As Promised

In yesterday's post I teased you with the prospect of photos. I know sometimes it takes me a little while to get around to that sort of thing, but this time, I was prompt. Okay, well, that's a lie, really, because most of the things you're about to see have been hanging out, waiting for me to actually take pictures of them (some of them for a really long time). But, I was still prompt in uploading them and posting them after actually getting around to taking the pictures, so that's something, at least.

Okay, here we go...

First up, we have some wonderful sock yarn that it is taking every ounce of will power in me not to cast-on with. These two balls were sent by Anmiryam along with some sock needles. I knew the needles were coming, but this yarn was a wonderful surprise. Can't wait to start a pair of socks with this yarn! But, I must refrain. I'm still trying hard to get myself to finish that baby shawl. What was I thinking in making it with natural colored yarn? I love the stitch pattern I'm working with, but the bland color makes my eyes wander to cheerier projects. After having made that huge cable baby blanket with cream colored yarn before, you'd think I'd have learned my lesson. Apparently, I'm one of those people who needs to have the lesson slap her around a bit and maybe even bitch-slap her a couple of times before she gets the point.



And, speaking of colorful things that are distracting me these days, I present to you the beautiful fiber my sister-in-law slipped into a care package of such necessities as mini marshmallows and chocolate chips (the needs of an American abroad are hard to meet - especially a pregnant one with cravings). I have no idea what this fiber is, nor where it came from, since it was packaged without a label. All I know is that it's soft and gorgeous. The picture doesn't really do it justice, though. It's more purple and silver than the blue I see on my screen here. Wonderful stuff! Now you see why it was absolutely imperative that I empty the bobbin on my spinning wheel. I mean, a girl must have her priorities. Now that the bobbin is all ready to go, though, I'm having second thoughts. What if I'm not worthy of this fiber yet? I'm so afraid of messing it up. I'm sure the urge to see how it spins up will soon win over these feelings of inadequacy, though, so I'm sure to have some spinning photos soon.



And, as I mentioned the other day, I was frustrated by the fact that my antiquish spinning wheel, unique as it may be, only spins well in one direction, because the wheel is warped. Not one to be deterred by an inanimate object's mockery, I decided to circumvent the use of the wheel for plying the yarn and use a drop spindle instead. I have had one drop spindle for quite a while. Unfortunately, however, as many spinners will tell you, the name for that contraption is very fitting - you do end up dropping it a lot while learning. Mine didn't seem to like such abusive treatment, and the wood split at the point where the hook is. I "fixed" it, but it's certainly not ideal. This is why it's pretty cool that Renata sent me a Turkish Drop Spindle a while back - okay, a LONG while back. I was remiss in posting about it, because my son took an instant liking to it (it's a stick, after all), and I had to hide it before any damage could be done. Don't worry, I was not remiss in thanking her, only in thanking her publicly. So, thank you, Renata, for allowing me to actually ply the yarn I plan to spin on my wheel. Without you, this would have been a huge pain in the neck, if not impossible. This is the object I was desperately searching high and low for the other night. It was finally found, and here it is for you to see. Kind of cool, even if I haven't exactly mastered the technique yet.

And, by the way, please notice the stylish little doodad in the background - the blue one (I think doodad is the only way to describe a car like this). After driving this borrowed vehicle, I am thoroughly convinced that avoidance of cars like this are why people buy gas-guzzling monster SUVs. My theory is that for every 10 SUV owners, at least half must have a car like this lurking in their past. Seriously, I can't feel totally safe in a feather-weight object of this size when I'm couched between a delivery van and a semi.



Okay, and a last little point of randomness: fried flowers. We still don't have much that is edible in our garden yet, but there are lots of flowers everywhere. There are flowers on the tomato plants, on the green bean plants, the potato plants, the melon plants, and best of all there are some on the squash plants as well. What's great about these flowers is that you can actually eat them. They're yummy stuffed with goat cheese and deep fried. I didn't have any goat cheese on hand last night, but I didn't want the few blooms available to go to waste. So, I battered them up and fried them plain. Not bad. The kids enjoyed them, too, but then, as my brother told me on his recent visit here: anything can taste good fried (even the eggplant he hates). I served them next to a yummy dinner omelette and some pasta salad (not pictured here). Pretty darn good for a quickie dinner.

Tomorrow (well, don't quote me on that - let's say "soon"), you may look forward to a little shot of the one Go With the Flow sock I currently have finished. I love this sock!