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Archive for 2010

We Gots to Move These Refrigerators

Posted in home life on March 9, 2010| 6 Comments »

Borrowing a line from the Dire Straits song, “Money for Nothing”, there.

We haven’t moved yet, but yesterday the refrigerator did.  It was a big chore (or so I hear) but worth it.  The new house came with a side-by-side Jennair stainless fridge; neither of us has ever liked side-by-sides.  So now it lives at Benson Creek, where it goes quite well with the stove and microwave/vent hood, which are also stainless and black:

Whereas the Amana with bottom freezer and French doors, which is only a couple of years old, and we love, now lives at the new house.  It goes well with the cabinets:

Next:  we gots to move these Color Tee-Vees….  (actually, there is only the one).

We are well on the way to moving in within the week (not the shop and all, just us and the cats).  I packed and moved all the kitchen stuff the last 2 days, leaving behind a minimal setup so we can still eat and cook down here when we start commuting to Benson Creek to work.  The living room and dining room are together, since that was mostly furniture that came over from Seattle – finally!

Here’s how it’s looking:

Kitchen, taken from front entry

Kitchen, taken from dining room

Dining room with Oregon walnut table and koa/maple sideboard

Living room area with fireplace insert

I am amazed at how well our furniture fits into the new space.  Almost like it was made for it!

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Diamond in the Rough

Posted in home life on March 7, 2010| 4 Comments »

I took a couple of “before” pictures of my future studio space the other day.  It is the second story of the garage and has its own outside entrance down the side of the building in the back.  The footprint of the building is 30′ x 30′ but obviously there will be some unusable space under the eaves (but even that will be usable for storage, for the most part).  We think they meant it to be a guest apartment, as the plumbing is roughed in for a bathroom and a kitchenette.  The space is very well insulated and there is a propane fireplace which just needs to be hooked back up.

In a couple of weeks our drywall guy will be available to finish it off, and we’ll be able to paint the walls and ceiling. We’ll probably just paint the floor for now, as we haven’t thought through what we will want up there, and can’t spend the extra money now anyway.  Then we can start moving in my looms and knitting, spinning and weaving materials.  We will also set up a design/drafting area for Rick.  Eventually we will finish the bathroom and put in a sink area and counters for dyeing.  It’s going to be great!

looking towards the front of the building

looking towards the back and the stairway

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Edible Book Night

Posted in Methow Valley on March 6, 2010| 1 Comment »

Last night we went to a fundraiser for the Twisp Library expansion project.  It was held at the Twisp Grange hall and turned out to be a lot of fun!  People were asked to submit an “edible book” which was to be a cake or other dessert for the silent auction, taking their inspiration from a book title or author.  Puns were encouraged.

There was a good turnout, with a jazz trio, Mediterranean finger food buffet and no-host bar, and at least 25 edible books on display.  In addition to the silent auction, they had slips for people to vote on their favorites in 3 categories:  Best in Show, Best Depiction of a Book Title, and Most Pun-derful.

Our friend Jen Nawrot, who owns Paco’s Tacos in Twisp, won the “Best Depiction of a Book Title” for her chocolate lover’s cake (with edible chocolate rocks) of “The River Why”:

The River Why by Jen Nawrot

The River Why by Jen Nawrot

Mary Kiesau made a play on the author Barry Lopez’s name with “Berry LoPies”:

Berry LoPies by Mary Kiesau

Kim Odell came up with a rendition of “The Female Brain”:

The Female Brain by Kim Odell

Steve and Terry Dixon won Most Pun-derful for “The Beerslayer”.  Terry is the Twisp librarian.  The beer can was a pound cake:

The Beerslayer by Steve & Terry Dixon

Kirsten Ostlie, who manages the Methow Valley Community Center in Twisp, came up with something for a book I was unfamiliar with —  “Why Sh*t Happens:  The Science of a Really Bad Day”:

Why Sh*t Happens by Kirsten Ostlie

Here’s one of two renditions of “The Life of Pi” by Mary Milka:

The Life of Pi by Mary Milka

Salyna Gracie won Best of Show for her cake, “Love in the Time of Cauliflower”:

Love in the Time of Cauliflower by Salyna Gracie

All of the desserts got at least one bid in the silent auction.  I tried to win The River Why but was persistently outbid, so switched over to this one:  “Eats, Shoots, and Leaves” by Mike Maltais:

Eats, Shoots, and Leaves by Mike Maltais

It’s a chocolate cake, and we’re taking it to the annual Keyboard Confections concert tonight at the community center, which will also feature a dessert buffet.  It’s another fundraiser, to help provide funds for private lessons for local music students.

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Painting and Hiking

Posted in home life, outdoors on March 4, 2010| Leave a Comment »

It was hard to think of a title for this post since I am mostly trying to keep apace with events.

No pictures today of the new house, but we have been up there all week painting.  It turned out that most of the interior was painted a flat battleship gray only because that was a tinted primer or undercoat – not meant to be the final color!  Rick and I painted all three bedrooms, the laundry room, and the living/dining room – 2 coats.  It just about did my lower back in, unfortunately, and I am hobbling around here today.  We wound up hiring a professional to do the hallways and entry (which is 2 stories tall in places).  So now everything is painted except the kitchen and we can start moving some things in.  We have decided to go ahead and have the drywall done in my studio space, so we will have to hold off moving some things until that is completed, hopefully by the end of March.

I did take a day off to go hiking with my Tuesday group.  There were only 6 of us and we headed down valley in search of a place where the snow would be mostly gone.   “Mud season” can be challenging!  We went down south of Carlton to a wildlife area that used to be the Judd Ranch (cattle ranch).  A little hard to find if you don’t know it is there, which is a plus as far as we were concerned.  We walked up an old ranch road that climbed steadily for a couple of miles, and the views up higher were wonderful – looking off to the west to the hills and mountains between Gold Creek and Libby Creek.  This is definitely a place to go back to in a couple of weeks when the wildflowers start emerging.  There was still some snow and ice on the road where it was shaded.

Judd Ranch road hiking

Judd Ranch Wildlife Area

The gray hills of early spring

The gray hills of early spring

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In Which We See A Cougar

Posted in Methow Valley on February 26, 2010| 1 Comment »

We left Wolf Creek about 8:30 pm on Wednesday, heading back to Benson Creek.  I was driving.  After turning onto the Twin Lakes Road heading towards Winthrop, we picked up an animal in the headlights,  running  ahead of the car.

Me: “What’s that?? A dog?”

Rick: “No…. maybe a coyote?”

We get a little closer and see the long tail with black tip and distinct cat shape.

In unison: “IT’S A COUGAR!!”

Running down the Twin Lakes Road.  About a mile from Winthrop.

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The Latest Twisp in our Fate

Posted in Uncategorized on February 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »

There has been a lot of behind-the-scenes activity around here the past month and a half.  In early January we looked at a house for sale about 16 miles up valley from our present location, after hearing about it from some friends who live on the same road.  To keep the story short, we immediately knew it was perfect for us in almost every way, and made an offer that was accepted after some negotiating back and forth.  The sale closed this last Monday, Feb 22, and now we are embarking on the transition of home and shop to our new home.

It was our long-range plan to build a modest sized, energy efficient house here at Benson Creek, starting about now (2010).  As the time approached, though, we felt daunted by the task and somewhat unpredictable expense involved.  Last summer we decided to start looking around for an alternative before committing to the process of building here, figuring “what’s the hurry” and that it might take a couple of years before we could make a final decision about moving rather than building.  So we are almost as surprised as everyone else!

The house is about 10 years old and was never completely finished (due to a divorce) – mainly interior finishes and things that we can easily handle.  It was constructed by the owner’s ex-husband using SIPs (structural insulated panels) and is extremely well-insulated.  I’ll post more as things move along, but now I have to get up there and do some painting!

I also have pictures from my spinning workshop and will work on getting those up over the course of the next week.  Stay tuned…

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Off to Orcas

Posted in spinning, travel on February 14, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I’m taking off today for the spinning workshop/retreat up on Orcas Island.  I have been to this event a couple of times in years past, but skipped last year.  It is organized by two women who live on Guemes Island, just off the coast from Anacortes.  Our instructor is the wonderful Judith MacKenzie, a master spinner, dyer and weaver – she truly is a “living treasure”.  There will be some old friends from Seattle in attendance, plus other women I have met there before who are also returning, and I hope to make some new friends as well.

The theme of the workshop this year is “Ethnic Spinning and Knitting: Cowichan, Aran and Icelandic”.  I have been spinning finer and finer yarns, so should learn a lot about the fibers used in those traditions and how to spin bigger, fatter yarns that suit the different knitting styles.

I made up a new batch of shawl pins this weekend and will be taking them with me:

I will visit with mom and dad on my way up today, and also on my way back down next Saturday.  Then Rick and I are meeting in Seattle to complete the move out of our apartment there.

I’m not taking the computer so am “going dark” for about 10 days.  I’ll have lots to report when I get back!

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Mazama House in the Woods

Posted in woodworking on February 13, 2010| 2 Comments »

Yesterday Rick delivered 2 beds to the house up in Mazama, for the 2 guest bedrooms.  They were built out of aformosia (spelling is correct according to our wood book, but there is some debate…)  The owner has a bed similar to this that he likes and so this is what he wanted.

Rick has been working on cabinets for this place since last summer.   He took some pictures yesterday and we thought we would post some of them to show friends and family.  There is a lot of other woodwork in the house done by the contractor’s crew, so I will try to point out the Swanson Woodcraft portion.  The woodwork throughout the house, including the cabinets, is white oak.

Library desk on the second floor – Rick did the drawers, the case and top were built by the crew:

Guest bedroom closets (identical in both rooms)  – Rick had Foss Furniture in Seattle build the closets, which he brought over and assembled in place, then he did the built-in desks.  There is a bigger closet with no desk in the master bedroom.

Master bathroom:

Sink wall in the kitchen – 22 feet long, he matched the grain across the drawer fronts all the way across:

Kitchen island:

Completely built in Sub-Zero refrigerator (on the left, the upper door is the main fridge compartment, with two freezer drawers underneath) with two pullout pantry units to the right of the fridge.  Also storage cabinets over the fridge.  There was also a built-in wall oven around the corner facing the sink.

The “snug” is around the corner near the kitchen.  The upper doors will  conceal the flat screen TV and drinks cabinet.  He matched the grain vertically across the upper and lower cabinets:

Laundry room cabinets:

The “water closet” or powder room on the main floor near the entry:

And finally, here is an exterior shot of the house:

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FO: Cabled Topdown Raglan

Posted in knitting on February 12, 2010| 1 Comment »

FO = finished object, in knitting-specific internet speak.

Here is the sweater I have been knitting along with my class, and using to demonstrate different parts of the process along the way.  I washed it yesterday and it has been drying on the wooly board.  Today I will wear it!

Yarn: Rowan Magpie Tweed, 7 skeins.  Needle size 8 (5 mm).  The cable panel on the front and back is from “The New Knitting Stitch Library” by Lesley Stanfield (no longer in print but easily found on Amazon or elsewhere).  I used the same motif for cabled ribs on the bottom edge, sleeve cuffs and neck edge, with a simple rolled stockinette stitch edge as the final finish.

Yesterday was our guild meeting and the annual Fiber Exchange.  We run it kind of like a white elephant (draw numbers, go in turn, but something can be taken away from someone else up to 2 times).  The fiber is for weaving or spinning, although there were other fun things in some of the packages like chocolate!  It is supposed to be nice enough to be used in a project but not expensive or “too nice.”  Mainly leftovers from projects, or bargain finds that are being passed on.  Lots of fun!

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My Wonderful Students

Posted in knitting, Uncategorized on February 10, 2010| 1 Comment »

Last night was the fifth meeting of my top-down raglan class.  Everyone had made great progress and were still full of enthusiasm for the process of designing their own sweater.

Juliet is making a child-size pullover for her friend’s son:

Deb is making a cardigan version with contrasting seed stitch bands:

Laurelle is making a pullover for herself out of wonderful hand-dyed Malabrigo merino yarn:

Darlene is also making a pullover for herself, and she was our least-experienced knitter.  She knew how to knit and purl and had knit a couple of scarves, but that was about it.  Brave woman!  She has learned a lot:

They all like the way you can try the garment on for fit as you go along.  Here, Laurelle had just finished her first sleeve and she liked the length and the fit:

Judith was AWOL but we will catch up with her at the end of the month!

//

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