Felt Like Knitting

Making paints

Several people were interested in reading more about the paints we made in Botany.  Here is the source I used and here are some details in case you want to make your own.  (I thought about making a tutorial, but I didn't because I'm really not sure that I've done this correctly.)

I ground things in my mortar and pestle, but most things were finely ground to begin with.  The burnt wood was ground outside with a rock.  Everything was air dry when I started.

The gum arabic was purchased at Michael's for about $12.99 (I think).  The palette knife was in a two-pack for about $2.99 or so.

After the item was finely ground, I placed it on a plastic tray that grocery stores use for vegetables or deli meats for parties.  I found that it took more than a drop of gum arabic to make a paste.  Once it looked like it was all combined, I added water.  I kept adding water and stirring until it looked like it would yield a fair amount of paint (without giving a paint that was too light).

The paint was then filtered into cups via a coffee filter.  You may have to squeeze the filter to speed up the process.  But, be careful because it's easy to tear the filter or squeeze the "grounds" up over the top of it.

The paint seems to not spoil too easily.  I made it on a Thursday evening and we didn't get to it until Tuesday.  It was kept in my cool garage during this time, so that probably helped.  The dill paint looked like it may have changed colors a bit, but I didn't compare "before and after" samples.  I don't know how light-fast this is or whether it would stay on the paper if the paper got wet.

All in all, this was a fun project that the kids and I enjoyed.  Part of the fun was determining what worked well and what didn't (grass, coriander, ginger, parsley).  If you try this, I'd love to see your painting!

Next year's Christmas gifts

Today I finally made it to a thrift store.  I've been trying to go for a long time and it finally worked out.  The taupe sweater is for my felted throw project.  The cardigan is for my first 2007 Christmas presents.  I'm going to felt the sweater then make it into little stocking ornaments for my nieces, nephews, and daughter.

But I'm not letting myself start anything new until I finish three dishcloths, S's scarf, two sewn "draft dodgers," and my Central Park Hoodie.  And I promised E that I'd knit her some wrist warmers.  Plus, I have something else planned.  So it may be a long time before I get to new projects!  And I'm anxious to get a pair of socks started.  I am determined to successfully knit a pair!

You know what I need?  An Idea-A-Day calendar for blog posting.  Right before Christmas, I had tons of stuff to say and no time to say it.  Now I have more time, but less to say.  I wanted to post for a day or so, but couldn't think of anything worth mentioning.  So a calendar with a new topic each day would be handy.  Someone please give me a topic for tomorrow!  If no topic presents itself, you may end up reading about my dog's upcoming surgery and you can imagine how much fun that would be.  ;)

Our blue room is a bit bluer than the other blue room

Have you ever noticed that the White House's Blue Room isn't all that blue?  Well, E's new bedroom is very blue!  I have to say, too, that this has been our quickest home improvement project to date.  We usually drag things out for years - oops, I really mean months.  Yeah, that's right, months.  :)

The color in this photo is not as bright as it really is.  It helped a lot when we put the comforter on the bed and I suppose it will look even better when we paint the furniture, put E's stuff back in, etc.  (Can you tell I'm not liking the blue as much as my daughter does?)  One more day of work and it will be done, but the paint needs to dry a bit more first.

Yesterday I went to buy trim paint and stopped in at Kmart for my husband's new sander.  While I was there I noticed people setting up the BACK TO SCHOOL display.  My heart skipped a couple of beats in panic.  I love school supplies as much as the next person, but this display reminded me that I am running out of time to prepare for my classes for next year.  What I really want to be doing is knitting, not studying the General Science book that's sitting here.  And before we know it, Christmas displays will be up.  I'm just not ready for it.

I want to show the yarn I bought at Yarn Expressions earlier this week.  It's called Silky Socks and is by Great Adirondack Yarns.  (I can't find a listing for this yarn anywhere on the Internet.  Weird.)  It's a 20% silk, 70% merino wool, and 10% nylon blend in the Painted Desert colorway.  One hank is enough for a pair of socks.  I only bought one hank, but I included the before and after photos 'cause I love seeing how the color changes when the yarn is wound.  I may be strange that way, but even stranger is that I buy sock yarn when I still haven't finished my first pair of socks.  Why do I do that?!  Oh, I almost forgot - the books were buy one, get one free so I walked away with One Skein and Altered Knits.

I have knitting progress to show, but this is getting too long already.  And I have a room to finish...

More Family Room Progress

This afternoon I bought a paint sample and tried it on the wall.  It wasn't the exact color I wanted, but I thought it was pretty close when I compared the color chips.  Wrong!  This paint was way too yellow.  But, I still like my original color.  Steve did more filling then sanded and reprimed the crown molding so I may be able to do some trim painting tomorrow.

  The color in the photo is actually pretty close to what I'd like (the dotted color chips on the left).  It's much more yellow in "real life."

Soon I will be able to sit in my comfy family room and knit!

Family Room Painting

We started painting our family room this weekend.  I painted the ceiling today and am glad that is done.  We've lived here almost 10 years and are finally getting around to fixing up the family room.