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in the olden days, apparently, all carrots were purple. i was making prairie's favourite the other night (mashed carrots and parsnips) and was draining the cooking liquid. it was such an intense colour i stopped tipping and put another pot under it to catch it. i grabbed whatever was close at hand and cream - it was some spun sliver. a slosh of vinegar and a simmer for half an hour and this was the result.
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i did not know this was an ipod game character. i sure do now and the game has been put on my ipod. and i play it but i digress. i teach 12/13 year olds sewing, a third of the class at a time. the first group i had wanted to stitch something of their choosing after they made their birds. one of the boys drew the cutest little character so i said they could make it. now we are in a waldorf school where screen time is not encouraged so imagine my surprise when i discover the cute illustration is the doodle jump.
now one of those boys has carried on to make almost the whole set and has even designed another six of his own. i make him kits to take home and think that surely it is the essence that is important. that a 12 year old boy is begging for sewing to take home. i think i have done my job.
and look at the job he has done! i give him only the fabric, thread, stuffing and pipecleaners. he has a basic pattern he works from and he is not allowed another kit until i see the finished article. if he can't find me he looks for prairie (they are in the same trumpet class together so sometimes she makes the deliveries) it has been a delight and i am looking forward to seeing the original designs come to life!
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my friend kay (salvage kay) is back from melbourne and with her came a pile of goodies - twas a midwinter christmas indeed!
ribbons.........look at that stitched linen - swoon
sweet sweet fabric
a beautiful little scrubbing brush made in germany from pear wood
and a whole box of string - more swooning!
its saturday morning here and i have been busy in the kitchen bagging up chickpeas for the freezer and making a big batch of green split peas to freeze in batches as well. i found heidi swanson's book 'super natural every day' and have been enchanted ever since. prairie is a vegetarian and this can make cooking, especially mid week, a real chore but heidi has changed my life. her food is modern, stylish, simple, healthy and totally interchangeable. i am constantly blown away by the flavours and prairie has been so adventurous with what she has eaten. tempeh - yeah! and the oatcakes - well, we are never without them now. we even invested in a mandoline - something i have wanted forever and even though i am terrified of it i love the whisper thin pieces it gives you.
have a lovely weekend!
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it was a 'must have' situation. now i am happy with a jam jar but when i saw this gorgeous pressed green glass vessel it was straight to the counter
especially with its fancy top to hold the blooms in place
being the middle of winter in these parts i was limited to onion flowers, rose hips and liverwort leaves
and after all, i like the challenge of really looking about for something in the garden when at first glance you think there is nothing
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since i made the surfer boy and did a little bit of cabling on his sweater i have yearned to do big ones. this pattern in the rowan book (issue #48) is what i chose to knit for michael. cables but not conventional ones. they are big and luscious and easy to knit especially with the new fangled U shaped cable needle. big needles (7mm) and the most beautiful rowan yarn - cocoon - 80% merino 20% kid mohair are the cause of nothing much else getting done around here!
i love that there is no ribbing and that none of the cables match
i have nearly finished the back. the hardest thing has been keeping track. there are 4 sets of patterns going on in every row - the rows that set the pattern and 3 sets of cables that all have different length repeats. i live in terror that i will forget to cross something off. i have already ripped it back because i noticed that one of the cables was crossing the wrong way - it would never be noticed but i would know.
might go and sneak in another row. then i'll do the dishes - really!
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a task prairie has over the year at school is an independent project. she has chosen textile printing (yay - i get to play too!) we have done some research and have settled on using this book as our guide - technically very good with a fresh, modern take. stamping is the first thing - we bought some beautiful carved wooden blocks from the fair trade store and the project kicked into life!
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