The Modern Housewife Series Vol. I

Breasts, crochet and another, different, red pepper and walnut pate

 On Tuesday I got my breasts out in the local church hall.

...


Oh, you want more? An explanation for my heathen behaviour? While I don't, as a rule, go around exposing myself in religious establishments I was in a room full of other women who were proudly getting their breasts out. Finally the BfN (Breastfeeding Network) have set  up a local group and I no longer have to be regarded as unusual or eccentric for breast feeding my baby. Up until now I was the only person I knew who chose to breast feed in my local area. The only one! Its been a surprisingly isolating experience on some levels but I'd never change it.  I'll be back next week to talk with people who don't react with disbelief and horror at terms such as 'attachment parenting', 'baby led weaning' and *gasp* 'co-sleeping'.

Other stuff:

Small successful crochet projects have included these balls:

I'm pleasantly surprised at how much baby enjoys them. Usually she'll chase them around the room like a cat but we also play throwing and rolling games with them. Homemade hippy type entertainment right there! Oh! Maybe I could turn my granny squares into stackable cubes for her?!

For my next crochet project I have my eye on a tutorial from (a different) Lucy at Attic 24 for covering containers.  So many amazing free projects and her instructions are incredibly clear. She also has the most homely looking house that I have seen. I want to move in now. Thank you.

Finally, after yesterday's post I was reminded of a red pepper and walnut pâté that we made constantly over the summer when we had a 3kg bag of walnuts.  It contains pomegranate molasses which everyone has in their cupboards right?  You bought it from an Asian/Middle Eastern grocers didn't you? Yeah. I thought so.

 

100g walnuts

50g fresh bread (crust removed)

1 roasted red pepper (skin and seeds removed)

1 tbsp pomegranate molasses*

1/2 tsp ground cumin

pinch of cayenne or a splash of hot sauce (optional)

4 tbsp good extra virgin olive oil

Pinch of salt

Put everything in a processor and blend until desired texture. It gets thicker the longer it is blended as the walnuts turn to a nut butter. If you want it more of a dipping consistency add some water a tablespoon at a time and adjust the seasonings.

 

 

sweet buttons

I sewed a button on something! It's amazing; a post-Christmas miracle if you will...

There it is :) It's attached to a piece of knitting that I did a couple of years ago, initially intended to be a scarf but the yarn ran out before it was long enough. So now it is a marvelous hip warmer/knitted warm up thing (trust me I look fabulous in it!), it goes so well with my legwarmers...

stars not my work...

In other sweet news, I am on a sugar and wheat avoiding thing, eating these flapjacks and feeling mellow. While I can't compete with Cat's pie, I have been baking sugary things for other people and they're quite pretty:

Saturday crafting: crochet

I've taken up crochet again because it's easier to fit into my day than sewing which I can do albeit not brilliantly. I can pick up or put down a crochet project so quickly it fits nicely around a baby. If I want to sew I have to find everything, set it up and put it away after so really, at the moment, it's easier not to bother. I'd knit but I find two needles hard to wield and I can clutch them so tightly that my tension increases to the point of being unable to insert the needle. Plus, what am I supposed to do with my elbows? I find them in all sorts of strange unnatural positions.

On top of these practicalities I find my mood is drawn to yarny type activities at this time of year. As the nights draw in and the rain lashes down I want to sit in front of the fire and feel yarn between my fingers. Ive not crocheted anything since I was a teenager and it surprises me how long ago that was! Mentally I'm at least a decade younger than years on this planet.

Persistence has been key here. Persistence and the internet. I used all sorts of videos and step by step guides to help me but found that, as always for me,, making loads of mistakes, ripping things out and starting all over was the best teacher. However, the step by step guide on Granny squares by Lucy at Attic 24 helped the most. It's a completely different type of granny square to mine but it made me realise I was treating it like knitting and crocheting in entirely the wrong place.

 

 This is my first attempted square. it took six attempts (at least) to get it to the dreadful state you see. I finished it anyway as it was only then, by looking at what wasn't working that I could correct it. It's how my brain works

 

This is a comparison between the latest square I completed and the first one. Quite different.

 

The first four I made. #1 I'm not convinced by my choice of colours but there was little in the way of choice when it came to 100% cotton yarn. The shop I went to stops buying in cotton in the autumn and winter so I went with what there was. I wish I'd bought a 4th color now. #2 What's going on with the cream square? I didn't do enough initial treble stitches in the middle but yet I still managed to get the correct amount in the following rings. Where was I putting those stitches?

creativity inspiration

 A non food related post for the weekend...

I had the opportunity to photograph a friends large wall hanging embroideries last weekend. Hugely inspirational and I'll most definitely be incorporating some of the ideas into my own designs...

 

 

 

 

 

...her garden was pretty amazing too...

 

 

 

More vintage patterns for knitters

Does a pattern count as vintage if it's from the 80's? Thought not. Still, you have to admit these are quite snazzy. While I really have no intention of knitting I like the idea of using the pattern as an embroidery guide. I'm thinking of a selection of beautifully crafted hand stitched Ghostbusters logos and A team vans.Guess what everyone's getting for Christmas?! Hope all my friends are as geeky as me? Wait, I know they are!

I continued flicking through my fine collection of patterns and when I came across this one I felt deep sorrow for the small boy in the jumper and the unfortunate haircut inflicted upon him...

...then I noticed it was a girl! Girls jumpers it says! I hope she didn't need counselling. I'm still scarred from a page boy haircut as a child when everyone used to think I was a little boy. It didn't help that my mum let me run around in pants and a vest while my friend wore girly dresses and had long hair tied up with ribbons.

But the horror didn't end there, no! Once when I was about 17 I accidentally asked a hairdresser to cut my hair short and a child on a busy quiet train turned round to her father and, pointing at me, asked loudly and clearly "is it a boy or a girl"? I have kept my hair fairly long every since.

Patterns for the discerning knitter

Along with my aquisition of eyes and noses came three folders of quite outstanding retro and vintage knitting patterns. Reeeeeally outstanding. 

I pity the fool who doesn't own this:

C'mon, who wouldn't want Mr T's face on their jumper although I am more drawn to the simpler "A Team" motif... 

 

 Almost on a par with the A Team are these fetching his and hers Batman knits but really they don't scream basketball to me...

 

...must be wrong!

This next one is genuinely my favourite and although I don't knit I have every intention of mastering it so I can whip up selection of these fine hats. Perhaps I will have completed one by winter but I wont hold my breath. 

 Beautiful and so very different from the usual knitted hat.

One final booklet of hats which I probably wont be knitting...

...lovely! Wonder if the Nephews would thank me for these...?