Category: Blitherings

How Do I Start Brewing? Part 1

Being a brewer is always good for a few interesting questions at a barbecue or cocktail party. First, a lot of people are really amazed that it’s possible to brew one’s own beer at home. Second, there’s a vague feeling that homebrewing must be illegal or otherwise dicey. Then there are usually one or two people who are really lit up by the idea and want to learn more about how it’s done, whether it’s difficult, expensive, &c.

I don’t imagine there are many readers of a blog like this who fall into the ‘homebrewing must be impossible’ camp – if you’re reading about Ink, Yarn & Beer, it’s a good bet that you have at least some interest in making things yourself, and have already learned that practically anything is doable by a determined and resourceful home practitioner.

As to the second question, there are places in the US where homebrewing is illegal, and some smaller jurisdictions (dry counties) may prohibit it, but the majority of states have legalized homebrewing. Even Utah just recently passed a law allowing people to make their own beer at home. Apparently, there were already lots of people doing so (possibly encouraged by some of Utah’s other pecuiliar blue laws); now they can just do so legally. Even Alabama, where homebrewing is illegal, has homebrew shops, so it may be that, even if it’s illegal to brew in your area, the law is ignored or unenforced.

Of course, I can’t encourage you to break the law, but I can help you to find information about the law in your area. This site has some information about what states outlaw brewing. You should be aware, though, that web pages are frequently out of date, so it’s well worth doing a little research of your own to find out what the laws are in your area before possibly breaking them.

So, assuming you enjoy a nice craft beer and are interested in making your own, how should you start? I generally recommend to people that they read a good homebrewing book before they run out and buy equipment and ingredients. The reason for this is that homebrewing is not for everyone, and it’s better to find out you don’t like it after having spent $12.95 (or whatever) on a book than after spending a hundred bucks (or a few hundred) on gear. I have to admit a particular soft spot for Charlie Papazian’s classic homebrewing text, The Complete Joy of Home Brewing, but these days I am hearing people say they don’t like his writing style. And really, there are lots of good resources on the Internet, one of the best being John Palmer’s How To Brew, which is a free online version of his book of the same title. It’s really, really hard to beat the cost:benefit ratio of free information.

Another great way to get a feeling for the hobby is to sit in on a batch or two. If you’ve met a homebrewer at a barbecue, ask them if they would mind inviting you to their next brew day. If there’s a homebrew shop in your town, ask if they have a club with an open meeting or club brew you can come to. The overwhelming majority of homebrewers like sharing their hobby, so it’s pretty likely you’ll find someone to help you get started.

Part 2 will include information about what to look for in a starter’s kit and what you should make for your first batch. Watch this space.

Painting the Real World

One of the beauties of painting is it can be photographic in detail, or suggestive, allowing the mind and imagination to fill in the spaces. Personally, I prefer the latter. I’ve never been a realist, yet as someone who enjoys painting, I love seeing what the “real” is, and seeing the work of the “artist.”

This is a strange orchid. It lives in a pot out on the patio, grows several feet tall, and survives my neglect. I have seen this same orchid flourishing in more protected areas, lanky and straggly, in pinks, oranges and reds. Can you believe that this flower is about 5 feet tall? It really is!

The flowers themselves are rather tiny, but clustered in groups at the top of long stems. Air roots emerge periodically from the stems, and if you want more of these orchids, cut them down, stick ’em in the ground or potting soil, and off they go.

These orchids make me laugh. I just don’t expect orchids to be quite so hardy! I always think of delicate flowers, in steamy hot houses, sort of like the descriptions in that old story by Dashiell Hammett – decay, rot, humidity.

These orchids are really not elegant in the way cymbidiums are, or other more exotic specimens. Their beauty lies in the smallness of the flower, the gangliness of the stalks, the sturdy jutting of the leaves.

Here is my homage to this unnamed orchid.

WIPs and Chains

Like every knitter – or nearly every knitter – I have more on the needles in progress than off. I thought it might be fun to take pictures of WIPs and WIPs-to-Be out of handspun.

Fountain Pen Shawl

I hate to say it, but I just couldn’t get into the pattern.  So, it is now ripped out and waiting for something else.  The yarn is Malabrigo, about 800 yards of lace-weight.  Unskeining it was not fun – the ties for dyeing were not well done, and on the swift I had to weave in and out of the skein to get it onto the ballwinder.  Worth the work though, as the colors are wonderful.  I expect it will become a different shawl in the future.

Handspun / Hand-Dyed

Most likely for berets.

These yarns are two and three plies, some in tweeds.  Tweed, at least the way I created it, was fun.  All the little neps in other handspun, already dyed, get pulled out as spun, set aside, and then carded into another color.  Another way to do this is to not clean the carder of the little neps, but work them into another color.

Another Meret (now finished since the photo was taken – just needing the tidying-up!)

This one is for a friend from childhood.  Her birthday was in February.  She’ll get an early b-day present I guess!  (Hi, Claudia!)

And socks, socks, socks…

This is some commercial yarn.  I think I dyed it, not sure.  

Below, is some bare KnitPicks merino/nylon sock yarn.  My mother-in-law, Judy, and I got together to do some for her birthday last year.  I don’t believe she had ever dyed before.  It was a great afternoon birthday project.  Her yarn was much prettier than mine, but for all its gaudiness, this one I rather liked.  You can see it on the ball, and how it is pooling – I like the yellow spiraling through the purples.  Sunshine through the storm clouds.

And another sock, far too long on the needles.  Great yarn!

Future Socks (of course!)

My first purchase from Sundara.  The color was not quite what I anticipated, but I still like it a lot.  Photos are not the same as real life (as I can tell you from the ones above, as well.)  This is sock yarn, and I think a girly lace would be great.  Her packaging is just wonderful, and her label makes you smile.

And in the meantime, I have some patterns I want to post, for free and for sale, and some in the design process. Once the next week is over, I think I should be able to get to them (at last). You will be able to find them on Ravelry under my moniker of Matataki. You can download this fellow from  the “Patterns” tab at the top of this page, or using the link under “Matataki Design” on the right.  Enjoy!

The Moon in Ink Painting

In most western paintings, the moon is painted full, large and overwhelming.  In Japanese scrolls, the moon is shown in all its phases.  Waxing.  Waning.  Gibbous.  Full.  Crescent.  Quarter.  In fog.  Alone in the sky.  Through the trees.

The fact is, to paint the moon full is very simple!  Catching its other shapes and moods is not so easy.  I’ve tried to paint the moon over the years, attempting to catch a quality or mood in a few strokes. I’ll leave it to you to judge.

Retrospective

Yesterday was an unusual day for us here in SoCal – grey morning with sprinklings of rain.  This is the kind of morning to take time to make breakfast and potter around doing nothing that is required by someone or something else.  Being Saturday makes it all the more fun!

Last night the university (California Lutheran) my husband, Josh, attends had an honors dinner for those in their programs and department who have outstanding grades.  His major is Computer Information Systems, and his GPA is definitely up there.  Either he is the only one in his program, or else no one else managed to get decent grades!  We went and, at our assigned table, met some lovely couples who also were being honored – all spouses.  In a way, it was like going to a wedding!  The meal was great, the bar was decent, and we were entertained by live music – sopranos singing old French songs and from the Marriage of Figaro, accompanied by a live piano player.  As it was also a dinner to honor people, some students receiving awards gave speeches.  One young woman, completing her BA in English, talked about poetry and the community at the school.  It was so youthful (I felt ancient!) and hopeful, it made me realize that in my own too-busy life, the joy of discovery and the sense of an adventure just around the corner has been vanishing in the wake of one more job, one more job.

So, why the title of this post, Retrospective?  I’ve been reading some blogs by people I enjoy from beginning to end.  Some span several years.  Written retrospectives, but written in the (then) present tense.  Fun to watch people change and grow, the process of life and projects, events unfolding.   Artist retrospectives are as enjoyable – seeing, in a very visible line, movement and development within an artist’s journey.  Biographical books, with oodles of photos, also are pleasure.  One of my favorites is Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitting Around.

As I get older, I get a bit more harsh about things – less willing to be fluffy – but also take a deeper pleasure in simple things, like making breakfast muffins, the smile of our young nephew, the mockingbirds singing throughout the night.

What retrospection does is also point out that only in the present is anything accomplished.  Life is a process, but one done in the moment.  I don’t have too many misgivings about my life so far, thoughts of “I should have done this, not that.”  I think I would like to travel a bit more – I’ve seen this country coast to coast – lived in about 15 towns – visited nearly every state – but have never been to Europe of Asia or Africa.   I would like to read more books, classical and modern.  I would like to use my French more, and learn Japanese.  I want to paint more.  And design and knit more.  Unfortunately, I’ve been busy with program development, writing mandated curriculum for the State, and getting a teaching credential on top of it all.  All but the credential is out of the way, and that is done in 2 weeks.

The small things in life give great pleasure.  Yesterday I took the time to look at the flowers and plants around the house which have been sadly ignored.  There is a fuschia redbud outside my studio window (or office, depending on how the room is being used!) which begins the year with bright pink flowers.  These give way to dark red, heart-shaped leaves.  This is how the tree looks from my window.  In the early morning, the sun shines through the leaves.   Close up, the leaves are quite lovely. As spring moves into summer, they become greenish red.

I decided to wander around the yard, looking at the flowers, and seeing what kind of quality I can get from my little Casio Exilim. I took macro shots of various flowers, using the “best shot” portrait setting. I use this for nearly everything as it has nine sensors that pop up on the LCD display. It seems to work pretty well, as you can see below. Colors are pretty nice.

I noticed the dirt near the redbud looked lumpy. And then I saw this:


This is one of the Asian lilies I planted last year. I think this is a yellow-spotted one. I’m going to try to photograph it everyday – a reminder to look at the small things, to not let life get overwhelmed by the rush of work. Check out the “Life of a Flower” page to see what happens!