Delicious Mud Pie

Yesterday was Labor Day in the US, making this past weekend a long weekend for me and my family.  Rather than trying to take a long trip out-of-town, we decided to relax and do some work around the house.  It turned out to be a wonderfully refreshing weekend.  My kids had an especially good time on Sunday playing with what they informed me is their favorite toy, "dirt."  Here are some pics of their good "clean" fun.

On Monday we cleared about 1/6 of an acre that we hope will be our new garden next summer.  The trees we felled will become the borders of our garden beds, the larger limbs will become trellises, and the smaller twigs, leaves, etc will be composted.  The kids helped the entire time, mostly collecting the smaller items to be composted.  I think you will likely see more about it in the future.

September is National Sewing Month

It's time to break out the sewing machine and sew!

This year the theme of National Sewing Month is reuse, remake, restyle.  This theme is right up my alley!  I am looking forward to a month full of sewing.  I was already planning to sew Halloween Costumes and Christmas Presents, but now I have an excuse.

I thought I would kick off this month with a review of the Flower Girl Dress Pattern, from my latest favorite sewing book, "Weekend Sewing," by Heather Ross.

So far I have made a few item from this book, and every item involving a size has been a nightmare!  This dress was NOT an exception.  The pattern as sized in the book would never have fit my daughter.  I could not make the seam allowances small enough.  I had to size the pattern up, but once the top was large enough to fit over her head it seemed to large.  If I make this pattern again (which I might because my daughter loves the dress), I will either make the top smaller and install fasteners, or make the top smaller and out of a stretchy knit fabric.  On the other hand I made the dress for free by restyling fabric and using scraps.  The bottom of the dress was restyled from an old satin curtain, and the top was made from the scraps from a linen dress I made.

Note:  I am planning to continue posting on the knitting ABC's as well, but I have been having trouble finding information on Anna Zilboorg, the next A on my list.  If you have a source I would love to hear about it.

Thanks,

~gerwerken

A is for Angora

Three in a row that are all about fiber!  I know, I found it frustrating too.  That is just how things popped up in alphabetical order.  I promise the next 2 will not be fiber related.

On with the show:

Angora fiber comes from the Angora rabbit, a group of domestic rabbits bread for their long silky “wool.”  Angoras come in several arbitrarily defined breeds, based on their physical appearance.  The most common breeds in the US are the English, French, Giant, and Satin (the English – my favorite – are the smallest and look most like giant cotton balls).

Regardless of their breed, angoras produce a very fine, extremely light weight, and warm fiber.  In fact, Angora fiber is only 10 microns in diameter, far finer than even cashmere.  Like Alpaca, it is also 8 times warmer than sheep’s wool.  It will even keep you warm when saturated with twice as much water as sheep’s wool can hold.  As a result of its warmth and diameter, angora is often blended with other fibers like wool or silk to reduce the yarn’s density and increase its wear-ability.

Angora fiber can be harvested thru traditional shearing or clipping methods, but the fiber also sheds in tufts and can be painlessly plucked from the rabbit during grooming.  The best part is that the plucked fiber is also considered the highest grade. This fiber can then be spun directly off the rabbit, and washed after it is spun.

Angora yarn is known for being extremely fuzzy and somewhat delicate.  While this is often true, it is the result of using low quality, short fibers that have not been spun tightly enough.  Since angora has little crimp and the individual fibers are smooth, angora must be spun rather tightly to get a structurally sound yarn.  Correct twist, combined with higher quality, longer staple length fibers yield a strong, stable yarn.

I have been trying to find an excuse to get an English Angora for a while now, but using it’s fiber to enhance my stash is not a viable excuse so far.  Here in Florida it is simply too hot to wear more than about 5% Angora fiber on even the coldest days.  Even one bunny would produce more fiber than I need at my current knitting rate.  Maybe if we move farther north……

A is also for Alpaca.

Alpacas are South American domesticated herd animals that come from the same scientific family as camels.  They look a lot like llamas, but they are smaller, much friendlier, and most of them rarely spit on people.  Alpacas are also pretty easy on the land they graze, making them a pretty “green” fiber option.  They have been described as cuddly investments, but I think they are just cuddly.

Alpacas come in two varieties, Huacaya and Suri.  Huacaya are the far more common variety.  Their fiber tends to be shorter, and has much more crimp than that of the Suri.  The Suri has longer, silkier fiber with very little crimp.

Alpaca Fiber is the “wool” harvested from an alpaca; much like wool is harvested from sheep.  In fact, alpaca fiber is similar to sheep’s wool, but it is warmer, smoother, and lighter weight per unit of fiber than sheep’s wool.  Alpaca is also lanolin free, making it safe for those with lanolin allergies.  Good quality alpaca is fine and soft at only 18 to 25 micrometers in diameter (the finer the fiber the softer it generally feels, and alpaca is very fine).  Baby alpaca is particularly fine, as alpaca fibers get thicker as the animals age.

Alpaca fiber is as much as 7 times warmer than wool, drapes beautifully, takes dye very well, and is not prone to pilling.  On the other hand, it is more slippery and less flexible than wool, and stretches underweight.  Alpaca is also heavier than wool in heavier gauges because it has less crimp than wool and is more slippery than wool it has to be spun very densely.

What do I knit in alpaca?  Since I live in such a warm climate I knit only whisper fine lace in alpaca, as everything else is too warm.  If I could, I would beautifully fine draping sweaters and cardigans.  Alpaca is lovely.

Knitting ABCs: A is for Acrylic

I have been working on a project tutorial for you all, but it is taking me a while.  It has allowed me to do a bit of thinking however, and the current tutorial in the works inspired the Knitting ABCs.  Today.....

is for Acrylic

Acrylic yarn is a synthetic yarn made from a polymer of about 1900 monometer units. At least 85% of that polymer must be acrylonitnile monometer in the US to be called acrylic.  The yarn is made by dissolving the polymer, then extruding through a spinnerette, which spins what it extrudes.

Although acrylic yarn often resembles wool, it doesn’t need to be taken care of as carefully as wool.  Acrylic yarn is machine washable, and dryable on cool settings, and unlike wool, moths hate acrylic.  It is also much lighter weight than that other favorite machine washable, cotton.   It also tends to be inexpensive compared to natural fibers and other synthetics, and is safe for people with wool allergies.

Acrylic is very susceptible to heat however.  Steam blocking acrylic will “kill” it, getting rid of all of its bounce back.  That is not really a problem though, because acrylic doesn’t really block anyway.  It can also irritate sensitive skin, or in the case of really cheap, plastically acrylic, all skin.  Additionally, it is not as warm as wool or absorbent as cotton.

What would I make with acrylic?  Something I have to wash, a lot, and needs to be lighter, and cheap.  What do I make with acrylic?  Almost nothing.  Just about the only things I knit in acrylic are gifts that I would rather knit in wool, but I know the recipient would machine wash.

Do you have a suggestion for the Knitting ABCs?  Let me know by leaving me a comment.

My New Baby

Meet my new baby, Ronan.  He earned the name after falling at least 20 feet out of his nest, then being used as a chew toy by my SIL's dogs.  Miracously, Ronan survived visibly shaken, but with only minor injuries.  We have been nurseing him back to health since.

Since this picture was taken we contacted an expert in the squirrel rehab and found that bottles should not be used to feed baby squirrels, as they can asperate on the milk if it comes out too fast.

"Dirty" Pictures

My kids have a box that was made for our garden that is filled with clay .  They played in it while I planted the other boxes and eventually claimed it for their own.  A few weeks ago they were getting filthy playing in their box as I was tending to the garden - getting pretty dirty myself.  My daughter noticed that how messy I was getting and asked, "Mom, can I take dirty pictures of you?"

If only Bill Cosby still had that show about that stuff kid's say.

Missing Normal

Feeling normal is so easy to take for granted, until you no longer feel like yourself.  It has been several weeks since I have felt normal, and I have missed it dearly.  I have been extremely tired.  It has been difficult to work on anything for more than a few minutes at a time, and almost nothing has gotten done.  I am beginning to feel "normal" again, but it is slow goings.  I hope that I will be back to regular blogging before too long.

Grosgrain's Dress Giveaway

Grosgrain is having yet another giveaway, but this time they are giving away a gorgeous, adult sized dress by Shabby Apple.  Shabby Apple has cute, flattering dresses for women, and a guide to help you find the ones that will look best on you.  Even if you are not interested in the giveaway, you really should check Shabby Apple out.

Bizarre America

There are roadside attractions all over America, but they tend to be less common on the east coast coast, where we live.  When we happen to see a road side attraction it is hard not to stop and take in the oddity.  As we were driving home through Georgia last week we spotted this beauty and I couldn't resist. This is my husband explaining to the kids what the somewhat realistic udders were for.  I think they got it.

I'm still not sure if they were enjoying the giant cow, or the time out of the car :)

Still more odd, in my opinion, was a cactus that appeared to be growing wild on the side of the road.  I have never seen cactus growing un-sheltered anywhere nearly as wet as Georgia.  Perhaps it just looked like cactus?  I don't know, but it was pretty.

Sewing Maching Meme

Sew Mama Sew is having a Sewing Machine Month, kicking off with this meme.  I found this interesting, and thought you might too.  Here it goes;  

What brand and model do you have?  

I have a Singer Feather Weight 221

How long have you had it?

I have had my machine a bit more than 5 years.

How much does that machine cost (approximately)?

Feather Weights are antique machines, and the cost varies greatly based on the condition of the machine; however, you can generally find a machine in good working condition that doesn't look perfect for about $500 on e-bay.

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)?

I sew almost everything!  Clothing, home dec objects, and craft items come off my machine the most though.  I like to sew practical objects that are also pretty, and reuse or restyle fabric and trim as often as possible.

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?

I would say that my machine gets about 5 to 10 hours of sewing a week.  Sometimes that is very light work, stitching up kids clothes in quilt weight fabric, and sometimes it is much heavier work, like making bags in home dec weight fabric.

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?

Most of the time I think I take my machine for granted, because she simply works.  My machine is not fancy, and cannot do any of the cool things that the newer models do, but night and day, stitch after stitch she works without complaint.

What features does your machine have that work well for you?

My machine is a straight stitch only machine, so it doesn't really have much in the way of features; however, my machine has accessories that allow it to do many of the things the modern machines can do.  Many of these accessories are available on-line at really low prices.  So far my favorite accessory is my buttonhole attachment that was about $10 on eBay.

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?

My machine does not have a zigzag stitch and I wish it did, because it would be much easier to sew knits with a zigzag stitch.  So far I haven't been able to find an attachment that will make it zigzag either.

Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it!

My machine was given to me by my grandmother on the day of my wedding.  It had been her machine since the day of her wedding when it was given to her by her mother.  I hope to one day give this machine to my daughter or son on the day of their wedding continuing this tradition.

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?

I would definitely recommend this machine for anyone that is beginning to sew, or needs a good machine that doesn't cost  a lot.  Why?  Again, this machine is simple, and it simply works.

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?

After having a machine with a lot of cool features that completely died after about 1 year of use, that most important feature to look for in a machine for me is durability and serviceability.

Do you have a dream machine?

My dream machine, at the moment, the the Husqvarna Viking Scandinavia 300.  It is one of their lower end machines.  I am very impressed with Viking's continual commitment to strong durable machines.

 Do you sew?  What kind of machine do you use?  I would love to see your answers to these questions.  If you decide to do this meme, please let me know.

A Successful Adventure

This past weekend my family and I took advantage of the long weekend and drove up to the mountains for a short "adventure."  You may know these trips as vacations, but we feel that vacations are times spent in rest and relaxation.  If you have toddlers then you know the word "adventure" is far more appropriate. The trip still allowed me some knitting time though (yeah anti-nausea meds and knitting in the car).  I was able to finish a new slipper pattern that I plan on posting for FREE later this week, and I FINALLY FINISHED KNITTING HOLLY.  Okay, I still have to block and seam the Holly Cardigan, but the knitting is finished!

Pictures and Pattern will follow.

Restyled Pillow

My daughter loves the soft fuzzy feel of fleece, and was reluctant to give up her fleece footy pj's when they got too small and the temperature got too high.  When she wanted to wear the too small pj's on an 80 degree F night, I was only able to talk her out of it by promising to make her a pillow from the pj's. Here is what I did.

This is what the original PJ's looked like.

Step 1:  Cut off the Sleeves.

Step 2:  Sew a line of stitches perpendicular to the zipper just under where you cut the sleeves off.  Make sure the zipper pull is BELOW this stitch line.

Step 3:  Stitch another line perpendicular to the zipper just above the crotch.

Step 4:  Cut off the sleeve area above the stitch line, and the leg area below the stitch line.  Leave a seam allowance.  I left about 0.5 inch.

Now you have a pillow case.  You can stuff it, find an insert that fits, or use all of the leftovers that you cut off, sew them together into same dimensions as the case and stuff that.  I did the later, and ended up with a Frankenstein's monster esque pillow, that worked really well.

There was only a little bit of fabric leftover.  I cut these pieces into circles roughly 2 inches wide.  I pinched these circles at the middle, then sewed that pinch together.

I sewed these together at the base, then sewed them to the pillow.

Ta Da!

All Babies are Beautiful

 

Spring Cleaning

Simple Mom has been doing a series on Spring Cleaning, and I have been trying to keep up with her.  Here are a few of my before and afters; Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom Corner

Master Bedroom Desk

Side Table

Master Bedroom

If you have any desire to do some deep cleaning you should check out simple mom's program.

Beginning Spinning

2 ounces of Baby Merino Pencil Roving spun in singles.

I bought the roving last October at SAFF, and I finally got around to spinning it about a month ago.  I think I did pretty good.  The singles are similar in diameter, and while they are slightly over spun it should help the singles hold together if I decide to ply them.

I found the baby Merino soft and smooth, pulling apart easily unless tightly spun.  The put up in pencil roving made it ridiculously easy to draft.  The roving seemed to want to be lace weight, but I am still not a fast enough drafter to spin a thinner diameter.

I am currently spinning regular Merino in normal roving put up.  I am planning to ply this fiber and I hope to show pictures of my progress soon.

Little Pink Laptop

I would like to introduce you to my new laptop, or I should say netbook!  My birthday was about two weeks ago, but due to a variety of circumstances I only received my big present this past weekend.  It was worth the wait.  

This tiny powerhouse has more computing power than my last full sized laptop, and is my first brand new computer ever.

While I don't feel like my husband spoils me, I do feel well taken care of.  He saw my need, and fulfilled it.  Now I need to figure out how to buy him a new car :)

~Gerwerken

Happy Mother's Day

To all of the mothers, current, future, and former, as well as those caretakers that bear the burden and pleasure of motherhood but not it's name, Happy Mother's Day.

Here is an older picture of my little brood, displaying what is still typical behavior.  I hope everyone enjoys this special day.

P.S.  I am back.  Thanks to my wonderful husband, my computer troubles are over.  I can again upload pictures and blog till my heart's content.  I am also able to resume working on a big project that I hope to be able to tell you all about in the near future.

~Gerwerken

Assessing Progress on Earth Day

I hope you all had a wonderful Earth Day.  Mine was a bit discourageing. I would like to show you the "progress" being made in my neighborhood.  

This is what my neighborhood looks like.  Adjectives such as rural, and pastoral come to mind.  The houses are far apart on large lots.  Most of the neighbors have had horses in their yards at some point.

My neighborhood will not look like this much longer.  There is a development going in in the pastures that border the main road into my neighborhood.  Already there is a giant clay hole in my neighbor's front yard, and the sounds of heavy machinery disturbs out quite.

This is what progress looks like.

In other news, we got a copy of the home inspection done on the house we have been considering buying.  The inspection showed problems we did not anticipate, and would require expensive renovation.  On top of that, we found that the owners of the house have turned down several offers they considered too low.  This information leads us to believe that the house is not the one for us.

We will be looking at more house tommorrow, but this situation renewed our interest in prefabracated houses, like this one.  It amazes, and saddens me that buying a brand new house, and shipping it across country could be more economically viable than fixing an old one.  At least we could get a greener house this way.

P.S.  My computer is dying and uploading photos has become probablamatic.  I hope this problem will be remidied soon and I will be able to post more often.

This 71 year old house...

The house my husband and I looked at yesterday is 71 years old, and has had only one owner.  That's right, one owner in 71 years.  

After talking to the neighbors we found out that the previous owner had lived lived in the house til her death at 105 years old.  At that point the house passed to her children, who decided to sell it and split the proceeds between themselves.  

We found the house cute, and quaint.  It is small, but livable, and it has a charm that shines through the neglect.

I imagine that the house has changed very little since it was built.  While it has been updated here and there, much of it appears to be original.  For instance the light fixtures in the living room and dining room seem to date to the time when electric lighting was new.  The picture below shows a more dramatic example in the house's wood burning cook stove.

The biggest update needed is air conditioning!  Despite the fact that we live in hot humid Florida, a central air conditioning system was never installed in the house.  While it is possible to live in Florida without a/c, mold and mildew tend to be a problem (dew to high humidity) if the house is not constantly and forcefully ventilated.  

There are a few other issues to contend with, including tiny closets, a single dirty bathroom, and years of neglect.  A contractor friend will hopefully be able to stop by the house this week to find out just how much this updating will cost.  We may then make an offer on the house, taking the cost of the repairs into account.

We shall soon see.