Month: August 2015

Hot Stuff

This morning, my husband and I attended Mollie Stone’s Hatch Chile Roast in San Bruno, CA.

Hatch Chili Roast #2

My husband was introduced to the Town of Hatch during a brief six month work-related visit in Las Cruces, NM.  He tasted various local cuisine flavored with Hatch chiles and has remained a fan of this wonderful delicacy.  The harvest season for Hatch Chile runs from August into early September.

As we exited our car, we were drawn to the roasting of the chiles.

Hatch Chili Roast #5_1

The green chiles were placed in a rotating wire mesh bin heated with propane.

Hatch Chili Roast #6

As the chiles roasted, some pods burst leaving seeds.

Hatch Chili Roast #7

Roasting completed and chiles were immediately put in a large plastic bag enclosed in a box.

Hatch Chili Roast #3_1

Here are free tasty mouth-watering samples prepared by Mollie Stone.  The Mac ‘N Cheese, Cornbread, Meatloaf and Chile Relleno Casserole were yummy!

By the time we were finished taste testing, our 20 lb. order of medium and hot chiles were roasted and ready.

Hatch Chili Roast_1

There are a few recipes we plan on cooking.  I’m interested in baking Hatch Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Does Yarn Color Have A Shelf Life?

I’ve decided it’s time to get in touch with my “inner yarn self” and make some important decisions regarding my collection.  Instead of consuming, I want to use what I’ve collected over the last 20+ years.   Do I find the yarn colors, fiber content and gauge still appealing?

I uncovered enough gold-colored Lana Gross Merino Big for a sweater and questioned why I purchased the particular color, because I don’t wear gold (jewelry is an exception).  I soon remembered, the yarn was purchased for my daughter whose reddish-brown hair and green eyes definitely suit the color.   But, what about all the rest?  Are the many skeins, balls and hanks of color still relevant?  Some may be considered vintage, but does yarn color have an expiration date?  I collect vintage knitting patterns, e.g., Coats & Clark’s featuring Red Heart Books, Spinnerin, Woman’s Day, to name a few, but I don’t have an interest in knitting from the various collections.  I’m interested in the recorded history of style and written directions, in order to compare and evaluate the patterns of today.

Does Yarn Have A Shelf Life #2

Now, I’m knitting “A casual classic from designer Calvin Klein” pullover in a broken-cable pattern from Vogue Knitting Very Easy Knits.  The Broken-Cable Pullover first appeared in the Spring/Summer 1986 issue of Vogue Knitting and was originally knit using Joseph Galler Bamboo.  I’m knitting with  Berroco Zodiac 53% cotton, 47% nylon yarn which may be at least 10 years old.

Does Yarn Have A Shelf Life_1

Looking for answers,  I decided to check-out the Pantone Colors for Fall 2015.  Of course, these colors dominant the Fashion Industry, but what about the yarn industry?

pantone-fall-2015-colors-j

Gradation Pantone Fall 2015

The Burberry dress, “The Reflecting Pond” found on Harper’s Bazaar online http://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/trends/g5257/pantone-top-color-trends-fall-2015/?slide=4 definitely resembles Pantone’s Stormy Weather and Reflecting Pond.

Koigu Grey Skies gradient

Pantone’s Stormy Weather and Reflecting Pond along with Grey Skies Gradient from Koigu  have common color attributes.  Koigu and the designer dress from Burberry share the effects of color gradation.

Pantone’s forecasts are fun for Fashion Week and merely a suggestion.  Color preference is literally in the “eye and mind” of the beholder.  Yes, girls like pink and practically everyone likes blue, researched by neuroscientists, Anya Hurlbert and Yazhu Ling at Newcastle.  The results from their color selection experiment, Study: Why Girls Like Pink appears in Time Magazine August 20, 2007.

I believe my color selection is based on my life experiences which reflects the various stages of my personal growth. So, I’ve decided to let my yarn color selections tell my story in bright, vivid, bold details.

Putting It All Together

The last few weeks, I’ve been re-exploring polymer clay and various surface design techniques.  Prior to beginning my self-directed discoveries, I made a list of surface design techniques I wanted to explore.  Adding texture using various tools before applying acrylic and Lumiere metallic paint is my favorite.

Acrylics and Lumiere_1

The elements on the right and left are from the decorated sheet detailed in my last post, Pulled Pork and Polymer Clay, dated July 31, 2015.

Acylics and Lumiere Beads

I decided to decorate the surface of beads by applying elements from the various decorated sheets. You may ask, “Why do you like this particular technique?”  I like working with metallic decorated sheets because the metal adds a specular reflection (like having little pieces of mirror on the surface) quality to the surface of the polymer clay.  I find the dimensionality visually interesting, which emphasizes my free form approach.

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