The new bags I'm working on are coming along. All except for the last one that I pulled off the loom are waiting for handles and I'm going to put in pockets as well, before felting, but need to weave them up, and hopefully they will be ready in time to put on the website on New Year's Day.
Hopefully 3 more purses & 3 larger bags...I'll be glad to do custom bags as well..
One of the bags is presenting a challenge: I want to make it into a backpack, but I'm not sure how to make the straps adjustable using felted handles. Any words of wisdom on this?
It's a beautiful sunny day in north Texas. Its supposed to get up to 60 today... a bit on the windy side at the moment!
I've been pretty busy the last several days putting together a new website, taking pictures for it and such and finally feel that I'm ready to announce it, even though it is not done...it will be a continuous work in progress with new designs added from time to time... check out: Weaving Rainbow. At the moment, the site only contains felted purses, but there will be larger bags added. These are not patterns, but are finished handwoven and felted purses...
I have several small pouches (hand sized) ready and just need to take some photos and build the page for them... and a few more small purses in other colors and some larger bags (big enough for projects) and once these are all assembled, I'll make a trip to the local laundromat and do the felting there. Our washing machine's timer switch went out a few days ago, so until we can get that replaced, it's off to the laundromat...
If you type "http://weavingrainbow.com" it will take you to the Tornadowood website and that is because it resides on the same server as Tornadowood, and shares the same main page... there is a link on the Tornadowood front page to take you to Weaving Rainbow...
SO, check out the new website and be sure to look at the purses. At this moment, the page does not have a menu, but you can get to the purse page by clicking on the link under one of the photos. Please email me or post comments here in the blog!
I'm also working on a notify list to email people when I get new items added to the site. If you'd like to be on this list, please let me know!
Happy Holidays everyone!
Two days ago we tried to make candied apples... I've never made candy before & the kids got to the candy thermometer a couple of years ago & I've never replaced it... I read the instructions on the Concord Foods Candy Apples kit, which said to heat the syrup to 290 degrees, which would be the "hard crack stage" & said "if you don't have a candy thermometer, this stage is reached when a drop of syrup, when dropped into cold water, hardens into a brittle thread." I thought "easy enough, I should be able to do this."
Okay...the boys measure the water & then we all take turns pouring sugar into the pot, even Reuven got a turn... 1/2 cup per person.. we turn the burner on & then after a couple of minutes, the syrup boils..and we wait & wait & I keep checking & putting drops into cold water & it doesn't seem like anything is changing... finally I said "well, I don't know how long this is supposed to boil, but it's been boiling a long time, let's go ahead & dip the apples"... we got a sorta thick syrup that never hardened & made a bit of a mess on the bottom of the pan... something tells me that it never reached the proper temperature... I'd LIKE to try this again, but either I'll need to look for information for how long it's supposed to take for syrup to get to the hard crack stage or get another candy thermometer and HIDE IT!! I'll see if one of my cookbooks has any information...
The boys enjoyed their apples anyway... and Reuven just stomped his foot because he saw the empty candied apple box after I told him that we have to buy some more...NO patience, these toddlers!
Speaking of: Reuven's growth spurting this week... instead of eating a couple of BITES of cereal, he's been FINISHING 2 or 3 small BOWLS of the stuff...his bowl holds half a cup comfortably & I think that's a lot for a 2 year old... also he's actually been eating his sandwiches & supper, the other day I made seafood newburgh (this is easier than it sounds: I got the recipe card from Wal-Mart's fish section & substituted some whiting & imitation crab for the shrimp)... he loved it! I've always liked that sort of thing...when I was a child, my parents took me to a wonderful restaurant in New York City (I grew up in the lower east side of Manhattan) called the Fisherman's Net & they had various seafood au gratin dishes & I always got that when we went to that restaurant...especially scallops au gratin.. Seafood Newburg is kind of similar...Reuven appears to like that sort of thing, too... anyway, back to the cereal: he's been asking for a lot of it...the colorful ones are nice, but he likes the healthy ones as well... I thought the cereal fanaticism isn't supposed to start until they're 5 or 6 or so!! I guess it's time to look into buying stock at one or two cereal companies...
I've been working on a scarf pattern & a couple of friends are going to look the pattern over & maybe try to knit it before I'm ready to make it public. I've also been weaving a piece on the triangle loom that Does Not Want To Come Off The Loom... I have 10 nails to go... I had 12 or 13 nails to go yesterday when I realized that I wanted to put in a different color 6 nails prior...so out came 6 nails worth of weaving...it doesn't take long, but this just shows how this particular piece is being just plain finicky... I guess it likes being on the loom! I don't like doing much more than a couple of nails worth of weaving at a time because I'm doing twill in 2 different directions... I've gotten better & faster at doing this since I started the piece...I don't need to use the shed sticks with this method, besides I prefer doing the pick up myself... I tried to take a photo but I need to get fresh batteries..
Maybe this weekend...
That said, I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks when it comes off the loom..maybe today? The loom is on the 5 foot setting & it takes approximately 1 or 2 minutes to do one yarn trail...
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
One of my favorite cooking shows is going to be on all afternoon, well haalf the afternoon... our local PBS station is having a telethon (I call it beg-a-thon, but I think it is a worthy one since PBS has some of my favorite programming)....
Rick Bayless "Mexico, One Plate At A Time" starts at 12 and continues until 3... although i don't use his recipes verbatim, he has given me inspiration for some recipes, such as green pozole, made with hominy, pumpkin seeds, tomatillos, chiles (I usually use 1 or 2 chilpotle chiles & we've been using them well before Jack in the Box or whatever fast food chain popularized it) and chicken & a few other delicious things. I'm going to be making it today with our turkey carcass...and maybe some bits & pieces of frozen turkey, depending on how much meat is still on the carcass...
I just added a new page to the SpinCraft patterns & it is called "SpinCraft holiday & crafts" and lists a pattern for roving ornaments, another for knitted ornaments & Christmas socks... the other pattern booklets on this page are for hemp jewelry, a crocheted log cabin rug & a panel afghan... go to tornadowood.com and click on patterns, then spincraft & you'll see "SpinCraft Holiday & Crafts" in that list... buy 3 patterns, get the 4th free... in some places you may see buy 4 get one free, but I haven't caught all instances of it...
I'm also trying to get enough stuff assembled for my new webpage & get the webpage looking the way I want it to look... I've been weaving tote bags & pouches to sell & hopefully they'll be ready in time for last minute holiday gifts!
Also, I have been knitting a really cool scarf & will offer the pattern free as soon as I get it typed out & photographed...
Have a nice weekend, everyone!
I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but I hate spam unless it is the kind that comes out of a can and ONLY if it is smoked in the smoker... I get so much email spam... maybe because of my website or posting on email lists... I know there are several programs that can go through your email & delete your spam, but I'd rather delete my own email spam...but it's still annoying
HOWEVER, where do these people who send email for products to enlarge things or weight loss, etc. get the nerve to send to just about anyone? Obviously they don't care & even if i ever wanted any of these products (I don't), I certainly would not buy them from any of these nameless & faceless emailers...
Sometimes they post in LARGE LETTERS, not just capitals, but huge enough to read across the room... I want my kids to see that? I do wish these people would get out of my email box...
On to my other topic: Toddlers... Reuven is becoming a bigger challenge these days. Yesterday was bad... he knows how to open doors now, so we have to keep the doors locked (our front door has a gizmo on top that allows us to keep the door from opening & it is way up where he can't reach: a clever invention, it was here when we moved here...and I have to keep the top lock of the back door locked, it's hard for him to turn... he's 2-1/2 and is NOT ready to be outside by himself & I can't always go out anytime he wants to go out... the downside of having to lock doors like this is that it makes it that much harder for the older 3 when they're playing outside & they are not responsible enough to watch him... not to mention that he would go out without bothering to put his shoes on first, etc., etc...
SO... yesterday:
He took the mayonnaise out of the refrigerator & was sticking his arm into the jar...
He threw the toothbrushes that we had thrown out that he had thrown into the toilet on Monday BACK into the toilet..fortunately he didn't flush this time... he did flush a toothbrush down the toilet a couple of weeks ago.. Gary finally got it out with the plumbing snake on Sunday & instead of having to flush using the plunger, we can just flush...
We need to keep the bathroom door locked, which makes potty training a challenge. We have to go into the bathroom with him & watch him constantly...
He spilled a bag of beans all over my bedroom floor...
He drew on the back door even though I gave him at least 10 sheets of printer paper to draw on...
You get the idea... although I love the way toddlers are, I'm looking forward to when he's 3 or 4...I think that's a somewhat safer age... by then they'll be a bit more reasonable about the refrigerator & maybe I can make jello again. I tried looking for velcro to put on the fridge, but I think the tape was on the wrong side to do what I wanted it to do...
Knitting: I'm still working on the square & also since i was not able to find enough of the black & white or grey & white Stahl Big print (it's one of the older stahl big sock yarns) and they don't make this stuff these days, I'm going to go ahead & make the boys' chanukah socks out of stahl big mexico... I have 3 skeins of one color, so will make those for the younger 2 & will get the more blue jeansy colors for the twins...and will save the black & white & grey & white for me & Gary...
I'll be felting some things today & hopefully I'll be able to take some pictures & announce my new website in a couple of days!
Reuven just toddled out... Have a good one everyone!