Things I learned from Plarn

Last week I took a class all about knitting with Plarn. You do know what Plarn is, right? Plastic Yarn made from recycled plastic grocery bags.

Lesson #1: Plan on a long evening at home. Making plarn involves cutting up lots of plastic bags and then connecting them.  Me? I was watching back episodes of Stargate SG-U: 1.0.

Lesson #2: Plarn rustles. No knitting with plarn in church! It starts out fairly wide but as it passes through your hands, it stretches and becomes much thinner. But it also makes a lot of noise . . .

Lesson #3: Plarn is easy to make mistakes with. The stitches blend together and it is very easy to lose track! I've been frogging quite a bit for using recycled plastic bags.

Lesson #4: Plarn can be very pretty! Eventually I will have an Ilene Bag - a very nice, stretchy shopping bag. Until then, though, I just have plarn.

And just in case you wanted to see a work in progress - check out Kate E. Austen's "How to make Plarn" video tutorial . . . 

(Oh, and that Saturday Seven? Pretty sure it was more than seven but I took two shopping bags full of dishes, trays, mugs and jackets over to a rummage sale. It was going to rain so I just skipped the photograph and dropped it off. Use your imagination!)

My new sock?

Okay, so I was overwhelmed by the sock love going on at the Minnesota Knitters' Guild's June "Sockapolooza" meeting - all kinds of sock techniques displayed made me hungry! - and I started another pair of socks.

The "My Vampire Boyfriend" sock from Knitty.com is a knit-a-long project over at Ravelry.com and now it's giving me heart palpitations!

I'm using some lovely Claudia Hand Painted Yarn (Fingering Weight) in the "Rubies Playing" colorway. It's a deep, rich variegated red. The pattern? Grrr. I've ripped back twice.

I'm thinking a nap should clear things up. I had a 1 mile swim this morning and while it was an okay workout and not that hard of a distance, I really had a problem sleeping last night. Lots of sighing!

The rain held off and my time was about seven minutes slower than in a pool. 

(Editor's Note: Times were posted today and my time was actually 31:12 - that's actually only 1 minute slower than my pool time! Yea!)

And I ran into fellow knitter Shelly Kang! She was doing the 2 mile swim and looked fantastic!

Today's Saturday Seven starts out pretty slowly - no photos except for a "Kent Co-Pilot Kids Tag-a-long bike." 

Our neighbors gave it to us after their own grandson stopped using it. Youngest Child is biking on his own now and we needed to find it a home. So, off to Freecycle with it!

Running with the big dogs, er, guys!

By 9 a.m. this morning, I'd run a 5k race, had a beer and brat and was on my way home. As Mr. Daisy said, "This could be a recruiting poster for the Army!"

For some reason, Mr. Pringles led off the race, the Lederhosenlauf 5k at the Germanic-American Institute. 

I was happy it was an early morning - it was pouring rain by 10 a.m. After knocking back a few chores, I think it's time for knitting and watching "James and the Giant Peach." I've started Not Plain Jane's Hedgerow Socks (only down 2-at-a-time as in 2-at-a-Time Socks: Revealed Inside. . . The Secret of Knitting Two at Once on One Circular Needle Works for any Sock Pattern! - a great resource!) and they are at the tricky getting-the-pattern-set-up part so I'm not taking them around town just yet.

As for that Saturday Seven, I found three curtains (from who knows where!), three tee shirts and a pair of sweat pants. 

When you have curtains you can't remember buying, you have to many curtains!

World Wide Knit in Public Day - coming to shop near you!

I'm not sure where I'll be for WWKIP - I'm thinking of going to Lila & Claudine's Yarn & Gifts on the 19th but here's plenty to choose from:

Alexandria, 206 Broadway, Central Park across from The Runestone Museum, Hosted by: Beth Olson on June 12, 2010

Circle Pines, Double Ewe Yarn Shop in Circle Pines, Hosted by: Kelly at Double Ewe on June 12, 2010

Mahtomedi, Lila and Claudine's Yarn & Gifts, Hosted by: Kirsten Skoglund & Polly Hart on June 19, 2010

Marshall, 349 W Main St, Hosted by: Janna Milbradt on June 17, 2010

Minneapolis, StevenBe: 3448 Chicago Ave. S., Hosted by: StevenBe on June 20, 2010

Minneapolis, Top of the Hill near the Peace & Rose Gardens in Lyndale Park, Hosted by: Ravelry knitters ChrisRKnits and PurplePurlGirl on June 20, 2010

Rosemount, Yarn Garage: 2980 West 145th St, Rosemount, MN 55068, Hosted by: Yarn Garage on June 19, 2010

Warroad, Soulutions, Hosted by: The Warroad KnitWits on June 12, 2010

Winona, Farmers' Market, Hosted by: Blandine on June 12, 2010

Where will you be knitting this weekend?

My, oh, my. A Knitting Gun!

I should be swimming right now (getting ready for a mile open water swim next week!) or even running (race tomorrow, though. Don't want to get too loose!) but intstead, I'm fiddling around on the internet. And I found this:

http://www.designspotter.com/product/2010/06/knitting-gun-Strickwaffe.html

I know that while I'm swimming, I'll be mulling over what I could make with a knitting gun. A vest? A handbag? Hmm . . .

Rainy days make for spinning days

This has been a week short on knitting - literally. I've been making chenille washcloths again.

The great thing about washcloths is that they are extremely portable - even more than socks - and if you make a mistake, no one will know. The chenille yarn (the remains of Crystal Palace Yarns Cotton Chenille from the last set of washcloths I made!) is extremely forgiving!

Today has been my first day using my Lendrum since Shepherd's Harvest - I've just haven't had the time to get things set up - but I've been spinning with a vengeance. That wretched free fleece? I've worked it up into a series of greys and black yarns and I'll be using it for something where itchiness isn't a factor. Hats? Bags? Mittens?

I've been using this rainy Saturday for spinning mostly so I can get caught up on episodes of Stargate Universe.

This is a fabulous sci-fi show with a plot very much like a "lifeboat in the stars." Using the Stargate technology (from the two previous Stargate television shows), survivors from an alien attack have ended up on an ancient starship going goodness knows where. They are trying to get home, all get along and figure out the ship's controls at the same time. Very intense! And it has Scottish actor Robert Carlyle as a good/bad scientist . . .

I did take a break to assemble today's Saturday Seven. Luckily, Oldest Daughter is moved to a new apartment this past week and supplied me with some cast-off clothes.

A pair of jeans and two tops came from her - I contributed two turtlenecks, a swimsuit cover-up, and a cycling jersey. I think this covered all the seasons! Back to SGU!

Chickens in the city . . .

or boys in the barn! Youngest Child decided that the chicken roost was just right for him. 

After a long but fun day at the Minnesota Zoo on Friday with Youngest Child and his classmates,  I came home to find this . . .

a lovely package and a kind note. What was inside?

 Jane over at Not Plain Jane had a little comment contest a while back and it turned out I won a skein of Spirit Trail Fiberworks Orihime in "Shoreline." It is a merino/cashmere blend and it is very soft!

The green/gray colors bring the rocks edging a lake to mind. I'm  hoping to get my first open water swim in this weekend so you can see where my mind is!

As part of my Memorial Day cleanup (we're having a guest - Hi, Kim!), I weeded out these games and crafts. Six board games and one plate craft. Sad to say - this was only one of several sets of Candyland. 

I'm trying to get the older girls to play a game tonight since we are all home. Carcassonne or Dutch Blitz perhaps?

Hot, hot, hot!

87 degrees F. today but I finished a pair of wool socks. No blocking here - just basic sockage! And this was my very first sock set from my homemade "Sock of the month" kit - remember this?

Bag #1 - Pagewood Farm Yukon Hand Dyed Sock Yarn/Prism for use with Twilight socks. Just say, "Checking it off!"

Until it cools off, I am working on a small hat for charity and perhaps a washcloth. When it gets cooler - I have a shrug for Oldest Daughter and the dreaded Brown Sweater to resume. Let's just say, I have some issues there that we'll discuss another day. 

Felting for fun

I spent the morning with some first graders at my son's school teaching them to make felt pictures. Since I couldn't take pictures there, I took photographs of my practice felting. Basically, I used the instructions for making flat felt in a plastic bag from “The Art of Feltmaking” by Anne Einset Vickrey.

I brought all kinds of fleece to choose from - colored scraps as well as natural colors.

Here I laid out a fleece picture on a small piece of bubble wrap - kind of like a tray to work on. I cut the bubble wrap to fit inside a ziplock bag. After the picture was ready, I slid it inside the bag. After I added some hot water and a squirt of dish soap, I zipped it up and massaged it until it felted. Here's where the bubble wrap helps with the felting process!

Emptying the cooling water and switching back and forth between cold and hot water made this take longer. I only added hot and cold water twice for the kids - I was trying to keep down the spilling! 

I did let them rub their bags of felt on a wash board to help it felt more quickly. What was funny is that they (mostly) didn't know what a wash board was!

At home, I made three sheets of flat felt as examples.

One I framed as a picture, one I made into a card and one I cut and beaded and turned into a flower pin.

Each child took home a sheet of felt in a bag and the instructions for how to rinse and dry it. It was quite fun - I think you could do this as a craft at a birthday party.  If you do, let me know how it turns out!

S'awright!

I've been spending time this week working on my 2-at-a-time Twilight socks. This pair actually went very smoothly - no gaps at the points where you switch needles - but the pair is a bit hard to photograph.

It actually reminded me of a bit of a sock puppet! Perhaps Lambchop?

I can probably get an inch or two more done tonight.

This Saturday's Seven is a pretty random batch:

A plastic lid, a pink hoodie, a pair of boy shorts, a mini-hockey stick, a pair of boots, a stuffed bear and a  commemorative bowl from Avon. I would have kept the bowl for Oldest Daughter's new apartment but - silly thing - it's marked "not safe for food use." So, what would I use a bowl for?

While you're pondering that thought, I thought you'd like this glimpse at another set of hand puppets. Senor Wences and his pals Pedro and Johnny. And a chicken.

 

There was a dance, some wool, a little rain and now, a sore throat.

Saturday night was Spring Formal night at Youngest Daughter's school and I rushed back from Shepherd's Harvest with some last minute straps for the strapless gown. And a little sweater because it was so cold!

I couldn't get them to merely hook on so I sewed them on - maybe too tight! YD said they eventually broke at the sew-on point - luckily, no big "Boing" moment for YD. Her dress had great boning and she still wore a strapless bra underneath the whole thing. Without the sweater, it looked very like John Sargent's "Madame X."

Sunday - well, that was quite a different story. Lovely weather, cheerful sheep and goats and some great Kettle Korn.

And a goofy boy!

He was quite taken by the folk music - if it's got a  beat, he's on it!

I picked up a sweaters worth of Briar Rose's Abundance yarn in a vibrant orangey-red color. I'm think a Mr. GreenJeans.

And, just in case you thought I was slacking off -

A raincoat and six teeshirts. What good is a rain coat if it fits absolutely no one?

Rain or shine - there will be wool!

It's time for the 13th Annual

 SHEPHERD'S HARVEST

Sheep and Wool Festival

May 8 and 9,  2010 

9:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m. Saturday 

10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Sunday

Cold and rainy it may be but GF Melissa and I will brave the weather. This is always a busy weekend - it's Spring Formal weekend at my daughter's school so that means a panty hose and hair product run to Target, a quick trip out to Shepherd's Harvest and then back for photographs. 

Friday, we'll be standing in line here again.

The Friends School Plant Sale

State Fair’s Grandstand Building

Friday, May 7, from 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Saturday, May 8, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Sunday, May 9, from 12 noon-4 pm. Sunday is half price.

They have great plants at very good prices but be prepared to bring your own cart and stand in line.

Just like last year's haul, I'll probably be hanging around the herbs and dye plants. Maybe a few tomatos as well.

As for Sunday's Mothers Day - think I could get one of these as a present?

Yes, it's back to Shepherd's Harvest with the family. Youngest Daughter may be sleeping in, though!

See you there!

Time out for a quick recipe

Okay, so someone wanted to know what was in my version of Oriental Pizza.

Ta, da!

Oriental Pizza from Chez Daisy

2 Tbsp. lite soy sauce
1 Tbsp. orange marmalade
1 Tbsp. honey
1/8 tsp ground ginger
2 chicken breasts - skinless and cooked. Chopped.
(Enough homemade Pizza dough for two 8-slice pizzas) * recipe below
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese - (4 ounce)
6 x green onions sliced
3 x mushrooms sliced
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese


Mix first first 4 ingredients together in a bowl. Stir in cooked, shredded chicken (great for leftovers!); cover and refrigerate while making up crust and shredding cheese - about 15 minutes.

Drain chicken and discard marinade.

Place each pizza crust on an oiled baking sheet; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Top with chicken, the sliced green onions and mushrooms and Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 450 degrees for 8 to 10 min.

This recipe yields 6 - 8 servings per pizza crust.

Home made Pizza Dough

I've set this up in the order I use for my bread machine.

1 cup water
1 tsp. salt
2 T. olive oil
1 T. honey
3 C. flour
1 packet quick rise yeast

I assemble this in my bread machine and use it on the quick dough recipe.
Before I had a machine, I made it in my mixer with a bread hook. Only that way, you have to proof or partially rise the yeast in the warm water. Either way, it makes a lovely, crisp pizza dough.

 I also use it for calzones, bread sticks, home make pretzels, etc. Very versatile! You can use molasses and whole wheat flour for a heartier taste as well.

As for this Saturday Seven - tee shirts, sweatshirts and a blouse. Good to go!

Well, the partying continues.

Okay, maybe not partying. Activity-ing? An award banquet and dinner out with my husband and, again, people coming to my house. It's a school parent activity that I put off for far too long and now - the big day will be here Friday.

Pie and coffee - what could be more Minnesotan?

This isn't so Minnesotan - I call it Oriental Pizza and boy, has it been good. Good for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Luckily, it has some vegetables.

Since I've been keeping up my strength - I've been getting some knitting in here and there.

I actually have a few more inches right now but the pattern doesn't change until I get to the heel.

The week I develop a social life

So, after a long dry spell of knit, knit, knitting - last week I had a social life. Monday - book club. Tuesday - opera. (I was supposed to go hear Franklin Habit speak at the Minnesota Knitters' Guild but the opera tickets were too hard to change. Sob.) Wednesday - swimming. Thursday - meeting at school. Friday - church group meeting at my house. Tonight - friends coming over to play Dutch Blitz. (Yes, I know that sounds like a drinking game but it's not. At least not yet.)

In the midst of all this fun and frivolity, I realized I never really showed how the Neck Down Wrap Cardigan turned out. I finished it the night before Yarnover last week and wore it to the event. 

It is warm and very comfortable - my only concern is how to stop from snagging the sweater when I brush my hair. I think I've done it six times so far - just running a brush through my hair but continuing over to my shoulder and snagging the yarn. 

The side ties are okay - very easy to use but I'm wondering, "What to do with them if I want to wear the sweater open?"

I like the waist definition the tie belt gives - just not so crazy about my options.

I have been wearing it around the house quite a bit - I even wore it to a meeting last night when I wasn't sure it went with my check pants - so I think it's a successful sweater!

I didn't buy any yarn at Yarnover - shocked, aren't you? - although I did buy some buttons, some great cedar soap and a pattern.

The new/old Elizabeth Zimmerman Green Sweater. Perhaps this Aisha Cecilia yarn "Vivian?" Or perhaps this 

Lana Grossa Royal Tweed? Decisions, decisions. 

This Saturday Seven was no decision whatsoever. Sweaters, teeshirts, boy clothes and a pencil case. Off to the Huge Sale collection at St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church  in Saint Paul. (It's next Saturday, May 1, from  9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. - I believe there is a special "Things from Humbledaisy" section!")

Now, back to pondering that yarn . . .