A VERY Good Day

My pattern is published in The Anticraft! I had a lot of fun designing these. I have mixed emotions about alcohol consumption. I think it's fine for most folk on occasion, and I use it for medicinal purposes when I get particularly horrible 'flu, and even have a recreational drink now and then. But my ex-husband is an alcoholic, and I've seen and lived with the damage it can cause when abused. Thus it was enjoyable to come up with "Big Damn Hooch" but the other side of the coin came out when I thought of names like 'Rot Gut" and "Rat Bile", and my Skull and Crossbones design.
This was great for a publication like The Anticraft. No preaching, just a clear look at the darker bits with a strong injection of humor.

Anyway, they are quick and fun to make no matter WHAT'S in the bottles.

A Good Day

Today was MUCH better than I feared. We realized that traveling in our car, Little Blue (a Chevy Aveo) is MUCH better for my abdomen than traveling in the van with my chair.
So we will be looking into outfitting Little Blue to tow a special trailer for my chair, and maybe I can travel further again. We use the manual wheelchair with Little Blue, and that means Oscar needs to wheel me around. I like using my motorized chair.
I think selling the van would cover the costs of the accessories for moving the motorized chair around, and then someone else would get more use out of Grandpa Van than we do.

Today we traveled about 15 minutes to the Secretary of State's office to get my drivers license and tags for the van. It only took about 15 minutes there, which is VERY good. It meant we had time to stop and see our friend who runs Lai Thai only a few doors down from the Sec. of State.
Her daughter is now having seizures every day, and they hope to get her into surgery in October.
She is a widow, and things are rough for her right now. I plan a bright pink shawl, in alpaca to keep her warm. I waited in Little Blue while Oscar went in to order. It was very pleasant, I had sun streaming in the window, and a lap full of lime green Cthuluclava to knit on. Then she sent a Thai iced tea out to me, and it got even better.

I am still feeling pretty darned good now that I'm home. :-}

As I came up the ramp I saw these beautiful maple leaves arching over.

Wipe outs

My 47th birthday is a week from today.
I am at that stage of recovery from last Wednesday where I can do stuff like make my lunch, but taking a shower seems to be a HUGE task, and by the time I get out, I am shaking.
My brain has been working better since about Sunday, so that's good.
I managed to get the purple shawl pattern (City Tweed yarn in Morning Glory by Knit Picks) close to the middle bit of designing, where I have knitted part of it and frogged once, and know how I will begin it the second time.
Tomorrow I need to go get my license renewed. Not that I use it much, still, hope springs; if not eternal, at least for a while yet.
I will likely be wiped out again after that adventure.
Good thing I have 47 rows of plain stockinette to work on for a Cthulhuclava.
Then I'll have 6 days to (hopefully) recover.
A week from tomorrow I have a doc appointment, which will wipe me out again.
I had planned to start knitting in public the week after that, but since I have been fighting daily fevers for more than a month now, I think I need to take two weeks and REALLY recover.
I suspect Doc will have some tests for me to go to, too.
Being wiped out is not a good thing, especially since I don't even get to surf first.
Fibro flares really suck.

(image from free pictures at deshow.net)

Sri Lankan Curry

I had a culinary success today.
I used to cook a lot, but now I can manage it once a week or every two weeks.
Today was easier than I thought, since I divided the tasks and worked on things no longer than about 10 minutes at a time. I am so glad to have my little kitchen stool on wheels, it makes many things possible, including the best batch of curry I've ever made.

A large part of the success was due to the silver packet of Seasoned Pioneers brand Sri Lankan Curry Powder Lynn gave me a while back. This stuff is GOOD people.

I started by slicing up 5 smallish yellow onions into skinny wedges, and plopping them into the dutch oven (a cast iron cooking pot) with some olive oil. To that I added a lot of pre-chopped garlic, maybe 1/2 a cup, and a largish apple peeled and chopped into roughly 1 inch cubes.
When all that had cooked to soft and slightly brown, I removed it, and added a 1/2 pound skirt steak; chopped into fairly small strips, to the oil still in the pot.
When that had browned quite well, I sprinkled a good 2 Tablespoons of dry basil on it (I would have used fresh, if we had any) and 2-3 Tablespoons of the curry powder mentioned above. By now, the kitchen smelled pretty darned good.
After that had cooked for about 10 minutes, letting the spices bloom in the heat and oil, I added back in the previously cooked onion, garlic and apple, and a little salt to help the juices come out to play.

Then I added 5 medium potatoes, chopped into roughly 1.5 inch cubes, a slug of soy sauce (maybe 3 Tablespoons) and 3 cups of water.

I let that all cook together getting all happy and family-like while I used the rice cooker to prepare some jasmine rice. When the curry was looking thick and yummy (maybe 40 minutes) it was done.

I was going to add some green beans at the last, but it was smelling so good I totally forgot about it in my eagerness to get some in my bowl and belly.

(image nabbed by googleing 'sri lankan market')

Knitting in Thursday's Post

Thanks for your comments everyone :-}
Kym, Karen; the knitting is a seminal shawl pattern that I will be working on more in the next few months. It has an unusual shape. The original sample has been gifted to someone, but the fabric was made by knitting Noro Kujaku along with a kid mohair/silk blend in blueish purple.
Here are some more photos:

Not as planned, but glad I went

It turns out the journey to the location of knit night was too much for me physically. It was about a 35 minute drive, and the jostling was not a good thing. I did meet some lovely women, but had to cut short my evening when the consequences of travel made themselves known. Still, I was glad I went. After being hermetish for so very long, it took a certain amount of courage for me to go. And the next time I try will be easier.
I am turning to my fall-back plan. If there is no Wednesday night knit meeting in my own town, I will begin knitting on Wednesday evenings myself, at Bombadil's cafe, only 5 minutes from home.
I know there is at least one Tuesday meeting in Yspilanti, but unfortunately Wednesday evenings are the only ones which work for us. (Oscar is my transport, and he works evenings, except for Wednesday and weekends). Even so, with overtime offers, he cannot take me every Wednesday.
Judging from the way I feel today, it will be more than a week before I am able to venture out again without making myself worse. The first Wednesday in October I have a doctor's appointment which will make me fairly useless for the following few days.. so perhaps Wednesday the 14th.
I cannot make any firm plans. I get sick all the damn time without warning, but if I feel well on the 14th, I will post on Ravelry that I will be there, and what time, and see if I knit alone, or in company. Oscar will likely be there, too.

My Second Knit Night

Years ago LynnH of Colorjoy (my sis-in-love) took me to my first Knit Night, held on a Tuesday at Borders Book Store.
Tonight I am going to another, held in Kerrytown in Ann Arbor.
When I first got my new chair I thought I would be able to go all the dang time, but it turns out I still need to have someone driving the van (ramp just a titch too small for me to load the chair by myself).
With Oscar working nights, it did not look good... BUT Oscar now has Wednesdays off, and the knitters are meeting on WEDNESDAY nights.. so tonight I will go Knit Night, thanks to Oscar. He will attend with me this first time. Heck, if the knitters are on Ravelry, they will likely recognize him since he's my favorite model, and I have a feature ad running right now with his face and glorious beard in it.
He is free to attend any time he wants. but after tonight I will know the lay of the land, and where to guide the chair so I don't get stuck... and he'll likely just drop me off and go do a fun Oscar thing.
So.. Exciting times for me tonight!!!!
(photo above is of Vervain (verbena officinalis)

Dragon Butt LIVES!

I have completed the Dragon Butt Hat pattern, and it is available for download at the right of this page, from Ravelry, and from Patternfish :-}

I shoudl find out on October 1st if my pattern (or the Elijah Hat pattern) is a winner for the book:
1000 Fabulous Knit Hats.

In other news, since Oscar now has Wednesdays off, I can begin to go to Knit Night in Ann Arbor!

Gas Blaster Chili Sin Tomate

I am sensitive to citric acid, but EXTREMELY allergic to tomatoes these days.
An open can of tomatoes in the house can cause a reaction. Not fun.
My guy and I both love chili, especially as we head into colder weather.
I think we solved the dilemma last night.

Gas Blaster Chili: A tomatoless chili we can both enjoy... for days.

2 standard cans each black eyed peas and kidney beans, or the beans you have on hand.
1 pkg nitrite-free chorizo (we used Sanchez brand)

1 package cajun mirepoix (a frozen blend of onion, celery and green bell pepper, well drained and squeezed dry. Reserve the juice.

2 small dried mushrooms
1 very small chipolte (dried)
1/2 tsp cumin seed
3 TBS dried onions
-Grind the above 4 ingredients to a fine powder

1/2 cup garlic
1/4 tsp salt

3 TBSP balsamic vinegar

Cook chorizo until browned and a bit crumbly
add ground spices, garlic and SQUEEZED mirepoix (remember to reserve juice)

Cook a bit until mirepoix has taken on color

Add juice from mirepoix and cans of beans.

Cook until it smells good.
Mush half the beans up in the stew with a potato smasher
add balsamic vinegar and salt (to taste)
let cook a bit more.

Fabulous with corn bread, freezes very well, easily doubled, quick to fix.

This recipe makes about 6 hearty servings

It's about damned time, and long past due

SCHOOL GIVES CHRONCALLY ILL STUDENTS A CHANCE

My favorite quote:

"I'm a person with a disability. I'm not less of a person because of that. I can DO less because of it, but coming to that acknowledgment was painful," Patrick Holaday

Still Exciting (and a little sad) Times

I've had a lot of things happen the past few weeks. The pattern I submitted to The Anticraft will be published in early October (the same week as my birthday). I am planning a submission to Creative Knitting, for the September 2010 issue. I was provided yarn support for another pattern from Knit Picks, I plan to submit to Knit Circus for their Spring 2010 issue, and of course I have a few patterns to publish myself.
And I just found two antique patterns that with updates will make fantastic socks, and discovered a technique I've never seen before that would make a great article for a knitting magazine.
And that's not touching the file of partially written patterns I want to complete and or submit this Fall and Winter.
I am so very grateful that I have so many ideas. The problem lies in not over scheduling myself. What if three magazines accept my patterns, and they all want the samples done the same week, with two weeks notice? It can happen, you know.
I am taking a class right now on submitting patterns for publication. I have already learned tons, and it's only the second week.
The busyness is good, but it has not kept me from a particularly lonely time. For some reason, I am missing my old dog Kitsune terribly this week. We had to let her go last summer, and although the pain of missing her is not as sharp, she was such a huge part of my daily life it is no wonder I still grieve a bit. More than a year later, I still feel very much alone without her here.
I wonder if I got another dog if I could take proper care of them, though. It took a lot out of me, caring for Kitsune those last few months; and although another dog may not have her health problems while young, I doubt my ability to meet their needs as I should for their lifetime. So for now the idea of getting a dog (although I would dearly love to have one) is on the back burner. I will accept the fact of the grief, and try and move past it to accomplish other things. And maybe visit our local holistic pet food shop for Pug day once a month for some puppy kisses.
Life on the whole is pretty darned good, compared to what it could be.
(photo above is of Dragon Butt hat, to be published as a toddler pattern some time next week. Below is one of my favorite photos of Kit. She was a happy girl, especially when she was able t play in muddy water. :-}

Medicine Soup

As we head into fall, I thought I'd repost my medicine soup recipe. Since I created this, I have found out I am once again allergic/highly sensitive to citric acid, so I'll be leaving out the lemon for my own batches this year.:

Here is my (highly adaptable) recipe for Medicine Soup.

First, you may replace any of these ingredients to suit your own palate, BUT this soup is all about the curative, not about the cuisine.

Amounts are generalized, use what you have, and more of the flavors you like.

Ingredients:

-Oil (olive, canola, butter, margarine, whatever you want to use) The oil is an important ingredient, as some medicinal constituents are only released in oil.
-Garlic: as much as you can stand. I use the pre-minced for ease. You can cut up your own cloves, the finer you mince it, the more powerful per clove it is. I usually put in a 1/4 cup for 4 cups of broth.
-Chili peppers: again, as much as you can stand. I use my favorite garlic chili paste from Viet Nam, Tung Ot Toi (green lid, bright red paste, with a rooster on the front.
-Ginger: If using fresh, one of the small knobs (child thumb size) will do, use more if you like it lots. If using dried, about 1/4 to 1/2 a tsp. I use a rasp instead of a knife, its easier.
-Lemon: 1 whole lemon, rasp the skin right into the broth, then squeeze the juice and reserve it 'til the very last step. You can just use prepared out-of-the-bottle juice, about 1/4 cup.
-Herbs and other spices: Parsley is great if you have post nasal drip, dill is good for an upset tum, as is basil, thyme and oregano (or marjoram, which I prefer),You can add pretty much any kitchen herb or spice with medicinal use. Thyme is also good for a cough. Here is a decent ARTICLE with some ideas.
-Noodles : If I'm feeling poorly, I often use any egg noodles or spatzle I have on hand, If I am up to it, I often make rivvles with my grandmother's recipe. Here's a similar RECIPE you can use. (Grandma Metzger's is 1 cup of flour, a plop of oil, a bit of salt, an egg, mix it all up and drop the rivvles into the boiling broth by finger pinches.)
-Broth: I use Kitchen Basics Chicken Stock almost exclusively. It just tastes best to us, and only has half the salt of most other brands, without any loss of flavor. Use what you like best. It is 4 cups a carton, and I use one carton per batch.

put oil in soup pot.
add garlic, ginger, and chili pepper sauce. (and any ground or root spices like cinnamon or turmeric)
add broth
add lemon zest
when boiling, add noodles, spatzle, or rivvles, and 'green' herbs.
When noodles are cooked, turn off heat and add lemon juice.

I usually ladle a cup of the broth out when I'm feeling particularly rough, and wait on the noodles until I feel better.

Marie Gump's Steak Sauce

Marie Gump's Steak Sauce, with explanatory notes:

First off, this is not what you think of as steak sauce today. The flavor is much milder, and more complex. I enjoyed just putting it on my potatoes or rice, although it was delicious on steak, too. It is mild enough to accompany poultry or fish, as well.

Ingredients:
36 Ripe Tomatoes, Large
10 Large Onions (chopped)
12 sour apples, peeled
5 Red Peppers (Mangos, Midwestern term meaning sweet bell peppers, not hot peppers)
3 tsp salt
3 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1 quart (4 cups) vinegar (usually cider vinegar.. if you cannot have vinegar, use 1 cup lemon or lime juice, and 3 cups water, or 4 cups of other citrus juice)

Cook (on low heat) until thick.

This was then canned, as this much sauce was hard to use up on one sitting.

Maddie's First Quilt

A few years ago, I gave my nieces and nephew each something I called a "Quilt Kit". I cut out some squares, included a piece of cotton batting, a spool of thread and some needles.

Yesterday I got an email form my youngest niece, Maddie:
"Hi Aunt Diana

Thanks for the quilt kit. I like it so much that yesterday I started working on it at 6pm and now it is 724 pm sunday and I finished 9 patches already! Im sending 2 picures. 1 of me and the quilt so far and 1 of me on the 1st day of 3rd grade. Love maddie"


I love being an aunt!

Irony

Regular readers know I have not posed many thoughts on politics.
This may be my first.

Thousands march on the capitol to protest health plan
Figures. Those of us who cannot march are those who need it most.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20090912/US.Taxpayer.Rally/

Presenting; THE ALISON BAG!

Inspired by one of my dearest online friends, this bag took a while to design and execute, but I really love the finished results :-} It is available for download ($4.00) HERE (on Ravelry)
HERE (on Patternfish)
And just to the right side of this page :-}

Here are the Details!

-Alison is designed for carrying small lap tops and notebook computers, but works great for a small book bag or tote bag as well.

-Knitted in the round with a three needle bind off; minimal finishing is required, especially if a purchased handle is used.

-Three easy to intermediate slip stitch patterns (in written form) create a firm fabric.

-One skein of each yarn is all that is needed.

-Using semisolid yarn adds effortless complexity.

- 13 inches wide by 9 inches high.

Materials:
-Brown Sheep Lambs Pride Worsted, 1 skein each in
Yarn A: Blue Skyways (M-230)
Yarn B: Strawberry Smoothie (M-200)
OR 190 yards each of two colors of 8 wpi yarn (Heavy Worsted or Aran)

Needles and Notions:
-#7 U.S. (4.5 mm) 24 to 32 inch circular needles.
- A second #7 (4.5 mm) needle used for three-needle bind off
-Darning Needle for weaving in ends.
-Stitch marker
-Optional purchased handle.
-Optional snaps, or if not for carrying computers, magnetized fasteners.

Abbreviations and Techniques:
k - knit
p - purl
sl1 - slip one stitch purlwise, with yarn in back
sl1 wyif - slip one stitch purlwise, with yarn in front
sl2 wyib - slip two stitches purlwise, with yarn in back
st - stitch
Three-needle bind off

Hand-Written Recipes

You may notice that my links list changes slightly on occasion. sometimes every day. It is basically a way for me to keep track of the blogs and sites I enjoy visiting on a regular basis.

One of my new favorite blogs is called Handwritten Recipes compiled by the same person who does ANOTHER recent favorite, Forgotten Bookmarks but I'll blog about that one another time.

I love collecting old cookbooks, in large part because of the recipes people jotted down on the blank pages, or on a scrap paper and stuck in the book.

The best though are those we have in our little wooden recipe box; those that have come into our keeping from all over our family tree, and people dear to us.
Some of my favorites were written by my husband's first, late wife, Kelly. I am glad she is still part of our lives, she was such a special person to Oscar and his family.

The recipes I photographed above come from both sides of our family.
Autumn Soup is Oscar's Aunt Martine's recipe, written down for him by his mom, Liz.






Near as we can figure the Oatmeal Batter Bread was written down by his Grandma Illa Bakken.








Ruth's Buns we think was written out by his Grandma Ruth Troldahl (she had a great sense of humor!)








My mom wrote down the Baked Custard recipe as well as Marie Gump's Steak Sauce (Marie was one of Mom's cousins). This recipe is unlike anything I have found anywhere else and very delicious.












The stroganoff recipe is one Oscar put together, combining the favorite parts of other recipes he'd found.











There are dozens more in our little wooden box, some written by me as well; although I tend to write mine on the computer and print out a card. Maybe I'll jot the next one down, though. There is a certain beauty to handwriting, and it's not used as often these days.

(If you are interested in the full recipes of any of these, just leave a note in the comments of which one you want and I'll post it in next few days or weeks.)

A ColorJoy Contest!

For the next 6 days (there were 7 days, counting yesterday) LynnH of Colorjoy is having a contest on her blog! She says:
"Lark Books has provided me with a copy of Joy of Sox to give away here. I had some fun thinking of what I would like to do as a contest. Since I am ColorJoy and the book also has Joy in it, I am going to have a seven-day period of ColorJoyfulness here. You may enter once every day, from today (Tuesday, September 8 ) until next Monday."

My entry was a link to the photo above, and the comment:

This week we are cleaning and decluttering, and I have an interesting laundry basket.
I happened to shoot a photo of the laundry basket just because I liked the colors, then your contest rules were posted LOL (yes, I take pictures of anything, even laundry)
My words:
I imagine the bright to be a color shading between tangerine, apricot and pink grapefruit, unable to make up it’s mind. The midtone I want a bright cobalt blue, like a deep blue glass with the sun shining through it.
The dark I want to be deep blueish black. I played with the idea of shoting a hot green in there (colorwheel says that woudl work fine) but I loved the velvety bluish black in my photo.

Socks

I have been enjoying a used book that arrived last week; 'Ethnic Socks and Stockings' by Priscilla A. Gibson-Roberts. I learned about Turkish and other Mid-Eastern socks from LynnH of Colorjoy, who also is my Sis-In-Love. I often tell Oscar I married him because I loved him, but his relatives were a real bonus :-}
I adore many of the socks, but (if you have a copy to hand) the design pictured on pages 26 and 27 is the pattern I plan to follow first. I see it in different colors, but keeping the warm to cool placement of the yarns.
This is sort of a dream-knitting project. I am going to thoroughly enjoy all the preparation and anticipation, even if the socks themselves don't get finished for a year or so.
I may just make one of the socks, and work on a different pattern as the second sock of the 'pair'. Lynn advises that it would look fine if I used the same colors in different patterns, but I have to admit, it will likely not happen that way. I am much more likely to pick different colors for the second sock. That's how I 'roll' :-} I visualize myself tooling around my first knitting conference, gorgeous socks showing to best advantage under a not-too-long simple black cotton skirt..... Like I said, its my dream-knitting project. :-}

Come On and Twist, Yeah Baby Twist

Here is what I started with. This roving was sold to me as-is, and I bought it knowing it was slightly matted and a little felted.. planning to use it as doll hair and art collage. But when my ©Sling-Blade Handspinner arrived, I thought "Ah! All the better to practice drafting and splicing with..." This is what it looked like after time spent finger drafting, splicing, and playing until it became silky soft... yummmmmmy.....
And here, after loads of fun and a remarkably short time, it became yarn on the blade!!! For the next batch, I will ask Oscar to take a video of me using it. It's too cool!!!

It was really easy to wind the yarn off the blade and onto my laptop (each wind = 2 feet); much easier than when I did it the old fashioned way off my drop spindle a few days ago.And here the yarn is, having been soaked a bit in water, hanging with a little weight to 'set the twist'. (Please ignore blurs in background, it was easier than painting the kitchen before taking the photo LOL)

Isn't it pretty????
And I MADE it! (with a great deal of help from the sheep)
"We're gonna twisty twisty twisty
'Til we turn the house down"
(lyrics from The Twist, Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, 1959)

It Spins Me Right Round Baby Right Round

A long time ago, I learned spinning on a drop spindle formed from an apple stuck on the end of a pencil. I was living at Rancho Paso in Woodland, California; caring for critters in exchange for part of the rent, and learned a lot of things that year.
I loved spinning. I remember feeling as though I had done it many times before, and that I just needed to help my fingers remember to regain old skills.
Years passed, and I had another opportunity to re-learn drop spindling at Brushwood in upstate New York. Again, it was more like remembering than learning, and again, I loved the feeling of peace it brought. I still have the drop spindle, and even though I am all about lightening the load of un-needed stuff in the house, I could never bring myself to get rid of it, just moving it from one place to another. When my messed up tummy made it difficult to sit upright for long, and my messed up ankle made treadling improbable I had pretty much given up on ever spinning again.Yes, there are electric spinning wheels, and I was open to getting one of them but 1. They are really expensive, and 2. I really love the magic of having my hands part of the creation process.
Enter The DreamSpinner, laughing with joy. I found a Youtube Video showing a tool she invented called the ©Sling-Blade Handspinner. Even if you are not interested in textiles, give it a gander, it is fascinating to watch. The coolness of it is the twist in the yarn is created by very slight hand motion, translating to the blade and thus to the held fiber. I contacted her to ask about the use while reclining, and a few other things, and we've become friends in the course of a few days. (Love the internet I tell you, I love it.)
And it CAN be easily used while reclining with my feet up, without damage to any part of my body. The cats might need an adjustment period, though.
Yesterday I got out my old drop spindle, with the very small portion of roving that accompanied it in New York. In short sessions (sitting up until the body protested) I spent much of the day creating maybe 15 yards of yarn. I am proud if it, even though it is a lumpy bumpy 'artistic' yarn even after setting the twist. I will be using it to make a distaff, I think.
I loved spinning, every minute of it, but spindle hand and tummy still feel the effect this morning. I wanted to re-acquaint myself with the basics because today or tomorrow, my very own ©Sling-Blade Handspinner arrives!!!
I will be certain to tell you more.

Yarn for Warm Woolies Arrives

I signed up to be part of the Land's End Feel Good campaign through Warm Woolies.
Land's End generously sent pounds and pounds of cotton-wool blend yarn to knitters, paying for the shipping. I estimate my yarn weighs between 6 and 7 pounds.
Warm Woolies has as a prerequisite that the items they send be made of 100% animal fiber, for warmth, but this much free yarn was also something they felt they should use, perhaps for baby garments and blankets

My box of yarn arrived yesterday. It is lovely and soft, but no matter what needle size I used, or number of strands I knit together, I was not satisfied that the garment I made would keep a child warm, even as a baby blanket.
As other knitters in the campaign stated, it would be better than not having a sweater at all, but something in me rebels at the thought of me sending anything to a child in a cold northern winter without it being warm enough to make a real difference.
I have this image of a child standing waiting for a bus, in a red acrylic sweater too small to cover her wrists or close all the way down the front.
I can't go back in time and make that little girl warm, but I can decide what I send to Warm Woolies this year, as my contribution.
The Land's End yarn is buttery soft, but like most cotton yarns it has very little loft. This means if I knit it loosely enough to make a soft fabric, there are spaces through which the wind can blow. When I tried to knit it tightly, my hands couldn't even finish the swatch without pain.
I happen to have a big bag of yarn called Quarry, from knit picks. It is a soft, fuzzy woolen yarn with loads of loft but not much strength. Knit Picks no longer carries the yarn, so it will have little use to me for my design business, but I think when carried along with the Land's End yarn, it will fill in the spaces beautifully, making a warm garment or blanket that will last longer than if I used the Quarry yarn alone. And I have other yarns I can use if and when the quarry runs out.

As you can see above, the yarn I got in the mail is deep black and bright purple...
the quarry yarn I have is in denim blue, soft green, and fuschia.

What I make to send may not be beautiful and for sure it won't be high fashion, but I know it can be warm, which makes me happy.

The above has been lined through because notification has been received from Warm Woolies that they prefer that no other yarn be combined with the Land's End yarn.

All is not lost, however.

Barbara Walker has a technique she calls mosaic knitting. It is a combination of garter stitch, stranded work, sip stitch and double knitting, resulting in a fabric which is thick, but not too heavy, with plenty of captured air to provide insulating warmth.

I think that the black and purple yarn will make some lovely baby blankets using different mosaic patterns (like those below), and the leftovers will make warm mosaic scarves, as well.