dishes I have to wash everday!

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Baked two loaves of persimmon bread earlier today, as I wanted to take something sweet to the good neighbors; Tracy just lost her dad this last week. I added a jar of Awesome Sauce and a jar of quince jelly to the plate. Wish I had had a bit more cooking oomph this morning. Had been hoping to bake the pear tart, but I will settle for copying the recipe into my Bujo.

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December SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	skull collar #2	over sink light	recycle bin
2	2 baprons for Liam	crock pot lid	recycle bin
3	8 jars strawberry rhubarb	replace furnace filter	recycle bin
4	quince paste	alter colorful huipil	-
5	8 jars persimmon ketchup	vertical loom	-
6	4 more Liam baprons	x	x
7	calendar masters	x	x
8	6 jars quincemeat	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. the set of measuring bowls that Rafny sent me back in 2020... they are more useful than I ever could have imagined, and every time I use them I think of her
2. an assortment of extension cords, and a spare lamp from the guest room mean that I can probably set up a light next to the new "weaving zone"
3. just discovered that the BBC radio podcast can be downloaded episode by episode to my laptop, so I can listen to it more than once! I was unfamiliar with that sort of file, since I don't collect music that way, (or at all) Wish I could, like I did when I was young. (I did buy myself a music CD today, Jorma Kaukonen's Quah, which should arrive sometime next week.)

Time of Isolation - Day 1020

* SWAP = Sewing With A Plan (not actually swapping garments!)
**assorted large scale plans: sewing up the teal fabric collection into garments. focusing on getting the "scriptiorim" back to happening, and finishing the five scrolls still on hold. learning about printmaking, with the intention of making miniature art prints using the miniature press. sponsoring the year long advent of a better year to come swap.  Other ideas involve putting some energy into the yard and garden, building a chook house so I can keep hens again, and continuing to work on decluttering and improving the house.

cutting threads and threading cards

in which our plucky heroine is up before the dawn...

There are a lot of tasks yet to do, and time for some of them to be accomplished this evening. Chores are neverending, but I did manage to get the lasagna baked, which meant dinner for tonight (and some future dinners). Tomorrow I will bake the pear tart for my neighbors, and make pot stickers to put in the freezer for additional future meals

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Getting set up to do the stripey tablet weaving for Tullia. Need to attach an upper bar across the top of the IVAR computer desk tower, and I should be able to do vertical warp weighted tablet weaving. ... hmmm maybe lashing a large dowel in place would work? Since I didn't have anything like that handy, I took a nice solid stick, pruned from one of the fruit trees last year, and cut to length it was easy to tie it to the top of the uprights. The ceramic fence insulators make good weights for the warps, and soon I will be able to start weaving.

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Well that went better than I expected... I'd been having trouble signing into the health system portal all afternoon, that after also having trouble signing in last night to set up my appointment. I called their MyChart customer service line, and was referred to a live person in only about 15 minutes. Not only that, but she was able to offer a fix that actually worked, and that was something I would never have suspected. If the cache on the computer is not cleared, it messes with their system somehow. Fortunately clearing cache is easy, and now I can access everything again!

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"In winter I get up at night, and dress by yellow candle-light..." ... that was the case today, since it was well after 7am that the day began to lighten. Fortunately the cold snap had not yet arrived, and the streets, while damp, were not icy, and I was easily able to ride my bicycle. I had an early morning appointment at the Express Care storefront clinic, and now am armed with a new-to-me antibiotic that should hopefully put me on the mend.

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December SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	skull collar #2	over sink light	recycle bin
2	2 baprons for Liam	crock pot lid	recycle bin
3	8 jars strawberry rhubarb	replace furnace filter	recycle bin
4	quince paste	alter colorful huipil	-
5	8 jars persimmon ketchup	vertical loom	-
6	4 more Liam baprons	x	x
7	calendar masters	x	x
8	6 jars quincemeat	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. Yay for helpful customer service rep... a rarity and a treat
2. My concept for making a vertical warp weighted loom in my hallway, using the space on the back of my computer zone, has proved successful
3. adding the already cooked spinach to the lasagna was a clever move

Time of Isolation - Day 1019

eye spy

in which our plucky heroine is extra tired...

... so much so that I almost fell asleep on the bus on the way home from my eye exam. I woke before my alarm, and since I was awake, it made no sense to go back to sleep for another 20 minutes. Though maybe I needed that rest I didn't get? It will be an early night tonight for certain. I've not had any of the specialty eye exam portions in several years, for obvious reasons, as things like the visual fields test is only done in one or two locations.

I have some optical oddities that need checked regularly, as well as the normal issues of age and some medical risks, so it was more than time for an exam. That said, it was awful to be in the busy waiting room... and, then to discover that my nice secure P100 mask was too large for the machinery to cope with. I actually started to cry in the exam room, which was terribly embarrassing. The technician handed me some tissues, and gave me the option to simply go home and not do the exams... or, she suggested that she could instead get me some of the N95 masks the doctors wear there. Ugh, having to choose between possible Covid and possible blindness, I hate this pandammit with a terrible hate!

I decided that wearing a surgical mask, and then an N95 over it would have to do. The tech was very understanding and kind, and had a fun sort of jokey patter about the various machinery, which I appreciated. In the end, the doctor let me know that my eyes are still in good shape, that my range of peripheral sight is still complete, and that the other issues are only slightly changed from three years ago and that there is no need for either medication or surgery. Yay for decent (if myopic) vision!

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signs of autumn:

I was looking down whilst walking back to the Joan of Arc traffic circle in the middle of the day today, and found these absolutely splendid fractal patterned fallen leaves. Since I had no easy way to bring them home, I carefully tucked them inside my folded up printout of my future appointments, in the hope of being able to photograph them before they crumbled away to bright dust. Obviously I was successful, though it did take my being rather careful to not squash them inside my chore coat pocket.

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I don't have any more rosewater. I thought I had another bottle in the back of the pantry. I do have a bottle of orange flower water though, that might work as a substitute flavor/scent addition. Oh, why am I looking for my bottle of rosewater? I started making some quince jelly, and I like to add just a bit of rosewater to help bring out the floral aspect. (note: I just found a BBC recipe that calls for orange flower water, and several of my online more foodie friends had good things to say about the use of same with quince jelly) Since I still have about another 20# of quinces, there is room for trying a new thing...

My quince paste experiment is a qualified success... I have a tray full of very dark gelid sweet/tart highly flavored confection all about 3/8" thick. I have cut it into tiny rectangles, which I plan on wrapping in squares of parchment paper, since I cannot think of what other way to neatly store it, as it is still very slightly sticky on the outside. It could be served dusted with bakers superfine sugar, or even perhaps with confectioner sugar, or just laid out in a fan on a plate with some sharp cheese. I may send some along with a jar of quince jelly, and some quincemeat, as a holiday gift box to family or friends.

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Today seemed very cold, at least, the wind was strong so the wind chill made it feel a lot colder than the bright sun would have one believe. Another day with over 10K steps outdoors, so there is that. I am thinking I need to either buy or knit a pair of thin gloves to wear underneath my knitted wristers, to keep my fingertips warm, as my former pair of gloves is nowhere to be found. Since they were the tiny extra stretchy synthetic ones from a dollar store, they are no great loss to my budget, but the niche in my wardrobe still needs something. Maybe I should try the glove pattern I generated a few years ago, intended to be made up as outdoor garden gloves, I could use some thin leather as a sort of "wearable muslin"...

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	skull brooch	vacuum heat intake	broken porch planter
2	salsa verde	new pinback on flower	recycle bin
3	pale grey long janes	26# quinces picked	recycle bin
4	trim for long janes	black embroidered slip	-
5	quince paste	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
1. My eyes are healthy, whew!
2. I did not need to get my eyes dilated. There had been some miscommunication, and the dilation portion done earlier this year is recent enough. While I understand the necessity, and am grateful for being able to get my eyes examined, it takes almost a full day for the dilation to wear off, and until it does, I cannot do anything that requires my eyes to focus. No reading, or any handwork, and even cookery is a bit dicey, at least the kind that requires sharp knives. So, I was quite happy to forgo that!
3. I rode my bike in the afternoon, and found a pokeberry plant full of berries. I will ride back again later this week and gather some to use to dye a small skein of wool. It makes a reasonably fast deep red dye (do not eat). It would be fun to do a bit of card weaving with home dyed wool using dyestuff from my own neighborhood. My freezer has a container with rather a lot of clerodendrum berries, gathered over several years, which would give me a blue. I might want a yellow as well, hmmm, must ask my more expert friends about that. At any rate this would be a fun middle of the winter project.

Time of Isolation - Day 986

some historically inspired accessories

in which our plucky heroine is still convalescing  ...

I don't know why it is taking me so long to feel like myself again. Physically I am still Very Tired, and most annoyingly, I am noticing some mental POCD issues surgery/anaesthesia can cause. I've been struggling for words in a way that is unlike me, and  needing to stop and process what I am trying to verbalise in the middle of sentences. Fingers crossed that perhaps this time the issues will be only temporary, unlike after my cancer surgery.

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While I made this project in June, I neglected to post any images of the finished piece, only a post about acquiring the carnelian beads... Necklace inspired by Viking Age artifacts from Birka and elsewhere. Carnelian "cornerless rectangles", and clear lampwork glass in place of rock crystal, with one of Master Helgi's lampwork Laurel beads as a pendant.

links to historical artifacts that inspired this at the bottom of this post
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Since my recovery is being so slow, I decided to start setting up an assortment of small projects, that can be worked on either between other tasks, if I am feeling robust, or just picked up an done for a few minutes at a time. Ever since I made the tablet woven Laurel band for Marya, I also wanted one for me. Particularly now that I have started making some Rus/Slavic clothing, a woven headband can be used to display the wonderful temple ornaments that are what I consider delectable bling.

Et voila, I've begun the weaving, after first attempting to dye the background wool a pale blue. Food color dyeing of wool yarn is easy, but unpredictable, and I ended up with a color more grey than blue. The speed/ease/non-toxic nature of the process outweighs the drawbacks. All that is needed is to soak the yarn overnight in water that is slightly acidulated, then set up a dyepot with 1/4c white vinegar to 1c water (increase as needed), warm not boiling. Add in tiny amounts of paste food color. Tip the soaked yarn into the dye, stir and watch the dye become absorbed into the yarn and the water become almost clear. Easy peasy chicken squeezy! The previous band took about a week and a half of intermittent efforts, so this one will likely take at least that long...

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July SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Lions Torse charter	borders on red overdress	my appendix!
2	Terpsichore Fox charter	trimmed forsythia	Goodwill bag
3	Grace of An TIr charter	trimmed sage	-
4	herringbone undergown	pill case reshaped	-
5	indigo check undergown	x	-
6	neckroll pillowcases	x	-
7	x	x	-
8	x	x	-
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - my ability to express myself in writing seems unimpaired.



* a partial list-of-links to assorted Viking Age necklaces of inspiration:

carnelian and rock crystal in various shapes, with treasure pendants mostly beads

mostly carnelian and rock crystal cornerless cubes, with a small amount of lampwork, and treasure pendants

carnelian and rock crystal with many treasure pendants
... and (another view of the same necklace)

assorted shaped carnelian and mostly facteted rock crystal

assorted carnelian, rock crystal, stone etc

mixed shaped carnelian, rock crystal melon and rounds, etc

Monday musings and a bit of music....

IN which our plucky heroine grasps at meaning...

well that sounds better than grasping at straws, but am reminded that there are cultures that build boats from straw (reeds), which work quite well. But rather than actual straws, girl has been thinking about how making things of beauty, delight, and amusement can seem both highly privileged, and socially irrelevant. Talking with others, sometimes being put in a most defensive mode, and othertimes, being lauded for adding brightness in dark times, it is a challenge. I recently read two essays about the importance of handcraft and art-making and those writers comments ameliorated my spirit. Terry Windling had this to say about "Dark Beauty", and Bernadette had this to say about "Why making things matters". Helpful to find others travelers in the same countryside...

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Today I finished the tablet weaving that is my elevation gift to Marya, just over five feet of wool weaving with the pattern of Laurel leaves done in her favorite colors. I loved doing the weaving, as it is soothing and meditative, work that can be picked up and set down easily, and a good way to wind down at the end of the day. I started on the 23rd of September, so it took about a week and a half of intermittent effort.

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October SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Laurel tablet weaving	-	-
2	x	x	-
3	x	x	-
4	x	x	-
5	x	x	-
6	x	x	-
7	x	x	-
8	x	x	-
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

Tuesday tidbits

in which our plucky heroine has been busy...

set up the tabletweaving loom with the Laurel pattern, to make an elevation gift for Marya... This is the project that needed the dyed orange wool yarn. Width is about 1".

The turning pattern for this is only slightly irregular: the border cards keep turning one way, which helps keep the band smooth, and helps ensure nice neat selvages; most of the cards turn four forward, four backward, but there are two that never reverse, and also just keep turning one way.

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stitched the pocket on the bodice of my new pinafore, the last step...

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This is the upper bodice pocket. I have added these to some of my pinafores, and while they never get loaded with things (like my skirt pockets do) every once in a while it is handy to have a place to hold a needful note and not lose it, like those little medical appointment cards, or a snipped-from-fabric bit to match thread at the store... A pressing template, measured out and cut from a manila file folder, helps get neatly turned curves along the lower edge before the pocket is stitched in place.

Here is a closer view of the center back, showing how close the shoulder straps are to the center back. This helps keep the straps actually on my shoulders, which are both narrow and sloping. It also shows where the straps are flat fell seamed to the body of the pinafore.

The new pinafore quite resembles my original sketch, aside from my decided to use the precious multicolor ikat (instead of the blue/tan ikat) for binding. As well, the style is just slightly different than my usual pinafore pattern, which is a treat...

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September SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	charter # 10	bathrobe hang-loop	bag to Goodwill
2	fig sauce	many pokey wires	butterfly chair
3	seraph	dye yarn orange	first leaf raking
4	charter # 11	x	-
5	hat for Thora	x	-
6	applesauce	x	-
7	plum sauce	x	x
8	Awesome Sauce	x	x
9	jacquard denim pinafore	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

to dye for

in which our plucky heroine gets experimental...

Since there was no orange wool for my next tablet weaving project, it seemed like a fun idea to try using food color and vinegar to dye wool yarn. After all, there was both a box of gel-paste food coloring and a jug of vinegar in the pantry... 

First step, according to online tutorials, is to soak the yarn in a water/vinegar mixture for at least 30 minutes. Started on Tuesday evening, and continued the project this morning. The now thoroughly hydrated yarn is visible in the Pyrex measuring cup:

The food colorings are much stronger than the little jars of liquid from the grocery store. Gel paste is used to get vivid colors in foods, and is usually found in either baking supply shops or craft stores that sell cake decorating supplies. It didn't take very many times dipping the toothpick ends into the gel and stirring it into the custard cup of hot water to get a deep orange liquid.

Since both food coloring and vinegar are food safe, I had no qualms about using my regular cooking pans for this experiment. The dye, added first to the saucepan of hot water/vinegar mixture, looked a nice medium carrot color, just the thing to set off the olive-y green motifs on the weaving-to-be. The presoaked yarn took up the dye really quickly, necessitating some careful movement of the fibers in the dyebath, and adding a little extra food coloring to get as even color as possible.

Once all the dye is transfered to the wool, the liquid remaining in the saucepan turned clear again. It seemed like a good idea to just let the yarn cool down in the acidulated water while errands and a trip to get an eye exam took up the middle of the day. Once home again, and the yarn cooled, it didn't take much to rinse out any excess dye, and the now much more colorful yarn was draped over the kitchen towel rod to dry...

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September SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	charter # 10	bathrobe hang-loop	bag to Goodwill
2	fig sauce	many pokey wires	butterfly chair
3	seraph	dye yarn orange	first leaf raking
4	charter # 11	x	-
5	hat for Thora	x	-
6	applesauce	x	-
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

a joyful mystery and other bits...

in which our plucky heroine appreciates small beauty...

One never knows what feral vegetation will turn up in my yard. So far, there has been feral plums, feral roses, a feral grapevine, and currently, if smaller, there is now a feral petunia. Recently noted this bright spot of pink in the middle of the weedy dustland in the center of the yard. Can understand the previous feral denizens, as squirrels and birds often eat fruit of various sorts leaving behind seeds and "fertiliser", but petunias do not create tasty enticements for wildlife... I will simply enjoy it as a joyful mystery!

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This was a weekend that Thora of Blue Cedar House came down to help, but rather than much yardwork, there was much driving about and shopping: There was a trip to Ikea, for new kitchen dishpans, wooden hangers, and "Björksnäs", an unexpected but excellent folding chair, which will also be great for SCA use. There was a trip to the feed store, to replenish the chook chow, and acquire a Much Better yard rake, with springy steel tines instead of the Terrible Plastic garden rake of Uselessness that i've been struggling with for the last umpteen years. There was a trip to Uwajimaya in Beaverton, to purchase the annual gallon of soy sauce, where the produce department somehow had $1 organic mangos !!! (I bought half a dozen, currently in the fridge for cold fruit salad to ameliorate the triple digit temperatures tomorrow)

The yardwork was limited to some moving of currently underutilised planter boxes, changing out the chicken bedding, and a much desired clearing up of the front porch, which no longer is a repository for empty flowerpots, and the salad table is now ready to be refilled with fresh compost and soil and replanted.

There were various small sewing projects completed. I took in a pillowcase to make it better fit the camping pillow for little Laurel. Added buttons and buttonholes to the front of my bathrobe, and also detached and reattached my bathrobe pockets, so that they are no longer down near my knees, but up where my hands can actually reach them. (RTW clothing is so peculiar)

oh, and somewhere in there I also bought a new box fan for the living room window, to replace the one I dropped, which caused its stupid plastic fan blades to shatter.

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This tabletweaving started July 10, finished August 10... not bad for a project that is mostly spare time pickup work... wool woven trim will decorate my SCA Norse apron dress, and also the new Norse forepart for Thors's garb. Over the next few months there will be assorted SCA clothing projects being worked on and completed, as I am both making some "fancy" outfits for my Blue Cedar House pals to wear this winter and some new clothing for myself as well. there will be blockprinting and tabletweaving and embroidery oh my

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	85" tablet weaving	overdye dress	bag to Goodwill
2	Byzantine scroll	bathrobe buttons	shelf and fan
3	x	bathrobe pockets	-
4	x	x	-
5	x	x	-
6	x	x	-
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x