Infusion & Grey Days

I've hit the two yard mark on my weaving project - 25%! Picking the fleece is a slow slog. The fact that the fleece and January are both grey is not making me love this project either. I will definitely be buying either roving or better fleece from here on out.

On the plus side, there is progress, and I'm looking forward to a long wooly coat for the last cold days of Spring. I've been thinking about lining, and leaning towards a camel-colored silk. There is some warm tan and chocolate brown in the warp, and I think a warm color for the lining will be nice.

I highly recommend using a natural fiber lining if you're making a coat. Natural fiber linings are best because they breathe, and let's just say they keep your coat smelling fresh. They are also less prone to static than polyester.

Silk is my first choice for linings, but rayon works great too. Rayon is technically a semi-natural fiber - it's made from cellulose through a somewhat nasty chemical process - but it does breathe.

Other than the weaving, my other weekend project was a quick bit of infusing. I have a basil plant that bravely survived the fall, but suddenly decided it wants to go to seed right now.

I pinched it back a few times, and it put out a bunch of cute little sprigs before deciding to try to go to seed again.

I cut it back definitely, and used the trimmings to infuse some vodka. There are lots of great infusion directions on the internet, but this set from The Kitchn pretty much sums up my approach - try lots of stuff, taste often, and stop before things get bitter.

I'm looking forward to mixing the basil vodka with lemonade this summer. Foofy drinks with umbrellas and a warm patio sound really nice right about now.