My geraniums are in the Halcyon Yarn catalog

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Really. Halcyon Yarn is located in Bath, ME. I’ve stopped in once or twice and they have a wonderful weaving section plus knitting, spinning, the works.

Last year, a few weeks before we arrived to help close Seguin Island Lighthouse, Halcyon Yarn went out to the Island for a photo shoot – without ME!

Whatever, I’m over it. I encourage you to get a copy of the current catalog. It’s a lovely display of fiber projects in a beautiful setting. They have even devoted a line of knit, woven and hooked projects to Seguin.

But I digress. Back to MY geraniums. As we closed up last year, I found two potted geraniums under the porch. They had been in outdoor planters that brightened the entry during the season and were now discarded. I was determined to bring them home, by dinghy, the Leeward and car to nurture them over the winter. And they flourished.

Here they are featured on the back cover of the catalog from last season on Seguin.

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And here they are brightening my dining area today.

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A convergence of passions: Seguin and fiber – and pretty flowers.

Betwixt and between

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I feel a sense of urgency to finish (and start) a few projects. I’m leaving my loom and sewing machine when we head out to Alaska. Happily my knitting travels well and I already shipped a small quilt I intend to hand quilt. Just have to remember needles, thread, thimble and hoop.

I finished weaving a large throw blanket from a project in Weaver’s Craft. It’s made with Plymouth Encore, which is a machine washable wool acrylic blend. It works perfectly. It’s long enough and put the recipient right to sleep.
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There was enough warp leftover to weave a small baby blanket.
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Next on the loom are two rugs for the log cabin. 420 ends! The reed is sleyed (I love fiber’s archaic terms) and I’ll take my time dressing the loom.

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My knitting consists of a sweet cotton skirt. First skirt adventure. It is knit in tiers with 40% increase in stitches with each tier. I’m on the fifth and final tier and don’t think my needles could hold much more. The pattern is Sea Glass Skirt from Yarn in the Farms. They have a number of cute patterns for the warmer months. I’m considering knitting a dress next.
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My cats love quilts. It doesn’t matter what season it is, if I quilt it they will come. Here’s Loki atop my son’s quilt.
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He sits contentedly WHILE I machine quilt and move the quilt all over the place. Go figure.

I hardly have time to use my new hula hoop.

New arrivals

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My new trainer arrived yesterday.

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It’s very colorful, weighs three pounds and breaks down into segments for travel. Just what I need on a tiny island.

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Apparently, hula hooping is the latest craze. This isn’t your lightweight Whamo version. It’s hefty and promises bruising the first couple of weeks. The instructions recommend limiting hooping to one to three minutes daily, initially. My friend told me about it, my librarian is already doing it and others know about it. Must get out of my vacuum.

This morning, I heard a new bird song outside the bedroom and was trying to find it on my Audobon birding app. I couldn’t identify the call but I attracted a cheeky, little American Goldfinch to the window.

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Kitchen produce

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This photo shows why I must exercise.

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On the left, is my latest loaf of sourdough bread. The recipe is loosely based on a PBS episode with Julia Child and the owner of La Brea Bakery, Nancy Silverton. .

From the episode, I learned three important facts about bread baking. I made my own sourdough starter with red grapes, flour and water, which sits on my counter and ferments away; keep one hand clean while kneading dough; and taste the raw dough and adjust.

I’ve made several delicious loaves and hope to keep the starter happy. This was my best one yet.

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Next to the bread is a fruit pie, not really one of my vices but dear Tim loves them and I go along for the ride. Any fruit will do. I only like pie the day it is baked. After that, I’m only interested in the filling.

Next up is white bread, albeit a bit overdone. I make two loaves a week (whether we need them or not). This is definitely not a gluten-free household.

Finally, pasta. I received an Atlas pasta maker for Christmas and love it. I roll out a batch of fresh pasta a week. Semolina flour, salt and water. Run it through the machine several times to get the right thickness, then put it through the cutting blades. Because it cooks so quickly, the whole process doesn’t take longer than boiling boxed pasta. And clean up is a snap.

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Other kitchen additions include an old fashioned, metal bread box with holes and a magnetic knife rack. Aah, domestic bliss.

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I’m waiting for my new hula hoop and jump rope to arrive so I’ll be able to exercise on that tiny rock of an island in Alaska.

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My fiber is killing my garden

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Maybe not killing the garden but, at least, preventing it from flourishing. I should be out there weeding and planting despite our November-like weather.

But the loom beckons me to finish a blanket I have started after “tying one on”.

20130611-074714.jpg There are two more weaving projects in the pipeline. Next up – not sure of the order yet – two rugs for the cabin and a few more placemats for my darling daughter. Her first set was a trial and I only ended up with three plus a little mat.

20130611-075246.jpgNot exactly great for entertaining. The mat will become a purse but she needs at least one and probably three more. While I’m at it, I’ll make a few ( more than three) for myself because the colors are so cool.

I just finished knitting a bathmat and a scarf. The bath mat

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is from Knit 2 Together, by Tracy Ullman and Mel Carter, which has several go-to patterns in it. I love the baseball hoody,

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20130611-075855.jpgand little cape. Here’s a link to the book on Amazon.
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The scarf is my second Swing scarf, knit with Ripple by Tahki. I gave my first one away and wanted a replacement. It’s a quick knit and a nice spring (summer here) scarf.

Next up, I’m going to knit a cotton linen skirt. Call me crazy. I’m obsessed.

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Preparations begin

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Our departure is a month away and our thoughts point west to Alaska. I was googling Five Finger Lighthouse and came across this link about our temporary home.

Just when I have embarked on a regular running regimen, we head out to a three acre island. Three acres! 130,680 square feet or 361.5 x 361.5 feet! Oh my. That’s a lot of laps – 3.6 laps to run one mile. Luckily the island’s size doubles at low tide. I’ll have to watch out for slippery rocks.

We’ve asked the three most important questions: Is there internet service; is there cell phone service; and is there hot water? Happily, the answers are yes, yes and yes. There aren’t mosquitos or gnats but spiders were mentioned twice. Can’t be as bad as Australia’s huntsmen spiders. I hope.

We will miss prime boating season on Lake Champlain so yesterday we boarded our sailboat, Boreas, and headed up the Otter Creek in grey, misty weather to Vergennes, VT. We only hit one log in the water but this one is waiting to make the dive over the falls!

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We could hear the falls before we saw them and I’m glad we approached from the downside.

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Very dramatic.

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Enough weather

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This is my last weather post for a while.  It should settle into normal spring weather at this point, right? No more snow.  IMG_9044Good old thunderstorms instead.

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We had a slew of visitors, 4 sets, last week!  The first set arrived the day we learned our well had bacteria in it.  Ouch.  I began boiling water and advising guests.  Then the rains came and the rivers rose.

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It was very dramatic at the local gorge.

I found a quiet moment or two to get back to spinning.  The funny thing is, I don’t think I took this photo but there it was, on my camera.  Very nice.  Andre?

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I am spinning a local alpaca fleece from the lock.  I washed it last year or so and now  I just grab a lock, flick it on a brush and spin away.  I have been plying it with some Blue Faced Leicester and may dye it with my lichen stash.  What will it be, what will it be?

The Indigo Bunting woke me yesterday and I managed to get a better photo of it later in the day.  Dawn is about 4:30 here and the birds sing their little hearts out.  Better than an alarm clock but  I wish I could set it a little later.

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Sailing with snowy mountains in the background

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Yesterday, Memorial Day, a dry high pressure finally moved in and we went sailing. The temperature was in the mid 60’s, like a nice fall day where I come from. We donned sweaters and I considered, but did not wear, long johns.

It was lovely; early on Lake Champlain, which rose a foot after the week of rain. Little to no boat traffic and we ate lunch in a quiet, picturesque harbor.

In the distance, there was snow on the mountains in New York and Vermont.

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