Is it Time to Knit Yet?

Enviro Friday, on Thursday

Just for a quick update on what I did with my goals for this past week, I did good with some and not so good with others.  I've only had to wash my hair once this week, and I didn't even do any rinsing with the vinegar solution.  I think I need a haircut as my ends are kind of almost frizzy and dry, and it's been awhile since my last one ;)   

It took me a few days, but I did bust out the dish tubs and I even came up with a system to only use one tub, about halfway full!  I rinse the dishes that need it while I wait for the water to get hot and then I just pile all the dishes on the counter and wash each one with the tub filled up a bit with hot water and soap, then they go into the empty sink.  I turn on the cold water as little as I can to then rinse so that all the water goes into the tub.  By the time I'm done I've only filled the 12 quart tub about halfway, and I do this at most 3 times a day.  All the water has gone onto the outside flowers or shrubs, if it is still too hot I just leave it on the counter to cool down.  Pretty good system if I do say so myself! 

The mileage is bad.  I realized I had added in some mileage for Friday so I should have used less altogether by then.  But I am already over by 20 miles and that doesn't include anything for today which I may or may not need.  I took a few extra trips to the store over the weekend and that was part of my demise, but I think I didn't plan as well as I needed to so I'll do more fine-tuning this week. 

So here's the stuff for this coming week:

• This one is something that I already do, that might be TMI but I'm going for it anyway.  A couple of years ago I found the Diva Cup to replace my other 'sanitary' stuff for my period.  I love it and would never go back to that other stuff, ever.  I'm not creating more waste, and I'm saving money too.  It's a win/win/win!  Even though it may be hard to believe, I'm standing by my claim that it has also made my period shorter and easier to deal with.  I'll definitely take 2 days over 5-7.  Anyway, love the Diva Cup! 
• This one is something that I'm not really doing, it's The Boyfriend.  Tonight he is taking his first of three class sessions to get his motorcycle license.  He's on the fence right now as to whether he'll get a scooter or a motorbike, though the original plan was to get a very high mileage scooter.  We figure that he'll cut down a ton on emissions of course, and he'll save a lot of money on gas since he only drives his smallish Chevy truck to commute to work.  21 mpg versus 50+ mpg is a pretty easy decision, and some of those scooters are cheap!  I'll probably end up getting my motorcycle license as well but it doesn't make sense for me to get a scooter right now as much as I wish it did, so I'll just use his!  We'll update when he finally makes his mind up and gets his license.
• I'm copping out here and doing another mileage budget for this last one.  I'm just going to go with the 200 that I used this week and try to go under that.  I will say that I've been driving slower, in some cases like on the freeway a lot slower, and so far with my last fill up I'm doing a lot better on my mileage.  At 1/4 of a tank used I had already gone about 150 miles, that's good right?!  Anyway, hopefully I can get my mileage down this week, or at least not go over the 200. 

That's it for me, have a great holiday!

Spinning: Somethings Old

Over this past weekend I finally got back into spinning again.  I finished a yarn and started a new one.  The one I finished is some South African fine that I dyed myself.  I didn't quite get the look I was going for, I needed more white spots in it, but I do like it just fine as it is.  This fiber qualified as Something Old since it had been in the stash for at least a year.  It ended up being about 180 yards of a worsted weight yarn.  It dried amazingly quick yesterday, I guess because it was freaking hot here, at least 100 degrees.

I quickly decided to pick something else out to start on the wheel, also Something Old.  This one I picked up when we went to the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival 2 years ago.  It is 6 ounces of 70/30 Grey Colonial/Tussah Silk in the Painted Desert colorway from Great Balls of Fiber by Sarah Anderson in Snohomish WA.  That was a mouthful!  I love the colors and it is so easy to spin, I just hope I'm able to do it justice.  The aim is a 3-ply yarn for somthing nice that I haven't decided on yet.  With 6 ounces though it should be plenty enough to do whatever I want with it, you know, on a small scale.  Anyway, that's what's going on here in the spinning department.  At the rate I'm going with my 10+ minutes a day I should be done with this new yarn fairly quick. 

P.S. For a quick note that has nothing really to do with spinning, we all went to see Wall-E (The Baby's first movie in an actual theater and she did really good!) and loved it.  It was probably one of the best movies I've ever seen.  Just go see it, I think you'll love it too! 

This Just In!

I have been asking here and there if she wanted to learn how to knit, trying not to push it, and today she finally said yes.  The Baby wanted to knit!!  Now I know this will be tough going just for the fact that she is a little kid.  It will be even tougher as my girl is a lefty and I'm a righty.  I just sat her on my lap and held the needles with her and did it how I myself do it.  Before we knew it she was pulling loops through and off the needles without much help.  Yes, we have only done three rows but she said she had fun, wants to try again later, and also wants to show Daddy what she learned so I think we might just be onto something!  I'll keep you updated on The Baby's knitting - she should be a natural don't you think? ;)

Showing off Scarves

I finished knitting a scarf yesterday, and also had a couple more handspun scarves that have been done for a few weeks now and I just never got around to taking pictures.  So you get a hurried set of pics from this morning so that I could at least write a post today.  Here's the stats:

• Pattern - Multidirectional Scarf by Karen Baumer
• Yarn - Handspun singles using merino roving from Spunky Eclectic in the Ravelry colorway
• Needles - US Size 5
• Knitting time - Feb. 26th to June 29th
• Comments - This is an easy pattern and I love how the personality it gave to this yarn.  The scarf is super soft but pretty short, maybe 4 feet or so long - perfect for The Baby!

• Simple sideways knit garter stitch scarf
• Yarns - Handspun bulky 2-ply with coils and granny stacks, also used thick and thin singles in the same colors
• Needles - US Size 11
• Knitting Time - 1 day
• Comments - This scarf is the longest I've ever made, it is about 10 feet long!  I love how it turned out, even though I wish you could see the coils and granny stacks a little more.  I feel like they get kind of lost in the scarf.  It is super cool regardless!

• Simple sideways knit garter stitch scarf
• Yarns - Cascade eco wool and handspun superwash singles with super slubs
• Needles - US Size 10
• Knitting Time - 1 day
• Comments - I wasn't so sure that I could make anything nice out of this yarn but I think this turned out pretty good.  I like the contrast of the light and dark yarns, and the slubs are really cool. 

Enough scarves?!  Even though I have a large-ish bin full of scarves and shawls I don't have any reason to stop knitting them right?  I even have another one on the needles right now.  I've also finished a new yarn and started spinning another, I'll show you those in the next post.  Have a great day!

Like Poppers?

Like Jalapeno poppers?  I do.  Or I used to.  Until I whipped up a new substitute tonight!  We had tostadas for dinner and got some big jalapenos to stuff with cheese and roast to go along with it.  Well I wanted to jazz it up a little more than I normally do and I think we found a winner.  I thought I'd share the 'recipe' in case anyone is interested.  I say 'recipe' because I rarely measure anything, unless I am actually using a recipe - so this is all just based on my guesstimations of how much stuff I used.  Play around with it if you need to!

Stuffed Jalapenos

About 1 1/2 teaspoons canola or olive oil, and extra for roasting the jalapenos
4 large jalapenos or maybe a few extra if you are using smaller ones
About 3 tablespoons minced onions, I use red
3 small cloves of garlic minced, less or more to taste - I like more
About 1/4 - 1/2 cup cotija cheese - you should be able to find this on the Latin Foods aisle of your grocery store
About 1/4 cup reduced fat cream cheese, or full fat if you prefer
Salt* and pepper to taste - not too much salt!  The cotija cheese is fairly salty to begin with

*I used some Alderwood smoked salt, 2 nice pinches.  Regular salt will also work but I think the smoked salt added a nice touch. 

Heat your oven to broil.  Slice the jalapenos in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and membrane, or leave them the membrane if you like the extra heat.  Place cut side down on a non-stick pan or a pan lined with foil, drizzle a bit of oil on each pepper and roast until the skin starts to bubble and brown.  Meanwhile, heat the rest of the oil in a small pan over medium heat and saute the onions for about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 15-30 seconds until fragrant.  Put onion mix in a small bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients and stir together.  Turn the jalapenos over and spread the cheese mixture evenly between all of the peppers, return to the broiler for another 5 minutes or so, or until it looks browned enough for your taste.  Take them out and enjoy!

I really liked these because they are not just the regular boring popper you can get as an appetizer at a chain restaurant or in the grocery freezer.  The onions and cotija add extra texture and roasting the peppers adds a ton of flavor.  Now that I think about it they might even be better with a bit of cilantro added to the cheese mixture, I love cilantro.  Anyway, I'll definitely be doing these again! 

Environmental Friday, with Garden Pics

So in watching the new channel Planet Green I've decided I need to try and be more conscious about my impact on the Earth and be more environmentally friendly.  I've been slacking in that department, bad Lauren!  So about the PG channel, it definitely is a mixed bag.  Some shows are crap and some I really like and think are very helpful and entertaining, like Living with Ed and Renovation Nation to name a couple.  While there don't seem to be many solutions for revamping your lifestyle if you happen to be poor like me, I do like hearing about what other people are doing and all of the options that are out there, like recycled carpet and cork flooring (I wants the cork flooring!!)  Anyway.  I've decided that to motivate me more and kind of hold my feet to the fire I'll reserve Fridays for talking about what I'm doing or thinking about the environment.  So here's what I've got for this week:

• No 'poo'.  *This might be boring so skim through or skip ahead if you want!*  I had heard about doing the no 'poo' shampoo thing before but for some reason it stuck with me when Nichole decided to do it and let us know about her experience with it.  So instead of saying I'm not washing my hair, right now I'm de-toxing my hair since last weekend.  I have been using a baking soda/water mix for washing, like every other day or two days between washings, and a cider vinegar/water rinse.  The cider vinegar is for moisture and I've been doing it with every washing.  I'm thinking I need to get a comb for the shower to make sure the wash gets all through my hair - I combed it through with my fingers last time and it seemed like it did a way better job.  Boring enough?  Anyway, I feel good about not using as much packaging as I would to buy shampoo and conditioner, and I'm not putting unnecessary crap down the drain either.  My hair isn't doing too badly, besides being a little flat it isn't super greasy like I thought it might get and I think I can really do this for the long term.
• Today I'm reclaiming my plastic dish tubs for use in my sinks.  They were off doing other things like holding rags and dye supplies, or even just sitting there doing nothing, no more!  I have the feeling my water usage is going up, like a lot, so the least I can do is use the tubs to catch my dishwater and then use it on my plants outside.  They don't mind a little extra junk in the water and I can feel good about not wasting as much.
• I'm making a car mileage budget.  I've planned out what trips I should need for the upcoming week and I'm going to do my best to not go over it.  We should be okay if we really plan the shopping and just fight the urge to just get out and go somewhere.  I have a bike and feet that work, so if I just need to get out I have ways to do it other than driving!!  My mileage allowance this week will be a bit high to allow for a trip to Tooele for the 4th of July 'festivities' with some family.  What I've planned for is 180 miles - yikes!  The next week will be a lot better since I'm sure I can cut out at least 60 miles.  Maybe we should find someone to carpool with!

Since I promised garden pics I'm adding them, even though this post is way too long already.  Our garden is kind of skimpy compared to previous years.  We are attributing this to the lack of soil prep last fall, and that we didn't want to overcrowd the garden this year.  We lost a few plantings too and we might lose a few more here.  The corn is doing fantastic though!  We got a wheelbarrow full of home grown compost this year and put it in with the corn so that's probably a big help.  We did some raised beds and planted herbs, there are two more besides the one shown.  There's the obligatory zucchini shot, in back of it is an artichoke plant we did for fun.  I've never even eaten a whole artichoke, just the canned hearts so it should be interesting if we get one. 

Here's a preview of the next big project for outside - can you guess what we're doing?!  And yes, I know bamboo isn't completely sustainable and I caused a big footprint since it most likely came from China, but it is strong and will last a long time and is easy to grow so that sort of makes it okay.  That's all I've got, have a great weekend!  I'm hoping to finally get over the stupid cold I've had all week that has prevented me from doing any work and anything fun (that's why there are so many weeds in the garden!).  I have been able to knit though, and I should have some stuff to show you soon :)

Hush Hush Handspun Hootenanny Swap Questionnaire

1.  How long have you been spinning?  What skill level do you consider yourself?  I have been spinning for about 2 years.  I'm not a beginner or an expert, so I guess I'm in between!

2.  What kinds of yarn do you create (singles/2-ply/3-ply/art yarn)?  I have done all of those.  My favorite is 3-ply, but I like a good single too!  I have just started attempting novelty/art yarn.

3.  What do you spin with (spindle/wheel/both)? I mostly spin on my wheel, but I'm making an effort to keep my spindles from being neglected with a little spinning on them here and there.

4.  What are your favorite fibers to spin with?  Anything you don't like? My favorite to spin is Blue Face Leicester.  I haven't really come across anything I can say I really didn't like.

5.  Who are your favorite crack dealers fiber sources (etsy or otherwise)? Who doesn't love Spunky Eclectic?!  I'd love to get my hands on some Hello Yarn hand dyed fiber, but haven't made the score yet!

6.  What kind of fiber do you want to try? I'd like to try some of the CVM that I recently heard of, or some bamboo.

7.  Is there any techniques you would like to learn? I want to learn how to do a cabled yarn, and also more art yarns.  I always want to spin lace weight and have tried quite a few times but have never quite gotten a true lace weight.

8.  Do you dye fiber? If not, would you like to learn? I have dabbled in dyeing fiber and do enjoy it.

9.  Do you have fiber prep tools (and like to use them) or would you prefer ready to spin fiber? I have no prep tools and would definitely want ready to spin fiber.

10.  What do you do with your handspun?  What projects have you completed? It depends.  Sometimes it sits.  Sometimes it sits and waits for the right project.  Sometimes I cast on as soon as it is done drying!  Sometimes I spin with a project in mind.  My favoritest handspun items I've made include my Seraphim shawl, Energized Socks, Darling Coat, Sheep to Shoe Socks, and my Show Your Colors shawl.   

11.  Are you in need of any spinning gadgets (WPI Gauge, threading hook, etc)? A girl could always use a fancy threading hook ;)  A WPI tool that isn't a spinniner's control card would be cool too.

12.  What colors "fall into your shopping basket"? Any colors you just can't stand? I always gravitate to blues, purples, and reds.  I really don't have any aversions to any colors, and I do try to get things that aren't the regulars.

13.  What is on your wheel/spindle right now? On the spindle is some purple stuff that I think is Targhee - it's been so long since I started it I have no clue!  On the wheel is some blue and black self-dyed South African Fine.

14.  What other crafts/hobbies do you have? I knit, have a triangle loom that I use sometimes, and occasionally attempt crochet.  When it is garden season I like to work in the yard and garden.

15.  Other than crafts, what are you passionate about? I love music.  I used to play cello and piano, so I love classical music too.  I could just sit and listen to music all day.

16.  Do you have an online wishlist? No.

17.  Is there anything that you collect? Yarn and fiber!  Books too.

18. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What magazine subscriptions do you have? I subscribe to Interweave Knits and Spin Off.  There aren't any books I'm dying to have, but A Fine Fleece looks kind of good, also the Book of Yarn.

19.  When is your birthday? January.

20.  What book or movie character do you most resemble in personality?  I have no idea! 

21.  What is the climate like where you live around this time (need to know for careful shipments of anything meltable)? I'm in Utah where it is HOT.  Meltable would not survive - lol.

22.  Tell us one weird fact about yourself! I have a bit of OCD.  My weird things I do include counting syllables of words/sentences, tapping my fingers on whatever is close until I've done it 5 times and return to starting position - lol.  If I'm knitting with dpns I have to tap the just freed needle on myself, usually my leg or belly before I resume knitting.  Okay, that one just sounds really weird when I type it out!

Favorites
favorite painting/picture(link): Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh

Candy: Anything with dark chocolate, or just plain dark chocolate

Food: Pizza

Drink: Beer - good beer, either hoppy or dark

Movie(s): Head of State - I have never laughed so hard and I love Chris Rock!  Superbad was pretty hilarious too.  I'm also finding myself drawn to any movie with Steve Carell in it, he's one funny guy too.

TV Show(s): I love Six Feet Under, and I'm incredibly sad that it ended :(  I pretty much love all the HBO series.  Can't forget Real Time with Bill Maher either!

Book(s): Last year I read Kahled Hosseini's The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.  By far my favorite books as of now.

Guilty Pleasure(s): Sitting ignoring all chores doing something fibery.  Really.