| Farmer's Market |
[Jul. 20th, 2008|11:41 am] |
Today I dragged myself out of bed at a decent hour so I could get to the farmer's market early...you know, you have to go early to get the "good stuff". Oh my goodness, I scored! Everything looked amazing! Its a very small market with only 6 or 7 vendors, but I got all I wanted and more.
Here is the haul:
*fresh eggs
*spicy buffalo beef sticks for nate
*broccoli
*green pepper
*cucumber
*red leaf lettuce
*6 ears of corn
*green and waxed beans
*zucchini (they are round!)
*summer squash
*fresh herbed parm bread
*blueberries
 
All this for about $32. Not bad!
Next week there will be tomatoes and PEACHES! I cannot wait. I guess I need this to be my Sunday morning routine..
You know, I have an observation to make. NH people are not fake. Its a thing I have noticed since I have been here. When people are feeling friendly, they are genuinely friendly, will make conversation with you in the grocery store line, ask you questions, etc. If they are not in the mood to talk, they just won't. No fake conversations, no smiles hello, they just will not engage. I like that. I find it more honest then being fake-nice, which is obvious and does not feel good. This is one difference I have noticed while being here. Maybe its that whole "Live Free or Die" thing. |
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| New Shipping Rates |
[Jul. 19th, 2008|06:45 pm] |
Hello everyone!
My new shipping rates will go into effect on Monday evening, July 21, no earlier than 5pm. Until then, shipping is still free!
I have decided to do a trial on the new shipping, at least for a month, to see how it goes. I wish etsy had even more shipping options to choose from, like up to 5 items. Oh well.
US shipping:
1 item: $3.00
2 or more: $4.80
Canada:
1 item: $4.00
2 or more: $6.00
As for everyone else, you will have to email me if you want to buy something. The standard price will be $6.00 to ship one item, but if its more than one item, that can be discussed. I hesitate to add this option to my etsy site b/c I fear someone from Austrailia will order all my yarn for $10 shipping or something. :)
The new prices will also be posted clearly on my FAQs and on etsy.
I hope you find my prices fair! I think they are.
Have a great weekend and try to stay cool |
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| Ridiculously Easy Satruday Craft |
[Jul. 12th, 2008|12:22 pm] |
If you are anything like me, you often have little bits of fiber laying around. Most of the time, these bits never seem to go away. Sure, use them in a scrap yarn, but sometimes you just get sick of looking at them, you know?
This is not my invention by any means, but an easy way to make those scrap fibers go away is to convert them to felt balls. You can use the balls to decorate other items, entertain your kitty, or just have in a bowl to look at. Here is what you do.
Gather bits of fiber..obviously you can't use cotton or superwash wool.
Roll a bit into a ball-ish shape. I usually end up with egg shaped things but that's ok.
Throw ball shaped things in a zippered bag that old ladies use to wash their nylons in. I got three for a buck at the dollar store. You can also use a pillowcase.
Next time you do laundry and use warm or hot water, throw bag in. Dry in dryer with your laundry or you could air dry too.
That's it!
So simple and satisfying.
Now we are off to a BBQ. Nate made the most amazing smelling pulled pork ever. He smoked it yesterday and its been baking all morning. These are times I am seriously challenged as a vegetarian. Mmmmm....piggy.....so cute but you smell so delicious!
Happy Weekend! |
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| Eco-ramblings |
[Jul. 10th, 2008|07:45 pm] |
I struggled for weeks trying to figure out what kind of packaging I will use for my new shipping policy. I wanted to be as eco-friendly as possible, but I also needed to be realistic because, well, the more time I have to take to pack up your yarns, the less time I have to spin them. Time is money, even in the crafty world.
After thinking I could make my own envelopes with the huge rolls of brown paper I scored for free, I realized that the customer would never be able to recycle said paper with all the #!%&**$ tape I have to use on it to keep it closed. I got a huge amount of free packing materials off of craigslist and today my new packaging came: Tyvek mailers.
Before you shut me out completely, here me out. First, they ARE made from some post consumer materials. Second, they are super lightweight, so that means less energy spent on oil to truck it across the country. Tyvek is of course reuseable. It will also keep your yarn safe and cozy, especially when packed with other material.
For the customer, it means SAVINGS because I will not have to charge as much for shipping. Hooray!
Why am I rambling on so? I am picking up my new/used printer on Saturday, so that means by Monday if all goes well, my new shipping policy will be in place. THAT means you only have this weekend to take advantage of FREE SHIPPING! So if you wanted to buy something from my shop, now is the time to save a few extra dollars!
There are a ton of yarns on my site right now, everything from vegan to classic two ply. Something for everyone!
Also, I need your ideas. How do you resuse tyvek? Be as crazy and obnoxious as you'd like. I want to at some point include a little fun list of "How to Reuse your Tyvek Envelope" in my packages. Of course printed on reclaimed paper. :) |
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[Jul. 7th, 2008|07:45 pm] |
SO many new yarns available on etsy with free shipping for all US orders! If you live out of the country, feel free to email me and we can split the shipping costs.
In cooking news, here is a new idea that nate and I tried the other day. When making homemade mac and cheese, add about a cup and a half of white wine to the cheese sauce and cook down a bit. Oh my goodness, the flavor is amazing, especially the next day! Throw in fresh herbs too. Mmmmm.
Happy Monday! |
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[Jul. 5th, 2008|01:39 pm] |
I have been on some sort of yarn kick lately. Its a very good thing. To be quite honest I have had a rough last week or so, and this has really helped me along. Nothing to worry about, just the general "What am I doing?", "My living situation sucks ass", "Moving is hard, wow harder than I thought", etc. Anyhow, things are looking up in every aspect and I am thankful for that. Maybe the good part of all this is that I got my yarn mojo back.
I have a bunch of mill ends so I thought that I would spin them up first, then dye the yarns. This gives the yarn a different look. I am so pleased with the results, and hope you will agree! The yarns are bulky, nicely balanced, and VIBRANT! They are also large, bulky skeins with a lot of weight (around 4.5oz each). The singles will knit up quickly on large needles. It will also felt well since its wool with a touch of mohair. Just enough to give it sheen, but not scratchy.
 
I used this new kind of technique that I'm sure other people have used, but since I came up with some of the details I figure in my mind I can pretend I "invented" it, haha. Many people dye yarn and set the colors by steaming, but I think that is messy and a pain. Some people bake it but sometimes this can also mess up the yarn.
This is what I did:
*Dissolve a little citric acid in some warm water in a pot (this is what I have been using instead of vinegar...works great, use less of it, and takes up less space!)
*Fill pot with water and swish around
*Throw in skeins of yarn
*Let soak an hour or overnight or whatever
*When you are ready to dye, take skeins from water and wring out gently. They should be damp but not soaked and dripping
*Mix up dyes
*Put yarns in a baking pan. I just bought cheap ones at Building 19, 9 by 13 pans and they work great. I can fit two yarns in each pan. If they have them at the dollar store, even better. Just avoid the disposable ones b/c they end up getting holey and making a mess.
*Apply dyes to yarn in pan. Make sure to squish dyes down so they penetrate through the whole yarn
*Let dye soaked yarn sit in the pans for about an hour while you do other stuff. You can also leave them overnight.
*Heat oven to 350. When doing this, put a pan of water on the bottom of the oven. This creates steam!
*Put yarn pans in oven and bake around 10-15 minutes, then turn off oven and let them sit in there for awhile.
*Take pans out, let yarns cool, rinse with soapy water gently and hand to dry.
*After they are dry, if you have a skein winder its nice to reskein. I think it really highlights the colors that way.
It sounds much more complicated than it is. Believe me, I like shortcuts because I am impatient. I think the key here is the pan with water on the bottom of the oven. This keeps your yarns from burning and creates lots of steam. The dyes exhausted beautifully, no felting at all and the clean up is super easy since its all contained! No messy plastic wrap and crap. I'm going to do the same thing today but with roving.
I keep thinking that it is Sunday, then being pleasantly surprised that I still have one more day off! I think Nate is going to Portsmouth for the night so I plan to eat popcorn and watch Persepolis tonight. Yay! |
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| Skirt for Sale |
[Jul. 1st, 2008|03:31 pm] |
I bought this well made handmade skirt at a thrift store and its a teensy bit small for me. Any takers? $12 including shipping!
It is a very sweet bright red with white polka dots and a white woven ribbon detail. Zips up in the back, high waisted. Would be perfect with mary janes!
mail if interested: misshawklet @ gmail . com |
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| Summer Sale |
[Jul. 1st, 2008|12:20 pm] |
I am loving this midweek day off(s) thing. We have no work for two days because they are replacing the library transformer, which means there is no power whatsoever.
So, I'm here at home, just like old times, loving it. Kodha and I are just hanging out and I am catching up on misshawklet stuff. I forgot how much I love not working, haha! Or how much yarny stuff does not feel like "work".
For now until I'm not sure, I am offering free shipping on all US orders. I am in the process of transitioning to a new shipping method, so while I work on that I figure I'll give you a break. I am excited about the new shipping policy and I think my customers will be happy with it too. I have no idea how long I will run this sale so get it while you can!
If you life outside of the US and want to get in on the deal, please email me (misshawklet @ gmail) and we can strike up a deal by splitting the cost.
I have loaded the shop with lots of new yarns including these lovlies:
Farm wool, viscose, sparkle
I'll give you a few days before I announce this on my email list. Ready? Go! |
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[Jun. 28th, 2008|04:03 pm] |
Today is dreary but the rain has held off, so Nate and I went cherry picking! Because of all the rain this past week, a lot of the cherries were "split". Good news for us, split ones were half off! Since we'll be using them for cooking, we only picked split ones at a mere $2/pound. We ended up picking close to 5 pounds.
Oh, but while we were there we kind of stuffed ourselves with the "nice" ones. :)
Yesterday I loaded a few unbleached, organic cotton handspun yarns to the shop. They are very bulky and super soft! Can't get more pure than this! To be perfectly honest, cotton is a pain in the ass to spin because of its short fibers, but the pain is worth it.
The rest of the afternoon will be spent carding fiber for spinning, making lists and drinking a rum and coke or two.
Cheers! |
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[Jun. 25th, 2008|07:01 pm] |
I just realized that I never posted about Camp Pluckfluff almost two weekends ago. Well obviously, it was awesome! Lexi is awesome and funny, and Shannon is awesome for opening her beautiful Vermont home to a bunch of mostly strangers. Here are some pics of the art yarn that was spun at camp.
I feel like I have my spinning mojo back so thank you for the re-inspiration!
I have been on a cooking kick lately. Last night I made homemade pita bread and falafel. I won't talk about the falafel because that was kind of a disaster (note to self: follow the recipe!!) but the pita pockets were really cool and easy to make. If you want to try it and have questions, please ask! I did have a few pitas that did not balloon up, but I figure I'll just eat them as pita chips with dip or something.
Last, I got some alpaca back from the mill. It was given to me by the very generous ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) jennybean42. Thank you so much again and again! It is absolutely wonderful. I cannot wait to dig in, so look for new yarns with lots of alpaca in it. It was such a surprise because she sent it right to the mill for me. Christmas in June! Alpaca is great because it is warmer than wool and does not contain lanolin, so many people with wool allergies can wear it.
That's enough show and tell for one day. Hope everyone is doing well! |
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[Jun. 21st, 2008|08:09 pm] |
Its been a good weekend so far. I slept in till 9:30 which was AWESOME! Then Nate and I set off to do a bunch of errands. While errand running I realized I really want to live in Wilton, Hollis or Brookline, or somewhere in that area. We need to save up more money for that, most likely, but we can.
So there. I put it out there. World, bring me a home, preferably a New Englander or vintage home that we can afford, TLC is ok, with at least .25 acres. I will wait for it and be patient. But soon is cool. Thank you.
"Errands" included picking strawberries. AND we found out that this place also has pick your own cherries!! Oh my gracious! They start on Monday so we are going back this week to pick. Fun! We talked to the guy for awhile about what alcoholic drinks to make with berries. Mmmm. Tomorrow I plan to make strawberry ice cream.
I loaded some new things to the misshawklet shop, and I hope you will visit! I am making some new yarns tonight as well. A new product is appropriately named "Yarn in a Bag" because that is just what it is. All handspun scraps and mini skeins, in a bag. Each bag contains 6+ oz. This is great for small projects, granny squares, weaving, whatever.
Last, I have found my cooking mojo. I'm very excited about this. I had been feeling pretty bored with food, eating way too much processed veggie food, so I am going to start trying to plan more meals and buy more interesting things. I mean New England summers last, what, three hours? You gotta make the most of it.
Happy Summer and Happy Weekend! |
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[Jun. 16th, 2008|12:08 pm] |
So I took today off of work since I was away all weekend. I decided I would also take today to finally get my license switched over to NH. I was in line by 8:15, when they opened. I just got home. Yes, friends. JUST.
And yes, I had everything in order, it just took that long. New systems, slow system, something.
I got to know some of my neighbors, but man, was that a test of humanity.
Next I have to register the car and all that. I think I will put that off for awhile, though I hear the town office is not nearly as painful.
Note to NH residents...do NOT go to the Merrimack DMV. Repeat, do not! Go to Manchester instead!
Wow. |
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[Jun. 9th, 2008|08:54 pm] |
Well! It has been quite an eventful week for Gregg. For those of you who don't know, a few months ago Nate and I acquired a turtle from Nate's brother.
When we were driving home from picking Gregg up, Nate noticed something on the head. After some internet investigation, we realized it was an abcess, which turtles get usually from dirty water and while treatable, have to be treated. With time it seemed to be getting larger so we finally found a doctor who would treat turtles (which was a challenge in itself) and got it taken care of.
We took her in on Friday, in which we thought would be an easy visit. Come to find out, not only did she (YES! We also found out Gregg is a girl!) have an abcess, but also a fungus on her shell. Friday's visit, at least, was under $100. But since the abcess was hard and she was getting "nasty" for good reason, so the doctor said he really needed to put her out to remove it.
Yes, friends, we are talking turtle surgery. When I called at 4:00 she had just woken up and groggy...but really, how do you know when a turtle is groggy??
Gregg checking out the doctor's office
Gregg spent the day at the docs and we picked her up around dinner time. She has a few stitches in her little turtle head and its still swollen, but she is on the mend. Three times a day we have to apply her fungus wash and once a day the ointment. Crazy!
We are hoping Gregg will be healthy now. We have a kick ass filter for her that we bought a few weeks ago and I think we take good care of her, and are happy to have her! Just no more trips to the doctor, mmmk?
It sounds silly to some people to take a turtle to the doctor, but really, what are you supposed to do? An abcess will eventually kill a turtle and if she is in our care, simply put, we have to take care of her! We can't just let her suffer b/c first of all, that is mean, and second of all, she is part of our little crew now.
In her honor, and let's be honest, to try to generate some sales for an expensive visit, I am offering FREE SHIPPING on any green item in my shop. You can click on the GREGG THE TURTLE tab to see what's up for grabs. Also, if you purchase anything from the free shipping section, add anything else from my shop and I'll ship that for free as well. (Just make sure to email me first so I can invoice you, if you add anything!) Also, I am open to haggling if you think something should be in the green catagory, or just haggling in general. I wish I could say I was open to trades but that is probably not something I can do right now. :(
Cheers! I hope you all are having a great week! |
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| Picture Weekend |
[Jun. 8th, 2008|09:58 pm] |
It was a good weekend. A HOT weekend, but a good one. I honestly can't tell you what I did, b/c I think I puttered it away. I spent some time outside but a good chunk inside trying to keep cool-ish. Picky here is trying to keep cool by sprawling out all over.
I got all my fibers ready for Camp Pluckyfluff Vermont next weekend, made grilled flatbread to take to lunch all week, planted more herbs, etc.
Yesterday I scored about 20 glasses for just $2 at a yard sale down the street. Very exciting! Some have names of cities on them, and the other set has ornate H's on them. The $2 also included four smaller vintge glasses which are perfect for sangria sipping!
Today Nate and I drove by and peeked into a house for sale in a nearby town. We are going to see the inside on Tuesday. I am really hoping we would qualify for a loan for this house, I think it will be close as we can only use my income (since nate's career is newish, they will not include his income, which kinda sucks!) The .98 acres is deceiving b/c its pretty much a big hill, but looking at the neighbor's yard, I think you could clear out some trees, and maybe have some steps down to a flatter area. Regardless we are interested, and so we shall see. Its a nice quiet area off the main street but still really close to my work...with no traffic maybe 10 minutes or so, on a work day probably 15-20, but its about 4 miles so its really close! It could be fixed up really cute b/c it has a vintage feel, being built in the 40s and all.
I think that's it! Back to work tomorrow. I don't mind so much b/c its supposed to be 90 again and at work we have AC!
Hope you all are well. Check out some new organic cotton yarn I listed in my shop |
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| House Ramblings |
[Jun. 1st, 2008|02:53 pm] |
Thanks for all your suggestions on the bathroom color! I still have some thinking to do about it.
Its funny we keep making improvements on our little apartment, while we are trying to find a house as well. Part of me would be ok with staying here through the winter, longer than our lease, but another part of me is so anxious to not have to renew our lease.
I guess wherever we are at the moment, might as well make it "home". You never know what might happen, so we might as well carpe diem or whatever.
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| If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em! |
[May. 31st, 2008|12:35 pm] |
Part of the reason why I want a home is to do projects. I get really antsy and love home projects, whether they be gardening, designing things, etc. So, I have found a few projects around our apartment that I would like to tackle. This will keep me occupied until we find a house this year, next year, whenever.
One is our door, which the landlord said I could paint awhile back. I painted it red but hate it, so stay tuned for that makeover.
I also got permission to give the bathroom vanity a facelift. So I decided to ask for your help. I would like to change out the hardware and paint the vanity. The vanity top is a really awesome (insert sarcasm) formica that is white/cream with gold flecks. That we can't change. Any ideas on color and hardware? Keep in mind the "carved" part...I'm not sure what to use as color and hardware to make it less gaudy. Also keep in mind we have a mustard yellow toilet. Good luck design stars!
The medicine cabinet above is just plain wood, but I'm hoping I could maybe paint that too. It has paint spotches on the side of it from someone painting the walls, so its not like its nice stained mahogony or anything.
That's it for me! I hope you all are having a great weekend!
PS Note my new userpic. :) |
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[May. 27th, 2008|07:26 pm] |
First things first.
We put an offer in on the duplex, and today we found out that while they wanted to work with us and thanked us for our offer, someone put in a CASH offer at the same time so they had to take it.
Cash money trumps a loan in every way. BOO! Its ok though, if it falls through we might still have a chance b/c they know we are still interested and we are second in line. I figure I didn't get my job at first, so maybe for us, second place is where its at! And I really believe that if its meant to work out, it will. At least they DID like our offer!
This is what I have to say with those with lots of cash money!
Yes, Boob. So there for being mature. I wish I had gotten a better shot of the bridge, though.
This is how I spent some of my weekend:
And I loaded a motherload of this fiber to my shop...10oz! This is mostly rescue farm wool, all hand dyed and carded.
More to come later this week. I'm cleaning out my fiber boxes.
I love short weeks! |
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[May. 25th, 2008|03:35 pm] |
I'm terribly sleepy today!
Yesterday we were in Maine and Portsmouth all day for a memorial service...or really, an Irish wake. That means a memorial service with lots of crying and mourning then moving to the pub with lots of drinking and celebrating. I, however, did minimal drinking since I agreed to drive home. We didn't get home till almost midnight. It was an emotional day, even though I had only met Goeff a few times.
I got to meet lots of nate's friends though, and see some of his friends that I have met and really like, so that was good. Plus I think the whole day and getting everyone together was healing and essential. His parents are amazing. I'd guess there were several hundred people there. Everyone misses you Geoff, and you are so very loved! Rest in peace.
Also, I have been spinning. Look for an update tomorrow!
Turtle Cam:
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| Pictures |
[May. 13th, 2008|07:13 pm] |
Pyrex bowls from coworker, $5 total
Kitty Loves
Kitty Loves Dog Loves Kitty
New Yarn (wool/mohair blend) |
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[May. 10th, 2008|03:41 pm] |
Saturdays are for flea markets. Both items cost me a dollar total!
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