So much fiber, so little time

Oh, crap. I have to

Oh, crap. I have to do the guild newsletter today. Since no one bothered to send any items for it, it will at least be mercifully short ...

Home again, home again, jiggedy

Home again, home again, jiggedy jig. The weather-postponed visit is over, and the Silja socks were a perfect fit. I did spend more time than I cared to fixing computers, but at least they're all working now. I'm going to try to squeeze in a little spinning over the next few days just to compensate!

Well, the snowstorm fixed my

Well, the snowstorm fixed my computer deadline, i.e. I didn't go anywhere. So the old computer is appropriately beaten up (actually entirely rebuilt!) and out of my computer space. No more claustrophobia, and just one little ol' spiffy iMac sitting neatly on the desk.

Now maybe I can get back to some fiber stuff. I have plans in my head for gargoyle socks ...

grump. grump. grump. I'm trying

grump. grump. grump.
I'm trying to get my old computer cleaned up to take to my mother. Just what I love to do on my time - beat up computers on a deadline.
grump. grump. grump.

Not much fiber-y stuff going

Not much fiber-y stuff going on, because I'm trying to install software and move files to the new computer. But I did wash the musket skeins, and they look good.

So much for "no more

So much for "no more knitting"! I started swatching the Clun Forest yarn. But I guess it doesn't really count, because I was waiting for the auto dealership courtesy van and couldn't have woven anyway :) It's knitting up at 5 st/inch on 3.5mm needles (ah mixed measurement systems! Whatever - I dye in metric and weave in English. It's still the same amount of stuff), so I should fly through a child's hat. That will be my visiting-family knitting, assuming the weather permits travel.

Ta da! The Silja

Ta da! The Silja socks are out of my hair! I used a 2.5mm 12" circular for the socks, although the double points for the heel flap and toe were 2.25mm Brittanys. Gauge over stockinette was about 7 st/inch. I do have some variegated yarn left over, but I don't think there was enough to do the heels and toes without the contrast color.

No more knitting for a bit, because I really have to weave off the warp on the loom.

Woo! My new iMac is

Woo! My new iMac is here, and I'm partially through the transition. At least it's connected to the DSL modem and the software is up-to-date. Of course, there's a metric shitload more software to install.

Tomorrow I should finish the Silja sock because we have an idiotic staff retreat. In fact, I'm going to have a backup project to fill out the rest of the time - a hat out of the purple/pink Clun Forest yarn.

I shoulda stood in bed.

I shoulda stood in bed. It was definitely a Monday! First, the roads were nice and greasy early this morning, and some bozoid in a Jeep was tailgating me. Later in the day, I returned to the car, put the key in the lock, and said key sheared off in my hand. Finally got hold of a spare key (one of them was apparently eaten by the black hole under the house) and four hours later, retrieved my car.

So I'm going to knit quietly tonight. I got all the way into the heel flap of the second Silja sock yesterday, and maybe I'll work out my frustrations by finishing it while watching the wonderfully creepy Wire in the Blood on BBC America.

Finally, the musket Shetland

Finally, the musket Shetland is spun up, all 24 ounces of it. It still needs to be washed, but that's more stash moved from one category to another!

And Hedy is modelling my snow shoveling hat, although I only wear it if the wind chill is about -40. The yarn is 3-ply Corriedale (I think). The darker blue was dyed with Landscape Marine plus a touch of black, and the variegated yarn is also in Marine, but ball-dyed at about half strength. The brim is knitted twice as long as needed, then knitted together with picked up stitches from the cast-on edge, and the pattern is a simple slip stitch.

News flash! Interweave will republish

News flash! Interweave will republish Richard Rutt's A History of Hand Knitting in May 2003. This was, IMO, the most interesting bit in an otherwise unappealing issue of Handwoven - and it was in an ad. Oh well, I'm a lifetime subscriber, and this editor too shall pass.

This is the image

This is the image that leapt into my mind when I saw the nosewarmers in Knitty.

She turned me into a newt!

I got better.

Lemon Poppy Seed Biscotti This

Lemon Poppy Seed Biscotti

This is my adaptation of a recipe from The Best 50 Biscotti Recipes.

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
2 tbs. poppy seeds
1 tsp. lemon oil (not extract)
1 tbs. grated lemon peel (optional)
2 cups unbleached white pastry flour (I get pastry flours from King Arthur Flour)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (obligatory fiber content!)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
pinch salt

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, poppy seeds, lemon oil and peel. Beat well. In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Fold into lemon mixture on low speed until well blended. Dump mixture into greased biscotti pan (item 5128 from King Arthur Flour). Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean and the cake feels firm in the center.

Cool on a rack for 5 minutes. Invert onto another rack and release from pan. Invert again, and let cool for at least 10 minutes (it will be easier to slice when slightly cool). Cut into 1/2 inch slices. Place slices on cookie sheet(s) with a bit of space around each, and bake 10 to 15 minutes or until firm and lightly browned. Cool thoroughly on a rack, and store in cookie jar or airtight container. They keep a very long time!

You can use unbleached flour instead of the pastry flour. The lower-gluten pastry flour is a bit more tender, but since they're essentially stale anyway, it doesn't matter much :)

I'm really tempted to start

I'm really tempted to start this webring, as per Ivete's suggestion. Unfortunately, I can already see the earnest emails from the humor-impaired, chiding me for discouraging young knitters ...

Fabrics That Go Bump arrived in today's mail. While I don't care for the Knitter's-style formatting (icky background title scrawl, etc), it's got several drafts I'll take a closer look at. I've always liked deflected double weave, and there's a lovely tote bag in honeycomb that has Elaine's name all over it. I also love the wool/cotton seersucker jacket, although I doubt I'll ever weave it - at least until I get a loom with a double back beam.

Oh yeah, the sock is done, but I think I'll do some spinning before I start the second one.

'Nuff said.

'Nuff said.