Monday, May 19, 2008
Meme
1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
In 1998 I was living in San Francisco, working as a cook in a fancy brick-oven pizza/Italian place, and plotting my return to NY and culinary school.
2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
Today? I brought my car in to get fixed. I went to work. I went to the library and found that after they sent me a notice saying that a book I returned was missing, they had found it but hadn't bothered to send me another letter to inform me. I borrowed some knitting books while I was there. I ate leftover quiche for dinner.
3) Snacks I enjoy:
It would be easier to list snacks I don't enjoy.
Today, I enjoyed an apple, cookies made by my friend J, hmm, that's it! I usually snack more than that. I might dig in to some mixed nuts in a few minutes.
4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Travel. To places where I can eat fancy cheese and drink fancy wine mostly.
5) Places I have lived:
Connecticut, Upstate NY (Rochester), Hudson Valley, Oneonta (college), a brief stint in Winston-Salem NC, San Francisco, Phoenix, and as usual, back the Hudson Valley.
6) 5 peeps I wanna know more about-
I can't think of any bloggers to tag. If you read this and want to join, go for it.
In 1998 I was living in San Francisco, working as a cook in a fancy brick-oven pizza/Italian place, and plotting my return to NY and culinary school.
2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
Today? I brought my car in to get fixed. I went to work. I went to the library and found that after they sent me a notice saying that a book I returned was missing, they had found it but hadn't bothered to send me another letter to inform me. I borrowed some knitting books while I was there. I ate leftover quiche for dinner.
3) Snacks I enjoy:
It would be easier to list snacks I don't enjoy.
Today, I enjoyed an apple, cookies made by my friend J, hmm, that's it! I usually snack more than that. I might dig in to some mixed nuts in a few minutes.
4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Travel. To places where I can eat fancy cheese and drink fancy wine mostly.
5) Places I have lived:
Connecticut, Upstate NY (Rochester), Hudson Valley, Oneonta (college), a brief stint in Winston-Salem NC, San Francisco, Phoenix, and as usual, back the Hudson Valley.
6) 5 peeps I wanna know more about-
I can't think of any bloggers to tag. If you read this and want to join, go for it.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Chancellor's Sheep and Wool Showcase
I had such a great weekend! A few months ago someone posted on Ravelry looking for a partner to share a vendor space at the Clermont Fiber Fair in Germantown, NY. For those of you who aren't familiar with Hudson Valley geography, it's a few miles up the river from Rhinebeck. Clermont is an old estate that used to be a big sheep farm, located on a lovely hill overlooking the Hudson River. This is the main house:
It's pretty impressive. I wish I had the chance to take a tour of the house. I did get a few moments to explore the grounds and take some pictures of the house and the lovely views, as you will see if you scroll down a bit.
The reason we were there, however, was to buy and sell some yarn and fiber. Dawn and I collaborated to build a lovely booth full of lots of different types of wool and yarn. Dawn even had some incredible fair-isle tams that she had knit, everyone was impressed with her skillz. Here is a view of our booth:
We did do a little re-arranging as the day went on and we saw the need, but the basic set-up looked like this. I moved my wheel out towards the path that went by us and it attracted lots of kids who were mesmerized when I let them work the treadle and make the wheel spin.
Here's a view of Dawn's side of things. She had beautiful Shetland fiber (the luscious braids you can see hanging) and some local Icelandic fiber, among other things.
This is my side. I had tons (well, really about 9 pounds) of merino fiber and piles of yarn that I dyed. The sock yarn sold the best, though everyone stopped to give a little squeeze to the fiber braids on both sides of the booth. My favorite was a little girl that grabbed a braid of fiber and hugged it tight, declaring to her mom that she loved it as she patted it like a loved pet.
The grounds where the fair was held were just unbelievable. This huge mansion overlooking the river, and the gardens were also impressive. I kind of want to go back in a week or two to see the lilacs in bloom. Lilacs are my favorite, and the place was just filthy with lilac bushes of all shapes, sizes, and colors on the verge of blooming. I would love to see (and smell) them in bloom.
This is the view from the back door of the big house:
The back door: The lions on either side of the door were great; one was sleeping and the other one looked cranky about it.
This is the house as seen from the banks of the river:
I took lots of pictures of the view of the river, there is a long walk along the river behind the house. Below the grounds, the land drops off and you can see the Metro North train tracks running below. But the views were gorgeous, especially with everything just starting to sprout and bloom and leaf.
All in all, I had a great time. The things I said the day before (requesting to be slapped into sense if I ever suggested doing this again) are forgotten. It was alot of work and I worried about everything I could think of leading up to it, but it was all worth it. Thanks to Dawn for being a great partner and booth-mate, and to Tina for telling me I could do it and being so supportive and positive.
That's me, Dawn, and Tina, left to right, at the end of the day.
I guess my next post will be about the Knit and Spin that Tina is hosting soon. It will be held June 28 in Catskill, NY, in a similarly picturesque location by the river. You can see info at Tina's blog, Pheonixfiberworks.com. I can't wait to go and hang out with some fun ladies again for a day of fiber fun.
It's pretty impressive. I wish I had the chance to take a tour of the house. I did get a few moments to explore the grounds and take some pictures of the house and the lovely views, as you will see if you scroll down a bit.
The reason we were there, however, was to buy and sell some yarn and fiber. Dawn and I collaborated to build a lovely booth full of lots of different types of wool and yarn. Dawn even had some incredible fair-isle tams that she had knit, everyone was impressed with her skillz. Here is a view of our booth:
We did do a little re-arranging as the day went on and we saw the need, but the basic set-up looked like this. I moved my wheel out towards the path that went by us and it attracted lots of kids who were mesmerized when I let them work the treadle and make the wheel spin.
Here's a view of Dawn's side of things. She had beautiful Shetland fiber (the luscious braids you can see hanging) and some local Icelandic fiber, among other things.
This is my side. I had tons (well, really about 9 pounds) of merino fiber and piles of yarn that I dyed. The sock yarn sold the best, though everyone stopped to give a little squeeze to the fiber braids on both sides of the booth. My favorite was a little girl that grabbed a braid of fiber and hugged it tight, declaring to her mom that she loved it as she patted it like a loved pet.
The grounds where the fair was held were just unbelievable. This huge mansion overlooking the river, and the gardens were also impressive. I kind of want to go back in a week or two to see the lilacs in bloom. Lilacs are my favorite, and the place was just filthy with lilac bushes of all shapes, sizes, and colors on the verge of blooming. I would love to see (and smell) them in bloom.
This is the view from the back door of the big house:
The back door: The lions on either side of the door were great; one was sleeping and the other one looked cranky about it.
This is the house as seen from the banks of the river:
I took lots of pictures of the view of the river, there is a long walk along the river behind the house. Below the grounds, the land drops off and you can see the Metro North train tracks running below. But the views were gorgeous, especially with everything just starting to sprout and bloom and leaf.
All in all, I had a great time. The things I said the day before (requesting to be slapped into sense if I ever suggested doing this again) are forgotten. It was alot of work and I worried about everything I could think of leading up to it, but it was all worth it. Thanks to Dawn for being a great partner and booth-mate, and to Tina for telling me I could do it and being so supportive and positive.
That's me, Dawn, and Tina, left to right, at the end of the day.
I guess my next post will be about the Knit and Spin that Tina is hosting soon. It will be held June 28 in Catskill, NY, in a similarly picturesque location by the river. You can see info at Tina's blog, Pheonixfiberworks.com. I can't wait to go and hang out with some fun ladies again for a day of fiber fun.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Random meme
So, my brother, the zombie enthusiast, has tagged me for a meme. 8 random things about me have been requested. It took me a few days to get started on this because I thought it would be hard to come up with stuff, but we'll see how I do.
1. I'm a big snob about lots of things. In fact, I could probably fill this list with things I'm snobby about. Like coffee (no flavored coffees for me please), cheese (the stinkier the better), food (I'm a trained chef), yarn (I generally turn my nose up at non-natural fibers unless I'm knitting stuff for kids), wool (I like soft fancy fibers for spinning), etc.
2. I prefer to drive a car with a manual transmission. I also hate big SUV's that serve no purpose other than being bigger than my tiny car (and blocking my view of what's ahead on the road).
3. I volunteered to be on the board of my co-op, mostly because I wanted to contribute to my community but also so I could try and change the pet policy so my cats can live with me 'legally'. This has resulted in many long uncomfortable conversations in the parking lot with my annoyingly outspoken and one-tracked neighbor who thinks he runs things around here. He has promised to get me re-elected since he thinks that he not only has me in his pocket, but also has all the other voting members in there as well.
4. I am so lazy that even though I have been unemployed for months and spent most of my time at home, my apartment is still not as spotlessly clean as I hoped it would be within the first week. (I have been knitting alot, though)
5. 8 of the 12 people I'm giving gifts to this holiday season are getting handknits. And 6 others are getting handknit Christmas tree ornaments. (my next post should include an inventory of all these projects)
6. My upstairs neighbors have been blasting xmas music for several days now. Usually I only hear them shuffling around at all hours.
7. I recently discovered that setting up my clothes-drying rack in my kitchen by the heat vent makes things dry much faster than they do in my bedroom where it's much colder.
8. I've been living in my apartment for 4 years now and I still haven't found anything to decorate the very large wall in my living room. I'm going to try and hang some framed photos this week so I can cross it off my Uberlist (inspired by Nikol and her awesome datebooks. Ditto for the framed menus I want to hang in my kitchen. I may also make an attempt at reorganizing my kitchen cabinets so I can cross that off too. I may or may not post my list this year. Maybe I will, since making it public will (I hope) shame me into completing more of it.
1. I'm a big snob about lots of things. In fact, I could probably fill this list with things I'm snobby about. Like coffee (no flavored coffees for me please), cheese (the stinkier the better), food (I'm a trained chef), yarn (I generally turn my nose up at non-natural fibers unless I'm knitting stuff for kids), wool (I like soft fancy fibers for spinning), etc.
2. I prefer to drive a car with a manual transmission. I also hate big SUV's that serve no purpose other than being bigger than my tiny car (and blocking my view of what's ahead on the road).
3. I volunteered to be on the board of my co-op, mostly because I wanted to contribute to my community but also so I could try and change the pet policy so my cats can live with me 'legally'. This has resulted in many long uncomfortable conversations in the parking lot with my annoyingly outspoken and one-tracked neighbor who thinks he runs things around here. He has promised to get me re-elected since he thinks that he not only has me in his pocket, but also has all the other voting members in there as well.
4. I am so lazy that even though I have been unemployed for months and spent most of my time at home, my apartment is still not as spotlessly clean as I hoped it would be within the first week. (I have been knitting alot, though)
5. 8 of the 12 people I'm giving gifts to this holiday season are getting handknits. And 6 others are getting handknit Christmas tree ornaments. (my next post should include an inventory of all these projects)
6. My upstairs neighbors have been blasting xmas music for several days now. Usually I only hear them shuffling around at all hours.
7. I recently discovered that setting up my clothes-drying rack in my kitchen by the heat vent makes things dry much faster than they do in my bedroom where it's much colder.
8. I've been living in my apartment for 4 years now and I still haven't found anything to decorate the very large wall in my living room. I'm going to try and hang some framed photos this week so I can cross it off my Uberlist (inspired by Nikol and her awesome datebooks. Ditto for the framed menus I want to hang in my kitchen. I may also make an attempt at reorganizing my kitchen cabinets so I can cross that off too. I may or may not post my list this year. Maybe I will, since making it public will (I hope) shame me into completing more of it.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
How to
Roast a chicken:
I started with a standard mirepoix, which is roughly chopped onions, carrots, and celery, as well as a few smashed garlic cloves, whole peppercorns, and parsley stems.
The chicken goes right on top, no need for a rack, though if you have one, go ahead and use it if you like. Toss some salt and pepper inside and if you like, stuff the cavity loosely with more mirepoix, or lemons, or whatever aromatic thing you like. I also smeared some butter on the breast to help it along with getting that rich roasty crisp skin.
If it doesn't release enough juices to baste with, add some stock or water to help it along. Baste every 15 or 20 minutes, and when the juices run clear (poke the skin near the leg and see what color the juice is that comes out) or a thermometer reads close to 160ยบ, take it out of the oven and set the bird aside to rest while you make the sauce.
In the bottom of the pan you used you should now find yummy burnt-on bits under the vegetables. Mine wasn't quite burnt enough, so I turned on the heat under the pan and let it get nice and crusty.
Then, pour a good dollop of wine in there (I use whatever I'm serving with dinner, you can also use stock) and use a wooden spoon to get all the burnt on bits to dissolve. Pour some more stock in it so you have a good bit of liquid, and then strain it into a small saucepan.
Bring this liquid to a light simmer, and add roux* to it, a little at a time, till it thickens up as much as you like. Remove from heat, and taste. Add salt or pepper if needed, and I like to toss a pat of butter and some chopped herbs in too.
All done! I served mine with roasted potatoes and glazed carrots.
*Roux: melt some butter in a pan, and add flour till it forms a loose paste. Whisk for 2 minutes and set aside till you need it for the sauce. This can be done in advance, while the chicken is in the oven.
I started with a standard mirepoix, which is roughly chopped onions, carrots, and celery, as well as a few smashed garlic cloves, whole peppercorns, and parsley stems.
The chicken goes right on top, no need for a rack, though if you have one, go ahead and use it if you like. Toss some salt and pepper inside and if you like, stuff the cavity loosely with more mirepoix, or lemons, or whatever aromatic thing you like. I also smeared some butter on the breast to help it along with getting that rich roasty crisp skin.
If it doesn't release enough juices to baste with, add some stock or water to help it along. Baste every 15 or 20 minutes, and when the juices run clear (poke the skin near the leg and see what color the juice is that comes out) or a thermometer reads close to 160ยบ, take it out of the oven and set the bird aside to rest while you make the sauce.
In the bottom of the pan you used you should now find yummy burnt-on bits under the vegetables. Mine wasn't quite burnt enough, so I turned on the heat under the pan and let it get nice and crusty.
Then, pour a good dollop of wine in there (I use whatever I'm serving with dinner, you can also use stock) and use a wooden spoon to get all the burnt on bits to dissolve. Pour some more stock in it so you have a good bit of liquid, and then strain it into a small saucepan.
Bring this liquid to a light simmer, and add roux* to it, a little at a time, till it thickens up as much as you like. Remove from heat, and taste. Add salt or pepper if needed, and I like to toss a pat of butter and some chopped herbs in too.
All done! I served mine with roasted potatoes and glazed carrots.
*Roux: melt some butter in a pan, and add flour till it forms a loose paste. Whisk for 2 minutes and set aside till you need it for the sauce. This can be done in advance, while the chicken is in the oven.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Rhinebeck!
I just realized I never posted about Rhinebeck! I was going to talk about my new red sweater but I guess I'll save that for next time.
The weekend started early when Grasshopper came to visit. On Thursday, we went into the city and started with a ferry ride to Staten Island. The view from the ferry dock is great. You can see Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Bridge.
It was windy, but we enjoyed the (free) ride.
The weather was warm and sunny, and everyone enjoyed the voyage.
In Rhinebeck, some nasty rain on Friday night gave way to
gorgeous warm sunshine.
The Ravely meet-up was HUGE. We all got a little sunburned hanging around playing Blogger Bingo and telling Casey and Jess how awesome they are.
Everyone got one of these:
And it was great to see so many of them wandering around the fairgrounds.
It was so warm Adrian and I only wore our sweaters for a little while. These are our 'day 2' sweaters, we were able to rock our 'day 1' sweaters at the Ravelry party on Saturday night.
I only made two purchases.
First was, of course, a few bags of roving from Fantom Farms. I love those guys so much. They are not only talented, they truly love their animals and what they do with the fleece.
Second is this bag of carded wool from Spinner's Hill. It's a little over a pound, and the grand plan is for this to become my sweater for next year.
The weekend started early when Grasshopper came to visit. On Thursday, we went into the city and started with a ferry ride to Staten Island. The view from the ferry dock is great. You can see Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Bridge.
It was windy, but we enjoyed the (free) ride.
The weather was warm and sunny, and everyone enjoyed the voyage.
In Rhinebeck, some nasty rain on Friday night gave way to
gorgeous warm sunshine.
The Ravely meet-up was HUGE. We all got a little sunburned hanging around playing Blogger Bingo and telling Casey and Jess how awesome they are.
Everyone got one of these:
And it was great to see so many of them wandering around the fairgrounds.
It was so warm Adrian and I only wore our sweaters for a little while. These are our 'day 2' sweaters, we were able to rock our 'day 1' sweaters at the Ravelry party on Saturday night.
I only made two purchases.
First was, of course, a few bags of roving from Fantom Farms. I love those guys so much. They are not only talented, they truly love their animals and what they do with the fleece.
Second is this bag of carded wool from Spinner's Hill. It's a little over a pound, and the grand plan is for this to become my sweater for next year.Friday, October 12, 2007
Another one!
It's done! Rhinebeck sweater #2:
Yoke: hand-dyed, handspun yarn, approx 6 oz. of the 2-ply somewhat thick-n-thin yarn
Body: Rowan Chunky Print, 2 balls of color #0072
Size 11 Knitpicks Options circulars
I used a lacy yarn-over to increase at the shoulders
And continued the yarn-over detail down the side "seams"
As you can see by the stunning array of colors in the photos, the multi-colored handspun is hard to capture. This photo seems to be the closest to what it actually looks like.
Yoke: hand-dyed, handspun yarn, approx 6 oz. of the 2-ply somewhat thick-n-thin yarn
Body: Rowan Chunky Print, 2 balls of color #0072
Size 11 Knitpicks Options circulars
I used a lacy yarn-over to increase at the shoulders
And continued the yarn-over detail down the side "seams"
As you can see by the stunning array of colors in the photos, the multi-colored handspun is hard to capture. This photo seems to be the closest to what it actually looks like.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Cardigan, complete!
So, this went so fast I can't believe I made it! I'm usually really slow and take ages to finish anything, if it I even finish. This was started and finished within three weeks.
I love this yarn, and I have so much left over I could maybe make another sweater. Though it would have to be multi-colored with all the different colors I bought for my original plan of a fair-isle yoke sweater. A stripey sweater would be awesome.
I re-did this collar so it was all grey with a blue bind-off like I used on the sleeves.
I made a small panel of ribbing across the small of the back to add some shaping. Not sure yet if this was a good idea or not. I suppose I'll have to wait till I can get a good picture of myself wearing it to be sure.
I'm really happy with this. The only thing I would do differently is to make the ribbing along the open edges wider- it curls a bit. I still need to attach the button and wash and block, then it's all ready for Rhinebeck. Though if the weather keeps up the way it has been no one will be wearing their fancy Rhinebeck sweaters.
But, if it cools down, this will come in handy:
Rhinebeck sweater #2. The yoke and sleeves are made from the fiber I dyed and spun myself. There honeslty isn't anything better than going through the whole process like that. Yes, I know I didn't go from fleece to yarn, but I know the part with the dirty wool and the carding are not for me. My experience at last year's Yarn School taught me that I am willing to miss the part with the fleece washing and the carding. Much as I enjoyed trying it out and learning how to do it, I am totally ok with buying prepared fiber and starting at the point where dye comes in.
That reminds me: to all the ladies (and possibly gents) attending Yarn School, have a great time. I know it will be hard not to, since Nikol is such a wonderful hostess and your teachers really can't be beat when it comes to anything related to dyeing, spinning or knitting/crocheting. I wish I could be there.
I love this yarn, and I have so much left over I could maybe make another sweater. Though it would have to be multi-colored with all the different colors I bought for my original plan of a fair-isle yoke sweater. A stripey sweater would be awesome.
I re-did this collar so it was all grey with a blue bind-off like I used on the sleeves.
I made a small panel of ribbing across the small of the back to add some shaping. Not sure yet if this was a good idea or not. I suppose I'll have to wait till I can get a good picture of myself wearing it to be sure.
I'm really happy with this. The only thing I would do differently is to make the ribbing along the open edges wider- it curls a bit. I still need to attach the button and wash and block, then it's all ready for Rhinebeck. Though if the weather keeps up the way it has been no one will be wearing their fancy Rhinebeck sweaters.
But, if it cools down, this will come in handy:
Rhinebeck sweater #2. The yoke and sleeves are made from the fiber I dyed and spun myself. There honeslty isn't anything better than going through the whole process like that. Yes, I know I didn't go from fleece to yarn, but I know the part with the dirty wool and the carding are not for me. My experience at last year's Yarn School taught me that I am willing to miss the part with the fleece washing and the carding. Much as I enjoyed trying it out and learning how to do it, I am totally ok with buying prepared fiber and starting at the point where dye comes in.
That reminds me: to all the ladies (and possibly gents) attending Yarn School, have a great time. I know it will be hard not to, since Nikol is such a wonderful hostess and your teachers really can't be beat when it comes to anything related to dyeing, spinning or knitting/crocheting. I wish I could be there.
