And Then My Head Exploded

Dear Mom,
On a recent visit to the Kansas City area to spend several blissful days with a dear friend, we gloried for hours, soaking in the inspiration of Florilegium.

beads of every shape and color imaginable

This area was off limits to customers. It is The Owner/Artist's Studio area.

This display is just small selection of the beautiful ribbons available.

Everything is displayed to perfection.

This case greets you as you step in the door.

This Enchantment is beaded embroidery on a window screen!

And one display case was filled with samples of ribbon embroidery.

In addition to the ribbons and beads I've shown here, there was roving, and wool for embroidery or needlepoint, buttons, art yarn, hand painted yarns, and thousands of ideas. Gretchen, the owner, and Cathy, her employee, were extremely generous with their time and ideas, with no hesitation to demonstrate a technique or describe a creative process. We left with our heads spinning. My only regret is that Florilegium is 9+ hours away. Lucky for ALL of us, they ship orders every day!
Love,
Kim

Rosi's Lunch

Dear Mom,
Rosi was one of the first two ladies to take a knitting class from me at the Village Yarn Shop. When the class ended we continued to knit fairly regularly and eventually she became the crochet teacher for the shop. In a few weeks Rosi is moving back to Minnesota. I couldn't let her leave without acknowledging it somehow, and decided a simple lunch in her honor would be nice.

Hosting events like this
a.) gets the house real clean, and,
b.) justifies many of the frivolous purchases I've made over the years.

Setting up for this was fun, even though there were times during the prep when family life and Ladies Who Lunch life made me wonder what I was thinking when I thought of hosting a Farewell Lunch. But it was worth it. And that pain that was radiating from my clenched jaw into my right ear has mostly stopped now.

I served quiche and fresh fruit on Grandma's milk glass place settings.

We had cinnamon spiced tea and lemonade.

As napkins, I used some pretty hankies.

These individual bud vases are meant to be used as place card holders, but I stuck Forget-Me-Not seed packets in the name card slot and filled the vases with cranesbill flowers. Because I only have 6 of those, at each end of the table I used a different bud vase with a peony flower.

My most kind, sweet, gentle (I am so blessed!) cousin baked her delicious, pretty cookies for our dessert. I used them as our centerpiece.

I prepared all the ingredients for the quiche yesterday and then assembled and started baking them about an hour before I expected we would sit down to eat. This made things much easier (and me a whole lot calmer) today.

The easiest of the two quiche recipes was, in my opinion, the tastiest. I found the recipe in the "Summer in the Country" Gooseberry Patch cookbook. I didn't do exactly what the recipe says to do, though. Here is what I did:

Farmhouse Quiche

serves 6

1 frozen 9-inch pie crust (I made mine the day before and popped in the freezer overnight)

2 T olive oil

1/2 red pepper, diced

1/2 green pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced (I used the kind you find in the jar in the produce department)

1/4 c. zucchini, diced

2 T fresh basil, chopped

4 eggs, beaten

1 c. half-and-half

1 t salt

1/2 t pepper

8 oz shredded Colby Jack cheese*

1/3 c shredded Parmesan cheese

3 Plum tomatoes, sliced

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté the peppers, garlic, zucchini and basil until tender.

Whisk together eggs, half-and-half, salt and pepper in a large bowl. 

Stir in veggies and cheeses.  Refrigerate until ready to use. 

Pour into frozen pie crust and top with sliced tomatoes. (confession: I forgot the top with sliced tomatoes part. The quiche was still good.)

Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

*The recipe calls for 8 oz of shredded Pepper Jack cheese, but I am a total hot pepper wimp, so I substituted the Colby Jack.

I think the luncheon was a success. After everyone left (with their Forget-Me-Not packets and an extra cookie- which they claim was for sharing when they got home but I am suspicious) I ate 2 more cookies and took a nap. The house is clean. Laundry is a little backed up but what the heck. I'll tackle that tomorrow.

Love,

Kim

Spinning

Dear Mom,
I'd have to check through the blog archives to see exactly how long I've been spinning, but without doubt it is only a fraction of the time I've been a knitter. And yet my spinning stash rivals my knitting stash- and frankly may even be larger. oooops. Definitely larger when I think of what is currently off to Ohio Valley getting blended and processed.
And then there is this:

When CarolWhoseHouseGotStruckByLightning visited her parents in Minnesota recently, she took a field trip to Northern Woolen Mill. She told me about the field trip a few days ahead and I asked her if it wasn't too much trouble, could she bring $50 worth of a bison/wool blend roving back next time she was in town? When I asked, I imagined that $50 would buy me a ball of roving slightly bigger than my fist. What I got was not one, not two, but THREE bigger-than-my-head balls of 50/50 North Dakota Bison and South Dakota Merino!  It spins up beautifully.

I don't know what I will do with the yarn once it has all been spun and plyed, but with this much roving, I should have plenty of options.

The first Sunday of each month, Tabby Tree Weaver hosts an Open Spin. I don't miss too many of those afternoons. A very nice group of ladies gathers to talk spinning and weaving, share some laughs, and ooh and ahh over Show-n-Tell. Last month MelissaWhoSpinsButDoesNotKnit shared this rug hooked masterpiece. This is truly a Work Of Art.

 Being the thoughtful, generous person I am, my first words (once I regained the ability to speak) were: "I want this when you die. Leave it to me in your Will." (Good thing that Melissa 'gets' me. She laughed and said okay. I think…..)

Okay, I don't want her to die. But I do admit to daydreaming about where I would hang this if it were in my house.
Love,
Kim

The Past Week

Dear Mom,
Except for the mountain that was plowed from the cul-de-sac into the front yard, all of last weeks snow has melted.
Revealing this-

One of the hundreds of crocus bulbs I've planted in the front yard. Last summer's heat and drought took it's toll and I neglected to add more to the lawn last fall. Hopefully this summer will be different and there will be another 100 bulbs blooming next spring. I get a thrill every time I see these brave flowers in my winter-brown lawn.

Yesterday I wore my Alpine Tweed sweater and the boldly patterned dress I sewed to church.

This dress is a lengthened Schoolhouse Tunic minus the pleats in the skirt. I wore this with a grey camisole and grey tights.  I love this cardigan. The dress is okay. I am still on a search for the perfect tunic/dress pattern. I saw Lisette pattern 2245 on Pinterest, ordered it, and it arrived on Saturday. I need some time to work up a little sewing bravery- I will mentally sew it a few times and then have to wake up one day with all the stars lined up and say to myself "today is the day"- and then I can start sewing on that one. Stay tuned.

By far, the very nicest thing that happened last week was this:

My friend, YarnshopAnne, made this quilt. For ME!
 

This was a thank you for a sweater I made and gave to her. She is most definitely Knit worthy, the sweater is perfect on her and I wanted her to have it with no strings attached and no thanks needed..... But I very happily accepted the quilt!

I have taken about eleventy-two photos of this quilt, and I move it about, trying it on in different rooms.  Right now it is on the railing between the family room and kitchen- pretty much so I can admire it all day long.

Thank you Anne!

Love,
Kim

Bursting

Dear Mom,
First, Happy Valentine's Day!

Next, what a productive visit we had to the quilt store. It was a whirlwind. - Especially since we were cutting it close, time wise. Lucky for us the Young Lady's after school activity was cancelled and she rode home on the bus. Thank goodness we were spared the need to kick up some gravel in the parking lot when we left the quilt shop, and then fish-tail our way into the school parking lot.

So, here are a couple of dress fabric/cardigan sweater yarn combos I now have in my sewing and knitting queues. (I think an extra set of arms would be a good thing right now, but then the dresses and sweaters would not fit.)

Combo #1.
A strong possibility for Easter.

I draped the fabric around Elle and then added the sweater in progress on top of that for a better idea of How It Will Look:

Tights have been ordered. If I ordered the right colors, and once I decide which color to wear, I will show you. And I have black danskos.

Combo #2.

I've been admiring This Sweater for quite awhile. I've had the yarn for it for a month or two. I will make the body in a rusty heather and make my birds blackbirds.
Here is the yarn with the fabric I purchased:

Black tights. And I have some rusty red tapestry dansko clogs that will look c.u.t.e. (or stupid).

I also got fabric for two more tunic tops, but I will share those another time.  I have an idea for one of those tops that involves a thrifted mans' tuxedo shirt. It could be awesome or it could be an epic fail. Stay tuned.

And lastly.
Last night, with my friend (formerly known as ConnieWhoNeverHeardofBobbySherman, but who will henceforth be Sassenach) and I fueled our Outlander/James Fraser obsession and went to see the Black Watch Pipes and Drums and Scots Guard performance at the Palladium.
Bag pipes, drums, Highland Dancers, Men In Kilts.
There were Men In Kilts in the audience, too. Sassenach and I discovered that our gushing teenage selves were not buried too far beneath our MarriedWithChildren exteriors.
I took a stealth photo at the end of the performance using the Museum setting on my camera ( no flash, no noise). We were alone in our orchestra box, so I wasn't disturbing anyone and there was very little risk of being caught. The resulting photograph is blurred, but I'll just call it a misty water-colored memory.

The performance was moving and inspiring. The bagpipe music was haunting and beautiful. Included was a tribute to our Armed Forces and the performance started with God Save the Queen and the Star Spangled Banner. What a treat. An evening to fill the well being of my soul.

Time to get enough housework done and get those fabrics washed and dried so I can start sewing!

Love,
Kim

When Two Blogs Collide

Dear Mom,
Knowing she is new to Hamilton County, Indiana, I invited Christine, of Front Porch Indiana to join the happy group of spinners on Sunday's monthly Spin-In at Tabby Tree Weaver. Christine blogs about it here, and her photo is much more flattering (in other words, my double chin is less doubled than any photos I have)- so go look there before and after you look at this next picture because I am swallowing what little pride I have left in order to post it.....

I may never wear a turtle neck sweater again.
 And Such is my Horror that I actually EXERCISED today.

As testament to the power of blogging, meeting Christine for the first time was like seeing a friend you just haven't seen in awhile and picking right up where you left off. She is every bit as nice and funny in real life as she is in blog life, and even more so.

Hopefully, it was the first of many more happy get togethers.

Love,
Kim

A Knitter's Christmas

Dear Mom,
Being sympathetic compatriots in the holiday pressure to Get Things Finished, my fellow knitting friends and I decided to postpone our Christmas gift exchange. So instead of December 25th, we had our "Christmas" on January 25th.
The variety of gifts selected and hand crafted is testament to the kindred spirits I am blessed to call friends.

Hand made ornaments that look like stained glass.  Embroidered linens. A scrap book of memories and recipes. Padded hangers with knitted covers.



Hand woven dish towels and hand made soaps, lotions and bath salts.

Bonnie's honey and a set of adorable sheep that we've divided to share. That is Aiden, Finn, Bartley and Liam.

And hand felted chickadees. Mine is perched in the bathroom in front of the mirror where we can appreciate a full view.
Along with our friendship and fiber, food is an important ingredient. I served Roasted Tomato soup and grilled cheeses sandwiches for our "Christmas" lunch. I won't claim to be a good cook, but rather a person who cooks with good recipes. And this soup is the best tomato soup I've ever tasted, has never failed to impress those I make it for, and is worth every bit of effort to make. I've even had friends in need of comfort ask me to make them some of this soup. I found the recipe on foodnetwork.com/Barefoot Contessa.
As a Knitter's Christmas gift, here it is....

Roasted Tomato Soup 

6-8 servings

3lbs. plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise

1/4 c + 2 T olive oil

1 T kosher salt

1 1/2 t black pepper

2 c chopped yellow onions

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 T unsalted butter

1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes

1 (28 oz) can canned tomatoes with juice

4 c fresh basil leaves

1 t fresh thyme leaves

1 qt chicken stock

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Toss the tomatoes together with 1/4 c olive oil, salt and pepper.

Spread the tomatoes in 1 layer on baking sheet ( I used my broiler pan) and roast for 45 minutes.

In an 8 qt stockpot over medium heat, sauté the onions and garlic with 2 T olive oil, butter, and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes, until the onions start to brown.

Add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme and chicken stock. 

Add the oven roasted tomatoes, including the liquid on the baking sheet.

Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes.

Pass through a food mill fitted with  the coarsest blade.

Taste for seasonings. 

Serve hot or cold.

As with most soups, this soup tastes even better the next day. It freezes well and I've made a note on my calendar to make and freeze this soup with the abundance of garden tomatoes and fresh herbs I'll have at the end of the summer. 

Love,

Kim

Before we were interrupted....

Dear Mom,
Now that Bumper is cleaned out, my house is cleaned up, and things are back to what passes for Normal around here, we can catch up on the nice things that have happened! There may be too much for one blog post. THAT's how much stuff I have.
Two weekends ago, MelissaWhoSpinsbutDoesNotKnit and I took a road trip to Asheville, NC. We left some winter weather, which stayed with us well past Lexington, but the traveling was safe and with both of us in good company, the time passed quickly. Downtown Asheville was loaded with the expected inspiration and we soaked it in. I was so busy soaking it in that I neglected to take many photos.
My head wrap did some sight seeing too. At one point, while trying on some clothes - and let me pause here to ask why is it that I thought driving 8 hours and crossing several state lines would mean that I could wear and look good in something that was little more than a tailored feed sack? cute feed sack, but not on me, darn it!  - anyway, while juggling my coat, purse, feedsack and out-of-shape figure in the dressing room I noticed my head wrap had misplaced itself. Did I drop it somewhere or leave it in the truck? I wasn't terribly concerned about it, but did mention to Melissa that we might want to keep an eye out just in case. Melissa was pretty sure she saw it in the back seat, so we didn't think anymore about it and kept moving forward. More than 4 hours later, as we headed back to the truck ( only to move to another parking spot) Melissa Shouted "Kim!" and pointed to the sky.  ???

Good thing she was looking up, because I was looking down and would have missed it.

My head wrap in a tree

Thankfully the branch hung over a parking lot AND the parking space underneath was empty, so we  Melissa backed into the space, climbed into the back of her truck and rescued my head wrap.
I left it in the back seat for the remainder of the trip.
We did come home inspired by the things we saw in the many galleries and shops, at the Southern Highlands Craft Guild, and at the Winter Retreat held in a nearby mall and hosted by Friends and Fiberworks, a local yarn shop.

On the trip, my car knitting project was a gift for a soon-to-arrive nephew.

Yarn-100% cotton from Universal yarns- Cotton Supreme, if I remember correctly. The pattern, Sweet Pea,   is one I've made before and I like that the opening for the head is like a "onesie" and easily accommodates those big baby noggins. Quick knit, wrapped up and in the mail. There before the baby is, I hope!

Now, onto More Good Stuff.

Weaving.

My best effort yet. I am Very proud of my selvage edges on these. There are still mistakes, but less.  These have been gifted and well received!


On the heels of these pretty things came this:

Yes, that is Patsy's leg in the photo.  She Who Must Know and Approve of ALL that happens here.

"What. Is. That?", you ask.
Well. It is exactly what I wanted it to be, which is good. I just didn't mean for it to look like a Walmart Special. Which it does. I cut old t-shirts into 1-inch strips and wove them into a mini (11X28") rug for the dog dishes. I learned I won't be using t-shirts for weaving. Not that they were difficult- they weren't- and it certainly was a fast project- I just don't like the look. But, as I said, the rug fulfills its intended purpose and thankfully the dog dishes cover up most of it! I also got to try out the fringe twister toy I purchased in Asheville. More learning.

More Good Stuff? Why yes! But I think I'll save the rest for another post.....

Love,
Kim