The Ugliest Book Cover of All Time

How's that for a teaser? Well, since this blog usually showcases a lot of pretty eye candy, I thought I should warn you. So if you are easily grossed-out, or have an extreme aversion to leeches, feel free to just skip this post. I won't be hurt.

While you decide whether to let your curiosity get the better of you, look at these images of when I was laying out my in-progress quilt squares! I am trying to get as much as I can done before grad school starts at the end of the month. I think I am at the point where I need some advice on what to do about one piece that is a half inch short, my cutting error. Anyone have ideas? Rhea? Ana?

I will spend the morning sewing more squares up. Oh and maybe pushing the vacuum around.
Yes, it's subjective, but I am putting my vote in for the Ugliest Book Cover of All Time. I am trying to picture the book designer pitching this image to the editor..."Hey, I've got this FABULOUS image for the cover of that leech book!" Really, truly, it's over the top---I think it's the funky toenail that really adds creep-out for me. There are many other very gross images within the pages of this book, but I won't reproduce them here. Here goes. Ready?
How did I come upon this book? Weeding the children's nonfiction at Rockport Public Library! It matched the criteria for withdrawal (which includes appearance), mainly that it hadn't been checked out in quite awhile, like years. And I wasn't censoring the collection out of personal leech-aversion, because we have another volume on leeches. Crazily enough, I will not be taking this back to the library for the Library Booksale (Pris, you're saved), but saving it for its altered book potential.

Finally (and I thought this would be a short post), check out this map that shows the growth of Walmart stores across America (thanks, Mr. Google). I'm not a big fan, mainly because of the loss of the character of our small community stores, and I try not to support this model of consumerism. But I admit that there are certain things (sometimes sewing things or crafty things) that cannot be found at other stores nearby; I think I average about a visit a year, and it always makes me feel bad and a little guilty. Any thoughts on this dilema?

What I Need is Miso Soup

After a straight month of eating meat and sugar and butter and cream at nearly every meal, in large quantities, THIS is what I have been craving daily.
I made a lovely bowl last week that I was so excited to show you, but honestly, as soon as it was done I had to consume it immediately. So I have replicated it here. There is something so clean and comforting about Miso Soup.

So here is the rough recipe, always different based on what I have on hand, for Miso Love Soup. It is in no way meant to be authentic Japanese or officially macrobiotic, just what I learned from my mom.

• Carrots, onions, sea vegetable
• Kale, chopped
• 4 oz. firm tofu, cut into small cubes
  
• Water in a saucepan 4-6 c.
  
• White (or red or whatever) Miso paste, 2-3 tablespoons
• A shake each of sesame oil and brown rice vinegar
  
• Garnish of freshly chopped scallions and slivers of radish
• Sometimes I add some leftover brown rice or udon noodles if I am serving this for dinner.
  

First, get your pot of water on the stove. Miso is better prepared fresh, so don't go for quantity here. While this is coming to a boil, chop up your carrots and onions, and reconstitute your seaweed. When the water boils, add the carrots and onions, and boil them until they are just tender. Meanwhile, chop that kale up, and get your garnishes in order. Turn off the soup and remove it to a cool burner when the veggies are done. Remove a half cup of the hot soup water and blend your miso paste into it, making a thick-ish and smooth mixture. (Miso loses its healthy properties if boiled, so that's why you turn your heat off first, and also bear this in mind if reheating on the stovetop.) Add the miso mixture back into the soup and gently stir. Throw in the kale, and mix so it cooks, and the tofu. Shake in your sesame oil and brown rice vinegar. Serve in bowls, with lovely garnishes for beauty.

Festive and Crafty New Year's

The hat for Jonas's ski season is finished! It is a cool pattern, but I highly recommend translating the annoying chart into plain English for the short-row earflaps. I crocheted a red border, for my red-lover, around his face, and the effect is somewhat Medieval. Also, he has requested that it be lined...too itchy on the cheeks. So I guess it's not really done after all. And he actually let me take his photo!!!

Here are some Festive New Year's Day finger and toenails, very fetching, and made from clay.

Here is an ice cream parlor, made by E and photographed by Sylvan! All three kids collaborated to create the Christmas tree trimmings, at right.

Lots and lots of cool details, such as the freshly baked bread

and E's reindeer and sleigh.

Below, a still life.
Left to right: Squeaky dead chicken doggie toy; Whale bone, from an intimate part of a male whale's anatomy (it's quite heavy); My foot (size 9 US, 39 Euro), for scale.

This is what the ocean looks like when it's really really cold and the water is warmer than the air; it's called Sea Smoke.

Happy New Year

Inspired by A Year of Mornings:
Sylvan's toast ends, with locally made blueberry jam bits.

This is how our kitchen counter usually looks. A bit of messy clutter, including things like puzzle pieces (the clever 10 year-old has done the puzzle twice and I am completely stymied by it), colored pencils, my new favorite cookbook (breakfast reading), someone's balled-up drawing, receipts, lists, etc. There's nothing I like more than a clean expanse of kitchen work space, but it never lasts long.
I started cutting fabric for the quilt! And already made one cutting error that I will need Alewives Girl's advice on, eventually (a piece that was meant to be 6.5x10.5 and is actually 6.0x10.5---ugh). And do you notice in the background---my new cutting guide and super duper rotary cutter? Total pleasure to have nice sharp good tools to use.

I wonder how I will decide which pieces to put next to what? I am so in love with these fabrics that my heart sings each time I see them. (This is also how I describe the feeling of seeing my husband and kissing my children, so it's pretty good.)

Blessings on your new year. May it be filled with balance, joy, creativity, and laughter. And also maybe superhuman powers of organization and discipline. (That's what I am manifesting.)

Food for Thought

Some books to get your hands on for inspiration.

1. Apples for Jam: A Colorful Cookbook by Tessa Kiros.
Our friend Hannah has a phrase for those amazing cookbooks that have stunning photographs and great recipes: "food porn." Yes, this from a woman who is usually off and on with sugar, has been on plenty of elimination diets for allergies, and sometimes eats marshmallow Fluff by the tubful. I love to read cookbooks, literally cover-to-cover. This one is organized by color and is full of these wonderfully Mediterranean recipes, really comfort food stuff. And not all of it is like WOW, amazingly difficult. Sometimes simple is best. Last night we had pasta with tomato sauce and shrimp and it was perfectly lovely. On the cover are a pair of child's red buckle shoes, and if you know me and red shoes, you will know that I fell in love with this book on sight.

2. A Year of Mornings: 3191 Miles Apart by Vettese and Barnes.
How tacky is it to not even thank the gift-giver yet, but make a blog post about their amazing and perfect gift? This book. Oh, this book! The authors found each other in the blogosphere and realized they shared a similar aesthetic and decided to collaborate on posting a diptych of one photo from each of them throughout a year. Check out their webpage and if you scroll down you can see some of these shots to get a flavor (Mary Nanna, this book might be some more inspiration for you!). To the gift-giver, who knows me like a sister even though we are 1158 miles apart...You are still my girl.

3. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.
OK, yeah, so you read it here first...Remember when I told you about this book? And now it seems like everyone is reading this?! Ha. Well, I called it. And fine, if you'll recall it was a total impulse buy, purchased purely on the title, but no matter. I am here to report that it really was an amazing novel whose story unfolds like a delicate flower. The story is about two female main characters who are outrageously intelligent, but for their own reasons they choose to keep a low profile about their rich inner lives. At times funny and poignant, I was truly astonished many times over by the rich story and excellent translation from the French, often stopping in my tracks to digest a luscious sentence.

A few other things of note:
These tattoos posted by helloyarn (who has recently suffered a canine loss)
This and this lady who often have me laughing at my keyboard
This amazing artist of wearable art
These lovely photos
The Alewives Girl blogged about my reusable shopping totes!

A much-needed home day without company is coming my way tomorrow and I hope to have some pictures to show you soon!

Busy Hands

Edible wreath by Joanie.

(She says: freeze the cookie cut-outs before you arrange them in the wreath form for best results.)

An art quilt pillow for E, Jonas's friend and previous recipient of this hat! The great thing about a crafty girl like E is that we have so much fun making presents for her...inspired by her craftiness, getting our own craft on. Jonas and I each made a side. Can you guess who made which?
Remember I mentioned that video by Traci Bautista? Well in it, she makes an art quilt cover for a book, and this is what got Jonas and I into the art quilt idea.
The beauty of it? No pins, no straight lines. Just fun. And perfect for a beginner like Jonas, because there are no mistakes per se.
We used scraps of fabrics and laid them all on some heavy weight interfacing in the designs that appealed to us. At the end, I finished the pillow sides with edging pieces. I love how different both sides are.
Busy hands around the dining room table with my mom,
my brother (who has a show upcoming and is finishing some pieces),
and Jonas and Sylvan.
And now, back to the kitchen: Prepare sweet potatoes, make pie crust to chill, make soup for tonight's meal. Oh and probably lunch, eventually. And so I will be taking a small intermission from blogging to enjoy the family that will be with us these next few days! See you on the other side of it. Enjoy peace and good meals with loved ones!

Some endings, some beginnings

These mitts will be under the tree soon...for a gentleman who seldom reads this blog. It was about 9 degrees F on the morning of this photo shoot and I was on my way to work. I told my model to give me some William Wallace style arm shots (and be quick about it, or I would be late), referencing the movie Braveheart, in which our favorite line is Mel Gibson bellowing: Freeeeeeedommmmmm! Unfortunately my model was not wearing a kilt or else I would most certainly have shared photos.
The pattern is from Knitty, called Dashing. As in: Dashing through the snow? Or what a dashing fellow? The yarn is Brown Sheep Charcoal.
Reusable Shopping Bags Completed!
The last of the five Reusable Bags is complete (here and here for the others). It was crazy that the last two bags (both using this fabric) provided me with much angst with regard to interiors not seeming to want to match neatly with exteriors. So some extra annoying little tucks were necessary. ANYway. They are finished and ready to be gifted, and I admit relief that none of the bags are going to anyone who is an expert at sewing...They are still lovely and functional even if they are not perfect.
So do you imagine me resting on laurels now, relaxing by the hearth? Pfft. No, I already have another project on the needles, this hat, meant to be a hardhat liner for troops. It is annoying because it relies on a chart to create the short-row earflaps, and I would prefer regular words. But it's great and warm and will be for Jonas, perfect for under the ski helmet!

And, oh mild boredom, in that I think he may have entered the phase of gray/black/brown in knitwear (unless it could be red, which I did not have in the stash). So I am using the same Brown Sheep Charcoal as for the mitts.

I see shoveling in my future and I will be using my abs, not my back, thank you very much. It is looking good for a white Christmas!