Monthly Archives: October 2015

October Windows …

Posted on October 25, 2015 by mvobsession | Comments Off

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Tagged architecture, autumn, foliage, glass, houses, Massachusetts, New England, New Jersey, Photographs, posterize, windows

Sweet Tidings to You!

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Adri H. | Comments Off

It's only October, but the holiday card making season has just begun. This week was the first week of MATS B (Make Art That Sells, Part B). It was a good thing that the course started when it did as I got things somewhat in order and got back into the "making" groove here in our new home. I set up a workspace on the kitchen table that came in the mail a few days before class began. We put it together pretty quickly and cardboard boxes became work-space dividers, empty yogurt containers became brush holders, and old palettes from undergrad saved the day!

On a side note, though, does anyone else do that? Do you leave things for your future self just in case x, y, or z happens? I left a mini travel kit at my mom's house and unearthed a bunch of my tools last year when I visited during the holidays with the baby's first visit to the U.S. And lucky for me that I did because I had a great little kit waiting for me this time around when I had nothing but my 2 suitcases for the baby and me after the move from Germany!

The first week of MATS focuses on paper (greeting cards in this case). And our theme was holiday cookies. I started the mini using my dipping pen and nibs with Windsor & Newton india ink.

Then, I did some icon painting with gouache. And later I did some in Copic marker.

Next I put it together in Photoshop and Illustrator and worked on icon placement...

It seemed too brown to read as a holiday card, so I added blue and white to get that winter feeling in there. Then, I added some extra cookie illustrations within the jar, added texture to a bunch of items (jar, sprig, thread, tag, etc.). Finally, I put it all together in InDesign and added a few stationery accessories like the gift tags and possible stamps that I thought would work well with the remaining icons. See the first photo for the final result.

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Tagged greeting card, holiday, MATS, process, stationery

Weekly Challenge: Careful …

Posted on October 24, 2015 by mvobsession | Comments Off

The prompt this week is to show something careful… I’d certainly be careful about parking beyond this sign :)

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/careful/

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Tagged beaches, Massachusetts, New England, Photographs, postaweek, postaweek/postaday, water, weekly prompt, words

Garlic Soup for a Vampire-Free Halloween

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Susan | Comments Off

Everyone in my house is sick with a nasty cold. Mike is miserable. Scout is miserable-r. And I may be the miserable-ist, although exactly who is the sickest is always a hotly debated topic around here.

Today, I grew tired of wallowing in my stuffy nose misery and decided to take matters into my own hands by making Garlic Soup. I don’t know that actually believe in the healing powers of garlic but I figure I don’t have to believe for it to work, right? And since Halloween is just around the corner, I’m sharing the recipe with all of you lucky healthy people.

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You’ll need four or five heads of garlic for this soup. When buying garlic, look for heads that are firm and tight.

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Separate the heads of garlic into cloves, but there’s no need to peel them Plonk them into a baking dish with a couple springs of thyme and a teaspoon of olive oil. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and pop it in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (around 180 Celsius) for one hour or until soft, but not brown.

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Carefully remove the foil and allow the garlic to cool for about 20 minutes.

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When the garlic is cool to the touch, squeeze the pulp into a medium pot, discarding the paper peels. This is the fiddliest part of this recipe and also the messiest. You will surely have roasted garlic all over your hands before your done! Just keep telling yourself how amazing this soup is going to taste.

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Once you’ve finished squishing and washed your hands, use a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon to mash all the garlic cloves into a smooth paste.

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Now throw a bit of flour onto the garlic paste- about 2 teaspoons- and stir thoroughly to incorporate the flour into the garlic. It’s really important to get all the flour into the garlic before proceeding to the next step.

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Now for the liquid. You’ll need four cups of stock, either chicken or vegetable, preferably homemade but good quality store bought will do just fine if it’s all you have. If you do use boxed, adding a heaping teaspoon of Better than Bouillon will perk it up.

Using a whisk, slowly incorporate the stock into the garlic-flour paste, then set over a medium-high burner. Allow the soup to simmer and thicken for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pot from heat and stir in a good squeeze of fresh lemon. The lemon with brighten the soup immensely.

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Tagged Features, food

Review: Unexpected Cables by Heather Zoppetti

Posted on October 23, 2015 by StephCat | Comments Off

heather cables Unexpected Cables: Feminine Knitted Garments Featuring Modern Cable Knitting, Interweave/F+W; $24.99, by Heather Zoppetti

Unexpected Cables is divided into three sections: Refined, Lace, and Abstract. She notes in her intro that you won’t find boxy heavy garments; rather, she opts for a lighter feel, whether by using smaller gauge yarns and smaller cables, incorporating lace cables, or unique shaping and construction.

Refined includes several patterns (Warwick hat, Cocalico pullover) with stitch patterns reminiscent of Bavarian twisted stitches — thin traceries of 1/1 crosses against simple background.

Lace includes both Aran Lace types of stitch patterns and standard cable stitch patterns mixed with lace stitch patterns. Ronks, worked in brushed Suri alpaca, is a lovely mix of lace and cables. Talmage, a bottom up raglan, features a cabled lace pattern.

Abstract focuses on unique construction and stitch pattern manipulation. I love the meandering cables of the Penryn pullover and the Drumore socks.

See all the patterns on Ravelry here.

I received my copy from the publisher

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Tagged Knitting, Reviews & Interviews

Plymouth, MA – Standish and Alden …

Posted on October 23, 2015 by mvobsession | Comments Off

Part 3 of our trip into the past to visit our ancestors .. the Myles Standish Burial Ground and the John & Priscilla Alden House.

Our first stop in the charming and historic town of Duxbury, Massachusetts was the Myles Standish Burial Ground, the oldest maintained cemetery in the United States.

It’s not a large cemetery, only 1.5 acres. It is the resting place of several of the original Mayflower Pilgrims including our ancestors, Myles Standish and John & Priscilla Alden. I felt a kind of peacefulness as I meandered around. I felt respectful and humbled, it moved me more than I anticipated.

The Myles Standish grave site

The John and Priscilla Alden grave site

Second stop in Duxbury… the Alden House Historic Site… CLICK HERE

We arrived at the house only to find out that tours had stopped at the end of September so unfortunately we weren’t going to be able to go inside the house !

We wandered around and took some pictures but of course it wasn’t like being inside.

As we were leaving we noticed two cars in front of the administration office so decided to walk over and say hello. We were SO glad we did. Not only were the two young women pleasant and smiley and full of information but… they said they’d give us a tour even though the house was closed. Golly, wow. So off we went… back into the past into the house of our ancestors John & Priscilla Alden. I don’t know what they a actually looked like but I like this painting of them. He was 21 and she 18 when they married. They had 10 children.

Our tour guide (Trish) was terrific, she peppered historical facts with humorous family stories. Why wasn’t history like this when I went to school… it was all about names and dates and not about people’s lives and adventures.

For instance the reason for wall paper and newspaper on the walls in this small closet, or as they called it, a clothes press. The walls were covered with newspaper to protect clothing from getting snagged or caught on the rough walls. Later on someone covered the newspaper with wall paper. I believe our guide said the newspapers were from the time of the War of 1812.

We did some quick gift shopping and Deb joined the AKA (Aldin Kindred of America) while we were there. We hated to leave but we alas we had to come back to the 21st century.

:) :) :)

This concludes part 3 of our trip and I thought this was going to be the last installment… but no, there’s a bit of ‘this n that’ still to come !!

(pictures are mine and Deb’s)

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Tagged ancestors, architecture, cemeteries, decor, history, houses, John & Priscilla Alden, Massachusetts, Miles Standish, New England, Photographs

Hudson Valley Weekend Part 2: Barton’s Orchard

Posted on October 22, 2015 by WoolyMama | Comments Off

The thing about Sunday was the weather.

Neve and I were very much looking forward to a day at a Hudson Valley apple orchard, spending time with my stepmother and aunt, taking pictures and enjoying hot apple cider and cider doughnuts, and hearing my dad’s band.

Well……..

We did get to do those things, but not as much as we had hoped, and Neve was downright miserable and grumpy.

Because this happened:

Snow. On October 19.

We had brought sweaters and coats and winter accessories, but we never imagined it would actually snow. And, in all honesty, it didn’t bother me all that much. But the cold took hold of Neve and turned her into a grumpasaurus in the same way it did when we were in Scotland. I could have easily managed it and stayed for the entire day, but we were forced to bail early lest Neve freeze entirely.

During the brief moments of sun we visited the animal enclosures and pet the goats and mini ponies.

You could buy handfuls of grain to feed the goats and alpacas. I can’t imagine this at home; my animals would be suffering from extreme bloat!

The band played all day despite the weather. Good thing they had a covered stage!

Neve perked up a little when we got her back to the house; she even grabbed my camera and went out for some pictures.

My father and stepmother live in a townhouse overlooking the Rondout canal, and the views are spectacular.

I think she captured some really nice images!

Neve fell fully in love with the scenery, as I always have. I really need a good week or more to re-explore the area and capture all of the beauty.

On our way out of town we stocked up on birch beer (can’t get that down here), and Keegan Ales’ “Mother’s Milk” stout for Paul and I.

Many hours of driving later we were home, and despite the time it takes to get there, I really need to get back there more often.

Tagged: kids, Trips

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Tagged Kids, Trips, Uncategorized

Tourists …

Posted on October 22, 2015 by mvobsession | Comments Off

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Tagged cameras, cars, Massachusetts, New England, Photographs

Boats and Buoys …

Posted on October 20, 2015 by mvobsession | Comments Off

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Tagged boats, fishing, Massachusetts, New England, ocean, Photographs, water

Hudson Valley Weekend, Part 1: Rhinebeck

Posted on October 20, 2015 by WoolyMama | Comments Off

Sorry it’s taken so long to post this. Although I brought my computer with me, it died the first day. And by “it died”, I mean I now need a new computer.

Sad face!

Only Neve ended up making the trek north with me; Emily was anxious about leaving the animals, and Oona was torn over not being with the new kittens for that many days.

It’s been many years since I was in the Hudson Valley for fall; I think perhaps last time was for Rhinebeck as well. I love the feeling of going home and seeing all the familiar things. This time I had one of my children with me, and she has a new understanding of how and why I get homesick so often.

As for Neve, she was gobsmacked by the festival. She’s been to the Montpelier Fiber Festival, but really, it can’t hold a candle to the size of Rhinebeck. The crush of people, the sheer amount of all things fiber, the food, the trees. What an incredible reminder of why I love this world.

I was thrilled to be able to meet up with some of the Juniper Moon Farm aunties and friends, and also lucky enough to run into a few other people, like Virginia from Gather Here (who recognized me first, and I’m glad she did, because I was so off in my own world I would’ve walked right by and missed her), and the always delightful Pam Wynne, who was sporting a windfall new capelet she will soon be releasing a pattern for on Ravelry.

We couldn’t get over the felted pumpkins, so we bought two. I really need to learn needle felting!

All of the alpacas and llamas made us miss Jerry. He was such a butthead, but such a character. In the future I wouldn’t mind a smaller alpaca; Paul might kill me.