What more could you need?
First, let me say welcome to visitors from Yarnival Volume 3! My History of Sorts post was a featured article, thanks Cara!
I’m very thankful that it’s Friday, cause I could use a break. This week has been so crazy, it just seems like the homework was shoveled upon me by a bulldozer. It’s still not over, I’m going to have plenty to do over Thanksgiving break (curse you professors!), but at least I have a breather now. It was during my free evening last night that I dyed up some new yarn that I’m just itching to share.
I’m getting faster, leaner and more efficient at the yarn dyeing, so it’s much less of a hassle to get out the stuff and crank out a few skeins. Which is nice, because I used to dread getting out all the stuff and making such a huge mess. Now that things are getting more streamlined I’m more inclined to dye when I have an hour or two free, which means more yarn for you guys. :)
It also helps that I have a nifty new spreadsheet…I just type in the weight of the yarn, and select from my list of colorways, and it spits out the amount of water, vinegar and each dye primary to use. *Spreadsheets totally turn me on.* I hope that doesn’t creep you out…
ANYWAY…Here’s the yarn!
"Hurry up and reskein us!"
(from left to right in the 2nd photo)
Printed Circuit Board (1500 MHz Merino SW): This one’s an Adam exclusive…a very nerdy yarn just for you. In case you don’t know what a printed circuit board is, it’s what’s inside your computer. I’ve designed a few of these bad boys, and the color scheme just screams Electrical Engineering, so I had to translate it to some yarn. Two shades of green (a very subtle difference, but still noticeable) for the circuit layers, and a gold/yellow color for the copper trace lines. Buy some for your nerdy significant other, they’ll love it!
Peppermint Cocoa (1500 MHz Merino/Tencel SW): One of my favorite childhood memories is making hot cocoa from my Mom’s homemade mix and stirring it with a peppermint candy cane. Mmmmm. This yarn is the embodiment of that memory, with a nice chocolate color, mixed in with peppermint red and white. Ok, I have to go make some hot cocoa, see ya later…Oh wait, the post isn’t done yet? Crap!
Berrylicious (1500 MHz Merino/Tencel SW): This one has dark purple, light purple and raspberry tones, and it just shines in the merino/tencel yarn. Scout? This color is in honor of you, since I know you love these colors. It makes me hungry for some fruit and yogurt, or jam! Alright, I really need to stop talking about food, I’m starving!
I’m going to reskein these babies tonight, wrap some labels around them and list them on etsy, and then you can have at it! I’d really love to sell some yarn (it’s been a bit of a dry spell recently), so here’s some more not-so subliminal messaging:
Also, I made some buttons for both the blog and the etsy shop, and you’re more than welcome to snag one (check the sidebar on the main page) and add it to your site if you so please. Now without further ado, let’s move onto the coffee!
If you’ve known me for any amount of time I’m sure you know that I’m a total coffee addict. Some might say snob…but I would just say "selective". My morning coffee preparation ritual is something I look forward to everyday, and I figured I’d share it with you here. I like to brew my coffee in a French Press, with freshly roasted beans from Moon’s Coffee and Tea. The Tanzania Peaberry is my favorite.
The ritual starts with the grinding of the beans, at a very coarse grind. This is the key element to the French Press. Then I boil some water, but once it’s boiled, I let it sit for a few minutes. Water just under boiling is best, because if it’s too hot the coffee will be overextracted and bitter. Once the water is ready, I pour it on the coffee and stir it up really good. Then steep it for exactly 4 minutes.
I stir the slurry ( an actual technical term :) ) a few times during the steeping process also, to make sure that the grounds and the water interact as much as possible. Then once 4 minutes are up, the plunger goes in, and the grounds are pressed to the bottom. Then I enjoy! I really like the French Press because it brings out the flavor of the coffee really well. It’s much stronger than other methods, but I enjoy my coffee as strong as mud. Mmmmm.
That’s it for today, sayonara!
