ice making

We had some friends visiting this weekend, in town for the paella event that took place in the back yard last night. They are in the middle of a summer vacation winding their way from Flagstaff to Oregon and back mostly camping along the way. They were complaining that you can't find block ice anymore. This is true we have found, it is a scarce resource. So I sent them on their way pulling my ice from the freezer.  But suddenly I had no ice. And what if on the spur of the moment I want to leave town? So I went into the basement and grabbed my stash of milk bottles and am in the process of starting a new batch. Now, for your information, waxed milked cartons hold the ice longer, I gave away the two I had prepared. But the advantage of the plastic is, as it melts, it doesn't fill up the bottom of your cooler with water. I'll get some wax cartons into the freezer as soon as we consume the milk.

the paella about to be served

And from the studio this weekend, I finished one hat of Finish yarn, gave it away, and am starting another. And I may be heading down a new crafts path, felted bowls. You can see the one drying in the window sill. I do worry about myself sometimes, but felting is a new adventure. Boredom does not run in my genes.

finishing, starting, summer solstice 2015

So two tams finished, buttons on, ends woven in, blocking done. However having completed some projects I felt the need to start  more. Not that I don't have any in the pipeline, but my friend Liza brought me some yarn from Finland and I felt compelled to start another tam.

These two baskets contain, one moebius, one cowl, and two hats. I think knitters are happiest when they have choices. There is vest and sweater going too, but I've put them out of sight.
And to celebrate Solstice I've brought out the blue calico dishes, and baked a plum-pluot pie. The dinner menu includes smoked salmon and goat cheese appetizer, barbequed chicken, corn on the cob, caesar salad and of course fresh bread and plenty of wine.

from ansel to an obession with color

I finished my  Ansel Adams Zone System quilt. Quite happy to have finished as this has been in the works for a long time. No small undertaking for such a small project, this involved fabric collection, block choices, template finding, and remembering how to piece a Moon Over the Mountains. But now that it is complete I can move on to my obsession with malabrigo lace merino and COLOR.

On a sad note, our grey striped, pointy nose friend, has moved on to his next adventure. He is missed and we await who the cat gods will send to take his space. The cat gods are an unpredictable lot, but we will be patient, after all they have given us many good mousers.