Review: Brewing Made Easy, 2nd Edition: A Step-By-Step Guide to Making Beer at Home

Brewing Made Easy, 2nd Edition: A Step-By-Step Guide to Making Beer at Home by Joe Fisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Again a book I got from the publishers to review. My husband and I have long thought about brewing a little beer our selves. Being from Bavaria, I am rather picky about what I drink and the most commercially available ones just don’t cut it for me.

So along came this book (shortly after I got the Brew like a pro).
The title really says it all! This book makes brewing easy! It is definitely something everybody interested in brewing a few liters at home should read (and then move up to Brew like a pro).

The book breaks it down very nicely. The setup suggested in this book is nice an easy (ok, so some of the things needed WILL cost you a few bucks. It’s not the most expensive set up out there though, but it will get you started nicely and keep you going for a while, before you want to “upgrade”)

As mentioned earlier, I am from Bavaria and picky about beer, but: I loved the recipes in this book! They have three really nice German recipes we WILL DEFINITELY try out!

This book is a wonderful basic starter guide for anybody interested in home brewing. It’s a nice size. Not a novel size, but all the information you need to start this successfully and safe!!!!

This book is easy to read and understand, even if you have never so much as brewed coffee before.

I give it 4 stars out of five, because I would love a few more recipes. When you start out, it’s nice to have a recipe to follow before you go experimenting!

The price is not bad as well. For $12.95 you really get a goo idea of what you need and how it’s done.

Other then that this book really hit the spot and this summer we will have back yard BBQ’s with home brew! WOHOOOO!

 

March!?

Time flies by when you are having fun! The shop is going to be one year old on March 31st! We are going through prep for the “birthday party”. At the same time, we are working feverishly on the shawls/patterns/photos for the LYS tour (Local Yarn Shop Tour) that will be happening in May (but the patterns have to be done by the 23rd of this month! Then I have a custom order to finish (knitting a dresser scarf and night table covers!) and a custom spinning order to finish, not to mention teaching classes in between!

Oh boy! I do know what I am tired of at night!

Pictures? Sure! Hang on.. The shawls can’t be shown until the yarn tour, but the rest I can put here for you all to see

A new shrug! Pretty and happy in orange!

 

 

A new hat! WOOT WOOT! I really love this hat!

I don’t think I have shown you the cable wrap yet! That got done as well and is getting tested now!

 

 

I made owls (the pattern is already available! )

 

I re-fahsioned a turtleneck into a tank-top:

 

 

I sewed 5 pillowcases (well I cut an pinned, my daughter sewed) and then crochet around the edge:

 

I made a headband inspired by the one in French girl knits:

 

I wrapped cardboard letters in yarn together with my daughter (these were for the shop window in February, I knitted little banners for this month and Callie embroidered ”happy birthday” on it, I will show you that one soon):

The dresser scarf won’t be shown until it is done as well and the spinning will be shown in a future post. It’s for a giveaway for the shops birthday and a custom order of sock yarn! (you didn’t think I had forgotten about you, did you, Alice?)

PHEW! All caught up! What do you think?

Nest up: another book review! So stay tuned!

Review: The Spinner’s Book of Yarn Design, Techniques for Creating 80 Yarns

The Spinner’s Book of Yarn Design, Techniques for Creating 80 Yarns by Sarah Anderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As you know, I don’t often give 5 stars… but this one deserved it and then some!

What a read! I absolutely loved every minute of it! Soooooo much information! So much new stuff I hadn’t known yet. So many things I already knew, but it never hurts to have it all in one place together!

I LOVED THE BOOK!

I think even non-spinners could get a lot of use out of this book, as it really explains fiber and it’s manipulation. Knitters and crocheters, that might not really want to spin their own yarn (although I have no idea why one wouldn’t) will still learn so much about the yarns available to them and how to use them to their full potential!

This is definitely a book any fiber enthusiast should give a try. Spinner, crocheter, knitter, it does not matter. You will fall in love with the wonderfully easily understandable instructions.
Nothing was forgotten or shortened! Everything from the way fiber behaves (drape, crimp etc.) through carding, to the best methode of spinning with projects in mind!
The information given in such an engaging manner and the tutorials/pictures help a great deal to really make the information accessible and easily understandable even to someone that has never spun before!

Well written and (specially if you are a fiber enthusiast) captivating book and personable! I missed my bus-stop, because I was too engrossed in reading it!

I wish there were more “user guides”, instruction books like this one!

Thank you so much, Mrs. Anderson, for all this work you did! It is fabulous and greatly appreciate by this fiber-holic!

 

Hearts.

For February! Callie and I were sitting at the shop and working along on our respective projects, talking about what we should do for next Months classes etc.  And as it usually happens, we came up with a new project. Well Callie asked: “How hard would it be to make the owl mittens with a heat?” I said: “Not very.” So off we went to check out yarn possibilities. We sat back down with some of Baby Alpaca/merino wool blends  and I worked away.  Of course they are not “just” the owl mittens with a heart. They turned out to be their own little entity….

Callie is testing the pattern right now and I have to make myself a pair of these babies as well. I fell in love with the softness and the colours.

The yarn and the pattern for these will be in our February yarn of the Month club kit, along with a bit of local sweets for V day!

Review: Brew Like a Pro: Make Pub-Style Draft Beer at Home

Brew Like a Pro: Make Pub-Style Draft Beer at Home by Dave Miller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I got this book from the publisher to review. My husband and I wanted to get into brewing beer for ourselves for a long time now. We have read on and off about it.
This book by Dave Miller is absolutely all-encompassing! It will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about home brewing and the history of brewing (being from Bavaria, I know the history well, we all grow up with it)

The book is well written and structured. It will not leave you looking online to fill gaps.
However: if you are looking just to brew a little bit for your own self and more for fun then starting your own micro brewery, this book might be a bit intimidating. The basic setup it tells you to get is quite extensive and might be a bit off putting for someone that really just wants to dabble a little.

If, on the other hand, you are looking into making this a little more then just a hobby -lets call it an obsession-, then this book HAS to be in your library!
Definitely something every serious brewer should have at least read, if not own.

The book has a few recipes in it that definitely sound like something I would like to try.

Go check it out if you have given home-brewing a thought! The information is worth having, even if you should go with a different set-up then the book tells you!

I would definitely recommend it!

 

New look

I did the place up for the  new year a bit. What do you think? I like it a lot! I can’t wait until I can start doing this to the house as well! New paint, little, by little new furniture… it will be so amazing!

What are your plans for the new year? (Plans, mind you, not  resolutions. I don’t do resolutions.)

Now I’m off to knit on new towels for the “gift box”. I want new ones for the house as well, but I need to find charcoal or natural cotton for that! Oh yes, I have plans… mwuahahahahahahhaaha

What? It has been this long again?

Oh folks. I promise, I will try and be better! Now that I am getting in the swing of working full time again, it should be easier to nip off some time here and there to blog about it all….

 

Ok what have I been up to? Not much, to be honest. Mostly hanging out with my family when I’m not at the shop. That is all. I have been knitting like a fiend, though!

Here is proof! Pictures of the finished lace shawl (100% suri Alpaca there! oh so soft and I added beads!) It was done quite a while ago, but I was too lazy to take pictures.

 

 

The pattern is being tested and soon you will be able to get it! I will  let you know when exactly!

Then I made this sheep hat for my daughter! HAPPY SHEEP! I got a sheep notion pouch for Christmas and loved it so much, when I saw the black yarn DD picked out for her hat, it was clear what it had to be! She loves it!

SHEEEEEEP!

I also made a skirt. Right now I only have a blocking shot of it, but here it is:

 

LOVE the yarn I got to use in this one! It’s the Cascade Eco +. Soooo nice! I still have one skein here in forest green! I have no idea yet what it will be, but working on it!

and another hat and cowl set here:

Little cables hiding the decreases.

Brand new yarn! Cascade “Casablanca” . One skein made both hat an cowl!!!!

We are having lots of things planned for the new year! If you are in town, stop on by, I would LOVE to see you all in person!

Then there is the jacket! My daughter claimed it, so I will have to make myself another one (no, not the same…) I am doing the math for the pattern for the snowflake jacket right now, so that should be done soon-ish as well!

If you follow me on Facebook (there is a link in the sidebar!!! HINT HINT) then you have seen it already, but here it is for those of you that haven’t found me on FB yet:

 

 

The jacket was knitted in the round until the underarms. I steeked it! SUCH FUN! I have done it once before and definitely will do it again! I knitted the snowflakes right in, but you could do them in duplicate. (I’m just too lazy to do that). The yarn for this one was Cascade 128. SO NICE!

 

All caught up on everything. There are a few more projects on the needles right now, but more about that later. How are all of you? What have you been up to? TALK TO ME!!!!