It really feels like summer currently - and it's definitely "thirsty weather". We've started placing a flat bowl of water outside every night when we stack the hedgehog snackhouse, and it has definitely been appreciated: 

Quite a few of the guys go for a snack, then a drink; some only come for the water. The Early Hedgehog, who turns up sometime between nine and ten, usually only eats and runs away, but it's quite possible that he has some other source of water.

The pointy guys are definitely enjoying their tiny pool, though! Some go on to drink for the full two minutes that the camera records at a time. By contrast, the birdbath that we installed already last year gets pointedly ignored...

This year, the season was not too short or too awkwardly placed in the year (as it was last year, due to some weird reason...) and there was the traditional rhubarb cake. 

It's not quite as big a thing as asparagus in Germany (but then, there's few things that can aspire to that), but I really like rhubarb. Especially if it's in combination with Streusel. In contrast to strawberries, which I like just as much or sometimes even better on their own, rhubarb also profits from getting baked, or cooked, so there's no issues with too much of it disappearing before touching the cake base.

Last year there was too many other things going on, and too much being away, so we didn't get around to baking The Rhubarb Cake, which is a firm favourite here. Unfortunately (as otherwise it would be too good to be true) it does require a little bit of work, and some time to make it, so it's not a quick thing you throw together inbetween other stuff. And then you also need to eat it ; ) 

Anyways, there was rhubarb and time this year, so we now have the best of rhubarb cakes (in our opinion). If you're curious and would like to know the recipe... I've blogged about it before, so here you go.

It's so hot here, by the way, that we now have nightly sightings of hedgehogs taking a drink from the flat bowl of water we are placing out for them. Which, now that I'm thinking about it, would make a grand excuse to get some iced coffee and a piece of cake and sit outside here. Mh. Right now. 

There's a new ressource online - a study platform and archive about French and Italian fashion terms. If that is for you, head over to the Modarchive and enjoy! I have only taken a short look yet, but it includes a dictionary/glossary called ModTERM and an image search tool ModSCAPE. All platforms are free to access; for ModSCAPE, you will need to get a password through a simple procedure.

In other news, Pentecost is right on the doorstep, and so I will be doing what every good German does on Monday: Have a day off. (Yay!) The weekend needs to see some gardening done, as it's time for the tomato plants to move out. 

So with this butterfly image, I wish you a lovely (long, if you have it) weekend! 

There's actually not so much to update - the trial piece is about finished, with one of the feet done and the other half-done. As usual, the small bits are taking longer than they should. There's a try-on planned for this evening when we will see if the foot makes everything just so, or if there's... deeper issues underlying.

The fabric for the Real Thing is on its way here, and I am very, very much looking forward to fondling it! Since I got a lot of updates, and we had some discussions during the process on how to solve the (many smaller and larger) problems, it feels a little bit like I was there, but I could never touch. Soon, that will be remedied.

Also, I need to get some stuff here sorted better, and some other things finally photographed and placed into the shop. Somehow there was too much of this and that and whatnot the last weeks, and unfortunately I've never been one for night shifts done extra. (Well, I can do it to an extent if there's something burning, but it's usually not such a good idea and tends to take its toll.)

This time, it's German, and it's about tablet weaving, and it is - you might have guessed it - the next one in the row of Kaptorga podcasts. It was lovely to veer off topic again with Johnny and Adam (though I still think we did do better this time!). 

So if you understand German, and don't mind trying to imagine tablet weaving actions in your mind, here you go:

Occasionally, I get to read a story. This has happened a while ago, and now it's up.

You can listen to it here at Cast of Wonders, it's titled "The Marrow Gatherer and the Rotten One", by Nichole Lightner.

The test hose is almost done - one foot piece is under construction, the second one still has to be done, otherwise about everything is finished. It does fit very well - only the legs have the tendency to twist around the wearer's legs when worn. This should be much better (read: gone, hopefully) once the feet are on.

The upside of the twist: There's some extra room, due to folds in the fabric, at the knee region. It might also be an effect of the fabric (which is, in fact, rather thick and stiff). Or it might be an error in my reconstruction. Or it might be an error in the pattern drawing in the publication. 

Once the feet are both on, and fit properly, we will see how it works, and looks. 

The fabric, meanwhile, is being finished and made ready at some place up in beautiful Sweden, and soon it will be all finished and washed and dried and on its way down south to me... which is when the real fun will begin.

The sprang piece is also progressing, though I don't know if I want to call it "nicely" - it does look very much like I will not be able to do the full amount of rows, as I am quickly running out of free thread space now. I have already progressed to using a knitting needle for the picking hand, while the holding hand can still squeeze in. Because I have been running a little longer per row than the original, though, it should be fine and large enough for a cap.

Pictures will come once it's really done. I'm also hoping that washing and blocking it might even out some of the irregularities that occur mainly in the bottom part. Here, too, we will see.