Signs you might really be a spinner

I hope everyone had a happy 4th of July, whether you are in the US and it was Independence Day, or you're anywhere else and it was just another Wednesday.  It's an incredibly awkward holiday, smack dab in the middle of the work week.  Just as you get into the week, you take off for a day, and just when you get used to that, it's back for another two days of earning your salary.  But it's better than no day off at all.

For my free day, I went with my mom and her knitting group to see Pixar's latest movie, 'Brave'.  There were just too many things going for it for me not to see it.  I trust Pixar implicitly to make movies that mean something to them, and thus are more likely to mean something to me.  And you just cannot go wrong with sitting in a darkened theater and listening to the voices of Emma Thompson and Billy Connelly.

Yet again, thumbs up for a job well done, Pixar peeps.  But there was one thing that kept coming to my mind as I watched the film that likely wouldn't have occurred to me even a week ago.  Merida, the heroine of the film, is the first Pixar princess, and aside from archery skills and a fierce desire to change her fate, she has a mass of ginger curls atop her head.  And I just couldn't help but think how much it looked like fiber.  Fiber I'd like to spin.

This after just five days of Tour de Fleece-ing.  I guess I really am a spinner.

I don't need more yarn/But there's a sale!

Having made a gigantic purchase of this new laptop less than a week ago, I'm a little gun-shy about whipping out the wallet for anything else.  But like other budget-conscious phases, it's being tested by a yarn sale.

Hill Country Weavers is having another First Thursday sale, as they do every month when businesses along South Congress stay open late.  Every month, I also write about it for Examiner.  And every month, I'm tempted to take advantage of the sale with a purchase of my own.

This month, the deal is a fourth off of yarn that contains fiber either from plants or made in a plant.  Any percentage applies, even just the scant 10% of nylon that is in many of my favorite fingering weight sock yarns.  In particular, I'm thinking of the Alisha Goes Around that is used in the Twist Pullover we already know I love.

Sometimes being able to make the connection between a sale and a queued pattern is dangerous.  Curse my deal-seeking synapses!

The apocalypse or finding this blanket: which will come first?

Friends, we have now entered the third phase of the search for the crocheted afghan featured in 'Seeking a Friend for the End of the World'.  Having spotted and admired it, we now know it is made by Anthropologie.  Unfortunately, it seems very unlikely that I will be able to take a closer look at one in person.

In a rare show of preparation, I called the closest store location before we went to visit, and learned that not only did they not have one in stock, but they were able to tell me that Orlando, Florida, was the nearest store with one.  So I'm more than likely on my own in terms of recreating it, since I'm not going to take a road trip to Florida in order to hold this thing in my hands.

Someone on Ravelry did suggest a pattern for making it yourself, though.  The newest Interweave Crochet has a pattern that gives the same sort of look, the Bullion Beach Blanket:

Photo credit: Interweave Crochet

So for now this is going on my 'should really make someday' list.  And then I'll have to figure out exactly how I want to construct it.

TdF: The first three days

Although I'm sure I haven't burned nearly as many calories as the cyclists, I have successfully completed three days of my own personal Tour.  Here's what I have to show for it:

Pretty, huh?  This picture is from Sunday, and I added a little more last night, but being a work day slowed me down a little (pesky thing!).  I also didn't want to do too much last night because I'm running out of room on the legs of the spindle, and I didn't have any yarn with me to create a new leader.  But tonight I'm going to celebrate the weird mini-weekend that July 4th is inserting into the middle of this week by taking this off my spindle and starting up my second single ever.

And then the fun really starts, because I'll ply those two together to create a 2-ply yarn.  Which I'll then have to wind into a hank to set the twist.  Oooh, don't you just love my mastery of the technical terminology?  Try not to be over-awed.

So far, I'm loving being a spinner.  The possibilities are opening up, and I'm constantly finding fibers, techniques, and tools that I want to try.  And counting down the minutes until I can leave my desk and pick up my spindle to officially start Day Four...

Cubicle kitchen: Wimbledon Strawberry Blondies

Andy lost.  Sad face.  But there's another Andy to root for, Andy Murray.  Because the sheer explosion of exhuberance that would follow a British win at Wimbledon is enough to make it a desired outcome.  It's been decades since they had a champion at the Championships, and though I'm sure many would wish that Murray was an English gent rather than a Scot, that's part of what makes it great.

To spread the joys of Wimbledon, I decided to make something with strawberries this week.  Strawberries and cream are one of the many traditions at Wimbledon, along with the players only wearing white, and Andy Roddick raising my hopes only to dash them.  I scoured the web for the most appropriate treat, and decided on the White Chocolate Strawberry Blondies from love & olive oil.

Other than adding one or two strawberries extra, I followed Lindsay's recipe exactly.  Luckily the 8x8 pan fits in the countertop oven, so I was able to keep the additional heat in my Texas kitchen to a minimum.  Here's what came out:

I think I should have taken it out maybe one or two minutes earlier, as my edges were a little burned.  This might also be because the pan was quite close to the heat source.  But other than my own folly, this is tasty.  The melted chocolate in the batter really gives it a yummy flavor and a nice texture.  It's somewhere between cakey and chewy.

This one didn't inspire anyone to drop by my cubicle and gush over the deliciousness, but they did disappear over the course of the day.

Now to decide on next week's treat...

Froyo files: Froyoyo

I made the largest purchase of my life so far this weekend, replacing my laptop.  My poor little MacBook, at 5 years of age, still works fine, but it just missed the cut-off for the move from MobileMe to iCloud, so my hand was forced.  After that kind of spending, I needed some frozen yogurt to calm my nerves, so Dad and I went to the nearest self-serve.

Froyoyo: 3201 Bee Caves Road  Austin, TX 78746

When I visited: Saurday, June 30th, around 3:30 pm

Cost per ounce: 42 cents

Number of flavors: 8

Sorbet options: 0

Nutritionals provided: Yes, per ounce

Experience: Ehh.  We were greeted as we walked in, and there were sample cups sitting out, so that was nice (again, I hate being made to feel guilty for sampling).  There's nothing above or below par in terms of service or atmosphere.

But there aren't a lot of options.  Eight seems like it should be plenty until you're standing in front of them.  And it didn't feel like there were a lot of different kinds of flavors, if that makes sense.  You can be in different flavor moods, and it felt like this was mostly a rich and creamy mood place.  There were two tart options, original and passion fruit.  On the other end, there were two cake-y flavors, red velvet cake and yellow cake batter.  There was also cookies and cream and chocolate.

But it's the two 'Only 8's that would really be my only reason for choosing this place.  Only 8 is basically a diet frozen yogurt that magically only has 8 calories an ounce.  And to be honest, it tastes like it.  It's okay, but it's not as good as the real stuff.  It's something to get when maybe you know you shouldn't have anything but you want something.  I've had it before at another shop, and some flavors are better than others, so far peanut butter has been the best.

The chocolate was pretty good.  I had sampled the passion fruit tart, and it was appropriately tart, just not my preferred fruit flavor.  The red velvet was red velvet, so it wasn't bad, but I was able to resist putting it into my cup.  I ended up with some Only 8 cappuccino swirled with the Only 8 vanilla, and some chocolate.  Then I added fruit, which honestly could have looked a little fresher.

I only remembered halfway through about my journalistic duties, so the photo is a little sad.  Dad also had the chocolate and cappuchino, with chocolate sprinkles.

Worth a revisit?  Technically, this was a revisit, but had their been a more convenient choice available, I probably would have gone there instead.

Make it blue!

I spend a lot of my crafting time dedicated to swaps.  The basic idea of a swap is that you fill a box full of goodies based on a theme as well as your spoilee's likes and dislikes.  Meanwhile, someone else does the same for you.  It's like Christmas year-round.  As I've already mentioned, I've just wrapped up a series of swaps.  Which means that the other week I received the last of my own packages,  themed around the magical world of Disney.

'Beauty and the Beast' will always be my favorite Disney film.  What I wouldn't give to be Belle.  Heck, just to have her library!  But over the two months of crafting for the swap, I also rediscovered a love of 'Sleeping Beauty'.  The animation is gorgeous, and something that the smartest computer couldn't possibly recreate.  Add Maleficent, so deliciously evil.  She's not just out to destroy the princess, she wants her and her prince to survive so they can suffer all the worse.  And for what?  Not getting invited to the baby shower?  Love her.

But my favorite part of this film is the three fairies: Flora, Fauna, and most of all, Merryweather.  She's fun and feisty, even in the face of the elegant evil of Maleficent.  And she made everything blue, my favorite color as a child, constantly battling with Flora, who made everything the far more conventional princess pink.  Of course, I love pink as well, but blue made me a rebel, so I liked that.

I don't know if that had any influence on some of my recent yarn purchases, but they have been distinctly blue.  I had noticed a while ago that though I love blue, I didn't have a lot in my stash.  I would say that I have now rectified that oversight, but that would mean I don't have an excuse to get more, so I won't.

Somehow, my wonderful spoiler knew that I was rediscovering my Merryweather love, and she made me the most amazing knitted doll of her.  I wanted to show off the amazingness of her work, and display a little stash while I'm at it, so here is my very own Merryweather, making it blue:

Isn't she great?  She has a cape, wings, underskirt and bloomers, even thumbs!  My spoiler said she was the most challenging toy that she's ever made, and I believe it!  It's always a little overwhelming to look at a handmade when you know how much work went into it.  For you.

So Mickey might be the keeper of the Disney magic, but I think knitters have plenty of their own to share.