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Archive for August, 2006

Rain…

I feel it, it’s coming

Rain, feel it on my finger tips
Hear it on my window pane
Your love’s coming down like
Rain, wash away my sorrow
Take away my pain
Your love’s coming down like rain

When your lips are burning mine
And you take the time to tell me how you feel
When you listen to my words
And I know you’ve heard, I know it’s real
Rain is what this thunder brings
For the first time I can hear my heart sing
Call me a fool but I know I’m not
I’m gonna stand out here on the mountain top
Till I feel your

Rain, feel it on my finger tips
Hear it on my window pane
Your love’s coming down like
Rain, wash away my sorrow
Take away my pain
Your love’s coming down like rain

When you looked into my eyes
And you said goodbye could you see my tears
When I turned the other way
Did you hear me say
I’d wait for all the dark clouds bursting in a perfect sky
You promised me when you said goodbye
That you’d return when the storm was done
And now I’ll wait for the light, I’ll wait for the sun
Till I feel your

Rain, feel it on my finger tips
Hear it on my window pane
Your love’s coming down like
Rain, wash away my sorrow
Take away my pain
Your love’s coming down like rain

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say, never go away

Waiting is the hardest thing
[It’s strange I feel like I’ve known you before]
I tell myself that if I believe in you
[And I want to understand you]
In the dream of you
[More and more]
With all my heart and all my soul
[When I’m with you]
That by sheer force of will
[I feel like a magical child]
I will raise you from the ground
[Everything strange]
And without a sound you’ll appear
[Everything wild]
And surrender to me, to love

Rain is what the thunder brings
For the first time I can hear my heart sing
Call me a fool but I know I’m not
I’m gonna stand out here on the mountain top
Till I feel your

Rain, I feel it, it’s coming
Your love’s coming down like
Rain, I feel it, it’s coming
Your love’s coming down like
Rain, feel it on my finger tips
Hear it on my window pane
Your love’s coming down like
Rain, wash away my sorrow
Take away my pain
Your love’s coming down like rain

Rain, I feel it, it’s coming
Your love’s coming down like
Rain, I feel it, it’s coming
Your love’s coming down like
Rain
[I’ll stand out on the mountaintop
And wait for you to call my name]
Rain

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I’m an idiot…


Yeah… I just joined another swap… It’s… it’s the Swap-Bot!!! It hypnotizes you and FORCES you to join swaps! I swear it does! I’m not the only one who have noticed this.

Anyway, it’s “Hot Socks” and you need to send some sock yarn, something to make a cup of hot drink; coffee, tea or cocoa, to someone, and then a little suprise or treat 🙂 So – just join you too LOL

Right now I’m in 9 swaps…
Cherry Red and Tangerine Orange
Red & Aqua Swap
Paper Doll
Magic Yarn Ball Again….
Warm hands, warm hearts
Samhain fiber craft swap
Hot Chocolate And Book – International
Trick or Treat goodies
Handmade Christmas Ornament Swap

And I think it’s a pity that I missed the Nordic Secret Pal Swap LOL

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Wardrobe surgery

Picture: Angela Johnson; redesigned, reconstructed and recycled clothing

Yeah… I didn’t do it this time either *sigh* Ok, so I’m bad. So? *grrr*
So look at all the nice stuff all the others have made and get inspired 🙂

P.S. Junky Styling” specialise in recycled eco friendly fashion, deconstructed clothing, wardrobe surgery, unique bespoke fashion and made to measure clothing in East London.

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Sock Wars


Ok, I joined the sock wars 🙂 Perhaps idiotic, because I live in Sweden. I’m pretty fast at knitting socks, but… I live in Sweden. It takes at least 4 days to get anything to US… So – what happens, if I have sent my sock to kill my “victim”, but someone else have sent her sock to kill me at the same time? I have to wait to get the sock from my victim before I can sent it to my killer, and during that time someone else might have killed my killer, and SHE needs to send the sock to the next killer, and… Er…

It sounds really funny! 😀 And it will be nice to get a pair of socks 🙂

So, please join you too! Go to Yarn Monkey’s blog (http://yarn-monkey.blogspot.com/2006/07/are-you-ready-for-sock-wars-2006.html) and send her a message 🙂 You have about a month to join 🙂

The battleground will be the Sock Wars Forum 🙂 Now BE THERE!

P.S. It’s ok to practice a bit 😉
Two socks on one circular needle – toe-up
Two socks on one circular needle
Casting on for two socks on one circular needle
Straight-laced socks – two at once on one needle 🙂

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Knitted handbags

What is it with these knitted designer bags?

Valentino, Ferragamo and Fendi have all made their version of the “knitted bag”. And the knitters all over the world are exited…

Black Dog Knits: Attitude
hitbyabus’s Ferragamo bag photoset

Er…? I don’t get it. I think these bags look all a bit… er… how to say it… self-made.


Well, sure, they are a little bit classier than “Interweave Knits’ “Give Me A Handbag
(I like this “Via Diagonale” Knitty pattern)

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Projects…

This is what I am currently doing. The pink bag is the little unsuccessful effort of making the “French Marketbag“. On the right is the blue “White Lies Shapely Tank” – I’m going to make it with sleeves. It’s a bit bothersome job, because I have to multiply my main cotton yarn. I’m using a large cone of one-ply cotton, and I am using it 4-plied. And I don’t want to just use four yarn balls, so I’m spinning it into yarn. And I have to wash it so that the spin relaxes, so… it takes time. But I’m sure the top will be nice.
The multidirectional, orange thingy is “The Felted Bag with Mitered Squares“. It’s the current knit-a-long project. I am using the one-ply wool yarn I have plant dyed myself, three-plied, so that I get the colors to mix better. I don’t like the bamboo handles, so I’m knitting the handles. It’s going to be interesting to see how it works in felting… I’m considering giving the bag away in a swap, but I might want to give it to my mom instead, as a Yule present.

I really have been a bad girl with my swaps. My poor One Skein pal haven’t got more than one skein, and she should have got already two AND the final thingy… I’m going to send her something extra, as thanks for her patience with me.
And my Secret Pal is also going to get a BIG package this month… I hope at least that 10 days are enough to get the package to Australia…

I would actually like to be doing some Mabon crafts, but I don’t have time for that. Perhaps I need to draw down all the swaps for a while at least… *blush*

Read Full Post »

Knitted handbags

What is it with these knitted designer bags?

Valentino, Ferragamo and Fendi have all made their version of the “knitted bag”. And the knitters all over the world are exited…

Black Dog Knits: Attitude
hitbyabus’s Ferragamo bag photoset

Er…? I don’t get it. I think these bags look all a bit… er… how to say it… self-made.


Well, sure, they are a little bit classier than “Interweave Knits’ “Give Me A Handbag
(I like this “Via Diagonale” Knitty pattern)

Read Full Post »

Projects…

This is what I am currently doing. The pink bag is the little unsuccessful effort of making the “French Marketbag“. On the right is the blue “White Lies Shapely Tank” – I’m going to make it with sleeves. It’s a bit bothersome job, because I have to multiply my main cotton yarn. I’m using a large cone of one-ply cotton, and I am using it 4-plied. And I don’t want to just use four yarn balls, so I’m spinning it into yarn. And I have to wash it so that the spin relaxes, so… it takes time. But I’m sure the top will be nice.
The multidirectional, orange thingy is “The Felted Bag with Mitered Squares“. It’s the current knit-a-long project. I am using the one-ply wool yarn I have plant dyed myself, three-plied, so that I get the colors to mix better. I don’t like the bamboo handles, so I’m knitting the handles. It’s going to be interesting to see how it works in felting… I’m considering giving the bag away in a swap, but I might want to give it to my mom instead, as a Yule present.

I really have been a bad girl with my swaps. My poor One Skein pal haven’t got more than one skein, and she should have got already two AND the final thingy… I’m going to send her something extra, as thanks for her patience with me.
And my Secret Pal is also going to get a BIG package this month… I hope at least that 10 days are enough to get the package to Australia…

I would actually like to be doing some Mabon crafts, but I don’t have time for that. Perhaps I need to draw down all the swaps for a while at least… *blush*

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more swap packages :-)

I love swapping 🙂 I love selecting the items for a package, wrapping them and sending them, I like knowing that I have managed to bring a little joy to someone’s life 🙂 This really is addictive 😀
And eventually you get a bit more substantiate rewards too LOL
I have got two swap packages this week. One Skein last package – my swap pal was Swedish LOL She managed to keep her identity secret very well 🙂 Tack, Ulla, du är underbar! I just wish I knew where your blog is – if you have one… She has been sending me these wonderful, luxurious yarns in perfect colors, and wrapped so beautifully in nice scraps of quilting fabric.
Now she send me a card revealing her identity, a wrist warmers and pattern for it 🙂
I have a tendency to get my wrists cold and aching, so she didn’t know how well her gift suited me 🙂 I really cannot pour enough praise over her LOL The best One Skein pal ever 🙂

And the Secret Pal 🙂 I got a note saying that a package was heading on my way, and today it arrived! YAY!

It was in a silver box. I love boxes 🙂
Inside was a card – very nice card, with a picture of Whitby Abbey in sunset. Very mysterious and nice cards 🙂 You can see some of it behind the flash… *blush* I’m not good with pictures, I’m afraid…

Then there were the fashinating stone candles…Very nice 🙂
A wool fat soap from Mitchell’s Wool Fat Soap Limited 🙂
Then there was a bag of sugar candy 🙂 Joseph Dobson’s Yorkshire Mixtures 😀 So I am munching away these “old fashioned sweets” as I sit here 🙂 The English apparently enjoy their sweets stronger than we do ours. These candies taste a lot 🙂
A big package of Indian Spiced Chai tea bags… Cardamon, cinnamon and gloves. My husband is especially in love with chai, strong spiced tea with sugar and milk. 🙂 (By Whittard of Chelsea 😉 I really enjoy the fact that she is sending me products from where she is 🙂 It’s fun to find out more about these companies… they should give her something for it LOL)

The scents were wonderful… candles, soap, tea, candies… Not too harsh to cause headache, but just enough to make me feel as if I was in a colonial ware store… I don’t know if they are called that in English, but when I was a little girl, there were these stores that sold everything brought from the exotic, colonial countries; tea, dried fruits, candy and things like that. They smelled like my package, and I still remember how I loved just passing by these stores, because when the door opened, the smell of orient poured over me… Sweet and spicy *_* So my secret pal don’t know what a treat she gave me 🙂

Then there was a little cupcake pincushion ornament. Very cute 🙂
There was a skein of beautiful pink mohair, wrapped in green tissue paper and closed with a beautiful little pink tassel in gold ribbon. I love tassels. I am really happy about that tassel too. Makes me feel a bit like a baby who doesn’t much care what’s inside the packages, because the paper and ribbons are so interesting LOL But no, I do care a lot about what’s in the package, I just love tassels 😉
And I have saved the best for last. There was a tiny green package and when I opened it, I saw a pair of most beautiful earrings! It looks like a shard of quartz or glass polished by ocean, wrapped with silver wire… and they are just so beautiful! I wonder if she has made them herself…

Thank you very much, my secret pal!

I feel so blessed with pals like this!

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Taillte’s Lammas

The whole August is dedicated to Taillte, the Fostermother of Lugh, Sun God. Not much is known of her, though.

Tailtiu (Tailltiu, Tailte, Teia Tephi) is the name of a presumed goddess from Irish mythology and the town in County Meath that was named after her.

According to the Book of Invasions, Tailtiu was the daughter of the king of Spain and the wife of Eochaid mac Eirc, last Fir Bolg High King of Ireland, who named his capital after her (now Teltown, between Navan and Kells). She survived the invasion of the Tuatha De Danann and became the nurse of Lug. Lug established a festival, Áenach Tailteann in her honour, which continued to be celebrated as late as the 18th century. She died after clearing the plain of Breg in County Meath, and Lug instituted funeral games in her honour at the festival of Lughnasadh.

Lammas

What to eat on Lammas and the rest of the August then?

Now, Lammas is the first of the three Wiccan harvest feasts, and the Harvest feasts usually are only vegetarian
– this is the hottest time of the year, and meat gets easily bad.
But if you have to have meat, try poultry. As rooster is Lugh’s bird, you can eat chicken.

What is not to be forgotten from the table at any time during Lammas is bread.

Also other food made of or with grain is good.

How many different sorts of cereals did you know of?
Wheat, corn, barley, oat, rye, rice… any more?
There is buckwheat(tattari), quinoa and spelt, amaranth, sorghum(hirssi) and millet and teff,
then there is durum wheat and Kamut wheat and there is triticale (rye-wheat-cross)
http://www.switcheroo.com/FGGrains.html

Some recipes: http://dmoz.org/Home/Cooking/Grains/

Some Lammas Recipes:
Any recipes on bread
Blueberrypie, blackberrypie and anything else made with berries
Try making some beer.
Try cooking with beer
Anything with pasta, rice and noodles – try out some Jewish Kugels
Epicurious – the world’s greatest recipe collection
Just search (recipes – browse – search) with “beer” “kugel” “bread” or “blueberries”, “blackberries” or just “berries”
You can also search with any of the grains mentioned earlier 😉
Recipe Source – same search words
Also All recipes gives some ideas

A Lammas bowl – blend 1 part lemonade, 1 part vodka and 1 part beer – a lot of ice

Food Network has also nice recipes

Like “Beer for Breakfast

Janette’s Buckwheat Blueberry Beer Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup

Syrup:
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
3/4 cup sugar-free blueberry jam
2 tablespoons blackberry brandy
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Pancakes:
1 cup light beer
1 egg white
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buckwheat pancake mix
1 cup fresh or frozen (do not defrost) blueberries

To make the syrup:
Combine the blueberries, jam, brandy and maple syrup in a small saucepan.
Place over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until blueberries start to pop, about 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Keep warm.

To make the pancakes:
In a mixing bowl, whisk the beer, egg white, honey, and vanilla.
Stir in the pancake mix and blueberries.

Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet over medium heat. Lightly spray the skillet with nonstick cooking spray.
Working in batches, pour in about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake.
Cook until browned on the bottom and bubbles begin to form on the top.
Turn the pancakes and cook until browned on the bottom. Serve immediately, with the syrup.

And Martha Stewart.com – Recipes
finally BBC Food – Recipes
They have even a quick link to “Rice and grains” 🙂

Old World Lammas Feast


Frytour of Erbes
salad with Blackberry Vinegar
Herbed Trout and Armoured Turnips
Covenstead Bread
Fig Pudding with a Red Wine Sauce
serve with currant or apricot wine or apple cider


Frytour of Erbes (Herb Fitters)
This recipe is from Julie R. from the Pacific Northwest.
“This is from 14th Century England. Use fresh herbs.”
Makes about 3 dozen 2-1/2″ fritters.

3 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/4 cups water
1/4 teaspoon yeast
1/8 teaspoon salt
vegetable oil for frying
2-1/2 teaspoons chopped sage
1-1/2 teaspoons chopped thyme
6 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoons chopped oregano
honey, to top fritters

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup water.
Add salt to flour; when yeast is foamy, add yeast and rest of flour to water.
Let sit while you chop and ground the herbs.
Divide batter in 4 portions.
Add one kind of herb to each portion, (or add four times as much of any one of the herbs to the whole batter).
Fry in 1/4″ deep oil by the 1/2 tablespoonful.
Serve with honey.

Blackberry Vinegar
Often used as a beverage this makes a nice salad dressing.

blackberries, clean and dry
malt vinegar
granulated sugar

Place berries in an earthenware vessel.
Cover with vinegar.
Let stand three days (this will draw out the juice from the berries).
To strain place cheesecloth over a bowl, pour in the mixture.
Let strain several hours.
Measure the amount of liquid you have (discard berries).
You will need 1 pound of sugar for every pint of liquid.
In a pan boil vinegar with sugar gently for 5 minutes.
Cool.

Herbed Trout
Use fresh herbs any will do but these are recommended.

4 small fresh trout, cleaned
4 sprigs rosemary
10-12 mint leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
3-4 sage leaves
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Place a spring of rosemary down the center of the trout.
Chop the remaining herbs and blend them into the butter along with the salt and pepper.
Coat the trout on both sides with the herbed butter.
Barbecue or bake fish until cooked through and the flesh flakes easily.
Every now and then brush the trout with the butter.

Armoured Turnips
This recipe is from Julie R. from the Pacific Northwest.
“This is from 15th Century Italy.”

1 pound turnips (about 5 little)
10 ounce cheddar cheese, sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Boil turnips about 30 minutes.
Peel and slice thin.
Layer turnips and cheese in a 9″ x 5″ baking dish.
Sprinkle each layer with spices and dot with little butter.
Bake 30 minutes.

Covenstead Bread
Printed with permission from Spirit Online
If you don’t have citron available use a combination orange and lemon peels.

3/4 cup water
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup finely chopped citron
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons anise seeds
2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan.
Add honey, citron, sugar, and anise seeds.
Stir until the sugar completely dissolves and then remove from heat.
Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices, and fold into the hot honey mixture.
Turn the batter into a well-greased 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan.
Bake one hour.
Turn out on a wire rack to cool.
This recipe yields one loaf of bread, and improves in taste if allowed to stand for 24 hours.

Fig Pudding with a Red Wine Sauce
pudding
2-1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup molasses
2 cup finely chopped dried figs
grated zest of 1/2 lemon or orange
1 cup buttermilk
sauce
1/2 cup butter

1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cups dry red wine
grated zest of 1/2 lemon or orange
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Make the pudding: Preheat oven to 325°F.
Grease a baking pan.
Combine baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt, set aside.
Cream butter until soft.
Beat in eggs, vanilla, and molasses until fluffy.
Stir in figs, lemon zest and buttermilk.
Stir in the dry ingredients.
Pour into baking pan and bake about 1 hour or until done.
Make the sauce: Cream butter and sugar until light.
Beat in the eggs.
Stir in the red wine, lemon zest and nutmeg.
Just before serving, beat sauce over hot water in double boiler. Heat thoroughly.

Serve over with hot pudding.


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