Stasia's Place Of Grace

Friday, December 10, 2004

 

Fibery Pursuits

I finally warped up my Ashford rigid heddle loom. Let's see, how long have I owned this? Two, three years maybe?

There is a cute chenille scarf in the latest issue of "Handwoven" which, unfortunately, called to me. I say "unfortunately" because chenille is not the most forgiving yarn to work with if you are a new weaver... and I just happened to have some on hand! I had to re-tension the warp after weaving about 30" of the scarf, but I think it is working out all right...

The supplemental warp is a ladder-type yarn, similar to Eros, which is lifted using the knitting needles in order to make a floating pattern. The pattern advised to use small film cannisters with pennies in them to weight the supplemental warp (which is not wound on the back beam), but we didn't have any. My solution?

Who has time to curl their hair when there are fiber projects to accomplish (or at least attempt)?

My rose Cashmerino Aran raglan progresses:

Here is some wonderful fawn cashmere, from Rovings, which I'm spinning on my Bosworth book charkha for the MEbius KnitAlong project:

I'm still combing some Shetland fleece from my friend Lael at Maplewood North Farm for a sweater for Jeff. This is looking like it will probably be a decade-long project! I comb a little wool, use my hackle to make a ball of tops, and then spin that ball up, so that I don't get stiff from doing one set of movements for two long. (It doesn't help!) Here's my "combing station" set up next to The Lady Lendrum:

Abby Tabby inspects the singles from Spyro the sheep (brother to the famed ewe, Sparx, whom Jeff adores).

Now, what was that I said on Spindlers about doing one project at a time?

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I must amend my porridge instructions, as today when I cooked it for 30 minutes, not all of the water was absorbed. I left it to sit for a while with the lid off, and it finally congealed. Strange stuff, this porridge...

If you do make porridge, and if you do use your chef husband's All-Clad pot, I strongly advise that you soak it in very hot water immediately after the stuff's cooked... glued-on porridge is not easy to remove!

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Let's see, what else is cooking up around here? Maybe our stack of library books will give you a hint...

Have a wonderful, creative day!

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Tuesday, December 07, 2004

 

Happy Hanukkah!

On the menu today: roast Israeli chicken, potatoes (roasted, or perhaps latkes if I get some energy), and challah bread.

We love celebrating the holidays of light at this time of year (Hanukkah, Yule, Christmas), and I've found a new one, which focuses on peace:

From Delicious Living magazine.

I love holidays which involve food and joy!

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We just found out (after ten years of living here and thinking that we could not) that we can, in fact, have chickens! (I can also have up to two horses, but we're not going to go there, and sheep are right out as well - four dogs are more than enough when it comes to hairy beasties, thankyouverymuch!)

As would-be pioneer farmers of the brew-your-own-beer and spin-your-own-yarn and bake-your-own-bread sort, this is great news to us.

Jeff is hard at work designing a coop; we've submitted building plans for approval; and we've chosen the breeds we'd like:

Buff Orpingtons, for beauty and affectionate nature, and cold-weather brown egg laying.

Dominiques, for historical importance (the oldest U.S. breed, and a rare one).

Araucanas, for blue eggs.

Do you think I can get enough egg money for fiber? Poulet Chalet, here we come...

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It is cold and rainy here, so I made some lovely porridge. It is hard to find porridge recipes - none of my cookbooks had one that used wholesome steel-cut oats, even under "oatmeal". How soon we forget the traditional foods for haute cuisine!

I found some traditional recipes online, mixed them together, and came up with this. It is just the thing for a cold winter's day - really sticks to your ribs and fills you up!

Boil 4 c. water.

Add 1 tsp. cinnamon (more if not using Penzey's - check them out for to-ship holiday gifts!), 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp. salt - mix it up.

Stir in 2 chopped, pitted, dried dates. Add 1/2 c. dried cherries and 1/2 c. dried cranberries (next time I am going to try blueberries!)

Add 1 c. steel-cut oats - NOT rolled oats, or Quaker oats, or instant oats. Plain, cheap, heathful steel-cut oats. Stir it all up, make sure it's boiling, and turn to the barest simmer (or it will cook over the top).

Simmer for about 30 minutes, covered, stirring every 10 minutes or so.

Remove from heat, stir, re-cover and let stand until any remaining liquid is absorbed.

Mix in a little sugar (I confess, I use Splenda) and drizzle with cream. Real cream, not milk!

It is very good and very good for you, particularly if you have high cholesterol or are worried about Type 2 Diabetes. I think it you made this with blueberries it would the ultimate health food, full of antioxidents and fiber and other good things. You can make enough for a week and keep it in Tupperware in the fridge. Enjoy!

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Don't forget to join the MEbius KnitAlong!

Thanks again, Dennise!

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