Misfits, the robe's progress and a new Haggard Hawks puzzle

Yesterday's misfits box was the smallest show on earth, partly because they couldn't supply the yogurt, but generally because I was already supplied.

The cannellini beans are rapidly becoming a staple, and some of these are for upcoming African doughnuts, if I can find the recipe again. I noted it safely somewhere.

The hot weather has put a crimp in my out of house activity, but the robe is coming along. One great thing about using a sheet is that you can organize it to make max use of the selvages and hems. 

Here the sleeves end in selvages, the hem is already hemmed. It saves a good amount of stitching and looks good too.

I cut out the belt, facings and pockets and still have remnants. 

Working this way is like cutting your own hair, you can do a bit at a time, no law other than commercial pattern commands, say you have to cut out all the pieces at once. 

I've been cutting my hair for decades, and it doesn't look any worse than when I was paying hairdressers, who mostly have no clue about cutting anything other than straight hair, and only know the latest style which you'll get no matter what you say! 

At the point at which they started cutting my hair into  ghastly old lady bridge player styles because I was old, I quit and started doing it myself. Handsome Partner said not only did it look fine, there was a lot less crying!

The thing is that they have to cut all your hair in one appointment. If you do it yourself, you can just tend to the bits that grow fastest. That works much better if your hair goes into shock after cutting,  which mine does, sticking out hopelessly for days, however skilled and expensive the hairdresser.

Anyway, same applies to cutting out fabric. I cut as needed, just in time style,whatever bit I fancy working on next.  It saves losing parts, too, if you cut and use as you go. 

So yesterday, I made the belt, in two parts, to make it easier to turn inside out. I turned each half right side out and I'll stitch the parts together. The ends are already hemmed, just need overcasting.

Then pressed it, with the seam down the middle, you do know that trick? Much better finish than seam down one side. 

Same applies to knitting when there's a seam, say on a scarf. Or making velvet painted scarves. You press then finish the ends to secure the seam in place.

Today I'll attach the facings, straight pieces down the front, more engineered ones round the curve of the back neck. After that just belt loops, ties for inside, and Bobby's your auntie.

And I roasted a little chicken yesterday, to have great cold food available in the heat.

 Slices off that,  with green salad and carrot sticks, sun tea and an apple, made a great supper.

And since it's Friday or some such excuse, here's a new Haggard Hawks for your annoyance, I mean pleasure.

Happy day, everyone, and please be in touch or  thought with dear blogger E, who has had to say goodbye to beloved kitty friend and companion Lukas.

Photo AC 

Shakshouka, fridge and check updates, oh well

 Yesterday's mood improved dramatically after I made and sampled a lovely shakshouka.  The original recipe in Meghan's Grenfell cookbook, involves bell peppers which I never have.

But I used spinach and lentil sprouts, and got a terrific result.

The flatbread is essential, to help get all the sauce.  And there's enough for two more meals.

Accompanied by a glass of sun tea, this one raspberry peppermint

The investment company returned my Twitter dm,  asking for a phone call because my question was so account specific, I sighed, been there before. 

Kyle, probably a third grader, defensively stonewalling. Unless you can surmise the answer and formulate the question to fit it, they're useless. I think people in the financial world are deeply passive aggressive!

So I tried again, saying this is not account specific, and did they void the checks when they switched management to brokerage style? Basically my original question reworded. 

This time Debbie, it's always a woman who actually reads the question and answers it, when the men are claiming nobody can help,  answered saying yes.  

The old checks need to be destroyed, and I need to apply for new updated check writing arrangements.  So if you can guess the answer, you'll get a confirmation. If you can't fathom it, they'll never help.

I'll destroy the old checks and go from there.

In other news, I heard back from both fridge retailers  I've used and been pleased with in the past. They're out of stock, of anything in the size I need.  Earliest availability will be late September. 

One other retailer I tried refuses to deliver, curbside pickup only,  meaning they won't take away the old one either. So I hope the current fridge keeps limping along till I can replace it. Oh well. 

The robe's coming along though. Just as well, because here's where we are

Good weather for a new lightweight robe and sun tea.

Happy day, everyone! Keep your cool, in all senses.

Textiles and Tea, and mixed news

Yesterday's Textiles and Tea introduced Dawn Ahlert, a tapestry maker also interested in twining, and taking ideas from traditional Maori twining, an ancient art of the original people of New Zealand. She's into very saturated colors, as you'll see 

There were technical hitches with their transmission, maybe storm activity, so it was a bit hit or miss, however I did get these images to show you.

In other news, the lentils have begun to sprout, thanks to the idea from Apricots on the Nile

So they'll be an addition to the shakshuka I'm planning to make today

And, less happily, I got an email from my investment company to say that they won't honor a large check I wrote last week to pay my credit card. No explanation,  to find out more, call this number.. There's plenty of funds to cover it, and I've used their checks once in a while to cover large bills.  

I need to find out why, and I suspect that their changeovers last year making everyone move their accounts over, which I did pretty simply, might have voided the current checks.  They didn't mention this at the time. 

Anyway meanwhile I have to fix the issue. The good news is that I do have enough in my regular bank account to send a replacement payment, which I've done. Also there's time to get it credited without incurring a late payment charge. But I expect to be charged for the rd check all the same. 

 I feel aggrieved about this, innocent party, poor me. And I won't pursue using  investment checks from now on. I wonder if they still process them at all,  since  I now see the website section explaining them is dated 2021, before the switch. It also gave a non-working email address. I've dmd them on Twitter, not holding my breath about that.

Still pursuing the fridge.  I remember it took a couple of days last time around, to get started. This too shall arrive.

Anyway the puzzle answer is the noise I emitted when I got the email

SQUAWK!

And then there's the balancing pleasure of stitching and of picking a few flowers

Happy day everyone,  I hope metaphorical flowers balance your squawk experiences.

Robe in progress, via reading, and future food

One of my knitting buds says she thinks about future knitting while doing current knitting. I find that reading a quiet work such as this

means that another part of my thinking is busy designing the Next Thing. So after a while I found I was drawing out the plan for my sheet robe, 

then laying it out on the spare bed, only available biggish surface. 

And cutting, and trying on.

This is a twin size flat sheet. And the sleeves end in selvage, the hem already hemmed. This saves a bit of stitching. 

Also there's a big chunk of fabric left for facings, belt and pockets.

It's pinned together wrong sides together, because I'm doing French seams. 

I used a favorite robe to figure out sleeve size and how to cut the front neckline. I'll cut the center front, then attach facings, after I've stitched the side and sleeve seams, easier to manage for hand work.

So I have  Celia's House to thank for this progress.

And yesterday Madhur Jaffrey  showed up,

for future great cooking ideas along with a lot of information about India and all the cultures there. 

In other news, I texted the appliance store to order another fridge like the one I got for the condo, to replace my own, 35 years old and showing its age.  I've been postponing this for years but it's time.

Happy day, everyone, I already, early this morning had Gary over asking for an id of insects, worried about Billy, would she be stung. 

I doubt it, they look related to dragonflies uninterested in biting people or animals anyway, but he's unconvinced. 

So let's worry about the sting when it gets here, hm?

New stash, old fungi, adventures with Climpson

 So the sheets were delivered, and are a terrific new stash. Well used and soft, great for hand stitching, in several florals. Maybe a skirt or a top will happen, too.

The purples are not to my taste, so they may be passed on. The giver commented that she was ready to throw these all away, before she saw my Freecycle request. Amazing, but anyway, we're both happy.

While I was between projects I got out the cordage basket, and did a bit. 

I think I'll bring this to the knitting circle if ever I get back. It's very portable and fits into the fiber arts idea of the group.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, Gary showed up, saying I need your magic! He was going to a wedding, a friend's daughter, went to write his greeting card to take with him,  and found the envelope had already sealed itself.  Empty. Humid weather will do that. He was at a loss.

So I said, wait, let's steam it open. He'd never heard of this, and I thought I'd better explain I'd never actually done it, just read about it. Just so nobody thinks I'm in the habit of steaming open other people's letters. 

But I remembered the scene in Sayers' Strong Poison where Katherine Climpson steams open the vital document.  And did that, holding it in the steam from the kettle. Slowly. Carefully. It opened up and Gary went away happy. I was amused about practicing this sneaky skill! Not so sure when Gary said I knew you'd know what to do..

Yesterday's walk revealed this fungus

Which my photo alert tells me I photographed on this exact date two years ago! Nature is faithful. And I went to check on the progress of that marvelous orange fungus. And found

I wonder if any birds or animals eat it? I'd expected growth rather than disappearance. Back at home, the snake plant, after three years of no apparent growth, is suddenly doing this

Parent plant in the background. The pointed leaves are the new growth.

And I'm making my zinnias my cutting garden, since that encourages them to keep budding. It also gives me fresh flowers

Happy day everyone! What useful skills have you learned from detective stories? That you can admit to..

Nutgrass, design thoughts and Freecycle

Yesterday I pulled this, I think nutgrass, which I plan to try as a cordage material. 

I think it's a sedge. I can't find any references to it as a material. All I can find is How to Kill It.  

There's something wrong with obsessing about killing plants, I really believe. If it's invasive, don't lose your head and act as if it's a deadly danger. It's the deranged lawn lovers mainly. Lawn Derangers! 

Anyway, I've hung it to dry and I'll try it out.

I haven't done any work on my little cordage basket recently, needing to spare my neck, but I'm between sewing projects so I think I'll do a bit today.

I ironed the muslin, which is three yards plus of 27" wide -- the other strip became the curtain lining in the bedroom -- so it will need some thought, about other fabric to go with it for a summer robe. 

This is on hold, however, since I'm waiting for a Freecycle kind delivery this afternoon.

It occurred to me to ask for bedsheets, to use as fabric, on Freecycle, and I got a quick offer. The location is a bit far from here but they very kindly offered to deliver! Way beyond the normal you want it you come get it procedure.  Arriving this afternoon, so we'll see what shows up. If they're well used, they'll be good for hand sewing.

Meanwhile, this year the Japanese maple has put on such a growth spurt it's casting enough shade to sit under.

The views from under the tree 

Cool morning, the temp in the 60s, where you wake up early, open the window and draw the quilt up, to lie and listen to the mourning doves.

And here's a Sunday puzzle

Happy day, everyone, gardeners, too, don't get nuts over nutgrass!