Heirloom Tomatoes

Whole Foods had a huge bin of these right smack in front of the door when I walked in yesterday.  I discovered these last year.  "Heirloom" says I'm way behind, but nevertheless they are the best tomatoes of the season: flavor, texture and eye appeal with their color.  I personally love the purplely-red ones and the yellow ones.  I make big tall tomato sandwiches with tomato slices,  slices of iceberg lettuce, whole grain bread, light mayo and Country Dijon mustard.  Lots of chewy yumminess!

Super Warm Dye Days: Part 1

Wonder what the neighbors think?  The mailperson (she's a very nice woman) stepped around it.   It's not sun tea for sure.  It's still so hot here, I decided to try putting water, vinegar and about 1.75 ozs. of Romney roving into this jumbo jar.  Then I drizzled Violet, Cherry Red, and Salmon dyes into the jar.  ("Violet", "Salmon" and"Cherry Red"-Jacquard dyes).  The fiber went in dry so that it would absorb the dye unevenly. 

This is what it looked like about six last night.  I think I will use less water next time for more more uneven-ness. I haven't checked it this morning.

I loved knitting sock blanks that I dye.  After the blank is soaked in Dawn and water, I squeeze it out,  thread lace stretching wires through all four edges, then lay it out on plastic wrap.  I apply the dye with 60 cc. syringes, then carefully mop up excess moisture with paper towels.  Next I place a top layer of more plastic wrap on top, seal it up, fold it up and place on wrap in roaster oven that I have rigged up as a steamer.

Main color is Jacquard "Violet".  The sidebars are ProChem "Key Lime" and "Apricot".
I think this one is going to be great fun to knit.

Dye Day: Part 2 coming soon.  Lots of wacky rovings and a little silk, locks and Firestar to show you.

Lovin' my Kindle

I decided this summer would be the real test for my Kindle which I have had since Christmas.  I was blissfully away from the heat  at my condo in Harbor Springs, Mi.  Verdict!  I loved it.  Travelling with it was great.  Tucked into it's lime green case it slid into my computer bag.  Once there I ditched the cover and just had the slim device to take out on the porch or put on the nightstand.  One drawback for air travel is the device must be turned off during take-off and landing.

The next cool thing in the Kindle App for IPhone.  This thing blows my mind.  It syncs up with the Kindle to the exact page I was reading on the Kindle.  So, if I am stuck waiting in a doctor's office, snuggled up to my latte in Starbuck's, I can just pop out your phone and read a bit.  Right now I am following Lisbeth Salander in Larssen's third novel, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.  This is complete magic to me.  Gotta love technology.

Dodged a Bullet

Yesterday afternoon tornado sirens started blaring about 5:30 p.m.  Hard to hear over the air-conditioning, but I went outside to confirm the sound, then looked at the TV.   "Take cover now, go to a safe spot in your house."  Yikes!  The live radar showed this monster headed to my area of Dallas.  I grabbed the laptop, IPhone, knitting bag(duh), and Trinket, and trundled down to the studio which is bunkered into the slope of my lot.  Joey and Marta, my neighbors, and Pikawa, their tiny, shivering Yorkie joined me.  We watched the news on-line as the twister lifted and headed north. Whew! 
Outdoor check showed only a little damage to landscaping.  Even the persnickety satellite never lost it's signal.  Hermine's wind are headed north.  Take cover, folks.