Still here

I recently got an email asking me if someone could monetize my blog and post homesteading articles.  Obviously time to get back to writing on the blog!  (and --just no-- unless you consider twins and a dog on a city street homesteading?  Huh?)  

So where have I been?  I've been supervising kids' summer time play while I spin and knit.  This is destined to be a kid sweater made out of plotulopi yarn from Icelandic.  Lightweight, warm, but a little delicate to knit.  Ideal for sitting still and knitting, but not for carrying around too much, in my experience.

Kids went back to school this past week and I was tasked with making more exciting, new masks.  Unicorn, horse, octopus, and soda pop patterns seem to be a hit...we have plenty of masks, of course, but these are the fancy new "back to school" ones.  We're grateful for the mask mandate but since our kids aren't old enough yet to be vaccinated, a bit wary about how long this 'in-school' stuff will last.  Delta variant is real. Making a masks is a good way to cope with the mom worry!  

I've also been busy putting up food.  Plum apple chutney, apple chips for school lunches, applesauce, and more. Having food on the shelf in the winter is great, but I don't think it makes me a homesteader?  (Please, give me more land for gardening and some sheep, as well as access to take out food options...that would be a heck of a farm.)

I've also continued to work as I can.  Part of the reason why there have been fewer blog posts is that I decided this past year to narrow my focus.  It was very important but also a lot to manage, having my kids home to do remote schooling/home learning for 11 months.

I optimized my time...I kept writing a regular column for this Vancouver paper.  I also have had occasional pieces run in other publications.  All my knitting patterns (around 80!) are still available on Ravelry, Lovecrafts.com and Payhip.  

However, I realized that if a gig wasn't paying much, or might take a lot of time or risk exposing kids to COVID?  It just wasn't worth it. I'm considering my options now about what work will look like for me in the future. I miss the teaching I used to do, and the collegiality of editing for someone on a daily basis, too...but for now, I want to find ways to ensure I'm both available if kids need me and earning something for my writing, editing, designing and teaching.  People talk about work being satisfying (and that's important to me!) but work is also valuable.  My experience, skills and time should be worth something, too. 

In the meanwhile, we'll be exploring outside while the weather holds and eating lots of delicious stuff as we cruise through the fall holidays. That's an apple cinnamon challah I made.  It was a hit!

It's been too long

While I've been away, making--doing a lot of making, it seems... blogger's gone and changed my ancient interface.  So I am going to throw up a lot of photos here, give you some quick updates, and hope it all comes out ok on the interwebs.  

It's been my habit recently to update everybody about what's been published lately.  Alas, between managing twins home for the summer (without camp, as we thought social distancing would be too hard) and the state of things during a pandemic, I haven't gotten to write or sell much.  Here's a link to my column over at the Jewish Independent, my only steady gig right now.

To keep myself sane, I'm fitting in sewing, spinning, knitting, and more.  I'm washing fleece and canning dilly beans, raspberry jam, gooseberry golden raspberry....you name it, we're considering making it.  Fancy desserts and all sorts of other projects, some with kid help,... and some despite it!

Every weekday morning, I help my kids do some learning.  We're in a reading group together.  We practice cursive, typing, math, and do some art and design.  We've done science, some sewing, and a variety of other stuff.  It keeps their brains busy and hopefully means they aren't falling too far behind...sometimes it's fun.  Sometimes, there is a lot of yelling.

We've gone on berry picking outings (social distancing is easy on farms!) and once to Delta Beach (it's big and was pretty empty).  We go to the wading pool right when it opens in the morning, and leave as soon as it gets crowded.  We play in the sprinkler, pick cucumbers from our small garden, and focus on keeping things close to home.

We make strawberry trifle, plum apple rustic tart, or whatever else I throw together really fast...

I do a lot of spinning in bits of time while kids do two pages of cursive, a page of math problems, or practice measuring parts of the furniture....whatever today's effort may be.

I have ended up with two new free fleeces lately, one Suffolk and one Texel/crossbred.  The effort to wash these as resulted in the rediscovery of several, much older fleeces that also need to be washed.  It seems that since 2010, when I got pregnant with twins, I've accumulated some wool...and haven't done a great job keeping up in processing it.  So, you know, I think I have at least three more fleeces in the queue and I hope the warm weather lasts that long!  It is a lot easier to dry a fleece quickly outside than in the basement!

I'm baking challah.  I do a batch nearly every week and share a loaf with some good friends who are both over 80.  The professor and the kids bike over there, drop off a loaf, and have a socially distanced chat in the yard every Friday.  It's a good routine.

A new "McStrippit" sweater design is in progress.  I also have a mitten design waiting to be written up.  That said, since Ravelry has rolled out its new reformat, I've been somewhat involved in discussions around accessibility and how to make my designs available elsewhere.  Why?

Seizures and migraines are no joke...and people with vision impairment are also struggling with the new design.  I spent the first several months of this year reformatting about a third of my patterns to be accessible for those with low vision needs.  Now?  Many of those people can't access the site easily, even with the toggle switch to 'Classic' Rav.  Their screen readers don't work on the new site.  It's hard to navigate even with all sorts of 'fixes.'  It's been weeks now, and it's been made much worse for many with disabilities--it's not a good look for Rav.  I used to be such a fan of the site.

I've witnessed someone having a seizure....and my dad had migraines as a young man.  I know how debilitating this is.  I take this seriously.  So, I'm still knitting, but I'm not pushing out designs at quite the rate that I used to.  My designs are all also available on Lovecrafts.com.   If you're having problems and need me to email you a Low Vision Accessible pattern, please let me know.  I'm happy to help.

In the meanwhile, spending lots of time in the sunshine or dappled shade of our yard is a curative.  The world is out of control these days....so I'm making jam...cause if you want the best jam?  You've got to make  your own...

The making season

 I am showing off my gear...I am getting ready to demonstrate spinning, weaving and knitting tomorrow (Friday) at the Manitoba Hydro Building for “Made in the Middle”-a big curated craft sale put on by the Manitoba Craft Museum and Library.

One of my twins came home with a mitten from his reading teacher with a big hole in it.  Could I fix it?  Yes, I did. Mommy mending to the rescue! (Pro tip: I used my handspun naturally cream colored wool that matched)

I may also have ordered more fabric, since my sewing machine has been serviced and is good as new, aside from being very oily...I am currently trying to teach myself how to line a wool jumper I'm working on.  That's my new sewing project.

 And, I cranked out some challahs, as Friday comes every week and we eat some every Friday!

I find when it is cold-and it is, we have ice and snow outside now-, I do a lot more making...(and a lot less running around outside with twins.)

It feels to me that there is not as much in the publication department to announce, (everything else seems an anticlimax after being mentioned in Vogue Knitting, go figure!) but plenty of things are still being baked, mended, spun, knit, sewn and more.

Thank you to all my readers for sticking with me so long! We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving this year in October, but I am grateful for you all year round.

Sunshine, Sales, and Charitable Give-aways

There's one last chance to take advantage of the "Making, Not Buying" Sale!  The sale ends at midnight, Central Time (US&Canada) tonight, November 30th.
Get 25% off all my Ravelry knitting patterns with the coupon code:
Making

If you'd prefer to buy your patterns right along with the yarn, Loveknitting.com is having all sorts of great sales. Nearly all my patterns are available for sale there, and most are linked right up with the right yarns for knitting the patterns.  Instant, easy gratification!

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT!
If you're a knitter who donates her/his work to charity, Yarncanada.ca is having a special yarn giveaway.  Enter your information here to be eligible to win a huge amount of yarn for your good deeds!
The home front:
We've had a challenging week.  One twin decided it would be fun to hide and disconnect all the landline phones, for instance.  (Things got fixed after Mommy freaked out and pointed out that no one could call out in case of emergency this way...)  And yes, I have a cell phone, but you're also inferring that it would be on my body, turned on, and I'd be able to focus to speak on the phone...none of which were the case at the time!
I wanted to snap a photo of my homemade cast-iron skillet cornbread.  True, we ate some slices for snack...but I could have still posted a photo as it continued to cool, on top of the back of the stovetop. However, I did something crazy and trusted my husband, the professor, both boys, and two dogs to behave themselves and manage the situation while I (ahem) went to the bathroom.  When I returned?  It looked like a bad news pie eating contest, gone horribly wrong. Most of the cornbread was gone. Crumbs everywhere.

Sadie the dog was making weird coughing noises. (Hint, this is what happens when you eat half a skillet of cornbread without benefit of butter or a glass of milk...) And no, I am not giving my dog butter or milk to wash down the cornbread she ate while no one was looking...  AHHH!

A day later, she decided to open her plastic container of dog treats with her teeth, and eat those, too.  Her tummy is maybe a little upset now.  Just a smidge.  And Sally, our old dog, is not 100% better yet herself.  Fun times.

I've just made a fudge brownie pie and an apple cake--we're going to Shabbat dinner at a friend's house.  I took precautions.  Sadie is locked in with me on the third floor-thank you, baby gates- and I sort of barricaded in the desserts with heavy jars, etc. so they could cool in safety.

OK, I am not going into anything else, it's too long a list!  Here's a quick look at the sun light pouring into our dining room after a big snowstorm passed.  Winter sunlight is the best, it really lifts my spirits!

On the making front here, well, it hasn't been the best week for wild bursts of creativity.  I've done the basics--written and edited some articles.  I'm knitting a solid black cardigan for myself (boring but necessary) so there's nothing to see there!  I'll leave you with this multi-colored piece of art, produced by a kid at our house.  (OK, he was kept inside for recess due to some seriously bad stuff he did at school, but whatever.  The art came home....)

I'm wishing you a peaceful weekend.  With lots of cake.  Maybe some snow, colorful art, and umm, did I say peace?  Yeah, please pass me some of that as well.  In the interim, I might just need more cake.