bee creative

under the harvest moon...what's in season

 

Last night I started working on this...

My grandmother sent me some of her neighbor's alpaca wool.  I'm making a shawl/scarf as a thank you gift.  It will mostly be with the white as I'm finding the grey/brown a bit harder to work with.  An the white is so soft.

Today's farmer's market purchases.  The canning jar contains cherry tomatoes and strawberries.  That's how I got them home without being squished in my back pack. 

A few weeks ago I finished reading The Feast Nearby by Robin Mather.  There are some interesting essays in this book, but what I keep thinking about is  her budget.  The book chronicles her food choices for the length of a year; each week eating on a budget of $40 dollars.  Her goals included local and organic when possible. 

It's made me think about what I spend on food, as my goal is to eat mostly local and organic.  I did a bit of research and found that the average cost of food for the community I live in is about $80 dollars a week for a single person.  We have a high cost of living here.  The average cost of a low-cost food plan in the United States is $46.10 for a single woman in my age range according to the USDA.   A liberal plan would be 73.60.  Hmm...

So I decided to keep track a little closer.  To see what about $40 dollars a week would look like for me.

My basket of food above cost $26.50.  Since it's from the farmer's market, it's all local.  Except for the cheese, it's also all organic.  I spent $8.30 at the co-op on walnuts, peanuts, peppercorns, oat flour and a treat.   This was all from the bulk section. 

I'll be adding to this from the pantry and see how creative I can get with the food budget...

approaching full moon

first leaf

First autumn leaf that told me "pick me up."  The fabric underneath is velvet dyed in the homegrown indigo vat.  It's still wet, dipped twice.  I put it back in again tonight for a long soak (not recommended but that's what I'm doing). 

sometimes the blues whisper...

This is my indigo vat made with home-grown indigo:

This morning I had blue fabric, this afternoon I can barely tell the dyed piece from the same fabric un-dyed:

It's a cotton/linen blend.  I'm going to try again with some silk. 

Cloth could be a bandage.  This little project I post in honor of Jude and Glennis.  It's something I've just started playing with.  I finally found a clamp to try making moons as Glennis taught in one of her classes.  And the layout of what I am making is very much a place keeper as Jude makes.   I'm not sure what will make it "mine," but it will always be a reflection of these two...

 

 

eleven pieces of of the last two days

This morning...



Equinox fish:





1.  Kale one year after planting.  I want to reread my copy of Four Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman soon. 

2. Baby Swiss chard planted about a month ago.

3.  Hazelnuts harvested before the squirrel could take them.  Dried in the dehydrator.  The squirrel won't get as many next year...

4.  Drying corn, peppers, and a mixture of carrots, parsley, celery leaf and onion.  I use all these as seasonings for foods throughout the winter. 

5.  I have grapes!  Should be enough to dry some.

6.  Hops harvested before the rain.

7.  Tattered fall crocus.  The sun came out for just a bit this afternoon.

8.  Mending the wool blanket.

9.  Peanut butter cookies!  Recipe here.  Worth making even if you are eating wheat. 

10 Lola makes her nest.  I can hear both dogs snoring at the moment... Time for another cookie. 

the mystery squash revealed

So this spring I let the mystery squash live...

And here it is.

In a couple weeks, after it's cured a bit, I'll open one and see how it tastes.  I have three plus one squash off the vine I actually planted.  I figure I have about 25 pounds of squash.

I don't feel the need to grow most of the fruits and vegetables I eat, but certainly part of it. 

This is a very interesting presentation about food waste. 

the dress named plain jane

I'm going to make a label for this that says "plain jane."

Maybe some pockets?  Mostly I do want this to stay on the plain side, all the better to wear scarves with.

The pattern:  my favorite tank top pattern that is now a bit on the large size.  Seemed like it would make a good jumper so I lengthened it a bit.

The fabric: denim purchased at a small locally owned fabric store.  Once or twice a year I buy a few yards of fabric there plus all the thread and sewing needles I need. 

Sewn by hand and machine. I've decided I'd really rather not sew denim by hand though. 

 

in season...an apple named "Greensleeves"

One phrase found in The Feast Nearby by Robin Mather... "intentional kitchen." 

(I added a yogurt dressing after the picture.)

play it again...

The song that is stuck in my head right now... a cover of Billie Jean by The Civil Wars

one ear of corn

This will take more than one sentence...

I started with twelve dent (field) corn plants.

Four grew.

I harvest one ear of corn.

I dried the kernels and ground them in a coffee grinder.

One ear of corn = one tablespoon of flour.

I added it to some brown rice flour and made crepes.

They were full of wonderful corn flavor

I will grow more next year.

I will save it from the slugs and the giant winter squash.