my book is happening

A few months ago a friend told me that her publisher at the The Book Shop Ltd. was looking for crafters. She advised me that it was a good time to pitch something if I had any ideas. Oh, I've got lots of ideas...but the timing was really bad.

I was smack-dab in the middle of moving from New York to Utah. Purging and packing up NY, searching for a rental home in the Salt Lake area, closing accounts, opening new ones. Top that off with trying to visit everyone who is dear to us to say our goodbyes. Pitch a book?!

What did I have to lose? Besides precious time and my sanity! Having a free hour to kill while waiting for my girls outside their circus class, I sketched out my idea on a piece of paper. I scanned it with my phone and emailed it to the Book Shop Limited, not putting much hope in the outcome.

Two weeks later the publisher called. She had "shopped it around", and Barnes and Noble was interested! They want to turn my idea into one of those craft book/kits. Oh boy! Now I was in trouble! They needed information from me...exact sizes and weights of fabrics and other supplies that would be in the kit. They needed it asap, so they could source it all and see if it would be worth the cost to do it.

As our worldly possessions were being loaded into PODS, I sat on the floor in an empty room with a laptop and sketchbook. Making patterns and seeking out all the necessary info needed to source the kit supplies. All this to say, my book is happening!  I made samples and patterns and they have all been enthusiastically approved. Now I begin working with a book designer and an illustrator to lay out the book. I am listed as the author, which is kind of weird to me. Barnes and Noble changed a few things from my original theme, but not much. They approved all of my fabric choices, which I am really happy about because I think that's the one place I was able to throw a bit of myself in. This book has been a real gift, a complete surprise, giving me all kinds of confidence and dreams for the future.

freestyle booble hat

After that fussy cabled sweater I had the urge to knit something without a pattern or plan. What began as a wide scarf ended up a slouchy hat! As I was knitting I realized that I have a wide large scarf from last year that looks pretty much the same. 

I ripped it out and started a hat.  I wasn't having enough fun with it, so I started throwing in some random bobbles to make it interesting. As soon as it was finished I tried it on and took this selfie. Which doesn't do the yarn justice at all.

In need of some natural light, I went outside and popped it on the bird feeder. You can see the delicious color and the bumpy bobbles much better.

Eating Acorns

The day I found those Giant Puffballs we were actually out collecting acorns. My husband was interested in learning how to make them palatable since we have so many in this area. He is into trees the way I am into healing plants. 

The White Oak is the one to collect, they are naturally less bitter.

First we froze them, that made the skins come off easier. The skin is the layer just under the shell. My husband shelled them.

Next began the process of  making acorn flour. There are different ways to do that. First the bitter tannins must be removed. Some people boil the acorns multiple times until the water runs clear. We went with a non cooked method of leaching out those tannins. 

First we ground them up in the wet Vitamix. More water was added to them in a jar and this sat for 24 hours. Each 24 hours fresh water replaced the old until the water was clear.

Once the tannins were cleared out, we dehydrated the wet acorn meal. I have an Excaliber 4 tray. It came out really nice, nutty and tasty. (I snacked on some.) The grain was quite rough still, so we ground it to flour consistency in the dry Vitamix. It is came out very smooth, with a feel and look of cocoa powder.

My first test was on some cookies. Some GF friends were dropping by for tea. I grabbed everything that I had that was GF and went to work experimenting. 

I kept it simple, much like a shortbread: butter, sugar, vanilla, with cashew meal, acorn and oat flours. They were so good! Even the smallest of humans wanted more, which is really how I judge a "healthy" cookie.

Next was a recipe from the book Acorn Pancakes, Dandelion Salad, and 38 Other Wild Recipes. A simple classic, pancakes with butter and maple syrup. The acorn is so mild and nutty. It doesn't have that extra bitter taste that many of the darker grains have.

Yesterday's yummy breakfast. I had some leftover pancake batter. I waffled it and topped it with butter and smoked salmon. Again, it came out really good. 

Acorn flour is a winner!I love the idea of eating wild foods that man has not tampered with. Everything that fed that tree is now feeding me and my family. It is nutritionally excellent and it is extremely tasty and versatile. Oh, and the acorns were free!

slip covered hair clip : a tutorial

If you have girls or are a girl, you know about those painful-rip out your hair metal hair clips. I don't know how many brands I have tried. The packaging always promises that they won't hurt. But they do. 

Having acquired quite a collection of these hair rippers, I had enough. I refuse to buy anymore. Instead I came up with this idea...little slipcovers. Covering anything in cute fabric is great and the fabric also alleviates the hair ripping. 

It works for all sizes and shapes. 

This is how you do it...

Grab those old biting clips.

Trace clip onto the wrong side of your fabric. Make sure that the fabric is folded so you have a front and back to sew together. I happen to be recycling a carrot print boxer short.

Sew it up first, then cut it out close to your stitches. Leave the wide part open at the top (where I have the little mushroom acorn). Make sure you secure the beginning and end of those stitches so they don't open up.

 The trickiest part is probably pulling this thing inside out. Especially if it is real tiny. But, you can do it! I use an assortment of tools (and my teeth), whatever it takes to get the job done. Cut yourself a little slit on the backside. Right where my scissors tip is pointing. If you don't make that slit, it won't work.

Slipcover pulled onto your clip, you can glue it into place or tack it down with a few hand stitches. I ended up gluing this one because I didn't leave enough on the end to sew. Let that be a lesson to you! Leave more fabric on the end, sewing it makes a nicer finished clip. 

And there it is, carrot clip. No longer a menace to our tender heads.

Let me know if you give this a try.

The Family Sweater

 I finished knitting this sweater and it came out much smaller than I had anticipated. I decided that after I sewed up the seams I would give it to whoever it fit best. Much like Cinderella with the glass slipper or the Three Bears. Which of us would be "just right"?

The big girl tried it.

The little girl tried it.

And I tried it...

"Who gets the sweater?", I asked. 

Big girl answered, "It's a family sweater."

So it is now a family sweater even though it really does look best on her.

Tree Bark Fall Poncho

Back in late spring I started this broken cable pattern poncho. That would give me enough time to finish it before fall when I looked forward to wearing it. It turned out that I put my knitting down a lot, sometimes for weeks at a time. The idea of a large wool poncho on my lap lost it's appeal during the warmer months. Also my tennis elbow flared up so there was another reason to set my knitting aside. 

Because I put it away so much I always forgot where I was in the pattern when I picked it up again. So, I just started back at the beginning of the cable pattern each time, whether right or wrong. It was supposed to be a perfect, tight fishbone pattern, instead it was looking like this. Which I love! It reminds me of something growing, like the bark of a tree. People who saw me knitting commented that it looked like bark. Cool, I just kept on knitting crazy and wrong, foregoing the original pattern for the tree bark look.

Well, it's finished and I have been wearing all around. Yesterday we stopped off at a "Bubble Shop", they sell bubble teas and lots of tasty asian sweets. You can see me and my finished poncho with an impressive amount of roll cakes. A couple of people have already asked me for the pattern. It's the same answer when I'm asked for a recipe..."Well, I can give you the ingredients but as to exact measurements you're on your own since I just kind of wing it."