Honey Bear Knitted Hat

This is the time of year when I dig out my knitting (and then wonder where on earth I left off on many projects).  I have a few projects on the go but was able to finish off three different things recently because I chose small projects (hurrah for small projects and the quick sense of accomplishment they bring).  I needed some wrist warmers and had had some on the go since last Winter.  I finished off my pair and then made a gift pair as well.  I'm actually finding them very handy and might need to make myself a "working" pair so I don't  get my nice set all grubby.  They come very much in handy when whittling or doing archery and so I've managed to get them grubby already. 

I also am attempting to use up all some of my thrifted stash of yarn this year.  My mom had given me a small skein of hand dyed alpaca wool awhile ago and I couldn't think what to make with it.  The colours were pretty....mmm, interesting and I wasn't at all sure they would look nice knitted up.

Then, when looking through this book, I came across a pattern for a Honey Bear hat and decided I would make one.  I got a silk/wool blend in light blue and another in taupe out of my stash to mix with the hand-dyed one and they knit up together quite nicely. 

I tend to think of myself very much as a slap-dasher and a make-do sort of person.  When I was ready to make this I realized that I didn't have the right length circulars (or anything close to the right size) and I didn't have the right size double pointed.  I ended up using 3 smaller double pointed needles along with 2 (closer to) proper size double pointed because I wanted to start making it Right Then! (my  husband doesn't even shake his head at me anymore).   I did have to add a few extra rows here and there but it turned out just fine in the end. 

Now my head is nice and cozy as we head into colder temps here and I've used three skeins of wool from my stash...well, mostly used, there are small bits left over.  Hmmm, what to make with those little bits...

Elderberry Elixer

The other day I finally got around to making some Elderberry Elixer.  I first heard of this on  Flow of Love's blog  here and really wanted to try some after making the easy Elderberry Electuary she also posted about.  I checked out the details from the Kiva Rose link and then set to it.   I had put some Elderberries in the freezer in September with the plan to make something with them once I had some time.  I pulled the berries off the stem with a fork and them filled two jars almost to the top with them.

I added a few of my dried rosehips to both jars and a bit of cut up ginger to one jar. 

Filled them with alcohol (both were fruit based alcohol and one of them was a gorgeous cherry coloured alcohol).  Topped them off with a rather large dollop of local honey.

They were stirred,  not shaken. ;-)  Actually I would have shaken them but they were quite full so I settled for stirring. Maybe after a taste test or two there will be room to shake. ;-)

And then I watched them as even the one with clear alcohol turned the prettiest ever shade of burgundy I've ever seen.  This picture doesn't capture it well but trust me, it's gorgeous.  And the smell is utterly divine.  It reminds me of a fruit compote my mom  used to make (which at the time I thought was nothing more than a good way to ruin perfectly good ice cream but am sure I would appreciate much more as an adult).

These are truly very simple to make and, though I never relish the thought of being under the weather, I can tell you that having these on hand makes the thought of it not quite so bad.

Herbal Health

I'm a big fan of herbals and consider it the most effective way of healing for myself.  My body responds well to herbs and herbal medicinals and so I try to learn more about herbs all the time.  My sons are also very familiar with herbs because they've been raised with them and have used them to help them through the bumps, bruises, colds and other ailments that are a part of living. 

I don't have quite the pantry or coldroom in this house that we had in our other home but that isn't keeping us from filling what we do have with some herbal remedies. 

The boys call this my Concoction Cupboard (they're always interested to see what concoction I've got on the go) but I prefer to think of it as my Potions Pantry (seeing as how I have a bit of a fondness for a certain Potions Master). ;-)

At any rate, I'm getting it nicely stocked for this year with all sorts of goodies - some old familiars like calendula, chamomile, yarrow, mint and dandelion as well as some that are new to me like dried elderberries and  elderberry spiced honey.

There is some Burdock tincture, red clover blossoms, lots of dried sage, dried burdock root, loads of nettle and some nettle seed, wild strawberry leaf and self-heal.

Last week before our hard frost E and I went out to collect just a bit more Self-heal, some wild mint and some Mullein leaves to dry.  I had some Mullein flowers on hand as well as some Mullein flower oil but hadn't got to picking leaves yet.  Every time I feel them I just can't help but think what a sensible alternative to T.P they must have made - so soft. ;-)

This weekend I put some Calendula petals in the fondue pot to make some Calendula oil.  We were down to our last bit and couldn't find where I had put the last jar of Calendula salve either so I wanted to get some done.  I didn't have near my regular amount of Calendula flowers here but it doesn't take much to make just one jar of salve and one of oil.

This is one of my favourite things to make because the petals are just so beautiful. Love the colours.

 

Mix the oil with a bit of beeswax and you've got an easy salve.  (If you want a few more details on making this simple salve I posted about it here.)

I've also put up 2 jars of elder elixer after reading about it on Flow of Love and being inspired to try my own.  It looks so beautiful and smells so divine that it is definitely worthy of its own post. ;-)

Applesauce

Yesterday a friend and her family came over and we made an attempt to use the apples we had picked last week.  We had some lunch and then got started.  We wanted to make loads of applesauce from peeled apples and we also wanted to try out her apple steamer for steamed juice as well as sauce run through the press.

We peeled.  We chopped.

We filled dutch ovens and two huge pots with apples cooking.

We took breaks for fresh apple juice making, steamed juice and pink sauce from the press.  The kids cut faces into apples for dried apple heads.

Then we filled  bowls with cooked applesauce and re-filled the pots.  Several times.  Soon all my containers were filled as was the counter top.

And now...I've got some in the freezer and will can a load this morning to put in the coldroom.  I'll give you one guess as to what we will be having for breakfast...

Just yesterday I was telling my friend that we hadn't seen any deer by the house for quite some time and then this morning the boys came running in to tell me that Mama deer and her two little ones were right beside the house.  We're wondering if they were tempted by the scent of all those apple peelings in the compost bin...after all, who doesn't love fresh apples. ;-)

Thanksgiving Weekend with a Little Bit of Everything

We celebrated our Thanksgiving weekend with a little bit of everything including a little bit of good company.

A little bit of apple drying.

A little bit of sewing and a little bit of knitting (more on the knitting later).

A bit of hiking.  Started the next section of the High Rim Trail, it is cold enough this high up now that the creek was still frozen during the middle part of the day and we were glad we had brought mitts along.

A little bit of archery practice. 

This little duck had no idea why S bought him from the thrift store.  He probably was quite happy to be chosen from amongst all the other bits and bobs in the thrift store and was expecting to be going to a good home.  Not so.

It didn't even matter that I was singing Burl Ives' There's a Little White Duck.

The poor thing was doomed.

There was a Lot! of eating.  The homemade giant perogies were a big hit.

My boys really admire Jamie Oliver and, after seeing a few of his DVDs and learning more about how he supports fresh, local food, I really liked him too but now, after trying this recipe...I luv him!  These roasted veg were delicious!  Seriously the best ever veg.  Four helpings later I decided this would be a regular meal in our home.  Yum.  The only thing we did differently was to sub thyme for rosemary because we prefer thyme.  We ate ours too quickly to take a photo but check out the photo from the above recipe link, you can tell they are delicious just from the picture.

So much to give thanks for - just within the simple things of our everyday lives - we feel very blessed.

Drying Apples by the Fire

Since we've got lots of apples on hand I thought I would dry some this year.  I would prefer to use my solar dryer but I just don't think it is going to be warm enough over the next while to do so.  We dug out our electric dryer, which hasn't been used in a while, and got that going yesterday.

Then I sliced some up and put them in front of the fireplace. Have I mentioned how much I love having a fireplace?

The bonus of drying them in front of the fire, besides that they dry even faster here than in the electric dryer, is that they make the room smell delicious.  W commented on it as well.  Such a lovely feeling to be in a warm, cozy, apple scented room.

And, fireplaces are lovely for drying clothes in front of too.

I washed and dried this wool cardigan yesterday and now have plans to do some needle felting on it. I haven't tried needle felting on a garment before but I think it will be fun to give it a try.

Thrifty Thursday

I've had the chance to go to some thrift stores a few times over the last two weeks and I've found all kinds of goodies.  Thrifty Thursday has a nice ring to it so I thought I'd share a few of my latest finds but boy, was it hard to wait until today to share my excitement. Thrifty Tuesday just didn't sound as good though.  ;-)

I have always had a love of "old things"  (no Alan Rickman comments from the peanut gallery please! ;-) ) and so I feel especially lucky when I find something "old" at the thrift store.  I've wanted a manual coffee grinder for quite some time so imagine how thrilled I was where I saw this just sitting there on the shelf patiently waiting for me.  Thrilled, I say, Thrilled!!  It isn't as though I needed any more reason to be excited about my morning cuppa but there you have it...I really am even more excited now.

Love this little drawer full of gorgeous smelling grounds each morning.

I also have a bit of a fondness for picnic baskets and was quite pleased to find this old one for only $3.  It came home with me and now gets put to good use containing the bedlam that is my too, too many ongoing projects   keeping my latest crafting endeavours in order.

Tucked away inside the basket is one of my latest works-in-progress - a jute shopping bag.  I was just about to part with the box full of jute my mom had given me a few years back, it was left over from her macrame projects of the early 70s.  The colours are beautiful though and I have such a hard time parting with any natural fibre so I was quite pleased when I came across a library book with some projects which were ideal for jute.

And...since one craft-containing picnic basket is good, surely two must be better.  Right??

This one tucks away nicely under our book shelves by the fireplace and will hold my supplies for my...erm, even more latest work-in-progress - embroidery.  I'm having a very fun time working on a sweet little embroidery project.  My new-to-embroideryness is showing up quite clearly in my stitches but it is such a cute little project that I don't think it even matters.  Now...I just need about 50 more baskets and my crafting supplies might actually get organized. ;-)