Easter Bread - Oh Yum

I grew up helping my Italian grandmother make Easter Bread every year. It's a anise seed egg based bread that is to die for, tastes great right out of the oven with butter on it and even better toasted the next day or so for breakfast. I asked my cousin Jim if he'd like to come over and learn how to make it, he grew up in Ohio so wasn't there for the actual baking - Nani (our grandmother) lived next door to me so I helped with all baking that went on. So, today was bread baking day. I forgot to take a picture of the fixings starting with 5 pounds of flour in Nani's official metal bread making bowl but I've got a picture of it later down the line. She used to make Italian bread in it on an almost weekly basis while I was growing up. Jim started the mixing in the metal bowl, or let's just call it a wash tub because that's basically what it was, so he used a wooden spoon to get it mixed together, then I took over kneading in the tub. Then we dumped it out onto the counter and Jim started the real kneading process.

Next we put it back in the wash tub to raise for over an hour. Sorry I didn't get many pictures along the way but my hands were dough covered much of the time.

After the dough doubled in size we started cutting off chunks to roll out and braid into loaves. We made our loaves a bit smaller and ended up with 17 in total. The braided dough sat and rose for another hour, then we brushed it with an egg yolk and baked it- the smell was incredible.

Here are some of the loaves. My friend Yvonne could smell the bread baking all the way from her house so she came over with fresh farm eggs for Jim and left with 2 loaves........after sampling some warm bread with butter here at the house.

And here are more sitting in the wash tub we mixed the dough in - it's a huge wash tub, I think there 10 of the loaves in it right here. Nani always made us kids our own special easter bread - she braided the dough, wound it in a circle and put a hard boiled egg in the center and put two small strips across the eggs securing ti to the loaf. I can't remember much about that egg, it must have been as hard as a rubber ball after being hardboiled and baked! Someday I'll have to decide who to pass the wash tub on to - it's a pretty important bit of family history - I'd have to be assured that whoever gets it after I'm gone learns how to bake Easter Bread and carries on the tradition.

It's that time of year again.......

In spite of it not feeling like spring has sprung here it's that time of year again - poison oak season. I have my first outbreak on my arm where Bailey like to cuddle up and hold it with his leg. I have a horrible time with poison oak and it's plentiful on our 5 acres. As soon as the rains stop I will get out in Bailey's fenced area with the Crossbow to spray it. It's a yearly event, each year more of it dies but I don't know if I'll ever rid his area of it.....the rest of the property is hopeless.

We spent the weekend on the coast working in the yard. We tried hard to save a flowering currant tree that a previous owner had planted right up again the wooden front porch. Sam worked hours on trying to get the 8ft tall tree out of the ground in tact so we could transplant it - we realized that wasn't happening once we saw huge roots growing under the porch. It couldn't be saved but in it's place we enlarged the front bed and put 6 small bushes in.

I also started a new knitting project while over there, it's the Hydrangea Lace Scarf pattern from Fiber Trends. The wider 12" scarf has hydrangea flowers staggered across the scarf but since I only have 2 skeins of the Panda Silk yarn I wanted to use I'm knitting the 9" wide scarf which has a single row of flowers the length of the scarf. Panda Silk is from Crystal Palace Yarns and is 52% bamboo/43% superwash merino/5% silk - it's lovely. The color I'm using is actually much lighter and softer than how it looks in the photo. Can't wait to finish up and block this scarf. If you're wondering what the white lines are in the scarf they're my life lines - I put them in at the ends of pattern repeats or end of a page - if I make a huge mistake I can pull the needle out and pick up those stitches along the lifeline and continue knitting.

Today my cousin Jim is coming over to learn how to make Easter bread. I'll post pictures later........

Rags, rags, rags..........

Yes, I'm still here. This week has been crazy busy but not much of it spent in the studio.......makes for a grouchy me being out of the studio so much.......and next week isn't looking much better. I'm still researching compu-dobby looms but haven't had time to talk with all that have offered to help me. I did find out that AVL will be at the ANWG weaving conference the beginning of June and they will be bringing a V-Series loom for me to see and try in person - this is great as I've seen the Louet and have seen other AVL models but not the one I'm considering. I finally finished sewing the last of the handwoven rag tote bags for a while, they'll show up in my etsy shop soon.....all I need to do is find time to take 5 decent pictures of each to get them listed.....oh, how I need more hours in my day! I now need to get back to other weaving and sewing, first up is the sparkley pink handwoven fabric that's been waiting for me to cut into it for my guild challenge.

Dark blue bag with dark blue floral lining

Medium blue with natural/light blue lining

Light greens with light green floral lining (this really is lighter than it looks in the picture) 

Dark green with dark green flowered chintz lining

Dark red/neutral stripes with natural/red floral lining

Dark red/tan with very fun farm seed packet print fabric lining

Add to the mix......

I'm adding to the mix of thinking about compu-looms the AVL V Series.....if I'm thinking a bit bigger footprint that one is around the same as the Louet.....any thoughts on that model would be appreciated too.

Decisions, decisions.......

I've been researching and talking about getting a compudobby loom now for around 4 years. Usually I have no problems making a decision on buying something but this is has me stopped in my tracks.

To start with I have a space limitation in my studio so I'm not looking for a big loom. My first thought was the AVL 24" workshop loom, not that I'd take it to a workshop, but the footprint will fit the space perfectly and I feel like 24" would be wide enough for scarves, shawls, towels or runners I'd be weaving on it, probably mostly scarves. I've heard good reviews of the 16 harness model but I was really interested in 24 harnesses - not good reviews, even from someone who is connected to AVL.......too much put onto that frame designed for 16 harnesses.

Last summer I went to visit a weaver friend out of the area to see her Louet Megado - oh my gosh, what a beautiful loom. So, this is the one I'd love to have in the 27" weaving width but being a more substantial loom it's footprint is much bigger for the space I have, I'd have to take an entertainment center and some all important shelving out of the studio to fit it in. Downside is that it comes with 16 harnesses or 32 harnesses - 32 is more than I was looking for, 24 would be perfect for me. The price is an issue too. I've got more than what is needed put aside for a loom but pulling the trigger on it is so hard, can I really justify spending around $14K for a loom! That's a hard one, it's a lot of money........a big buckeroos alot in my eyes for another loom.

This sent me back to AVL to look at the V Series loom if I was going to have a bigger footprint, price is still high but lower than the Louet. Not sure I like it as much though. So, then started looking at the AVL workshop loom again but only 16 harnesses since the 24 harness hasn't gotten good reviews, would I be happy with only 16, I currently have 10 on my Macomber (which I'll be keeping).

So, I'm still a mass of indecision after 4 years, have no clue what to buy so I do nothing. Anyone out there reading my blog that has any of these looms that could weigh in?

Some loom time today.......

I got some time at the loom today, not enough but what time I spent there felt great. Three more bags woven, three more to go on this warp.

Dark blue with some taupe

Light blue which doesn't look very light in this picture because I forgot to take a picture of it so had to catch it from underneath the loom as it was winding on the front beam

Pale greens, these are really pretty

More rag tote bags on the horizon

More rag tote bags in the works, got the warp on today for 6 of them, blue fabrics cut and on shuttles ready to go.

Woven Rag Tote Bags

I finally got some time at the sewing machine yesterday to finish sewing together the rag tote bags. They're all lined with coordinating fabric and a pocket on the inside. The goal of weaving these and more to come is to rid my fabric cabinet of leftover cotton quilt fabrics, not sure I'm paring down the stash enough though. The bags are approximately 16" wide by 17" tall and around 3" wide at the bottom gusset. The strap is shoulder bag length. They'll make great knitting/project bags, grower's market bags, all around tote bags. They should be able to take quite a bit of weight but I wouldn't use them as a book bag full of heavy books or carry around bricks! They really aren't made to tolerate that much weight. Once I take better pictures they'll start showing up in my etsy shop. Still working on pricing, pretty much have the idea of what to charge but haven't firmed it up yet.

Medium Pink with pink english garden print lining

Light Pink with white/pink confetti print lining

Red with blue and white striped lining

Red with fun black & white cows on red fabric lining

Lavendar with tiny flowered lavendar lining

Purple with tiny purple flowers lining

These are the straps for the next 6 bags, hoping to get the warp on the loom tomorrow for them.

So......buttons on your underwear

Ok, so I don't know what that means. Whenever I'm talking to my friend Yvonne and say "So" - she quickly jumps in with "Sew (So) buttons on your underwear". It came to mind today when I dumped out bags of buttons on my work table, made me smile. There are hundreds of buttons - what a treasure! My cousin Jim sent them home with Sam yesterday for me (after they golfed) he found them in my Aunt Fran's stash that he's still going through. Now I'm trying to decide how to display them - maybe separate them into colorways and put them in canning jars. I haven't had time to go through them yet, will be a fun thing to do.....

I'm still here........

I'm still here......it feels like forever since I posted although it's only been a week and a half. I made two trips to the coast during this time so much of my time was spent there rather than weaving, spinning or knitting. I'm ready to get back to the studio this week.

One project I have been working on is Flat Stanley for my neice Anna back in Maryland. Flat Stanley arrived here folded up in an envelope with the story of how he was flattened by a bulletin board and can now travel easily all over the world. So, I took Flat Stanley all over Southwest Oregon to see the sites and put together a long report with many pictures to send back with him along with gummy candies from the coast for the entire 3rd grade class. Flat Stanley spent time here in Grants Pass going to Wildlife Images (wildlife rehab center), on a jet boat ride, river rafting, he also went to Crater Lake, Ashland, Jacksonville, Oregon Caves, The Oregon Vortex, California Redwoods, local farms and to the coast where he got to see the tall ships on their way up to Canada. Phew, I'm glad this project is finished up other than picking up a pile of brochures at the Visitor's Center and mailing it back.....this project and doing taxes have kept me out of the studio......but now both are done so it's time to play with fiber again.

Finished needlefelted postcard

Remember the needlefelted postcard I made at a guild meeting last month? Well, I finally figured out how to frame it. Of course I couldn't find the perfect frame so I bought a plain white one, painted it and then stenciled on it using Shiva Paintstiks - I love the way it turned out. Then I needed a way to sign the piece, keep in mind the felting is postcard size. So, I pulled out some black wool felt that I could stitch my name and the year on using my trusty Bernina. After much test stitching where I had to relearn how to imput the text.......correctly! I was ready to stitch on the black wool felt. After that I stitched my piece onto the wool felt using clear sewing thread. I'm happy with how it turned out.

My friend Pat who was one of the program leaders for this project last month gave me a piece she had felted that was also an ocean theme. I finished hers the same way, it turned out great. I can't wait to get over to the beach house to hang both of these on the wall........hmm, where will I put them......

This is not weaving related but it's food related and that's always important. A few years ago I submitted a recipe to Taste of Home Healthy Cooking for a soup recipe contest. I got a letter saying my soup was in the running but then I didn't make the cut to the semi-finals. Too bad since it involved cash prizes! But then last year they published it in the magazine........all I got out of that was an extra issue of the magazine. But in yesterday's mail this beautiful cookbook arrived. At first I was dubious thinking they sent me a cookbook on speculation that they expected me to pay for. But no, there was a letter with it telling me it was a thank you gift and that my soup recipe is on page 53. So if you ever see the cookbook look up my Pasta Fagioli recipe. I made it up several years ago after analyzing the Pasta Fagioli at Olive Garden - I think mine is much better!

First rag bag sewn......

Phew, I got the first of the rag bags sewn this morning. I'm hoping the rest of them go quickly now that I'm over the learning curve. My first error was in figuring the strapping, I was thinking I had enough strapping to go around the bottom of the bag - uh, oh....no way.....but the straps are sewn on securely and very strong the way I did them. I decided I wanted to line them to make them nicer looking and more serviceable with a couple pockets, lining material also from the stash cupboard, hoping I'm making a dent in those leftovers but not so sure I have yet. So the size bag I'm making will make a great knitting/project bag, spinning bag, farmer's market bag (it is machine washable) or just all around nice big tote bag. It measures 17" tall by 16" wide and has a box bottom. Sure hope they eventually sell or everyone I know will be getting one for Christmas this year!  Will post pictures of more as they are sewn, another red, two purple colorway, two pink colorway. And I'm thinking I'll put more warp on to make other colorsways, heck, I've got plenty of fabric leftovers to use up.

No brains required........

I'm kind of loving this mindless weaving for tote bags, just cut strips and weave.......suits me just fine for right now.......will get back to more structured fine weaving after I rid myself of some of this cotton stash.........

Stash busting....

I'm hoping this warp and a few more are stash busters. I have tons of leftover cotton quilt fabric from projects over the past 30 years that I'd like to recycle into something useful and that will free up space in the fabric cabinet. So, I'm weaving rag fabric to make tote bags out of. Got the warp on the loom today for 6 of them, 2 in pinks, 2 in reds, 2 in purples....got this first one woven, don't think it touched the stash in the pink pile.

More socks off to Michigan

I finished up another pair of sox that are headed to an aunt in Michigan in the next day or two. Yarn is more Opal from my stash, don't ask which colorway, label already in the trash. Trying to decide what's on the to-do list for today - need to organize mess of knitting supplies so I can start a shawl out of handspun that I recently swatched for. Need to put another coat of paint and maybe some paintstik embellishment on some frames for needlefelted postcards. Also would like to start planning/warping for rag weaving for tote bags..........want to get rid of lots of stash of leftover cotton from quilting projects and such.......it's taking up lots of valuable space and  I'm doing nothing with it. Also have tons of plastic bags from Ashland Bay roving deliveries that will be recycled into woven tote bags similar to the one I made myself last year. Want to knit some beaded bracelets that friend Kathy taught me how to do while at Sewing Expo which will lead into knitting a scarf with bead accents that Sewing Sunday friend Barbara gave me the pattern to.....leftover size 6 beads from bracelets will be used for scarves. But what is first on the list........maybe another cup of tea.......

Goal met.....

Friday goal was met, didn't watch a shred of the news, felt much more relaxed and at peace. Visited with fiber friends that came to shop roving, enjoyed it very much....did this and that, had a couple fun movies on while doing 'stuff' and realized if I needed a weather forecast could easily see it on my homepage, no need to put the news on.....besides our local weather folks are often wrong so why bother......

Friday's Goal.....

As I sit here this evening I've made a decision that for my mental health I can't wake up another morning to the horrible news happening around the world, Japan foremost on my mind. My goal for tomorrow will be to not watch a shred of news. I know the updates will be heart wrenching, there will be more Saturday, but at this moment in time I can't take one more morning of my chest tightening and feeling like a full fledged anxiety attack will do me in as I listen to what has happened while I slept. I'm not burying my head in the sand, I'm just taking a little breather from it.......something those across the ocean cannot do. My heart breaks for all in Japan living with the aftermath of the quake, tsunami and continuing horror of a possible nuclear meltdown.

May the embers from the open hearth warm your hands,

May the sun’s rays from the Irish sky warm your face,

May the children’s bright smiles warm your heart,

May the everlasting love I give you warm your soul.

In the pink.....

In the pink today......weaving pink, that is. This is not the best picture of the warp I put on the loom this morning but it was one that the pink sparkle showed a bit in. Hopefully I'll get this warp woven and off the loom this afternoon. I'm working on my guild challenge that's due at the June meeting. We're to weave fabric and cut into it.....see, a lot of weavers, in my guild at least, are afraid to cut into their handwoven fabric so it's a challenge for us all. In addition to cutting into the fabric an idea was suggested to construct bras, wild & crazy bras that could be used as an exhibit during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October) at a local hospital, cancer center or such. I'm not sure how many will actually do this since that idea has been downplayed as some members aren't excited over it. Maybe my challenge will be the only one! But I hope not. So, I am weaving pink, very pink, rayon/cotton fabric with pink sparkles to construct my bra.....and it's going to be blingy, very blingy once embellished. Sure hope it's not terribly hard to construct a bra.......

Japan........

The Japanese weigh heavily on my mind, I knew it was affecting me but hadn't realized just how much. It's becoming difficult to sleep or to focus during the day thinking about the horrors they're experiencing over there......the loss of loved ones, homes, entire towns, drinking water & food shortages and now the prospect of a nuclear nightmare. I'm not glued to the tv watching it all unfold but one doesn't have to be, even just a short time updates one on everything happening. I looked for a beautiful picture of Japanese cherry blossoms to post so there was something lovely from the country to see rather than what's shown in the press but I couldn't hit the copy button. It certainly puts life in perspective.......the silly things we all worry about on the daily basis seem so unimportant when these things happen or when those close to us are dealing with horrible illnesses or loss.

On the local tsunami - we had several calls asking about our beach house on the Oregon coast - it is fine. We bought up the hill from the harbor and beach knowing that tsunami's can be an issue, I had read about the big on in Crescent City, CA in 1964 caused by the devastating quake in Alaska. We haven't heard if there was any damage in our town and probably won't know anything until we get the local paper on Friday. There was quite a bit of damage in other harbors south of us and in Crescent City, once again.

Today is my spinning day, getting together with all my fiber friends is always a good thing, good for the soul, good therapy for the mind and heart......

Sewing Expo - Whoo Hoo!

I have not posted to the blog for a while because early last Wednesday morning my friend Kathy and I headed up to Washington for the Sewing Expo. We were Sewing Expo virgins! What a great time we had, we both decided we would definitely go back. We did way too much shopping, not only at the vendors at the expo but also on the trip up and back home, staying in Portland one night to make sure we didn't miss out on shopping. I signed up for 9 different 45 minute seminars: Slinky (sewing on slinky fabric ala Chico's travel clothing); 2 handed fair isle knitting (no floats on the back); thread,needles & tension; fabulous floor mats, solar blueprint dyeing, sew like a pro; coats made easy, expressive sweatshirts. The Saturday night event that we bought tickets for was Ricky Tims, composer, story teller, quilter - he was so entertaining. So now on to the things I spent buckeroos on. I got pictures of most of it, a few items are gifts so can't post those.

Some of you remember my serger had been acting up. It was an inexpensive one I bought back in 1989 that worked great for 20 years and now no matter how I much it's adjusted it just won't serge right. I took it in for service and fixing and it's still not right. So, do I throw more money out the window on trying to fix it or just buy another inexpensive one - this one was only $179 in the Hancock Fabrics booth - I couldn't walk away from it. Funny, on the side it says Japanese technoloday, Made in China - kind of scary. Can't 'wait to get it out of the box and give it a try.

I bought quite a bit of the slinky fabric in black, a bit in red for making pants, tops & jackets along with patterns made for it from MacPhee. Not sure when I'll get to these.

More stencils in my favorites; gingkos & dragonflies along with lotus blossoms and shells.....as if I don't have enough gingko stencils......but these are different sizes

New patterns

More new patterns, a purse and two seashell wallhangings to make for the beach

New books, these look fantastic

Sheep fabric I just couldn't resist, bought coordinating fabrics to go with, probably for a big tote.

Chiffons from the Vogue booth (oh my gosh, the low prices!) to use for tops

Gingko fabric.....for whatever

Rayon Batiks for tops & pants, some bought at the Sewing Expo, some from FabricDepot on the trip home

More rayon batiks and some fun gingko buttons

And yet more rayon batiks - when am I going to do all this sewing???

Blue grey chiffon for a wrap, silk to stash for dyeing for lining for handwovens, lots of webbing in different colors to use for straps for rag bags - goal to get rid of all those cotton quilt leftovers by recycling them into tote bags. The chiffon and webbing came from the Mill End Store in Portland- wow, what a great store!

Oh and then there was a stop at Shipwreck beads on the way up - way too much fun, so many beads, so little time. Some novelty yarns to knit beaded bracelets with, friend Kathy showed me how. A small cone of mixed yarn from Yarnia in Portland for some fingerless mitts.

Oh, and I didn't put any pictures of my treasures from Ikea - I've got their catalog, looked at their goods online but had never been there - oh my gosh, the place was gigantic! What fun to go through, and had to have some swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes for lunch.

An afternoon of sewing...

I got the second top/jacket started late yesterday afternoon, got back to it this afternoon and have finished it up. I'm much happier with this one than the ginkgo one, happier in my sewing job that is. I learned alot on the ginkgo jacket, as in many steps that were ignored in the directions. I came up with my own way to handle the front facing and points at the bottom that turned out very professional looking. I put side slits around 6" up the side seams in, took more fiddly time with hemming but worth the end result. I also used two different indigo dyed cotton fabrics, I had these in my stash along with two others I chose not to use - bought them for a different jacket pattern, very happy with them in this one. I'd like to add some cording embellishment with dragonfly charms but that will wait, the dragonfly charms I have in the stash either aren't the right size or color. I have this over a natural/light tan colored t, don't seem to have a long sleeve one, maybe I can still find one in the stores before all the winter clothes disappear. These tops/jackets incorporate two of my favorites - dragonflies and ginkgos.

What I did today........

So, this is what I did today - I sewed the "Keshy Jacket" pattern. I had this great ginkgo fabric in my stash from who knows where, finally it got used. I love the jacket itself, the fabric and pattern were a challenge. The rayon fabric was very slippery and unraveled easily, although in the end it drapes beautifully. The pattern had 'minimal' instructions. I did fine with these minimal instructions until the last step when I sewed on the front/neck facing - there was no way to finish the point at the bottom of the fronts. The bottom hem was already done.....according to the instructions. I pulled out a similar commercial jacket I have to study the way the points were handled on it, totally different and not doable on this jacket but after much thought I figured out a fix by ripping out part of the hem. Now on the second one I know how I'll handle this last step.....still not sure how the designer handled it because there is no diagram or instruction. So, I'll wear this now with a long sleeve t....in warmer weather I'll wear a tank top under it.  Now back to the studio to cut out fabric for the next one. Next jacket is in two different indigo dyed cotton patterned fabrics, hopefully it will be a much quicker sew since I'm over the learning curve. There is something to be said about commercial patterns with their step by step directions as opposed to independent designers with minimal instruction.....but then some of these independent patterns are just so darn interesting looking.