Yes, I went.  Why do you ask?

Here’s the take:

The take

Soooo much less than previous years.  However, I did purchase combs and hand cards this year which were not inexpensive.  But I needed them and have been waiting until the fiber fair to purchase.

On the fiber front, I picked up three beautiful balls of Roving from The Copperpot: “Desperado” – a supersoft Merino, Two “Lucky Penny” – a gorgeous Merino/Tencel/Corriedale/Bamboo blend,  some superwash white Merino and some natural Tussah silk.  I’m currently spinning the Desperado I got last year, and love it so much that I was hoping to get more.

From Anne Tullett, I purchased some beautiful camel down, lovely cashmere, and a white bombyx silk/merino blend.  Then there was “the skunk”:  Anne has named it Black Magic, but it reminded me of a skunk – black alpaca, white angora & silk and fine polwarth wool.

The big bag is full of Southdown Babydoll fleece from Amazing Grace Farm.  Beautiful dark chocolate color.  I am anxious to get it cleaned and carded.

Interestingly, there were more vendors selling spinning wheels and looms this year than in previous years.  And a whole range of wheels, Ashford, Lendrum, Spinolution, Majacraft and others.  Peace Eagle Valley had the new Majacraft Aura – which I have been wanting to take a peek at.  A really beautiful wheel, like sexy beautiful.  Unfortunately, time and crowds prevented me from taking it for a spin, and price kept me from seriously considering a purchase.  We are trying to work our debt down so as to increase our flexibility / options where our careers are concerned.  That, and I had just gotten a Majacraft Little Gem a few months ago.  Plus we just acquired a new iPad on Friday…but I digress.

Dennis went with me (he’s such a trooper, however, I think he secretly enjoys it), but had to leave early because a special ‘downtime’ project at work.   What should have been an hour or so turned into an 5+hour ordeal.

At 4:20 p.m., he called me as he was on his way home.  I jokingly told him he had 20 minutes (to get to a place 40 minutes away, natch) and get that Majacraft wheel.  He seriously informed me the fiber fair had ended at 4:00 p.m., not 5:00 p.m.  He was right.  A party pooper, but right.

I was in the kitchen when he got home.  He called out,

“Where you expecting a package?”

“No.”

“Well, there’s a package on the porch.”

I thought about it.  I had ordered a ‘Knitting Ganseys’ book and DVD from Knitting Software earlier in the week.  Perfect!  I thought about that Babydoll fleece.  Would there be enough to knit a sweater?

I toddled off to the front door to get my package.  The evening was set – Knitting Ganseys DVD!  Maybe popcorn.  Well, it was exciting for me.

I opened the door.  There on the front porch was that Majacraft Aura.  The bamboo shining in the sunlight and the extra bobbins calling out to me -

“Take us for a spin!”

I love Dennis.

The Majacraft Family

That’s the Aura, center stage.  Little Gem on the left, Suzie Alpaca on the right.

Technorati Tags: Ashford, Black Swamp Spinners Guild, fiber, Lendrum, Majacraft, Southdown Babydown, Spinning, Spinolution

Very sad indeed.

Okay, not really.

Technorati Tags: Dogs, Fluff, Toys

The sock is coming along.  The yarn is kinda scratchy because of the metallic strand.  I suppose it could act as an exfolliant for your feet every time you wear them.  Smart and thrifty!

Technorati Tags: socks Christmas knitting

11:00 PM
Round and round…never.freakin’.ending rounds. Perhaps enough for today.

Technorati Tags: dogs knitting Christmas socks

Honestly, Hobby Lobby had their Christmas trees on display in early September.  That’s not even necessary, man, and it’s not right.

Oh, by the way, I’m knitting festive Christmas socks today.

Shut up.

Marathon Yarn; North Pole – 316 Victorianna

Technorati Tags: Christmas, Knitting, Marathon yarn, North Pole, socks, Victorianna

I purchased yarn and a baby blanket pattern and started to knit it in the spring.  Shortly after we found out she was expecting.  It’s now the fall.  She’s due in 2 weeks.

We had a LOT of house projects going on this spring and summer, therefore, I chose a simple pattern that would be kind of mindless and automatic.  Logical decision, right?

It’s so mindless that it’s boring.  Eyes rolling back in my head boring.  I find myself knitting a few rows each night and putting it aside.    I measured today.  I’m only halfway through the body of the blanket, and still have the edging to do.  She’s due in 2 weeks.  That’s soon.  That’s really soon.   I should be knitting on it now, but I feel queasy just thinking about it.

I shall rethink my easy-peasy strategy should they have a second baby.

The Blanket

P.S.  Doesn’t it look like the Good Humor man spit up on that blanket?  Really.

Technorati Tags: Knitting

I felt pretty comfortable through the kneading, raising and shaping.  The second rise went (I thought) fine.  I felt fine until I put the thing in the water.  That’s just so weird to me.

I boiled as directed, flipped it as directed and took it out of the water at the directed time.  I cut it with thread (as directed), which I must say is pretty nifty.

Raw.  Or as Gordon Ramsey would say, red raw (except it wasn’t red, that’s just an expression).  Really doughy.  I put it back in the water to cook some more.  The timer dinged and I went to retrieve it.   I put that dumpling on my cutting board, wheeled around to set it on the table so that I could cut it with thread and…

And then God laughed.

The wetness of the dumpling and the wetness of the cutting board met, that dumpling skidded across the cutting board and on to the table and hit the seat of the chair and plopped on the floor.  And then God snickered because that dumpling bounced.  I stood there and watched.  And I said this – “Hey!”.  This brilliant commentary changed nothing about my circumstances.

Fortunately, I had my second dumpling ready to go (!) and slid it into the boiling water.

I boiled the crap out of that second dumpling.  I had to readjust the timing on my chicken paprikash but that’s okay.  I took that dumpling out of the water and held on for dear life, put it on the cutting board, sliced it with thread (too cool) and held my breath.  It didn’t look half bad.  Not half good, but not bad.

I will hopefully be able to get it a tad airier at some point.  If looked and tasted a little dense.  But it was edible (especially with the paprikash sauce) by me, Dennis and, most importantly the dogs.

High praise indeed.

Chicken Paprikash & Bread Dumplings

Technorati Tags: bread, cooking, dumpling, Houskove, Knedliky, Paprikash

Oh, the biscuits in the Navy

They say they’re very fine

One fell off a table

And killed a friend of mine

It was funny at the time….

I’ve become a competent baker and I enjoy making bread, cakes, etc.  Still can’t make a pie crust to save my life — my mom’s ‘never fail pie crust’ recipe that I found in her recipe box has met it’s match in me.

Dennis & I went to lunch at a charming little restaurant called The Old Prague a few weeks ago.  I had the Chicken Paprikash and Dennis had the Roast Pork (only because they didn’t have the Wienerschnitzel).  We got an order of the dumplings (Houskove Knedliky) and spaetzel.

The bread dumplings were delicious.  I mean, amazingly delicious.  So stupendously, amazingly delicious that I vowed to make them at home.

I did my research.  I searched my collection of cookbooks and the internet for authentic Czechoslovakian bread dumpling recipes.  I settled on one that got excellent user ratings and drove in.

I don’t have photos to show you because I didn’t take any and, frankly, if I had, I wouldn’t post them for fear of frightening the reader and embarrassing myself.

What I wanted to get and didn’t was something like this:

Bread Dumplings - YUM!

What I got, was something heavy, lumpy, doughy and so bad, the dogs wouldn’t even eat it.  Because really, when your “I’m near death because I’m starving even though I just had my breakfast and maybe I’ll just eat that bug crawling by to prolong my life until dinner” dogs won’t take a bite of something, well…it’s bad.

I’ve watched a handful of YouTube videos and reviewed several more recipes and will try again.  I’m apprehensive, but ready to walk on the wild side making another batch of bread dumplings.

Any advice would be seriously appreciated.

Technorati Tags: bread, dumpling, dumplings, Houskove, Knedliky

And here I am at 1:30 a.m. playing with it. I feel like such a conformist. I hate that!

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPad

Do I need more yarn & fleece?  No, no I don’t.  Am I going to buy some anyway?  Yes, yes I am.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

Technorati Tags: fiber, fleece, Knitting, Spinning, yarn