What a whirlwind holiday season it was! After the craft faire in Santa Cruz I began the Christmas Knitting. Now Sinspinner was much smarter than I and had started much sooner. She however was going to Germany to see family and therefore had much more than I. I started the socks that Warebeast's mother had commissoned on December 5th and believed that I could knit 5 pairs of socks, 2 hats, a bag, a lace scarf and still keep my job and sanity. This was not the case. I caved on the 23rd and went to Target.

Sinspinner in Germany with the Boy until the 24th, which makes the apartment and the cats very lonely. I hope that everyone's holidays were lovely!

~Riastiltskin

Holiday Show

We will be appearing at the Multi-Artist Holiday show in Santa Cruz this weekend, December 4th and 5th, 2010. Join us from 11-5 at the Freight Building, 119 Center Street! http://www.ribbonstreet.com/holidayshow.html

Monarch Craft Fair

We went to the Monarch Community Craft Show yesterday. It was really nice. We went last year and there were a lot of the same wonderful venders there this year. We were actually even invited to be in a craft fair in Santa Cruz next weekend! I have to get the exact date from Hedgerose before I post the information though. We met a lot of really nice people.

A woman came by our booth and told us that her husband had bought on of Hedgerose's books last year and given it to her for Christmas. She took it with her to Italy and back and now it is her traveling journal. We were thrilled to here that our creations had gone so far and were being loved.

Like all craft fairs it seems, this one was a bit of an adventure to get to. (Hedgerose can smack me for that proposition at the end of that sentence later.) I had gone down to L.A. to see my family for Thanksgiving, so had just gotten off of a plane. Elderbeast (brother of Warebeast), had volunteered to come get me from the airport and drove me down to Santa Cruz, saving me a bazillon hours on the bus. O.k. like 2 or 3, but still a huge difference. However, Hedgerose and her housemates win. One of their housemates fainted in the kitchen and they had to call 911. The upside to this however is that they assure me that the fireman was extremely hot; every cloud has a silver lining. All in all, however, it was a very enjoyable day. Details about next weekend's craft show to come shortly.

~Riastiltskin

Corn Chowder!

I've been sick for several weeks and have eaten a LOT of soup. Today I made a big batch of delicious corn chowder. Try my original recipe!

Servings: 4-8

Cook Time: 1.5-2hrs

INGREDIENTS

1 large yellow onion, minced

1 large carrot, chopped small

2 medium leeks, chopped

2 stalks celery, minced

4 yukon potatos, cubed small

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup sliced mushroom

1 can sweet yellow corn, undrained

2 quarts, chicken or veggie stock

1 cup half and half

1/2 cup white wine

3 tablespoons butter

ground black pepper and salt to taste

1 teaspoon paprika

shredded cheddar, sour cream, and/or chopped chives for topping

INSTRUCTIONS

Slowly sautee onion, garlic, leek, celery, mushroom and carrots in butter until onion and leek are soft and golden. Add corn, potato, stock and wine. Simmer on low heat for 45-90 minutes, stirring occasionally. Potatoes should be soft and falling apart. In a blender or with a hand blender, smooth 1/2 of the contents of your pot. Add in half and half, paprika, salt and pepper. Continue to Simmer on low heat 15 minutes then serve in deep bowls. Top soup with sour cream and shredded cheese.

Laci's

Now that I am not waiting tables and only teaching at Montessori school, I am experiencing this beautiful thing known as weekends. They are in fact amazing. I also have these things called evenings too, but that is another story. These weekends are giving me a chance to see my friends again. I went over to Oaklandia to visit a friend and she popped my Laci's cherry. An explanation for those of you who have not experienced that which is Laci's: it is a museum of lace and textiles. The front part of the building is a store. There are shelves of books, separated by subject. There were crafts I had never even heard of before. There were hat forms and parasols, hoop skirts, fans, tools, wig making. It was amazing. After you get through the front, there is another 2 rooms that is just the museum part. There were wedding dresses and veils in the first room and an exhibit on embroidery in the second. My friend is an embroiderer. I dabbled in it in high school, counted cross stitch, but she is the real deal. It was amazing to go through it with her and her input about the various techniques. I would definitely go back. I love museums and seeing the evolution of crafting but it was a different take to know that people had done this hundreds of years ago and were still using the same techniques today.

Going to Laci's made me think about the the nature of crafting. Most things there were fairly recent, within the last few hundred years, and many of the fabrics were falling apart. The intricacy and size of the stitches and patterns indicated that the artist had spent hundreds of hours creating each piece for something that would would only last a finite amount of time. I also thought that it was interesting that none of the pieces I saw seemed to be made with the intention of being in a museum one day. It was all something functional: a piece of clothing, a sampler, etc. It makes me wonder what we have lost, what was see as something frivolous and meaningless because it was being created by a woman. Not seen as art but as something less. I wish I had more answers. It was a thought provoking weekend.

I was all proud of myself for making a sock for the Warebeast. I made excellent time on it. It was a nice yarn. He loved the pattern. He tried it on. It was the biggest sock I have ever seen. I must have been in some kind of denial while making it. There was no amount of squinting or tucking that could make it work. I kept telling myself that the cables would make it gather more, that I needed the extra inches. After a night of mourning, I pulled out the sock all the way back to the foot. I kept telling myself that I knit for the process, that this is ok, but I had some choice words to share with myself.

An Evening at Havenscourt Homestead and Upcoming Events

On Tuesday, the Boy and I spent a LOVELY evening in Oakland at the Havenscourt Homestead where we learned to milk goats, collected eggs and spent an evening of leisure around the fire pit listening to the goats bleat, quail coo, chickens cluck and the occasional distant siren-- the sounds of urban farm life.

Kitty Sharkey started work on her homestead about 2 years ago and has an impressive back yard farm in high production now. With four Goats, twelve hens, four quail two hives, two cats, two oscars and a couple dozen pond fish, you'd think her place would be crowded but I was very impressed with how well she had used her space. Between two goats, she milks just over half a gallon every evening and collects a handful each of quail and chicken eggs daily as well. She swears her gardens are a mess but I look at them and am in awe of the tomato harvest she filled her fridge with. She's looking forward to a time when her organic farming practices will bring her up to 75% self sufficiency. It is an ambitious goal, but certainly one worth working towards.

Aside from her day to day farming practice, Kitty is working with her goats to train them as therapy animals. Sammy, her young wether (castrated male goat) is often the favorite of visitors as he is small, friendly and has an extraordinarily soft coat for his breed. Many of the neighborhood children have been invited into the yard to meet "the kids", as Kitty affectionately calls her little herd and she will be bringing them to the Norther California Renaissance Faire's brand new petting zoo starting this upcoming weekend (September 18th and 19th).

Speaking of which, The Ren Faire has 2 for 1 tickets THIS WEEKEND ONLY! Come see the court, stay for a show (or three) and cool down with a pint while you browse he marketplace. Stand aside when you hear drums and fanfare because the Queen is coming! Boy and I are at the head of the parade as part of the St. Blaise Town Criers followed by drummers, revelers and the Yeomen of the Guard. See you there!


Homestead photos are property of Kitty Sharkey and Havenscourt Homestead.

NCRF Promotional photo is property of Play Faire Productions.