Craft Fair!

We're at not one but two craft fairs this weekend! Come see us in Santa Cruz at the Monarch Fair at the Civic Center or the Ribbon Street Fair at the Freight Building!

K11 Craft Sale Recap

The Craft Sale at Knit-One-One in Berkeley this past weekend was a success. We had a great spot outside the studio across from Bag It Designs who we met at the Louden Nelson Winter Fair in Santa Cruz last year.

I debuted my single-ply worsted weight hand spuns and they were well recieved. I sold a couple hanks to the lovely owner of Bubbles and Boo who plans to use them in her product photos before knitting something beautiful for herself. I’m pleased they turned out so well, and I think I’ll be doing many more of them in the future.

During the sale, I set up my spinning wheel and answered questions from dozens of curious folks about the mechanics of the spinning wheel. Many were most surprised to find out that my wheel was not antique at all, and that the company that produced mine is still doing so. Though spinning yarn is a craft associated with times of yore(Remember sleeping beauty?), the skill has been passed through families and friends and has grown so much in popularity that many yarn shops now also sell spinning fiber and some even host classes.

Though sales were not as high as we’d hoped, we did meet a lot of lovely local crafters, Hedgerose got commission work, and I discussed the possibility of teaching a drop-spindle workshop at Knit-One-One in the future. While a spinning wheel is a major investment, costing anywhere between $300 and $700, drop spindles sell for closer to $15 and are a great way to start learning without having to make a huge dent in your savings. In fact, that’s exactly where I started in 2007, and since I was given a wheel by my aunt, I spend much of my free time at home consumed by this hobby.

I’m still dreaming about someday making it a full time job. For now, occasional fairs will do just fine.

*This entry cross-posted from peculiarpurls.com

K11 Craft Fair

We have been included in the Knit one one craft fair. It is the day before Mother's Day in Berkeley.
The fair is from 10-4 at 3360 Adeline Street, Berkeley, CA 94703. There is a lot of free parking and it is close to the Ashby BART. Here is a link to the official website: http://knitoneone.blogspot.com/

We look forward to seeing you there! If there is anything you would like to see there, please let us know!

Steam Punk Convention

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to the steampunk convention in San Jose. It was amazing! it was my first convention and what a way to start! I was amazed by how great everyone's costumes were and how all the vendors had such amazing and creative items. There was even a tikki Daleck! Miss Kalendar's tea room was beautifully done and a haven to retreat into. I definitely want to go next year and plan ahead so that I too can have a good costume!

Sweet Pickled Pearl Onions

A few weeks ago I learned to pickle quail eggs from Kitty Sharkey of Havenscourt Homestead. They turned out so well that I thought I might just try to put together something of my own.

I developed a delicious recipe for sweet pickled pearl onions which go well in salad or as a zesty side to sandwiches, burgers and barbecue. Best of all, they are super easy to make and I’ll tell you how!

Peel and trim 2-3 cups of red pearl onions. White pearl onions will work too but won’t be quite as sweet. Though I haven’t tried it, you could also coarsely chop 2 large onions. In a bowl, cover the peeled onions with boiling water and let them sit for 5 minutes. Drain them and fill the onions into a jar or two.

In a non-reactive saucepan combine the following ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes.

• 1 c. white vinegar
• 1/2 c. red wine vinegar
• 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 c. white sugar
• 1/2 tsp. kosher or pickling salt
• 1 cracked bay leaf
• 2-3 large cloves of crushed garlic
• 1 tsp. cracked pepper corns
• 1/2 tsp. ground clove
• 1/2 tsp. celery seed
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Pour the brine over your filled jar(s) of onions without filtering out any of the spices and allow them to soak up flavor for at least 5 days before serving. They will keep in the refrigerator for at least 1 month.

If you would like to keep these for longer follow proper canning process as recommended by a reputable agency(USDA, FDA, National Center for Home Food Preservation, etc.) once you’ve filled the jars. If they are canned, they ought to keep for months and months.

Now, I’m going to go enjoy some of those onions!

*This entry cross-posted from peculiarpurls.com

Real Winter and International Yarn

I've been back for a month and am finally starting to settle back in.

Germany was a perfect winter wonderland. The photo above was taken in full color! Celebrating a real white Christmas was truly special.

I managed to finish all 8 gift projects I had going the night before Christmas and they were splendidly received. Everyone was thrilled and impressed! My aunt, and trip benefactor, even nabbed her husband's scarf within the week and pulled the "communal property card" when I raised my eyebrow at her.

Understandably, I've been pretty burnt out on knitting since then, but I did start creating a pattern with some gorgeous hand-painted yarn that I picked up at a wonderful shop in Berlin. Fadeninsel was located just around the corner from the apartment Boy and I stayed in for 5 days. It is a wonderful little shop which emphasizes handcrafted yarns and local products like Opal yarn which I brought back for Riastiltskein.

Now that I'm home, I've gotten back into several new hobbies. I'll share tales and photos as soon as the projects are underway or complete.

Ron Yarn!

Freya went to Germany for forever (ok, about 2 months, but still). She came back recently and is getting settled back and unpacking. She came up to me and said that she had gotten something for me in Germany, while grinning menacingly , which was worrisome, and then she pulled out this! It is Germany Harry Potter yarn! With Ron on it! He is my favorite, absolutely. And it even says Harry Potter und der Halbblut-Prinz! Awesome!