1210, 2020

A Cheesy Side Adventure

Kerocaro/ October 12, 2020/ A&S, Food & Drink/ 0 comments

When your sister shows up with just a touch over 7 cups of fresh raw goats milk, you do the only logical thing and make cheese. **The big disclaimer** If you live in the US you should per the FDA have your milk pasteurized. You can read why here. **End Disclaimer** So back to the cheese Let me start with, you can make cheese from pasteurized milk. I have done it several times. However, I have always wanted to try raw milk. From what I read it would curdle better and make a tasty cheese. But with regulations, you have to find a farm or person with milk giving critters who are willing to either share or let you co-own an animal. Possible but requires some effort. So if you

0310, 2020

Calontir Clothing Challenge 2020

Kerocaro/ October 3, 2020/ A&S, Calontir Clothing Challenge, Clothing/ 0 comments

To start for those who want some live narration of my journey in to this Challenge head on over to Youtube and check out the vlog I plan to keep there. For more frequent updates or if reading is more your thing get ready for the next 3 months of challenge filled updates! With no events to force me into making new garb, and some encouragement from a few friends, I joined up with the Calontir Clothing Challenge! Basically starting Oct 1st until Jan 31st I have to complete 4 layers, Undergarments, Overdress, Outerwear, and an accessory! Easy right? Well, one of those layers has to be a different discipline than the other three. That is if I sew the first 3, the last one has to be something like

2408, 2020

New Skill- Calligraphy

Kerocaro/ August 24, 2020/ A&S/ 0 comments

For those who know me, well calligraphy is just not my thing. I have horrific handwriting to start with. Not just messy but inconsistent, letters flex and it gets worse as I try and spell anything. (This blog is a living testament to my spelling skills….). Pair that with years of bad habits and the struggle is real. However, as we drag into months of COVID I figured. Why not? I can’t really get at my usual vic…I mean loving calligraphers to write things for me. I also have the Aspiring Scribes group to bother with my attempts. I have in the past tried to do calligraphy and each time it just didn’t click. I needed baby hand holding, you have no clue level of help. Lucky the group had

1706, 2020

New Loom!

Kerocaro/ June 17, 2020/ A&S, Project, Weaving/ 0 comments

For Mothers Day I had asked for a new Inkle loom. As much as I love my tablet loom it isn’t something I can do with kiddo. I get lost in the card turns, and it gets worse if I need to stop for any reason. Thus I figured if all I had to track was up down I stood a chance of weaving more then once a year. After looking at a number of looms I decided to go with WindhavenFiberTools. They had made my first loom and I love the quality and the feel of the loom. I had wanted the larger but COVID had limited her stock so I decided The Minstrel Inkle Loom would be joining the family. Unfortunately, calamity stuck, and about a day or so

1206, 2020

Painting with all my Own Paint

Kerocaro/ June 12, 2020/ A&S, Illumination/ 0 comments

So these past few weeks I have been using Marion Forester’s hand out for making pigments. I have three made up thus far and have been learning a lot! The first was Daffodil, red tulips, and finally Iris. I am not sure how lightfast they are but it has been nice to play with something new. So when the Knowne World Aspiring Scribes Forum on Facebook started a Thursday Quill Quest I was excited to try out my new paint. The downside is I have exactly 3 colors. Neon yellow, olive, and blue/green. Not going to get a scroll done buuuuuuut just the right mix for BUNNIES. It was an experience. They did not paint like my commercial stuff at all. It took more to build up the color. I

2405, 2020

Pandemic Slowdown

Kerocaro/ May 24, 2020/ A&S/ 0 comments

I realized the last event I had made it too was 12th Night. Slightly depressing. These last 3 months have felt like a year. I have been jobless since we returned and am slightly thankful as I don’t have to cope with trying to adjust to that. It is back to the stay at home mom life, a tough gig all on its own. But kiddo is at an age that he can be left to his own devices in the back garden for a time so I have been getting some things done. So what have I been working on? UFOs: I managed to get the jacket from the 2019 12th Night all hemmed. I did some mending, and attached the tassel to my kids hood. I finished the

1804, 2020

From Dye to Pigment

Kerocaro/ April 18, 2020/ A&S, Illumination, Project/ 0 comments

I need to start by saying that THL Marion Forester is probably the best enabler there is. She was kind enough to post her hand out for Pigments in her blog recently, and with my things to dye stash dwindling I decided to give pigments a go. Before you dive in I HIGHLY suggest reading up on her blog. Pigments, like dye, can be toxic and it is best to have some idea of what you are doing. So were did I start? Well with a snow storm and an Amazon order! I needed a mortar and pestle, gum arabic and some droppers. The snowstorm part provided the flowers as we had to cut the blossoms in out in our garden. We had some sea shells on hand and I

2503, 2020

How to Dye with Sumac

Kerocaro/ March 25, 2020/ A&S, Project/ 0 comments

So one of the things I haven’t been able to do much of as of late is dye. Without a dedicated workspace, I have to wait for good weather so I can work outdoors. However this last week the weather opened up and I pounced on the chance to get some work in. What is Sumac? I advise checking out the Wiki for a full run down but as a short summary Sumac (/ˈsjuːmæk/) or (/ˈsuːmæk/), also spelled sumach,sumak,soumak, and sumaq, is any one of about 35 species of flowering plants in the genusRhus and related genera, in the family Anacardiaceae. Sumac grows in subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world, especially in East Asia, Africa, and North America.[3][4] Wiki The important part is that you can use the bark and leaves for dye! We happen to have a rather thriving group of trees thanks to

0102, 2020

Sewing 101- The Basics

Kerocaro/ February 1, 2020/ A&S, Clothing/ 0 comments

I tend to spend some time in the morning or after kiddo is in bed scrolling Instagram. I love looking at projects and seeing how others are practicing their craft or just silly photos of cats. It is good therapy. Tonight’s mindless therapy landed me on a photo of a dress with a red X and a rather heartfelt post of not feeling like they had skills or the ability to finish a project. I am not huge on commenting on others’ posts but I felt like a reply was in order. But in the end, I realized any comment would be a novel. So why not break down some basics? I am sure they were not alone. Besides, why make your own mistakes when you can learn from mine?

2001, 2020

Tablet Weaving

Kerocaro/ January 20, 2020/ A&S, Newcomers/ 0 comments

One of the things you often see at events is a small portable weaving loom. Done up with bright fiber being woven into bands, some with very complex patterns. The end result is useful for just about anything. I personally have what was a garter, now headband, Friends have belts, bag straps, and trim all churned out from these looms. There are two styles, Tablet and Inkel. Tablet woven bands are achieved by turning cards to produce a pattern. Inkle involves moving the heddles up and down to produce the pattern. So when I started dyeing wool yarn I immediately decided I had to give weaving a go. I don’t knit or crochet or really much of anything in the yarn craft, and the yarn was starting to stack up.