Extreme Freecycling and Pitman

 When Handsome Son visited yesterday he brought a box of things to Freecycle, which I have time to do and he doesn't.

Earlier I'd found some outdoor use trays offered, and today became a Freecycling frenzy.

I picked up the trays from a nice lady, clearly a Freecycle virgin, since when I arrived, by now in pouring rain, no sign of the things at the house. 

Checked garage, no, steps, no, driveway, no.  Then I decided I'd come this far and got wet now, I'd do a non-Freecycle thing and ring at the door. 

For people who aren't familiar, the usual thing is to wrap and label the goods then leave them clearly visible outside the house. It's about safety, aside from anything else like convenience. You don't bother the giver, rarely even meet them. And I'd messaged to say I was on my way over.

So, nice lady answers the door,  I explain what I'm there for, she hands me a bunch of unwrapped trays. Perfectly clean, nice quality, but not easy to carry, awkward heavy,  large shapes, sliding around,  in heavy rain,  down steps. 

Anyway they're lovely and I'm glad to have them, better than I've seen online.

 Then Handsome Son's box of stuff

There were also food items like spices, and a few other things I can use.

Within an hour the stadium seat and caps were gone, even with competition.  So the box is very depleted now. A brisk morning's work.

And look at this, just came across it 

I learned Pitman shorthand at a desperate period in my life, early twenties, and I can still read these outlines. 

Maybe the trauma of the time, too sad to go into here, illness, bereavement, near starvation, drove them into my brain permanently, desperate job seeking. 

Not that the above dialogue is very useful in a business setting.   Just amazed at the rubble rattling around in there.

About the puzzle -- we seem to have consensus on 

Trip

Ship

Chip

Grip

Drip

And on the pattern of one syllable ending in ip 

But I have other options for fragment, all within the pattern. If we insist on four letters, I'll concede strip.

Slip (from a plant)

Clip (video)

Strip ( torn off bit)

This why when I had multiple choice at school I would choose the answer I thought the teacher wanted, out of a few options I could think of. 

Happy day everyone, let nothing you dismay! Warm puppies all round.

Forgot to blog! Better late..

Today was all rain, all the time. Handsome Son visited this afternoon, repeatedly sampled the ANZAC biscuits, and pronounced them good.

We decided not to take down the winter, red felt, front door curtain yet, still cold. The summer, green and white striped canvas, one can wait a couple more weeks.

And here's the updated, improved, weaving area

 

The box of tools slides under the stool after each session. I realized that some of my mistakes were the result of poor light, since I'm working against the window,  with the work in shadow.

So I installed a light I made years ago from a coffee can and a light fitting. Can and shade decorated  with handmade paper.

Tomorrow I do an incoming Freecycle, trays I've needed for years. And Handsome Son brought me a box of his winnowings to Freecycle for him. 

So maybe that balances my bringing in a couple of trays? 

About the Haggard Hawks puzzle, instead of my just giving my answer, especially since I think there are more than one answer to one of the clues, why not post your answers so we can compare notes?  Go!

Happy whatever's left of the day, everyone, I'm wondering if I can find an ark on Freecycle, solid rain for over 24 hours, and days more to come.

A many-parted day

Lovely Friday. Morning weaving showed me why it was going lopsided yesterday -- the left side yarn was too fine a gauge for the main yarns.  

So I'm weaving a few picks without clasping,  to straighten up, then when I reintroduce the green yarn, I'll double it and see how that works. Good piece of learning.

Then  came a pot of soup, the weather forecast being for cold and rainy all weekend.

Dandelion, leek and parsley soup, background, with added rotini, in the foreground.

I counteracted the bitterness, dandelions, you know,  by adding lemon juice, a spoonful of sugar and a nut of butter, with milk. The pasta also helps balance it. Some people like to blanch dandelion greens ahead of time for this reason.

This is spring tonic soup!

Then off to the library to pick up books

This one is just wonderful for all ages, highly recommend it. And to give to grandchildren. Or yourself.

And there's

This is the weaver you saw this week on Textiles and Tea. All about sustainable zero waste beautiful work, complete with great photography and projects.

Then on to the knitting group, where S is making this shawl in mohair and matching sweater yarn

While M is continuing with this year's temperature blanket in mitered squares with daily high and low temperatures recorded.

Great conversation as always, ranging from a new invention in the works from R, endlessly creative person, to Maryland Sheep and Wool festival this weekend, a destination for one of the group, with detours into grandchildren, children's school concerts, and other wonders.

Home again and baking the rest of the ANZAC biscuit batter,  plus a batch of cranberry walnut muffins. 

I used avocado oil this time, in the muffins, in place of olive oil, very good sub. I'll do that again.

Then I caught up with Franklin Habit's Letter from Paris, this time about a day trip to Cologne, to see the huge fabric and fiber fair. 

It's targeted to wholesalers, and he gave us a few insights into this year's trends. All photographs by Franklin Habit, likewise the insert explaining the event.

As you see, color and more color, oversized everything. He points out these are just large trends and we can pick and choose what we do about them!

So that's where Boud is today.  Ready to sit down with a cup of tea and a muffin and Midsomer Murders.

Happy day everyone, I've had an art packed day up to now. 

Tiny Misfits, clasped weft and puzzles

The current jigsaw puzzle is very satisfying, nicely made and an interesting image. It's coming along.  One or two pieces at a time is how I roll.

And today's weaving is a return to a favorite technique I've done and liked before, clasped weft. It's trickier with the backstrap loom, you need three hands, but it's working okay.

Non-weavers, see the yarn on both sides? You bring the shuttle over from  right to left, loop the other yarn around and draw the shuttle back. One yarn pulls the other to wherever you want to stop it, to create your design.

Weavers, have you done this? I really like it. Remembering what shed you're in helps,too. And I have to pay more attention to the selvedges, because this techie draws them in. So typical, as soon as I start backstrap I introduce complications.

I love doing this, because it's spontaneous if you want it to be. Anyway, this is where we are today.

While I was upstairs working on this, my Misfits box arrived, tiny order this week

Dandelion greens, spring tonic. I can pick a few, unsprayed on the patio, but these are much bigger and look good.

Another chicken for multiple uses, and fusilli, for my pasta needs. Otherwise fruit.

So that's where we are today, 

Yesterday I learned a new word at my discussion group, which I think is written naches.  Jewish word meaning the particular joy a parent gets from seeing their children grow and develop. 

It's very specific and I really like it, also I don't know an equivalent English word for exactly that. Does anyone? Or an equivalent in other languages? In this blogista group we have a number of languages, so please have a think and let us know.

And today two more discoveries

The Christmas cactus which had put out a couple of buds before Easter then given up on them, came through with this. 

And earlier I saw a mourning dove fly by with grass in his beak, clearly nesting nearby, and this morning here's the partner sitting peacefully on the ground near my patio door.

She sat there blinking but not apparently worried about my presence. So I'm hoping to see a young family soon. 

Also do you fancy a pretty easy, (!) puzzle? That's too bad, I don't have one, but anyway try this

Happy day, everyone, I'm having one. 

Tiny bouquet, warping and Textiles and Tea

Yesterday I found carpets of violets, chickweed and henbit everywhere I was walking, so a few flowers came home with me

Short lived but lovely. Sitting on an antique piece of crochet I acquired with a lot of other pieces on Freecycle years ago.

And I set up the next scarf, this one for me, handwash wool. I used a long knitted scarf to measure the warp length. Much longer than the first, where various mishaps shortened the warp threads as I went.

This is half the threads threaded onto the heddle, the warp being strung between the post on the windowsill and the pasta machine clamp on a heavy chair. The color is Forest.

In the afternoon, ready for Textiles and Tea with Maria Sigma, I baked ANZAC biscuits (cookies in north America)

A couple of them went next door to Gary along with a rapid lesson on the significance, and he'd never heard of any of it, so now he knows.

Then I was ready for t and t

with this young Greek weaver, who moved from Athens to London to continue her textile education. She's devoted to sustainable materials and methods, natural colors and a minimum of loom waste.

She's in galleries in New York, London and Athens and works mainly on commission. She's also written two books, one of them for children. Take a look

The piece shown above the books has touches of silk, but she uses mainly wool and cotton, and avoids loom waste wherever she can, or finds ways to recycle and reuse it. A very modern outlook. She's also an engaging personality. 

When the interviewer asked her about her favorite tea, the usual icebreaker, because "you're in London, you must drink tea" she burst out laughing and said "But I'm Greek, so, not so much!"

And yesterday I came across this

Thought you'd like it.

Happy day everyone, I'm off to thread my heddle. Literally. No double meaning there.. just keeping my heddle happy..