Category Archives: blogland

four.

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Today is my blogiversary. Has it really been four years? To celebrate, I got my blog a present: its very own domain. You can now find us at barefootroosterDOTcom, though the wordpress home will automatically point you to the new domain. (Everything else is staying the same — still hosted at and by wordpress. I’m not that technologically fancy!) RSS feeds should still work, but if they don’t let me know.

Also, thanks for being here, for reading, for commenting, and for knitting, spinning, and cooking with me. I say this every year, and I’ll keep saying it because it is true: I’ve found more community on the internets than I ever thought possible. Thanks for being part of it.

mojo?

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Have you seen mine? Because I’ve had a hard time finding it lately in the knitting/spinning/blogging department. (Also, the dissertation department.) But you know what? I’m newly resolved not to let it bother me. I’m sure it will come back; after all, this space is dear to me.

But enough of that. Want to see what I’ve been up to this week?

Swimming. (Suit drying on the porch.)

Eating. (More specifically, eating tomatoes: in tarts, broiled on bread with cheese, and straight from the cutting board.)

Picking flowers. (And putting them all over the house.)

Lounging with Boh.

And today? Well, today I’m taking Saturday seriously. I slept in, made pancakes, read for pleasure, and frolicked a bit with Boh. I even put on my swimsuit in order to encourage the sun to come out. See?

Still rainy, but it might clear up enough for me to take a quick dip.

I’m also macerating blueberries on the kitchen counter. Later today, they’ll become this blueberry crumble. (Berries courtesy of Laura.)

I don’t have any new pictures to share of my Whisper cardigan, but I have been knitting on it. Photographic evidence soon. Happy weekend!

ricotta in action.

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You know how I post pictures of me wearing my handknits (often when I have no knitting progress to share) and call the series “knits in action”? Well, I took one look at this photo of my first batch of Deb’s ricotta, smeared on toast and drizzled with honey, and all I could think was, RICOTTA IN ACTION! We’ll see if this becomes a companion series to my photographs of handknits.

Remember, you have until the end of today (Wednesday) to comment on Friday’s post for a chance to win Killing the Darlings by Pearl and the Beard!

More soon!

overwhelmed.

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I’ve certainly been feeling the less-than-awesome kind of overwhelmed this week. Which is why I’m pretty psyched to get to share (another) example of the good kind of overwhelmed.

This delicious Fine and Raw almond chunky chocolate bar arrived in a box of fibery treats from dear knithound. I sat down at the kitchen table and savored it. (And then thought you might to at least see the wrapper. This stuff is incredible!)

Along with that chocolate (which I’m not sure if I should describe as heavenly or sinful), knithound sent me three special bundles of undyed luxury fiber: an ounce of merino/cashmere, an ounce of oatmeal cashmere, and an ounce of a yak/tussah silk blend, all from The Yarn Tree. I keep opening the bags to pet them.

You may have noticed that I haven’t really been spending much time at the wheel lately — there’s just so much to do. But these — these might be just the right amount for a small break, time to decompress, or work through an idea. I might even dig out a drop spindle for one of these fiber bumps.

Thank you, knithound, for this overwhelming (in the good way) box of luxury. And thanks to all of blogland for your kindness and comments on what it means to grow older and to reflect on experiences and expectations these last few weeks.

treats.

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Homemade strawberry-balsamic syrup on top of my morning granola. (I might have done this every day this week.)

A different kind of treat arrived in the mail this week: mitten cuffs from brokeknits, thoughtfully knit over 29 st to mark my 29th birthday. So sweet, and one of the best ways I can think of to make reading and writing a bit cozier.

I wore them all day today, and stayed warm as the wind howled.

pounding mill press and plying.

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I ordered some absolutely gorgeous note cards from Pounding Mill Press, and they arrived yesterday. (Full disclosure: M., of Pounding Mill Press, is a friend of mine. Rather than tell you this to suggest that I might be biased, I do it in order to be able to take a moment to comment on her general awesomeness, which makes me recommend her stuff, her style, her cupcakes all the more. She also does custom projects — lots more info on her site.) Anyway, I ordered these blank-on-the-inside alphabet cards, and they are exactly what I was hoping for.

M. tucked in a sample note card or two in a different designs, and some engraved pencils that clearly I can’t live without, despite not knowing I needed them. I can’t decide which to sharpen first: Love is a Battlefield, or A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama.

If you, at this very moment, are realizing that a package of palindrome pencils would make your writing, grading, grocery-list-making, etc. infinitely better, these are available in the Pounding Mill Press online shop. (I just checked. I can think of at least ten people who would LOVE these.)

When I read these out loud to Boh, he looked at me like this:

I don’t think he liked “Go Deliver A Dare Vile Dog” so much.

Last night, at bedtime, I was feeling antsy. My reading went slowly yesterday, and I just needed to either get something else done, or unwind some more. I had just read Laura’s post about 2010, where she talks a bit about spinning, relaxing, and mind-wandering, so I got out my wheel (which needed to be both tightened and oiled — the weather has changed A LOT since the last time I did any spinning) and sat down to ply.

This is the first half of an experiment I described in this post – SCF Rhinebeck and Hello Yarn Cauldron, plied together (both polwarth). The process of plying these last night was exactly what I needed to decompress after some difficult reading, but I’m not sure about the pairing yet. I’m really happy with what you can see here on the bobbin, but there is a bit section where red and green are plied together in the middle, and it might just have the effect of muting each color. I’ll have to see what I think once it is washed and skeined, and then I can decide if I want another skein just like this, or if I want to do something different with the other half-bumps of each colorway. Either way, nice to be sitting down at my wheel again. I hope I can make time to spin this spring.

indirect enabling.

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That’s right, folks. I’ve got a story that starts with Mick and ends with new earrings. See, weeks ago, Mick invited me to try Pinterest. (Which is a super cool way to make virtual pinboards and share them with the cloud. Turns out I went to school with the dudes behind this new way to organize awesomeness.) Anyway, when I was sick earlier this week, I decided to play around on the site. And I found so many pretty things, one of which really stuck with me: this pair of earrings, made from clock hands. And so I decided to get myself an early birthday present. I mean, I’m a historian. How can I not have earrings made out of clock hands?

Exactly.

Aren’t they incredible? I love that a pair is one hour hand and one minute hand. They’re made of brass, so they’ll tarnish with wear. Which I’m extremely excited about. I’m justifying these as an early birthday present to myself. (Well, and as part of my professional duty. Or something.)

I wasn’t joking when I said I might not take my idlewood off. Today, after a much needed early morning yoga class, I put on a “real” outfit and walked in the snowy sunshine down to the coffee shop to read. The only question I have right now is what color I should knit this in next. And I’d cast on immediately, if it weren’t for all this reading. Well, and that new year’s resolution I made to actually finish the sweaters I’ve got on the needles. More on that soon.

Also, just so you don’t think I take pictures of myself all day:

Here is yesterday’s work, a cup of tea, and a new (new?) shale cowl for my mom. She picked out this 100% silk yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts as her Christmas gift (I think I have Mick to thank for talking about this yarn several months ago on her blog), and asked for an eternity scarf. But then, as we looked at pattern pictures, it became clear that when she said “eternity scarf” she meant “lacy cowl.” I’m glad I waited to consult with her about the pattern! My parents are driving down to take me out to dinner on Friday, and I’d love to have this ready for her to wear. We’ll see…

 

FO: felicity.

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I accidentally finished this hat instead of finishing a book yesterday. Oops! I used Araucania Nature Wool (about 2/3 of a skein), size 6 and 8 needles, and I cast on 90 instead of 70 stitches. And then I followed the pattern. Now, I’m going to show you a picture of me wearing this hat. I don’t think this is the kind of style that works well on short, big hair. Good thing the intended recipient has smooth, shiny hair. So it should work, right? (The other concern I have is that it looks really awkward not on a human head, you know? Too big, and sort of weird. Oh, well. Maybe this will be a test of how well my brother’s girlfriend receives handknits?!)

This hat is poofier than it looks in this picture. Trust me.

Boh was passed out in the background when I was getting ready to take this picture. And then I said, “Are you hungry?” Which was sort of cruel, as it was not yet dinnertime.

There is nothing cuter.

Also, remember how I won amazing peach rum preserves over at Libby’s blog? Well, I dug into one of the jars today, and this stuff is INCREDIBLE. Note to self: make A LOT of boozy peach preserves next summer.

Tomorrow I am going to a dance party. For my favorite (almost) eight-year-old’s birthday. And you know what I’m giving him? Yarn.

I’m told I’ll get to do the Macarena.

fake it ’til you make it.

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That’s what K. said today when I tried to articulate that I felt the need to at least “look” put-together, even if I don’t feel like it right now. See?

Wednesday, before I got completely soaked below my raincoat and above my boots. Luckily, the torrential rains turned to snow for the walk back home.

And today, before bundling up in a down vest, handspun fingerless mitts, my handspun wurm hat, and my trusty pink spindle-spun cowl.  Hooray for the arrival of handknit weather!

And here is Boh. He doesn’t fake it.

I came home between commitments today to walk Boh, read for fun, and drink a pot of tea.

And start the last repeat of the basic portion of my terra shawl. Thank you all for your kind comments on yesterday’s post. As I work to process the end of a meaningful relationship, I am just so thankful for my craft and for my community, both here in blogland and in real life.

leftovers (edible and otherwise).

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First of all, my mom is awesome. This is what I just put into the oven — a complete collection of Thanksgiving leftovers. (There’s cranberry relish too.) Plus, my dad gave me a bottle of chardonnay to accompany all this deliciousness. (B and I celebrated Thanksgiving in different places, so tonight we get to enjoy some turkey together!)

My mom also baked a few extra half-size loaves of cranberry bread to send home with me. This is a Thanksgiving morning staple in my house. So tasty.

And now, some blog leftovers — photos I snapped last week but didn’t find time to post.

Last Tuesday, I wrapped this sweet little merino shawlette around my neck before walking Boh, and thought to snap a picture. This is the perfect extra bit of warmth on a windy day.

And then there’s this top, which has a great story that just affirms (like I needed that!) how wonderful the knitting community really is. Did you guys get the email from Quince and Co. about these mitts? (If not, you should totally get on their mailing list.) Well, I think the mitts are adorable, but I absolutely fell in love with the styling. I left a comment on the Quince and Co. blog to ask about the top the model is wearing, and within minutes (THE) Pam Allen wrote me back to tell me that it came from All Saints. And then I bought it. And wore it on Monday, for the discussion of my paper. And I felt super hip. And now all I need are some super long mitts…

Hope you’ve all had a fantastic holiday weekend. So much to be thankful for here at casa rooster.