Thursday, April 03, 2008

Finished: Anntrelac socks

I like to call these strawberry shortcake socks:
I think she would have worn them. How about you? (I realize how much of a dork child of the 80's this makes me. And yes, I watched the program.)These are the first socks that I finished for myself since Maimuţă, and those were done when I was still a single lady. I'm going to wear my Shortcake socks today when I go to Georgetown to visit the mikveh.

In other news, I'm going to be visiting Chicago this weekend, and staying until next Thursday. Being here only with the kitties is boring me, and Tzurriz has once again swooped to the rescue. So I'll make it to both of my knitting groups, I think. And I will bring yarn.

The Amazing E seems to be fine. His training is going well, and he's pretty excited about all of it. His graduation is next Friday, and then he's allowed to come home the next day. Of course, he arranged another business trip to begin the day after he's home from training. I can't express to you how I feel about THAT!

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Cherry Blossom Festival

Before he left for training, E and I went downtown to celebrate spring at the National Cherry Blossom Festival. This is truly awesome. The whole tidal basin is rimmed now with trees heavy with pink flowers.Of course, we took the opportunity for some product placement shots. This is the Cheery Blossom colorway, which is my best seller so far.

Deployment

Did you know that the Amazing E is in the military? I think I mentioned it some time ago. He joined the Commissioned Corp of the Public Health Service shortly before we were married. This is the branch of the service under the Surgeon General. It's very small, about 6,000 members made up of specially trained medical related professionals. E is a biomedical engineer, and today he left on his first deployment. It's only for some of this special training. He's not going to Iraq or anything. In fact, it's really unlikely that he ever will. His branch of the service has not been sent into a war since Korea. He'll be back in a couple of weeks.

In the mean time, I will be visiting Chicago next week. I will bring yarn.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Gro--oss

The good news is that Duncan is still alive and mostly doing okay. He's got problems with peeing that cause him pain and other difficulties. It was these problems that gave us the close call last month. In spite of his problems, my husband loves this little cat. I think he's very sweet, too.

But he has to get a pill every day, and he's not a good patient. Tonight I'm fed up (not that I'm going to stop with the pill giving.) Each night, I have to give this cat a pill. And each night my arms are scratched and fingers bitten. All to have the cat purposely try to get the pill up from his throat by foaming at the mouth after I give it to him through locked jaws. I think at least half of nights he ends up getting it up. Sometimes I find it and give it to him again, but then there is tonight.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

I want to show you something cool

The pink dye used in Rock Creek Yarn's Cherry Blossom Colorway glows under blacklight. You can see the strands with heavier dye application standing out is brightly pink. They told me it was UV reactive when I bought it, but this is pretty cool.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Branching Out Finished

There was no chance that I wouldn't cast this yarn on right away. Its the Artfiber Kyoto that E got for me in San Francisco. It's beautiful. One strand of shiny blue silk with a violet strand of mohair plied on.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Friday, March 21, 2008

Opening Sunday

The Rock Creek Yarn online store will be opening sometime on Sunday, March 23. Just in time for the Cherry Blossom Festival here in DC. An announcement will go up here

Here's a sneak peek at the initial offerings, re-skeined and fresh from the dyepot. These are all 100% Superwash merino sock yarn. I'm working on adding other yarns and at least two more colorways in short order.

This is Cherry Blossom.
Green Sand Beach.

Trevi.
Bird of Paradise.
Finally, Cartouche.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

I've been waiting for a sunny day

To take pictures in some artistic way. But this is March in Maryland, so it's not to be. These are several skeins of Rock Creek Yarn.
These are just a few. More yarn is "drying" on the porch, but since it's raining, mostly they are just hanging there being damp. The yarn will be available on the website pretty soon. In need to get some artistic pictures.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Glamour Shot

I wanted to show you some of the first product of the new yarn store. This is a set of stitch markers I made yesterday. They'll be for sale soon. The store opening has been delayed for a little while because my most of yarn got stuck in customs. I understand that it should be on its way this week, and then I can get cooking.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

The Black Hole

There is a particular "town" near to where we live that seems to be a black hole. It is unplottable. Time and space do not exist there. All roads lead there, but none seem to go anywhere once they come within its boarders. Traffic does not move. Every time I am driving in Maryland and get lost, I see a sign that say "Welcome to..." this town. The laws of the universe do not apply there. Not even the laws of knitting.

I ventured into this "town" just now to go to a LYS. Google says it's the closest one to where I live in Silver Spring. It's about 3 miles away, but somehow this trip took almost 2 hours. Strange. I did find the store and went in looking for the simplest thing. A ball winder. I looked around, and that's when everything got kind of strange. I walked around the store, and it appeared to be filled with yarn. However, I'll be damned if anyone could actually find yarn there to buy. There are caverns and caves of skeins everywhere. But finding a yarn you want? Forget it. After walking around and around the store, I finally came back to the front of the store. There, over the door, was a shelf labeled "ball winder." But there was no ball winder on that shelf. So I left.

I left that yarn store with no yarn. I told you about the laws of nature and that town...

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Online knitting stuff fascinates me

I've become fixated on all things knitting online. Just ask my husband. I use up precious hours he when he could be on this computer playing Kill the Creepy Aliens from Planet Doom! instead playing with this blog, looking at the yarns of hand dyers and spinners, doing stuff for my upcoming website, and then there's Ravelry....

One of the things that fascinates me most is how people get to this blog. In case you don't look at what cookies you're accepting, I have SiteMeter on this blog. From this I get information about how often people visit, and how they get here. Don't worry, I don't actually know who anyone is or much about you except that you've visited my blog. Most websites these days do have service like this. I don't really use it for anything but entertainment, but it sure is entertaining to me. I hope this doesn't creep you out too much. Maybe you can learn something about what the websites you visit learn about you.

For example, I know that I get about 30 hits a day. Give or take. I know that most of my hits are still from the Chicago area so my knitting buddies there are still reading. (I get a certain warm and fuzzy feeling that I'm not forgotten.) I know that people in the cities where all four of my sisters live are reading this blog. Most recently, I'm getting hits generated from Ravelry. I find it all very cool.

Aside from people I know tere are a significant number of people who stumble on this blog every day through Google. Those are the visits that really crack me up. Sitemeter tells me what keyword they used in their searches. For example, last month people came looking for the following information:

About 30 people visited looking for my sister Peggy Gentleman
About 10 came looking for information about Mass Ave Knitting shop in Indianapolis
3 people wanted to know something about throwing haggis
3 people wanted to know how to make hobbit feet
One person searched here for information on shatnez socks

The list is not exhaustive, but you get the picture.

On another note, did you know that the Spring Knitty came out today. Tzurriz IM'ed me rather excitedly to give me the news. Go look. I'll wait.... This is a great issue. Several very cool sock and sweater patterns. Actually, the sock patterns look really cool. For example, linen stitch on the sole of a foot? Cool. And how about Posey. Really. Take a look there. I can't wait to make that sock in my very own colorways.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Trouble

Apparently I misjudged just how much of a wild animal Scott TC might be. I mean, he's a wimp. Never been outside, never hunted a real bird or mouse. (Although he did get several cicadas last year.) That being said, however, Scott TC recognized that a natural prey for pampered kitties such as himself is apparently hand knitted alpaca bunnies. Last night he was caught dragging the bunny into the living room by its newly dislocated, indeed nearly severed arm.The bunny's new home will be in my bedroom. Scott TC is not allowed in there, so the bunny is resting comfortably. I hope my husband does not object. Reattachment surgery is scheduled for later today.

I am displeased to report other knitting trouble. Remember the blue Green Tea Raglan that has been a UFO for way too long? Well, there's a reason for the procrastination. I've known for some time that I would run out of yarn before the knit was done. My anxiety over this has led to me ignoring its existence for months at a time. Being tired of pitying the fate of this project, in the last week I've picked it up again to see just how short of yarn I'd be. Yeah, I'm nearly done with the yarn and have half a sleeve left. I bought this yarn over a year ago in a LYS going out of business sale. It's already been one other frogged project, so I hate to frog it again because I really like the yarn. It's Classic Elite Bam Boo. I guess I can go and look for the yarn in local yarn stores here and hope I get a similar enough dye lot.

Cross your fingers for these knits. I know I am.

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Whoa. I love the bunny.

When E left for San Francisco this weekend, I decided that I needed a cuddley thing. My copy of Last Minute Knitted Gifts has the Lovable Toy pictured below as a six to eight hour project. I was hoping to have a friend by sometime on Sunday evening. So I whipped out the two balls of Plymouth Alpaca Brush I had left from my sister Eileen's holiday gift and got to work. On Wednesday evening my friend was finally complete. Way too cute.


The Amazing E got home at about 3am this morning, and he came bearing gifts. I wasn't expecting anything, and really was only hoping for him to be home safe. I've discovered that business trips suck, especially when you are newly married. Anyway, the gifts were were very nice surprises. He knows me so well. The first thing is a bar of gardenia magnolia soap from a store called Fresh. I've never seen this stuff before, but it smells very nice. I'll break it out tomorrow night for Shabbat. Next was a box of fancy Maya inspired chocolates from Moonstruck Chocolatier. We tried one, and Holy Cow! Saving the rest for tomorrow night as well. Lastly, E in his Amazingness went to a yarn store called Artfibers in San Francisco and got me this cone of silk/mohair fanciness. I feel like I should drop everything and cast it on right away. But what to make?

Anyway. I'm glad to have him home.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

No longer an Illinoisan

Nope.

The Amazing E has been out of town for the last five days for work related things. Never fear, this is not military duty. He's at some medical conference in San Francisco. And guess what? My beautiful sister Eileen is in from London at the same conference. I hear they're hanging out. Cool.

I am here holding down the fort.

Lately I've been pretty out of sorts feeling like I'm not quite transitioned here or have a life of my own. It's been kinda hard, you know? But I'm not here to bitch about that. The Parents E came up to stay with me and keep me distracted during my alone time. And it's been pretty good.

First of all, Duncan is eating solid food again. This is very important. I don't know that it means that he's really going to recover over the long term. But it does mean that he's feeling better for now. The poor little guy has really been feeling crappy. I was actually afraid of losing him while E was gone.

I've also been working on my yarn shop. I have my yarns. I have my dyes. I'm getting to work. The store will be carrying three types of hand dyed yarn straight away. Additionally, I think you'll see fancy schmancy hand made stitch markers. After a little while, I should also be carrying some knitting needles and other things. I'll have both a website and an Esty store to start with. Look for the grand opening announcement here in about two weeks!

And! And! And! As of today I am no longer an Illinoisan. This morning I have up my Illinois plates on the truckster in favor of Maryland plates. And this afternoon...wait for it...my condo sold. I guess I'm really making the transition now.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Yarn spoiler!


Some of the yarn for the store arrived today. I have to dye it, of course. More will be coming next week. These are a lace weight 100% Superfine Alpaca. The other is a 80% superwash wool / 20% bamboo sock yarn. Very nice. Very shiny.

First the good news.

The good news is that my first shipment of base yarns for the store is one the way and that the sleeves of my Oriel Lace Blouse are done. I'm actually pretty happy about those things. Oh, and I got some antibiotics to make sure that the tick didn't give me any diseases.

However, I haven't been posting because I've been distracted by some pretty crumby news. It's pretty clear that we're going to lose Duncan. He's got kidney issues, and is not recovering despite medications. The poor little guy is not too bad yet, but this sucks.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Tick, tick

There's nothing like waking up to a beautiful morning, kissing your husband as he leaves for work, getting in the shower and...

Finding a deer tick in your armpit while shaving. Man, that sucker holding on tight. I couldn't even figure out what it was until I pulled it off and took a good look. A good look that was followed by a shrieking, hand flapping dance in the shower.

E and I went for a walk in the woods yesterday to see the maple tree tapping at the local maple syrup festival. I'm sure it got on me then. I'm just really grossed out that it was on me for almost 24 hours without me noticing. Deer ticks are the ones that spread Lyme disease. Fortunately I have a doctor appointment in a couple of days, and I'll ask her for a dose of antibiotic to prevent getting sick.

Time keeps ticking away on these Oriel Lace Blouse sleeves. I picked them up not long ago, and have a mission to get as much done on this mournfully long lived UFO before my energy for it runs out. I'd at least like to finish the sleeves. They're almost done. I started shaping the sleeve caps tonight.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Pink

Yesterday I got out of my cell phone contract with Verizon. It can be done legitimately and without penalty, but you have to be a serious badass to get away with it. The process made me pretty nervous. They don't like letting people get out of their contracts, even if they are the ones who breached it. Cell phone companies violate the contracts of their customers on a fairly regular basis, and if they do it you're entitled to get your contract canceled. But be prepared for them to be mean, to have your intelligence insulted, and to have to gripe to at least four people for an hour. Oh, and be prepared to have your phone turned off immediately upon hanging up with them. That's what happened to me yesterday, if anyone has been trying to call.

At any rate, it did turn out for the best. E and I had both been paying for separate phone lines at a great waste of money. We'd been plotting the cancellation of my contract for several days, gathering ammunition for how to have the contract on grounds of the lasted breach and researching what new and exciting phone I'd get.

Well, E researched the phone. My main criteria for a cell phone are being able to see it when I don't have glasses on, being able to send and receive calls, and a general quality of uncrappiness. Just try going to the cell phone store and asking for that!

E picked the Sony Ericsson Walkman phone for me. In his opinion, this is an uncrappy phone that sends and receives calls. And get this, it plays FM radio! I also believe that I will be able both to see it from across a room and at the bottom of my purse. This contraption is pink and possesses all manner of flashing muti-colored lights so I can see it without glasses, tinkly and sonorous noises, and vibration alerts for my pleasure. It even does several fancy tricks. Look here. There is a movie playing on its tiny screen.
There are two other features that are the best things about this phone. First, it comes with 24/7 Amazing E support. My husband apparently LOVES optimizing electronic devices. According to him, he lives for it. He's already downloaded some fancy softwares to it and placed this movie and my favorite music album on it (BTW, that would be Van Morrison's Astral Weeks). I had no idea you could download cell phone software. The second feature is that it matches my Oriel lace blouse.

Speaking of that blouse, I know I promised pictures. How about tomorrow? I should have those sleeves done.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Triumph!

I'm here finishing my Shabbat preparations, and I got a phone call. I've been fighting with my phone company for the last two days to get out of my contract without paying the $175 early termination fee. They had changed a rate on my service recently, making me eligible to cancel. Now E and I can combine our cell phones and save money.

Tonight is seafood chowder. It's a fairly Irish dish, and I might share the recipe with you tomorrow. At that time I will also show you the sleeves of the Oriel Lace blouse.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Sick kitty


We've been tied up with dealing with a sick kitty the last few days. Everyone knows Scott TC. Well, he has a shier brother called Duncan. Duncan's occasionally made an appearance on here. Several days ago, Duncan stopped eating and drinking inexplicably. He's known to react badly to stress, and tends to get stress induced health problems. This may be the case here. He's been to the vet and is getting pills to stimulate his appetite. He seems to be returning to normal now, but the little guy had us worried for a while.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Surprise!

Last night, the Amazing E brought home a surprise. It's two hands of Koigu. Please forgive Scot TC's need to jump up and fondle it. Yessss, my Precccciousssss. It's Koigu. And it's a great color (as if there's a bad Koigu color). It's very good for all-wearing all-weather socks. It was gotten from the LYS. On the Harlot's advice, I will not divulge my sources yet, as I understand that a KOIGU shipment is due any day, and I need to do some reconnaissance before reporting. You know?

My husband has not given yarn as a gift before, but I know that he's been reading the Yarn Harlot book I left in the John. He talks about it in the morning, if you know what I mean. Anyway, his first gift was the Koigu. Ohhhhh.

I needed it, too. More than flowers. That last couple of weeks have been hard, and you've noticed here on the blog. After all the moving and stuff, I've been very blown out, and my best friends and new family have been calling to check on me. Thanks to the Sarah, Tzurriz, and Parents E. Your support has been wonderful.

Oh, and most profound thanks to the Amazing E.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Grr!

Freaks! Freakin freaks! You know, we're not here for a week, and someone stole the mezzuzah off our front door.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Pictures!

We found the cable for the camera. It was in with the kitchen implements, of course. This is the Quant I knit in no time at all. I can't find the yarn label, but it is a self striping wool purchased at Wool Winders in Rockville, MD. I did make a change to the pattern. I had to. The end was stupid. It had you doing something so the end didn't match the beginning. It had base triangles at the startng end, but on the finishing end it had the squares being knitted together into one triangle or something. Instead, I did the finishing triangles as found in the Anntrelac pattern from the Holiday issue of Interweave Knits. This picture shows the colors better. I'll be getting a little light box when I start up the store, so hopefully the quality of my photos is destined to improve.Oh, and look below for spectacular sushi pictures.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Report

Hmm.

This week has been productive.

1. I knitted a whole Quant. We still haven't any idea where the cable for the camera is, so you can't see it yet.

2. We are almost unpacked. I'm not living out of boxes anymore, and soon we might find all them missing stuff. And I might regain my sanity.

3. The Amazing E did come through last night on a good dinner at a local Cuban place. No Koigu, though.

4. In some fury of knitting energy, I picked back up the Oriel Lace Blouse. Oh my.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day

Hey. I got out from under the boxes and found that my husband remembered Valentine's Day. Seriously, we're almost unpacked. I expect that tomorrow things will be all nice an settled. And I may find some important things that got lost in the move.

E woke up this morning and immediately produced a card from the nightstand drawer. He also told me "not to make plans" for tonight. Not that he has any specific plans that he'll tell me about. This is our first Valentine's Day together, and so far he's exceeding my expectations, and really I don't have great expectations for this day. Just for him to make an effort. I am exited to know what he's up to. I don't expect flowers; he knows I don't like cut flowers. Do you think a Koigu bouquet is too much to hope for?

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

More Valentine's day recipes: Creative use of chocolate

E thinks I should bottle my mole sauce. Instead, I will share with you the recipe for chicken enchiladas with mole. This serves two with leftovers

You'll need:

2 cooked and shredded chicken breasts
Corn tortillas
Olive oil for frying
1 large can of diced tomatoes with juices
One or two fresh jalapeño peppers seeded, cored, and chopped fine
1 small onion
2 or 3 cloves of garlic to taste
1/4 cup raisins
2 tbs. natural cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
A dash of sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

For an extra tasty non-kosher treat, add sour cream and some mild and melty Mexican cheese to this.

Soak the raisins in warm water for about 20 minutes and then drain.

Chop the onion into chunks. Place raisins, garlic, about 1/2 of the total jalepeno pepper, and the onion into the bowl of a large food processor. Process until fine. Add salt, pepper, and the tomatoes with juice. Process until only slightly chunky.

Mix the cocoa, allspice, cinnamon, chili powder, and cumin together in a small bowl. Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Do not let the oil get too hot; i.e. don't let it smoke or even shimmer. You just want it hot enough to release the oils in the spices. Add the spices and cocoa, stir them in the oil to form a paste, and let them heat for a moment until they are fragrant. If they smell burnt, you're sunk. This is a delicate process.

Before the spices burn, add the mixture from the food processor. Stir to incorporate all the ingredients. Bring to a simmer while stirring. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let it simmer gently for about 20 minutes. While waiting, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Stir the sauce occasionally.

Again, do not let this dish even worry that it's going to get burned. One time I burned this recipe, and the Amazing E told me that it tasted like he threw up in his mouth. When prepared properly, he floats away to nirvana.

Once the sauce is done, take it off the heat and prepare the enchiladas. Stir in the rest of the jalapeño.

Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the chicken.

The tortillas need to be cooked a bit. Either steam them a little or brush them each with oil and fry for a moment in a skillet until them puff.

Make the enchiladas. Pour about a cup of the sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 9 inch baking pan and use a spoon to spread it over the bottom of the pan. Place one tortilla on your work surface. If you're using sour cream, smear a little on the tortilla. Spread about 1/2 cup of the chicken on the half of tortilla closest to you and roll it up. Place the rolled up enchilada in the pan with the edge of the tortilla facing down. Repeat until the pan is full or you run out of chicken.

Pour the rest of the sauce evenly over the enchiladas. Top with the shredded cheese if you're using it. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the enchiladas with a big spatula and serve.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Just in time for Valentine's Day: Sushi Demystified

Edit: Photos added! Please note that any pictures that include my hands are not to normal scale. I share the same affliction as the man in the Burger King ad.

I haven't gotten anything set up so you can access my recipes yet, but I'm going ahead with this one anyway.

Sushi is really not that hard. And it can be very creative. You can make it with very few specialty ingredients and equipment. The hardest thing to get is fresh raw fish, but if you aren't concerned with shellfish, you can get away with a number of cooked replacements.

As for the fish. I am lucky enough to live very close to a market that sells very fresh fish. If you're going to make raw sushi, get some very (I mean smell it before you buy it) fresh fish. Salmon and tuna are great choices. If not, and you can eat shellfish, do it with cooked shrimp or even smoked salmon. Fake crab meat or any other cooked shellfish would also do.

The other special ingredients you need include sushi or pearl rice, seaweed sheets (nori), rice wine vinegar (or prepared sushi vinegar), and wasabi. All of these ingredients can be had an Asian grocers. I've also seen them at other places, but maybe not all together. Please note: We do not keep strictly kosher. That is, I look at ingredients rather than a kosher seal. It may be impossible to find these ingredients that have been processed with rabbinical supervision.

Enough with the disclaimers. Let's eat. This makes enough for two hardy sushi eaters.

To make the rice, you'll need:
1 1/2 cups sushi rice
1 3/4 cups water
1 piece of nori (use the torn one in your pack) or a kelp roll if you want to get fancy about it.
2 tbs. prepared sushi vinegar or 2 tbs. rice wine vinegar combined with a tsp. sugar and 1/2 tsp. salt

For the construction, you'll need:

A few ounces of fresh or cooked seafood
Prepared wasabi
More nori sheets
Assorted veggies cut into very thin slices

Rinse the rice well in a colander. Put the rice into a 10" saute pan and let it rest for 30 minutes. Add water to rice and put the seaweed on top. Put over medium heat. When the water begins to boil, take out the seaweed and discard. Cover the rice, turn heat to low, and cook for 15 minutes. Take off the heat and let set for 10 minutes.

Now cool and season the rice. You need to get the rice down to just lukewarm or cooler so your raw fish doesn't cook. This involves adding the seasoning and then stirring the rice while fanning it. It takes a while, but the process mellows the vinegar flavor and makes the rice sticky for later use in construction. I do this sitting on the living room floor in front of the TV and use a wooden spatula in one hand to stir and a pot holder in the other hand to wave. I bet an electric fan would work very well.

So to so this, add the vinegar mixture to the hot rice. Stir and fan the rice until it cools down.

Now your fun starts.

You can make two types of sushi. Maki sushi is the rolls. Nigiri sushi is the rice with fish on top. I do both.

To make nigiri sushi, start by wetting your hands. Keep a bowl of water nearby whenever touching the rice; it sticks to your hands. Pick up a couple of tablespoons of the rice in your moist hands, and roll and gently squish it into a little cigar shape. Place it on your plate or serving dish. Make as many as you have toppings for.

Next, top the rice. First place a dab of wasabi on each rice cigar. Wasabi is very strong, so be gentle here. A little goes a long way. Slice your seafood into 1/4 thick slices big enough to fit on top of the rice. Place a fish piece on top of each rice mound. Serve with pickled ginger and soy sauce. Yummy.

Making sushi maki is a little harder, but very fun. First, lay a square of seaweed on a sushi mat. I really use a thick placemat. Now, decide what fillings you want to put in it. You can put thin strips of whatever you like inside. I often use fish leftover from the nigiri, cucumbers, radishes, asparagus, or even fish roe. You can really use whatever you like as long as it's sliced thin. I've even seen lox and cream cheese.

Okay, so figure out how big around your fillings will be when they are rolled up. This is important, because you need enough rice to go around it. Wet your hands again and pick up a handful of rice. Place it on near the edge of the seaweed closest to you and smush it into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. You want to evenly cover the seaweed from side to side in one direction. For the other direction, spread it at least 2 or 3 inches. It has to go around the filling.

Place your thin strips of filling in the middle of the rice.

Now, lift the edge of the mat closest to you and use the mat to roll the seaweed and rice over and around the filling. Gently press the length of the roll to secure it. Lift the mat off the sushi and place the roll aside for a bit for the seaweed to get moist.

Repeat with the rest of the rice and seaweed. Using a very sharp knife, cut the rolls into bit size pieces. Serve artistically.

Checking in

Hooray!

We're in the new place. Boxes are everywhere. Kitties are playing hide and seek.

I got out and found some free wireless internet so I could check in here, check email, etc. I'm sort of amazed that one can get internet out of thin air. I thought it was a series of tubes, but that's what I get for believing that people in this town are always informed. The place is nice: very bright and open. I like it. We should be getting things like TV and internet installed tomorrow. Probably tomorrow I'll have everything unpacked and situated as well. Talk to you then.

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Time off

Hey. The Amazing E and I will be moving tomorrow into our new apartment. It's right in the same complex with a second bedroom and bath as well as a larger kitchen. Internet may not be hooked up for a couple of days, so I'll keep working on stuff and talk to you on the flip side.

Friday, February 08, 2008

Thanks, Eileen

I finally picked up this hat and finished it this morning. You know, now that it's 50 degrees.
This is the Cabled Rangoli Hat from a Desi Knitter. I've done it on size 5 needles out of the Plymouth Baby Alpaca Brush that my beautiful sister Eileen gave me as a gift. It only took a little over 1 ball, so I've got plenty left for mittens or something. Thanks, Eileen. This yarn is very soft and warm. It's also pretty with a nice soft halo.

Now I have to figure out blocking. What I've knitted here is clearly a hat that goes on my head. I'd wanted more of a dread bag for my hair. I might be able to stretch it out in blocking, but I'm scared of losing the elasticity in the ribbing and making it all over too big. I mean, it's alpaca so it should and will grow in the blocking. I just want to control it. Probably it needs steam. Perhaps later I'll do that and get a modeled photo.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

A recipe section?

I'm not knitting today. I've knitted lot lately really. I don't know if knitting is the reason, but I'm having a bad flare up of shoulder pain. This is a long standing pain, going back to childhood. It goes away.

During my housewife time of late, I've been doing a lot of cooking. You know, I have to cook for E regularly because when I don't he raids the fridge and ends up with meals of gefilte fish with cheese pizza. Which he eats with charin. (It's like there's emergency gefilte fish hidden in the depths of the fridge for when I don't cook.) And I end up shivering in horror.

I don't usually cook to recipes. Sometimes I look at recipes, and then do my own thing. I cook to taste. This makes is hard to actually give my recipes to people.

Anyway, tonight I made a pan of kosher chicken enchiladas with a black mole sauce. How these kosher enchiladas are different from your normal pan of enchiladas is that there was no cheese or sour cream on them. We don't mix milk and meat in foods. And no lard. I made the mole mostly by imagining the last good mole I had in Chicago and tried to recreate it from memory. It turned out really good, and E suggested that I start a recipe section. He's a generous guy and wants to share what he considers his good fortune with the world.

So over the next few days I'm going to figure out how I can put a thing on my sidebar over there with links to recipe documents.

Monday, February 04, 2008

I thought about editing my post last night

when the game was ending. I wanted to say how cool of an ending it was. Maybe you know what I'm talking about. That big touchdown throw by the Giants. And then the desperate last few plays by New England.

But then there was that silly 1 second thing at the end where everyone thought the game was over. They thought so, but somebody had to put one second back on the clock and spend ten minutes driving herds of celebrators away so they could crouch and then stand up for the final "play". After that silliness, I didn't want to say that the end of the game was cool anymore.

There's no knitting to report. E and I have been hanging out with our colds today. I've worked on the Annetrelac socks more. Right now my husband is eating gefilte fish out of the jar with french fries and barbecue sauce. I wanted to tell you this because I'm a little worried that it means he's pregnant. I didn't know I was such a stud.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

What did you do during the Super Bowl?

We live in a pretty small apartment with only one TV, so I'm making the best of it.

I can't say that I understand football. It seems silly, but I've been learning about it tonight because I can't help but look up from my Annetrelac socks when my husband shouts at the men who are playing football in Arizona, three thousand miles away.

From what I can tell, the game is rather boring and the rules presume either superhuman athletic ability on one end and total wussiness on the other. As I see it, each football "play" goes as such:
1. Approximately two dozen very large men crouch in opposing lines.
2. One man touches another man on the scrotum. This is apparently okay because he does it with the back of his hand.
3. The man who has been fondled passes the ball to the man behind him.
4. All the men in the lines hug.
5. All the men in the lines fall down and roll around on the ground.
6. Sometimes a ball is thrown, but it often had no effect because the catcher misses it or falls down. All action stops. The game cannot go on. No one may pick up the ball. No one may run with it.
7. The men walk around for a bit before getting in their lines again.

As for the rules I've learned:

1. A man may successfully catch the ball when his body and arms are outside the arena and he is inches from the ground, just so long as his tippy toes are touching the green.
2. If a man catches the ball and drops it, no one may take it if he stumbled and fell. He's however out of luck if he seemed to take a step.
3. Apparently, there is an "illegal back forward." How knew?
4. A man may not impede another man from catching the thrown ball. I'd think this would be the defenseman's job. Guess not.

As the wife here, I've also been looking at the ads. The FedEx one almost had me pee my pants.

Back to knitting and learning about football.

Saturday, February 02, 2008

I (heart) this sock

Remember my little break down the day before my wedding? I don't either. But here is an artifact of it. It seems that on that day I cast on a sock, and knit furiously on it to expend some of my nervous energy. I even made very good progress.

Well, the other day I found that sock, and in my frustration over the never ending hat restarted work on it. It's the +3 Red Sock of Doom, AKA Hedera in Bearfoot Mountain Colors. I finished this one sock yesterday while I was dealing with the very important government stuff relating to starting my business.

Observe.I take crumby pictures, but this sock is beautiful. Perhaps when the next one is done, I'll have E take the picture.

Speaking of E, the poor guy has my cold. And I believe that I've left him alone too long while blogging here. I hear X Box, and I think a large bug just killed his Mass Effect guy.

Friday, February 01, 2008

A yarn is born

It's a birthday today, so I baked a cake.
Today the Amazing E and I took a road trip to the metropolis of Baltimore. This trip was not just for my cultural enrichment (although is was an enlightening experience, driving for the first time through the downtown of an Eastern city).

Baltimore is clearly a government oriented city. If you've ever lived in a state or national capitol or worked in a very important government job, you understand. A lot is going on, very little accomplished for all the show. As we drove into town, I understood all the indications of this; streets don't make any sense. They don't go anywhere, they are impeded by all types of fuckall, and they are lined with buildings disoriented to production. A-a-a-a-nd. The parking meters don't work. Don't ask how I know.

So I left E with the truckster and went to the state office building. After only spending a shockingly short 30 minutes in ineffectual lines, I was instructed to the correct lines where I was able to register Rock Creek Yarns as a business in the state of Maryland.

That's right. I am a business owner. Not that I yet have any wares to sell. Please look for those in about four weeks.

I'll keep you posted.

Thursday, January 31, 2008

No news is, uh, no news

Every day this week, I've said to myself, "By tonight I will have done something worthy of blogging about, and I will blog." Each day I have gotten closer to my goals for this week, but not finished anything.

For example, my cold is getting better, but it is not gone.

I cast on this hat late last week thinking that I'd have it done by Sunday. Or Monday at the latest. And then it was Tuesday, and Wednesday. Now it's Thursday. You get the picture. This is the hat that never ends. I keep knitting around and around on it. I'm even doing the decreases at the top now, but I can't seem to finish it.
And then there is the yarn dying business. I think I know what we're naming it. I haven't certainly picked the name, but it really doesn't matter. At least not until tomorrow. Why? Because I can't register the business until I have an address to give them as my premises. And guess what? Until tomorrow, we are officially without a home in February. I realize this is only technical, future, and not-to-be recognized homelessness, but the fact that I do not have an address to put on the legal forms it holding things up. Friday this will be straightened out; we will sign our new lease. Then I can fill out the forms for the business, and we can move.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

National Geographic and U2?

Apparently National Geographic teamed up with Bono recently and produced the first live action 3-d IMAX movie. It opened at the Smithsonian this weekend, so I took a break from knitting. (Only during the show. I knitted on the Metro and while waiting in line.) and went on a date with my husband.

This is a very good movie. It was awesome, really. I even saw another knitter there. The music is great, with the typical favorites from the War, Joshua Tree, and Achtung Baby albums. It was filmed live at a concert in Argentina, and the layering of the 3D images is spectacular.

If you like U2, go to this. It's opening in other places in the US, like upstate New York on February 15th, and in the UK on the 22nd.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Beautiful things

I'm getting ready to sign off of computers and things for the evening, but first wanted to show you the beautiful things that have bloomed in our home this week.

I've done a lot of work on the Annetrelac socks. Three rows of blocks are done. I love how the yarn was spaced dyed. By some miracle, each block takes almost exactly one color repeat. The result is these nearly uniform striped blocks. This is a beautiful surprise. Wow. One of my orchids is blooming as well.
Oh. Oh. Oh. I almost forgot. The Manly Socks and Crapotee were gifts for Dad-E and Mom-E. They got them yesterday, and are tickled.

Off to finish the Shabbat cooking. I'm trying to make my own bread.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Murmers

Three kinds of news is being murmured around here. It's just not loud enough so you'd know.

First the bad news. Someone who shall remain nameless thinks I have "enough" yarn. The nameless person saw me hunting through my stash for an hour the other night while I was looking for my 9" Denise cable that I needed to start a new hat. I need a hat. I'm the only knitter on the earth without a winter hat, and my sister gave me alpaca. So there. I was going to cast on a hat. But before I could start doing that, I had to find out which UFO the cable was currently holding onto. During the hunt, I unpacked and repacked each box and bag of yarn I have. Yeah, it was in the last one. Anyway, after I found it, this person who I thought understood me so well asked two questions. The first was the afore mentioned "enough" question. The second question was, "how many projects do you have on the needles now?" I think that the answers to the two questions are self evident through circular reasoning.

Don't worry now, I still love this person. Perhaps this problem comes from the fact that his dad has a pair of custom made wool socks, and he does not. He'll change his tune when he is converted. Now, I wonder, where is my other set of size 1.5 DPN's? I have a new project I need to cast on...

The second type of news is the good news. I've found my base yarns. You may be pleased to know that I will definitely be offering a 3-ply ultramerino superwash sock yarn. I'm also thinking of a superwash/bamboo blend and alpaca in fingering weight. I'm also playing around with the laceweight and silk ideas.

This takes me to the third news. St00-pid news. This is my fault. I cannot decide on a name for my yarn, and therefore cannot file the papers. That's right. I am holding up the show. Nah. I'll blame this cold for at least a day more. grumble.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Entrelac socks. This time it's for real.

I'm really gonna finish these. I hope.

Moving around becomes difficult when fresh tissues are needed every few minutes. Oh, well. I couldn't wish for a better excuse to do a lot of knitting. I'll be better soon.Currently, I'm working on the first row of blocks. Entrelac is like magic, really. When you read a pattern, it doesn't seem like it'll work. You just have to take it on faith that it will and move forward.

I hope. That's what I'm telling myself anyway.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

The socks are dead, long live the socks.

Sometimes a knitter's gotta do what a knitter's gotta do. And sometimes that means turning pretty things into gaily colored piles of ramen.
The Entrelac socks were beautiful, and I love the yarn. But the yarn is not for socks; I picked the wrong thing. Mercerized cotton socks are a bad idea. Mercerized cotton socks with yarn carried inside between entrelac blocks is a terrible idea. Live and learn, I guess. This yarn will one day be turned into something nice. Something entrelac. Just not something for wearing on the feet.

I have cast on their replacement, the Annetrelac socks. I hope these turn out more practical for wearing. Eunny's pattern for the Entrelac socks was clever and stunning, but perhaps not all that great for wearing. I mean, entrelac even on the soles? The new socks are made from one skein of yarn, and the foot part is all stockinette. They are on the needles, but I'm still working on the ribbing. So they're not anything interesting for you so see.

Monday, January 21, 2008

An idea

I was sitting around today looking at my stash and my cats and my husband when I got an idea. I've been shivering with a cold, and probably transferring my desires to others, but my idea looks something like this:I thought that maybe Scott TC would like a sweater. What else am I going to do with that crazy yarn? It would be fluffy and cute. He's almost naked and acts like he's cold this time of the year.

Don't worry too much. I'm kinda sick and have no energy to actually cast anything on. In fact, I'll probably forget all about this by tomorrow.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

It's done, done I say!

So I've finally finished a Clapotis. I'll never make another. This was sort of a trial of pain and determination for me since the life sentence of the other one. For some reason, I needed to finish one, you know to prove that I could withstand it. That I was stronger than this knit.

The Crap-o-tee is not a difficult pattern. It's a very, very (seriously and dangerously) boring thing to knit. In fact, this knit was so bored that it fell asleep under my coffee table for two whole weeks nearly unnoticed.

It's a very good thing that I like the yarn so much. I had a hank of Geisha from Blue Moon Fiber Arts in my stash when the mishegas overtook me to start this project. Geisha is a Mohair/silk blend, so it's got a lovely shine and drape. It's also very soft and has a good halo effect. I'm sure this wrap will be put to good use.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

One long post about one day

My trip to Chicago was short, productive, and anything but dull. You'll all be pleased to know that I successfully finished that class. It was a close call, though. I was almost late, and late means "YOU CANNOT PASS." Getting halfway across the country via air was as stupid as usual. The plane was late and my knitting caused a small uproar.

Thursday was my first practical lesson on why Chicagoans are awesome. This is not to offend non-Chicagoans, but to pay homage to all of us who are snowed upon and know how to handle it with grace. Thursday it snowed in Maryland for the first time this winter. It does snow here every winter, but not often. There was a bit more than three inches, and the result was mass hysteria. Did you know that they shut down schools for three inches of snow? Oh, and they don't seem to have plows here. Well, I have to admit an exaggeration. I saw a total of six plows on my hour and a half drive to the Baltimore airport. If it had been in any northern city of this type (Like Chicago), there would have been thousands of plow/salt trucks out removing every single flake as it fell so as not to hold up business. Chicago politicians' careers are literally made and broken on their ability to rid the streets and boulevards of snow. On that excessively long drive, many cars had to to turn around in the middle of the road because other cars that could not get up hills. I never saw so many people wide-eyed with terror since the swim portion of my last triathlon. I did make it to the airport in time for my flight, and it was late. We actually pulled away from the gate on time, but say out on the tarmac for over an hour and a half waiting for I-know-not-what. But we did get the excitement of being de-iced twice.

When I fly I am always amazed at the sensation my knitting can cause. On every flight, I get some sort of interesting attention. Most often, it's just women who saw their grandmas knitting, never learned, and are at once curious and amazed to see a young woman going at it in public. Other times, it's worried passengers wondering how the heck I got all those pointy sticks on the plane. (The TSA's guidelines allow knitting on planes, check out this link for details and recommendations.) A few are airline attendants who see KIP'ers all the time and are taking bets on what I'm making. This time, however, was unique. I had my bag seized at the security check and emptied. I was asked what all "this" was about, and explained that it was my knitting. The fortunate resolution was that the guard frowned for a moment and let me go on. Silly muggles.

My yarn and I returned to my little family here in Maryland last night in time for Shabbat dinner of fish and fattah. They were very happy to see me and the Manly Socks.E and Duncan were happy to see me.Scott TC gave me his own type of welcome home.


The Manly Socks did get finished on the plane whilst we all waited for de-icing. The Crapotee, however was not so lucky. It's close, so close, to being done torturing me.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Sheesh!

Sorry, sorry, sorry. I've been trying to get my butt in gear and post (almost) every day. You'd think I would have time. Not that I don't have the time. I do. Maybe I'm lazy. Or maybe I want to say something good when I come on here.

Anyway.

I'm leaving for the Baltimore Airport in a half hour for a trip to Chicago. I'm really only going to be there for about 16 hours including sleeping. So I won't get to see anyone but Grandpa. (Hi grandpa! I'll see you tonight after class!) This trip is to be a momentous one for finishing things. One, I'm going to finish my current class. After this there will only be four more until I can get my Master's degree. Two, the manly socks will be bound off at last on the plane. Three, I expect to get done with the second crapotee by the weekend. Yay! It's been a long time since I finished something.

Other activities for this Chicago trip include casting on the Annetrelac socks tonight. I'll be using my Zen String Bambewe in Strawberry Fields. You remember this one:Pretty pretty...

And I'm going to teach a sock virgin the basics. We may have a new devotee by tonight.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Selections

A lot of my mental energy lately is involved in selecting yarns for my business. I feel like the selection of base yarns is the most important supplier decision I have to make. Specifically, I want to start with a really great sock yarn. You know the type, that perfect one. It's soft, springy, and warm. It slides through your hands and feels smooth but firm. It also blooms very prettily, creating a soft halo around your tired feet when you put them on. Ahh, the perfect sock yarn.

I've received several samples of base yarn for socks. I want superwash merino. I don't have the buying power to demand some specially spun stuff, so I have to look at what is readily available on the market. So far I've seen three. They're all the same thing really, and not what I want. So I keep digging. I know I'll find it.

As for the other yarns, I know where I'd get those. There's a mill in India that I've purchased yarn from before, and I like their products. They have single ply undyed silks for sale there. If you've been in my knitting groups, you've seen it. I've done some Kool-Aid dying before. There's also a chance that I could import recycled sari yarn directly from them if any of you are interested.

I'm very excited. This could be very cool.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Hobbit feet

E and I have been enjoying a nice weekend of sitting around the house, cleaning, and cooking. That's my favorite part of being a housewife, the cooking. Today we're making a big chicken soup while he watches the Chargers vs. Colts game. (I can't say I give two shites about football, but the Colts are clearly the enemy.) I am knitting with the downtime.

(BTW, if you can tell me how to make nice fluffy matzoh balls, I'd be forever in your debt. Mine could be used to bombard tanks.)

These manly socks are nearly done. I have to say, making socks for male Weisberg types is a lot more work than I'm used to. I have pretty small and narrow feet. A pair of socks to cover my little hooves are each about 52 stitches around and take less than 300 yards of yarn. Perhaps less than 250 yards. On the other hand, the Weisbergs have feet like Hobbits: hairy and nearly as wide as they are long. These socks are 70 stitches around and will used all of one hank of lightweight Socks That Rock.
This would seem to partially explain why hand pain is delaying the completion of these socks. The thumb problem is better most of the time, but I do notice it after an hour or more of knitting. My other problem is a third (yes, third) degree burn on my other hand that I gave myself over a week ago. It's small but very to slow heal, and will likely leave an interesting scar. I'll spare you the photo.

Like I said before, I enjoy all the cooking I've been doing.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Baby steps

I can report more progress today in all conceivable and bloggable activities.

First of all, I just came from a job interview. It seems like a low stress, low importance government job. Just what I need. And it also seems like I might get it. Yay.

Second of all, I went to the local knitting group and knitted last night. I think I even made at least one friend there. She's another string lady who is owned by Cornish Rex cats. (FYI, Scott TC is a Cornish Rex.)

Third of all is progress on the yarn dying operation. I 'm basing colorways on things I've seen in my world travels. If you want to hear something fancy, I'm finding my inspiration in the wondrous variety of creation. (blah blah, gag gag) I have noodled up about 5 colorways so far. Also, samples of sock yarn for dying arrived today. I am busily fondling them now. After I'm done with that, I will concentrate on thinking up a name and starting the legal paperwork.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Venturing out

Life is starting to become normal, or ehem, regular around here. We're settling into life here together very well. I'm even finding things to do and making friends. The Amazing E and I went to a local synagogue this past Saturday. I have to commend my husband on his bravery. The congregation is a small "conservadox" one (I am most comfortable in this setting), meaning the services are all in Hebrew. E's been to some Reform services before, but he was totally lost at this one. Also, since he was new and was wearing his fancy wedding tallit (prayer shawl), he was asked many times to read from the Torah, carry it, or otherwise participate. He handled everything magnificently, and ended up with many offers of help learning the liturgy and language so he can take part in the future. We also met another young couple who live across the road from us, and plan on having a meal with them soon. Today and tomorrow I will be further venturing out into the local world to find new and exciting adventures. This morning I will head over to the Navy base to use the gym. My husband is an active member of our country's uniformed services, so I am apparently entitled to all sorts of interesting benefits. Use of the lap pool seems to be one of them. Tomorrow I will try to find the local knitting group. I hope they are nice. I've certainly had good luck meeting friends through knitting in the past.

Not much knitting progress can be reported. I've worked a bit on those manly socks, but my thumb is still a bit sore and I don't want to push my luck.

Saturday, January 05, 2008

As long as it's the new year

I may as well make resolutions to my knitting projects. Not that these vows usually work, but I do feel a need to try to finish things rather than filling all my needles with half done projects. My vow is to resolve certain UFO's in short order.

1. Item: Manly socks
Status: Down to the flaps
Resolution: These must be finished. Pronto!

2. Item: +3 socks of Doom!
Status: Gusset finished on one sock.
Resolution: I'll get back to these when the manly socks are done, and the +3 of damage to my thumb is healed. They will be done!

3. Item: Rheingold Wrap
Status: 25% done
Resolution: This will be a long term project that will be finished in 2008. I do pick it up and love it regularly. After all, it is a Starmore.

4. Item: Crapotee #2
Status: Down to the decreases
Resolution: This must be finished. Pronto! It may even redeem the entire pattern.

5. Item: Entrelac socks
Status: Both finished up to the heels.
Resolution: I think these are beautiful. I think I should make entrelac socks, however out of this pattern for Annetrelac Socks. I love the colors, I love how these socks look. However, I have a terror of wearing them with their mercerized cotton yarn, entrelac on the feet, and carried yarn inside. Blister city. I think they are destined to be frogged. Perhaps the yarn will be turned into something later.

6. Item: Crapotee
Status: Doomed
Resolution: This project is forever doomed. It is in prison. The parole board has no mercy for it. Besides, the warden has not located the prisoner in the depths of the packed stash.

7. Item: Green Tea Raglan
Status: Only one sleeve to go
Resolution: This will be finished soon in a fury of weekend knitting. After all, there is only one sleeve yet to knit.

8. Item: Oriel Lace Blouse
Status: Front and parts of sleeves finished
Resolution: I love this knit, and I will work on it over the next few months. Probably after Clapotis #2 and project #7 are done.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Get into yarn dying?

I'm wondering if you yarn people who read this blog would help me out with a decision. I've been toying with an idea for about a year. The idea is to start a small dying and yarn goodies operation. I've become addicted to hand dyed sock yarn, and interested in doing it myself since the ladies at Froebe Fibers started up. Now I have time to think about this in real life.

I know my vision and my inspiration. I know what I want my wares to look like. I also know what I'm good at and what I need to learn. I have even found suppliers.

1. I want to sell hand-dyed sock yarn, a selection of hand-dyed fingering weight "luxury" yarns, and fancy-schmancy stitch markers.
2. I've seen yarns that are dyed the way I want. I just don't know what the technique is. I'd say Jitterbug is one that does it well, a someone monochromatic or shaded base with saturated flecks. I haven't been able to produce this with experiments. I think I need a book. Do you know a good one?
3. I am skilled at lampworking. Really. I made a living off of it for about a year once. I could make my own beads for the stitch markers.

What do you think? Seriously. Any suggestions or advice?

Time to start writing that business plan... (Did you think that my husband or I would do this without a written one?)

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Instead of knitting snaps, yarn pr0n

I'm still not knitting. E bought me a thumb splint yesterday to perhaps allow me to knit, or at least help me heal, but it's still painful. So no knitting.

In lieu of knitting mishegas, I'll tell you about my recent yarn acquisition mishegas. You see, right before the move I felt like I'd never get to buy yarn again. So of course I bought lots. Here's my December haul. It includes a mill bag each of Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere and a fingering weight alpaca purchased cheap on ebay. Also purchased were three skeins of STR. Two here are Silky STR in Dreidel and a skein of lightweight in one of the Raven Clan colors. Not shown is the skein I'm using to make the manly socks. There's also an orange-y bundle of Jitterbug sock yarn. Finally, we have the gift from Tzurriz of the Cascade Quattro highland wool.Oh, and how could I forget. My sister Eileen gave me this:Ooooohhhh. Aaaaahhhh. It's baby alpaca.

I figure I've acquired at least enough to see me through a six month yarn drought, not that it will really take me that long to find yarn here. I've already picked up some fumes.