开云体育

I had a great 4.5 days at Rhinebeck. It started with the workshop set up on Wed. I taught on Thurs, volunteered at the fleece sale on Friday afternoon, did workshop check-in on Sat am and then went to teach. Sat pm was my free time. I taught again on Sun am and then had a few hours of free time before I helped pack up the workshops. Since I mostly socialize at Rhinebeck these days, it all worked out. I met my friends among the vendors as well as among the volunteers, made some new ones, got my hands in a lot of dirty fleeces - some absolutely gorgeous! I didn't buy much. A darning egg, two Bosworth spindles - one of which is made from a rib of Pete Seeger's Hudson river sloop Clearwater, and I put in an order for a shorter shed stick (12" vs the 16" they were selling) which will come in a month or so. No fiber, no yarn. I met Steph and Michele on Sunday. I ran into Laura and Beth on Saturday. -- Jaya http://knitsarina.blogspot.com/

I gave up trying to reply to the old list after spending time composing lengthy updates with my thumbs only to have them disappear into the yahoo ether. Dealing with that was just another item on a long list of things I really should get around to doing but don't. I'm trying to make progress with that list, but it is slow. This week I finally got the collision place that replaced the entire back end of my car to properly glue down the kick pad on the bumper (I accidentally backed into our garage on one of those Monday mornings way back in June). I've been driving around for months with this stupid piece of rubber threatening to fall off, but the effort of dealing with it seemed overwhelming. In a nutshell....school-aged children. Finley is 13 and Eulalia is almost 9, and they consume far more of my time and energy than at any time previously. And what gaps remain are soon sucked up by work. But both those things are good. I'm knitting, spinning, embroidering and sewing at intervals, still running - not much has changed really. It is just going by at a ridiculously fast pace. Does it ever slow down? -Shannon

After months of yahell only letting me read but never post, I'm hoping google will be good to me. -- Shannon Virus-free. www.avast.com

This just popped up on the KnitList Yahoo Ann in PA

I’m currently picking up buttonbands for Dissent (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/dissent-3) a steeked cardigan in a worsted weight yarn (well, my yarn is somewhere between DK and worsted in grist, but it’s knit at 20 st/4”). The pattern gives very detailed directions for securing and cutting the steek, which is probably really helpful for people who don’t have a lot of experience with steeks. I do, although it’s been a while, and I don’t think I’ve ever steeked anything heavier than sport yarn and those patterns tended to have more steek stitches than this one (hindsight and all that). The pattern calls for the addition of grosgrain ribbon to secure the cut edges afterwards, which I can do, but I’m concerned about the stabilizing effect changing the elasticity and drape of the cardigan. Any advice or suggestions? I don’t have enough fabric to turn under to secure the raw edge (and it would be thick) but I’m sure I could find a matching fingering or laceweight yarn and add an extra handsewn line of stitching to secure the cut edge down. Melisande

1. I found that the knitted buttonholes at the waist of my knitted/woven skirts are stretching out. I want to reinforce them. I thought about making buttonholes in muslin and sewing to the back of the knitted buttonhole. But then I thought maybe buttonhole elastic would be a better choice? Or what about making buttonholes in Petersham ribbon? Any thoughts on which one might work better? 2. I am planning to knit my Swan Bohus this winter. I want to make it a cardigan, not a pullover. Steeked. The Swan is a yoke design. I'd like to not spoil the yoke by putting a buttonhole band in the middle of it. Someone on Ravelry did one where the design goes all the way to the place where the band folds over - but I think she picked up and knitted a facing after she did the cardigan. I thought I could knit the facing at the same time as the cardi. I'd just add some facing sts on either side of the steek and put matching buttonholes in the front of the cardi and the facing. After cutting the steek, I'd fold the facing to the back and turn the cut edge under and hem the facing to the front. Then I'd sew the two buttonholes together. Do you think this would work? -- Jaya http://knitsarina.blogspot.com/

This is unusual for me. I am usually quite organized with my craft projects. But right now I am so discombobulated that I seem unable to work on anything. I have two warps on two different looms that I could be weaving. I started a cowl from Tosh Merino Light (ripped-out one from a shawl with holes) that I could be knitting. I have spinning projects (one on a spindle, one on my Hansen and one on the Nano) that are ready to be worked on. I need to start a top-down hat - I need a mindless project for Election Day in case there are slack periods during the day. And I’m doing none of them! I’m just sitting here being brain dead and searching for Koigu projects to make with the ripped out Koigu from another shawl. The yarns have mostly been skeined and are being washed and dried one every day. -- Jaya http://knitsarina.blogspot.com/

Just watched part of this Fruity Knitting podcast episode featuring Shetland Wool Week https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTw6AN9u7xk&t=2452s and spotted a beaming Peter among the crowd in the opening segment. Peter, it looks like such a great time! Color me envious. I'm home with things pretty much back to normal after a 5-day evacuation due to the Kincade fire threat. All well at our house, can't say the same for some friends and acquaintances. A stone house on a treeless island sounds pretty good about now. --Therese

I needed something portable that could be knit in the dark yesterday, so I grabbed a lovely skein of self striping sock yarn and started a sock. It’s top down, mostly because that’s what I’ve been knitting lately since I tend to prefer a regular heel flap. I’d like to preserve the striping pattern though, so I’d like to do an afterthought heel instead, and I’m trying to figure out the best way to decide how long the foot portion of the sock should be after I place the waste yarn (my preferred method) for the afterthought heel. Anyone have a good rule of thumb to use? My best thought was to take a pair of socks I like and figure out where the heel ends to use that measurement, but I feel like there’s got to be a better way, one that doesn’t rely on having a pair of well-fitting socks handy. Melisande

Ravelry debuts on NYT parenting over - of all things - roasted turkey hats! https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/18/well/family/a-mothers-love-knitted-up-in-a-flock-of-turkey-hats.html :) - Jacqueline

?I appear to have had my Facebook account hacked, so please don’t open any messages “from me” for a bit. Argh. Patricia, in Tucson for the week

Many moons ago, we had a discussion about tres leches cake on some version of this list. Shannon gave me a recipe for hers which I couldn't try because she said a stand mixer was essential. I finally got a stand mixer a couple of weeks ago and baked two tres leches cakes this week. One chocolate and the other Shannon's recipe. I may make another one for my Conversational Spanish class next week. My story last week was about the cake and they all asked for some. We write a little story in Spanish and have a conversation about it after as part of the class. -- Jaya http://knitsarina.blogspot.com/

Here's Shannon's recipe. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Shannon Shields <shields.shannon@...> Date: Sat, Dec 26, 2009 at 11:52 PM Subject: Re: [Yarnmongers] Calling all bakers To: <Yarnmongers@...> Here is the recipe I use. It is a sheet cake, so makes a good 12+ servings. The Bayless recipe is a lot fancier, and probably tastes a lot more sophisticated. I've been served Tres Leche in Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and here. It is de rigeur for baby & wedding showers in the latino communities in this area - considered a somewhat 'girly' cake. I'm not a huge fan overall, but I've made this cake for work-related gatherings and now I'm stuck making it because it is always the requested cake. Most of the tres leches I've had have been mushy, and the cake tends to swim in all the leches. This one uses a hot-milk sponge which makes a cake sturdy enough to take all the liquid. Some cakes are flavored with rum, some have a layer of jam on top of the cake (so sweet it makes my teeth hurt). I use plain, unsweetened whip cream on top, sprinkled with lots of toasted coconut. ** In place of microwaving the condensed milk I have used the same quantity of cajeta to basically the same effect - slightly richer flavour with the cajeta if you can find it.** A stand mixer is key for the cake - I usually let it run for about 7 minutes while beating the sugar & eggs. *Milk Mixture* 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk 1 ( 12 oz) can evaporated milk 1 cup heavy cream 1 tsp vanilla extract *Cake* 2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter 1 cup whole milk 4 large eggs, at room temperature 2 cups (14 ounces) sugar 2 tsp vanilla extract *Frosting* 1 cup heavy cream 1.5 Tbsp light corn syrup (I don't use this or the vanilla - cake is sweet enough) 1 tsp vanilla extract 1. *For the milk mixture*: Pour the condensed milk into a large microwave-safe bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on low power, stirring and replacing the plastic every 3-5 minutes, until slightly darkened and thickened, 9-15 minutes. Slowly whisk in the evaporated milk, cream & vanilla. Let cool to room temperature. 2. *For the cake*: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease & flour a 9x13-inch baking pan. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt & cinnamon in a large bowl. Heat the butter and milk in a small saucepan over low heat until the butter is melted; set aside off the heat. 3. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs in a large bowl for about 30 seconds, then slowly add the sugar until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the egg mixture is very thick and glossy, 5-7 minutes (this is where the stand mixer really comes in handy). Reduce the speed to low and slowly mix in the melted butter mixture and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, scraping down the bowl as necessary, then mix on medium speed until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. The batter will be the consistency of pancake batter. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 30-35 minutes (a dark baking pan will cook faster than a glass one). Transfer the cake to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. 4. Using a skewer, poke holes at 1/2-inch intervals in the top of the cake. Slowly pour the milk mixture over the cake until completely absorbed (it may take a few minutes for it to be fully absorbed). Let sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes, then refrigerate for 3 hours, or up to 24 hours. 5. *For the frosting*: Remove the cake from the regfrigerator 30 minutes before serving. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream, corn syrup, and vanilla to soft peaks, 1-2 minutes. Frost the cake & serve. Optionally top with toasted coconut or serve with fresh sliced fruit or berries.

4 years and 4 months have passed. They are looking for a successor for my successor. No details yet. Ann in PA

Actually, it was an email, but same thing, really. Asked if I want to come back in an advisory role. I said no. Mark and I had a long conversation about this. I know he would support any decision I made, but this feels wrong. I have no idea what I’d be walking back into. Four years and two inept successors. I cleaned up that mess 20 years ago. I don’t think I have the strength or energy to do it again. Plus, I really don’t want to acquire another car. Plus, I have a small town library counting on me. ::sigh:: On a happy note, the Baby Grands are coming for the weekend alone. The stepmom-wannabe is bringing them as far as Philadelphia where we will pick them up. Returning them on Sunday where she will meet us for the return trip. Ann in PA

Oh Jenny, you're into the tough part right now. When my parents entered into this phase of life, I often dismissed what I was seeing as a "one-off" but after awhile, the pattern of diminished level of function was apparent. It was then that I forced myself out of the role of child and into parenting role. It was so very hard and you have my complete sympathy. It's much more challenging than dealing with children and young adults because it's combined with a life time of our former role as child. The other thing that surprised me with my mother was that she could be seriously sick with a UTI without displaying any symptoms. Once, it reached the level of a kidney infection and the only symptom was that she was a bit more disoriented than usual. I felt terrible that I was so ignorant and didn't understand that this was not unusual in the elderly. Three cheers to you Jenny for doing what needs to be done. It's one of life's most difficult challenges. You're trying to keep them healthy and safe while dealing with the realization that they are deep into the aging process. Hang in there and try to find time to take care of yourself. Mary.

Have just caught up with reading the latest posts. Jacqui, sorry to hear about your father. Hugs. I still miss mine after 20 years. I hope you feel better soon. Laura, all the best with your knee. Jenny, Jaya & Amy (hope I haven’t missed anyone) all the best with dealing with aged parents. We only have D’s mother left. She just turned 91 and has had her driver’s license taken away from her, much to her disgust and our relief! She’s still at home but becoming rather dotty & a bit deaf. Ann (in PA) I agree with your decision about your old job! Who needs that crap at our age! We are supposed to be going to DDs next week for Christmas and then to Canberra to stay with friends for a few days but with all these fires and consequent road closures we’re wondering whether we will get there. Or home afterwards. Happy whatever you celebrate to you all. Beryl xxx