Need More Hands, and Honey Mustard Chicken!

I’ve been remiss in my blogging, but that’s only because I’ve been SO busy designing, charting, knitting up samples, then writing patterns.  

No time to spin or weave, and barely enough time for housework!  I figure if the bathroom and kitchen are kept clean, the rest can wait until one of us can get to it.  

Cooking, however, I don’t take shortcuts on, as we have been eating only home cooked meals for many years, esp. as I need a very low salt diet, but also, eating out is pricey, and neither of us is into eating junk food.  Today’s dinner recipe is below.

Just yesterday, we were out doing a few errands and trying to find hubby a new easy chair, as his is worn down enough to make him uncomfortable, and as he has enough pains, it’s important to alleviate body stresses where we can.  

As he’s driving, and we’re chatting, I mentioned how much I love to chart new color designs, which he likened to being a kid who loved to color.  Perhaps, although charting software means we can create many versions until we find the one(s) we like best, without ever having to erase anything.   I never tire of it!

So, as soon as I got dinner on a simmer and took photos, it’s back to the computer, until I need to rest and get my feet up, then I knit on new design samples.

Honey Mustard Chicken
This has become our new favorite chicken dish.  One day I was trying to think of something new to cook, as although shake and bake chicken is easy, I am now needing my chicken ro be softer. What came to mind is the honey mustard viniagrette I make for summer green salads, even on chopped salads, and I thought, “why not?”

The recipe is easily adjusted to a smaller or larger # of chicken thighs.

Ingredients
4 chicken thighs, skin removed and trimmed of fat
1/2 lg sweet onion, like Vidalia, rough chopped
a handful of flour with S/P mixed in
olive oil
honey
mustard - we tend to have spicy brown mustard on hand, although I prefer Dijon
no-salt or low-salt chicken stock, almost a quart, bought or made
lemon juice - bottled is fine
white wine - optional, we can sometimes have a semi-sweet Riesling on hand
thyme, chives, parsley, garlic powder
cornstarch

Easy Homemade Vegetable/Chicken Stock
We always have a gallon Ziploc on the freezer door, to hold fresh or already cooked chicken bones, and veg scraps, always onion skins, carrot ends, and celery trimmings, sometimes also zucchini and mushroom trimmings.  When the bag is at least half full, into a stock pot they go, then cover with filtered water.  Bring to a boil, then simmer at least 30 mins.  Strain.  If I’m not using it all that day, it gets refrigerated until the next day, then  poured into ice cube trays to freeze, then into a freezer bag.

Toss the chicken in the flour mix, shake off excess and sauté in a generous amount of olive oil. (A splatter screen helps.)  Brown both sides.  Remove temporarily to a clean bowl.

Add the chopped onion, lower the heat a bit and sauté until somewhat softer and browned.

Pour in the stock - stand back as you pour into a hot pan!  Add a good squirt of lemon juice and a splash of white wine.

Scrape up any brown pan bits, add the honey and mustard - several TBLs of each, and the herbs and garlic powder, all to taste.  Don’t add the cornstarch.  Stir to blend.

I like a lot of flavor in the sauce, especially when pouring it over egg noodles, which soak up the flavor!

Add the chicken back to the pan, replace the splatter screen or a lid if you prefer, and simmer for 30-40 mins.

To thicken the sauce - put 1 heaping TBL cornstarch into a cup or small bowl, add a little filtered water (not hot water), then stir into a slurry.  Drizzle it into the pan a bit at a time while bringing the pan to a boil. Stop when it’s thickened to your liking.

Bon Appétit!

How EZ Always Brings Me to My Senses!

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been knitting up samples and beginning the pattern writing for a new collection, then I got stuck with one design.  

Three pattern reps (of 2 cable stitch patterns) worked well enough at a larger gauge, but then I wanted a 2nd sample in a thinner yarn and spent a couple days fighting with it.  I tried 4 reps with this thinner yarn.  Of course, it works, but the resultant size would be too large for the intended purpose, and 3 reps would be too small.  I then substituted a different cable for one that I used in the first sample, but I didn’t like the look of it.

No matter how much I wanted to use this particular yarn with these particular stitch patterns, it would not work.

Finally, I remembered an anecdote by Elizabeth Zimmermann, in her Spun Out #11 “Fisherman’s Guernseys”, where she talks about how she admired Mrs. Laidlaw’s guernsey pattern in Gladys Thompson’s book, “Patterns for Guernseys, Jerseys, & Arans”, except whatever yarn Gladys had used allowed her to get 10 sts/1” in pattern.  Elizabeth picked up size 0 ndls and Homespun wool, and, naturally, couldn’t get any tighter than 6 sts/1”.   Gladys must have been using fingering wt. wool, not worsted wt.

LOL, this reminded me that yarn can not always do what we want it to do, just because we wish it to do so!   Of course, after 3 decades knitting and designing, I do know this, but even seasoned knitters can fall into the trap of fruitlessly trying to make a yarn fit the bill.

In the end, I acknowledged that if I wish to make a 2nd design sample with 4 reps in that particular pair of stitch patterns, I will need to use a sport wt. or, possibly, a DK wt yarn.  

I put that design temporarily on hold and CO another color work design, which always soothes me and flies off the ndls!

Which reminds me of another of Elizabeth’s anecdotes about being in a boat knitting, whilst her Gaffer fished, making the first ever Aran sweater, for Vogue, if I remember correctly, and how it felt to her like her hands had done it before, long ago, in another life, on another shore.  I know that feeling well.  I feel it when I weave, spin, and when I knit, especially color patterns.  The hands remember, even if we don’t.

May your yarn always give the correct gauge, and suit its desired purpose!
Dawn

The Pause and Reassessment Month That is January

Every month seems to have an impetus that drives us forward.  April and May have us eager to get out into the garden.  June, just to be outside and enjoy the pleasant weather and blooming gardens before the heat and humidity descend in July and August.  October, eager to revel in autumn’s colors and cooler temps, then the rush forward through all the holidays.

Then comes January.  Which can feel like a month without a purpose.  With February, at least we can feel closer to springtime, but January?  It’s almost a non-month.

And that’s OK.  We all need time to recover from all the recent busy-ness.  I tend to knit on small projects and watch far too many whodunits, the better ones of which tend to be darker, brooding, like “Endeavour”, “Inspector Morse”, “Inspector Lewis”, and the latest one I’ve eagerly watched – “Unforgotten”.  LOL, however, this doesn’t help the feeling of malaise that can permeate January.  

So, after about 2 weeks, I pull myself up my bootstraps (one of those old, odd phrases!), and shake off the not-wanting-to-do-much, and begin to dig into one of my least favorite chores – paperwork, namely tax prep, but also (as I’m turning 65 in April), wading through the piles of Medicare info that has been pouring in for months already, which I’ve not had the time to properly digest. 

I tackle pattern-writing in a similar way. I’ve been knitting up a growing pile of design samples which will be a collection, either all in one long pattern, or split into two or more patterns.  I am undecided at this point, but I’ll know how to present the designs, once I’m nearing the end of the knitting.

As I design on the needles, I begin with handwritten notes, which, for this new batch of designs, I then write them up in TextEdit, so I can edit the language and decide how the info should best be presented.  Then it gets formatted in iWork Pages.  I used to use, and loved, the old ClarisWorks, but then I’ve been using a Mac since ’94, and have seen a lot of software changes since then!

Once I get to this point, I can see the finish line.  I wish I could produce more patterns than I currently do.  In looking at my finished work, I seem to only publish 3 patterns every other year or so.  I do alternate knit design with spinning and weaving, where weaving also suffers from a lack of production.  With the floor loom still in pieces in the (cold, unheated) upstairs, I managed a flurry of rigid loom weaving, but that now is also on pause, whilst I focus on knit design.  

Life in the past several years has also impacted on my work, as hubby’s health has required some surgeries that resulted in very long recovery periods, during which my household workload increases to the point of having not enough uninterrupted downtime for good creativity.  Another surgery is likely imminent, so that’s another reason I am dragging myself out of the winter repose I really enjoy into making hay mode, as I’ll have more imminent responsibilities again soon.

For the knitters who enjoy my patterns and wish there were more, although I could just limit my fiber work to knitting, so to produce more patterns, I find it beneficial to pause and spin for a few weeks, then pause and weave a bit.  Spreading myself around can, though, leave one *feeling* under-productive, even if that’s not the reality.  

But, at this point in our lives – not getting to do any of the traveling I have yearned for *forever* and had hoped to do at this point in life, and not having the kind of property I’ve always wanted so to have the large gardens I’d love to have – my work is my salvation, so I really can’t imagine giving up any of it.  Life imposes enough limits, so I have no intention on being self-limiting!  

I’ll always be grateful for those who enjoy my work, and thankful for their patience!
Onward!
Dawn

The Take Your Time Sale!

If you’re like me, then you, too, don’t like to be rushed when shopping, especially at this time of the year, so this sale runs from Wednesday, 11/29/23 through the end of Sunday, 12/3/23.  

Everything in my Etsy shop is 15% off – knitting and crochet patterns, handspun yarns, handwoven scarves, and handwoven rag rugs.

No coupon is needed, no minimum is required!

As I’m beginning a new line of weft-faced rugs, I have dropped the price of my current rag rugs by 50%.  

The 15% sale is an extra discount on top of thealready reduced rug prices!

Happy Holiday Crafting!
Dawn
 

Satisfying Plain Weave

I finally added 2 blogs to my sidebar, for now, as I’m rather particular about such things.  I enjoy, and learn from, both Peggy’s and Karen’s blogs and I’ll surely add some knitting blogs.  Peggy has great general weaving information and Karen often posts about her rag rug projects, though not in detail!

Many weavers seem to have fallen down the multi-shaft rabbit hole, where I have always been content with 2 shaft or more basic 4 shaft weaves. I love simpler traditional textiles - plain weaves and twills, stripes, plaids, tweeds, and weft-faced and plain weave rugs. They may not provide the wow factor like other weavers’ work, but I find them to be comforting and relatable.  

When it comes to textile gymnastics, I prefer it in knitting, via color patterns or cable patterns.  

Needless to say, any snafus which occur whilst knitting are far more easily dealt with than a complicated weaving draft errantly threaded!  At this point in my life, I don’t need unnecessary stress!  (Although, is *any* stress really necessary?  I wish I could avoid it entirely, and save my heart the distress that ensues, undoing the good work of my heart meds.). Keeping it simple doesn’t mean it will only be boring!

More complex weaving drafts are lovely, but they do not *speak* to me.  Even Overshot, which I used to love, and have several books on, but we no longer own an antique home, at least for now, so I want whatever I weave for this non-fussy circa 1947 Cape Cod house to not look out of place.  And as we live on the Cape, a simpler seaside decor suits it well, although it will take me a while to weave and sew all that I want in the house!

As I may have mentioned, my floor loom (a 45” Hammett CB with sectional beam) is in pieces now, moved upstairs into a room where I will actually have space to weave easily.

Moving it also allows us to use my work table for Thanksgiving dinner, as the rest of my studio supplies and FO’s (handspun yarns and handwovens) need to remain in a room that is constantly heated or cooled.  I’ve BTDT enough, dealing with having to rewash linens that were stored in an unheated and non-cooled room.  I won’t do that to my hard work!

But this does mean it will be a while before hubby and I can get to putting the floor loom back together.  I only had time to weave one weft-faced rug, the warp for the remaining 3 rugs was rewound back onto the beam and taped down.

So, with the floor loom out of commission for a while, my small RH loom has been getting a workout.  It is not an unenjoyable process to direct warp the RH loom, even the more persnickety color and weave designs, although I think I prefer the actual act of weaving on the floor loom!  Passing a stick shuttle isn’t the same as throwing a boat, ski, or rug shuttle.  Floor loom weaving also gives my legs some exercise, like handspinning, which I also spend quite a bit of time doing

I now have 10 wool and alpaca scarves on Etsy thus far, and recently finished 3 more: another Houndstooth Tattersall, an all white Tweed, and a pattern I call “Faux Rib”, aka Log Cabin, as the pattern reminds me of offset panels of knit and purl ribbing.  LOL, I don’t like log cabins, much preferring Federal, Greek Revival, Colonial Revival, or Shingle Style. 

Actually, I was never crazy about most of the Log Cabin threadings and treadlings I’ve seen.  Many appear murky and confusing to me – I prefer clear, crisp, repeating patterns, which are easily readable.  This one, a 9-st rep both in warp and weft, please my sense of order!

Below are some other drafts I plotted and have been weaving.

Although I have a handful or rwo of 4+ shaft weaving books, I’ve only had one RH book, although the only thing that interested me in that book was how to weave a palindrome skein, which I have yet to do.  I'd much rather play around on weaving software to try to create interesting designs.

As you can see from the following 3 drafts, although they are similar, the first draft varies from the last two. Warping the first one is easier, with its solid blocks of color, but weaving it is slower, requiring 2 shuttles.  So, I decided to shift it, by moving the alternating color ends to the warp, making it slower to warp, BUT allowing the weaving to be solid blocks of color – just one shuttle for a # of picks.

Here’s some twists on the Log Cabin, which I’m calling “Peepers”, after the spring peppers we had so many of in the acre-sized pond back in the mid-Hudson.  I would even find them in the evergreen, off the porch.

These are next on my list to weave up.  As you can see, a simple adjustment to the color pattern in the warp and weft creates 3 options - a single set of alternating horizontal and vertical bars with horizontal peepers, a double set of alternating horizontal and vertical bars with vertical peepers, then a double set of alternating horizontal and vertical bars with *both* horizontal and vertical peepers: peepers on the ground, peepers up a tree, and peepers everywhere!

So many drafts, so little time!

Onward!
Dawn

Two Yutes!

Remember the court room scene in “My Cousin Vinny”, where the clash of Brooklyn, NY and Alabama accents come to life?  In case you haven’t seen it.  

Well, when I was thinking of a title for this blog post, that’s what came to mind!  Though, in my case, it’s not yutes, or utes, but utensils.

I have been wanting to get new kitchen utensils for quite some time.  Sure, we have plenty of wood ones, which are used all the time, but wood, by its nature, does not provide the kind of surface and edge some cooking and baking requires.  So, we also had a selection of silicone (and I don’t know what) utensils for use with non-stick pans. 

Unfortunately, we’ve had them a *long* time, likely even before they started making BPA-free.  And forget about heat resistance, hence the tips on some of them had begun to melt.  Not acceptable.

So, I went searching, and found this company’s wares on Amazon. I started by replacing the spatula (which hubby uses) and the spoonula, which I exclusively use.

I love it for both mixing and lifting up/turning foods during cooking, especially after I whacked cake batter onto my face using a spatula!  That never happens when using a spoonula. Then came the set of flippers - one slotted and wide, the other not slotted and narrow. 

They’re BPA-free, safe to 600º, and well made, if you’ve been looking to replace yours.  

Please note: I post links to products or  sites that might be of interest. I have no stock in this company, or Amazon (despite how much I need to buy there!), and if you click on any links in my blog posts, I do not earn anything.

Onward!
Dawn

Like Words on a Page

I still haven’t worked at the floor loom, as I’m engrossed in weaving on the RH loom!  For every scarf I weave, I chart 5-10 more drafts, so as soon as a scarf comes off it, another warp goes on.  Only a few of my ideas don’t translate well into a scarf, although they’d be fine as yardage, where too thick selvedges don’t matter.  

In this Handwoven article about Nell Znamierowski, it says, ”For Nell, sampling was the joy of weaving. Making an actual project—yardage, scarf, or whatever was a byproduct.”

I understand what she meant.  I’ve long been in love with color.  Not masses of every color everywhere, but instead, carefully chosen and placed color.  Like words on a page, color needs white space.  They also seem to need at least one other color to *bounce off of* –  colors singing in a harmonious voice.

These days one doesn’t need to warp and weave in order to sample color placement, there’s software to, at least, get the ball rolling by creating a visual. I’ve only used PixeLoom (on a Mac), so I can’t speak to other software or hardware, but PL is easy to use, at least for 2 or 4 shaft weaves.  I haven't yet put the software through all its paces, just using the basics thus far, but, I could sit all day and play with colorways for drafts, working to find patterns that sing to me!

Here’s the first grouping of scarves for sale in my Etsy shop, with a few photos below.  I just finished the 10 listings. One more scarf is lying flat, blocking, and I can't wait to get another warp on the loom, using the squishy, supersoft, extra fine (19.5 micron) merino and heavenly baby alpaca yarns which arrived yesterday!

Along the way, some scarves may be gifts, and one or two may go to a local charity which collects warm clothing for the poor (along with some other wool handknits to also donate). I would like to weave a scarf for my two grandkids, and already have a few drafts created just with them in mind.

I wonder if Nell ever repeated her designs.  Some drafts I may only weave a few times, others please me enough that I want to weave them in many alternate colorways and in different yarns.  But they all came about through play.  And who ever gets tired of playing?  It’s what keeps us young!

Onward, Dawn