Project Funway

Okay, so I'm a bit of a Project Runway addict. And I've recently been introduced to Project Rungay and may be suffering a bit of an addiction there, too.

A few weeks ago, Project Peepway was brought to my attention, and the boys, who have seen bits & pieces of PR when I have it on during the day, thought it was hilarious. (Go on, watch it...I'll wait...)

So, last week, Kalen comes bounding down the stairs with a box and all of his rubber duckies. He proceded to line up the duckies (aka Peeps) on the floor alongside the box (aka Runway). For some reason I didn't get a picture of it. I did, however, get photos of the models.


The best part was Kalen saying, "You are out. You may leave the runway." Complete with cheek kissing. And now Nicky, who previously had no interest in the show, can't get enough of PR. That's my boy!

There were never such devoted sisters...

Last weekend, I visited my sister in Virginia. Heather's in law school up there, and we see each other only once or twice a year, so we were due for a sisterly-type weekend. So, without further ado, a brief photo journal, entitled Sisters in Arlington:

Chapter One ~ Thursday evening

Our heroine arrives at the airport, where she is greeted by our heroine. The two make the brief drive to Our Heroine's Home, along the tree-filled avenues bordering the mighty Potomac River.


After a brief respite, our heroines enjoy a dinner of Scrumptious Specialty Sandwiches at a local eatery benefiting homeless animals. Our heroines then decide to make the journey to the Olde Neighbourhood, where they seek out the abodes and schoolhouses of old. Following our heroine's well-honed sense of direction, and relying upon no small amount of luck, our heroines find the second of their Childhood Homes in the area.

Our heroines finish the evening in grand, sisterly style, accompanying the local easy listening station on the car radio at the top of their lungs. Upon returning to our heroine's home, they peruse the Wonders of Cable and enjoy a period film, featuring an actor from a musical film often watched in our heroines' Girlhood Years.


Chapter Two ~ Friday

Our heroines spend Friday out and about in the sweltering heat, accomplishing Important Tasks and Necessary Errands.

Our heroine also receives a tour of our heroine's Educational Facilities, and experiences the wonderful quaintness that is Old Town Alexandria. That evening, our heroines enjoy a gourmet delivery dinner of Chinese Cuisine while watching Ocean's Thirteen, Monty Python, and That Mitchell and Webb Look. There was Much Rejoicing.

Our evening ends with a Birthday Celebration for our heroine's dear friend, the Fairy Princess Laura, accompanied by libations and classic bluegrass entertainment.


Chapter Three ~ Saturday

Our heroines being the Renaissance women that they are, Saturday is a day of both woodsy, outdoorsy adventure, and air-conditioned musicality. The day begins with the Ancient Sporte of letterboxing. The first such hunt being a Disappointing Failure (including the losing and Heroic Retrieval of our heroine's prescription sunglasses), our heroines regroup and reconsider their goals.


The weather being what it is, our heroines decide to make the attempt for easier letterboxes, succeeding in retrieving five.


The day's success is celebrated by our heroines in the local theatre, where they enjoy a rousing musical film entitled Mamma Mia! The show receives mixed reviews from our heroines. Our heroine is moved to tears several times, while our heroine declares it "okay." Both agree, however, that a Fun Time was had by all.

The evening is spend at the local tavern, an establishment populated by the finest wait staff and most talented chefs our heroine has yet encountered. Our heroine unwisely overestimates the amount of food and drink her stomach can accommodate and leaves feeling slightly ill, which is in no way a commentary on the quality of food available at the Fine Tavern. (In fact, our heroine cannot stop thinking about the rabbit gnocchi and somewhat incredible pork chop she encountered that evening.) It should be noted as well that our heroine is correct in her observation that, "Javi makes the best mojitos on the planet." Javi (not Javy) is welcome at our heroine's home at any time for company and said mojitos.

Chapter Four ~ Sunday

The following morning, our heroine uses the leftover steak and chop to create an Omelet of the Highest Degree, accompanied by peppercorn bacon and French pressed coffee. Our heroines spend the morning in Leisurely Pursuites.


In order that our heroine might not be late for her appointment with Snoop Dog that afternoon, she drives our heroine to the airport shortly after lunch.

Our heroines have enjoyed a fine weekend of Song, Food, and Sisterhood. (Thanks, Swis!)

My kitchen laboratory

I don't really have a group of recipes that I rotate through the kitchen. Well, I do enchiladas now and then, spaghetti, etc., and the George Foreman and Crock Pot both get their fair share of use. But mostly I just throw dinner together out of whatever ingredients appeal to me that evening, or whatever I can find when we're approaching Mother Hubbard status. Sometimes I end up with something really great. Usually I end up with something fine. Once in a while, I end up with something even my loving, appreciative husband can't stomach. (Thankfully, that last one's rare - once or twice a year.)

Monday night, I had a package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts thawed. I so did not feel like cooking, but the chicken was on its last day of usability, so it had to be done. I set some rice to cook (Rice-a-Roni whole grain boxed rice - yummy stuff), put a few teaspoons of safflower oil - my new favorite healthy oil - in the skillet, and cut the chicken into 1" slices, so it would cook faster. Once the chicken was all cut, I turned the stove on (about medium-high), sprinkled some salt and pepper over the meat, and topped it off with a clove of pressed garlic. At that point, I was stuck. It wasn't enough, but I wasn't sure what else to add. I wasn't in the mood.

After standing in front of the open pantry for a couple of minutes, I grabbed a can of Navy beans and dumped the whole thing over the chicken, followed by more salt and pepper and another clove of garlic (pressed). I stuck the lid on, turned the burner down to medium, and left it. A while later, the chicken was cooked through, and I served it up with the rice and some previously frozen peas.

And, wow!! A success! The chicken & beans were incredible...so good, in fact, I'm craving them again and may make them tonight. The kids, picky little guys they are, didn't eat the beans, but they loved the flavor of the chicken, and they asked me to add it to our "list of favorite meals." I figured I'd better type it up so I don't forget what I did, and while I'm at it, why not share? Isn't everyone in search of fast, easy, yummy meals? Let me know if you try it!

Unravelry

Remember those sweaters I found last week? Well, they're no longer sweaters. Meet my new piles of sproingy yarn.

Both ended up being laceweight yarn, which is much finer than I'd hoped for. I think I know what to look for now when I'm combing through the racks of sweaters, but I doubt I'm going to find many in this climate that use heavier yarn. I think a drop spindle may be in my future (for plying thicker yarns out of the finer ones I find.) The next step for these yarns is to be washed and hung to dry with weights at the bottom, to straighten them out. I'm hoping to wind them into nice hanks to sell.

I used my handy-dandy new lap swift to wind the yarn onto as I unraveled the sweaters. It's an advanced piece of machinery. Prepare yourself for the mechanical genius behind it. Ready?

Yes, that's a 2x4, and those are 2" nails. It works great! I'm actually very pleased with it. I'd eventually like to get an umbrella swift, since it will be easier to unwind hanks onto a ball winder (which I'd also like to get) off of a rotating swift, but for now this will do just fine.

I still don't like that salmony-pink color, so I grabbed one of the smaller hanks of it and set it in a vinegar soak for an hour. It's now been zapped a few times in the microwave with a pouch of Blastin' Berry Cherry Kool Aid and a pouch of Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade. It's a darkish color again, but we'll see how it dries and reskeins. I'd like to do another hank of it in orange, just to see how it takes it.

The Miracle of Reskeining

When I got up this morning, I immediately twisted my newly-dyed and now dry yarn into hanks, and I wasn't pleased with the colors at all. I had two of these, which to me looked a washed out, pukey-burgundy and light electric blue:


However, I've read over and over that reskeining (rewinding the yarn into a new hank) works wonders, so I did my best to withhold judgment. I sat down with my new lap swift (a 2"x4" with nails exactly 36" apart) and began winding. Sure enough, after thirty minutes, I had this:

Now, that's more like it! The colors are pretty close to the photo - maybe only slightly less washed-out in person. I'm actually happy with this. Not thrilled, mind you, but definitely happy for my first attempt. I will be dyeing more yarn in the future - count on it!

Post-Dyeing Drying

We left the yarn cooking on low for about 2 hours. One hour probably would have been enough, but I was uncertain whether or not the milky-white water indicated that the yarn had soaked up all the dye. When, after another hour, it was still milky, I decided it was probably fine. I unplugged the crock pot, took off the cover, and we went to the mall.

About four hours later, we came home, and the yarn was cool enough to handle. I dumped it into the colander in the sink and rinsed my new, colorful yarn in water the same temperature before putting it through another spin cycle in the washer. Behold, hand-dyed yarn! The colors are pretty close to the photo, although the red is a little more burgundy (not so pinkish) in real life.

And here it is, hanging up to dry in the boys' bathroom. Tomorrow I'll reskein it on the simple swift I made this afternoon.


Jason's first question was, "What are you going to make with it?" Good question, actually. It's 100% feltable wool, so maybe my first felted bag? We shall see!

Adventures in Dyeing

Note the spelling - that's dyeing, not dying. Although the latter is a definite adventure, it's not one I'd like to try for many more decades.

Anyway, I picked up a couple of skeins of Kashmira (100% Wool at Joann's) on clearance for this express purpose. It's a blueish grey, not a fun color at all. I've also been picking up a few packets of Kool Aid each time I hit the grocery store, so I'm all set.

Last week, I rewound the skeins around the legs of an upturned dining room chair. No pictures, sorry. For this, I'd much rather have a niddy-noddy. Must talk to Jason about getting one of those put together, I think.

Last night, I set the skeins in a soak of water with a couple of glugs of vinegar. Very exciting stuff, let me tell you.


I also chose my Kool Aid colors:

This morning, I drained the yarn and ran it through the spin cycle in the washer to get the excess moisture out. I held both skeins together and wound them into a spiraly lump in my large crock pot.

I used four glasses to mix my colors:

• Glass 1 - 1.5 cups water, three packets Cherry, one packet Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade
• Glass 2 - 1.5 cups water, three packets Watermelon Cherry
• Glass 3 - 1 cup water, one packet Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade
• Glass 4 - 1 cup water, one packet Berry Blue

We poured the blues in first, one on each end of the pot, followed by the Cherry in the center, and the Watermelon Cherry along the long edges. As we poured each color in, I squished the yarn gently to make sure it was soaking through. (I should have taken pictures of my red-dyed fingers before scrubbing them with baking soda!) I topped it off with a couple of cups of clear water - just enough to make sure the yarn was covered.

Afterwards, we set the crock pot to low, and we'll leave it until the dye exhausts (when the water is clear). Stay tuned for updates.