to make a day

Next size up

2012-02-11T19:41:00.001-08:00

Working on the adult ones:

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Modified

2012-02-07T07:36:00.001-08:00

I redid the slippers, shortening the foot area and lengthening the ankle. Crochet really allows you to modify however you wish as you stitch along.

This video helped:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m3JM-xyQXc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

It gave me an idea of how to start stitching the wool (which is unspun roving) to the soles. Then i double chained four rows around, then single chained just along the front of the slipper (a half moon shape). And continued back and forth in that area with single chain, skipping a few stitches every so often to decrease (did i mention i know very little about the rules of crochet?). Once the top area of the foot was done, i began to stitch around the ankle (double chaining now) until the height i desired.

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Padraig knock-offs

2012-02-05T06:42:00.001-08:00

Gabe's a lucky little guy...he gets sheepskin to sink his toes into.

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Gabriela's cinnamon buns

2012-01-29T18:30:00.001-08:00

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Cobweb crewel

2012-01-28T08:07:00.001-08:00

I tried a crewel piece of queen ann's lace for our frame side table and it turned out much too busy. A simple trio of embroidered spider webs and stars looks much better.

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Gabe's book

2012-01-27T19:34:00.001-08:00

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Glueing Gabe's book

2012-01-24T09:50:00.001-08:00

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Pot au Feu in progress

2012-01-24T09:49:00.001-08:00

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A corner

2012-01-24T09:46:00.001-08:00

We're loving Eily's new (main floor) craft space:

And here's his latest game invention: divide the living room into different habitats and help the animals find their home. He calls it his movie "set" and i'm liable to find parrots in the houseplants and leopards behind the couch for the next few days.

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Empanadas

2012-01-18T17:47:00.001-08:00

A new addition to my mental collection of good foods to freeze. These were filled with stewing beef, tomato sauce, leek, peas, and a pinch of cheddar, and turned out to be a perfect hand-held snack and not at all too doughy.

Empanada pastry:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup soft flour
Salt
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1/3 cup cold water
1 T vinegar

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Radicchio salad

2012-01-07T17:33:00.001-08:00

1 head radicchio, quartered and dry-roasted in a skillet
1 cup fennel, sauteed
1 cup thompson raisins
1 orange or 3 clementine
1/2 cup roasted walnuts
Splash of balsamic
2 splashes of olive oil
1 teaspoon dijon
Salt & pepper

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What we've been up to this holiday...

2012-01-04T17:03:00.001-08:00

Besides riding horses, eating fondue, watching kids run circles around us, and washing lots of diapers, see here for what we've been up to this holiday.

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Muesli

2012-01-04T16:47:00.001-08:00

It's the first time i made it! Though i prefer the taste of soaked muesli, I'm not sure if i like the time needed to do so. But the fact that every bowl and utensil i used to make it could be put back in the cupboard trumps the previous problem, i think.

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Ginger pear cake

2012-01-04T16:37:00.001-08:00

Our current potluck favourite.

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2012-01-02T06:21:00.001-08:00

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Truffles II

2011-12-27T18:36:00.001-08:00

Found some ganache in the freezer and decided to make some more truffles. I got the original recipe here but no need to be daunted... It's really about rolling some ganache between your hands, dropping it in a bowl full of bittersweet chocolate (70%) and dousing it in cocoa or coconut. Easy peasy.

First Snowfall

2011-12-27T17:23:00.000-08:00

(Note the lovely new shed..not quite finished but keeping our stuff dry)

Stars and lights, stuffing and ice

2011-12-27T17:08:00.001-08:00

Making sesame stars with the boys

I've never liked stuffing...all that soggy bread and dried fruit, i don't get it. So when it came to Christmas, the first chez nous in three years, we decided to skip the big turkey and each picked a dish instead, and i chose stuffing. (Me and it have to do right after all.) The recipe i found had dried ciabatta, sauteed leeks and fennel, artichoke hearts, spicy sausage, chilies, and orange zest.

We had it with spaghetti and drumsticks, and for the first time, it wasn't all that bad.

We finished our Christmas meal with lemon ice, an old food & drink recipe that involved lemon juice, sugar, eggs, whipped cream, and double/triple churning. My favourite way to make ice cream - no need for an ice cream maker...it turns out just as fabulously by hand.

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Boerenkool

2011-12-20T18:06:00.001-08:00

Dutch food is infamously bland, but tonight it felt entirely comforting.

Boerenkool - literally "curly kale" - is mashed potatoes mixed with cooked kale and served with smoked sausage. I altered it by adding minced garlic as well.

Boerenkool has it's own set of condiments, including pickled onions, applesauce, cider gravy, pickles, and hot mustard.

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Tile & Grout

2011-12-19T17:33:00.001-08:00

I finished the side table last night.

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white lights in the crab apple tree

2011-12-17T19:20:00.001-08:00

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Truffles

2011-12-13T17:32:00.001-08:00

They began in the evening...

(with some cream and a whole lotta bittersweet chocolate)

...and continued the next day.

In the end, we were surrounded by 60 of them. Ganache enrobed in chocolate and rolled in toasted coconut, heartnuts (a local version of walnuts), or cocoa. When I told Eily there was one made of chocolate and whipped cream, dipped in chocolate, and then rolled in chocolate, his eyes grew wide.

For 10 years, I've made a Christmas/Solstice/festive (sometimes New Year's) gift for 9 of my long-time friends. A different one each time: soap, woolen wrist warmers, fridge magnets, etc....sort of a fun way to try out a new craft. This year was truffles. But when I made up a sample pack, and got out the scale and measuring tape (trusty tools for my new favourite way to ship), I was disheartened. $10 to Toronto! It even seemed to get more expensive when I made the package smaller!

So instead I sat back, popped a truffle in my mouth, and wrote an apologetic email to them all to say that this tradition is over. Traditions are great, but you have to allow yourself to break them too. Besides, my friends in town are happy to reap the rewards. Including Joyce, our letter carrier.

(As a side note, I have since learned that Canadian Postal workers get benefits, are unionized, and have good jobs. I can't complain too much.)

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Bedpost

2011-12-02T20:51:00.001-08:00

I'm trying to keep up with my little (nightime) nurser with fatty foods and quick snacks. There's also the time factor - i keep forgetting to eat...or i opt to sew instead of a lunch break. Then i tell myself to stock the cupboards with more snacks, but when i'm at the store staring at the ingredient list or price tag on say, a box of granola bars, i just can't quite do it.
So this afternoon, in between Christmas decorating and baking an apple strudel for a dessert potluck, we made spiced almonds.
First, they're coated in olive oil, then pan-roasted and drizzled with honey and spices - cayenne, smoked paprika, cumin, cinnamon, and salt. Finally, they are left to carmelize a bit longer in the oven.

Now i'm using this post to help me fall asleep....

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2011-11-30T16:20:00.001-08:00

Occasionally, i dream about the perfect pot roast. Something about the tenderness of that meat just gets to me. I had been planning one since before Gabe was born as a sort of post-acid reflux celebration. Well, too much anticipation i guess. Or the wrong cut of meat. It was a rump and it turned out as leathery as an old shoe. Even after a day of slow roasting. Thank goodness for the gravy. And the red wine.

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Songs for Finley

2011-11-22T09:08:00.001-08:00

We put together a playlist for a nephew that's heading back home to NZ and included our favourites from Elizabeth Mitchell plus a new one a friend told us about. But the best i think was that we could record voice memos of Eily singing and add those too.

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Booties

2011-11-20T10:33:00.001-08:00

I knit these for my niece when Eily was just a wee thing. Now Gabe gets to wear them.

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Double weave

2011-11-18T13:57:00.001-08:00

For the second rug warp, i tried a double weave, which means there are two layers of warp on top of each other. I weave from one warp to the next on one side so a fold forms. Once woven, the finished fabric is unfolded to create a piece that is double in width of the loom. This allows me to weave a larger piece than my loom allows.

Here's what i learned in this first try:
-to use a rag rug shuttle instead of the canoe rattle i've been using for single weaves
-it's hard to enforce quality control when you can't even see all the fabric you're working on
-after throwing each row of weft, slide my hand between the two layers of warp to ensure i haven't goofed by weaving from one warp to the next before i get to the end

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Apple sauce

2011-11-18T08:15:00.001-08:00

We bought a couple bushels of organic spartans, half of them windfalls for making sauce.

Eily's remembering how much he likes it and Gabe will soon be consuming container fulls.

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Carrot

2011-11-18T08:10:00.001-08:00

An old favourite by special request

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Alterations simplified

2011-11-10T13:14:00.001-08:00

Cut legs off fleece onesie. Put on baby. Proceed with day.

That's about all the crafting i have time for these days.

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Afternoon

2011-11-08T07:26:00.001-08:00

A new rug warp, a quiet sunroom, and an afternoon to weave.

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Eily's new slippers

2011-11-08T07:19:00.001-08:00

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A good deal

2011-10-29T06:39:00.001-07:00

I made this dress for a friend of mine.

And she gave me the recipe for the best indian chilies around. Actually, she made us a delicious spread and then we bugged her for all the recipes.

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New pants for Gabe

2011-10-28T12:49:00.001-07:00

Cashmere! With feet! What a lucky man.

I modeled them after these knit ones:

See here.

2011-10-20T11:48:00.001-07:00

Fall clothing swap tonight!

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2011-10-17T12:02:00.001-07:00

Gabe got part three of his trio of soakers today, these ones with legs.

Oven mitt

2011-10-16T15:38:00.001-07:00

It took longer to download the app (which allows me to upload ipod photos to my blog...yippee!) than to make this mitt (or maybe that was because i had to stop to blend some soup and feed a baby).

Here's to more posts, mediocre photos, and being able to do everything i ever wanted with one hand!

Oh, and to not burning that hand when cooking!

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mango chutney

2011-10-15T05:51:00.000-07:00

my only two preserving goals this year, in addition to the standards, was to make more pizza sauce (a la orangette) and to make a chutney that didn't taste like vinegar. i thought if i didn't can it and freeze it instead, it wouldn't need any vinegar at all.

i used the leftover peaches, cooked them down, mashed them up, and blended them a bit. then added sugar, chilies, ginger, garlic, and salt to taste. the fastest preserving project to date.

2011-10-15T05:47:00.000-07:00

Gabe - 10 days old - in his woolly drawers.

it's time for champagne

2011-10-03T11:06:00.000-07:00

we ought to celebrate. the cement is poured (the start of our new shed), the canning season is done (30 jars pickles, 12 salsa, 15 peaches, 40 tomatoes, 8 pizza sauces, and 50 bags of pear-apple cider), and the kids are still alright.

seed saving

2011-09-04T12:45:00.000-07:00

seeds collected in Larry's woods - blue cohosh, orange-fruited horse gentian, wild leek, red oak acorns, american beech, alternate leaf dogwwod, running strawberry bush, and jack-in-the-pulpit - being cleaned, sorted, and dried.

face painting

2011-09-04T12:41:00.001-07:00

the first time Eily has allowed paints on his face and he can claim the artwork all his own.

the waiting game

2011-09-04T12:24:00.001-07:00

in the weeks proceeding the birth, i had more time than expected. in fact, i needed projects to help distract me, some a little ridiculous.
such as, a sock for our central vac:

a revived coffee table in progress. repainted, tiled with matte ceramic mosaic and some mirror tiles, now ready for grout and a glaze:

and some bike spats ready to sew:

i managed to update my stock inventory and tallied 60 wool pants, 15 "swallow" skirts, 10 shawls, 30 sloves, and a dozen doll kits, most of which was executed during the two weeks of waiting.

Gabe

2011-08-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

Admittedly, this little guy took longer than a day to make, but it wasn't until 4 days ago that we finally got to meet him.

backyard papermaking

2011-08-11T06:44:00.000-07:00

Eily and I made paper today, with scraps from the shredder and onion skins we salvaged from the fruit cellar when we were cleaning it the other day. We have another batch to try from lima bean skins.

bed skirt

2011-08-11T06:40:00.001-07:00

traditional bed skirts are a bit too pretty for me, but i still wanted to find a decent way to hide our bed spring. i bought a universal bed skirt, but being universal, the fit wasn't snug enough. so i sewed a flat cotton sheet to it and now it stays on much better.

natural pectin

2011-08-11T06:26:00.001-07:00

i hate gelatin. but every time i want to give a dessert a thicker consistency, i'm stuck. i've tried agar agar, which besides being really expensive, also hasn't been too successful. This time, I tried natural fruit (citrus-based) pectin, which is most commonly used for thickening jam without adding sugar. It worked really quite well, creating a fabulously stiff mousse for blueberry potted cream and giving form to fruit juice. not quite like jell-o but without the horse hooves so 5 stars!

living room curtains and pillows

2011-08-02T11:17:00.000-07:00

felted story board

2011-08-02T11:07:00.001-07:00

A number of years ago, I found this piece of material at a thrift store and I couldn't turn it down - the background landscape being so suitable for story-telling with felt figures and animals. Eily's pulled it out a few times already, creating a new scene each time.

eggplant in the summer

2011-07-14T18:19:00.000-07:00

i found a recipe, when making a batch of tandoori veggie and lamb skewers this afternoon, that reminded me so much of a summer version of eggplant curry - or bhurta. we put spoonfuls of it on naan bread for dinner. it definitely had more colour than its winter counterpart, but it didn't last for a photo op.

eggplant salad:
roasted eggplant (i still had some left in the freezer), coarsely chopped
2-3 tomatoes
scallions or spring onions (i used purple scallions)
vegetable oil
1 t. ginger
1 clove garlic
1 T. garam masala
1 T. gr. coriander
1 T. gr. cumin
salt and pepper
chopped cilantro

a sewing project by special request

2011-07-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

summer days

2011-07-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

this morning was pirate day at day camp. the pattern comes from here (apparently, this pirate can't swim.)

our outside play tent

sorted thread on a shelf found in the work room

and a clean chalk board now that the old glossy green board
was repainted with proper black board paint

chevre chaud

2011-07-13T13:16:00.001-07:00

buttercrunch lettuce from the farm, roasted walnuts, baguette broiled with goat cheese rounds, drizzled with olive oil, sherry vinegar, spring onions, and dijon.

curtains

2011-07-01T05:59:00.000-07:00

some for the dollhouse:

and one more roller blind for the sewing room in some irressitible sunbrella fabric:

2011-07-01T05:53:00.000-07:00

i took another stab at the lampshade covering. once i had the paper lantern, i realized i needed to make it 50% larger than the pattern stated. here's where the changes in stitching i accidently made between rows is obvious. hopefully, it won't be so much when it's hanging up with a light behind it.

and, an oil painting i've been working on, in an attempt to add some cheaper art to some of our newly painted walls:

new products

2011-06-28T17:54:00.001-07:00

one new applique:
one new product:

cashmere leggings

2011-06-28T17:46:00.000-07:00

these are the one-and-only finished product of my attempt at maternity knitting.
i was going to add a ribbon as per the pattern but i opted for a more practical elastic. not as pretty but distinctively more vintage looking. i feel like this came out of a box of my own baby clothes.

burgers

2011-06-17T10:16:00.000-07:00

now that it's bbq season and the meals are easier, we've taken to making smaller burgers. some call them sliders, but the buns really are a bit bigger to accomodate all the accompaniments. in this case, zucchini relish and salad greens.

the little people

2011-06-14T10:14:00.001-07:00

these little people have been naked for over a year now. i'm pretty excited that they're now dressed and ready to dance around the dollhouse. ok, maybe faces would help too.

owl towels

2011-06-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

new tea towels from some vintage woven fabric i found on etsy:

these sunny days

2011-06-07T17:10:00.001-07:00

Eily and I tried out some sunprint paper.
Once it's comletely dry, the result is a white print against a brilliant indigo background.

knitted lampshade

2011-05-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

i finished my current project at the cottage this past weekend....at least i think i did. i'm waiting for the lantern to arrive in which i'll dress it. if you're having trouble imagining the final product, check out this image:
it's a pattern of Kristi Schueler from the winter 09 issue of Interweave Knits, and i originally had it in mind to dress a damaged paper lampshade i had, but the sizes don't exactly match. i'm still waiting to see if the one i mail ordered will be a better fit.

this week

2011-05-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

i'm always looking for good recipes to use (i mean, take advantage) of the tons of fruit in our freezer and i think i found a new keeper. this is plum strudel and it should work well with all kinds of other fruit.

and here's the start of a little village i've been scheming up. more trees and soft houses to come. i'm not sure if it will be greatly used, but maybe i'll get enough satisfaction just from the process of executing an idea. and to show eily that it's possible. although, who am i kidding, he's so aware of that notion already. each day he comes up with a new thing to make - dog puppet, bird's nest and bath combined, play dinosaurs - and promptly goes about making it.

i attached an elastic to one of the roads so they can be rolled up and stashed away.

finally, a jackpot of a find. cheap large buttons from a lovely woman at a tailor shop. these babies are hard to find and normally, much too expensive.

ricotta

2011-05-04T10:27:00.000-07:00

This morning, I tried making ricotta cheese for the first time. An extremely easy recipe that involves a lot of milk, a pinch of salt, and a bit of citric acid, and results in a small amount of cheese and loads of curdless milk. Hmmm, I'm not yet convinced, except on the fact that we will have a cream soup to use up the milk.

2011-05-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

I love it that I finally figured out the crochet stitch on none other than a toilet roll cover. It's actually a sleeve. And it's made from twine, so really not what you think of when you imagine a toilet roll cover. see http://tomakeaday.blogspot.com/2010/05/to-hook-or-hook.html for previous crochet attempts. and think of plastic bag strips for previous crochet disasters. goodness.

the weekend

2011-05-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

can winter really be over? maybe i'm not yet convinced. this week, i finished a pair of merino leggings, cut from an old sweater and waiting for its cuffs for about two months.

in truth, it was a classic spring weekend, with a lot of sun and a dose of rain, and finally some regular weekend routines again. raspberry scones in the morning, a new batch of bread baking with flax seeds and seven grain cereal, and a pizza dinner. brett made me a fig-pear-goat cheese one which i topped with local watercress

and, these are a pair of rustic bunny ears which Eily made yesterday....I couldn't resist.

cardinal hoodie

2011-04-26T14:48:00.000-07:00

it's pure satisfaction to finish this project after hoping to make it a christmas gift then vowing to finish it by the end of march, then sewing the seams twice (because the first time just didn't cut it) and one spot even three times.

this is Eily before 9am in the morning. and behind him is the reason i've been preoccupied with other things (ie. drywalling, mudding, cleaning, painting).

2011-04-07T16:45:00.000-07:00

It is those times that we need creative space the most that there is no room. I understand that in a physical sense these days. Our house has been dealing with electrical upgrades, insulation, and new ceiling drywall. It has felt like ages since I've found the time and the space to do something besides home repairs. Today though, I finished two rugs to bring to next week's KWWS (Kitchener Waterloo Weavers' & Spinners') sale.

brioche

2011-03-07T16:00:00.000-08:00

when i lived in france, i would greedily eye the sunny-side-up apricot pastries each time i passed the bakery. finally i got to try them myself. with the brioche dough from "artisinal bread in five minutes a day." i admit, i don't exactly feel like i'm in france again, but perhaps at the european bakery down the street from our cottage which carries a marvelous fruit danish.

finds

2011-03-01T17:44:00.000-08:00

the library must have been downsizing their foreign language board books because we found some great ones on the sale shelf written in arabic and cantonese or mandarin, i can't tell which. the illustrations are so beautiful that i've sliced them open and am trying to think of a way to mount them. maybe just by themselves, on the wall.

not too long ago, i also found a charming set of dominoes for .35 cents at the local thrift store. they might also need a display idea.

picnic

2011-03-01T17:39:00.000-08:00

there are sheets thrown up, rugs rolled, furniture moved throughout the house while the wiring gets down. the other night, we pulled down one of the sheets and laid it out like a picnic blanket, though Eily claimed it was a raft and tied us to the coffee table so we could eat quesadillas, nachos, and raspberry mousse.
the mousse was a lucy waverman recipe, although it was as simple as blending frozen raspberries and folding them into whipped cream. it's like a quick version of homemade ice cream, and i would bet you could make it with any frozen fruit with equally delicious results.

"my first book"

2011-02-23T16:27:00.000-08:00

Eily has been drawing on 11 x 17 one-sided sheets leftover from B's work and B bound them together into a book. Last night, we "read" it with Eily telling me about each page. Then, we wrote in the words. It's all pretty exciting and I'm looking forward to making another one.

I also gathered up scraps of all different papers - construction, handmade, japenese, etc - many leftover from my bookmaking days and piled them into a basket for Eily for easy access in craft-making. I'm thinking of doing the same in a couple months with fabric pieces, yarn bits, and other crafting odds and ends.

rotis

2011-02-23T16:14:00.000-08:00

the other night, we tried making rotis - something i'd never done and Brett had tried only once. usually, when i make something ethnic, particularly something that involves dough, it either needs a lot of fine-tuning or i decide it's more worth it to order in the next time. but this time was different. they were great: spicy chickpeas and potatoes in a thin roti wrap. we had them with homemade plum chutney and hot mango chutney from ten thousand villages. which reminds me, next summer, i think i'll try freezer chutney so it won't be so vinegary. we made the roti dough using this recipe and the filling was from here.

2011-02-17T17:58:00.000-08:00

some wool items i've been working on. the matryoshka dolls were appliqued on a tea cozy and the animal floor cushions are filled with the bits and pieces of a thousand wool pieces i've sewn over the years.

roasted sesames

2011-02-17T17:52:00.000-08:00

i've been trying to master a sesame ginger dressing over several attempts, and i've finally figured out the secret: roasted sesames. grind them up and add brown rice vinegar, olive oil, sesame oil, a bit of fruit juice (i used peach from the canned ones we have), minced garlic and ginger, a spoonful of dijon, and salt and pepper. it's delicious.

a mid-winter barbeque

2011-02-06T15:51:00.000-08:00

after tearing off the ceiling tiles in another three rooms, wrestling with a curtain (and mistakenly thinking i could make shirring hooks to fit the existing, old hardware from paper clips), and doing another pile of dishes, it was a relief that dinner was planned, and easy, and delicious.

Grilled Tandoori Vegetables
Cut, in large chunks, an assortment of vegetables (we used broccoli, cauliflower, red pepper, onion, fennel, carrots, and one roma tomato that E snuck in) and a lemon if you have one. Since we had tandoori paste (a bottle i couldn't resist buying within a week after getting back from india), we mixed it with yoghurt and a bit of vegetable oil. You can also easily make your own. Marinade veggies and lemon wedges in sauce all day if you have it.
Make a pot of rice. Barbeque the vegetables and toss with rice.

2011-02-04T16:30:00.000-08:00

still soapy, but a nice and tight little pair of warm slippers

kitchen milestones

2011-01-30T12:25:00.000-08:00

unfortunately, one of them will translate into more work (just look up), but i'm nonetheless happy to conclude the yoghurt experiment (100% milk is delicious but a little too pricey; all milk powder is much to plain, and a portion of each is nearly perfect), to have mastered a homemade recipe for puff pastry (no pictures unfortunately, it was gobbled up too quickly; if you have any wits about you, try this dish), and to have confronted those mushy squash loitering in the cellar (now, i'm on the hunt for fabulous squash recipes).

the reward: blueberry and buttermilk cake, from this fabulous cookbook. I actually adapted it to a loaf and stuffed the blueberries (frozen, albeit not recommended) inside instead of saving them for topping. i haven't tried the original, but i'd make this one again.

Sunday morning

2011-01-25T07:23:00.001-08:00

while the boys went birding, i spent the weekend morning trying out a blanket stitch on an eyeglass cover, first with my own handpsun which was incredibly lumpy, then with embroidery floss, then i gave up and machine stitched it.

these little owls line the inside and hold the wool stuffing in:

the finished case:

i also made a book, after a very long interval, for a dear friend; watched the sprouts grow; and ate too many licorice all-sorts. a decadent morning.

the lentil sprouts made it to last night's salad with carmelized leek and potato soup and delicious little rolls from 101 cookbooks, found here, and i say delicious because they were grainy and healthy too! (made up for the all-sorts accident.)

a felting day

2011-01-25T07:05:00.000-08:00

...which turned into more of a felting sejour. i used this pattern, but i am ready to tweak it the next time since the extra allowance for shrinkage was much to generous (or perhaps my feet size is much too generous) and i ended up with both feet too large and one foot even larger. the seams as well must be improved next time around. however, after much felting, then more felting, then a bit more, the slippers are warm and wearable. and adorned with one of jennifer's christmas gifts: a elk bone button.

yoghurt

2011-01-19T07:59:00.000-08:00

I finished a batch of yoghurt at 11pm last night. I pulled myself out of bed to uncover it from its wool blanket cover. I used the method here and the result is fantastic, especially with granola and the peaches from last season (a perfect crop). I've also tried recipes from Laurel's Kitchen and my mom's which use non-instant skim milk powder. I'm wondering if there's a change in flavour when sticking to milk, and I must do more experimenting.

just a glimpse

2011-01-18T08:39:00.000-08:00

i'm finally managing to get some solstice/christmas/new year gifts out. they'll be in the mail shortly and once the recipients have them, i can spill the beans on what they actually are.

wool pants workshop

2011-01-18T08:29:00.001-08:00

This past Saturday eight or us got together to serge and piece together wool covers and pants for kids. See more photos here.

my winter quest

2011-01-13T06:56:00.000-08:00

this winter i've dedicated some time (and let's face it, money) to getting and keeping myself warm. recently, i realized that my circulatory system is a bit of a slacker. clearly, not everyone has to wear longjohns from november to march. and i'm still cold.
to up the ante, i've been trying to wear a wool layer against the skin. or sometimes silk, which has been a little harder to acquire second-hand. i'm also a little curious about fleece as a top layer. but when i couldn't find thick fleece pants, i bought some polartec 300 material, the warmest fleece i could find, from an outdoor fabric store in seattle. yesterday, i made them into pants and passed out at 9pm probably from overheating.

A Slow Start

2011-01-04T16:18:00.000-08:00

January is a satisfying expanse of time that too quickly fills up.

I spent the holidays picking up a few old projects and starting some new ones.

A dragon towel for Eily and one for his cousin:

Learning intarsia for the cardinal motif on E's hoodie:

A second roller blind, this one went much more smoothly:

And, at the quilt shop, E requested a needle felted elephant like he saw in a book. It's a tiny little thing named (oddly enough, considering his natural habitat), Snowy:

Cookies 2010

2010-12-16T18:31:00.001-08:00

10 variaties baked, 2 disasters semi-adverted, and enough treats to last for weeks.

i thought my sewing machine and i were on a hiatus, but...

2010-12-16T18:24:00.000-08:00

a mini cowl scarf for Eily...(maybe this will put an end to sniffles every two weeks).

...and a finished order for a wool-loving three-year-old.

grapevine

2010-12-15T20:05:00.000-08:00

Eily and I finally managed to finish the wreath from day 5's activity on the advent calendar...well, actually I did while Eily waved from the window. We had gathered grapevine from the iron horse trail and I added cedar boughs from the backyard.

Next to the door sits our grapevine tree which I made a few years ago from wrapping vine around a tomato cage. This year, I filled the inside cavity with big white Christmas balls that had been left draped along the back overhang when we moved in.

New designs

2010-12-10T17:07:00.000-08:00

Just in time for tomorrow's sale: cowl scarf, mixed merino top, and slippers. It's not even that late, but my head is foggy, the tripod's crocked, and the colours are all off. Time for a sewing break.

Sale

2010-12-07T07:30:00.001-08:00

This Saturday is "A Little Bird Told Me" from 10-4pm at Little City Farm. I'll have this gang of waldorf dolls, doll kits, slippers, scarves, dresses, skirts, shawls, sweaters, and more!

new slipper design

2010-12-05T18:39:00.000-08:00

2010-12-05T18:26:00.001-08:00

Last night was a mini date night, possibly more decadent than a dinner out.

pita chips with baba ganoush, crackers a la lesley stowe (see here), organic and soo sweet orange slices, baked brie with raspberry cayenne sauce, bruschetta topped with goat cheese, grapes, bavarian baby blue cheese.

we moved the couch in front of the fireplace and savoured it all.

2010-11-30T17:51:00.000-08:00

The advent calendar is done. Although the pockets are not yet stuffed. I have a feeling Eily would have trouble emptying just one at a time.

I've also sewn together a felt floor basket from a fabulous ultra-felted sweater that was donated to me. I've been wearing the sleeves as legwarmers for weeks, since from the moment I tried them on on a whim, I could barely take them off. They're ultra warm. Now me and the yarn holder match.

another season

2010-11-29T17:28:00.000-08:00

advent began yesterday. i spent until 1am last night cutting pieces for the calendar. this morning, we set up the nativity set. here's ducky checking out the action.

flagstone

2010-11-28T16:52:00.000-08:00

we've been working on a path to widen the driveway and the snow beat us to most of the cracks.

while i was laying the stones for the path, i noticed how similar it was to piecing together wool for a skirt or a shawl. and though it's not yet finished, we can already see how flagstone instantly makes a place feel more naturalized, even next to asphalt.
afterwards: hot chocolate, la sauvagine cheese, and lesley stowe knock-off crackers

thanks to Grazing by Julie Van Rosendaal, here's the recipe:

2 c flour
2 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 c buttermilk
¼ c brown sugar
¼ c honey
1 c raisins
½ c pecans
½ c pumpkin seeds (optional)
¼ c sesame seed
¼ c flax
1 T fresh rosemary (or 1 t dried)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. Add buttermilk, brown sugar, and honey and stir a few strokes.
4. Add the rest of ingredients and stir until just blended.
5. Pour the batter into two buttered 8 by 4 inch pans. Bake for 45 minutes until golden and springy to the touch. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks.
6. Once cool, slice the bread as thin as you can and place in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet. Reduce over to 300 and bake for 15 minutes, then flip them over and bake another 15 minutes on the other side until crisp and deep golden.

Makes about 8 dozen.

Sale Stock

2010-11-26T10:24:00.000-08:00

Tonight is the Cranberry Market at Trillium Waldorf School in Guelph. No time for good photos but these are some of my favourites.

wrap cardigan

merino circular scarf
skirt

slippers

dress with pleats and cashmere banding

shawl

Weaver's and Spinner's Sale

2010-11-21T09:13:00.001-08:00

After 5 years in the guild, this is the first time I've actually had anything in one of their bi-annual sales. This time, I put in four rugs, the largest of which, in the photo below, sold yesterday.

Friday night stew

2010-11-21T09:07:00.000-08:00

One of my favourite dishes is Beef Bourguignon.

There's nothing quite like the smell of onions braising in beef fat. (Clearly, my years as a vegetarian were a bit of a farce.)

the toque saga

2010-11-08T17:32:00.000-08:00

alright, so my idea is not all that lofty, but i'm having some trouble with the delivery.

i've been trying to create the perfect toque, one that is long enough, warm enough, and moderately stylish. i saw one out there in indie-craft land and thought i could make it myself, but now that i'm on the third attempt, i'm wondering if that $50 price tag on the original wasn't all that unreasonable. the first attempt (in blue) had to be modified into a tea cozy since, once felted, in was rather short and stumpy. and, though the second is much closer in size, it actually fits brett better than me. onward i go.

tonight

2010-10-31T16:27:00.000-07:00