Impeccable Sweater Wrap

If you are not a knitter or crocheter, you will hate this post. If you ARE a knitter, please give me some feedback on my re-write mapping of this pattern.

Here is my latest knitting project. I picked it up at Michael's a couple of months ago, and I am just now getting around to beginning. It uses three balls of yarn, but at $2.00 per ball, this makes a very affordable charity knitting project. I think this one will be perfect for a wide number of recipients. I don't love acrylic yarn as a rule, for two reasons:

1. I prefer natural fibers to anything synthetic for environmental reasons.

2. I prefer natural fibers for texture, feel, and breathablility.

However, some of my family members prefer acrylic because of the ease of care. Likewise, most organizations accepting charity knitting prefer acrylic or acrylic blends for ease of care reasons. So, I try to choose the best acrylics I can find when I [have to] use them. Impeccable by Loops & Threads is a new line available at Michael's, and is as inexpensive as Red Heart. (I must admit, I hate Red Heart yarn unless I am making a dog toy or a pot scrubber, and I refuse to purchase it new...only at thrift stores or via free hand-me-downs.) Impeccable is much softer than Red Heart, though not as soft as Caron by any stretch. But I think it is functional and adequate.
Now, for the pattern. It's a free pattern, so I can't complain too much, but I really hate patterns that I have to de-code and re-map with painstaking effort. This is one of those. As written, I would need two row counters going through the entire project.

Here is the pattern from the card [click the photo to enlarge]:Here is my translation:
[I have numbered their "next row" designations as 1 and 2 so I don't have to re-type the entire pattern. It works on a 14 row repeat, so I have only had to translate up to 19 rows, then the repeat will be from row 6 to 19.]

Cast on 76 stitches
Knit 5 rows (garter stitch)

row 6: do "next row" 1
row 7: do "next row" 2
row 8:do "next row" 1
row 9: do "next row" 2
row 10:do "next row" 1
row 11: do "next row" 2
row 12: do "next row" 1 with Cable Panel Pat 7th row
row 13: do "next row" 2 with Cable Panel Pat 8th row, (which is "next row" 2)
row 14: do "next row" 1
row 15:do "next row" 2
row 16:do "next row" 1
row 17:do "next row" 2
row 18:do "next row" 1
row 19:do "next row" 2

This may seem redundant, but if I don't have the pattern lined out in rows that I can follow with a counter while I watch t.v. or listen to music or talk to my family, I am likely to miss rows, miscount, and make mistakes. I know they print the pattern the way they do for ease of fitting it onto a 5" x 7.75" card (and to make it appear an easy and quick knit) but I hate when I get to row 6, and then I am lost in a swamp of quicksand and have to dig my way out with a pencil and paper to map myself to land.

Anybody else, or is it must me?

Milestone Post 500!! & Memoriam Tribute

Today, I reach my 500th post. Today is also the birthday of a dear, departed family friend. After her passing, there was no funeral or memorial, so we had no opportunity to collectively say our farewells. Here is mine.

She loved pomp and circumstance. She loved crafting fine cuisine. She loved the little details. "What were they wearing? Who was there? What was said? What was eaten? How was it prepared?" These were the questions one had to be prepared to answer when telling her a story.

I loved her filet gumbo. Oh, how I long for just one more bowl. The secret was just the right touch of filet powder, and just the right okra to rice ratio. No shrimp; only shredded chicken. I loved her cinnamon-raisin baked apples. I can smell the aroma wafting through her house right now. Mmmm, and the buttery, creamy custard (baked in a water bath, of course!).

She was my mom's best friend for 35 years. She was loyal, frank, and to some, abrasive. As children, we hated to see her coming because she was always telling us how to do things. She had very precise ideas about how things should be done, and she NEVER hesitated to share her opinion. She was an absolute treasure trove for the rules of etiquette, and she could lay a table for royalty at a moment's notice.

She was the kind of person whom you could call at any time of the day or night. She would open her home to you anytime you were in need, and more than once we were, and she did. Once, we appeared on her doorstep without prior notice, suitcases in hand, and we stayed two months.

She cooked marvelous food for us and made us Sleepytime tea and sat up late to hash over the cares of the world. She shared her life with us, and even when she and my mom would disagree, they always shared a deep mutual respect. Disagreements were never allowed to alter or diminish the friendship.

In her final years, when she was ill, I spent a good deal of time with her on my own, as an adult. She encouraged me in my college endeavors, and helped me in many small ways. She gave me trinkets, heirlooms, and a few of her prized possessions. Because of these gifts, there is a reminder of her in every room of my home. A Waterford crystal Christmas ornament, a few antique necklaces, some scarves, my prized French onion soup mugs, a coffee mug, table linens, cashmere sweaters in need of mending, gardening books and cookbooks inscribed with her name, and my Mantis garden tiller.

I think of her every time I use one of these items, and when I look at my chickens, and when I read Emily Post, and when I make baked apples and Sleepytime tea. She was always there, and she was the kind of friend to whom you could say anything. She was strong and strong-willed. As much as I hated to see her coming when I was a child, that is as much as I learned to appreciate her as an adult. She felt the same about me. We were like family. We miss her. I am sure she knows. Until we see her again...

Happy Birthday, JL!
I was wearing my purple and grey wool sweater
with chinos and my fuzzy scarflette and mary jane's.
We had chicken and rice soup, and the day was cold and rainy.
Not much was said.
There were umbrellas all around.

Paleo Word Wednesday

Have you gone Paleo? That word is flung about with much fervor lately. According to the Free Dictionary, here is what the word means:

paleo- or pale- or palaeo- or palae-
pref.
1. Ancient; prehistoric; old: paleobotany.
2. Early; primitive: Paleozoic.

There is The Paleo Diet (aka, the Caveman Diet). As I understand it, that means you should eat what you can kill or forage. Okay, it is not as simple as that in this modern world of supermarkets and cell phones, but it is a movement away from heavily processed foods and starches and grains. Also Paleo Diet.com.

There is music Paleo. There is a Paleo festival. There is The Paleo Garden where all things Paleo are discussed and considered.

And there is Paleo Future. A look into the future that never was.

Are you in touch with your Paleo self?
Isn't it interesting that we think ourselves so
"modern"
that we are collectively taking a step
backward and embracing the
primitive
all over again?

Monday, Monday...

Can't trust that day. I am not sure any day can be trusted, but Saturday and Sunday were pretty good to me. They brought a visit from distant family and the final assembly of the outdoor patio set. They also brought beautiful sun, welcoming warmth, some park fun,
a lovely (albeit somewhat hazy) sunset,and a bright moon.Now, it is time to face the week...

Old and New

(find this box here)

Mr. Nature and I have been having a marvelous time with our hobbies, and with digging up some fab vintage finds. Did you see that? I used the word 'fab' in a sentence! These vintage finds are mostly from our own stash, and though I have had an attachment to them over the years, it is time to let them go.These cigar boxes are very useful for holding treasured items, and they make a nice display when stacked together on a shelf or side table. The one on top has been the house for some of my favorite seashells and stones for just about 20 years. The one below was home to some intact sand dollars, but I find that it makes a very happy place for Mr. Nature's coasters and a wine opener. (The nautical theme anchor coasters are available here.)The wine opener is one of my most prized possessions, as it was a gift from Mr. Nature some years ago. It is a Lagouile corkscrew, complete with the signature bee insignia. What? You don't know LAGOUILE?! Well, here's the scoop:

"Chateau Laguiole corkscrews are hand-crafted in the workshops of a highly respected French corkscrew and knife manufacturer, S.C.I.P., in business since 1850. They are designed by Guy Vialis, a knife and corkscrew designer. Chateau Laguiole corkscrews are made from highest quality stainless steel, with handles crafted from a variety of horns and woods. The beautifully carved bee on every Chateau Laguiole corkscrew represents its authenticity." ~ from Lagouile Knife and Corkscrew

Mine is from olive wood. They do come with a hefty price tag, but when purchasing something of heirloom quality, one would expect to pay more than for the plastic and mixed metal variety from the grocery store. I first learned of Lagouile while reading one of my favorite authors, Peter Mayle. If you have not read his book called French Lessons: Adventures With Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew, you might want to dive in and give it a read. But, start with his book called A Year in Provence for some background.

Then move on to Encore Provence, Toujours Provence, Acquired Tastes....you get the picture.

Saturday is a good day for reading, no?

Kefir

(photo from yogourmet products page)

Do you drink Kefir?

What's Kefir (you ask)...
Kefir is a cultured, enzyme-rich food filled with friendly micro-organisms that help balance your "inner ecosystem." More nutritious and therapeutic than yogurt, it supplies complete protein, essential minerals, and valuable B vitamins. ~ from Kefir.net

Basically, Kefir is like drinkable yogurt. It is lacto-fermented with Kefir starter, and ends up in texture between milk and yogurt. We began drinking Kefir recently when on an active campaign to rebuild beneficial probiotics in our systems.

We started with already made, plain, unflavored Kefir from Helios. Next, I got some Kefir starter from yogourmet at my local health food store so I could make my own. My first batch did not turn out correctly, and it takes some trial and error, but it is completely worth the work! Making your own is less expensive than purchasing it ready made, plus you get to know exactly how it was made, and with what ingredients.

More information at Kefir.net, Kefir.org, and Kefir.com. Kefir.com has information about Helios Kefir, and also has a blog and "Kefir Community."

Happy Food Friday!

Visit Food Renegade's
Fight Back Friday post for more
Food Friday links...

April Showers and Patio Displays

Monday and Tuesday were cold and rainy. Today was just plain cold. I have been shivering every time I go outside. But I cannot complain, because rain is good and necessary. On Sunday, I bravely got out my new patio set and began to put it all together. Because it was sunny bordering on hot, and I had not received the weather man's memo about any more cold and rain.

We got the patio set last year at super clearance closeout time after the end of summer. It has been patiently waiting in a box all winter, and it beckoned me over the weekend. The chairs are now patiently stacked and waiting under the parking awning. Waiting for more sun when the table will also be able to emerge from its winter box.

The photo above was from last April when we had the garden much further along than we do this year at the same time. This year, April has been colder and wetter than last April.

I am ready for spring weather and patio furniture days!

The Weekend past at Deer Palace

Almost two years ago, the pine beetle killed a tree here at Deer Palace. The beetle has been the bane of many a tree in Oregon in recent years. The tree did not yet know it was dead. Last summer, it finally gave up any greenery at all and succumbed to its fate. We have been looking at a monolith of pointy brown branches ever since.
Thanks to our very skilled LumberMan friend, it now looks like this:And for us, the work of turning it into a cord or so of firewood begins. And a little bit of fence mending so the deer can't penetrate the fortress.

I will have to edit this post with the diameter of the trunk and the length of the tree once I measure it...
it was one pretty big tree!

Handmade Marketplace Sites

On the heels of Zibbet yesterday, I thought I would create a post that will list all the handmade shopping sites I know about. As I find more, I will add them to this post, and share a permalink in my sidebar somewhere. So, here goes...

Handmade Marketplaces:

1. 1000 Markets
2. AnticGift (based in Turkey)
   
3. Artfire
4. Dawanda (based in Germany)
5. Etsy
6. Folksy (based in the UK...thanks GirlIndustries for this info!)
   
7. Just For Keeps
   
8. MadeIt (based in Australia)
9. WinkElf
10. Zibbet
    

Sites showcasing and indexing handmade items:

1. CanaMade (featuring items made in Canada)
   
2. Down the Handmade Path (featuring primitive folk arts and crafts)
   
3. Handmade Product Marketplace (blog)
   
4. Poppytalk Handmade (a monthly "street market" curated by Poppytalk)
5. Try Handmade

Hybrid Sites:

1. Bonanzle (handmade and commercial items)
   

Zibbet.com

Have you heard of Zibbet.com? I ran across it by accident yesterday, and thought it might be a place you would like to visit. It is another handmade goods site, and it is new and still in beta testing mode.

I found this great red leather business card keeper there from a shop called SimplyLeather.

I also found this cute coin purse from DinkyDaisy.  Dinky Daisy has some other really fun designs as well, and has an Etsy shop of the same name.

The drawbacks of Zibbet? It seems relatively unsophisticated in site design, as compared to Etsy and Artfire. Search seems pretty limited, and the process of searching is somewhat cumbersome. The site is a little confusing to navigate, and it might prove more difficult to find something than most buyers are willing to venture. You have to register and be a member to make a purchase (but that is fairly common with many internet sites, so this might not be a real problem for most people).

The good thing about the site, for sellers at least, is that you can list and sell for free if you want just a basic account. They offer a premium membership with more seller's features for a monthly fee.

Since I am very interested in supporting the handmade market and hard working artisans, I just had to share this new find with you.  Take a visit and tell me what you think!

Food Friday: Cold Mountain Miso

I had reason to get acquainted with Cold Mountain Miso recently, and I am HOOKED!  I love Asian foods, but we often avoid them because of objectionable ingredients. I do not eat any processed soy products, and avoid GMO products and those containing MSG.  A friend of ours who is a Naturopath recently recommended Cold Mountain Miso as a food that is drinkable, easy on an upset stomach, and helps replace electrolytes and nutrition during an illness.

For those who are unfamiliar with miso, it is a soybean paste used in making Japanese soups. Cold Mountain is a brand made by Miyako Oriental Foods, Inc. This company uses only non-GMO and organic ingredients, which makes them A-OKAY in my humble opinion. If you have ever eaten miso soup, you will know that it often has bits of seaweed, tofu, and chopped scallions floating in the miso broth. It is a very subtle, yet complex, mix of flavors and there is something very soothing about drinking this soup.

On the advice of our N.D. friend, we purchased light yellow miso (Shinshu Shiro Miso). This brand is a fresh, raw fermented miso, so it is kept in the cold section at the grocery store. It is milder because it is only fermented for 10 - 12 weeks. I remember liking red miso in my earlier years, so I also purchased some red (Aka Miso). The darker color and deeper flavor comes from extra fermentation time; red miso is aged 5 to 6 months.

I have been having this soup for breakfast every morning. The trick with miso is that you have to boil the water, then remove it from the heat BEFORE you put in the miso paste. If you put the miso in while the water is still cooking, you will damage the miso and "kill" its beneficial properties.  I often just have it plain, with nothing in the water but the miso paste to make the broth. Other days, I will boil the water, then crack an egg and stir the raw egg into the boiling water (egg drop soup style), then add the miso paste, and drink!

 What are the ingredients? Filtered water, organic soy beans, cultured rice, sea salt. That is all. Simple, organic, wholesome, DELICIOUS!  A serving is 1/2 cup of water to 1 tsp of paste. I make 1 cup of water and use 2 tsp of paste.One serving delivers 10 caloris, 1 g of protein, 1 g of carbohydrate, 1 g of sugars, and 340 mg of sodium. (I am getting double these amounts, since I am drinking two servings.) I am not watching my sodium intake for any reason, and I don't generally add salt to my foods, so this amount of sodium is fine for me.

If this sounds like something you would enjoy, ask your grocer. I have read that Whole Foods carries this miso, but I don't have a Whole Foods where I live. I have a local chain store that is thankfully very well stocked in health foods and herbal remedies. A 14 oz. container costs about $4.00 at my grocery store.

This is NOT a sponsored post.

Miso is yummy!