Tag Archives: acatherinenoon

V Is For… Vinegar!

Knoontime Knitting

VI love vinegar. I use it in salad with fruit instead of dressing; I splash it on vegetables when I steam them; and I use it as part of the seasoning when cooking chicken. I particularly like flavored vinegar.

Making flavored vinegars isn’t difficult.  You cook the vinegar with the additives, either before you let it steep or after, depending on whether it’s fruit or herbs.  Then you let it steep for a few weeks in a dark, cool place and voila, flavored vinegar.

I’ve got plans for a vinegar book that talks about how to do it, but until I write it, you can find some amazing vinegars at a shop in Grand Haven, Michigan, USA called Grand Haven Vinegar and Oil.  Their dark chocolate balsamic vinegar is worth sipping on its own and their fruit vinegars will make you want to find the nearest spinach merchant.  Lovely stuff, vinegar.

What about you, Dear Reader?
What’s your favorite condiment?

U Is For… Upholstery!

Knoontime Knitting

2015-04-24 Pic 1Yes, I know. It’s an ugly chair.  I, however, happen to like it.  It belonged to my great-grandfather and is in serious need of re-upholstering, but because of its construction that’s not inexpensive.  For one thing, the pegs that hold the armrest in place are broken and the glue holding them in place is congealed and hardened.  Never fear, I have the missing piece in a safe space.

What you can’t see is that when I inherited the chair, my cat at the time took a serious dislike to it – I can’t see why; what’s not to love about brown and yellow plaid? – and scratched the back left side to bits.  I finally got him to stop but the damage was done.

When we moved, my husband and partner both said, get rid of the Ugli Chair.  But I can’t.  I love it.  It wants to be loved, it wants to make people happy.  It wants a place in the home.  And it’s damnably comfortable.  And let’s face it – when you’re sitting IN the Ugli Chair, you can’t SEE the Ugli Chair anymore.  Problem solved, right?

And in the meantime, until it can be refinished into a less… baby shit brown and pancake sort of color scheme, we’re plotting to design a soft, brown, washable afghan that can be draped artfully over it so it at least looks intentional in the library and not like a “Dear God, what is that?”

What about you, Dear Reader?
What furniture do you have that you can’t bear to part with, even if it’s no longer the height of fashion?

T Is For… Tunisian Crochet!

Knoontime Knitting

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A few years ago, I decided to try Tunisian crochet.  I took a class at a local store and talked about the challenges of the art in a blog post, here.  Since then, I haven’t played with it much, other than to give it a shot for a project that became a gift for a friend.  I used the basic Tunisian crochet stitch to make a pocket on a backpack.  It’s like anything else, if you take the time to practice, you get better.

I made a fabulous discovery recently.  There’s a site called Craftsy that has classes on all sorts of crafts, from textile arts to visual arts, cooking, woodworking, you name it.  They’re adding new content all the time.  They have a great class in Tunisian crochet that I found super useful.  My blocks around translating 2-D to 3-D aren’t as difficult to overcome with the videos, because you can stop and start and replay to your little heart’s content – even better than feeling like you’re annoying the poor teacher by asking them to show you something, again.  Here’s the class on Tunisian Crochet so you can check it out.  Be sure to poke around, they have free classes so you can try them out without committing money.

What about you, Dear Reader?
What classes look fun to try?

S Is For… Soapmaking!

Knoontime Knitting

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Soap.  We all use it.   But do we really understand what it is?

Most, if not all, of the stuff we buy at the grocery store or fancy upscale shops isn’t soap, it’s detergent – or, if you’re lucky, it might just be glycerin, which is a part of the soapmaking process but still not actual soap.  Soap is made when you add lye to fat and it saponifies, the chemical reaction that results in soap.  Far from producing the harsh bars of yesteryear, today’s craft soapmakers can make a variety of fine products that nourish the skin instead of stripping it of its natural oils.

The bars above are a simple, basic soap that can then be grated down and mixed with more water, as well as other additives like essential oils, herbs, flowers, and fruits, to create French milled soap.  Made by “cold process,” they contain pork fat (lard), olive oil (pomace), coconut oil, and lye.  C’est fini.  That’s all.  The great thing about these bars is that if you have sensitive skin, as I do, it doesn’t irritate it (unless you have a specific allergy or intolerance for the ingredients themselves.

What about you, Dear Reader?
What kinds of body cleansers do you like?

 

R Is For… Rubbings!

Knoontime Knitting

RGrave rubbings is a hobby common in genealogy.  People interested in their family history sometimes make rubbings of their ancestors’ grave markers as a way of preserving it as art.  I don’t know where most of my ancestors are buried, so that’s not something I’ve been able to do with my genealogical research; however, that doesn’t mean it’s not something that is a satisfying way to spend an afternoon.

Some friends and I went to the memorial at Tippecanoe Battlefield, not far from Lafayette, Indiana.  Many of the graves had gorgeous stone carvings and we took a box of crayons specifically saved for this purpose.  We wandered the graveyard for about three hours, looking for designs and my friend’s ancestors.  It was sobering to know that so many people died there, but we came home with some beautiful reminders of our trip.  Sadly, when researching for this post, I couldn’t find the file where I stored them, so clearly I need to do some more filing.  But the memory of the day, and spending time with a friend who herself has now passed on, is bright in my mind.

I found an interesting article in Family Tree Magazine that details how to make grave rubbings, if you’re not familiar with the practice.  As I said, I keep a special box of crayons (one of the deluxe ones with all the colors, I might add) for the purpose.  It’s even got bold writing on the lid, “for rubbings only.”

What about you, Dear Reader?
Where might you go to make some rubbings?

Q Is For… Quilling!

Knoontime Knitting

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One art I’d like to try someday is quilling.  This is an art that uses small strips of paper, wound to various tightness, to create a three-dimensional art.  When I was a child, I remember seeing ones that were usually monochromatic, usually white.  I don’t know if that’s because it was in vogue at the time or if that particular area of California just had artists that liked working in plain colors; but when I did some research for my post, I found some amazing, inspiring images.  Take a look.

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I love how simple this star is, and how it cycles through the colors of the rainbow.

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I love peacocks!  This one is incredible – look at the level of detail!  The height of the pieces differs depending on whether it’s the branch or the bird, too.  Such complexity!

I found a detailed YouTube channel that has classes in quilling for free, here.  You can see all the different kinds of designs possible and maybe get inspired to try it yourself!

What about you, Dear Reader?
What art calls to you, that you haven’t tried yet?

P Is For… Pysanky!

Knoontime Knitting
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Egg decorated by A. Catherine Noon from a design in the Ukrainian Design Book by Perchyshyn et al. Image Copyright 2014 Everett C. Wilson. Used with Permission

I adore pysanky.  I talked about the legend about them on my main blog a couple weeks ago, here.  Today, I wanted to talk more about the craft of making them, since Knoontime Knitting is about the crafts.  I was first introduced to the art of pysanky, or Ukrainian decorated eggs, when I moved to Chicago back in 1998.  The art, however, has a history stretching back 5,000 years.  The tools are reminiscent of Bronze Age technology:  the kistka, which is used to draw on the egg with melted wax, is a simple metal funnel attached to a stick with wire.  The wax is typically beeswax.   The egg…

Well, we all know where eggs come from.

But which came first, the chicken or…

Come on, I couldn’t help myself.  ANYway, pysanky is a slow process, because you draw the designs on the egg, then put it in a dye bath, then draw some more, then dye, until the design is finished.  You’re not done there, however.  You then melt the wax from the egg, using either a candle and paper towel or a melting board and an oven.  I’ve only used the candle method, though I’m curious to try the oven method one of these days.

The designs themselves have ancient history too.  The design above, for example, represents bear claws.  The colors represent the mother goddess.  The red is actually supposed to be solid, but I like how the wax didn’t quite cover it all the way and there are flecks of black in it.

That’s what pysanky teaches you:  no matter how painstakingly you work, the pysanka always has the last word.  Part of the art is about acceptance, and another is about patience.

What about you, Dear Reader?
What have your hobbies taught you?

O Is For… Ojos de Dios!

Knoontime Knitting

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Ojos de Dios is translated from the Spanish as, “Eyes of God.”  First worked by the coastal South American indigenous peoples the Huichol, they are a  combination between a prayer, hope, and protection.  They became popular in the States during the 1970’s during the resurgence of the Arts and Crafts revival.  As a Wiccan, I see them as a lovely way to intentionalize my craft and to make something tangible out of a wish.

This one was made from a continuous yarn and woven with differing weaves (which is why you can see the dowel in the center at different points on the diamond).  I bought the dowel at the hardware store, sanded it, and then painted a combination stain and varnish on it to darken it and preserve the wood.  Tip:  if you decide to do that, let the finished wood sit for at least a week so the fumes dissipate and any stickiness is gone.  It was pretty pungent to work on the next day.

What about you, Dear Reader?
For what would you make an ojo?  New job? Writing project? Love?

 

N Is For… Needlepoint!

Knoontime Knitting

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This is one of the earliest pieces I’ve worked in needlepoint.  It’s comparatively early in my stitching career, since I did it when I was sixteen to seventeen; it took me about eighteen months in total.  It was, at the time, my most ambitious piece.  Sadly, it was damaged by the recipient when it was removed from the frame and returned to me; however, the fine folks at North Shore Needleworks were able to help me start the repairs (which is why their tape is around the edges, stopping the canvas from unraveling).  It’s incredibly difficult to age-match colors, let me tell you; but North Shore helped me do so in a way that will look good in the final design.

This piece is characterized by long floats, where the yarn is brought several inches across the canvas.  This is to simulate the difference in texture between the water, the objects in the picture, and the sky.  Most of the stitching is just satin stitch, which made it a pretty easy piece and certainly something a beginner can work.  It was originally from a kit, though I no longer recall the company’s name that produced it.  I like it because it reminds me of Coyote Point near San Mateo (it’s actually in San Mateo County, though not the city itself).

What about you, Dear Reader?
What crafts did you do as a child that make you nostalgic?  Or, if you weren’t into crafting, what places did you visit?

M Is For… Macrame!

Knoontime Knitting
Project knotted by A. Catherine Noon; Image copyright 2015. All Rights Reserved.

Project knotted by A. Catherine Noon; Image copyright 2015. All Rights Reserved.

Remember macrame? No? I do. It was the go-to fiber art of the early 80’s. Man, folks made everything from plant hangers, like the one I made above, to wall art, rugs, belts, covers for jugs, jewelry, vests, and anything else they could think of.  You used to find the macrame cording at the craft store, but I haven’t seen any in a long time.  (If you have a source, please tell me in the comments as I’d love to make something again.)

I made two plant hangers and a few other things; the plant hangers are the only things I still own.  This one is the larger of the two and is made with a light green and white cord in a simple square knot.  I mastered square knots and half-square knots, (which I keep trying to spell as “nots,”), but didn’t advance beyond that because the drawings, at the time, didn’t make sense.  But knowing what I know now about my 2D to 3D translation difficulties, I’d like to give it another shot.

And if you, Dear Reader, are interested in trying your hand at the art, there’s even an online Macrame School on YouTube.  I swear, what did we do before the internet?  As much as I love my offline activities, I’m sure grateful for the capacity to make bridges, connections, and share knowledge that the internet has brought us.  Miraculous.

https://www.youtube.com/user/macrameschool

What about you, Dear Reader?
What daily activities do you have in your life that have been altered by the internet?