This last weekend my parents and I went to the Cummington Fair (the town after which Cummingtonite is named). It’s a lovely small county fair, though always funny to me to think of it as “small” when it’s half again the size of Mass. Sheep and Wool which is on the same grounds. Also funny since it takes me less than half the time for me to wander through.

It was a good time. As most times with my parents are.

Aww!

I went to my mailbox yesterday and there was a little box in it. Now, this isn’t an unusual occurrence as I’m living with my parents while I wait for my job to start (P.S. current estimate is sometime in October, I’m hoping to know more in the next 2-3 weeks). With three of us in the house, boxes with books or what have you aren’t unusual items in the mail.

However, when I looked at the box, I realized it was for me! I blinked and looked again, yep, it was for me! Huh! Curious, I looked at who it was from…

Carolina Homespun. Ooh! Purveyor of some awesome spinning fiber! And recently… I bounced a little as I ran into the house… could it be? But I hadn’t ordered anything!

Sure enough, I opened the box, and what spilled out?

ZOMG!

It’s called “Golden Gate”
36 grams
40% Merino / 30% Tussah Silk / 30% Peppermint Pastures Pygora
Made by the incomparable Abby Franquemont

It is such an awesome rich, clear orange. I love it. I want to pair it with a scarlet one I have called “Ember.” Possibly for weaving, depending how the current weaving project comes out. We shall see, we shall see! Need more time.

And no, I still have no idea who purchased it for me. I’ve got ideas, but don’t know. It’s nice to have enough good friends that I don’t know.

That’s all for the moment, back to the loom and the dye pots!

~The Gnome

The ice cream maker.

Not just ’cause it makes ice cream. In fact I haven’t been using it to make ice cream…

It’s summer… and summer means fruits and veggies such as, cantaloupe!

I mentioned it before but I did it again last night. Slightly different recipe this time. My own concoction.

The first batch was Cantaloupe/Lime/Mint
1/2 Large Cantaloupe
6+ Tablespoons good lime juice
~1/4c chopped mint
1 1/4c Simple Syrup

This one was Cantaloupe/Cranberry/Lime different, but also very tasty. I’m so getting myself one of these when I have my own place. It’s awesome! And so healthy, just make simple syrup and after that everything just goes in the blender to taste and then the ice cream maker. So there’s about 3/4 of a cup of sugar in an entire batch of dessert. Not bad!

1/2 Large Cantaloupe
~1/2c Cranberry Juice (Cranberry, not cocktail, not with water)
~1/4c Lime
1c Simple Syrup

Nom nom

Also been making progress on weaving the scarf.

~The Gnome

As always: The Shop Is Here

In this update…

Cheviot: Marmalade, Oil Slick, Night Sky, The Gift of Gab
Bamboo/Merino: Playing with Fire, The Fairy Prince
Wensleydale: Squash Vine, New England Harvest
BFL: Glacier, Mowing the Lawn, Summer Storm, California Dreamin;
Romney: Sand and Sea, Bismuth, Japanese Maple, Rusalka

Cheviot:

Marmalade: Mmm warm drippy gooey sweet and tart. Made of delicious tangy oranges and tart lemons. Orange and brown dripping from your toast and bagels and English muffins…

Oil Slick: Colors dance and swirl, drifting across the surface to blend and reflect the light in fascinating patterns of light…

Night Sky: Glittering in the dark midnight sky are glittering pale blue stars and shining silver meteors reminding us how very small we are in the universe, and how very much there is to discover.

The Gift of Gab: Blarney, sweet talk, fast talk, silvered tongue bringing riches of gold and silver raining down from the heavens, or from others’ pockets! Kiss the stone!

Merino/Bamboo (60/40):

Playing with Fire: The fire rises as you poke the stick into the coals, sending cascades of sparks into the summer air, reminding you it’s time to bring out the smores and rekindle childhood memories…

The Fairy Prince: Silver and ice, elegant and terrible as the Winter winds. Slick and smooth, his heart melts at your touch, sending rivulets of tears running down his cheek and unlocking the Spring…

Wensleydale:

Squash Vine: The season ends and soft green vines fade to brown among the rich fruit you’ve been waiting all summer to enjoy.

New England Harvest: The harvest is ready, warm red apples and tomatoes, golden pumpkins, rich brown root veggies, and rainbow squash!

BFL (Bluefaced Leicester):

Glacier: Brilliant light flashes off the floating ice. A cool pale aqua that can be seen almost nowhere else. A splash as a seal slides into the cool dark water, a questioning face asking what you’re waiting for…

Mowing The Lawn: I know I mowed it last week, how is it long again? And you know as soon as I mow it… summer is in full swing and the grass knows it! Springing up seemingly overnight, demanding mowing immediately when I want to relax in the hammock…

Summer Storm: The clouds gather, puffy grey and white, pouring down their lifegiving rain in the matter of minutes before moving on, leaving clear blue sky again…

California Dreamin’: All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey, I’ve been for a walk, on a winter’s day…

Romney:

Sand and Sea: Magic happens in the interstitial spaces of the world, between night and day, life and death, sea and sand. The tide swirls, leaving anemones waving their magic fairy wands in the pools…

Bismuth: A mysterious and shining rainbow metallic stone, with mingling shades of red and green and iridescent blue.

Japanese Maple:
Red leaves rustling
against a brown wooden trunk
singing of the fall.

Rusalka: Deep in the old swamp dwells the Rusalka, hung with moss and swamp weeds, you won’t see her until you feel her clammy hands pulling you down into the murky waters. Beware her song young traveller, and beware the wandering maiden!

That’s all for now. Remember to share yarns/projects on the Ravelry Group, Facebook Page, and Flickr Group!

~The Gnome

Gonna make this garden grow.
Gonna mulch it deep and low.
Gonna make it fertile ground…

Pullin’ weeds and pickin’ stones
We are made of dreams and bones
Need a place to call my own
‘Cause the time is close at hand…

We have two vegetable gardens this year. One at home, which has been repeatedly nommed by groundhogs, an insistent deer, bugs, and something else, but has still managed to keep growing and producing. And we have a second vegetable garden at the public gardens. The public gardens are new in this location and so are a little weedier than an established garden, but otherwise it’s been great. We’ve got lots of stuff growing and I’ve made a lot of stir fries and goulash sorts of things with the kohlrabi, chard, beets, peppers, and tomatoes.

A few nights ago, Mom and I made a batch of dill pickles (Grandma’s recipe!) and yesterday I picked this…

Our third cantaloupe of the season (two varieties, this is the less totally awesome one), some more cukes, the first carrots we’ve picked, a TON of cherry tomatoes, and a fair bunch of “normal” tomatoes.

So for dinner I made pasta capreze. Our tomatoes, our basil, our chives. In the old days it would have been my home made cheese too.

And for dessert… sorbet! Sorry, didn’t get a good photo of that.

Mmmm sorbet. Cantaloupe, mint, lime. Fantastalicious and refreshing. And a great use for a cantaloupe with really nice flavor but not as firm a texture as we like.

Ok, that’s it for now!

~The Gnome