Oh sure ... I could be talking about Winter ... and I am certainly not disappointed to see the 66+ inches of snow start to disappear ... but the real news is that we are coming up on the release of the newest addition to the Madame Defarge series ... What (Else) Would Madame Defarge Knit?
LOL So, tons of knitting fun and adventure ... I have already picked out my up coming projects. Go pick out yours ... there are thumbnails of them up on Ravelry ... I'll wait right here.
Right then! So, Have you picked out your first project? Yea, I know .... lots to choose from.
Before the book comes out though you can sign up for the newsletter which will contain links to a few free patterns and more about the upcoming release dates. And soon there will be a mitten pattern in the newsletter to compliment (I hope) the Ahab's Aran Gansey designed by Todd Gocken. That sweater is definitely on my "to do" list.They both make me think of long walks on the beach and a fine ocean breeze. Here is a sneek peek of the mittens:
A new thumb type for me ... and I am working on a pair using (mostly) the same pattern only felted. I should have those notes for you on a day or two. The great thing about these mittens is they are knit using Lamb's Pride Bulky and I can knit a pair of them in a weekend. So they make a fairly fast knitted gift.
I am off to finish the second one for the felting experiment ... here's hoping!
For lambs ... lots and lots of baby lambs. I have been up in Idaho helping a friend of mine with her lambing and I had so much fun I almost didn't come home. Here is a picture of the fun to be had:
They are so much fun when they are little. There was s suspected wolf kill about 2 miles from here the day after I left ... so the sheep have been moved up closer to the barn for the time being. The fire season was so bad last year that I suspect the wolves and mountain lions are running a bit short on options. But here is another picture to brighten things up:
OK .. headed out to herd some sheep with JennietheDog ... have a great day!
Seriously ... I feel like I do not have 2 minutes to myself anymore. LOL I am still trying to finish my Christmas knitting while trying to get things lined up for my 30th Wedding Anniversary. Yea, I know ... and BTW to all of those folks who were taking bets at our wedding that this marriage would never last ... HA! the jokes on you.
We finally have snow, Not much but it is snowing in the mountains quite a bit which is fine with me as that is where my summer water will come from ... and I don't have to shovel it if it falls up there. For me (and all of the skiers) it 's a win win. And I suppose it is possible that we could have a white Christmas.
However all of this snowy potential means that it is just a wee bit dampish around here and so not much dyeing is taking place ... but I have to get on it this week no matter what because the New What Would Madame Defarge Knit book is coming out soon and I have a pair of mittens in it that use my yarn.
Here is a sneak peak:
I love them ... I truly do. It was everything I could do to send them off to be photographed. And they are toasty warm which with mittens is always a plus. I am working on a pair of felted mittens now and that is fun if for no other reason than they are a huge floppy mess when you first do them and then they are a wonderfully thick mitten when they are done.
JennietheDog has been working on herding sheep. I will try to take pictures this weekend and get them posted. She loves it even though she is a bit slow on the uptake with it. It seems that her Therapy dog training has messed with her instinctive desire to herd ... but it is coming back slowly but surely. And she wanted to be sure to wish all of her friends a Very Merry Christmas.
... there's no place like home ... there's no place like home. And so we are back in the States and living close to our home in Idaho ... if you consider living next to The Great Salt Lake as being close. We have lived here before but WOW has it changed. Guess the Olympics wrought a bigger change than I would have thought possible. We are still not unpacked but I do have chickens and I have put in some pasture in preparation for spring lambs ... it's all about priorities.
We miss Italy so much it is unbelievable. Our friends there were wonderful and while a few have followed us back Stateside we have left some behind ... guess this means I will have to go and visit. Yea, tough gig.
Jennie the Dog hated the trip and hates flying now so if we were to move back overseas I will have to find a way to take a boat. LOL She is learning to herd sheep in preparation for the spring crop. Still undecided on what variety of sheep to get and if I even want to overwinter a flock. We live in a neighborhood here ... like I have neighbors I can see from every window in my house ... this has been a very tough adjustment for me. But they are all nice and seem to be ok with all of our little quirks. And I can start back up the dying business and that is good. I have a new mitten pattern coming out in the second What Would Madame Defarge Knit book and I have to say that they are my favorites so far. Those and the Winter's Stag mittens that I put up on Ravelry ... I like those too.
So, I am going to try to keep this updated a bit better ... and yes, I have said that before but all I can do is try. Here is a last picture of Italy ... one of my last stops before leaving ... Lake Barcis.
I cannot believe I have not posted since February! Yikes! But in my defense I have had company and the chance to do a bit of travel. That's my story and I am sticking to it!
My daughter came with her boyfriend and then a friend of mine from when I lived in Japan came down from Germany to visit. Also, Jennie the dog was swamped with work due to the current "War Effort" on NATO's part. She loves working with the troops ... better than the kids I think as there in much less tail grabbing. And they will throw her frisbee for her which is about all it takes for her to be your friend for life. So on to my travels.
This is the Castle Miramare where the Archduke Ferdinand and wife lived for 4 years before he left to take the Imperial Crown of Mexico where he was executed by revolutionaries. It is a small but stunning castle surrounded by an amazing park. A true jewel by the sea located just outside of the city of Trieste.
This is the view from the Salon windows. Every view is amazing. Also, you can see here the eagle and snake motif which are the symbol of Mexico. Trieste also had the southern most concentration camp that the Nazi regime established along with the Facists here in Italy. When it was overthrown it was discovered that they had tried to hide their crimes by burning the bodies of prisoners in the ovens en mass. They were exposed and killed. It was a grim reminder.
Trieste is an old city and has some amazing architecture. They are currently excavating some from Roman times that were discovered in the heart of town. The port is busy and so on a food note ... the seafood is great!
Next up will be Rome. But give me a day or two...LOL.
On knitting .... not too much. I did do a big dyeing project of some silk hankies that I am going to try to draft out and knit into a pair of mittens. I am taking tons of pictures and will try to post most of it together. The colours are wonderful and rich so it is a project that I can hardly wait to start. Also, one of a pair of knee socks is finished. It is a project for the next What Would Madame Defarge Knit book. Why I am knitting knee socks all of a sudden I do not know ... but there you have it.
So, I am off to the market ... but I am back to writing. So there will be more to follow. Later ....
Have you ever seen
All the world in a raindrop
But falling ... falling
geesh... still spell checking in Italian only. I am a bad speller in Italian, apparently, since the whole thing lights right up. LOL
Monday would have been Charles Dickens' 199th birthday, and on that day Cooperative Press announced that preorders for What Would Madame Defarge Knit? opened in honor of the author whose formidable character Therese Defarge inspired Heather Ordover's book. If it's been a while since your last literature class, remember that in A Tale of Two Cities Defarge knits and knits, secretly encoding the names of people she will have killed. Vive la revolution?
And why do I care? Because I have three designs in the book!
Don't worry, there isn't a murder prerequisite to love this book! Ordover, the creator of popular podcast CraftLit, has assembled an inspiring and thought-provoking collection of 20+ patterns, as well as essays and other tidbits inspired by literature, illustrated by the talented Jen Minnis in a black-and-white woodcut style that pays tribute to Dickensian-era publishing.
And if you're reading this, chances are good you are a strong supporter of small independent publishers. You may be interested to know that this book will be the first Cooperative Press release where all designers receive a direct royalty share of each sale. Our Fresh Designs series, which will be out later this year, is set up similarly. Instead of a small, one-time payment for their work at the beginning (and not a penny afterwards, no matter how many copies the book sells), designers have an opportunity to earn an unlimited payment for their work.
Visit the WWMDfK? website for more about the book's contributors and other behind-the-scenes information. As of today's pre-release, the book is 200+ pages, illustrated.
LIMITED EDITION HARDCOVER — ($45)
Signed, with extras. This is a special creation and will be limited to less than 100 copies, numbered. Shipping is included, as is a PDF copy of the book.
DIGITAL EDITION — PDF ($16.95)
PRINT EDITION ($26.95)
DIGITAL (PDF) + PRINT ($26.95)
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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow has been a fireside classic for centuries. The tale of a gangly schoolmaster and the ghost of a Hessian soldier has set spines tingling the world over and spawned many dreaded fears of the dark forests. I myself loved the story and spent many childhood hours out in the forest with my father imagining all sorts of wild things happening around me.
Now it is JennietheDog who roams the forests of the Italian Dolomites with me. Wild boar crash through the undergrowth and the small deer that live here occasionally spring up and scare the daylights right out of me. But it is beautiful ... spring, summer, and fall. This soup recipe is seasonal here in Italy and served all throughout the Fall and winter. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do.
Zuppa di Zucca
(Pumkin Soup)
You will need:
olive oil
1-2 T. butter
1 small kubocha or a nice size butternut squash
1 sweet potato
1 small onion (diced)
2-3 cups of a good vegetable or chicken broth
salt
1-2 t. of maple syrup or honey (optional)
Garnish with creme fraiche, sour creme, or roasted hulled pumpkin seeds and a sprig of chives.
Preheat oven to 350 F. or 175 C.
Cut the sweet potato in half. Cut the pumpkin or the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Lightly coat with olive oil on the inside and the outside and roast, cut side up, for about 1 hour or until very tender. Allow to cool.
While that is cooking sweat the onions in the butter over very low heat till clear but not browned.
Once the squash and sweet potato are cool enough to handle scoop out the flesh and add tothe pot along with enough the onions and enough of the broth to cover. Simmer for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to combine. Purre in small bahes in a blender or use a hand blender and ouree in the pot. Add salt and taste. If you would prefer it to have a bit more sweetness add the syup or honey. Serve hot with a dollop of creme fraiche, sour creme, or roasted hulled pumpkin seeds.
Roasted Pumkin Seeds
Lay a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of a cooki sheet and lightly coat with butter.
1/2 c. hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 T. butter
1 t. sea salt ( I like the bits of salt but you could easily use kosher salt)
roast till they bigib to turn golden.
In a sauce pan boil 1/2 c. maple syrup for 3 or 4 minutes. Add the seeds and a pinch of smokey paprika or cayenne pepper. Boil for another 3 minutes and pour out onto the buttered piece of parchment paper. Allow to cool and break into bits.
We eat these as a snack quite often which is why there are none in the photo above. Sorry, just imagine little golden brown toasty bits perched on top. There you go!
The story of Tristan and Isolde was very popular here in Italy and many cantari or oral poems were presented in the public squares all over the country. Love potions hidden in wine have been around for ever. Here, in Italy, the famed Medici were experts at all sorts of potions and poisons. This spiced wine is served in the winters at all of the Christmas Markets here and is a trade mark of a celebration called "the Bufana" which is a fire celebration held the night before Epiphany.
Spiced Wine (for the Bufana)
1 bottle of good red wine
3/4 - 1 cup of sugar
2 or 3 cinnamon sticks
the zest of a lemon and an orange
3 cloves (for the three wise men)
and a few cardamon pods (optional but I love them)
Combine all of the ingredients in a pan and gently heat. DO NOT BOIL. After 30 minutes strain out the zest and spices and it is ready to serve in some good sturdy mugs ... or your favorite magical chalice.
This can be made ahead and reheated when you are ready. I keep a bottle of it in the refrigerator all winter ... just for medicinal purposes.
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The last week or two have been cold. And foggy. And did I mention it was damp? How damp you ask? Well we did have some very pretty frost:
The spider has been missing in action for months but her web is still hanging out on the gate.
In spite of the cold I have been trying to get some yarn dyed and up in the shop. Drying takes forever here and I have been forced to employ the de-humidifiers. Here are some pictures of last weeks work: "Squash Blossom" for Brenda Dayne's Driving Miss Daisy gloves, "Walnut" ( a beautiful rich colour with hints of gold) and "Silver Sage" which is a delicate silver green ... just the colour of the sage brush at home in Idaho.
To combat the chill I decided to make barley soup. I love soups but for some reason barley has never been my favorite ... that is until I had it while I was up in Bolzano in December. They made a soup that was amazing. I had tried to make it in January and came up quite short in both the tasty goodness category and in the filling/satisfying category. And then I read a cookbook that mentioned cheese broth. That was when I realized that the amazing flavor in the Bolzano soup was, in fact, a cheesy flavor. So I dragged all of the cheese rinds that I had stored in the freezer and set them to simmer for 3 or so hours in a pot of water (to cover the cheese) on the stove.
That is the cheese broth in the picture above. The whole house smelled great. Then I strained out the cheese rinds and refrigerated the broth overnight. The next day I used some of the fat from the top to saute the veg for the soup, threw the rest of the fat out and made a very tasty soup. Here is te recipe I came up with:
Bolzano Barley Soup
1 onion diced
2 carrots diced
3 ribs of celery diced
Sweat these in a bit of fat from the cheese broth or (for the unbearably health conscious) in a bit of olive oil
Then add 1 c. pearled barley
the cheeese broth
and 3 or 4 cups of good chicken stock (start with the lesser amount and add as needed)
add a pinch or two of oregano and basil, and salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer for an hour or so stirring frequently and adding broth as needed. The soup should be thick and creamy. Here, they add a smoked ham called speck, diced fine, but if you want to add meat to it any ham would work. I'd show a picture of the finished soup but to be honest we ate it all. LOL
I am sorry for typos in this or any other post but I have given up trying to convince blogger to run the spell check n English. It is absolutly convinced that I want everything spell checked in Italian. It wins.
I opend a bottle of CastelVecchio this evening and set down to have a glass. No sooner done than the DH wandered in and ask "what's for dinner?". A deep and abiding silence followed this question and then I blurted out "soup!". So here is a good "emergency" soup to make up when all you really want for dinner is that second glass of wine.
Two Potato Soup
knob of butter
1 yellow onion
1 rib celery
1 t or so of salt
26 oz. chicken stock
1 sweet potato (peeled and diced)
2 or 3 white or gold potatoes (peeled and diced)
1 bay leaf
pinch or so of:
ground thyme
smoked paprika (you can use regular if that is all you have)
black pepper
ground chipotle pepper(you can use cayenne)
1 cup milk or cream
Chop up the onion and celery and put in a heavy pot with the salt and butter and sweat over very low heat for about 30 minutes. Add the chicken stock, the potaoes and the spices and simmer till tender. Remove the bay leaf.
Using a hand blender (or a counter top food processor - being really careful and working in small batches) blend till smooth and thin to desired consistency with the milk. Serve with sour cream and crumble bacon or pancetta.
I totally made this up on the fly. Feel free to tweek it to your hearts content. And here is the culprit that started it all. Not sure where it is available but if you see it give it a try!
Here in the part of Italy where I live there is a big celebration the night before Epiphany called the Bufana. This is based around a legend of the Three Wise Men ... who, like most men, were able to become so lost on their way to adore the Christ child that they ended up here in northern Italy instead of Bethlehem. Finally a miracle occured and they stopped to ask directions at a small cottage ( I know I know ... go figure). When the old woman answered the door they offered to take her with them to Bethlehem. She showed them her broom and told them she had too much housework to do to go wondering off (with three King who were obviously directionally challeged) but she gave them directions and sent them on their way. A few days later she realized that she had missed an amazing opportunity and so she left her home in search of the Christ child herself. Not knowing how she would be able recognize him she gave gifts and candy to every child she met in the hopes that they would turn out to be the Child she was searching for.
Here she is still giving candy and gifts to the children in the village. But wait! There's more! Here in the Friuli region where I live every village and farm builds the biggest bonfire they can (it's a bit of a competition) with either a cross or ... get this ... a witch on top. Why they want to burn the person bringing the gifts is beyond me but anyway about half of them do. The bonfire comes from the old pagan ritual meant to remind the sun to return but this being a Catholic country they have a priest come out and say a prayer and bless the pile of debris with holy water and voila! it is all ok. Then, while what looks like half the village is burning, the spectators set off firecrackers and drink vin brulee (hot spiced wine) and eat roast pork and a special cake that is a combination pumpkin bread/fruit cake.
It was an amazing amount of fun going out and seeing all of this with my friends. And on the drive home we all kept pointing out the fires along the way. Next year I will have to go and do this again!
It's that time of year again. Usually New Year's Day comes without my seeing it "in" but this year we have been invited to some friends for dinner and I know from past experience that this means that I will be out past midnight. The Italians love to sit and eat and talk and drink and eat and talk and talk ... well I am sure that you can see where this is headed. So tonight for the first time since the year 2000 rolled in I will be up to see it. Then, in a week or so, the village where I live will burn a witch to determine how the weather will play out over the next few months. Yep ... that's right ... they burn a witch. Not a weatherman which I could almost see because they are as bad here as anywhere else that I have ever lived. Nope, they burn a witch.
Christmas here was dismal and rainy. The Son came home for a week and that was the bright spot for me. He made a host of friends downtown and we are already planning his next trip back this summer. He was a huge hit with our friends here and they cannot wait for him to come back.
Prior to Christmas we had snow which is a fairly rare occurrence here:
Not much as you can see but as they do not plow and there is not much sanding either so it was a risky thing to go out driving. This was followed by fog and then a few days of sun melted it off. Pretty while it lasted and JennietheDog had a great time sliding down the drive on the ice ... her favorite part of winter.
An interesting, and tasty, thing about living here is that I can go to a local farm and by raw milk (latte crudo) from a vending machine. It is the best milk I have ever had and it is all we drink now. I wish we had this kind of freedom in our food choices in the US. I just take my own bottles and fill them up:
This year I am going to ramp up the cooking that goes on here and really explore Italian food. Any and all success will be posted here so everyone else can try them too. Sort of a Julie/Julia type thing only with a variety of food styles. I figure cooking and knitting should keep me busy and off the streets and out of jail.
And speaking of knitting, I have several patterns coming out in the new book being released by CraftLit called "What Would Madame Defarge Knit?" It comes out in the first week in February and has some wonderful patterns and essay along with brilliant illustrations. I am having to phase out of my yarn business as I am not allowed to run a business from here and so am hoping to do more pattern design to keep my morale up and my mind busy. Here's hoping ... LOL
This year JennietheDog turned 2 years old and so I will leave you with pictures of her ... mostly 'cause she is just so darned cute! Have a great New Year!
Stay in bed and rest. Two weeks for sure.
I always think that this will work out ok. I will get some books read, some DVD's watched and a lot of knitting done. And about 24 hours later housework is sounding like it might be fun.
As mentioned, I finished my Faroe Shawl that I started with Myrna Stahman at a workshop she gave here in Italy at the end of August. I love it and it is perfect for the weather here.
Not the best picture but it looked even worse on JennietheDog. And besides, there was sun!
There is a shortage of Christmas knitting this year as I have been working on patterns for the new book from CraftLit"What Would Madame Defarge Knit?" that will be released on 7 February 2011. Yep, just a few short months to go. It has been an amazing amount of fun to be involved in this project for the last year and I hope that everyone enjoys the patterns as Heather has assembled a varied and wonderful bunch of designers. I am hoping this will help me to move into doing more design work. And so along those lines:
I did spend a day on the couch. And I have been working at my kitchen table ever since with yarn and books and graph paper piled up all around me scribbling away. At least it keeps me off the streets...
Which the day after Thanksgiving was not. How is it that there always seems to be such foul weather at the Holidays? But some friends and I headed east towards Slovenia to tour two wineries that were in the Udine/Trieste region. Braving the snow and rain we stopped first at the Bressan winery. Owned by the Bressan Family for 10 generations and currently overseen by Fulvio Bressan it has been in active production since 1726 and creates some of the finest wines in Europe. He is leaving Tuesday for Vienna to recieve an award from the European Union that says this ... so it is not just me. Although I would drink his wine for the rest of my life quite willingly.
The majority of the grapes that he grows are specific to the Friuli region: Tocai Friulano, Malvasia, Ribolla Gialla,Schiopettino and the legendary Pignol which is on it's way to extinction. He uses no chemicals and no synthetic fertilisers and no industrial yeasts. There is much more information at: http://bressanwines.com/.
Stop two was to Castelvecchio (the "Old Castle") in Gorizia on the Slovinean border. There we toured the cellars. Entering though here:
A bit tough for the claustrophobic. And so down this shaft for a bit and then you come upon:
Lovely isn't it? When these cellars were dug out there was quite a cache of old Roman coins discovered. The wines here were also quite tasty although I am afraid that we should have come here first as the Bressan wines are impossible to follow. The homemade prosciutto crudo was wonderful as was the Sagrado Rosso, a wine they are quite well known for. The Viila has is being renovated and is beautiful ... and careful attention has been paid to the mosaics on the floors.
In other news. I have finished my designs for the "What Would Madame DeFarge Knit?" book that is coming from CraftLit in February. I am trying to finish the test knit on one last item and then it will be time to start on some new designs that have been floating round in my head and on bits of paper in my office for the last month or so. While I was knitting I was listening to a new audio book: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I listened to the Audible.com one but am going to order the book to have. It was wonderful and I was very sorry to see it end. I think it should be a movie.
A foggy landscape
Fond memories of my home
Hanging on the wall.
I am a bit jealous. It's a hard thing to admit ... but I am jealous of JennietheDog. You see, while I am not allowed to seek gainful employment here, she has already found a job and settled right in. She is in training to be a Therapy Dog and so she is working at the local library helping the kids who come in to improve their reading skills.
Here she is on a Saturday being read to by a young girl. Today she goes to help the preschoolers. She loves her job since it means that sometimes she gets to be petted and sometimes they read her to sleep. It's a hard job ... but some puppy has to do it. Here she is hanging with her new friends just before she heads in to work.
We are off to work ... she still can't drive ... it's that "no opposable thumbs" thing. But if I get some good pictures I will update this when I get home.
Back at last from a longish break but with pictures and some news. We went to Florence(Firenza as it is called here) and had a splendid time. We rode the EuroStar train there as driving in the old city is right up there with having a tooth pulled without the benefits of anesthesia ... just plain no fun! But after an initial bit of rain the weather turned out glorious!
We saw "David" and spent a morning at the Uffizzi zmuseum and ate wonderful food and drank even better wines. We saw the old castle:
And we saw the Duomo and clocktower which are made from an amazing number of coloured maarbles.
On the knitting front I was able to finish my patterns for the new book from CraftLit that is coming out this Spring and I am still knitting away on my Faroe shawl. The shawl should be finished within the next week or so and I have a great idea for a shawl design that I will start on then. I am updating the Etsy shop this week and I have tried my hand at dying with walnut husks. This is what I got:
It is hanging to dry now and I am anxious to see how it ends up.
And we are at the end of the gardening season here. I still have spinach in the garden as it likes the cold but even the kiwi have been picked and brought in. Late October brings the roasted chestnuts to the forfront (castagna) and of course those must be eaten hot and only, ever, with a glass of red wine, never water, or they will give you a bad stomach.
And of course we have the cider we pressed in September ... tasty stuff that. LOL
Don't worry, there isn't a murder prerequisite to love this book! Ordover, the creator of popular podcast 
