Holiday Madness

A friend of mine reminded me that I hadn't posted in a long time. She was right. I've gotten really tied up in the making of gifts for the season.

I've been so busy making gifts that my holiday decorating has fallen behind. I set up my favorite manger scene this morning. I got it in Mexico about 30 years ago. I love the blobby shapes especially of the sheep and little babe.

 I've been sewing gifts for everybody, starting with birthday gifts for my daughter Lacee and my Mom, they have birthdays in November (yes I know it's Dec and I'm, ehh, a little late). To test out the pattern I made one for myself (I love it) out of left over fabric and after a couple of modifications I was ready to make the top for each of them. Well it turns out that not all fabrics work the same, Lacee's came out great soft rayons, and velvet. It was a fabulous feeling getting it wrapped and into the mail with all the other gifts for her family. Mom's not so much, wool crepe and wool suiting trim, the edges of the crepe kept slithering out of the serging and all the stress points of the top (shoulders, neck, under arm) pulled open. At first I tried to fix the tears but they just kept popping open, it's a total loss. I will try again with other fabrics. Her box will go in the mail today with all the little gifts but no top.

I've made fleece lap blankets for all 4 grandkids, fleece capes for Tiernan and Rowan (so they stop wearing  the one I made for their sister last year). Fleece is so easy to work with it makes me look good, it almost makes up for the wool crepe disaster. Since Caulla already had a cape I've started knitting her a poncho, I've started it 7 times! This time it looks to be the right size so I'll knit like crazy and hope to get it done in time, thankfully big needles and big yarn.

In between sewing gifts I have been working out my travelling Lazy Kate design. I've got it perfected and have a dozen made. Now to set up an Etsy page to sell them (maybe after the holidays and Mom's top). Pictures later.

I would like to share with you the gift I have made for my Step-Dad. I've always found it hard to find the right gift for him even though we share a love of cooking. This year he and Mom are down-sizing so "things" are not wanted. I'm sending him some of my favorite recipes. Here they are:

Mushu Cauliflower and Pork

I worked up this recipe one night when I had a hankering for Chinese and was too tired to drive into town. I didn’t have any cabbage so I substituted cauliflower and it worked so well it has become a family fave.

Fast and Easy Version

1 cauliflower, chopped into smallish flowerettes

2 boneless pork chops sliced

1 jar of Plum or Hoisin Sauce (we prefer plum)

Cooking oil

Salt

Sesame Oil

Soy Sauce

Corn Starch if needed

1 package of flour tortillas warmed

Green onions- optional slivered for garnish

Using a wok on high heat, saute’ pork in oil, remove meat from pan, put cauliflower into wok and sauté. After the edges of the cauliflower soften add a tablespoon of soy sauce and a dash of sesame oil and a ½ cup of water. Cover and cook the cauliflower to the texture you like. Add meat back into wok and add enough Plum Sauce to coat the meat and veggies. If the sauce is too wet boil off extra and let steam escape or add corn starch to thicken. Serve in warm tortillas with extra Plum Sauce and diced onion.

Harder and Messier Version

Same ingredients

Marinate pork in soy sauce and sesame oil for 1-4 hours, roll in corn starch, fry in small batches in wok until crispy. Set aside. Follow the rest of the recipe above but add the pork just before serving to keep the crunch. Enjoy.

Zucchini Patties

This is an old family favorite; our daughters wouldn’t eat zucchinis so I told them these were made with cucumbers. Yes that’s right, I lied to them. We eat them for breakfast or dinner and they are great left over if you have any left.

4-5 zucchini grated

½- 2 cups of Bisquick

4 or 5 large eggs

Salt

Garlic Powder if you like

Grate zucchini, I use my food processor, and if I have time I sprinkle them with a little salt, put them in a colander and let them drain for an hour or two. If I don’t have time I use them straight from the food processor and add more Bisquick to compensate. Put the zucchinis in a bowl and add eggs until it good and gushy. I like a lot of eggs in mine so the patties are more egg-ish than pancake-ish. (When Tim makes them he uses less egg and more Bisquick) If you didn’t drain the zucchinis add salt to taste and if you want to add the garlic powder at this time. Add the Bisquick until the mixture looks like pancake batter. If you prefer a more pancake style patty add more Bisquick and then thin with milk as needed. Fry like pancakes. We eat them with ketchup, or salsa and sour cream. These patties are very versatile; you can add grated onion, carrots or apple. Bacon bits or chopped ham are tasty too.

 Happy Holidays to you all!

First Times after 20 Years of Spinning

I  love learning and trying new things. I never thought I would learn things by participating in a scarf fiber exchange but I did! I tried some things for the first time and I learned I am a competitive person (well ok I suspected this) but this exchange really brought it home to me.

It all started in April, I choose to exchange  4 oz of fiber in my guild's scarf exchange. I brought 4 oz of fiber I carded on my new drum carder, mostly very dark brown merino with accents of turquoise, apricot and green mohair and some silk odds n' ends. I received 4 oz dark blue BFL/silk to work with.

I spun the fiber on a new to me antique double flyer wheel that I had gotten from the Netherlands, getting her was a fun experience but that's a story for another day. I spun the fiber during Ravlery's Tour de Fleece, and learned that I can spin fine, both of which were firsts for me. This wheel made it easy for me to spin fine, up to now most of my spinning has been chunky. I spun this fiber fine and made a 3 ply yarn that finished at 15 wpi. This was my first true 3 ply! Plus it was my first Tour de Fleece, where you spin every day during the Tour de France, except rest days, and post about your spinning. It was good for me to have made a commitment to spin that much and I was please to spin up so much fiber. I spun more than the fiber for the exchange during the Tour but it was what I worked on first.

In September I got a call "reminding" me that my scarf was to be given to it's recipient at the the guild meeting in a week. Eeeck, I thought it was due in April! I hadn't started to finish it, I didn't even know how I was going to turn this yarn into a scarf. Hurriedly I picked a pattern for an easy straight scarf with a lace border and began to knit but it was only about 8" long when the guild meeting started.

The meeting is where my competitive streak was brought into the light. The scarves that were exchanged were glorious, lovely spinning, with beads and intricate lace patterns. They were received with squeals of excitement and hugs. The scarf I got back had been made by Mona and it was phenomenal, she spun the fiber very fine and knit up the lightest most ethereal stowl. It has all the colors I carded into it and matches almost everything I wear. I squealed and hugged! Then I had to hold up my little scrap of a scarf and promise that it would go to it's expectant owner soon. I was embarrassed, well maybe not exactly embarrassed but I knew that my scarf should and could be better, yup competitive. I un-knit it as soon as I got home and began searching for a pattern better suited to my yarn and knitting skills. I picked the  Annis Shawl  by Suzanna IC on Knitty.com

The next thing I got to learn was how to read a lace pattern, a first for me. I learned to knit with beads (another first) because I heard at the guild meeting that using beads would use less yarn than the nupps the pattern called for. It knit up fairly easily and fast for me (a surprising first), I learned a couple new stitches, a new cast-on and a new cast-off that I like alot. After it was blocked I was so pleased with it and myself. Here is my scarf, I am proud to exchange it, no regrets, and I am happy with what I have learned.

Going to SOAR

I'm so excited! I'm heading off to SOAR on Saturday. I've wanted to go ever since I read about it in Spin Off  many years ago. This year I applied for a scholarship and lucky me, I got one!!!! A big thank you to the folks at Spin Off who provided me with this opportunity and the wonderful people who wrote my letters of recommendation, thank you again.

I've been planning this trip for weeks and it seemed like mid-October was years away but now I'm leaving in 4 days. How can it be so soon? I'm writing lists of what to bring. Soon I will be making a pile of spinning stuff and clothing to schlep into my car. It is so hard to decide what to bring. I want to cover all my fiber needs (so I have fewer excuses to shop) but it needs to fit into my car and since I have a friend who is riding with me, I only get half a car to fill. I think I'll take pics of the packing process for my next Post.

I signed up for 3 days of Deb Mentz's ABC's of Color so I'll be bringing my drum carder and all the rest of my fiber blending tools. Oh just remembered, I have to bring Deb's book so I can get her to sign it, onto the list it goes. Then I'm taking Judith McKenzie's Recycled Yarn and I need to bring my wheel, bobbins and a lazy kate.

Did I mention my wheel? I'd been looking at travel wheels for a few years, and the thought of hauling my Lendrum up and down hill at the altitude of Lake Tahoe made me choose to get one. I got a Sabrina Travel Wheel from Carson Cooper at ztwist.com, I was expecting to get his plain cherry wheel but what I got was a far from plain as could be. Here she is, meet "Silk"  She weighs less than 8 lbs and spins so smooth.

I'm totally besotted with her, designing a carry strap for her, buying a bag  for her to travel in. I've been so smitten you'd think she was a designer puppy. No, she is a metal rimmed wheel with beautifully turned parts of maple burl and curly cherry. Here we are, all ready to go

So now that I've resolved all the tools and fiber I'm taking I have to think about the clothes that I'm going to pack. Hmmmm...

My First Post

For those who don't know me, I'm Loyce, the Chocolate Sheep Gal. I love to make felt and teach felt making, I get a kick out of doing torch-work glass and I'm learning to turn wood. I'm married, have been for close to 30 years, the mother of 2 adult daughters, the grandmother of 4, beloved of 3 dogs and a handful of cats, and the bringer of hay and grain  to goats, sheep, mini donkeys and one horse.

I am living my dream from my long term committed relationship to being a working artist living on a small farm. In this blog I want to share what it takes to make this dream work for me. The stuff that goes great, the stuff that is average, some stuff that is boring and the stuff that didn't work at all. I also want to share things I like, my current projects, tips on felt making and art, cool stuff I found and bargains, and my insights into farm life. 

Recently I was asked to submit proposals to teach at a couple of fiber venues and a submission for artwork. These things make me think about what I have done recently and frequently I find it hard to remember To keep track of what I've made, in the beginning of 2012 I began keeping a "Done List". Like a "to Do" List but better. Not a long winded thing, just a list of things as I've finished them. If a project reaches a notable level of completion but still has another set of steps before it's finished I will put it on my list but add a note listing what it needs to be finished. When it's totally finished I either cross off the note or if it was a really big project I'll write it down again as complete. It's very satisfying to see that I've done close to 35 projects that I felt were worth noting down in 10 months. I love the feeling of accomplishment that I get from knowing what I've made.

Here is one of those things that I've done in the past year and a half that has not made it to my list. She would go under the heading of uncompleted projects but I would list her as reaching a notable level. Her name is Ruby and she is 3/4 Chocolate Lab and 1/4 hairy sheep dog. We got her as puppy and have been enjoying her ever since. I'm not her only person, Tim feeds and plays with her, but I'm the one who is home with most days. She is 16 months old now and has grown into one of the most delightful of dogs.

This is Ruby now and my other darling dog Zoe.