Thursday, July 22, 2010

  

My friend Esin Atabeyli ... Look what she did with my little angels and some shibori scraps from her stash!


Look at this!


Well ... Don't bother looking for the border pattern. What you see here is the only copy available. She improvised it whilst travelling ... At her leisure!

And look at these babies :)



All improvised!


  

Monday, July 19, 2010

  

A favourate dish of the Aegean ... And amazingly enough, best done by the people of Mardin, a south-eastern town of Turkey, hundreds of miles away from the closest sea!




The inevitable end!

 

Friday, July 16, 2010

  

Weather here? Well ... Slightly cooler than hell!






Saw the lavender wands in one of the blogs. Luckily, I still have lavenders in the garden and one of the two ribbon colours available at home suited the cause real fine! Instructions : HERE and many more links HERE :)

Also found this in one of flicr albums ... What a wonderful idea!




Lavender has been noted for thousands of years. Pliny the Elder says that its blossom, called Asarum, sold for a hundrend Roman denarii. The Greeks called it Nardus, after a city in Syria on the banks of the Euphrates. It was used by the ancients in perfuming bathwater, and for strewing on the floors of temples and houses. It was cultivated in England for the first time around 1560, and is mentioned in the writings of William Shakespeare.

Medicinally, lavender has many uses. Culpeper recommends "a decoction made with the flowers of Lavender, Horehound, Fennel and Asparagus root, and a little Cinnamon" to help with epilepsy and other disorders of the brain. Tincture of lavender has been officially recognized as a treatment in the British Pharmacopceia for two centuries.

Magically speaking, lavender is often associated with love spells, as well as for workings to bring calmness and peace. To bring love your way, carry lavender flowers in a sachet on your person, or hang stalks of it in your home. To get a good night's sleep, with calming dreams, stuff a pillow with sprigs of lavender. It can also be used in a purifying bath or smudging ritual.

Other Names: Nardus, Elf-leaf
Gender: Masculine
Element: Air
Planetary Connection: Mercury
  

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

 

I had mentioned this kit before ... Stitching on and off, finished yesterday!






  

Saturday, July 03, 2010

    
Canon in D Major

   


Performed by Jay Lim


Highest record with over 75 Million Views!


This is what I call a talent. Interview : HERE

   

Thursday, July 01, 2010

 
 
Sun of a Strawberry

This is what I want to call today's activity ... Making jam with sun! Sun jam is a memory from my childhood ... I had first seen it done in a little town on the Mediterranean coast. It was surprising to see  people leaving their jam jars outside, in the sun. I later learn that this was how they prepared their jam. Their favourates were cherry and peach ... I shall use strawberries!



Drain and add sugar. Normally, the ratio is 1:1 ... That means, if you have 1 kg of fruits, you will need 1 kg of sugar. I use much lesser sugar!





Place it on very low heat until sugar melts ... Remove! Poor into a glass jar ... Add a couple lemon salt (citric acid) flakes as a preservative; cover with a clean muslin and wrap tightly.


Keep in the sun for about 30 days. Next project will hopefully be : sun of a peach :)
   
Following my recent post on lacy edging with coton floche, as predicted then, I ended up choosing a pattern from Estonian lace (Crown Prince Square Shawl). Finished the first of the pair that will serve as cuffs to one of my sweaters :)