What is it?

Can you guess what this is? 

Here's a hint: It's in my fiber studio. I'll let you think about it for a minute. Yesterday was a busy one. While the husband took our youngest to see the latest installment of 'Sherlock Holmes', I stayed home to catch up on some chores. It's amazing how quickly the dishes pile up, even though there are only 2 people to cook for. And then there's the laundry. There is a lot less of it, now that the kids have moved out on their own. We had a little bit of sun so I hung my shirts out in the yard. That apple tree gets a lot of use as a drying rack.

Of course the shirts didn't get completely dry but it was still nice to be out in the fresh air. I also had a large amount of beer bottles to clean. (I truly am the chief cook and bottle washer). The guest bath tub comes in handy for this task. I am very particular about the cleanliness of my bottles. I first soak them in bleach water, then wash them with PBW. Right before bottling they are disinfected in an Idophor bath.

There's no fabric to show off, today, but I did get a package containing the following items. These will be used in weaving.

I have been wanting a McMorran Yarn Balance for years but never found one in my local shops. I also bought a warping paddle and an OOP warping book from this same Craigslist seller. OK, are you ready to guess what that first picture was of? Did you guess "spinning wheel cozy"?

Singha says you are WRONG. It's a cat tent. And yes, it is very cozy.

Ready For Winter (And Weaving)

I'm proud of myself for staying on track and finishing my yard work. It helped that we had nearly a week of lovely, warm(ish), dry weather. Monday I planted my garlic. Singha is helping to keep it warm.

Tuesday I finished getting the cold frames planted. The cinder block planter holds beets, mustard greens, spinach and bok choy.

And my polycarbonate cold frame, a Mother's Day gift 2 years ago (thanks, Randine!) holds lettuce, green onions, cilantro and basil.

As I've mentioned before, this year is an experiment and my expectations are low. Mainly because I am getting such a late start to my fall planting. But I already have some radishes and carrots sprouting in my little pots. Slugs are nibbling on the radish tops. I added a small container of beer that I hope will distract them.

Tuesday was such a lovely day. The bees were out enforce. I hadn't seen so many of them out at once since summer ended. There was lots of waggle dancing and they were roaring loudly. But I don't think it was an angry roar. More like a raucous party. Telling each other to get outside and enjoy the sun while you can!

Just a few minutes after I snapped that picture the shade came across the front of the hive and there were only a few bees left outside. What had they been so excited about and where were they going? I noticed they were still visiting the sour wood tree, across the alley. Even though it's leaves are turning there are still some sprays of white blossoms for the bees to enjoy.

I took advantage of the sun and hung out some rugs to dry. No, they didn't get completely dry, but every little bit helps. I then grabbed one of those Brazilian black beers and parked myself in the lawn, in the sun, to relax and watch the bees.

Yesterday (Wednesday) I finished the last of my yard tasks, weeding the bee yard. I was waiting for a cool, dry day. Cool so the bees would not be out flying, except for potty flights, and dry so I wouldn't be slogging around in the mud. Here it is, all neat and tidy. I've drained their bee bath and flipped it over so it doesn't freeze and crack.

I also dug up my poor canna and put it in a pot. I had it in the garden, to the right of the bees, and in front of where the snow peas were planted. It survived last winter but never bloomed this year. Perhaps it will like the pot better?

On A Clear Day

....you can hang out the laundry.


And yesterday we had the first clear day in a LONG time. I was excited to hang out the first laundry of the season. The last batch I hung out never dried, so they don't count. You can see how cold the morning was. There is frost on the ground. But I believe it reached 60 degrees F. and by the time I got home in the evening the clothes were nice and dry.



I am kicking myself for not picking up more of those sock dryers when I was at Ikea last. They sell the socktopus style (gray in the picture) and these are perfect for drying socks and freeing up the rest of the clothesline for larger items. Yes, those are baby blankets on the line. My dog and cat are my babies.


The chickens were also enjoying the sunny morning. Do you see what they're eating? When you think of dandelions as chicken treats, and not weeds, it makes their presence welcome in your yard. Every morning I harvest a handful and toss them into their pen. Before long the yard will be all weeded.


Last night I started 3 gallons of lingonberry wine, that's being made from the concentrate available at Ikea. I have it in my head that lingonberry wine will be the perfect accompaniment to our Thanksgiving turkey meal. Lingonberries are similar to cranberries, after all. This is my first batch of country wine using a yeast starter. The starter is doing its thing in the fermenting closet. I'll pitch it in the wine tonight.

Regarding Laundry, I Led You Astray.

Not intentionally. Let me explain. Way back when I first began making my own laundry soap (about 9 months ago) I remember reading posts about how folks were winding up with dingy gray whites. At the time my whites were bright, so I didn't take much heed. Now, all these months later, guess what? My whites are getting progressively grayer. I used my friend, Google, to try to discern the cause. Many have opinions (not enough soap, too much soap, water not hot enough...) but no one really seems to know why this occurs. I suspected it was something in the homemade laundry soap, itself. I use the standard formula of grated soap, washing soda and borax. I had a nagging suspicion the washing soda was the culprit. I washed a big load of whites in just the grated ZOTE and instantly saw a huge improvement. After yet a second wash, even more of the gray is gone. I will now use only the ZOTE for my laundry, with a vinegar rinse.Today's task, wash the light colored clothes which also have taken on a gray cast. I'll let you know if the improvement continues.

Indoor Clotheslines

With no end to the rain in sight, it is time to bring the clothes drying operation indoors. Last spring I relied on my 2 large Ikea drying racks, placed in the living room. But the teenage daughter complained that the house looked like a third world village. And the shirts, hanging on hangers on the shower rod, annoyed the husband. But where to put everything so it will be out of the way? The only indoor space large enough is my craft/really messy room. This is where I keep all my "stuff". And you can probably imagine that I have a lot of this "stuff". Spinning wheels, looms, knitting machines (which I've never used), spinning fibers, boxes of fabric, record albums (I adore vinyl), books, magazines.....you name the fiber processing tool and I bet I have it. Unfortunately I do not have time to use any of it. So here it sits, much of it going unpacked for the past 5 years. And it isn't tidy, either. This is the room that may cause me to be featured on 'Hoarders'. Yesterday I set about clearing a large enough space to set up my indoor/outdoor clothesline. I absolutely LOVE this thing. It folds up like an umbrella, for storage, but unfolds to an almost full sized clothesline with a stable tri-pod base. Sorry for the terrible photos. I'll take better pics once the room is more presentable.


And here is my portable clothes rack on wheels. This was a freecycle find. I will use it to dry shirts on. If you have them on the hangers you just transfer them right into your closet when dry.


Between those 2 items, and my Ikea racks, I should be able to successfully air dry my laundry over the winter. The only problem I can foresee would be too much moisture in the air. But we have gas heat and usually have the opposite trouble. Maybe this will balance things out? Time will tell.

My Homemade Laundry Soap

I have been using this laundry soap for almost 6 months. I LOVE it! It is incredibly easy to make and is so inexpensive. If you can find the pink ZOTE in your area, do. It is worth finding. The optical brighteners make a huge difference in how bright your clothes will be. I no longer buy the expensive (and ineffective) commercial detergents. What do I use for a fabric softener? Plain old white vinegar. I add about 1/4 cup to the rinse water of each load. Here is the laundry soap recipe. Enjoy!

1 cup grated pink ZOTE
3 pints water
Dissolve on stove, stirring well. Add:
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup borax
Stir well until thickened. Remove from heat. Put 1 pint of cold water into a 1 gallon container. Add the soap mixture and stir well. Add more cold water to fill container. It will gel as it sits but you can use it right away. I used 1 TBS. for a small, lightly soiled load. Add more soap as needed. Bigger, dirtier loads will require more soap. I would probably have to use 1/2 cup for my hubby’s nasty work clothes.



Very low sudsing so it rinses out easily. Cleans so much better than commercial detergents and the optical brighteners in the ZOTE really brighten whites.

NOTE: If you decide to try this, be aware that you'll need to dissolve the gel in hot water before using it for warm or cold water washing. If you add the gel to cold water it will just float there in a glob. It's highly concentrated. Also, do not expect this to be all sudsy like commercial detergents. It won't. But it cleans like mad. Those suds are just a marketing ploy. We are conditioned to equate "bubbles" with "cleaning".

Loving Costco

We hadn't been members at Costco for quite a while. But my husband found out about the canned salmon they have there and that was reason enough to join. Its damn good salmon. Now that I am doing my own baking it is also a good cheap source of flour, yeast, etc..Here are the items I bought today: baking soda for cleaning, white vinegar for fabric softener, good bacon to divide up and freeze, unbleached all purpose flour (2 bags), a big box of organic raisins for cookies and bread, and a 2 lb. bag of yeast.


The prices on those sorts of things are MUCH cheaper at Costco than at my local grocery stores. For instance, I paid almost $8 for this 4 oz. jar of yeast at Safeway.


The 2lb. bag of yeast from Costco was less than $4. Go figure.

Once we got back from our Costco expedition it was time for me to get on the laundry. It's been raining for almost a week straight and today is the only dry day before it rains for another week. You gotta make hay when the sun shines, or, in my case, dry your clothes. It was a non-stop laundry marathon. Good thing my husband got me that second outdoor clothesline. You can see it in the foreground of this picture.


It has 3 sides, tripod legs for stability and it folds up for storage. Here it is, my tripod clothesline. We got it for $49.99 at Fred Meyers (aka Krogers).