the frugal weaver

this is my wet finishing/felting machine. it's a small washing machine better known here as a camping washing machine! it is a 41cms square  made of heavy duty plastic which holds about 20-25 liters of water with a 2kg of dry clothes capacity.

the full cycle takes 30 minutes, but you can stop and back to the beginning or wait till it finishes and give it another 30 minutes if needed.

the inside drum is made of heavy duty teflon

and the mechanism is almost pedestrian.
a dented wheel that fits into the drum's also dented edge and moves it. it stops itself and changes movement to counterclockwise, producing a backlash movement.

this little friend is extremely efficient in water and electricity consumption and acts as my alternative to running the washing machine for one scarf.
i put it inside the bathtub, put the shower head in the machine and  fill it with hot water. then when the cycle's done i unplug the stopper located at the back and the water runs out.doesn't spin dry, but i can live with that. after all felt never gets spin dried or you end up with a hideous clump of a material.

i bought my machine  several moons ago for around 30€. although i'm not into camping however, thinking of  all the money and especially  resources i've saved really makes me one happy camper. my contribution to saving the planet (^_^)
there are newer models being made. for recent converts that is.because as there are no parts subject to wear it is indestructible, and as long as you have electricity it will run.

as an aside,something i find most surprising thing is that it was made by ITT.

these machines are still going strong and you can find many brand new ones  at e bay.

neki desu

out of the pot

from this

to this.

the color came out raspberry. on linen, muted and understated if you know what i mean. it spent two weeks in the dye pot and could have stayed longer, but  as i seem to be on a roll these days i suddenly grew impatient and pulled it out.

i like how linen can be steam stretched and holding the stretch. until next time that is. and how the yarn acquires that characteristic sheen. oops (^_^)

for the sake of organisation  i added a new tab cum shop for knits under the blog  header where i will be periodically adding items. you're welcome to visit it for more details about this stole.

moving on

yesterday the afternoon was spent with a friend visiting the rose garden in park cervantes .pure pleasure. colors, scents, good company, sunshine, scads of photos and it was all rounded out with a glass of chilled white wine at el velodom, one of my favorite haunts. the weekend had started with cuban food on friday followed by a great weaving session on saturday hand operating the levers on the table loom. it is strangely

satisfying to go low low tech periodically! 

today i have been procrastinating the winding on chore on the dobby and keep going back to the table loom, as good an alibi as they come .have run out of excuses so i better get on with the task.wish me luck because that warp has given me more then two headaches.

neki desu

did i say woohoo?

apologies for the photo as it has not a thing to do with the post. it does have something to do with the spirit of this blog because it's netting albeit construction.come to think of this it does have to do with the post and i am digressing.

update on noruway no mori.: loved the movie, much more than the book and this is the first time this happens to the lit major here. the book is a series of ellipses and i got lost more than often. being  visual the cinematographic language resolves ellipses well.

the second piece of news is pretty wonderful to all of those who have a blogger blog. go here  to get the nuts and bolts.

but the fun and games is for everyone. if you're a reader here is something for you. you can choose how to read and what look feel you want from the blogs you follow.

in a nutshell append the word  view to the end of the url and there you have it! you are taken to a dashboard with the title of the blog. to the right there's a blue button with a dropdown box. there you'll find the available looks.choose and pick.

caveat: provided the blog owner has enabled it in the settings.

i have so check it out and have fun :D

neki desu