Socks!

This is my very first pair of hand-knitted socks. Granted, they aren't quite done (I still need to weave the ends in), but I'm quite pleased. Big thank you to my grandmother for teaching my how to knit toe-up socks and for supplies. And I don't want to hear any moans of "Oh wow, that's so complicated. Look at all the tiny stitches." Mostly they look fancy because of the self-striping yarn (no extra work required). And those tiny stitches have the distinct advantage that the whole project (both socks are knit at the same time) is highly portable and travels well*. The psychology of this project was very different for me because the main point wasn't to knit socks. The socks are a nice byproduct, but the point was to keep my hands occupied and my creative energy in check while I traveled. I could also easily carry them to and from work and knit a couple of rows while I rode the bus. And I've started my next pair already, introducing the next step of complexity: heel/toe reinforcer. I think that the knitting of socks may become a fixture in my life because of the portability and simplicity of the project.

From previous posts, you may have worked out that I'm obsessed with re-using things instead of trashing them. This ties into some thoughts I've been having lately about clothing. I am not a big fan of most of the clothing I own, but if I took everything I wasn't thrilled with to Goodwill, I wouldn't have a week's worth of clothing left. I could simply replace my wardrobe at Goodwill, but that would cost a non-zero quantity of money. I've also noticed that the quintessential piece of female clothing is the sleeveless, knee-length dress. Since I prefer my clothing to have sleeves and reach my ankles, there's a fundamental disjoint here. So I've been thinking a lot about what I want from my wardrobe as I slowly recreate it.

When did I start thinking of my clothing as disposable?
Why can't I use what I have to make better clothes?
What makes an article of clothing valued?
What qualities do I value in clothing? (And a subset of this: Can I create a wardrobe that is both good for dancing and able to be worn while riding a bicycle? Hmmm. Any ideas?)
When did clothing design stop being about functionality and start being about how the clothes fit the body? (Compare a kimono with a tailored dress)

Machine washability is a major failure of my current wardrobe. Most of my favorite clothes need to be hand-washed, not only because they are delicate but because they have dyes that still bleed after many washings (I have a set of sheets that is going to by turned into a quilt backing since it now has faded purple splotches all over it). I'm hoping that as I build a better wardrobe, I'll be able to let go of these items or be able to refashion them into something that doesn't need to be washed as often.

With luck, you will see the first creations from this endeavor soon. I have a T-tunic based overshirt in the works.

P.S. I have run out of shampoo. Rather than buying new shampoo, I've decided to try using baking soda with and apple cider vinegar rinse for the next four weeks (info here). The hope is to reduce the number of scary chemicals and also to decrease the cost of washing my hair. We'll see.

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*Knitting needles are permitted on flights originating in the U.S. but not on return flights from South Africa, which was unfortunate since my luggage was lost for a long time on my way back, and thus, no progress was made on the socks for a long time.

Alas, I cannot afford a house

Well, that's not technically true. According to Coldwell Banker, there are houses available where I live for under $5000, which I probably could afford if I could get a mortgage, too. But, I'm talking about a specific house here, this house:This house is for sale. I like the aesthetics of this house: its roof, its chimneys, its tall windows. Sure the house has its problems (graffiti, a lack of glass in the windows), but for me that's half the charm. The potential of what something could be given a little love and a lot of work is very appealing. I think that's how I developed my nature as a pack-rat. Someday, those piles of clothing I never wear could be remade into something hip and cool. Likewise for the stack of magazines and catalogs. And I actually do have a plan for the phonebooks: slice them into strips and spin them into a "yarn" and then weave or crochet them into baskets (see the link here that I found through whipup.net). I'm convinced that my problem is that my space is not arranged in a way that is conducive to crafting and not that I have way too much stuff.

Incidentally, as I was taking the above photos, I got into a conversation with a man who knew a bit about the house. He thought I might be taking photos "to show to my husband back in Oregon or something." Um, no. I laughed and told him that I just liked the way it looked but if I did have a husband in Oregon, I absolutely would show him the pictures, and the man seemed to understand that and stayed to chat for a little while.

But in the end, I have a roof and walls and I can afford them (and can mostly find the time to do the most necessary cleaning), so that's something. Meanwhile, I will probably have dreams about this house.

P.S. Note the new link in the sidebar to threadbanger. Finally, a crafty site with a bit of an edge to add to my collection.

Ack!

There aren't any posts for August, yet. I must remedy this situation. Trouble is, I have no photos, either. I must remember to keep charged batteries in my camera at all moments.
Thus, this picture comes from Wikimedia Commons and is by André Karwath. Copyright information and details here.

I've been up to quite a bit in August. I froze a quantity of blackberries to match the strawberries. I also froze 12 ears of corn and 4 quarts of tomatoes. Despite my valiant efforts on the local front to prepare for winter, the lack of lemons and the perfect cheeses is going to put an end to this experiment soon. I'll still make the effort, but as with my experiment with vegetarianism, it will be incomplete. The important thing for me is the spirit of the endeavor and not keeping precisely to the letter. For instance, a friend pointed out an article in the New York Times that claims that apples produced and sold in Britain have the same carbon footprint as apples imported from New Zealand (there is efficiency in mass production). However, for me there is more to it than just carbon footprint. There is the selfish reason: fresh apples that haven't been abused by shipping are tastier. And my other reason: I think it makes more sense to support farmers who grow a diverse range of crops rather than ones who produce large quantities of one thing. I have no evidence for this statement, but I believe that growing a diverse range of crops protects our food supply (and our farmers) from the effects of pests and disease. So, I will continue to buy my produce at the farmer's market (as long as I can afford it), but maybe I will feel less bad about buying that lemon.

Strawberry Perfection

mmmm. Tasty. What is it?

Remember the strawberries? I froze a lot of them. They're in there, still frozen. I put them in a blender with some plain yogurt (made with my new yogurt machine, more on that in a future post). That's it. Tasty, simple, and perfect for hot summer weather.

Bits of Blue

This is a salad. A salad with lettuce. I made, I ate it, AND I LIKED IT. I am very anti-lettuce, so this is a big step. There's a tomato in there, and some dilly cheddar cheese curds, chopped basil, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. I'd like to say that there was a particular ingredient that was key to the success of this salad, but I think it was the freshness that was key. The lettuce was crisp, the tomato was firm, and the cheese was cheese. The basil definitely added the necessary kick. All these things came from the farmer's market yesterday. The sweltering weather may also have played a role. Hot food is not appealing right now.


Related to the hot weather, I've finished my housedress. It's made out of a sheet with lots of stiffness to keep it as far away from my body as possible. T-shirts are too limp and too heavy for this weather. Other pics and small details can be found at Wardrobe Refashion and Burdastyle.


Also from the farmer's market, I have eggs from my CSA share. I've been waiting a week and a half to get eggs so I can try the chocolate chip cookie recipe from the New York Times. It was recommended by Orangette, so I have to try it. I've got cookie dough curing in my fridge right now. Tomorrow is going to be fantastic.

Last, but not least, I now have a set of links to my favorite places on the internet. Orangette and Tea & Cookies are food blogs, most of the rest are crafty or sewing places. I'm quite fond of whipup.net. There's always some new nifty project or crafting tip there.

P.S. As I'm writing this post, I'm also eating Orange Soda Float ice cream out of the container because I hear that's allowed once you've become a grown up and you live alone.

Small Miracles

Miracle #1: The airline found my luggage.

On the return trip from South Africa, I personally took my luggage from the baggage carousel through Customs, as per instructions. Then I relinquished it to the agent at the baggage check counter. It wasn't at my final destination, however, I was assured that it would be on the next flight out. The same assurance I received for two days, at which point someone asked for identifying characteristics of my luggage, such as its contents... not good. It arrived at the airport baggage office the morning I left for somewhere else, but I did retrieve it on my way back, so now I can share these fabrics with you. I got them at a shop in Cape Town, South Africa, and while they aren't the best quality (they are at least partly polyester), they have nifty patterns. I'm especially fond of the blue and yellow one. I think there's a skirt and a quilt in these fabrics. We'll see.

Miracle #2: Mulberries.


When I returned home, I discovered there are a multitude of mulberry trees on my walk to and from work, and they're on public or commercial land, where no one will mind if I snag some. mmmm. tasty. Took the edge off my lack of luggage. Curiously, there are nearby trees that look identical, but their berries aren't taking color as well. Mostly they're white (or greenish white) with a few taking on a pinkish tinge. Anyone know what's up with that? Just so you know, I'm not eating those, since I can't conclusively identify them. I think I heard somewhere that white berries are more likely to be poisonous... I'm not going to find out the hard way.

Local Food Update
There are some things that I can't get locally, like rice and bread flour, but I was trying to stay away from things that traveled to me in a refrigerated truck from Whoknowswhere and stick to bulk dry goods. But, I bought a non-local, refrigerated item the other day. It's goat cheese. From Wisconsin.

The trouble with local is that you get a lot of vegetables (especially as a member of a CSA). Perhaps they're vegetables of which you are not particularly fond. Vegetables called lettuce. And if it's spring (or early summer) there's a lot of lettuce. I decided that if I was going to eat lettuce, I wanted to eat it with strawberries, goat cheese, and balsamic vinegar. No photo, because it turned out un-photogenic. Maybe I would have been better off with the feta (it's more solid), but I couldn't find out where that was from (thus, it had no obvious merits over the goat cheese), and learning to cook involves experimentation and failure (or less than perfect success) some of the time. It's in The Directions.

A Long Reflection

I've been away in South Africa for work for the past week or so. Being away from my office and my regular work gives me a lot of time to reflect on my life and what's important (like food, food is good). One result is that I'm taking the Wardrobe Refashion pledge (see the new button). I'm pledging to buy no new clothing, with the exception of shoes, for the next two months starting July 1st. I'll be posting my creations to the Wardrobe Refashion blog. I probably have a dozen sewing projects waiting to be started or finished, not to mention that I have a seriously short supply of nice-looking, short-sleeved shirts, and I'm hoping this will keep me focused. Speaking of which, my list of sewing projects keeps getting longer. I wandered into a fabric shop in Cape Town, so now I have 7 meters of brightly colored fabric. I think there's a skirt and a quilt in there. I'll post pictures of my travels later, maybe I'll even start a Flickr account for that purpose.

Green Soup

I just wanted to make a quick mention of this very green (literally, and I suppose figuratively, since many of the ingredients came from the farmer's market) soup. It's tasty. It's easy. And it uses vegetables that are in season together. I got the recipe from a blog I've been browsing called Orangette. The recipe is here. The beverage is cold oat grass tea (the oat grass is from my CSA share) with some pineapple sage thrown in for artistic effect. I was somewhat suspicious at first (I mean I'm boiling grass in a pot and then drinking it), but it has a pleasantly herbal flavor and I'm told a lot of nutrients. More interesting than plain water, at least.

Soda Tabs

I am fascinated by garbage. In particular, I wonder about what other uses it could have.

So, as I'm riding my bike and wondering to myself what good deed I've done lately, I come to a section of road that looks like the sun is scattering off a thoroughly pulverized window-sized quantity of glass. Not so good for bikes. Not so good for tires in general. When I get closer, I realize it isn't glass. It's soda can tabs. A lifetime's supply (or a year's worth for a small number of partying undergrads) of soda can tabs scattered over this section of road. I wonder what you could do with that many soda tabs. Someone should really clean them up. Oh. Right. Ok. I grabbed a plastic bag that was blowing down the street, one of the locals lent me a broom, and I am now the proud owner of several (?) thousand soda tabs (and 3 cents).

Now the question is what to do with them:
Sell them for scrap metal? I don't thing the market is good enough for me to get more than a few dollars.
Make a chain mail suit?
Make them into a sash such as the one sported by Worf Son of Mogh?

Strawberries!

I'm learning to be a locavore. I was inspired by reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. After hearing Al Gore speak, it seemed like the right path. It disturbs me that my vegetables travel as much as I do, especially considering that I travel a lot for work.

What made the change easy: giving up soy milk (and my struggling vegetarianism) in favor of locally produced sausages.

What makes it hard: remembering that the extra cost for some things is my investment in the environment.

What makes it particularly fabulous today: being able to justify buying 17.5 pounds of strawberries in one weekend and having them cost a fraction of what they would in grocery store.

By the way, the picture only shows about 2/3 of the total.