Appology

I'm sorry, I'm a bad blogger.  I have been going through some personal and medical issues that have sidelined me since September of last year.  It's been a bit tough.

That isn't to say I haven't been crafting.  I have made Christmas gifts and a few custom pieces.  I have also built a new website.  Go to fairelywellmaid.vpweb.com and take a look.

Faire season is upon us.  Between the Primrose pirates, my new pirate crew, and vending I am going to be very busy.  New Hampshire Renaissance Faire is first.  It is May 11, 12 and 18,19 in Kingston NH.  I will be vending as Fairely Well Maid and preforming as a Primrose Pirate.  Come down and see us.  The faire website is http://www.nhrenfaire.com

That's it for now.  I will be posting more often, I promise.

Adventures in Canning - Part 2

Here are the Zucchini and Summer Squash pickles.  First cut them thin, about one pound each.  Then cut a quarter of a pound of onion, quarter it and thin slice.  Set in brine with a quarter cup kosher salt and water to cover.  Let this set for two hours.

Heat up sugar, vinegar, tumeric, celery salt and mustard seed to a boil.  Drain and rinse vegetables then pour hot mixture over them.  Let this set for two more hours.  Put everything into a deep pot and bring to a boil, turn heat down and simmer to five minutes.  Pour hot mixture into sterilized jars.  Put it in the water bath for 15 minutes.

I can't give the measurements out because a friend gave me this recipe and it's her's to publish.  This yielded me three half pint jars, one jelly jar and one cup and a half jar.

That's it for now.  There will be more as the veggies in my little garden ripen. 

Adventures in Canning

As the vending season, at least for me, is winding down, the garden is ripening and it's time to look to the canning stuff.  I have some jars left from last year and I have the jar tongs, but I need a canning pot.  Last year I borrowed my Mom's and she wanted it back.  Off to Ace hardware for a new one and some lids.

A friend sent me some beautiful tomatoes, cucumbers, two summer squashes and a large zucchini.  I'll never be able to eat these myself before they go bad (the Beloved doesn't eat vegetables).  So, time to start the canning.  

Tomatoes, I use these for a bunch of things.  Everything from Indian food to chili.  So, I think I'm doing most of my tomatoes, I also have some in my garden, in their own juices.  This is easy.  A quick blanching to make peeling easier, quartering them up, or in the case of the huge one, eighthing  it up.  A couple of tablespoons of lemon juice in the quart jar and one in the half quart jar.  Tomatoes in the sterilized jars and in the water bath for one hour and 25 minutes.  That's done.

For as long as I can remember growing up, there were always "refrigerator pickles" in the summer.  They tasted very much like half sour pickles.  Here is how they are made.  In a jar, I used two quart jars, pour enough kosher salt to well cover the bottom of the jar.  Throw a small handfull, maybe a teaspoon or two, of mustard seed in and a good amount of garlic, maybe a clove or two well diced.  Fill the jar about half way with water and shake to combine.  Add the cucumbers that you have cut into spears.  Really pack them in there.  Add more water if needed to cover the spears.  Shake and put into fridge.  Shake occasionally, letting them "cure" for about a week or so.  YUMM

That's all there is to it.  Next are zucchini and summer squash pickles. 

Fun with contact paper

I was at the Dollar Tree today and say this beautiful twoile contact paper.  I have a card table from a thrift store that has a huge gouge in the top.  So, two rolls of twoile paper and a few minutes in the hot sun on the driveway and voila

See the big gouge

I did a pretty good job at matching up the pattern.

I also have this camp chair that I got at another thrift store.  The pop-up table is in pretty bad shape, although still usable.  It is bowed down.

Got to admit it looks much better here

So, chair was $5.00, table was $3.00 and the two rolls of contact paper was $2.00.  And I still have some left over.  Not too bad.

Kitchen chemistry...or dying things with fun stuff

One of the things I try to remember every time I start a dying project is "Be prepared to throw it away".  You can never tell just how it's going to come out, so if you can't bear to part with it, don't try dying it.  These are the very wise words of a dear friend of mine who has gotten me into seeing the potential of all sorts of things.  She has this amazing ability to see something, for instance a wedding dress at a thrift store, and see what else it can be with some dye and deconstructing.

While most of my dye projects are not of that magnitude, it bears remembering.  I have a large collection of white and off white crochet thread that I use to make my snoods, hairnets, belt pouches and shell bags.  I do smaller batches, although I have dyed a large amount of wool.  For that I had to use a plastic bin in my tub as my washing machine is a front loader.

I have used dandelions, celery leaves, red tea, black tea, yellow onion skin, red wine and dried red rose petals.  Dandelions and celery leaves give you an amazing clear, buttery yellow.  Red tea dyes an interesting sepia tone.  Black tea makes it look aged.  Yellow onion skin does an orange (surprising).  The red wine goes an interesting pinkish brown.  I'm told that red onion skins goes green, I want to try that.  I also want to try grass, hey if it stains pants it must be a great dye.  I also want to try fresh rose petals as the dried ones make a light brown.  I also want to try carrots.

Here's where I get most of my ideas for what to try to make a dye bath.  What stains the worst.  Seriously, I tried the red wine because I like the color of the stains on white napkins.  I'm also going to try strawberries (the parts you cut out before eating, I like strawberries way to much to waste the actual berry).  Blueberries may be interesting too.

I did some research online and I use an Alum mordant.  It seems to be the best to use with plant dyes.

The process is easy.  Take a couple of pots, none reactive is best so it doesn't affect the color.  In one put enough water to totally submerge what you are dying.  Then put some alum in, about a tablespoon for a large pot of water.  Bring to a boil then add what you are dying.  Lower the heat and simmer for about five minutes.  Rinse with cool water then squeeze out any excess water.

To make the dye bath, cut up the plant or whatever you are using and put it into another pot with plenty of water.  Bring to a boil then turn down and simmer for about 20 minutes.  If you are using tea brew it in a large bowl for about five to ten minutes.  Strain out all plant material.

Dried rose petal bath

Snoods in a red tea bath

Put the item(s) you are dying in the dye bath and let it sit for at least fifteen minutes and check the color.  I usually let it sit for about an hour.  When the desired color is reached take the item out, rinse and set out to dry.  The color may lighten a bit when drying.

You can save the dye bath in the refrigerator for up to a week.  I will do this if I'm doing several snoods or other items and can't do them all at once.

Here's the whole process done with dandelions.

Snoods in Alum

The dandelion petals in the water

After simmering for twenty minutes

Straining out the petals

The dye bath

Soaking snoods

Umbrella Cover

I have this sun umbrella that I have started to use at events.  See, I'm a vampire, I flame up in the sun.  I'm very sun sensitive and really hate sunburns.  Well, it's your typical sun umbrella, large and colorful.  This isn't really a problem, except at Renaissance Faires and SCA events.

Parasols are great, but I use a walker most of the time and this means I need both of my hands.  What I do is rope the umbrella base onto my walker and insert the umbrella.  I wanted to make a cover for it because it is a bit jarring to see the colorful, thoroughly modern umbrella at an SCA event.  I didn't, however, really want to spend a lot of time with it.

I took yellow twin sheet that I got at a thrift store and about five and a half yards of emerald green fringe and made it into a cover.  I cut a hole in the top to fit the top of the umbrella and overstitched around the hole.  I trimmed the sheet to a rough circle by draping it over the umbrella.    I had to fill a bit of it with a piece I trimmed off another place.  I hemmed the circle.

Then came adding the trim.  Four and a half hours of hand sewing  and I realized I'm short trim by about a yard.  Crap.  Well there is a part of the cover without fringe.  If I run into the same fringe again I'll get it and fill in.  It's annoying because I thought I had it measured much better than that.  Here it is:

Not my best work, but not bad.

Roman Garb - part 3

...and a correction on terms.  I goofed.  The over dress is called a Stola, the large cover-up is called the Palla.  I guess Stola just reminded me of stole which is another name for a fur wrap.

So, I finished the second Stola and made the Palla.  I was going to do it in the House Vaganza colors, but I didn't have enough purple wool (did have enough leopard print fake fur) so I went scrounging through my fabric bins and found a great length of orange knit that I'm not planning on using for anything else.

For the Stola today I used the dusty blue cotton lawn.  I made it the same way I made the other ones, except that I only had to sew one side up, as I had 62 inch material.  I just slit down the fold for the arm opening.  I could still make the arm holes larger.  Something to think about for the next one.

Here it is with the white on white gauze tunica.

For the Palla, I just used the length of fabric as is, with the minor hemming of the ends.  It will be warm enough for a summer evening wrap up and can double as a blanket if I need an extra one.

Here is the full regalia

Have to work on my wrapping technique.

So there you have it.  Three days of nice hot weather garb and a wrap if it gets colder.  I also have a big, floppy straw hat because, well, I flame up in the sun.

Tomorrow I'm making the cover for my sun umbrella.