Late Summer Questions and Answers

Wild asters in bloom

I know you have been busy with the Still Life posts, but what else have you worked on lately?

I've been finishing some projects that were put aside while I worked on others. One of these was a mirror-image piece done in upright Gobelin stitch on needlepoint canvas. Here's a picture of it shown horizontally. The pattern is mirrored both from side to side and from top to bottom. Seen in this way, it is pure geometric pattern in design.

Needlepoint, horizontal view

Needlepoint, vertical orientation

But look what happens when it is shown vertically. Now it is a stylized representation of the fields and forests, mesas and mountains of western Colorado. I don't usually do a design that leans this far toward the abstract, but this one was fun.

I'm thinking of framing it with two hangers on the back of the frame, one on a long side and one on a short side. Then it could be displayed either way and changed back and forth as desired. What do you think?

You showed a picture of a basket of strawberries at the top of Part II of the Still Life series (August 21, 2017), but you didn't tell us anything about it. Are you going to tell us about it?

Certainly. Here it is again:

Needlepoint still life of a basket of strawberries

There are a great many things to consider in doing a still life painting — or its equivalent in needlework. Here is a cheerful little needlepoint of a small basket of strawberries on a blue-and-white checked tablecloth. It is done in a poster-like style with little indication of depth and no highlights or shadows. The emphasis, instead, is on line, shape, color, and texture. Still, there is a good deal of pattern involved. Something like this is a good exercise for a beginner taking up still life needlework. This is the sort of design that can be found in a child's coloring book, for example, for anyone not yet ready to make an original design. The design is done in acrylic yarn on #10 needlepoint canvas. The checked tablecloth is a simple bargello pattern done in upright Gobelin stitch.

Sample of stitch for checked tablecloth

The body of the basket is a simple needle-weaving pattern that is shifted every other row. The yarn is brought up from the back of the canvas. Working from left to right, the stitch pattern is over 6 threads, under 2 threads, over 6, under 2, across. The return stitches from right to left are under 6 threads, over 2, under 6, over 2. The sample has been done in two colors to make this easier to see. The stitch pattern is continued until a block of 6 rows is completed. The next block of 6 rows begins shifted 4 threads to the right of the first one. The third block is just like the first one and the fourth is like the second one. Incomplete blocks can be filled in once the pattern is established. Each stitch begins and ends in the same squares as the adjacent ones. No canvas threads are left uncovered.

Sample of stitch for basket

The strawberries are done in Parisian stitch to indicate their surface texture. The sample is done in two colors for clarity. For more on Parisian stitch and related stitches, see the post for April 10, 2014.

Sample of stitch for strawberries

The ribbon-striped wallpaper is done in continental stitch, but the rows are done vertically rather than horizontally. To do this, do downward vertical stitches in the standard continental manner (lower right to upper left) and upward stitches in the return method (upper right to lower left).

Stitch technique for wallpaper stripes

Although this is a simple pattern, it still contains some information. The strawberries indicate that it is probably late spring or summer. The lighting indicates daytime. The checked tablecloth indicates that the room is a kitchen or dining room. The bow on the basket handle suggests that the strawberries are a gift. We don't know whether the gift has been delivered to someone in the household or whether it is a gift being prepared for someone else. Either way, it is a pleasant picture. (I like to think the basket is a gift for a friend.)

Are you still doing new crochet projects?

Yes, I am still doing crochet projects. A while ago I started a new line of baby afghans and “loveys”. Loveys are soft stuffed toys based on my puppet designs. I will admit that I have never been fond of the “Pink is for girls; blue is for boys” school of thought. For one thing, babies do not readily see pastels for quite some time. The first color that most of them notice is bright red. Toy-makers have known this for centuries and painted their toys accordingly.

I try to make bright-colored afghans that will appeal to toddlers (and also allow parents and caregivers to teach the children colors and words), and toys that can be used along with storybooks, made-up stories, and even songs. For example, here is “Cottontail's Garden” and its “lovey” (at the left side of the photograph).

Detail of "Cottontail's Garden" afghan and lovey

The rows of different colors can be associated with the vegetables and fruits the child eats or sees in visits to the grocery store. The lovey could be a good companion to the child when books like the Peter Rabbit series are read or songs like “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” are sung. (Incidentally, J.D. says he feels hungry every time he looks at this afghan.)

This question is for J.D. You mentioned a hot drink made from dandelion roots. (July 16, 2017) I sure have plenty of dandelions. What can you tell me about the hot drink?”

(The gnome grumbles...) Okay, for reasons too complicated to go into here, I once had to come up with a hot drink made from ingredients easily available in northern Europe a thousand years ago. After some experimentation, I settled on:

4 parts roasted malt barley

1 part roasted dandelion root

1 part roasted chicory root

Grind together to the size and consistency that matches whatever apparatus you use to make coffee - or tea - and brew. No caffeine kick, but it tastes pretty good on a cold morning.

J.D.

Enjoy the rest of the summer!

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Questions for the Garden Gnome

(In order to give Annake some time to finish bits and pieces of projects and samples for upcoming posts, this time we are dragging the Garden Gnome out of his hole to answer accumulated  garden-related questions that have piled up since the end of last growing season...)

Clary sage in the herb garden

How did the planting in the straw bales go?

It ended with mixed results. It depended upon how much water I could get to each one. The ones around the former compost pile did exactly what they were supposed to do and have all but disappeared. The remains can be mixed into the compost or plants can be planted into them directly. The ones that were half-successful will be broken down into compost or used as mulch on the raised beds.

All that's left of properly composted straw bales

Leftover straw used as mulch in the raised beds

Unfinished bales for garden borders

Are you going to do it again this year?

There were some bales that were placed too far for the soaker hoses to reach. They are largely intact. A few of those will be used this year as borders for other planting areas. They will get water when the interior plantings are watered and I will experiment with planting seeds in them again. However, the current severe drought will determine how much water we can use for that purpose. The rest may be made into compost.

What happens to the straw bale after you harvest the plants?

They disappear. They become dirt. This is a good thing, because good dirt is expensive and straw is cheap.

Fennel

Are you selling any new and different herbs this year?

Two, fennel and clary sage. Fennel isn't really supposed to over-winter here, but ours didn't “get the memo”. Maybe it was the hay bales? Fennel, a member of the carrot family, has been used from ancient times. Roman soldiers ate it to give them strength and spread its seeds across Europe. Roman women used it for slimming. The Anglo -Saxons revered it so much they even used it as a charm against evil. It is popular in Mediterranean cooking. Fresh leaves and stems are used in salads, sprinkled over meat and fish dishes, and used in sauces. Like dandelions, all parts of the plant are edible. The roots (bulbs) can be eaten like celery or thinly sliced for salads. For a recipe and suggestions for use of this herb, see Annake's addition at the end of this post.

Much maligned, but wonderfully versatile dandelions

Speaking of dandelions, most people consider dandelions as weeds, but they don't know about the plant's good qualities. For example, the flowers are used for flavoring wines and liqueurs. The leaves are edible if you use young, fresh ones. (Please don't spray the plants with anything if you plant to use any part of them!) The roots can be roasted to make a hot beverage, although I recommend that you add other ingredients. The roots also break up hard ground and the plants seem to prefer hard ground. I seldom find a dandelion in a prepared bed. I'm perfectly willing to let them break up the hard ground for me. The flowers make a slightly orange-yellow dye and the roots make a russet brown one. Besides, the flowers brighten up the world when few other flowers are blooming.

Clary sage (pictured at the top of this post) is a very old herb, also originally from the Mediterranean. For those of you who know the folk song (or remember the Simon and Garfunkel rendition) Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme may be interested to know that it — not our Thanksgiving sage — is the “sage” meant in the song. It can be used fresh or dried to flavor breads, stuffing, cheese dishes and vegetables. Its aroma and flavor are much more like its mint relatives than our Thanksgiving sage. It has attractive spikes of lavender flowers. Annake tells me that it is used as a fixative in perfume-making and is really nice in home-made potpourri. She also says a few crushed leaves in your bathwater makes for an invigorating soak. (I'll take her word for that.)

Oregon holly grapes

Are the fruits of the Oregon holly-grapes edible for people, too?

Yes, but they are really sour! With enough sugar, they taste a lot like vine grapes. I recommend mixing them with vine grapes to make an interesting, tart jelly. They are loaded with Vitamin C.

What can you do with rose hips?

These are also sour and also an excellent source of Vitamin C. Once removed from the rosebush, they dry quickly and keep for a long time. Early settlers used them to ward off vitamin-deficiency diseases like scurvy. They are commonly used in teas and jellies.

Our new columbine

Did you ever find out what this year's gift from the birds was?

Yes, in fact we found two. The first was a handsome pink and yellow columbine. I think we have shown you a picture of the cream-colored one they left us a couple of years ago. (April 20, 2017 post) The second was a pink sweet pea vine coming up in the rock pile near where Rasputin, our rhubarb, lives and plots world domination.

Now, go grow something and make the world a better place...

J.D., Annake's Garden Gnome

Annake's Recipe
 for

Grilled Fish with Fennel

Clean and salt the fish. Lightly stuff it with fresh chopped fennel and sage. Slit the sides of the fish twice. Coat the fish with oil. Make a bed of fresh fennel stems and leaves in a pan. Put the fish on top. Cook, turning the fish and brushing it with oil. Serve garnished with slices of lemon.

Fennel is especially good with bass, but also with other fish, especially fatty ones.

Other Uses for Fennel:

• Snipped fresh leaves or minced stems are good additions to salads. Try them sprinkled over fish, pork, cheese, eggs, beans, lentils or rice. Add the fennel just before serving.

• Fennel is good with dishes of any of the cabbage family: broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, etc.

• Add 3 T. of freshly chopped fennel to an omelet of 4 to 6 eggs.

• Add sprigs of fennel to canola oil, extra-virgin olive oil, or saffron oil for a tasty cooking oil.

• Use 1 T. chopped fennel to flavor butter or mayonnaise.

• Fennel roots and lower stems can be cooked and treated like carrots or new potatoes.

• Use fresh fennel flowers, which have a delicate licorice (anise)fragrance. Mixed with nasturtiums and calendulas, they make a pretty bouquet — and you can eat it as a salad, too!

• Make a fennel sauce with ½ cup mayonnaise, 1 T. light cream, and 1 t. chopped fresh fennel leaves and stems. Good over fish.

Sweet pea, bloomed out and ready to move to a better location

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Early Spring Questions and Answers, 2017

Spring flowers in Annake's garden

I like your heart designs but I wouldn't want to do them just for Valentine's Day. What else do you suggest?

I'm glad you liked the hearts. One project I would recommend is memorializing weddings. In fact, if you are going to be a bridesmaid or a maid or matron of honor, and the date for the wedding has been set, you probably have time to make one of these as a thoughtful wedding gift. Depending on your skill, choose needlepoint canvas, monks' cloth, or Aida cloth. Choose a size that is appropriate for framing — 8 inches x 10 inches or 9 inches x 12 inches are good choices. Make a border of small hearts top and bottom or all around the background.

Small needlework hearts for borders

Or place larger hearts in the four corners. Use a pattern like the one shown below as both a chart and a sample. Rotate the pattern 90 degrees for each of the following three corners. If you put four of these together, stitched in green, you get a lucky four-leaf clover. Three of them and a stem give you a shamrock for St. Patrick's Day.

Chart and sample of corner heart

Then embroider or needlepoint a large heart shape that is open in the center. You might like to download and use the chart from the post of January 30, 2017. Add additional rows of stitches outside and inside to get the size of heart that you need. In the center of the open heart, embroider a message like the following:

Mary Jones and John Smith

February 14, 2017

Tip: Write or print the names and dates on lined paper. Cover with a smooth piece of white tissue paper. Carefully trace your message on the tissue paper. Pin the tissue paper to your fabric, carefully centering it in the heart. Embroider over the letters and numbers. Then carefully tear the tissue paper away and discard it.

These embroideries can be as simple or as elaborate as you choose. You might take a clue from the wedding announcements, if they have been chosen, to familiarize yourself with the couple's style. A white or gold frame, simple enough not to distract one from the embroidery, would be appropriate.
 

Mothers of the bride and groom should also appreciate one of these. If you want something more elaborate, you might enlarge and use parts of the intertwined heart design (January 31, 2016).

My second choice would be a similar, but perhaps smaller, birth announcement. You might embroider a blue one for a baby boy and a pink one for a baby girl or do the whole thing in a rainbow of colors. Grandmothers would treasure such a gift. I was discussing this with a dear friend and she suggested that those of you who like to embroider on perforated paper might want to do something like this in a size that would fit into an envelope.

For a larger project, you might embroider a family tree. You may want to start with a fairly large background so that the next generation's spouses and children can be added to the tree at a later date.
 

When you are making the four-way designs on paper, does it matter whether you fold the paper horizontally and vertically or if you fold it diagonally? Also, how would you apply this technique to some kind of needlework besides quilting. I don't quilt.

Let me answer your second question first. Let's explore a simple project that anyone can do with two pieces of felt, scissors, and fabric glue or a needle and thread. Remember our reverse applique (April 11, 2016 and June 24, 2016)? Once you have followed the simple directions from this post and have a four-way silhouette cut out of paper, pin your pattern to a square of felt, carefully centering the design. Cut it out with small, sharp scissors or an X-acto knife. Glue or stitch it to a square of felt in a contrasting color. Decorate it in any way you like. Frame it, make it into a wall hanging, a small pillow, or a decorative mat.

In answer to your first question, there is some difference between the two techniques. I used the “square” technique with my students because it was easier for them to grasp and execute. Here is the tulip pattern, modified to make it more nearly symmetrical, shown as cut on the square and then on the diagonal. It is necessary to shorten the tulip pattern to fit the diagonal fold.

Picture of the two patterns opened out, side by side

Is it time for more recipes?

Any time is a good time for recipes. We have an extensive mint garden. Here are two popular mint recipes from the recipe sheets we give our customers.

Minted Melon Fruit Cocktails

1 cup white sugar                                                      1 cup water

3 tbsp chopped mint leaves          Juice of 1 lemon           Juice of 1 orange

1 cantaloupe or honeydew melon, scooped into balls or diced into cubes

Sprigs of whole mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Refrigerate the cut melon. Mix the orange and lemon juices together. Boil the sugar and water together for 5 minutes to make a good syrup. Keep it warm. Chop the mint. Pour the syrup over the chopped mint. Let the mint steep in the syrup until it cools completely. Strain the syrup and add it to the orange and lemon juices. Chill.

Divide the melon balls or cubes between 6 tall glasses. Pour the chilled syrup over the melon. Garnish each glass with sprigs of whole mint leaves if desired. Keep cold until serving. This works as both an appetizer before a meal or as a light dessert after a meal.

Two varieties of mint from Annake's garden

Lime-Mint Smoothie

1 cup fat-free vanilla frozen yogurt           ¼ cup fat-free or low-fat milk

¼ cup frozen limeade concentrate                 ¼ cup fresh mint leaves

Combine all four ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately. Serves two. Delicious, cooling, and low-calorie.

Enjoy!

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