Crafting on - dress, socks, and control

 I am working on two projects related to this card. The first is I want to improve the consistency of my spinning for the purposes of earning my COE, and I want to keep a record of my spinning. I read that other spinners keep track by using cards or tags and keep small samples of their yarns both as singles and after the ply. If you can think of anything else I could add let me know. The second project here is a joint effort sweater for my children's godfather. I will do the spinning and another friend will be knitting him a cabled sweater. We got to talking about spinning and knitting and what kind of yarn is best for Aran style sweaters and now I a spinning samples. Then she will knit samples and we will decide which to work with. The samples will be:
2-ply, oiled, spun z plyed s
3-ply, oiled, spun z plyed s
2-ply, oiled, spun s plyed z
3-ply, oiled, spun s plyed z
and her favorite of above un-oiled.   I am researching old methods of spinning, hence the oiled wool, I have spun the first sample and am undecided about my opinion of the oiling of the fleece before carding.

This photo is a twofer as well, in the foreground is my knitting - socks as a Christmas present. The pattern is Grand Central for the NY collection by the Knitting Expat. I hate the colorway and am thinking of overdyeing it, however, someone said she liked it. So there is that.

The fabric is for the dress I am making for my interpretation work down at Garfield Farm Museum. I am hoping to get it done by May 21st, but am toying with the idea of hand stitching it, mostly. I have it cut and basted, which I did by machine. I think I will try to hand stitch it but do the gathers by machine.

This is the pattern packet front.


Joining in with the Crafting On today, I am looking forward to seeing what everyone is working on.

Monday Musings - May Eighth

Now...
The house is quiet, the washing machine is going. Jim is working in his office, Beaver is waiting for a ride to his field trip. The others are at school. I made bread yesterday and crunched on it in the car while I dropped the girls off. I finally have a cup of coffee, in my mug for my mother-in-law. The mug reminds me of something that I might be served in at the Green Dragon Inn. "it comes in PINTS?"  I am sitting here trying to organize my day.

Over the weekend...
 Jim came home from his business trip on Friday and we spent the evening with old friends. Our hostess made these yummy plantain chips and now I want more. We get together roughly every two weeks to play pathfinder and we had a good time. Most of the weekend was taken up with cuddling, we cuddled Jim because he was home, we cuddled Bunny because she wasn't feeling well (better now) and we cuddled Badger because she didn't want to be left out and her sister was getting all the cuddles. Mouse had homework, he is struggling with the workload required by placing him in classes at his readiness level - three grade ahead in Math - it is not the work itself, just the change from low to no homework to work every night. He has been reading a ton, but not recording it for his teachers, this weekend was a lot of digging out books at his reading level and convincing him to pick one, write it down and start reading it. Once he picked, he sat down and read hundred pages - he is starting the Dragonriders of Pern series - with out problem and enjoyed the book. I re-arranged part of one bookshelf with books I think he will be interested in.

Plans...
Tonight is the girl's violin concert! I have some video work to do for the video I an putting out this week and some for the next one. I am making a new dress for my interpretation work at Garfield Farm Museum. I am working on increasing consistency and record keeping in my spinning for my COE work and trying new techinques. This week oiling wool. I would really like to finish my sweater this week, but it would take a miracle. I would like to get to the gym.

Spare Time...
work on sweater and watch videos, thankfully I can do both at once!

Prayerful intentions...
I will be praying for my dad, who was much healthier before he retired. I will be praying for my friend's dad, who is in hospital while they figure out what is wrong with him. I will be praying for another friend's step-dad, who's grief is destroying him as a man.

~Julia

Ancient treadmill found

 This is the great wheel Dad restored for Garfield Farm Museum. (my photos might be odd for a while as the white balance on my camera is misbehaving - I even got out the manual!)   I demonstrated spinning on it this Sunday at their Harvest Days event.  Don't let the chair fool you there is a reason they call these walking wheels.  I had a lovely drive down - about 2 hours - and got there with plenty of time to set up and chat before getting into costume.  I also spun some more on it as I had only worked on it for about an hour after Dad finished it.

 This is the view from my perspective, across the lane from me was a woman discussing tanning and Joseph (on staff at the Museum) demonstrating blacksmithing. He is working on a chain link fence to use in future demonstrations. I was using some East Friesan wool that I processed myself and dyed with staghorn sumac - which smells lovely during the dye making process - and I ended up with 3 skeins of yarn. The yarn is varied lace to fingerling weight and I am very happy with it.

 I got Joseph to take my picture. That is the Tavern Museum behind me. The bag by the chair was given to me by a friend and fellow volunteer, it contains afghan hound fur she collect from her dogs.  I also had drop spindles to demonstrate on and have people try to spin.  It was a very pleasant day!

 My breakfast table Monday morning. The yarn is wound on the bobbins there, winding was the only time a sat on Sunday's Demo, a Great wheel is all about walking aback and forth and one guest described it as the treadmill of the 1840's.  Mouse is eating breakfast in the background and we have star anise & cinnamon apple butter and apple jelly in the jars.

My knitting.  I am learning to knit from a chart and doing lace patterns.  So I thought the great wheel yarn would be perfect. I am loving the knitting. This will be a lace neck shawl thing from Jane Austin Knits summer 2012 edition.

I hope your projects are bringing you joy!~ Julia

Apples, apples, everywhere.

This is how the day started!

I did not move the apples from the below picture onto the table. There are just that many apples.  I worked on apple related projects for the entire workday.

I am waiting for the last batch in the canner to finish so I can go to bed now.  I stopped work at 5 to take Beaver to his dad's for the weekend and visited with my parents - we meet at the halfway point which works out to be near my parents house. 
 

My Dad was helping me to restore a great wheel that Garfield Farm Museum had stored in a barn.  They want to fix them (there are three) up to have volunteers demonstrate spinning on a great wheel. They have the Garfield family wheel in the museum, these were donated at some point. Dad got it working and it looks great. We spent some time working on tension and spinning with it tonight. I need to do some research on better cord splicing methods... but that is another post this one is suppose to be about apples not spinning. It sneaks it's way into all parts of my life.

While I was working on apples today I made up these loaves of bread, which I just pulled out of the oven. I used only the yeast left in the bottom of the carboy after bottling a batch of pear cider. It is a sour dough like bread with a faintly pear cidery taste.

left to right apple butter, apple butter in cool anniversary blue glass jars that makes the food look different, and spiced apple rings.

I did up apples for jelly - I have near a half gallon of juice.  Most people dump the fruit after making juice for jelly, I don't I mill it and make apple butter. I got 5.5 pints tonight and it smells so good.  I cut and froze apple slice for pie, I am also going to try making pie filling - this is not how I make my pies normally but experimentation is fun, right? I also did spiced apple rings with cinnamon and star anise. This is a new recipe for me and they were so yummy it took serious willpower to not just eat all of them.  I have 9 half pints - side note doesn't hay-pint sound better, like a hay penny - and a half gallon of syrup I will use to make more.

Oh and the apples are still everywhere... I seriously doubt anyone but me could tell any got used - unless I made you carry the compost out - and the trees have at least that much again on their branches. Hoping you kitchen smells as good as mine ~ Julia

Understitching and life lessons.

I normally craft as fast as possible and with a deadline, I am very good at it. I have been really enjoying spinning, to the point of not working on other things that have deadlines in order to spin, but when someone asks what the yarn I am making is for I feel a little panicky. FOR? um it is not FOR anything, I made it. 

I was just working on the 1840 dress for Badger, I estimated to have it finished in two days tops. I noticed the instructions were 'out of order' and overly complicated and started to look for why they were building the dress in this manner. I was stunned by the simplicity of the final product and the benefit to the dress all the "wasted extra steps" add. I started to understitch the back and was suddenly filled with the calm that spinning brings to me.

So there it is.  Self realization does not have to look like much, the bottom have of the photo is the inside of the bodice of her dress the top half is my ironing board cover, which is actually pink and clearly in need of cleaning.

I hope you work on something today that brings you piece and calm. ~ Julia  (Joy too!)

a long drive home

Beaver took these for me as we drove, finally, home yesterday.  The sunset was more beautiful than it appears but try though we might, we could not get it to come through any better.  This is a common game for us, the one spot on the drive convincing us to get out the camera, with the remaining drive foiling us with trees and hills.  It really is a lovely drive under an amazing sky.

I worked in the field - back at the trade post site - the last two days.  Worked is a bit strong despite blisters and sunburn as the guys I am working with make it all day raze each other and laugh-a-thon.  Have not really found much yet but even given the limited amount of work we want to accomplish it is early days.  We are clearing a 50cm by 2 meter trench currently.  Olive glass, a flake, flow mulberry, and a plastic face (piece of a saint icon) are the notable items so far.

Off to Garfield to dig with their program in the morning.  

Wooly wednesday! a new plan

recently I gave up... not spinning, but my wheel.  It is just too touchy and too poorly constructed (craftsman's wheel.) I came to this realization at Garfield Farm Museum demonstrating spinning and getting from sheep to yarn. I brought my wheel down hoping it would behave, being a realist I also brought my drop spindle.  I have only spun on it this year. I was not proven wrong. The pin came out again. The wheel refused to do anything but look pretty. I did let some kids play at treadling. 

Next to me was a neat lady from  Esther's place fibers she had me try her wheel - a matchless - to say I fell in love would not be putting too fine a point on it. I am going down near her this weekend and hopefully buying a ladybug.

 Not as useful for demonstrating historically but I had to decide if I want to interpret or spin more and it is spinning!  I will have my father and friend try to fix my wheel so I can use it for reenacting but I want to spin, and spin a lot.

 Singles I spun on the drop spindle at the event.  I will ply this and knit it up as example to go with the sheep to sweater talk.

 Single I spun on the matchless while demo-ing and watching her booth for her.  She ran to take lunch and let me with her booth and wheel.  I sold a bit for her so I hope it was worth it.

Some wool she and her daughter dyed, I can't wait to try it out. 

Linking up with the ladies at Wool Wednesday!

Yarn along - I learned to crochet

Joining Ginny at Small Things for the Yarn Along!  A virtual knitting community and book club.

This is my new knitting (and crocheting) basket, I got it at the farmer's market this past weekend.  It is more red and blue than the picture shows, my kitchen makes everything look a bit pink in the morning. I am reading JD Robb's Creation in Death. I have been busting through novels lately (maybe 25 since the end of the term!)

I have been toying with the idea of learning to crochet for a while now with several friends and my sister urging the corruption upon me.  I grabbed a copy of The Happy Hooker (one of the Stitch and Bitch books) and the instructions and diagrams were very helpful.  It is so fast!!!

The Spiral Baby blanket finished off with a crocheted edge! 

 I need to block this as the center sticks up and the ladies at the knitting circle I was at last night pointed out it was a good thing it wasn't pink as it would look just like a nipple then!  The yarn is two different cotton acrylic blends so it should be nice and washable for the new momma!

My first all crochet project. 

I am making this throw - no pattern just double crochet - in colors that match my friend's living room.  As I was busy making dresses I gave her a rain check on wedding gifts, so I making her this and a small quilt. The bottom row is sparkly, I will have to get that in the photo better for next time.

And since you are here which fabric do you think looks nicest with the plaid, I ran out of fabric for the sleeves for a prairie sun dress for Badger. The plaid is the same in all three pictures and the bottom is accidentally dyed in washing and a bit brighter that the photo shows.

Off to see what's in your craft baskets! ~ Julia

Imagine my surprise

To open a favorite blog of mine and find a picture of myself!  Midlife Farmwife has a wonderful, funny blog about her adventures raising Red Wattle pigs, making soap, and standing up for what she believes in. I have met her twice now, but only rarely do I comment on her posts, so imagine my surprise to find myself in three pictures on her blog.  I was demonstrating washing and spinning wool at Garfield Farm Museum and she was selling soap and educating people about her rare breed. So head on over and see! Her soap is amazing too.

For me the highlights of the day - it was the day after the wedding and I was exhausted - were hanging out with an old friend, being on the farm, and meeting Donna of Esther's place fibers who happened to be setting up in the same barn I we were.  She was amazingly friendly and let me try out her wheel (mine was once again not working so I was demonstrating on a drop spindle and explaining how the wheel worked) I fell in love and hopefully will soon be buying a new wheel. And of course my it almost seems like I should eat it it smells so good bar of soap!

Hello there old friend aka I'm Back

I was swamped with school, my internship, helping with mom, graduation, and helping with a dear friend's wedding.  All of that is done (well I have a few more hours on the internship to go, but for all practical purposes...) so I spent a week cuddling a Butterfly and a Badger and reading novels.  I spent this week finding my house - some chores got a bit neglected - and catching up on my blog reading to find out how all my blog world friends are doing. 

I did not take a lot of pictures in my absence from the blogosphere.  Which is sad and certainly a benefit of blogging - you remember to get the picture yourself.  My husband, professors, father, and sister all claim to have taken pictures of my graduation, I have yet to see one so doubt remains. 

Jim & me dancing at the reception

Standing up for a dear friend and a union I believe in.

Same goes for my friend's wedding and the dresses I made.  Butterfly was the flower girl and I was the matron of honor.  I made both of those dresses and the bride made her own.  The wedding was Steampunk themed (Mad science + Victorian + Steam engines) and a friend in Canada sent me these two photos she took. 

I have entered Butterfly's dress into the county fair so you will get a chance to see it when I get a picture. 

Next week starts my dig season.  Finishing up the Vieau Site (knock on wood, cross your fingers) and working on the Garfield Farm Museum's dig on the weekends.  Both as a volunteer so graduation changed nothing. 

As far a working my long term plans are to stay home with my children.  Butterfly starts Kindergarten this fall and Badger the following fall, when she is in school I will look for a job, but both my husband and I wanted to have it be us that gave them their start. I don't judge other families for making different choices but this was right for us. 

My garden, the girls playing around the May pole.

Mouse hard at play.

Butterfly playing with her brother...um sleeping.

The view from my reading couch on the back porch, more roses last week.

Same view, I pulled back the lace curtain so you could see the pink wisteria climbing the pink roses better.

On the mom front, she is home and settled back in.  She nearly left us in February and only returned home within the last month.  She is weaker in many ways but stronger in others. Walking only short distances and supposed to be in the wheel chair, but more interested and active in the world around her than before.  The rehab center encouraged (lack of phone really ) to figure out face book on her phone - no reception but it could talk to the internet.   Actually, they were wonderful especially given how short-staffed they seemed to be.  She is breathing better and looks good, except her hair is falling out. In great giant clumps, every morning she wakes to find her pillow covered in hair.  Her hair has been thinning for years, but nothing like this.  I have offered to hack my hair off (and grow more to hack if need be) for her to have a wig made in hair that is like what her's was & they are looking into it.

Life is short and it races by, I am glad to sit back and enjoy it for a while, and more committed to writing about it and taking photos to remember it with.  Thank you for sharing in my world. ~ Julia

Julia and the dress of doom....

So this dress is what I was aiming for and after sewing, frogging, and re-sewing 9 times.... I got it.  Here are some pictures along the way, my husband estimates my time into the dress around 80 hours.  I think that is high but not terribly high this was a lot of work.  Come to find out none of them have made the dress, I am writing up notes so the next person has an easier time. 

Muslin work up first run, this clearly doesn't fit or line up.  In full panic mode I posted for help and several dear friends offered advice.  including your building a dress that was worn over a corset - you need to wear one to fit it.  So I ordered on from  and it arrived early and was wonderful, strong and pretty, even comfortable (unless you try to bend at the waist.)

7 re-sewings later.  The pattern is a bit out of order and assumes you will do things that are the opposite of how you would do it in a modern pattern.  The arms are too long.

This is the first day of the event.  I borrowed the apron, day cap and petticoats from the museum to finish off the look of the dress (which is about 1 1/2 inches too long) We demonstrated hearth side cooking and the different tools that would have been used. In the tin reflector oven is a roasted whole chicken, then a loaf of bread baked in the bee hive oven, red cabbage in a dutch oven, bread pudding in a dual heat dutch oven, clockwork spit is also in the picture.  We also made ginger bread cookies, schrewsbury cakes (rosewater flavored cookies,) Kentucky fried apples in spider pans, corn bread and rib eye & pork chop combo on the bedside/room spit.

My bread from the bee hive oven, gingerbread cookies and the chicken from the second day. I also got to feed the animals on the farm and make vats of 'tea' for the event.  So far I am enjoying my internship.  I will be making some costuming for the men, they have lots of stuff they made back when they would get Americorps volunteers, but it is sized to fit a young college kid.  This will also allow me to earn some of my internship hours while at home as the museum is about 2 1/2  hours from my house.

I hope you find as I did a revitalized commitment to something you care about, a new view and appreciation of a person you had discounted and the determination to keep going no matter how many times you have to frog it.  ~ Julia

The Garfield Project

At least the current one.  As part of my internship, I will be helping at there Candlelight event, doing hearth cooking demonstrations.  I need to be in costume for the period of the museum's interpretation 1841 to 1853.  I have a dress sample from them to work from and a pattern, they also gave me material to work with.  The material is in no way what they were telling me it needed to be and does not correspond to my own research.  The pattern is period correct, but very much an old fashioned pattern and written from studying a dress.  The dress sample has a lot of alterations from the pattern that remove the authenticity, but do help to aide in understanding the construction.    After I finish the one with their material, I plan to make a corset and a second dress.  I also want to help them but writing the directions out and marking the pattern out for people sized people. 

Monday musings...

Joining Nadja at Patch o Dirt Farm this morning...

Right Now... it's 9:57.  The boys are at school.  Mouse is 7 today!  The girls are still asleep - we had a big weekend but this is weird.  the dishes are going.  Jim is working after taking vacation last week.  The house is quiet.

This Weekend... was crazy busy.  Friday, Beaver had two friends over to celebrate, belatedly, his birthday.  I had a ton of work for my class.  Normally the readings take a few hours and the work takes between 1-3, this week I read for 4 days straight.  Knit like crazy while reading too. 

Saturday morning was the parents meeting for the US Junior Scale Modeling Team.  We met at a authentic french cafe about 30 minutes from my house.  I suspect being so frazzled by finding a place to park that you order anything is authentic all busy cities.  I should have taken a picture of the pastry case.  I had a Praline Dacquosie and it was good, however, as I make all the parts that go into it at home, I should have ordered something I did not know how to make.  The upside is I am making it right at home.   The meeting went well, Nathaniel is not doing well enough at school to meet the team requirements, but they believe in him and have offered to help as needed.  Just have to pull his grades up and restore his self confidence.

Saturday afternoon, I had crafting circle at my house.  Two dear old friend's and their kids came.  We had a lovely visit, which is good as one really needs her life back (leaving an abusive relationship) Then we had game night (everyone plays board games) and two more friends came, these guys we used to see all the time and I have missed dearly.  Hopefully we will see more on them in the future. 

Sunday I skipped church as I still had so much work to do.  Felt bad but Mouse's birthday started at 3 and my homework was due at 5.  I finished, cake, party prep, and homework at 3:45.  He had a great time. 

I got all but 4 things I set out to do this weekend done.  One I finished after everyone left for the night.

Some plans for the week...  Try to clean out one kitchen drawer, at least one, if I get crazy one a day.  Mid-term I missed while out west for the funeral.  Christmas crafting, lots of Christmas crafting.  Talk to adviser about next semester. Costuming project for Garfield Farm Museum.

If I find some time for myself, I would like to...  figure out the project Gutenberg thing for my nook so I can read more cheaply.


I am grateful for... my seven year old.  My husband.  Sleepy cuddles. 

Some prayerful intentions this week... several friends need some prayers.  I want to focus on being in the moment more, living this time not what happened a year ago or is going to happen next, and not being so focused on getting this thing done, then the next thing done.  More on being. 

Some things that make me smile...  Sleeping children with their heads under the blanket but their toes sticking out, just begging to be tickled.

Garfield dig spring session

The Mongerson Lab - sorting surface collections.

Whole watch found in surface collection

Sometimes, people and places come into your life and you just know you will learn a lot from them, sometimes you set out to teach something and end up teaching something else entirely.  I had a wonderful time at Garfield, I am again struck by the potential of the place and embittered by what is not being done.  I have learned so much there and from the people I work with down there.  Somethings are surely not the lesson they intended to teach, but I welcome the knowledge none the less.  I can both praise and rant about this place for hours.  I feel as if I am coming home every time I step on to the property.  I have long struggled with my involvement because I wonder if I too would be looking at it to further only my own goals and because I get so upset at the things I view as mishandled.  Is it worth the extra stress and worry in my life?  Is my idea really any better?  Can I control my temper and frustration level enough to have those whose opinion has weight listen to me or will I just be wasting my time and effort? 

I believe in this place, I believe the people who spend so much of their lives intertwined in the running of this place truly want it to be as great as it can be.  I can be of use and of value to them, but I need to stop thinking with my heart only. 

The inter-workings of of the clock all cleaned up, this had been encased in mud and took 45 minutes to clean out.  

Digging units in the morning.

English Gun Flint I found at the end of the first week.

We dug for ten days, finding mostly more of the same stuff we had been finding in previous years.  No new features where uncovered.  I got to catch up with Jamie and Maggie and live with Cheri and Betsy at the farm house.  Beaver came down and crewed with us for three days.  He loved it!!  Maybe he turn out to be an Archaeologist, though I think he would rather work with the animals next time. 

I will be doing my internship with the museum over the next year and look forward to having a chance to learn more about the running of a museum.  Of course the idea of making and wearing a costume to docent for them really works for me too! 

The Gun flint I found was really exciting too.  I called my Grandpa right away to tell him.  He is a hunter and interested in gun and old flint lock rifles. He was excited for me and told me in great detail how it would have been used, he has been so supportive of my career choice.  

Hello again and Yarn along.

I have been away awhile, in part due to being busy and in part due to being exhausted and heart-sore.  Garfield Farm Museum Dig, RA-ing the Field School, a trip to Colorado, my cousin's wedding, grandma going from being the healthiest strongest woman I have ever met to being in hospice in slightly longer than a month. I am feeling broken and tired and lost and confused.  I will write about all of these events and try to work out everything they brought into my life, how they where a discovery making me stronger and weaker, less and more, but that is for later. 


Today I am craving normal, so I am doing what I do on Wednesday and joining Ginny at small things.

I am reading everything in sight, part escapism part sanity.  This week has been two Kim Harrison novels, The Good, The Bad and the Undead and Every Which Way but Dead, Linda Howard's Kiss and Tell, Heather Graham's Killing Kelley and Elizabeth Peters' The Curse of the Pharaoh. 

Knitting wise I have been working on the little owl awhile but only a little at a time, suddenly it all came together and I finish this weekend.  It will be for Badger's birthday. About once a month, I host all the crafty types in our circle of friend over to the host, everyone works on whatever they want and we chat, inspire each other and get projects done.  I started in on this little frog for Mouse, he chose the colors, for his birthday.  Butterfly wants a pink pig - must remember to buy pink yarn - and Beaver wants a horse. The pattern book does not have a horse pattern but we both think that changing a few things on the skunk will result in a horse.