Swatchless

Looking back on the year, it appears I spend money on very few things, the necessities…..like rent, and food, and car maintenance, clothes (mostly from thrift stores), and wool.  Funny how wool has become one of my necessities….

My mad money this year has been spent on some serious stash enlargement.  I have been buying spinning fiber from Paradise Fibers, a fantastic online store!  They have a wonderful selection, and a good quality product.  Their shipping is reliable, even all the way to me in Canada.  It is always exciting to go to the post office, giddy at getting a box full of goodies like merino rovings, sari silk loom waste, and yak down.  It turns out that not too many people know what yak down is….and even fewer care to hear me go on and on about it!

yak down

KnitPicks has also been a great online source of wool and inspiration for me this year.  They have me on a mailing list, and truthfully, when the reminder emails arrive, telling all about their great prices and good selection, I often get sucked into exploring their website and often buy more than I was originally intending.

More mad money was spent after a particularly crazy day this fall, when several friends and I went on a “wool run” to Wool-Tyme.  You know you’ve got a problem when important meetings are brought to a hasty conclusion in order to allow enough time to get to the wool store before closing time.  I love it at Wool-Tyme, there is something for everyone!  Baby wool, sock wool, thick mitten wool, lots of acrylic (for those who don’t like wool), there’s alpaca, and silk, and cashmere, and camel…..Just thinking about it makes me want to go visit again tomorrow….At Wool-Tyme people are encouraged to touch the merchandise, or bring in knitting projects to get help, or ask staff for advice about new projects.  And, at Wool-Tyme, I’m sure they would love to hear me rave about yak down!

Over the past years, the store has expanded from the sales of wool, yarn and buttons, to now include spinning and felting and rug hooking materials, and they’ve also gathered a community of crafts people who come together for lessons or other social knitting events.

So, although I may have an addiction to knitting, and I may spend a considerable amount of time at local yarn stores, patting yarn, and plotting out new project ideas, I feel completely justified in doing so.  The money spent on wool is really buying hours of creativity, productivity, and relaxation.  The finished product is more than just a hat or a pair of mittens, it is a collection of moments, of love, and warmth.  In the grand scheme of things, I think it is a rather good addiction to have…..but then again, I’m biased!

Wool-Run anyone??

Unexpected….

• vacation
• new foods
• boat travel on the Nile
• new and renewed friendships
• death
• swine flu
• blogging
• robotics (and world robotics championships)
• car accident
• storms
• phone calls
• challenges in my day to day work
• rewards from my efforts at work
• kindnesses from unexpected sources

The good, the bad, the total surprises…I guess I should know by now to expect the unexpected.

Thanks to all who helped along the way this past year!

Monday night was a great night for Kingston Ontario!  The Olympic torch made its appearance at market square at 7:00 PM carried by Vicki Keith, a world famous marathon swimmer, and one of our local heroes.  She was cheered on by thousands of people, and many of her “penguins” (members of the Penguins Can Fly swim program).

Photo Credit: A. Stephens

My brother and I were in the crowd with red mittens waving and cheering as the torch flame ignited the cauldron on stage.

Despite the slight rain, it was a real celebratory atmosphere, with lots of music and mascots, and speeches from local dignitaries.  I was proud to witness this special event, and be a part of history!

I even got to hold the torch with Vicki Keith!  I got to show her my mittens too….and update her on the pattern sales–half of the proceeds from the sales of the Red Olympic Mitts pattern will go to support the Penguins Can Fly swim program.  It will be so exciting to write a big cheque for her and her penguins in the new year!

To see where the torch is now, click on this interactive map!

Would you, could you in a cave?

The best tea drinking experience of the year for me happened in a cave, in Petra, Jordan; and although these kids were cute, and had an excellent sales pitch, we refused to ride an “air-conditioned bedouin ferrari” to get there.

We set off, climbing up winding paths in this mountainous desert terrain for over an hour (850 steps) at the heat of the day (at least 38 C).

At the end of our climb, there was a cave, which was welcome relief from the sun.  We sat there, on the floor, resting against cushions for a good hour, drinking hot sweet mint tea and enjoying the glorious scenery, and resting our weary legs.  Beside us was a friendly bedouin cat, and several men playing instruments and having a good chat and enjoying their sheesha (water pipe).

This is a better picture of the monastery, taken from a different vantage point.  From inside the cave, it’s hard to appreciate the scale of this building that was carved into the rock by the ancient Nabatean people.  Petra is a magnificent place.  If you go there….be sure to climb up to the Monastery, sit in the cave, and enjoy the most memorable cup of tea you’ll ever drink!

The Monastery, Petra--look at the tiny people!

Would you, could you in a boat?

My most memorable tea making experience:

Captain Hamada and Ali taught “Captain” and I how to make tea during our 4 day felucca journey.  We became quite good at it after a bit of practice.

Here are the basic instructions: (taken from my journal written while on the boat)

Step 1: The tea tray (10 inch round cake pan), tea glasses (1/2 cup), sugar bowl, loose tea, and tea spoon come off the shelf.

Step 2: The gas stove is lit (with matches or with flint, as “Captain” showed us)

Step 3: The kettle is filled with Egyptian tap water, from a big container on board.

Step 4: The kettle is boiled, and the glasses are rinsed with boiling water. To do this, cardboard is needed to wrap the handle of the kettle or else you will be burned.

Step 5: Tea is spooned out carefully into the glasses. Captains take 1 spoonfuls, but we only take half (Egyptian spoonfuls are HEAPING spoonfuls).

Step 6: Sugar is added. Captains take 3 spoonfuls, and we started off taking 2, but weaned ourselves to 1.

Step 7: Hot water is added, and stirred.

Step 8: Drink the tea after it cools a bit and everything settles.

Step 9: Carefully lean over the edge of the felucca and hold the glass tightly and dump the tea leaves into the Nile.

Repeat 6 times a day at least.

It seems like AGES ago that I started blogging about the puffy thrummed mittens I’m making.  This weekend I finished them up, and delivered them to their new owner (who will NEVER have cold hands again!)

Materials:

• Handspun wool from Serbia, dyed brown with chestnuts.  I Love the subtle variations that kettle dying gives this wool.
• Locks of fleece, washed in cold water to preserve some lanolin.
• 4mm DPNs

Pattern:  Improvised.  Here are the basic notes.  (these make LARGE mittens)

Cuff: CO48 sts.  K1P1 ribbing for 20 rows.

Gusset: Begin thrumming, skipping 3 sts and 3 rows between thrums.  Increase 2 sts every 2 rows to 13 gusset sts.  Continue for 1.5 inches plain.

Hand:  Put 13 thumb sts. on holder.  CO 5 sts.  Knit for 4.5 inches.

Decreases:  Decrease 6 sts per row (2 per needle) every 2nd row.

Thumb: Pick up and knit 13 sts from holder, pick up 8 sts for a total of 21 thumb sts.  Thrum knit for 2 in.  Decrease every alternate row.

Care instructions:

Washing:  Mittens wont need to be washed often, but if they DO need it, this is how it’s done…

Hand wash gently Soak in lukewarm soapy water (they are 100% wool and may felt if they are agitated in hot soapy water)

Turn inside out and dry flat (don’t put them in a dryer!)

If the thrums get matted: Turn the mittens inside out, and comb the locks gently to untangle the matted areas. (NOTE: this only works if the mittens are thrummed with locks of fleece.  If they are thrummed with roving, this will destroy the thrums….so be sure before you try it)

Here’s an action shot….they DO look a little like boxing gloves don’t they!

Best Packaging of the year….

Borio cookies!!!

Bought in Egypt–12 cookies for 5 Egyptian Pounds (1.25 Canadian Dollars). Eaten on the way up Mt. Sinai.

ETA: They tasted pretty good at the time, but are nothing like their more famous North American cousins.

I don’t often seek out risky situations that might bring forth a rush of adrenaline. I do enjoy a good roller coaster from time to time, but didn’t go on any this year that I can remember.  Thinking back, my big rushes tend to be brought on by accomplishments, like after a big test, performance, or competition.  This year’s rush came at a Robotics Competition in April.

Last year between January and March a significant portion of my “free time” was given to a high school robotics team competing for the first time in the First Robotics Competition. The K-Botics team started as a group of students who were interested, but had no ideas how to build a robot. Early in January, the NASA webcast brought us all together to learn about a new game of 3-on-3 robot basketball played on ice.

No, really! It’s called “Lunacy”, and it was created to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing.

This is the video that we were shown at kickoff last year.

We went quickly from learning the rules of the game, to designing a strategy, and prototyping possible robots. Over the six weeks of build season (every evening and all day Saturdays), we created not only a fantastic robot, but also a cohesive team of students and mentors. It is a treat to work with such dedicated individuals! We shipped the robot off, and later joined it at the Greater Toronto Regional (GTR) the largest regional competition in Canada. The top alliance of 3 teams would head off to the Worlds in Atlanta, along with the winner of the Chairman’s Award and the Rookie All-Star Award. We had submitted a thick report detailing our plan for this year, our plan for the future, our involvement in the community, and lots of pictures of us and the robot.

Here is a video of us (team 2809) in the semifinals at the GTR competition. We didn’t get any farther in the competition….

But….and here comes the moment of the RUSH….at the end of the weekend’s competition, the speeches were given to announce the Rookie All-Star winners.  We were sitting together in the stands, with eyes closed and fingers crossed, hoping that we’d be named.  What a rush it was (as you can hear in the video) to be called down to the floor, and be recognized for the many hours of hard work, and great accomplishments of the season. 

Even though we went on to Atlanta (having an excellent BUS RAVE on the way) and won an award at the Worlds, I still count this win at GTR as the biggest rush…maybe it is because it was our first.  Stay tuned for more robotics fun this January!

How have I changed the place that I live… not much actually.  Since it’s an apartment I’m not at liberty to do all that much, nor do I have the time or energy to do so.

I did make an attempt to organize myself my stash last March.  My mom and I drove up to Ottawa for passport related stuff, and headed to IKEA on the way back.  We managed to somehow jam boxes for 3 sets of tall shelves into the car (with seats folded and pulled forward as much as possible).  It was also quite a job (involving the creative use of abandoned grocery carts) to wrestle the boxes out of the car and up to my apartment.

I spent several afternoons with the screw driver assembling the shelves, and then with a bit of help got them anchored to the walls.  For a while, I was more organized.  But then it appears that the number of books I own has multiplied to fill these shelves.

Now….I’m about do to something brave.  Most knitters have a stash of yarn, a hidden supply that is going to be used for something at some time but is currently waiting for that perfect project.  Some of it is yarn bought at a certain place, like the silk I bought in Japan when I learned to dye with indigo (lesson translated thanks to my very patient friends who had no interest whatsoever in silk or dyeing), or the super soft alpaca that I bought from the Weavers and Spinner’s Guild sale….I know it will be a scarf sometime, but I need to have the time to enjoy knitting with such lovely fiber.  Some of it is yarn bought on sale, or because I love the colour, or because I forgot I already had something similar….I know…I know…I have a bit of a problem.

So, here’s to bravery.  This is my stash, or at least most of it.  Doesn’t it look pretty?  Without this shelf, it was all piled in boxes in various corners of my apartment.  I have certainly gained more floor space with this stash storage shelf.  Looking at all that wool makes me think I need to knit more….so there will be more room on those shelves to store other important things.

This perhaps leads into my new years resolution post on being more organized, or perhaps just knitting faster than I acquire new yarn.

All you knitters out there….tell the truth….you have a yarn stash too, right?

I find that when I travel I encounter foods that I would rarely find in my hometown. I am generally more adventurous when I travel, which can lead to great discoveries, or a sore tummy. This year on my trip, I discovered fresh pita bread, the kind that melts in your mouth, the kind that boys carry on big bamboo baskets above their head as they bike through the market, it is delicious, but something that I will never find in my town.

I discovered felafel while sitting at a patio in Aqaba with “Captain” and our tour guide and busdriver. A delicious “breckie” to remember. I discovered that a dinner “of sorts” served on an Egyptian night train is NOT really food

I discovered that in Egypt, you can order viagra from a menu….

…but we weren’t brave enough for that one!

The most wonderful food that I thought I’d never eat was found on a felucca. It started out with a holler to the neighbouring fishing boats, asking for Bolti fish (which we later discovered is Talapia). The fish were bought from the side of the boat, freshly caught from the Nile.

They were cleaned by Captain Hamada over the side of the boat

cooked up in the boat kitchen (a square meter of space with a 2 burner gas stove, which I learned to light–how I got the nickname “crew”)

The fish was served up with rice and vegetables, and eaten by candlelight. The fish still had the heads on them! I’d never tried eating fish like that before. I’m not actually a fan of seafood, but this was SO deliciously fresh, cooked in front of my eyes, and eaten with friends who were quickly feeling like family.

We ate, Egyptian style, half with fingers, half with spoons, or pita bread to scoop up the food from our bowls, and enjoyed the lovely view of the Nile. This is food that is very simple, from a world with no refrigeration. All ingredients are fresh, and in season, and cooked up with Captain Hamada’s family recipes. Go see him and his brother Ali on the felucca “Flower 2″ if you are in Aswan. His food is better than the near by restaurants. Tell him Rachel from Canada sent you