01.19.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:16 am by trueepicure
It’s lace, Bay-bee! The beginnings of the Flower Basket Shawl, to be exact. I’ve finished the upper chart and I am currently on lower chart repeat number 3 (I’d only gotten about halfway through 1 repeat in this picture).
I’m really enjoying this project, even though the first two lower chart repeats gave me trouble. I think, as a newbie lace knitter, I need to pay more attention and not try to watch/listen to TV at the same time.
As an aside, because I didn’t have the circular needles I wanted, I’ve been knitting this on many different types of needles thus far. I started the upper chart with bamboo straights (short-ish ones, 7 or 8 inches long maybe). That was perfect to start. Then I moved on to a pair of Skacel circulars that I decided I can’t stand. (Anyone want to trade?)
When I decided I couldn’t stand the Skacel needles, I switched to a set of Susan Bates circulars, but the cord wouldn’t straighten, and as the shawl got bigger it kept getting all whacked out (yes, that would be the technical term).
Then I got a hold of some really looooong metal straights that I had in my grandmother’s needle stash. That’s been working great, except that Cleo REALLY likes to play with the ends. Tonight, I pick up a set of Addi Turbo circulars that will hopefully be the last pair I try with this. I hope, I hope.
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01.17.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:01 pm by trueepicure
So, I’m trying to be healthy today, and I’m eating lentils and rice (yummy recipe to follow, some time in the near future) and drinking Trader Joe’s 100% Juice Mango and Antioxidants.
I love mangos. As far as I am concerned, they are food from the gods. And mango juice? I’m not sure life could get any better. Okay, it could if you splashed a bit of carbonated water in the juice, but I don’t want to quibble.
So, I’m drinking my juice, all happy because it tastes good and I’m adding years to my life… well, minutes, maybe. But wait! My face feels warm… my acid reflux is kicking up… and I’m getting hives… SHIT! Something in the juice has corn in it! Hmmm… let’s look at the label:
Apple juice, mango puree, orange juice, banana puree, lemon juice, vitamines and minerals (Vitamin E [as acetate], ascorbic acid [Vitamin C], Betacarotene [vitamin A], Sodium selenite [Selenium], Natural flavor. Made on equipment with soy and milk.
There is no corn here. Or is there?
I’ve heard people say that some synthetic vitamins are dervied from corn, but I didn’t really have any documentation to support it. Today, I found some websites of manufacturers that indicate at least ascorbic acid may be derived from corn. Crap. And there are all kinds of discussions all over the ‘Net regarding synthetic versus natural vitamins. And there is no requirement that anyone indicate on their labels, what source these “vitamins” are derived from.
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01.14.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 4:07 pm by trueepicure
Because I am totally obsessive, and I needed to find another hobby for my extremely limited amount of free time, I have started to learn to spin. I am currently taking a 4-week class at my LYS, Fiber Factory. I can’t say much for their customer service, but they definitely have the best array of classes in the Valley. That would be Valley of the Sun, by the way, not The Valley.
Warning! This is an image heavy post. You can click on the pictures for a larger image.
So I’ve been creating this:
And spinning this:
Last week our homework for spinning class was to clean a bunch of fleece to prepare it for spinning. So I started with this:
Very sheepy, but not too stinky. Poor Nancy got a really stinky batch.
I found that it worked best to tease it apart a bit before “washing”. It’s not for the faint of heart, though. After washing (DO NOT agitate the fleece, you will felt it) in hot water and Trader Joe’s Lavender dishsoap (what I happened to have on hand) and “rinsing” it several times,
I got this:
This is also when Ms. Cleo got interested in the fleece. I had a hard time keeping her out of the fleece while I was teasing it again after washing.
This week I’m carding the wool to be spun on a wheel in class. It’s going to take all of my willpower not to buy a wheel. That, and my lack of funds. 
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01.13.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 2:21 pm by trueepicure
I’ve been eyeing some craft books the last few months, but I had decided that I wouldn’t buy them because they were just too expensive - even with the coupons from the various craft mega-stores. I decided that I wouldn’t buy them unless I got one of those weirdo “4 for $1″ deals in the mail. Now mind you, I NEVER get these things in the mail any more.
Guess what showed up in the mail today? I guess I should be responsible and read the fine print, so I’m not going to order them right away. But still, how weird is that?!
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01.05.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 4:19 pm by trueepicure
Tuesday, January 3rd was the 1 year aniversary of my cousin’s death as a result of breast cancer. In her memory, I have decided to raise some more money for breast cancer research. At the end of January, I will be holding a raffle for various items, fiber-related and otherwise.
If you would like a chance to enter the raffle, make an online donation to the Susan G. Komen Foundation of at least $5 (more if you feel like it) by January 31st. Forward a copy of the receipt, your email address and blog address (if you have one) to me at trueepicure [at] gmail [dot] com. (If you prefer not to make a donation online, please email me privately.)
If you would like to donate an item to the raffle (the more the merrier!), email me at the address above and let me know what you would like to donate. We’ll work out the details via email.
Thanks for helping to save the boobs!
*Thanks to Nancy for the story about saving the boobs.
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01.01.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 4:33 pm by trueepicure
I think New Year’s Day is one of my favorite holidays. I’m not sure why really, but it’s just one of the most relaxing. The last few years, I spend the day doing stuff around the house, watching television marathons. This year, it’s the Monk marathon on USA.
I’m knitting, eating lots of snacks (yummy olives right now), reading magazines (the December Simply Knitting is on the stack, but I’m not sure it was worth the $9. They even reprinted a pattern from last month!) Monk is driving everyone nuts, including me a little bit, but that’s what Monk does. 
And the best part, because the holiday is on Sunday, I get tomorrow off! Whoo hoo! All in all, a lovely day.
Happy New Year, everyone!
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Posted in Uncategorized at 11:37 am by trueepicure
While I was home for Christmas, I had the pleasure of seeing some collaborative art. What made it even more special is that my cousin was one of the collaborators. The art starts as photographs, the images are manipulated and then printed onto fabric. The fabric is then turned into hats and pillows and other items. Pretty fascinating stuff. You can see Roy and Reiko’s work here at R5Design.
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