Making the most of time off during the holidays, Jim lit the forge and spent a nice winter afternoon hammering on steel. The smoke pouring out of the chimney made it look like a cottage out a fairytale.

He spent most of the day working on an iron hanger that I requested for a piece of fiber art, but he also created this: An Over-the-Door Hook

Believe it or not, this was only his second or third time out in the forge. Not too shabby for a beginner blacksmith, huh?

The idea for this yarn started with this lovely Romeldale wool fleece. The thought of running these cottony soft clumps of wool through the carder just seemed wrong. The cafe latte bleached tips would have been lost in that process, so this yarn would have to be an uncarded creation. Of course, that decision meant that the yarn would also be a thick n thin since it is nearly impossible to draft uncarded wool into anything but inconsistent clumps.

Next, I considered the color. I bought this fleece for the beautiful carmel brown, so dye was definitely out of the question. But there needed to be more contrast to give it some pop, so I started considering additional fibers. The wool is merino soft and I didn’t want anything to take away from that, so first I chose some very silky, uncarded bamboo fiber. This would add some shine and interesting tangles and still compliment the brown wool. Next I wanted a little more texture, so I decided to include some high quality carded silk noil. This would add some additional contrast to the brown and also act as a binder to keep everything together since silk will stick to just about anything. Last of all, I wanted to use a technique where I over spin the yarn on the wheel wrapped with thread, then unspin the yarn a little on the hand spindle to loosen up the twist while creating additional bumps and lumps in the yarn. Any spinner who has ever tried to untwist a section of spun yarn knows what I’m talking about here. Only this time I would be doing this intentionally. I selected a variety of threads that would compliment the wool to wrap around the yarn.

Time to start spinning.

Selecting the materials for a yarn is really only half the challenge. The number of different techniques used to spin the fibers can create a variety of very different yarns. I had an idea of how this clumpy thick n thin yarn might turn out, but the final results are always a surprise. Of course that is the fun part…not knowing exactly what will come off the wheel. I did decide at this point not to use the variegated thread. It had a hunter green section that just looked wrong, so I tossed the first few feet of yarn and started over without it.

After unspinning it off the wheel and onto a handspindle, I had a better idea of what it would eventually become, but this was raw unwashed wool, so the final results wouldn’t really come through until it had several good hot baths in soapy water. The wool ‘blooms’ in the water as it expands and releases the lanolin. Then it puffs out as it dries.

And here it is! A little rougher around the edges than I had expected, and the threads disappeared into the wool more than I had hoped, but it is really soft and has plenty of character. A very unique fellow indeed.

For additional details about Bastian and other yarns please visit the shop at http://www.houndscroftfarm.com

While everyone was still snug and warm in their beds this morning I decided to venture down into the kitchen and try out one of my gifts. My oldest son bought me this sweet mini scone pan, and it was just begging to be used.

It came with a recipe for Orange Currant Scones, so after perusing the ingredients and checking out the cupboard I was amazed to discover I actually HAD everything I needed. Well…almost. I was out of plain flour, but I had a box of Pioneer baking mix. And I didn’t have an orange to zest, but I had some clementines that had seen better days. So to make do with what I had, I omitted the baking powder, salt and half the butter from the recipe (since the baking mix already had this included) and I selected a few of the least pitiful clementines and managed to get a few teaspoons of decent zest off of them. And then the most incredible thing happened…I FOLLOWED the recipe. Whoa. That never happens. And then an even more incredible thing happened…they came out perfect! Whoa. That really never happens.

But here is the proof. A picture taken mere seconds before they became our Christmas breakfast. Nice and crusty on the outside, soft and crumbly inside. And still warm. Yum!

Here is the recipe (with substitutions noted in italics). The pan is great, but I think these would turn out just fine baked on a cookie sheet.

Orange Currant Scones

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter (chilled, cut into pieces)
1/2 cup currants
1 egg
1/2 cup heavy cream
zest of 1 orange
granulated or turbinado sugar for sprinkling

My Substitution: If using Pioneer Baking Mix, omit baking powder and salt. Reduce butter to 1/2 stick.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a food processor and pulse to blend. Add cubes of chilled butter and pulse until mixture resembles pea sized crumbs. Transfer to a large bowl, add the currants and mix. In a small bowl wisk together the egg, cream and orange zest. Add to flour mixture. Using a fork, stir to form large moist clumps of dough (do not over mix).

Turn the dough out onto waxed paper and press together with your hands until it comes together. Roll out into a 9” square about 3/4” thick. Cut into 4 equal size squares, then cut each square diagonally into 4 triangles. Press each triangle into the well of a mini scone pan. Sprinkle each scone lightly with sugar. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes.

Let the scones cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Makes 16 mini scones.

From the packaging on the Williams Sonoma Mini Scone Pan

Sometimes the oddest things can come off the spinning wheel.

Ingredients
A good length of dark brown wool roving from my own sheep
A few yards of hand dyed silk, torn into 1/4″ strips
Two spools of very shiny thread

Instructions
Spin it. Ply it back on itself in 3″ to 4″ sections. Tie off the ends.

Voila’! A very odd, but strangely beautiful fringe with absolutely no purpose whatsoever. Too thin to be a scarf, too bulky to be knit…. Maybe sewn around the edge of a pillow as trim? Or the hem for a very avant-garde dress? Drapery tie-backs? Funky belt?

Or maybe just piled in the center of a table as movable piece of fiber art…

My personal twist on traditional pesto using cilantro instead of basil. The cilantro, when paired with lime, not only gives it a much brighter taste, but actually reduces the cost a lot. The December price for a bunch of cilantro here in Kentucky is about $1.49, while fresh basil is running about $2.99 for 6-8 leaves. BIG difference. I tossed this with a pound of steaming hot pasta. The cilantro stems added a bit of bitterness, but that can be avoided by using two bunches of cilantro and using only the leaves, discarding the stems.

While it was perfect with the pasta, it would probably also be great as a topping on broiled fish or spread on crusty bread and broiled.

Cilantro Lime Pesto

3 T olive oil
1-2 bunches of fresh cilantro (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts or dry roasted almonds
3 garlic cloves
2 T lime juice
zest of 1 medium lime
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp sea salt

Place nuts in a food processor and chop fine. Combine remaining ingredients in a food processor until the consistency of a thick pesto. Toss with pasta or serve as a dip or spread.

This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the world.

- Hiroshima Peace Memorial
from the Children’s Peace Monument of Sadako Sasaki

This year our family decided to set aside our artificial tree tradition with its familiar gold and maroon decorations and go for something a little more personal and special. We bought a live tree. Not a live cut tree…but a still living, breathing, roots in the dirt, tree. A little norfolk pine. He’s small, only about 4′ tall, and when we realized he could be with us for many years to come, this little guy suddenly became a part of our family. We spent an evening making the decorations. For now he is proudly wearing his popcorn garland, paper cranes, paper cut snowflakes and candy canes in our living room. In a few weeks he will join the menagerie of ficus trees sitting under fluorescent lights in our family room waiting for spring and their annual trip back outside. Then he will have to bid the tropical trees farewell and we will find him a permanent home somewhere on the west side of the farm.

My youngest son created the paper crane shown above. It’s a tiny bird, folded from a piece of paper only 2″x2″. He used tweezers for some of the smallest folds. Adorable.

I love these! The ultimate in recycling. They may be old news in the art world since they have been around for awhile, but I still think they’re wonderful. He captured the poses perfectly.

Telephone Sheep by Jean-Luc Cornec. Made of telephones & telephone cable. On display at the Museum for Communications in Frankfurt Main, Germany.

Baking can be called an art, a craft and a skill. But it is not something I do well, as evidence by the many odd loaves of so-called bread that have come from my oven. I can confidently say that no one in my family tree ever had the surname ‘Baker’.  But while the art of yeast and flour may be beyond me, I can at times, be proficient at dough that is supposed to be dense and heavy. This week I was inspired by a box of delicious gourmet crackers that cost way too much to become a regular purchase, so I created my own recipe for a nut and seed cracker. The results were pretty good if I do say so myself. And even though the family has nicknamed these my ‘birdseed crackers’ they were perfect with a wedge of Saint Andre cheese.

Sunflower Currant Crackers

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/3 cup oatmeal
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup cornmeal
2 Tbsp wheat germ
1/2 cup dried currants
1/2 cup sunflower seeds (shelled, of course)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp sour cream

This is a double bake recipe (like biscotti). Preheat oven 400 degrees F. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl until well combined. Spread in a lightly greased loaf pan. Bake for 28-30 minutes until a toothpick or cake tester inserted comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes. Remove from the loaf pan and let cool completely. The Second Bake: Preheat the oven 350 degrees F. Thinly slice the loaf (1/8″-1/4″ slices). Place the slices on a cookie sheet and bake a second time. The second baking time will vary depending on how thick you sliced the crackers, but the result should be crisp golden crackers. Let cool. The crackers will get even crispier as they cool.

Among the eight feline residents on the farm, poor Ang (top picture) is the last one ever chosen during afternoon games of “Sneak and Attack”. He always comes in last. Although, unlike those little reindeer brats that Rudolph tried to hang around with, the other cats do occasionally take pity on him and pretend to be surprised when he comes rushing out from under the forsythia bushes. Not so, Riku (second picture…middle…directly under the tree). This wily little darling seems to now be living in stealth mode. He can disappear simply by standing still. The other cats never know what hit them. Although, I’ve been told the three grays are patiently awaiting their turn. In the months of winter they too will acquire the power of near invisibility. In the dull, bleak landscapes of January and February the orange camouflage commando’s abilities will wane and then they will be free to seek their revenge. Oh, the drama of barnyard games.

Well, not actually stone…earthenware to be exact. But really heavy, just the same. I made these ceramic books a little while back. The small one is about 1.5″ x 2″ and the larger about 4″ x 4″. They were kiln fired first, then pit-fired in an open flame to achieve the permanent black smoke markings. The blank pages are hand sewn using a linen and cotton thread. The picture doesn’t show it well, but there is a small leaf impression on the front cover of the larger book.