Seeds and Sewing Plans

 I recently purchased seed for various types of plants that will do well in our Spring/Fall weather.  Part of that purchase were also purple tomatillos and hot peppers, because Daughter requested plants to make salsa verde, but had seen the purple versions of the ingredients and could I possibly get those?

Purple it is, with a heavy dose of black and a bit of blue too!  As well as kale that grows leaves up to three feet long.  Should keep us in greens, right?

The seeds are from two of my current favorite gardening sites Baker Creek Heirloom and Urban Farmer.  

The difficult part is waiting to plant at just the right time!  So maybe I can actually do some sewing finally, while waiting for the ground to thaw out?

I have had goals to dress like Evelyn from The Mummy for....well, quite a long time.  I was frustrated by the blouse she wears in the first part of the movie though.  Really, all it is, is an over sized man's button up shirt.  But I am a history clothing nerd, I had to go find the likely inspiration (found a random page out of a Sears catalog for Spring 1918) and then find a pattern for that.  Of course.   And I finally did!  The New Idea Ladies Waist One Seam Sleeve pattern from Past Patterns.  I haven't contemplated fabrics or colors yet...and I still have to actually purchase said pattern.  The other positive is that I have discovered I am exceptionally fond of Edwardian era (and really till the beginning of the 1920's) clothing.  

Maybe it's the hats?

Almost...

 Cards are written out.  Small gifts made and ready to go.  All sit, waiting to be mailed.  I almost got everything done as expected. I worried so much about getting things done "on time", I burnt out before the finish. When the time constraint is gone, the feeling of obligation lifted, Friday or Monday, things will likely get mailed out (provided things continue to work as usual).

I've barely been knitting.  I sit in a yarn fort, surrounded by a dozen works in progress and just can't be bothered.

Son made gorgeous (and super delicious!) caramel pecan cinnamon rolls for this morning:

Daughter is making beignets tomorrow.  I have plans to make an eggnog cream pie.

The house smells like my latest incense purchase:

It will get better.  Things will be sent out.  Knitting oomph will come back.  There are the spring and summer plantings to plan.  And, in my case at least, pondering where to put giant kale and watermelons masquerading as pumpkins helps.  May you also find what helps.

Holiday Crafting...of a sort.

 Like many households this season, there isn't much enthusiasm for the holidays around here.  Realizing that we are about a week out from Proper Festivities, I figured I should put together one of the holiday decorations I bought supplies for more than a month or two ago.  Maybe that would add a bit more cheer?

What could be more festive than a new seasonal wreath, using holly as the base?

Extra holly berries added, including on the bow as it was on clearance and looked it a bit.

Teeth cut out and triple starched.  Floppy teeth just aren't as festive.

Eyes drafted, cut out and given a coat of glow in the dark paint (because glow in the dark is not just for Halloween!)

Little extra garland, a stringer of LED mini holly, and a fair bit of hot glue later...

It sort of starts with a sheep...

Dolores is a creation of Franklin Habit.  I have enjoyed his cartoons featuring her (and his other writings) for many years.  And then...this happened.  I was truly tickled!  My very own stuffie Dolores!  So, I got the kit.  Woohoo!

But then they started coming out with different outfits for Dolores... uh oh.  At first it was just one.  No big deal!

Darlings.  There are twenty-six numbered kits (I am currently eagerly awaiting the most recent release #26).  I have eleven and the original stuffie kit.  And the umbrella. And a couple of drawstring bags.  I still lament not being able to get the Hamptons holiday kit.

It's not just me.  She does have her own FaceBook page.

I finally put together a binder for the patterns:

The bags are filled with yarn.  And little roller skates.  And a mini rolling pin.  As well as Dolores' umbrella and glasses for her Suffragette outfit.  I have grand plans for staging her at various places in the house.

The only thing I have actually knit from the collection, I gave as a gift.  (I may have yarn stashed to make another.) 

My family rolls their eyes and snort almost in unison when I mention a new Dolores pattern, with loud variations on "What is the outfit this time?"  I then giggle slightly maniacally and show them (of course).

Does this slow me down? Of course not!  If I am smitten with the winter holiday outfit that comes out will I try and get my (slightly) obsessed hands on it? Yes!

One of my personal knitting goals is to try and knit one kit a month in 2021 (assuming more are not produced that make me hit Add to Cart in less than a blink of an eye), because even better than Dolores-in-potentia is Dolores modelling her glorious outfits for the neighbors in our front window. :-D

Goodness, is my sense of time skewed! (just like everyone else) Oh look! Yarn!

 I somehow managed to miss the fact that Thanksgiving is next week.  I remembered it was going to happen towards the end of November as usual...only to realize exactly how close that was about two days ago.

I've been diligently knitting bits for gifts(Daughter is helping), that will hopefully get shipped out in the next month.  There has been plotting for some indulgent projects after those bits for others are finished and I manage to cast on the sweater I have planned for Husband; the small fortress of works in progress gathering dust around me not withstanding.

After a bit of a rummage through the yarn hoarde I pulled two project bags.  One was the yarn for the Ash & Fire pullover,  Malabrigo Silky Merino in the Redwood Bark colorway.

It is a purple-toned red-brown that is kind of amazing.

The second bag was for Lillet, the yarn is Malabrigo Washted in the Selva Peruana colorway (a colorway I visited almost daily until I found the sweater pattern for it).

The colors just glow. (Why yes, I am a huge fan of Malabrigo!)

I also pulled out my Leeloo cowl to work on, only to realize I had over-compensated for my usual tight knitting gauge, ripped out what I had, and started the whole thing over on a size smaller needle (which is still four sizes larger than the pattern recommends).

The yarns are from Nerd Girl Yarns Hunger Games inspired colorways, Twirl for Me and Girl on Fire.  Sadly, Nerd Girl Yarns is not currently dyeing. 

The end is finally in sight for my Henwife shawl!  Only...it's huge.  Like, coat size.  I used worsted instead of DK and went up four or five needle sizes.  Two or three needle sizes would have been sufficient. Too late now. I've hit the lace border, I am not ripping out.  The plan is to full it a little (start the felting process), block it out, and then fold the wings into sleeves and sew them down.  Voila! (Sort of) instant cardigan!  It's been in progress for more than a year now. /sighs

I may have also indulged just a little bit.  The colors were just so lovely!  

The dyer is Dragon Hoard Yarn.  With a name like that, is is really surprising I love their stuff?  The colorways are Fire Vixen and Spirit of Fire.  

Spirit of Fire is planned to become the main color in a Winterthorn hat.  Fire Vixen will be the bright contrast in The Doctor Is In mitts.  I've also already planned out what to do with the leftovers from the Leeloo cowl, the Winterthorn hat, and The Doctor Is In Mitts.  A cowl with mitts looks pulled together.  Gloves or maybe mittens, in yarn from your colorwork hat?  Charming!  A lovely, simple hat to show off hand dyed yarn that I may or may not be planning to slap a plague doctor on?  Thematic!  

Then my brain reminds me that we still don't have a turkey or sides (or really anything) for next Thursday.  So, I start planning recipes instead.  Simple ones, maybe ask the others what they want to make.  Right now, (like everyone) we are all tired and enthusiasm is not bubbling.  Time moves oddly, some days last a year, but the month only started yesterday.  A week seems endless, till you start the next one all of a sudden.

So, homemade cranberry sauce and stuffing?  I'll make a list, that always helps.

May you be able to focus on what you need to and have lovely distractions to help you through the next bit of time, however long or short it seems.  

So.....how are you?

 Better than earlier this week I hope?  A little less stress this weekend?

I've been knitting on projects that require bits and pieces to be knit and then sewn together.  Progress always feels slow.

I did finish a pair of replacement hats for a friend.  Now I just need to get them posted out!

The pattern is the Invader Zim GIR knit hat.  I am really hoping I got them right.  Ten years is a long time between projects!

With snow predicted, I went stash diving and knit a pair of non-felted slippers.

They are not the most elegant looking project, but as the predicted snow showed up right on time, thick wool slippers are quite welcome!

I also designed a mati pillow.  I found one in crochet, but it didn't look like the ones I grew up with and my grandmother is fond of...and my crochet is not that great. Now I just need to test the pattern I wrote out.  The urge to make buckets of little ones and just hand them out to people is strong...but most people look at you funny when you hand them an eyeball and tell them it's for their protection.

With this as the landscape already:

I think I need to get back the the Nott cowls for the family and the knee high (at least), DK weight, boot socks I am cobbling together; bits and pieces and protective eyes may take a back seat for a bit.

Happy Halloween!

Quite a few decorations actually got put up!  There are several stringers of lights in festive colors, though a fair number did stay in their storage box.  An astounding number of skulls and skeletons are scattered about the place (I am sure they all belong here, I just don't remember acquiring quite so many.)

I may take Daughter's suggestion; tack the Yuletide decorations over the Halloween ones and go full Nightmare Before Christmas this year.

We didn't have many trick or treaters last year (before Winter decided to arrive in mid-October and our current pandemic situation), so the plan is to leave the front of the house dark this year, much to the dismay of everyone in the house.  The kids that come to the door tend to be our favorite parts of Halloween, but the numbers of cases and deaths are really rather high around here...and just going up, so we err on the side of caution.

Mostly this witch would like to encourage you to enjoy your Halloween however you are able, bathe in the lovely blue moon tonight and remember to vote!

Hat band on my witch's hat (handmade by Husband) is the EmPower People cowl.  This stuff is important y'all!

(Yes, I do look like a background character from The Craft.  But as it came out in 1996 and I started dressing like this somewhere around '92, I'd say the costume department just used what they had been seeing on actual people.  Which makes this style inspiration for the costumes instead...nope, still weird (if not weirder).  On the up side, my skirt and bracelets glow in the dark!

A little re-arranging

 Husband started showing me desks a few days ago.  We had discussed it a few months back, but had concerns about where to put it (Husband is not dainty and requires rather large furniture).   He's been making due with his lap and the dining room table. Then he points out that the rest of his classes are going online in November.  Bugger.  Now a dedicated space is decidedly required.

Logically, the only space that would work decently is the craft room.  The craft room that is crammed with my Hoarde, plus other peoples wood and leather working supplies.

This is the majority of what had to be moved, (mainly because wool is lighter than books):

Halloween stuff got pulled out to be put up at the same time.

What it really means is that most of the Yarn Hoarde is now on display at the front of the house.

Not sure how I feel about it really.  While it can be seen from the front windows, it's not like we have a lot of visitors right now.  Who knows? Maybe it will give me incentive to knit from stash more? 

The real upside?  It muffles any noise from the front room. :-)

In my defense, clothing is important for many reasons

 The agitation is back with a vengeance, complete with "all laundry must be done at all times" side effect that even I find a bit odd (and my family kindly puts up with).

So I once again took up the seemingly endless quest to Get My Wardrobe Sorted Out.

Could I find something practical, possibly historical yet (slightly) more elegant than my much loved cargo pants?  Lo, and behold, there is a 1910 Cycling Skirt pattern, that will have added pockets, in the Hoarde (it is an all encompassing type sort).

  I have a v-neck henley, bought months ago, that I finally put on and promptly proclaimed it perfect.  Why couldn't I draft a pattern from it to make shirts in colors I actually like?  Ditto with sports bras.  (Haven't worn a proper underwire since....April?)

Shapes picked, my brain moves on to colors and textures, nothing too sleek or shiny.  Sales pages are combed through; a wool blend here, a cotton in Tim Burton-eque black and grey stripe will be ridiculous and practical.  Black stretch linen?  On sale? Please and thank you!  (Not all the fabric is here yet.)

Close to three months of pondering pieces, collecting materials...mustn't forget bra hooks...and I  almost have things pulled together.

And these are just the sewing projects.

With Fall making itself felt, hinting at the bite of the Winter to come; I started daydreaming about (at least) knee high, hand knit boot socks.  Visions of cabled cardigans and coordinated winter sets ( hat, cowl, and mitts [Moonlit magic and Raven Queen]) dance across my minds eye: one Haunted Mansion themed, all purples and acid green; the other gothic/celestial in black and cream with pops of a bright cornflower blue.

The patterns, all acquired on one whim or another, do not all match, (the hat for the Haunted Mansion set is a recipe by me cobbled together using charts from the cowl). They do harmonize, either through the theme of the pattern itself, or the colors chosen to work the piece.  

The real thread that connects of all these bits and bobs?  I like them. They they make me genuinely happy.  And if I am busy working on all these projects...I  am probably not doing laundry.

Blast. It's October already, isn't it?

 Bugger.  

Two of my favorite people on the planet have their birthdays the first week of October...and for some reason, it always sneaks up on me.

The first week of October happens every year.  Not like it's a surprise. /sighs

My house still looks like it usually does, despite Halloween looming.  By this point, the inside of the house typically looks like a glowing orange, green and purple, be-spider webbed, witch cottage.

The sunflower Summer decor is still up.  Getting out the Halloween decorations has been on my to-do list for a solid two weeks.

I knit Daughter a sweater for her birthday.  It's a magpie colored Chuck by Andi Satterlund, decidedly modified as Daughter does not like tight sweaters.  It still needs the ends woven in, and a wash.

I have also gotten a new Gir hat on the needles, with a second soon to follow.  I had knit a bunch of these for holiday gifts a, literal, decade ago.  A friend's husband decided it was his favorite hat, and has been wearing it pretty much non-stop (including at least one local television appearance) for the the last ten years.  Friend recently asked if I could knit him a couple more so maybe she could wash them more often?  

I found replacement yarn, but the gauge was not quite right.  I re-worked the numbers, making endless comparisons to the one I had knit for Husband at the same time, oh those many years ago, and finally got something almost identical.

So having re-re-re-cast the hat, I should now be able to get through them fairly quickly.

I have been slightly slowed by the cooler weather.  My cat demands a lap to warm her hips most days now.  How could I refuse this face?

Time to Work from the Hoarde

 I started keeping a notebook a short time ago in an effort to keep track of available potential knitting projects.   It's not fancy,  nor horribly well organized.  What it does do is help remind me what yarn was bought for what project as well as the wide selection already at hand.

There are 17 pages like the ones below.  This incomplete catalog has 144 different potential projects.

In fact, I recently did some (exceptionally) rough math to figure out how long it would take me to get through the project kits (that I put together myself) currently residing in the craft room.   Averaging fifteen completed projects a year (typically my average is about 20), not counting multiples I may make of a single pattern, there is a solid ten years of knitting.  Ten years y'all!  Not including most sock stuff or random fiber goodness just hanging out waiting to be useful, ( most from early knitting endeavors that didn't quite work.)  I used to make jokes that I was stashing yarn for a "retirement fund".   I think I'm good for a fair bit.

The knitting pattern library is even more extensive as it includes every tiny toy, freebie, book and magazine pattern compilation I have collected over the last almost twenty years.  Honestly, most aren't that great, frequently painfully dated or something I had plans to modify heavily until something closer to what I wanted came along.  Will I knit all of them?  Goodness no!  I have spent years curating, collecting, and buying yarn for the pieces that appeal to my personal aesthetic (i.e. member of the Addams family who has run off to live in the forest).  Are they all timeless, classic pieces?  Decidedly not.  Where would be the fun in that?  Are there more plant, raven and Halloween themed motifs than a fairly conventional closet?  Well, of course!

The best clothing is the stuff that makes you happy when you wear it.

Things that take the edge off...sort of...at least temporarily

 Unsurprisingly, I knit another sweater.  Another Felix pullover, it's my third.  This one in some Lion Brand Fishermen's wool I had in the Yarn Hoarde.

I started another Chuck sweater, this one for Daughter's birthday.  Also in yarn from the Hoarde; Northampton in the nebula colorway, edged in black Deerfield.  I realized yesterday as I was casting on that it's magpie colors.  When I mentioned that to Daughter, she squealed and grinned from ear to ear; Magpie is one of her Critters.

I've been drinking even more tea than usual, non-caffeinated by 5pm.  Usually a combination of Tension Tamer and Rose mint; by the quart.  Alcohol consumption has pretty much stopped.  Husband and I would split a bottle of wine or have a beer once, maybe twice a week (if it was a feeling fancy week).  Honestly, I drink mostly in social situations because it's an excuse for me being odd or weird...and people tend to stress me out.  It's not a great solution, but it is a socially acceptable one.  Knitting works almost the same way, though then a lot of people get the impression I am not paying attention. *sighs*  I'm not being rude, I am just not poisoning myself on your behalf and managing to make a sock at the same time while holding a conversation.  

The other thing, that has worked as long as I can remember, is reading.  Burying my nose in a novel grants (decidedly) temporary reprieve from my clenched stomach and agitated state.  I started the Magical Midlife series by K.F. Breene a couple of days ago.  Is it great literature?  No.  Is it nice to read about someone who is not in the same age range as my kids have exciting paranormal adventures and a magical house?  Yes!  (The main character is a 40 year old woman from California, who also happens to be an Aries with hazel eyes, making her much more relatable for me personally).  Sadly, there are only two books out and I am 65% through the second one already, in three days.  I did stop to read a Halloween novella in between them, just to try and stretch things out.  The third won't be out till November. *sighs*  Do I have more books to read?  Of course!  I just dislike waiting.

I'm tryin' y'all

 

My stress levels are through the roof the last few days.  Today, for some reason unbeknownst to me, is exceptionally bad.

Spent the morning shaking like a cold, agitated Chihuahua without a sweater.  Stomach clenched for three days straight.

My house is getting highly ordered and clean.  And my Halloween wine holder arrived today!

The Cassandra thing is loud and unnerving right now, shouting that the week won't end well, worse than previous ones apparently.  Other people are involved though, so it could just be me being ridiculous and a little too highly strung.  Here's hoping!  Take care of yourselves everyone!

It started innocently enough...

 I found a pattern that I thought was amusing.  Showed pattern to Husband, he thought it amusing as well, while making mention his Mom totally needed one.  Saying I am fond of my mother in law is an understatement, so I bought the crochet pattern.  ( I may have used it as an excuse to purchase Deerly Departed and Mr. Wednesday as well).

While perusing yarn for said crochet project (as well as a couple of others, a friend is apparently desperately in need of hats), we came to the realization that many people would likely appreciate said fiber endeavor.  Guess what all y'all are getting for the holidays? (In case you were wondering why I may not have linked the pattern.)  Hopefully it remains a good choice as the yarn has already been ordered.

I finished my Salal, complete with buttons!  It does need a final blocking after I picked up the button and neck band.

It makes me look like a very fancy She-Hulk.  This pleases me greatly.

I picked my lone pumpkin.  It looked done, as I did plant the small or pie sized variety, it wasn't supposed to get very big.  And as I have decided it is Halloween already, it is a lovely addition to the decor, until we get around to roasting it.

When I realized that our kitchen was in need of new spatulas, I may have perused the holiday section at JoAnn's, they may have been having a sale....and I may have gone a wee bit overboard.  It truly is Halloween everyday in this house.

It should be evident; I am well and truly done with the first half of this year.  It's not that I think the second half will be better (quite the opposite really), but at least it will be partially done in the comforting colors of fall and all the trappings that go with the season.

Which is why I got mini cookie cutters too.

On a Friday in Late August

 California is on fire, again.  Lightning storms started the fires this time.  I sit and worry as I read about friends losing their homes, fretting over their safety.  Quietly mourning my beloved redwoods, so many of them now just kindling and ash.

Even here, there is a smoke haze in the air that burns eyes and makes the light glaring, harsh.  Late in the day the sun is blood orange.  It gets dark earlier than it should.

My hair is green again.  Emerald at the roots, changing to something closer to moss or seaweed at the ends.  Despite the dramatic color shift, it is as comfortable as my usual copper shade, though even more conspicuous when we venture out, which continues to be almost not at all.

Mostly, I do housework and tend the garden.  I've also started collecting seeds from a few of the plants.  And I continue to knit.  Of course.

Scents and Another Felix

 Most of my make up has been untouched these last few months, didn't even put on mascara the last time we did the grocery shopping. Occasionally, I'll swipe on a bit of lipstick if the mood strikes.  I haven't hennaed my hair since...late March?  Early April?  The green dye I used on my roots has mostly washed out, leaving a rather pale, almost mossy tint to the grown out hair.  It looks, oddly suitable.

The one collection that has expanded, (aside from the Yarn Hoarde) is the fragrance collection.  Most of what I own is amber and/or rose scented.  They are my go to favorites.  But...wearing the same smell everyday is boring.  Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab to the rescue!  BPAL has been a consistent favorite of mine over the years, (I recently had to replace my Mme. Moriarty as I actually ran out).  While not the cheapest, a bottle lasts a good long while, the smells are unique, and it's a company I enjoy supporting when I can.

These are my personal favorites:

The other smell I have been wearing a lot was bought on a whim while putting in an Ulta order.

It's described as "driving through the mountains with the windows down."  I have to say, well done Pacifica! 

Having decided that I apparently need to smell like "outside" or "foresty", I snagged a bar of Shiso from Harry's soaps (Son is quite fond of the Redwood scent).

It is a nice soap that smells, well, like green herbs, doesn't make me itchy nor does it compete with my perfumes.  Definitely a win.

I continue to knit on my Sarah Connor hat.  Admittedly, I was a bit worried about doing dropped stitches, but it looks to be turning out well.

I cast on another Felix pullover out of some fisherman's wool I had in the Hoarde.

Not overly exciting or fancy, but I wear my other one almost constantly when it gets cold, as well as the cardigan version that I have also knit.

A pair of socks for Husband were also pulled out to be worked on.  The yarn is a discontinued Opal colorway.  The pattern is Time Traveler Socks.

He wears a US size 13 shoe and likes a tall leg so they fit in his boots.  They are not a quick to complete project, especially when you set them aside for two or three years.  Ooops.

Not too long ago I plunked an avocado pit into a small pot of dirt to see if I could get it to grow.  It was taking a good while, so I plopped in a few seeds from a store bought lemon into the pot figuring one of them might sprout eventually.

And now I have tiny lemon and avocado trees in my yarn room.

Neutral Headspace and a Pumpkin

 First, my backyard has hit threat level pumpkin, (a bit earlier than it should have, oddly appropriate, but I planted super early.  I'm hoping more blooms will set fruit now the worst of the heat seems to have passed.)

I've never grown pumpkins before.  Definitely a novel experience.

There are also lovely sweet peppers, (that likely won't be sweet as the plants got mixed in with hot peppers. Yay for cross-pollination.)

And it was actually hot enough, long enough for my Hatch chiles to set fruit!

One of the things I've started doing this season is seed collection.  Coriander off the cilantro plants that bolted.  Nasturtium, snapdragon and dianthus flower seeds.  Beans, peas, lettuce, chard, tomatoes and cucumbers.  Carefully dried and tucked away with the rest of the Seed Hoard, which is almost exclusively heirloom varieties.  I have proper Kitchen Garden goals.

As for maintaining a neutral headspace, which is all one can really hope for at this current point in time, the plants help.  They require pretty much daily tending.  Seed collection is time consuming and fussy.  I can, so I do not waste the opportunity to do so.  I am hoping it will enable me to spread more of the plant love later.

No, I am not optimistic that the current administration of uncompassionate, self-serving politicians will pull their heads out of their collective backside to maybe manage a functional bandage slapped on ever growing problems in the next month or less.

But that offers the opportunity for dramatic change for the better for the majority of the actual populace. 

Current practices (and whatever weirdness they potentially escalate into) are not sustainable.  That is what gives me hope.  Things have to change.  Things must change to improve things, for everyone.