I may be behind, but I saw this meme making the rounds again (thanks to Andrea and Parikha) and remembered that I answered a similar one a few years ago… but, it kind of looked like fun, and since the answers are different this time, why not answer it myself.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

I was 17 and had just finished my junior year of high school. My family moved to Maryland from New Mexico in January of 1998, and while the transition was not too difficult, there were new things to get used to… like this cute boy in my American History class… and well, you may remember that story. The summer of ‘98 was low-key. I got a summer job doing HTML at a tech company, and we visited my family in Alabama. It was the last time we got to see my grandmother in a healthy state, as she got sick and passed away in 1999.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today the weekend?

• Company picnic at a nearby park today - so, my plan?  eat a little ice cream and play bingo.
• Sleep in tomorrow morning - till at least 7:00am.
• Work on my projects:  I have several knits near completion, and a new warp on the loom.
• Brunch with dear Bec, recipient of the afghan that I recently started working on again.
• More reading and (listening to) books - really enjoying this book and this audiobook right now.

3) Snacks I enjoy:

fresh fruits, ice cream, and yogurt

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

• Fiber/reading/yoga/writing/photography FULL time
• Pay off the house
• Give money to the family
• Help fund research and development for sustainable alternative energies (this would enable me to travel everywhere without having “greenie guilt“)
• Donate to an array of respectable organizations

5) Places I have lived:

I was born in Morristown, Tennessee.  We moved to Houston, Texas when I was very young, and my middle sister was born there.  I do have some vague memories of this time.  We then moved to Jackson, Mississippi for a short time before going to Phoenix, Arizona.  We moved to Worland, Wyoming where I started school.  My youngest sister was born there.  Then, we moved to Hedgesville, West Virginia where we stayed for three years before moving to Roswell, New Mexico.  I spent most of my “definitive” years of childhood in Roswell, so when asked where I grew up, I say New Mexico.  When I was 17, we moved to Crofton, Maryland.  For college, I lived in Baltimore, Maryland, and now Kris and I live in Columbia, Maryland.  I have lived in Maryland longer than any other place.  There are times I want to leave the hustle and bustle of the DC-area, but there are also some amazing things to do and see here - plus our jobs! - so we enjoy it overall.

6) Jobs I have had:

• Babysitter
• HTML editor
• Library Page
• Bookstore Manager
• Library Assistant
• Graduate Student (TA)
• Archivist

Photos above: 1) a very unique succulent plant in my small dish garden 2) fresh strawberries and peaches from the farmers’ market, now frozen for treats all year long 3) a sneak peek at Tess Designer Yarns new sock line - Twinkle Toes (silk, nylon, merino) and Baby Bunny (merino/angora/nylon)… perfect for the water element of Project Spectrum, no?

Lightly processed.  Undyed. 

Beautiful Cotswold handspun singles - from Sunrise Mercantile in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia. 

I couldn’t believe that they were on the clearance shelf. 

Just looking at these things makes me think of airy lace and summery wraps - both knit and woven.

…and one of the other amazing souvenirs from Nova Scotia…

Moose shed their antlers naturally at certain time of the year.  This artisan collects the antlers and turned them in to beautiful buttons!

(Click here to see all of the lovely yarns that I picked up in Nova Scotia)

I could go faster.  But I do enjoy the thrill of pulling this afghan out every few months and adding new hexagons, changing the dimensions and the color sequencing every so slightly. 

The lovely Komb afghan always gets pushed to the bottom of the knitting pile.  Yet, when I pull it out, it always makes me smile.  I should work on it more often… especially because it is a gift.  A very belated gift.  The Jojoland Rhythm yarn is a constant surprise.  Until I seam it up, I am never quite sure how it will look.  I completed hexagon #20 last night.  That means I have about 40 more to go.  Since each hexagon can take the better part of an hour (sometimes 2 if I am paying attention to something else) there is already quite a bit of time invested in this afghan.   

An afghan that will need a very serious blocking in the end.  It is narrower than I expected it to be, so, after I finish the requisite number of hexagons, I will probably add some width with any leftover yarn.  I am thinking way ahead though…

I am taking things slow these days, in general.  I have been spending a lot of time in the garden and in the kitchen, truly enjoying the fruits (and veggies) of the season.  In fact, spending so much time outside seems to have caused a little problem… but, I am feeling okay.  I just take a lot of naps.  And in between those naps, I have been working a few rows of knitting and weaving.  The only things that seem to go fast around here?  the rate of reading (and listening to) books, and the fresh melons in the refrigerator. 

Kris found out from one of our co-workers that there was a “Pick Your Own” farm in our county (Larriland Farm in Howard County for you locals).  We don’t venture that far north often, but the call of fresh berries and veggies was enough to make us go out in the heat and humidity for a couple of hours.

… and oh!  the rewards …

We met an adorable little girl and her father at the blueberry patch.

He asked, “Are you picking the berries for our basket?”

She answered, “Nope, I am snackin’.”

My sentiments exactly.

Most went into the basket, but some went into the mouth.

After picking a six pound bag of blueberries, we headed to the raspberry patch, further down the road.  The farm has so many pick-your-own fields, and now that we know about its location, we will definitely go back.  There were several fruits and vegetables in season this time, but we only had two hours, so we chose blueberries, raspberries, and beets.  (Sweet cherry season ended today, so they were planning a “Cherry Dash” this morning for the last of the fruit on the trees… too bad we missed it!  I have been eating some great cherries from the farmer’s market!)

The raspberries appeared to be overpicked, but upon closer inspection, the best and juiciest berries were deep inside the bush.  So, you put aside all decorum and reach right into the thorny patch for the best berries.  With scratches on our arms and purple stained hands, Kris and I managed to get six pounds of these as well! 

In all, we got some amazing berries and some fresh beets (I pulled them up myself!) for a very reasonable price.  It was great fun to spend the evening outside, meeting new people, and enjoying the fruits of the season. 

…Now I have to figure out what to do with all of these berries! We split up the berries with half in the freezer, and half in the fridge.   Right now, I have visions of muffins, smoothies, crumble cake, sorbet, and some yummy borscht for the beets.  Do you have a favorite berry recipe to share?

Once I get a new warp on the loom, I can zoom right along.  It’s just getting that new warp on… the process takes a steady hand and a dedicated attention span - threading all of the heddles, sleying the reed, beaming.  Once I am in that zone, I quite enjoy the process of it.  Especially with a good audiobook* playing.

Silk Stripes Scarf 
Warp: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Tweed in Linen (2 skeins)
Weft: Noro Silk Garden in 249 (1 skein) & 269 (1 skein)

[more photos of the Silk Stripes Scarf here]

Each skein of the Silk Garden yielded three bobbins (to put in the boat shuttle) each, so with six bobbins, I alternated the striping patterns between the earthy colors of the 249 colorway and the cream variegations of the 269.  Each bobbin gave me between 7 and nine inches of woven fabric.  The deep colors of the 249 colorway appear to be three different skeins of yarn - but that is the true beauty of Noro!  Every time I work with Noro, I fall a *little* more in love with it.  (Sad side story:  Remember my Shinano cowl?  Totally loved that thing.  Well, I seem to have lost it somewhere en route to Nova Scotia.  I think it must have been at Dulles Airport somewhere…  I am thinking around the security check when I was hurrying to put my shoes back on… ack.  I loved that thing.  And now I want more Shinano to compensate!)

I am brimming with weaving inspiration right now - so many great ideas and designs out there!  Many thanks to Barbara at The Lumpy Sweater for sending a weaving book she found at a sale.  It is about Finnish weaving techniques.  I look forward to trying some… once I get a little better!

…

I had a nice holiday with the family.  We planned to go down to see the fireworks in DC, but the thunder and lightning kept us at home.  We played a few card games and Scattergories whilst munching on my leftover Friendship bread!  It was a fun night.  My sister Sarah and I made plans to get together the next day to check out the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.  The weather forecast didn’t look particularly pleasant, but it ended up being quite nice once we got to the National Mall.

The themes this year were Bhutan, Texas, and NASA.  Very disparate themes, but a good mix for a day of learning.  The SFF seems to always include a rich textiles display, and that offers some amazing photo opportunities.  So full of color!

[All photos from Festival here]

 We saw several demonstrations, heard a few discussions (a particularly interesting one on the environmental sensibilities of the Bhutanese people and their Gross National Happiness) and in the Texas “Opry” pavillion, I got to dance.  The band was playing some polka music, and this older gentleman came up and held his hand out to me.  I hesitated and pointed at my sister, but he pointed right at me.  So, I polka-ed with this man (who didn’t speak any English… I believe he was actually Polish) in front of a large audience.  Even though we lived in Texas for a short while when I was young, I guess I didn’t realize that polka was so “big” there.  The band was pretty good, and my dance partner was getting quite into it.  He kept on saying things to help lead me in the dance (but I did not understand!) and I just stepped around in a square figure.  He even twirled me around a few times!  what a charmer!  (…but Kris should have no cause for concern…)

*I listened to The Man Who Loved China whilst weaving my scarf.  Fascinating and engaging story!  (Psst - anyone else on Goodreads?)