Crafts « Stoneview

You bought more stuff?

You didn’t think I left Fancy Tiger with out making a purchase did you? I bought this cute pincushion pattern (it makes a pear, an apple, a tomato and/or a strawberry) and some fat quarters to go with it. I think the fairies will get made into yet another tea cozy. I need one for each season, surely. We also made a stop at Penzey’s where I filled my shopping list and picked up some recommended beef roast seasoning. At the end of the day I killed two birds with one stone and got a picture of us all which could also work as my 365 self-portrait since I used the timer function on the camera.

Denver bound

We spent a lovely day in Denver which was filled with all sorts of interesting sights. I don’t think I’d ever seen a Little Debbie truck before. The highlight of the day for me was our visit to the Fancy Tiger, a tiny but powerful craft shop.

To fold or not to fold

When I was shopping for sealing wax and seals I discovered a basement level at the stationer’s that’s filled with art supplies and the best selection of origami paper I’ve seen to date. I think I was very restrained in my purchases, don’t you?

Origami Bookmark Tutorial

I usually have quite a large stack of books from the library so a nice pile of bookmarks can really come in handy. These origami ones are so quick and easy to fold that you can crank them out lickety split. I often tuck a few into letters or packages as gifts. If you don’t have origami paper you can make them with magazine pages or comics cut to size. A six inch square makes a good starting point.

With the wrong side of the paper facing you, fold in half lengthwise, unfold, turn 1/4 and fold in half lengthwise again, unfold.

Using the previous fold lines as a guide, bring each corner in turn to the center and crease.

Unfold the last corner creased and position the paper as shown.Bring the bottom right corner across to the bottom left edge of the unfolded triangle.

Bring the bottom left corner across to the bottom right edge of the unfolded triangle.

Tuck the unfolded triangle into the outermost pocket.

Finito!

A tisket a tasket

Finished

Progress

Spokes

Bear with me while I learn how to do this wordpress thing. I’m still searching for a plugin to make the pictures “embiggen”.

Anyway, yesterday I pulled out the kit from Basketweaving 101 I’d bought back at Mammoth cave in August. The directions were really clear except for the last little bit about finishing off the top. In about 90 minutes I had a finished basket. The top rim is a bit wobbly. At first it looked awful but then I realized that if I threaded the reed between each spoke it looked much nicer and it went along more smoothly. I wasn’t always able to keep the round reed on top despite many clothespins but that’s the only part that didn’t go well. I was pleased to see that there are 3 or 4 places around me that sell the kits so I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more.

Lavender for luck

Yesterday I put together a few lavender wands as well as a little tutorial. Each year it's a race to see how many I can get done before the flowers open. The rain is suppose to clear out today leaving it sunny until the weekend so hopefully I can do several more while the plants are dry. These are great tucked into your dresser drawers or your yarn/fiber stash.

Early bird gets the worm

So most of the days was grey and chilly yesterday but for the morning larks there was the reward of lovely sunshiny warmth and emerging flowers and green sparkliness everywhere. I love that we have moss between the stones on the patio now. The crocus in the backyard have come up for their show. Chippies have dug up and eaten some of them so I need to replant more this fall. My chives are up in full force and we should be able to use them quite soon. Out front the hyacinths are beginning to get into the action.

My oilcloth order has arrived and one of the planned projects for this is a new lunch bag for Jason. I also made some red beans and rice earlier in the week with the pressure cooker, my favorite method for cooking beans as it requires no presoak and they are done lickety split. It's pretty simple, start with an onion and bell pepper and celery (the holy trinity of
Cajun cooking), toss in a pound of light kidney beans and cover by at
least two inches with water, a little squire of oil prevents foaming. Add thyme and some bay leaves and cook in
the pressure cooker about 30 minutes at high pressure or until beans
are tender. Add a can of crushed tomatoes, season well with cajun spice
mix, toss in some chopped green onions and parsley and simmer 2 or 3
minutes with the lid off. Serve over hot cooked rice with French bread. This is also good with andouille
sausage and you can sub chicken broth for water to make it more
flavorful.

Gabbygoo

So here we are almost two months out from Gabby's drastic shave and she still has fairly short hair. The Gabby fur-bunnies are starting to creep back in but they are much smaller and easier to control. We're thinking once every four months will be a good schedule for her and will aim to avoid a cut in February in the future so that she's not quite so chilly.

A few days ago the daffodils began opening like crazy and soon it'll be a field of yellow down the side of our house. I am not doing much crafting but I did take a minute or two to make a little ipod cozy out of a felted sock cuff. There was hardly any sewing involved, honest doc!

Two for Tuesday

Yesterday I finished up the sashiko potholder. The stitching doesn't go all the way to the top since it's folded to make a hemmed edge for the pocket. The embroidered piece is then basted onto the pocket back and two layers of insul-bright are stitched onto the backing piece and quilted in a simple cross pattern. After that the front and back are attached with a little gap for turning and top stitching finishes the piece. It's a bit snug for Jason's hand but it fits mine perfectly. It's just the thing for the tea kettle since the steam will get you if the lid is not snug- this will protect your hand either way.

For dinner I made a chicken curry with leg quarters from our March CSA share. It's served over saffron rice for which I simply added a pinch of saffron, a pat of butter and a star anise to my normal rice as it cooked.

Chicken Curry

1 1/2 pounds chicken leg quarters
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons curry powder
28 ounce can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
salt, to taste
pinch cayenne
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger (grated is fine too)
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 can light coconut milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch plus 1/4 cup cold water

Brown the leg quarters on both sides in a Dutch oven, adding the onion when you turn to brown the second side. Stir in the garlic and let cook about 30 seconds or until garlic is fragrant. Add the canned crushed tomatoes, salt, cayenne, curry powder and most of the cilantro (reserve a bit for garnish). Cover and simmer 45 minutes or until chicken is falling from the bone. Remove leg quarters to a cutting board and pick off the meat returning it to the pan. Add coconut milk. Stir the cornstart into 1/4 cup water and add it to the curry mixture, stirring while you do so. Simmer 3-5 minutes or until thickened. Sprinkle with reserved cilantro and serve over hot cooked rice.

Classic Boxed

About once a year I buy a pound of yeast that lives in the freezer in an airtight container. This year I also bought a bread box so of course I had to bake a loaf of bread to test it out. This is the King Arthur Flour Classic Sandwich Bread recipe which is thus far keeping beautifully in my new box.

I also finished up the Tulips and Fans counted canvas piece from the Needle and I. It's been a lovely change of piece and I'll miss working on it. Hopefully I can get it framed sometime this spring.