I do love a good cup of tea...

This is my Brown Betty.  She was a gift from my Mom a long time ago,  15 years or more.  She sent it to me for Xmas the year I moved to the States.

Betty is the best.  I flash her with some boiling water, throw in a couple PG Tips or Yorkshire Gold bags and have the best tea, ever!  I'm a British tea snob, sorry Red Rose.

It really is about the teapot.  I have other ones.... Nope, not the same. Inferior tea.

It is always time for tea as far as I am concerned.  (and we are talking about HOT tea, not iced) All seasons,but especially winter, as a North Texas winter is particularly chilly.  One would not expect that, but even my parents, died in the wool Saskatchewan Prairie people, find a Texas winter to be really cold. So again, anytime is tea time.  If you are sick, sad, stressed, happy, healthy, relaxing, visiting..... you get the idea.

Well, Betty needed a cosy.  After a good strong 15 year friendship, the least I can do is knit something for her.  So, I used up some beautiful hand dyed yarn I had left over from a cabled hat project. It was so gorgeous, I was glad to be able to use every last inch of it.  I got it from a knitting blogger I discovered.

  The Sitting Tree  http://thesittingtree.blogspot.com/

She has a great little Esty shop with lots of lovely things. I have purchased yarn, soap and patterns from her.  It is her source of income and she and her husband and kids are working towards moving off the grid.  Her blog is well done and very interesting.

I digress...

Tea Cosy - 100% superwash worsted in the colorway - Holidazzle, brought to you and me by The Sitting Tree.

Hmmm...   Now I need to post about scones. 

Microbiology and the Art of Knitting...

 This is what I am doing while I am supposed to be studying micro-biology.  It's not that I don't like micro.  I actually really like it. Its relevant and interesting and something I never really learned enough about in nursing school. 

But...

We went to the farmers market and there were these wonderful ladies that were spinning fiber and selling their hand-spun.  I bought the most gorgeous, soft, pink and green and cream hand-spun with green sparkles.  I love sparkles.

And...

I put it in my stash, but I kept having to go and touch it and smell it and hold it and then i started looking at patterns and then I found a hat with cables and then I cast on and then I started knitting, I couldn't help myself.

So...

I worked on my hat and read micro power points at the same time.  Multitasking.  Using my left and right brain together for the greater good of knitkind.

The finished product  with enough left over to make fingerless mittens, too!!
 (I hate taking pictures of myself, they always turn out weird)


  (That's my fur dog, Joey in the background.)

DFW Fiber Fest 2012

I finally got to go to a fiber convention.  YarnCon, hahaha! Actually it was really DFW Fiberfest.  It was earlier this year in April.  Very cool.  So many things to see and touch and covet and purchase and, and, and...

I did walk away with a few skeins.  The green is a merino/silk blend, this will be a scarf and hat for the husband, the lilac and cream is a bamboo/merino blend, not sure what this will be it just felt heavenly and the colours appealed to me, it's just going to have to age appropriately in my basket o' yarn until the knitting muse speaks, and the multi-coloured skein is a hand painted worsted superwash wool that was initially meant to be mittens or fingerless gloves for me, but my friend's little girl has a thing for hand knits, and this suits her personality.  Maybe it will become a little sweater vest or shrug.

There were spinners. This captured my attention.  I would love to try it, but not sure I have the time or space.  I think I may at least try a spindle class.There is a small farm near where we live that has spinning classes.  She raises Jacob sheep and Alpacas and has classes and a drop in knitting circle as well.  I have it on my to do list, I just have not gotten around to giving her a call. She had a booth at the convention.  I will call this week, how about that!

More knitting...

Blogger finally works on my computer again.  I was having some technical difficulties there for a couple weeks.So, I can now show one of my recently completed projects. 

He asked for a green sweater with a hood and buttons down the front.  He couldn't decide on what colour green, so I found this cool camo blend and he loved it.  I have used it previously to make a skull cap and gloves for his older brother.  I should post pic of those, too.  It 100% wool and he thinks it's a little itchy, but once it's cool enough to wear it, he'll wear long sleeves under it anyway.

I definitely like the pattern and I'll use it again, for sure.  I'd like to try it again and modify it with a zipper instead of button holes.

 My memory is blanking on the name of the book I got the pattern from.  Chicks with Sticks patterns for Older Kids or something like that.  I'll have to remember to post it.

Trying my hand at Bartering...

I suppose this was a barter or maybe more of a trading of goods. Whatever you call it it was great fun and worked out well for all parties involved, if I do say so myself.

So, in exchange for a lovely watercolor painted by my friend and neighbour - which I in turn gifted to another friend, as well as a giant load of canvases and other art supplies for my son to experiment with, I traded a knitted poncho - top right pic (ya, not very good) and a little spring sweater with tiny ducky buttons (also not a great pic, but oh well) for her daughter, whom apparently has quite an appreciation for hand knits even at her tender age. What can I say, she's already got good taste, ha!

I dig this trading of goods. I would do this again. I actually hope to do this again. It just plain felt good.

Rainbow Beans

This is one of my favorite recipes using beans. Rainbow beans over rice. I use brown rice to bump the nutrients and fiber up even more. It is super easy and quick to make and the leftovers keep well. I have used the leftovers in omelets the next day, for variety. Everyone in the house likes this dish, too, even the little boy who tends to be fussy about new things.

1 can black beans

1 can white beans

1 can red beans

1 can or 1 cup frozen corn

1 can diced tomatoes

one diced onion

1 tsp cumin

chili powder to taste

1-2 tsp minced garlic or garlic powder

Sweat the onions in a sauce pan with olive oil. Rinse the beans and add to pan. Drain the corn and add to pan. Add tomatoes with juices to pan. Add the spices and simmer. And that's it!

Serve over brown rice. Yum yum!!

I did try black eyed peas from scratch for New Years Day - yuck - epic fail!!!!! Not worthy of a post. Next year I'll remember to get the canned ones, I like those better.