Wow, it has been two months since I last posted! I didn't mean for that to happen; it just did. I won't mention all the posts I wrote in my head or list excuses for why I fell off the blogosphere. I will tell you more about that in another post. Today, I want to share some of what I have been up to while AWOL.
Before I get into the fibery stuff, I want to mention a book my friend Jennifer has just self published. First, I need to start with the back story. We have been driving our cars (2001 Golf TDI, 1979 Mercedes 300SD, and Ford F-250) on 100% biodiesel for over four years now. Biodiesel is a sustainable fuel made from vegetable oil that will work in any diesel engine without any modifications required. It can be made by anybody with a small bit of equipment and a little know-how. We bought our Golf with biodiesel in mind and waited for three years before we could get our hands on any to fuel our car. About 5 years ago we join the Berkeley Biodiesel Collective (BBC) and met Jennifer.
About a year later Jennifer and Hope (another BBC member) decided to start a biodiesel filling station. Their goal was to make biodiesel commercially available and to do it in an sustainable and environmentally sensitive way. The result was BioFuel Oasis in Berkeley, California. It was a long and arduous process which took over a year. In the end, the got all their permits and have built a successful, thriving business. I am proud to say that we have been customers since day one.
Today, we went to Jennifer's house to celebrate her book, Not A Gas Station, about the journey to making BioFuel Oasis and how you can do it too. It is a great book full of wisdom and humor. If you are interested in starting a biodiesel business, it is well worth the cover price. In addition to her home-brew biodiesel classes, she will be teaching a course on starting a biodiesel business in February.
I am so proud of her. She is a shining star doing great and wonderful things.
A Little Dyeing, A Little Spinning, A Little Knitting
Back to the fiber side of life. Last month I went to another dye class with Nancy Roberts, the genius behind Machine Knitting to Dye For. (I hear the hand knitters turning off at the thought of machine knitting, but do yourself a favor and check out how she uses machine knitting to create incredible new horizons for knitting and hand knitting.) She is a wonderful person and a patient teacher. If you see her at a conference or you happen to live in the Bay Area, you should seriously consider taking a class from her. And, check out her gallery of work for some inspiration.
I went to dye some yarn and fiber in her beautiful dye studio using professional acid dyes. Silly me, I forgot to take pictures. You can see pictures from the first class I took with her on my old LJ blog here. All photos can be clicked on to enlarge them.
Finn wool for socks. There is 1/3 of a pound (5.33 ounces) of each color (the green is in two parts). Finn wool is a long and strong wool traditionally used for sock making. It is not a really soft wool, nor a really scratchy wool.
More Finn wool for socks. In this picture, half of it is spun up as fingering weight three-ply. I have spun it all and am about to start swatching it for socks for Roger. I can't wait to see how it knits up.
Wensleydale sock yarn. This is the same sport weight yarn I used for the Penny Socks. This time I made 1/3 pound skeins since the wool is very dense and the yardage is less than most wools. I made three manly color combinations. Roger picked the olive one and cable socks for him have commenced. I am not sure what kind of heel to turn on them so they are in knitting purgatory at the moment. I plan on making socks for myself from the red skein.
Blue-faced Leicester wool. One of my favorite wools to spin. It is a soft and crimpy fiber with a long staple (fiber length). Not quite as soft (but almost) as merino and less slippery. It spins easily and smoothly.
Merino-silk. A blissful combination of merino wool and 20% tussah silk. It has some of the luster and shine of the silk with the softness of merino. It is like spinning a cloud. I am so in love with this blend.
Here is a 4+ ounce skein of the merino-silk spun up. It is 300+ yards of worsted weight two-ply. A scarf is probably in its future.
Here are my newest socks. You may recall the yarn from the fourth segment in my sock design tutorials. It is the Strange Days colorway by the incomparable Symeon of Pippi Knee Socks. They are simple (stockinette) toe-up socks using the Your Putting Me On heel shaping by Judy Gibson. To make a tight ankle (hate baggy ankles!), I started a six-stitch cable at the top of the gusset decreases. After a couple of cable crosses I started my favorite ribbing: slipped stitch rib like I did for the Swirl Socks. Because the ankle is fitted, I increased from 3x1 ribbing to 3x2 ribbing in increments so the socks would fit my chubby calves.
Dogginess!
We were doggy-sitting for my FIL. His dog, Pancho, was with us for two weeks. He is such a sweet boy. Here are a few pictures of the kidz.
That is our Toby with his head down (upper left), Pancho (upper right), and our Sammie. Such cuties! All three are Boston Terriers (terrors?).
Another shot of the boys. They got along so well. Here we are cuddling on the couch.
Sammie as a flopsy-mopsy boy napping in Roger's arms. He is unbearably cute when he is asleep. He looks so innocent; what a trickster.