Egg-dyed yarns

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I have always wanted to dye my own roving (mostly because of the Twisted Sisters Sock Book!!), but wanted it to be something the children and I could do together – something safe, easy, and non-toxic.  So, when I was pregnant with my son, the girls and I dyed 2 lbs of white Brown Sheep mill end roving (super economical!) with Easter egg dye bought at 75% off after Easter.    The needed ingredients are food-safe dye, vinegar and water.

We followed this Kathryn Ivy tutorial, using spray bottles, brushes  and spoons to experiment with different patterns of adding the dye to the roving.   We worked outside, putting down lots of newpaper,  so we could make a huge mess, and have fun.  The girls had a blast squirting different patterns into the white roving, and were surprised at seeing the final results after it the roving was steamed, rinsed, and hung to dry.

It takes a LOT of  very concentrated dye to get the vibrant colors in the tutorial, and mine came out very pastel (as you can see).   It spun up nicely (you can tell this is some early spinning, however – it’s pretty uneven), but after we set the twist (just singles), the hanks have just been hanging out in my yarn dresser, because I haven’t been much in the mood for pastels.  With the wave of friends/family having babies the last several months, now is a perfect time to crack into that oh-so-pastel yarn!

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So far, I’m really enjoying knitting with it, and when it’s all used up, I think we’ll try it again, but with more concentrated dye for more vibrant colors.  Who knows, maybe Little Hen will be old enough to spin some up herself by then.  🙂

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If you’ve tried your hand at home-dying fiber, I’d love to hear about it and any advice you can offer.  If you’ve posted about it on your blog, I’d love to share the link.  Thanks!

(Only 3 days left to enter the giveaway!!)

Off the spindle

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With the cooler weather of the last few days, we’ve found life has slowed down a bit, and we’ve been hanging around the house more and more.  The girls have been playing more quiet games,  and we’ve all been reading through our latest haul from the library.   I’ve gotten a chance to finish spinning some merino/mohair roving bought at a spin-in ages ago.  The twist has been set (which really brought out the loft in the yarn – it’s so fluffy!), and these singles are ready to knit.

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Also off the another spindle are the last few ounces of 85 wool/15 mohair Brown Sheep mill end roving (1 lb total takes a while on drop spindle, so I’ve been doing it in batches).  The final product is a dk weight – some careful dividing of the roving resulted in hanks that are in strikingly different shades of white/brown/grey/black.

Now, to get knitting with them…

If you have any recent spinning, please share the link with me – I’d love to see what you’re working on.  Thanks!

(Don’t forget to stop by my giveaway post, and leave a comment, too!)

Orange Julius Recipe

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To make this  refreshing, healthy summertime snack , you will first need 4 medium oranges.   Give them to the kids and let them roll the oranges around on the counter and between their hands to prep them for juicing.

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Juice the oranges (you should get about 1 cup of orange juice).  If little hands are helping, I always put down a kitchen towel – juicing oranges is a messy task for a 4 year-old (or a 30 year-old, for that matter!)

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If you like, throw in a chopped peach or a handful of strawberries or a mango for another layer of flavor and nutrition.  Put these in the blender.

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To the blender, also add 1 cup of whole milk (or a nut milk would be yummy if you don’t do dairy, but you might want to decrease it to 3/4 cup),

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one tsp pure vanilla extract,

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and a scant 1/2 cup organic, unbleached sugar (or  4 Tbsp honey)  (and our oranges were very sweet, I could have cut this back even more).

Puree for 20 sec, then add

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ice! Just have the kids drop them in a cube at a time until it’s a thickness that you all like.

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Enjoy! (I know my kids did – Tum Tum kept signing to his sisters for sips! )

Don’t forget to check out my giveaway post! Thanks!

Larksong’s Orange Julius

4 medium oranges, washed and juiced to yield about 1 cup orange juice

1 peach or mango, chopped, or one handful of strawberries (optional)

1 cup whole milk

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

scant 1/2 cup sugar or 4 tbsp honey, to taste

ice cubes

Directions – Place all ingredients in the blender for 20-30 seconds, then add ice cubes one a time until desired consistency.   (Extra good with a bit of whipped cream on top.)

Garden harvest

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Fridays are my days to volunteer at Penelope’s Garden.  This week’s harvest was 29 lbs delivered to Birch Community Services!!

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The raspberries are all done for the year, the mint bolted in the heat, but the tomatoes and green beans are in full production!  There were even some carrots and a new patch of basil ready.   (I must admit, I couldn’t help myself and snacked on some of the tender beans while harvesting – SO delicious!)

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The heat wave, followed by the cool snap in the weather caused the Walla Walla sweet onions to bolt and then fall, so that meant harvest time for them, too.  They smelled unbelievably good.

Next week it looks like lots of peppers, some patty-pans, and maybe even some cucumbers will be added to the wave of tomatoes and green beans to bring in.  Can’t wait!

What are you harvesting in your garden this week?

(Don’t forget – check out my Contest, if you haven’t yet.  Thanks!)

First Giveaway

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Welcome to the first giveaway at An Exaltation of Larks!

The girls and I are giving away a handmade scrap doll quilt,

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some soft, dove-gray Rowan-spun 4-ply 100% new wool yarn (enough to make two pixie hats),

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some vintage linen napkins, and assorted other goodies, yet to be revealed!

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This is a comment giveaway – please leave a comment telling me 1) which Category (in my sidebar on the right) is you like best, and 2) what crafty/domestic/culinary/mama activity you enjoy doing the most (feel free to include a link to a related post on your blog so I can get to know you, too!)

If you link to my giveaway on your blog, post about it on Facebook, etc, please let me know, and I’ll add THREE extra entries in your name to the drawing.

The drawing will be held on Comments will close at 11 pm Pacific time on Saturday, August 15th, and the drawing will be held Sunday, August 16th.  Thanks!

Giveaway closed.  Thank you all very much for the lovely comments!

Morning on the Farm

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Some more shots from yesterday’s trip to Sauvie Island Farms.

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Little Hen in the raspberry canes,

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where we found an old abandoned nest, lined with feathers and seed fluff.

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Firecracker helped her auntie pick blueberries.

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And the flowers were absolutely stunning.

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The biggest surprise of the day was finding a nest with four baby birds in the middle of the marionberry canes.  They sat very still as we observed them.  It was a real treat – the nestlings were clearly Cedar Waxings (the black face mask and yellow band on the tail were telling signs), which are one of my favorite birds.   The nest was right at eye-level for the girls, so they got an excellent look.

Please come back tomorrow – I’ll be having my first giveaway.  Thanks!

Peaches

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The peaches are ripe on Sauvie Island!!!!  We took advantage of the cool weather this morning (65!!) and went to pick some with my sister.

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The farm was lovely, as usual, and the picking easy (I love how so many of the branches are very low, so the children can pick easily).  Little Hen tripped and hurt her leg right at the end, which put a damper on things, but Auntie Jen took us all to Hot Lips Pizza (everyone’s favorite!) for lunch afterward, so the trip ended with lots of smiles.  🙂

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And 57 lbs of beautiful ripe peaches later… I am camped out in the kitchen making batches of jam and canning sliced peaches.   Some will be peeled, sliced and frozen, as well.  And of course, some little children around here will polish off quite a few, too.    The aroma of cooking peaches filled the downstairs, and Firecracker kept running into the kitchen just to inhale deeply and then run back to playing with her sister.

Tomorrow, more pictures from our morning on Sauvie Island.  And a giveaway in two days!

Some reading, some thrifting

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Today’s take-home from the library – I love it when a bunch of books I’ve ordered (and re-ordered!) all come in at once.

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Today’s take-home from the thrift store (right down the street from the library).  $1.50 of fabric (Maybe 3 yds total?).    The one on top is my favorite.

Can’t wait to crack into both stacks.

Don’t forget to check back – giveaway in just a few days!  Thanks!

Summer Nature Table

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The Magic Onions is hosting a Friday Nature Table group.  I should have posted yesterday, but life got busy, so for us, it’s a Saturday Morning Nature Table sharing.

This was a great idea – I was able to catch up on a LOT of blogs I haven’t had the time to get back to in a long while.  The girls and I had a good time looking at everyone’s nature posts (Firecracker especially loved the fairy fortress at Muddy Schoolhouse) .  We will have to make the rounds again next Friday – lots to learn from and enjoy.

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A few more shots of our Nature table in the early morning sunshine.  Little Hen found the old bird’s nest in a stand of bamboo we are clearing out of our backyard.  The honeypot was a gift from her grandmother.

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Some little treasures the girls have collected in the past week or so and keep in a dolly tea-cup.

Our summer nature table tends to be less cluttered (like Heirloom Seasons says, it’s constantly changing and will fill up with autumn’s bounty soon enough!).  The Clean Plate Club also has a restful, uncluttered nature table – with a beach theme.

I confess, with Tum Tum walking and able to reach EVERYTHING on the nature table, I keep the items on a tray up high, and when the girls are interested in it, I bring it down.   With so many chokeables, breakables, delicates on the nature table,  it’s the best – if an imperfect – option for right now.  (I also like Kinder Beginnings’ shadow box approach.)

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What’s on your childrens’ nature table?  What are they connecting with the natural world?  Join the sharing at The Magic Onions.

Oh, and one more reminder – giveaway coming up VERY soon!

Green Pixie

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Another pixie hat off the needles.  This pattern is so simple and looks pretty adorable, so it’s become one of my favorites to knit for baby gifts.  Knit on size 3’s with a wool/silk hand-dyed fingering-weight yarn.  (One skein looks like it might be just enough for two hats!)

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This one is going out in the mail to a friend from high school who just had a baby boy.   I’m super late finishing it, but it’s size 3-6 mo, and he won’t need it until the fall anyway, so maybe it’ll be right on time.  🙂

If you have a moment, check out my favorite green knitting blogs Green Woman Comes Knocking and Ever Green Knits.

Okay, stay tuned!  First giveaway coming up in just a couple of days!  There’ll be yarn and other goodies!

Doll Quilts/ Giveaway Update

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Little Hen and I had such a good time making our doll quilt for the show, and the weather has been so hot, we thought we’d spend yesterday and today indoors, keeping cool, and making some more scrap doll quilts.

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I cut 2-inch squares from more fabric scraps in my stash, and Firecracker joined us as we played at laying out the pieces in different arrangements until we each had our tops laid out.

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Firecracker lost interest and went to listen to Strega Nona on bookCD,  so Little Hen and I sewed the pieces together for both her (in the foreground) and her sister’s (in the back) quilts.

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I added borders, backing and top-stitched them while we all listened to Daddy read from our current chapter book.

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A while back, I intended to have a little giveaway, but life got hectic, and I didn’t get around to it.  So, here in the next week, I am going to have a giveaway, and will include, among other goodies, one of the doll quilts above.   Keep checking in, and let folks know.  Thanks!

Watermelon Granita

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For the past few weeks on and off, we’ve been experiencing some uncharacteristically hot weather here in Portland (hovering around 100 degrees).  The forecast for the next few days is 103!!  Ack!

So, in an effort to simultaneously keep cool and fulfill my need to cook (without running the oven!), I made a batch of Watermelon Granita.   Here’s my recipe –

Larksong’s Watermelon Granita

4 cups seeded, chunked watermelon

1/2 cup Dainty Lime Marmalade (or 1/2 cup sugar and juice of one lemon or lime, but the final result will be grainier)

1/4 cup vodka (optional – I make two batches, one with for the grown-ups, one without for the kiddos. )

Directions – Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour into a casserole dish and freeze 1 hour.  Rake with a fork.  Return to the freezer for another hour.  Rake again with a fork.   Return to the freezer for 1 more hour, then rake yet again.  (Sometimes, with the vodka added, it may take some additional time to freeze thoroughly , so leave 4 hours in your time schedule just in case.)

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If you haven’t got any watermelon on hand – try my mother’s Peach Granita recipe (you can tell where I got the inspiration!) –

Larksong’s Mother’s Peach Granita

3 cups peeled, chopped peaches (blanch for 30 seconds to loosen skin, and then peel and chop)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup Peach Schnapps

1/2 cup water or orange juice

Directions – Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour into a casserole dish and freeze 1 hour.  Rake with a fork.  Return to the freezer for another hour.  Rake again with a fork.   Return to the freezer for one more hour.  Rake with a fork for the third time.  Serve in chilled cups.  Enjoy!

What are you doing to stay cool in the summer heat?

Scrappy Doll Quilt Virtual Show

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Little Hen, who loves to help me sew, has been asking if we could put makes some quilts for her dolls.    And then, a while back, I saw the invite to a Virtual Scrappy Doll Quilt Show and Challenge on From my Scrapbag and thought it would make a great project for Little Hen and I to do together.

We’ve been so busy, I haven’t had time to get out the sewing machine and dig through my fabric stash until two days ago!  We look through the fabric scraps (I haven’t made a large quilt in ten years, so the fabric was a little dated, but the rules of the show dictated we must use up scraps), and decided on a blue on blue theme.   Little Hen picked out the block fabrics, and I selected the border fabric from leftover strips of a fabric I had used in Little Hen’s crib-sized Ohio Star baby quilt.

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We went with a simple 4-patch quilt – something a 6 year-old could have a real hand in making.  The finished quilt is 10″ x 14″, and I must say, Little Hen has a careful hand when it comes to piecing – the corners all meet nicely.

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Little Hen sat in my lap, and together, we guided the pieces through the machine.  Her favorite part was top-stitching to finish the quilt (with three little ones, and the late date of beginning this project, there was no way I was going to have time to hand quilt it!) It was a fun activity for us both, and we are planning on making her cousins and sister some doll quilts for Christmas gifts this year.

Please check out the comments section to visit the other quilts in this show.   That’s where the girls and I are headed right now!

REALLY simple child’s toy

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Tum Tum playing peek-a-boo with his own fingers for quite a while this afternoon.  I love how he chuckled quietly to himself  every time his finger peeked through the boxes’ holes.

Later in the day, the box was turned into a race car as the girls gave him rides around the living room, and currently it is a shopping cart full of play food as he walks it in a circuit around the playroom, adding more food every time he passes the play kitchen.

Yay for simple, free, imaginative play!

Dainty Lime Marmalade Recipe

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I don’t usually make marmalade until the winter, when citrus is in season.  (Although citrus is so refreshing in the heat of summer.)   However, I happened to have an abundance of limes, so what else was there to do but make a batch of Dainty Lime Marmalade ( in the wee hours of the morning, before the house heated up)?

Homemade marmalade couldn’t be easier – it only has three ingredients – limes, water, and sugar.  and It is so refreshing – wonderful on poundcake, over sherbert, or thinned out with a little water and used as a dressing for fruit salad.

Larksong’s Dainty Lime Marmalade

(this recipe makes a double batch – half to cook up now, half to freeze)

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Scrub 20 limes and zest them with a microplane into a large measuring bowl (this marmalade was named by Little Hen – I used to just call it “Lime Marmalade”, but the children and I prefer something more delicate than the traditional, large bitter pieces of citrus rind in the marmalade, so I started making it with a microplane, which produces “dainty” zestings. )

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Remove the bitter white peel from the lime.

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Section out the lime pulp from the tougher membrane.  (Squeeze the juice from the membrane into the measuring cup before discarding it – you’ll get a lot of extra juice this way.)

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Add the lime sections to the measuring cup and squish them up into smaller pieces (just wash your kids’ hands and let them squish the pieces between their fingers, if you like).  Add enough water to equal 8 cups of total pulp+water and pour into a heavy-bottomed pot.

Bring the lime pulp/zest/water mixture to a boil and reduce to a simmer for ten minutes.  Turn off the heat and let cool thoroughly.

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At this point, measure out and freeze half (that’s 4 cups) of the lime-pulp (before adding sugar) that could either be made into a second batch of marmalade down the road, or be used in 1/2 cup amounts in other berry jams.

Now, either let the remaining pulp can sit in the fridge up to 3 days or you can make the marmalade straight away.  When you’re ready to make the marmalade, get all canning equipment ready and going on the stove.

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To the pot (which now contains 4 cups of cooked lime pulp), add 7 cups of granulated sugar.  Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly.  Boil for approximately 20 minutes, or until jam is set (put some on a spoon in a dish, and set it in the fridge for a few minutes, to test the set).  Do not overcook – limes contain a LOT of natural pectin and you will end up tough sheets of pectin in your marmalade if it cooks too long.

Take the marmalade off the heat, and stir once every 30 seconds or so, for about 5 minutes, allowing the marmalade to cook and distribute the zest (this reduces floating zest in the finished product.)

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Pour into sterilized jelly jars, add hot lids and rings, and can in your hot water bath canner for 5 min (I like to put a dishtowel in the bottom of mine, to keep jars from clanging around as much).  Remove from bath and allow to cool fully.  The marmalade may be thin, but will continue to thicken over the next few days.

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Enjoy!

Oh, and check  out Cabbage Tree Farm’s Rangpur lime marmalade, and Christie’s Corner’s Scotch Marmalade.

Magic Potion

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At day camp this week, Little Hen made a magic potion, which she has been applying on everyone – to cure anything from splinters to a grouchy mood.  She loves bestowing “goodness” on everyone.

Here’s her recipe as she dictates it to me ( how she remembers it from camp)

Magic Potion Recipe by Little Hen

24 handfuls of shredded beeswax

a medium sized jar of canola or olive oil (not sure which)

a whole boquet of flowers (such as roses, clover flowers, and every type of flower you can think of)

Directions – First, take some flower petals and soak them in the oil overnight.

The next day, strain the flowers from the oil.  Then, take the oil, put it in a pot and sprinkle in the shredded beeswax.  Put the pot on the stove and turn on the stove.  While you do this, you tell the fairies what magic things you want your potion to have in it (like good things to help people).

Pour  the melted potion into jars and let it cool down for half an hour so you don’t burn yourself.

To use it, get some of the potion lotion on your finger and put it on your owie or whisper a wish and rub it between your eyes.

I hope you like this.  – Little Hen

Some Waldorf Magic

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Little Hen has been at Waldorf Art Day Camp (and thus immersed in magical-make-believe) for the past two weeks, .  Her sister misses her terribly while she’s gone (“Is it time to pick up sissy yet?  Is it time to pick up sissy yet???”), but we’ve been trying to do something special in the mornings – just Firecracker and me (and sometimes the baby in the backpack)  – a trip to the coffee shop for steamers, a visit to the craft store, a walk to the park, making brownies, that kind of thing.

So, here’s some of what my artistic 6 year-old has been creating this week of magic and sculpting –

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A magic wand made from a tree limb, yarn, wire, and a piece of quartz

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A fairy sculpture from wooden beads, wire, modeling beeswax, and tissue paper.

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a wet-felted bumblebee, and rope and embroidery floss-sewn hive (which went straight on the nature table).

While camp has been a wonderful experience, it will be good for Little Hen to have a break next week, and for all of us to reconnect and plan some special outings and activities as a whole family.

Frogged

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This yarn is frustrating me to no end!  I have started and frogged 4 different projects with it so far.  It’s hand-dyed 100% cotton fingering weight.  The colors are beautiful, the yarn finicky.  So, I’m going back to an old standby and hoping 5th time’s a charm.

Updates soon.  Things have been so incredibly busy the past two weeks, but I’m hoping they’ll slow down here after the weekend.

Hope your summer is turning out to be a relaxing one.

Doll Journal

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After a break of several weeks (during which time, she preferred to draw and paint large portraits and wildlife scenes) Little Hen has returned to drawing miniatures and creating mail for our Sparrow Post.

We’ve decided to put the Sparrow Post box out in the garden in a few weeks when it starts to take shape, but since the yard is in such a state of transition, it hasn’t happened yet.  So instead, she leaves little sketches on the window sills, tucked into bookshelves, on the nature table – wherever a passing fairy-friend might find them.

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Here she is intently filling pages of her Doll Journal with sketches of flowers and butterflies.

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There’s been some more nature inspired children’s art at The Magic Onions, Syrendell, and appreciation of Tasha Tudor at Renaissance Mama, and Garden Mama.  Check them out!

Sunday summer afternoon

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Little Hen and I picking wildflowers in the yard,

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and cutting out new paperdolls from Grandma,

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while the little ones take a nice long nap.

I think that makes for a pretty good Sunday afternoon.

Berry Pies

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Another family at church has welcomed  their first baby.   It’s our privilege to bring them dinner tonight (and ooh and ahh over their little boy), so the girls helped me bake some Blueberry-Raspberry- Marionberry pies to take for dessert (I love living in the Northwest!).

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Firecracker helped with the lattice top, and Little Hen shaped the edges (I love seeing a child’s hand in the process).

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We always make some extra dough so that the girls can make their own little hand pies, dusted with sanding sugar,  for a good morning snack.

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Some other yummy goodies with berries being made recently at Charming the Birds, and Imagine Childhood.

What’s your favorite summer berry recipe?

Robin Hood

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The girls have progressed in their literary obsessions from Little House to Narnia, and now to all things Robin Hood.   They (and their daddy) also happen to love collecting and playing board games of all types, so when they came across  Ravensburger’s Robin Hood Board Game at the thrift store this week (for 75 cents!), they snatched it up.  (I love Ravensburger’s games – their beautiful wooden pieces, interesting themes, and content that is so appealing to children an adults alike.)

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The kids and I are sick with a sore throat, and considering the 95 degree heat outside, today seemed like a perfect opportunity to try out our new game while we tried to take it easy and stay cool.

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We all really enjoyed the game, and would recommend it to anyone with primary-aged children.  (The game is played in four quick rounds, which helps keep a younger child interested.)   Firecracker says the best thing about the game was “winning!!”

If you get a chance, check out Garden Mama’s games while hiding out from the summer heat.

What board games are a favorite in your home?

Farina, Mary and Elsie take tea

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Farina Pink Apron had her best friends over for afternoon tea.

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Hot tea, fresh milk, and sweet cream were served,

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along with a lovely assortment of pastries.

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Farina likes her tea with drop of milk.”

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Mary “likes honey drizzled on her scones,

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but that makes her hands sticky, so she needs some help with her tea cup.”

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Would Elsie like a crumpet and a biscuit both?…A crumpet is something to eat, isn’t it?

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It was, Little Hen tells me, a pleasant little get-together by all accounts.

Strawberry-Banana Jam

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This was a first try for strawberry-banana jam, so I simply used the recipe from Sure-Jell’s website, instead of fiddling with one of my own (why reinvent the wheel, right?).

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The jam was beautiful, and very very tasty, and although maybe a little too sweet (I like some tartness to my jam, but the kids thought it was perfect).  I also found less of a problem with floating fruit than in other strawberry-based jam recipes.  This recipe is definitely a keeper (maybe with some more strawberries and one fewer banana, since the banana flavor overpowered the strawberry a little bit?).

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Up next, plain-and-simple strawberry and strawberry-lime (and soon, the raspberries and blueberries will be in!)  I make about two batches a week during the summer, and my kitchen is always open for a jam-making get-together,  so come join me!