Saturday, September 29, 2007

My Downstream package!

So, I was silly and didn't take pictures of the K1T2 package I sent out, and I wish I did, BUT Cindy did!
I'll outline the contents for you anyway:
2 kinds of locally distributed loose teas from small businesses
-whole leaf white tea with melon and pear
-black tea with vanilla
One bar of local handmade Green Tea soap
One skein of Trecking wool/bamboo sock yarn in neutral grey/green/orange/browns, that coordinates beautifully with the Carnelian stitch markers that I made :)
6 cherry blossom shaped teacup coasters in maroon
A tea ball for the loose tea
A honey-lemon tea stirrer
And a tin full of tiny Earl Grey Tea shortbread cookies, made by me!

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Knit1Tea2 Package!

I had soo much fun with this swap! I got to shop for yarn and tea and make pretty things and talk to very nice other knitters.. all in all a great experience :) Not to mention the wonderful package I received yesterday! Thank you so much, Jennifer!
So, the goods, I got:

FOUR kinds of organic Green Tea! Lemon Mint, Sencha, "Fog Lifter" green tea, and a Genmai Matcha. I haven't seen Matcha since I left Japan, so that should be interesting! Also because that one is a genmai matcha, it has toasted brown rice in it. Looks very different from the matcha I'm used to. I'm sure it will be excellent :)
AND I got a TEA STICK to steep them in! I'm sooo excited about this, I've wanted one for a long time now and had never seen it in person. VERY cool invention. Check it out! http://gamilacompany.com/tea/

I got a pack of yummy-looking Chocolate scone mix, a skein of Malabrigo worstead in varigated greens (SO SOFT), a Caribou Coffee car coaster, some cafe mints, and a handknit tea towel and washcloth set! And look! The tea towel has a teapot knit into it and it says TEA at the bottom! How clever! I couldn't get a good picture of the washcloth, but it has a teacup and says tea as well :)


And it all came with a nice little note all tight in a tin. Thank you so much Knit and Tea pal! The yarn is so soft it will have to be a hat or neckwarmer..something next to the skin :)

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Craft Night!

Saturday night was Girls Craft Night! A few friends and I got together to knit, make jewelry, chat, spin, eat fudge and drink wine!
One of my friends recently took a job at a fabulous Bead Shop. They had a sale last week and I bought some yellow turquoise, carnellian chips, designer silver and copper headpins and assorted pretty glass beads :)
I made some stitch markers, and these! I needed something to wear with brown, and I don't wear much gold, so copper it is!

Camping in PA!

Joe and I went camping last weekend..er...weekend before this past one, with and in Pennsylvania. We went to Raystown Lake and stayed at this nice little campground that has campsites right on the lake! We had beautiful weather, and got to spend our evenings outside by the fire playing games, or lying by the lake staring up at the stars. Only things we didn't like about the lake were the many loud motorboats and the lakeweed.
Joe was the only one whose vacation wasn't as nice as it could be, since he got stung by what we think was a ground wasp, and got food poisoning on our last night :(
Here's some pictures!







and our beautiful new friend! The Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar!

(those aren't his real eyes)

I finished it!

I'm in love with my new scarf :) I haven't knit a scarf in a while since I get bored knitting rectangles, but this yarn was too beautiful to pass up! I saw a sample knit up in one of my LYSs and snagged the last skein of the yarn, Schaeffer Yarns "Helene", a merino silk single. This is the "My So-Called Scarf" pattern. Used size 13 needles instead of 11s. It's sooo cuddly!


Monday, September 03, 2007

Lovely Weekend

This Friday Joe came home after being gone for a month. It's one of the longest trips he's been on since we've been together. I am very glad to have him home, and he is very glad to be here :)
We got let out of work early on Friday, and I skipped my workout so I could come straight home. We lazed about and ordered pizza and watched Perfume, and went to bed early.
Saturday we had planned to take a drive, but after going to Randallstown to the pet store to get supplies for the new snakes, Joe wanted to spend the day setting up the new tanks. So he set up the tanks, and I repotted some of my plants, and we made broccoli cheese soup for dinner with biscuits, YUM! using a lower-fat recipe from Eating Well magazine. It uses white beans to add thickness, protein and fiber instead of a roux.

Sunday we took our drive, by backroads, west to New Market. It was a beautiful day, with white puffy clouds, and a light breeze, and not too hot. We drove through Mt. Airy as well, and up and over to Lake Linganore, then walked through New Market and admired the little shops and the cute buildings before heading back.
There was a rib place in New Market that looked really good, but we weren't hungry yet, so we went to Famous Dave's when we got back. I'd never tried their chopped pork sandwhich, so I got that instead of my usual ribs, and it was very good, especially with coleslaw on it. I do looove BBQ pork.

Today, Labor Day, I enjoyed sleeping in, and spending most of the day in my pjs, making white bean hummus, drinking arabian ice tea and spinning on the porch.
ahhhh this is the life!


Here's my 1st finished wheel yarn, a bulky hand dyed wool from North Carolina that my mother gave me.


and my first "art yarn", a mishmash of nearly everything I got in a sample pack from someone in the SpinningFiber Community on LJ.


I'm currently spinning up a lovely natural Cormo-Alpaca blend I got at sheep and wool, hopefully to become and 3-ply for mittens.