Modeling begins for the semester

The semester has started back up, which means I'm back at work as a life drawing model. I did three classes yesterday, and one this morning. At three hours each, that is 12 hours of modeling in the past 2 days. Oh man am I sore right about now!!

But, it is worth it. I get a kick out of seeing the new students catch fire as an idea clicks. I enjoy joking around with second and third semester students. (But, I'm still not going to stand on my head for 45 minutes! No matter how cool the drawing would be.) And I dearly love modeling for the ongoing students. Several of the students in the evening class are professional artists, taking advantage of having access to a live model to keep in practice.

For instance, the two drawings here are half hour/40 minute sketches by artist Kevin Kibsey. Can you imagine drawing that well, in that limited an amount of time? He's awesome. If you are an art collector, I'd really suggest you look him up and grab a couple of his paintings. Check it out here: http://www.villasandverandas.com/kk.htm . His 'Blue Dancer' is one of his more recent pieces. I saw it in the works, and it is spectacular--I love the motion that he got into the dancer's skirt. He's got a violinist that he's working on right now, but I think that one is already spoken for.

Anyway, you'll hear more about modeling on and off, now that things have started back up again. Tonight though, I think will be a hot tub kind of night, to work the kinks back out.

Sekanjabin and dried fruit

I started on the food preparation for Estrella today. On today's to-do list was to make the sekanjabin, and dry some fruit. This isn't exactly fiber arts, but it does tickle the creative side of my brain, so here you go:

Sekanjabin is a middle eastern drink, and was mentioned back in the 10th century. There are lots and lots of variations on it around. This is the recipe I use:

Sekanjabin

5 lbs honey
4 cups water
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 big handful mint


Dissolve the honey in the water.














Bring to a boil. (Watch it so it doesn't boil over. My son burned himself last year doing this, and still has a scar.)







Turn down the heat, and add the vinegar. Simmer for at least half an hour.













While it is simmering, go pick a large handful of mint from the garden. (Ok, you can get it from the grocery store, or use mint tea bags if you can't get fresh. But I have a couple of pots growing just for this recipe.) At the end of half an hour (or so), take pot off the heat and stir in the mint. Let it sit to cool for a couple of hours.


After the sekanjabin is completely cooled, strain off the mint.












Pour the resulting syrup into a bottle. (I just re-use the honey jar, plus another random drink bottle.) The syrup will last for months unrefrigerated.

To use: dilute the syrup approximately 8 parts water to 1 part syrup, or to taste. It is good both hot or chilled.


My kids call this drink period Kool-aid. They'll take a swig out of a water bottle to make room, then add the syrup to the bottle and shake it up. My husband really likes to drink this hot around the camp fire at night. You can substitute sugar for the honey, and other types of vinegar for the apple cider vinegar. Other flavorings besides mint can be used, as well. Experiment, and then let me know what works for you!

I also got a batch of fruit drying on the dehydrator.

My kids really love dried pineapple. I watch for the store brand of canned pineapple to go on sale, and then stock up. Two cans make one tray of fruit for me. I get the slices in syrup, and cut the rings in half right in the can. The juice I drain off and chill for my husband to drink as a treat.





Apples were on sale too. I have a gizmo that peels, slices, and cores the apples. That makes this process so much easier!







Two apples make one tray of fruit for me.













My dehydrator was a Christmas gift last year, and it is going to get a work out over the next couple of weeks! It can dry nine trays at a time, which is a lot of dried fruit. Or beef jerky. The beef jerky will be later this week, I think. I may also make fruit roll-ups, of dried applesauce. Hmmm...what to make next....?

So much to do, So little time.

Two weeks from now, I'll be at a historical recreation event called Estrella War. (http://estrellawar.org/) This event is really the highlight of my year. I've been attending every one since my 17 year old daughter was a babe in arms, and have loved every single one. Well, I could have done without the weather some of the years (having your wood pile floating downstream on the flood waters was special), but we always manage to get through with laughter and camaraderie. My pictures from last year's event are here: http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a366/lissamc/Estrella%2025/.

Basically, it is 5000 of my closest friends camping in the desert for a week, pretending that we are back in the Middle Ages / Renaissance. The knights in shining armor lead the charge of the clashing armies. The artisans hold classes and competitions and displays. The shop keepers tempt us with hand made goodies. Kings and Queens from around the Known World stroll, surrounded by their court and guard. Hounds course, children scamper, and over it all the tang of wood smoke floats on the air as folks cook gourmet meals over an open fire.

Can you tell I love this time of year?

However, there is a heck of a lot of prep work that needs to be done between now and then. Lets see...

My daughter and my husband both want a couple of more pairs of pants made.

I'd like another tunic set like I'm wearing in the above picture.

I'm going to be demonstrating textile arts, so I really should pre-warp my traveling loom.

I have quite a bit of food preparation to get done. This includes making and freezing stew, making oat cakes, drying beef jerky, drying fruit, making 'Kid chow', and brewing up a batch of sekanjabin syrup.

I also have two orders for hand made socks, to be delivered at Estrella.

In addition, we need to pull out the trailer, make sure everything is in working order, and pack.

Not so much, right? Right! So the posts for the next several weeks will be a study in how to prepare for a major camping event. On your marks...get set...GO!



(Oh...for you internet stalkers out there. Just because I'm going to be away from the house does not mean that the house will be empty. Try someone else.)

More yarn

I took a break from the socks today in order to finish up some of the roving I've been spinning. This is some of the stuff that I got from the Sheep Shed Studio. It is a black and dark brown wool, with smattering of white mohair to give a halo effect. I spun it up into a soft and fluffy knitting yarn. Total available: 4 skeins, totaling 295 yards. It will go up into the Etsy shop as soon as I can get some good pictures taken.

Knee socks: almost there!

I made yet another stab at the knee socks today, and I think I'm almost there!

My last attempt moved up to the 72 cylinder. It fit around the calf, but was too baggy through the ankle and foot. This morning it occurred to me that when I put on the heel spring, the tension tightens up. What if I put the spring on when I got to the ankle, and just left it on until I was done with the foot? Off to the sock knitting machine I went!




Lo and behold, it worked. Leaving the heel spring on tightens the tension from 13 rows per inch to 15 rows per inch, and brings in the circumference. I went ahead and made the matching sock to the one in the picture, and I'm wearing them now. They are comfortable, and the ankle and foot fit beautifully. The leg of the sock fits nicely over the calf. However, the leg of the sock is scrunching down after several hours of wear. I think I need to make the cuff bigger, and perhaps a bit tighter. And I need to lengthen the leg so the top of the sock hits well above the biggest part of the calf. I think those changes will keep the body of the sock where it belongs.

So close!

Product development: socks and hair sticks

I tried the knee socks again, this time with the bigger cylinder I have for the circular sock knitting machine. I got the leg to fit nicely over my calf...but now the ankle and foot are too baggy. I'm not really surprised. My calf is, in fact, bigger than my ankle.

So, I dug back into the original manual that came with the machine some 100 years ago. (Ok, I don't have the original, but there is a copy on line that I printed out.) The directions for a high sock there suggest that you remove every fourth needle when making the ankle. Then, before the heel, you put back in the needles that will knit the underside of the foot. This makes a mock ribbing. I did a test run, cranking out about 90 rows of tube with every 4th needle removed, then slipped the tube on over my foot. It is noticeably tighter around than when I have all the needles in. So the theory is sound. Hopefully I can give it a try tomorrow--I'm a bit tired to be experimenting with something new tonight.

And just so this post isn't totally lacking a photo, let me show you what else I've been working on. I recently got a batch of bone hair sticks that had holes drilled in the top. I finally tracked down screw-eyes that would fit in that hole, and have started digging through my bead stash to make dangles. Here's the first set done:



Watch for a line of hair sticks and hat pins to be added to the Tangible Daydreams Etsy shop in the next few weeks! A pair of hair sticks will be running around $15.

Circular Sock Knitting Machine videos

I found a wonderful video that covers some of the history of the Circular Sock Knitting Machine. Here is part 1, and part 2. Fascinating stuff!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBdmqYTTK7c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id-JsTMiBEs&feature=related