Jam I Am

We've had a very weird cool spring that has rolled into an atypical summer.  Just in the last few days, it has gotten HOT, which is not uncommon - we just usually ease in a bit more gradually.

As a result of this weather, our apricot tree has produced a bountiful crop of teeny cots that collectively decided to vacate the tree at the exact same hour.  If you stood in the yard, it was almost like an apricot rain.  The dog thought this was fabulous, as he loves to eat fruit and couldn't reach the apricots as well as he could the cherries. He also likes to roll in them.

This morning I finished up a second bout of apricot jamming, which followed closely on the heels of a big batch of currant jam and from the previous week, Rainier cherry jam. It came out fantastically tart and yummy.  I contemplated trying to use the cherry pitter the cots were so small!  (BTW: I use 10 cups chopped fruit, 1 box regular pectin, 1 box no sugar pectin, and 8 cups of sugar.) 

We eat a lot of jam - I put a big blob on plain yogurt in the morning and the kids are great toast and PBJ munchers. A side benefit of the weather being hot is that I can start making yogurt outside too.

More Purple Goodness

This is coming along nicely - left front is almost done. Yarn is Andean Silk from Knit Picks. It's very soft and drapey - and intensely purple.  Pattern is from Classic Elite and looks cute but is very pissy.  There is shaping at the neck, at the armholes; there are hourglass darts in the lower section; there is a small lace pattern.  Nothing is challenging, but I get so tired of counting rows for each bit of business simultaneously. Decrease 6 times every 2nd row, then 4 times every 6th row, blah blah blah. When I get to the buttonholes on the right front, I'll have one more thing to track. I'm looking forward to my next project - I'll pick one where I can just sit and relax and knit.

On another knitting note, I visited a local wool shop yesterday* (Sheep's Clothing in Kennewick) to find that it had just been sold. The new owners have great plans for things and it sounded all very exciting. As we got talking I mentioned that I had taught classes for them about 10 years ago when they were in an old location. The guy's eyes positively lit up when he learned that I had done a Norwegian sweater class before and that I would consider doing one again.

*Like I so needed to buy more yarn.  (I was actually trying to track down one more ball that I'll need to finish a different vest.  I shouldn't have waited a year to decide I didn't have enough- I'll be on quite a goose chase or have a UFO forever.)

Purple Haze

The weather is getting nice for sitting on the porch and spinning. I had forgotten about this project -can't remember what I was even planning on making. It is a 100% Rommledale wool roving in "Purple Haze" by Rainbow Yarns Northwest.

Multiply and I are Dividing

After struggling through a few years of loading photos and blog text up into Multiply, I have decided that I'd rather spend that time more productively.  I'm sure it will take a while to get all my settings adjusted here, but I'm optimistic.

This is my newest mandala painting. It is black India Ink with watercolors.