Loom Victory Lap and other activity

One seasonal thing I do is this:

The kitchen faces west, so the afternoon summer sun pours in, through the passthrough as you see, and glares in my eyes.

On the right you see the hallway with the same issue, the sun glaring on the flooring is blinding, so I have the door curtain in place. 

For the passthrough I put up this linen panel I dyed and painted and stamped years ago 

But I thought the hem could do with some help, and I'm making a braid with the lucet. This one was too thin and I started over with a sturdier yarn 

I'll stitch it across the hem, for a better finish and a nicer hang.  This makes the afternoon light softer and much easier to deal with.

I got into this while I was waiting for the loom repair to dry and cure. Which it did, and it's working.

You see it warped up, and I started learning a new to me weave pattern, a diamond twill. But I found I didn't have a chunky enough yarn for the pattern. It doesn't work unless it's chunky. 

So I started over and figured out the number of warp ends per inch, did a bit of back of an envelope work on the numbers and adapted another pattern, krokbragd or words to that effect, and put my narrowband experience to work. 

This is a kind of repeat floral pattern.

I'd set up the loom at 27 warp ends for the diamond thing, only needed 17 for the krokthing, so I assigned five each side as borders and I'm working the main design on the middle 17 warp ends. 

This flower like design is one I'd had in mind when I was originally thinking about narrowband weaving but didn't find anywhere. Now I realize I was in a different tradition. This is Norwegian, I think but not in the pattern band book, different weaving form.

So I may warp up the other, narrow band loom, at the same time and figure out this design to fit, to make a band. The design works like the Sweet William idea I've been fiddling about with. It's all good! 

I'm learning such a lot in the course of these attempts.  Also using up yarn that needs using.

About the ill fated Cowl That Broke the Loom, I decided to cut both my losses and my fringes, knotted them, washed and dried it and it came out pretty well.

It's short, and works like a shawl, in fact I'm wearing it now.  I might add a button and loop, we'll see. But it's staying here, not useful for the knitting ministry. 

So that's the Learning Workshop for the day.

I did stop to roast chicken dice and potatoes for lunch, then assembled a Three Bean Extravaganza for quite a few meals.

All the usual beans, with potatoes, celery, chives, red onions, in red wine vinegar with the usual salt and sugar and pepper. 

This will go well with roast chicken dice. Or most things.

A pretty accomplished day. I did spend part of the afternoon sleeping. 

Happy day everyone, do all the things and see what happens.

Early morning and beanz and Garydemonium

Here's my view now the giant evergreen is gone. It's so much better.

Before, I could see part of the fence and the evergreen to the left. Everything else blotted out. 

And I finally, after years of not doing it, made a three bean salad. It's taken me this long to assemble the beans.

Natural art arrangement 

Now this is in the fridge ready for the 90plus degree heat we're expecting in the next couple of days. 

 I managed to get the new band mounted onto the loom. This is the hardest part, keeping the threads untwisted and under tension while wrapping them over and over the headpiece of the loom and installing it while keeping the warp threads secure at the other end, it needs three hands.

This morning I spied frogs in the pond. Here's a completely unconcerned one, studying me.

you lookin at me?

And I finished the first sock.

It was good I got all this done earlier because the afternoon which started with reading on the deck soon disintegrated into Gary's moving operations. 

A glass table I've been keeping for him being bubble wrapped by two relatives, the younger one the person I taught to make cordage, and her grandmother, old friend and future next-door neighbor. Gary provided plenty of bubble wrap..

Everybody brought their dog over, plus various other relatives carrying boxes of fragile stuff to the van.  Gary and grandson carried out the table to the truck.

Never a dull moment. They're lovely people, so I think all's well.

I seem to have a purple garden this year 

Happy day everyone! I have endless entertainment without leaving home. 

Fence prep and other excitement

 The fencers will be here any week now and we're sternly instructed to remove any tree, bush or shrub. I always hear dear Lady Bird Johnson saying that when she launched her beautification program. When you see a verge or a  roadside with wildflowers, chances are we should thank her.

Anyway any big stuff within two feet of the fence. My Japanese maple is safe then.

Not so much my cherry bushes and spice bush. So I started cutting them back hoping that would suffice.  High time I did, fence or no fence.

Friend next door summed up the situation, came with sawzall and has taken over. Getting me up to date on his own news while cutting.

I cut back the sage while I was at it, large branch now in different neighbor's freezer, another one in mine. 

Three bean salad today, weather still hot enough for it. Last time Handsome Son shopped for beans he noticed Roman beans. He said I'd never heard of them, thought you'd like to try them. A true son of his mom.

So, Roman, cannellini, kidney, handful of fresh chives, dandelions and Thai basil, onion, we're good. Romans look like white kidney beans to me.

Still reading outside when guys with sawzalls aren't at work, and here's a recent read.

 It was supposed to be like beach reading, light, Royal gossip mainly about the hats. And I found that this well connected lady, so well connected she carried the queen's train at the coronation, this is apparently a huge honor where she comes from, and was a companion to Princess Margaret, about whom she's way too discreet

Anyway this lady who appeared to have a fairytale life actually was in hell. Locked in a decades long marriage to a mentally ill man, rages constant, one son died of AIDS, one permanently disabled by accident, husband ended up leaving his massive wealth to a man he'd known a few months.

It was so sad, and she so accepting and resigned, that I couldn't read on. No hats at all, either, if you don't count coronets. 

I don't recommend this for light reading. Better go for Lucia or the Provincial Lady,  where you do get hats and no heartbreak.

Three bean salad and variations

The beans are standard as long as I include kidney beans to vary the color. Some fresh picked Thai basil and thyme, minced. Then the dressing. Ah, that.

I haven't had any apple cider vinegar for ages and I've been working through the other, fancier, stuff, some made by me by allowing wine to turn, some given.

 The sherry vinegar was excellent, the Pinot grigio terrible, like battery acid, inedible, and today I'm using what's left on the shelf, mixing black cherry not made by me, and white likewise. I also have black cherry balsamic, ew, not a fan, given to me. Not including that.

Sugar also goes in this dressing, not pictured, as real photographers say.

It's okay but I need to put apple cider vinegar on my shopping list. I love malt vinegar but around here it's considered gourmet (!) and comes with a gilt-edged price tag.

So here's several hot weather easy meals.