Chris Rock made a tasteless joke at the expense of Will Smith's wife Will Smith responded with a slap. The news cycle fattens with continued coverage and responses. He later resigns for the Academy prior to their ousting him.
Putin invades Ukraine. He remains on United Nations Security Council.
The paradox is jarring.
I'm intrepid in the kitchen. I like to try all manner of things. Most recently, I began making potato gnocchi, not because we ate a lot of it in the past. In fact, I don't think I had eaten it at all prior to my finding a recipe that called for it that I wanted to try. That lead to my curious mind moving to the "how would I?" moment on wondering how I would make it from scratch. I generally make all my baked goods from scratch. I don't recall buying a boxed cake mix in decades.
Thanks to all of the excellent ethersphere contributors, I found a successful method of making the gnocchi. It was easy, delicious, and I enjoyed doing it.
Switch to a different genre: pasta. I love pasta. We eat it weekly. But I've never tried to make it from scratch. I again had one of those "How would I?" moments. Again, the ethersphere did not disappoint. In fact, there are probably so many pasta making videos out there that I could watch them for the rest of my life.
I tend to be pretty objective about my approach to things. I embrace my inner nerd. I like to know the optimum way to make things--not how the hillbilly kitchen or the Italian grandmother makes it. Enter Helen Rennie. Helen Rennie is a cooking instructor. I stumbled upon her videos, and I like her approach. Below is the video that I used for my maiden voyage.
I ordered a set of pasta rollers for my Kitchen Aide. I found them on markdown and bought them at a nice discount. However, they are still an investment at > $200. I always look for these types of items when I can find them. I would not make this were it not for the convenience of the roller and cutter attachments.
The attachments couldn't be easier to manage as I soon learned in making the batch last night. Though HR says that it is unlikely that your eggs will weigh more than 185g...my eggs and yolks clocked in over 200 grams. I just whisked, I pulled off the excess. I found that I needed a little more than 185g of liquid to my flour. And I measured my flour on the scale with grams.
The hardest part was kneading the dough. It is not like any dough I've worked before. Again, her instructions were clear and concise.
My family REALLY enjoyed the fettuccine that I made as a side dish. I made a cheddar sauce to go with them as my Parmesan stores were too small to do anything but put it in a soup pot--the little nub that I had. It was so much more flavorful and delightfully toothsome. (I used bread flour as she recommends, and the texture and taste were superb).
Her video makes the sensible approach of focusing on common mistakes. I like knowing where the "risks" are and how to mitigate them--in all things.
So was it worth the time and effort? Indeed it was. To be sure, it was not nearly as convenient as opening a box. But it was no more difficult nor time consuming than making gnocchi.
If pasta is something that you enjoy AND you enjoy the process, take a look at the video and consider giving it a try.
My Breville Toaste Oven, which is an MVP in my kitchen died. First, the convection fan failed. Then, the unit failed to power. At a replacement cost of $270. Of course you know that I scoured the internet and YouTube in particular to find videos on how to fix. I was reay. Heck, I even bought the fuse for it.
I then headed over to ebay. I found a used one, free shipping, and I made an offer on it. The pictures showed that it was cleaner than the one I have (~10yrs old). So I saved a couple of hundred dollars (so long as I'm not disappointed with the condition.
I've generally had good luck on Ebay. I have only had to ask for credit twice. Once because a pair of binoculars I bought were stated as "like new" when in fact the lenses had striations from improper cleaning. Optics were fine, but it was not "like new". The seller and I worked it out. The second time was something that was packaged so poorly it had a sensitive end sticking out (phone video holder) that was broken and unusable. The seller offered me a generous credit without my naming a dollar amount.
I love that Breville Toaster Oven. It is the first Breville appliance I have ever owned. It is smartly designed, pleasing to the eye and has many useful features...all of which I use. Because it is a larger size, you can easily cook a smaller meal without heating up the big oven.
The Breville is dead. Long live the Breville. May it come soon.
My serendipitous "designing " of my son's quilt was done with a big fat crayon in the beginning. Well, it started with a gear shift first. I had planned to make the modified Betwixt and do the quilt in just 2 colors. Then I thought it important do codify, via video, my LeMoyne Star process on You Tube hoping that it might help one person have better success at tackling this block. In the process of doing that, I had a "HMMMM" moment and self musing, "Why not use these blocks in this blue/gray colorway into my son's quilt?" (He's an adult male). After getting an enthusiastic response on the colors and some of the more dramatic blocks, I realized I had settled on the shape of that project.
My blocks are simply "maker's choice" designs which has given me a chance to skill build on making these compound diamonds. I was inspired by seeing a scrappy LeMoyne Star which I think was from Six White Horses but not attributed as such...it was just on the Pinterest. I stumbled upon Six White Horses blog site and it appeared to my eye that was the style of the star, though I did not see a photo of it. Her stars were paper pieced. That is a good option for any who don't want to fuss with Y seams or buy Rapid Fire ruler.
Nevertheless, I hadn't considered making a star that way, basically because I was perfecting my construction techniques. I don't know how many stars I have made now, but I I'm pretty sure that it is approaching 200--and that makes me a CONFIDENT and CONFIDENT piecer of these beautiful blocks. I'm sharing with others my trials and tribulations. And maybe I'm a slow learner or poor technician to have to do so many to become proficient. But I really like the 8 seams less block than pieced seams to avoid Y-seams. And having researched, adopted, modified techniques to sew off the corner of these units, I'm really not doing anything that any other could easily do--but all of that time paid off. I have a real understanding of this block that goes to my core. Plus, I can make these on autopilot.
I'll not lie, these stars take time to do--but they are brilliantly beautiful to my eye, and allow you to use so many different fabrics--its a great stash buster, but not an easy one. The only constant is that my alternating blocks are Kona Snow background and Timeless Treasures Soho Sail. I think Sail is one of the prettiest colors I've ever seen. It is blue/gray with purple undertone and goes fantastically with so many things in my dragon den of fabric.
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| Madras Melange LeMoyne Star |
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| LeMoyne Star White Light Background |
Above are just a few of the stars. I've been able to use fabric in my stash to create some really pretty (to my eye anyway!) stars. Not all have turned out as planned--but each are stars in their own right and have helped me solidify my skill in making this star.
Construction notes: (1) For these compound diamonds, I elected to press the inset seam towards the star. I had experimented pressing toward the inset--the advantage that it pushes the seam to the least resistance. However, I pushed it to the diamond with as good results. I think that the only way to do this is to press along the way--and most of the best teachers admonish against this (not Shar Jorgenson though). I have found NO issues with dry pressing and using a pressing sheet. I also have an older, heavier, hot-as-hell iron, and I think that helps.
(2) I inset the square first, and like a mechanic putting on lugnuts, I went to the opposite side installing two polarities of squares and then the second polarity. I think this gives you the advantage of not pulling the block too far out of line if you join all of the diamonds first as I do. Do the same with the triangle insets. Again, any of it is YOUR preference. I'm one of those nebbish folks that will try all ways and settle (objectively) on a method that makes the most sense to me and yields excellent results.
I have 49 of the stars to make, and I'm about 2/3rds through, and I've spent a ton of time on this! Even so, I'm not bored with it. This block has reminded me of the importance of keeping a notebook on construction methods (given that my brain seems to be calcified!). For example, I made two stars, and trimming to the correct size meant that I had lost my points (not 1/4" clearance). I looked at my machine and had a DOH! moment: I had forgotten to adjust from scant to full 1/4" for my insets. You need a full 1/4" to lap your ends when sewing any point. Until you review and investigate surprising outcomes, you will not have a fully immersive learning (cursing) experience.
As I documented my progress to date on this quilt, to include finalizing the size and block count/size, I decided that I should codify my construction techniques. To wit:
Watching the nest of an apex predator can be jarring to more delicate sensibilities. However, watching the tenderness as seen above as well as the sheer necessity of providing for a growing youngster(s) gives one an appreciation for the need for efficient hunting. I call that "the perniciousness of life" .
I love nature--and the fierceness of it is troubling to me. Though I don't consider that I have delicate sensibilities, sometimes I gasp.
There are many hacks floating about regarding using ruler guides for improving accuracy/speed of cutting. Let's face it, cutting fabric for a large project is critical. Read your ruler wrong by a 1/4 or 1/2 inch narrow, and your swath of fabric that you just cut cannot be used unless downstream you have a call for a smaller cut. There are two types of guides:
I'm an incorrigible experimenter, and I set out to find a better alternative. I've never used the painter's tape after trying it once...I don't like to recreate stuff each time I need to do something. Here are some of my experiments:
Double sided tape will attract dirt from being removed--and as it is tacky it will attract fabric particles of the smallest sizes.. Simply pull it off the plastic and affix a new piece.
Here's an inexpensive hack for a thread cutter:
Now the mounting tapes do a phenomenal job of affixing (and removing) "stuff". I attached one of these to my acrylic sewing table AND to the tray on my Bernina. Cheap and effective for thread cutting your chain pieces AFFORDABLY.
The White-throated Sparrows overwinter here yearly. They have pulled up the tent stakes to go to their Canadian breeding grounds. (Updated: NO...husbando birdwatcher misreported observed data. They are still here...updated info on their northern return will be provided). The dark eyed juncos have mostly gone this week as well, though I've spied a laggard still looking for his seed and suet treats. I've not seen the Brown Creeper lately...but he is such a small bird, it is hard to spot him even when I know he his here. His penchant for the large oak trees and his brilliant camouflage means that if you are do not spot him moving, you don't spot him. The Yellow Bellied Sapsucker is also due for a flight north along with my Hermit Thrush. I have a few Yellow Rumped Warblers that overwinter, and spied a couple of them today...they will not be here long.
Feeding the birds gives me such joy. Now that the weather is breaking, they are "getting busy" looking for nesting spots (the Carolina Wrens have to be closely monitored as the grill of the truck is a fav nesting site). I noticed the male bluebird attempting to get friendly with not one but two females, neither of whom were having any of it. I have two blue bird boxes up that I can see. A Chickadee was checking one out. The male Bluebird was sitting atop the other, and I spied the female going into the box. Sometimes they just audition one box, and make a nest in the other. I can see both boxes from my home, so I'm always happy to watch them raise their family.
So here we are with a farewell to winter (it has been a cold one here) and a welcoming of spring...tumultuous weather to be expected
