eh--da---ma---who?

Our CSA box for this week included edamame. Technically, it was not IN the box, the vines are much too big.Here is a photo of the vines , after I removed the pods. Soybeans. My foot is in the photo for scale. I am in need of a pedicure and I don't know what the heck that lump on the side of my ankle is, but it has been there for years, so don't ask me.

Boiled in a little salt water, here they are.

The fuzzy pods are not eaten, but the "beans' inside are really good! Tasty, and good for you. Another first from the CSA.

Besides edamame, this weeks box included:

Zucchini, summer squash, onion, garlic, cute little watermelons, bok choy, orange and purple carrots, lots of all kinds of tomatoes, green bell peppers, and sweet corn. And lots of basil.

I am so glad we joined the CSA , beside the health benefits and the good tasting food, it has sparked an interest in me for making meals.

Elf ?

This is my good (and thorough) friend.

Ain't she cute, with her new hair and all?

Puns

I love puns. My sister's husband, Jack, like puns, too. The family calls puns "Jack Jokes", I always enjoy them.

One definition of a pun is: A joke or type of wordplay in which similar senses or sounds of two words or phrases, or different senses of the same word, are deliberately confused

Here is a pun for today;

"What is the difference between a coyote and a flea?"

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"A coyote howls on the prairie, and a flea prowls on the hairy!!"

:)

Tuesday's colors

Inspiration comes in many forms at Loose Ends

The detritus of some wool sweaters and perle cotton
becomes a garden baby
Betty has chosen similar colors of yarn for her next project
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But, best of all... how is this for color?

What a cutie pie!

Another Monday gone......

Monday is officially my day off. The shop is closed. This is the day I intended to get things done around home....but errands, cooking, stuff gets in the way. Errands finished and meals made is accomplishing something, I suppose, but not what I had planned.
One of the things I had planned was to get more storage in my studio space. This dresser was my Nana's. For many years it has been storing "Santa- making" supplies in the dark depths of my basement. (Before I opened the yarn shop I made Santas to make money. see here)
My mothers sister,Maxine painted this dresser in the late 1940's. She was a creative woman. I just love this piece of furniture.... It's a little grimy, but hey, it's been over sixty years, and a good scrubbing should take care of that.
Guess what I found when I cleaned out the drawers? My Nana's eyeglasses!
The bow is engraved with her name and the date of October, 1966. Are they cool or what?
In 1966 my grandmother would have been around 72 years old.
Thrilled.... that's how I feeel about finding these specs. They will remain on display in my studio..... Nana would like that.
The prescription is almost perfect for me.... but I did promise Dave I would not wear them in public. We'll see..... Nana and me.

Book

I just finished reading

The Lace Reader,

by Brunonia BarrySet in Salem, Massachusetts, it's a story about a family whose 'gift" is the ability to read lace, that is - to see the future and the past in lace.

It was a good read. The lace and spinning facets are what captured me. Bobbin lace, not knitted lace. Interesting.

I have read a few reviews of the book including one in yesterday's Milwaukee Journal / Sentinel. The reviewer says, "But Barry has cleverly and delightfully set us up. With one fell swoop, she cuts the last thread, and the characters she has so carefully created unravel to reveal secrets we had not even begun to guess."

I don't want to be a spoiler, but I will say the plot twist she refers to is one that I saw coming. Most surprise endings are a surprise to me.... not this one.

I would recommend this book, unfortunately I can not loan it to you...I read it on the Kindle.....That is a big negative of the Kindle, not being able to share books.

Unrelated Thursday photos

These are my friends Lynda and Terri. We are unrelated. We are smiling because we sent away some fleeces to be processed into roving, and they have finally arrived! For you non spinners, that is what all that fluffy stuff in the foreground of the photo is- fiber ready to be spun. The fluffy stuff in the background is Lynda, Terri and me.

Ginger brought in some eggs for all to see.

The crowd at Loose Ends has been following the progress of Ginger's flock of chickens, via a weekly report. The baby chicks arrived by mail at Ginger's house in early spring and now some of them are producing eggs of their own! They grow up so fast, don't they? The eggs are so pretty, it would be hard to crack them if I did not know how good farm fresh eggs taste.

Here is Karen with her scrap afghan. It is simply stunning. All scrap yarn, changing color after every completed row.

A closer look.

Refashion

Refashioning is a buzz word on the craft circuit these days, making something new from something old. Going green, and all that.

Heck, my Nana taught me to "refashion" stuff 45 years ago. Back then we did it not only for enjoyment, but because we were frugal. And thrifty. And poor. Well, maybe not poor. Poor is such an ugly word. Financially challenged.

Why pay for new?

Nana was the queen of recycling. She made great things from object others would call trash. Footstools from tomato juice cans. Wastebaskets from ice cream containers. Children's clothes from adult clothes.

I followed Nana's lead. Lots of my children's clothes were 'refashioned". When my twin girls were toddlers I dressed them alike for special occasions. One Christmas I made the girls red and winter white coats, because I had a red adult coat and a winter white adult coat to cut up. The problem was that one adult coat did not yield enough usable fabric to make two matching coats for the twins. So, I made the coats using mainly the red fabric with white sleeves and collars. Nana was proud.

I am, and always have been, resourceful, and cheap.

Today I made "newsboy" hats from recycled wool sweaters.

I also made a bag from a skirt that a friend bought in Edinburgh, I used almost every bit of the skirt, including the fringe and the buckle.

Somehow only four hats got into the photo, I made six. The orange hat looks suited for hunting in the photo, in reality it is a nice, soft, tangerine color, with PINK accents. No hunter in my family wears pink.

Here is the denim colored hat on my noggin.

This town knows how to party!

Goodman, Wisconsin is 100 years old!

To celebrate, the town threw a spectacular 2 day party.We attended this great party which included;a street dance, a play reenacting the founding of this logging town, a lumberjack breakfast, parade, lumberjack show, fireworks, and lots more.


A plane zoomed above main street to start the parade.
the lumberjacks
Emili needed a nap after all the partying.

The long line for the lumberjack breakfast, which included side pork.
After all this partying, we took a few nature photos, and just relaxed.

Spiderweb

Berries

going home

In our own backyard!

Last evening a group of knitters went on a boat trip. One of our regular group happens to own Blue Heron Landing, along with her husband. The Horicon Marsh is in our backyard, but some of us had never seen it before, except from the road.

I encourage anyone reading this to explore your own backyard, and then come and explore ours.

I meant to take photos, really I did, but I was much too busy enjoying the flora and fauna, so, ....please imagine birds of all sorts, muskrats, cattails, even a mink! A live mink....... not a coat. Here are a few knitters, sisters Francine and Charlene, and young Chloe.And what was Betty doing on the boat? Untangling yarn, of course!

Summer pics

Blurry raspberries
A huge berry
Summer roadside

Evolution from a skirt

A good idea for a blog post, but the idea came to me just a few minutes too late. I wish I had snapped a photo of the skirt before I ripped it apart.



My friend Delores gave me a skirt that she no longer wore. A lovely, high quality wool skirt with lots of pleats. From a recycling point of view, pleats are good, very good. Pleats mean lots of usable yardage. This skirt had the nice kind of pleats, not stitched down. I took out the zipper and removed the waistband, and this is what I had.







Then I washed the skirt along with my regular load of white laundry.

Before WashingAfter Washing




Then I cut it up


Inspired by the Pojagi Class that I recently attended, I sewed it back together, just randomly.

Then it became a bag with a zipper and a pocket and a strap. No lining. No need.

Far from traditional pojagi, this wool bag was a fun "second generation" project.

Thanks for the term "second generation" , Cinie!