Kiss of Desire

This is my first memory wire project. I used the bracelet pattern “Plume of the Peacock” from Artbeads, and purchased most of my materials from them, with a color change. While I love the colors in the pattern, I already own a “few” pieces of jewelry in shades of blue, purple and green. Blue, in particular, is my favorite color.

Every now and then, it never hurts to shake things up a bit. Red is a good color choice, if you want to be a bit bold. I didn’t do the entire project in red, since there are some pieces in my jewelry box which have shades of pink and rose. There are also some vintage pearls in my stash, which came from a necklace I bought at an antique store shortly after I graduated from high school. The strand broke a few years ago. The vintage pearls are close in size to the iridescent red pearls I ordered for this project, so I swapped out some of them. Overall, this pattern isn’t difficult to execute. I had one problem with it, which was the secondary wire used to wrap delicatas around the pearls. It is strung thru most of the beads on the memory wire. Twice, the wire got a nasty little kink which ended up becoming a breaking point. I would recommend starting the secondary wire after you have 1-2 beads on the memory wire. Keep the next beads in your sequence at least an inch away while stringing the secondary wire thru. It will make it easier to keep the wire from twisting and kinking. Before placing the delicatas on the secondary wire, add 1-2 beads following your pearls to the memory wire. I learned the hard way the delicatas will fly off while the next beads are being strung on the main wire. By placing those beads first, you can secure the delicatas immediately by pulling their wire thru right after they’re strung.

After I finished this bracelet, its colors reminded me of a hybrid tea rose my paternal grandmother had in her garden. Its name is Double Delight and was one of her favorites. This variety, introduced in the 1970s, is now considered a classic which I would love to add to my rose bed, perhaps this fall. This same rose is also responsible for my love of a poem I discovered in the 1990s. I found it on the internet, not too long after my husband and I got our first connection. (Yes, it was dial-up.) Whenever I read it, my grandmother’s favorite rose is the one I picture in my mind.

The White Rose

The red rose whispers of passion,

And the white rose breathes of love:

O, the red rose is a falcon,

And the white rose is a dove.

But I send you a cream-white rosebud

With a flush on its petal tips;

For the love that is purest and sweetest

Has a kiss of desire on the lips.

John Boyle O’Reilly

1844-1890

The Project Queen

Fuzzy Bunny Hugs

The hat pattern is Chunky Dean Street from Craftsy.

The scarf wasn’t made from a written pattern.

Spring has arrived here in South Texas, so it might seem like a strange time of year to write about this topic. After almost 5 years, and a few storage containers full of Angora wool, I came to the conclusion this past Fall, I needed to find an easy(ish) way to start using it. Especially since I’ve been involved with some larger projects (an Airsteam TT reno) which have limited my ability to practice fiber blending and spinning.

After a late summer/early fall trip with the trailer up to South Dakota and Iowa, Angus and Lola needed to be sheared when we got home in late October. We had chilly weather following us about while we traveled. It was in the bunnies’ best interest to let them grow out until we returned. While I was shearing, and topping off my storage containers, I began to wonder if it was possible to add the Angora to a project while I was knitting. There is a yarn stash lurking in my studio which needs to be busted. Clearing space, learning something new, and having a finished project at the end offered more than one bonus. It certainly wasn’t going to hurt anything to try it. Especially since I ended up with a second harvest 3 months later, courtesy of the colder weather we had this past winter. The season of the short-haired bunny is now here, but there will be at least a few more harvests in my future. Even though Angora wool is best suited to cold weather wear, putting a dent in what I already have will be a year-round endeavor.

My first attempt was this headband, which of course I made for myself. (Had to make sure my plan would work, and I already have an Alpaca scarf in the same color.) The yarn is a natural colored Alpaca DK with a bit of sparkle. Lola, whose adult coat is pale palomino, was a good match. The fiber came directly from the storage container while I knit. Besides all the brushing/blow-outs they receive while growing out, my rabbits also get brushed while I shear. My containers are filled with tidy, organized locks. No mats or debris allowed. I’m a continental knitter and generally pretty speedy. Taking the time to separate and wrap very small amounts of Angora around the yarn did slow me down. But I found it less frustrating than my previous attempts at blending and spinning. Here, I was using just enough to add extra softness and the famous Angora halo. The stitch definition and sparkle aren’t compromised.

The hat and scarf, pictured at the top of this post, were my next projects. I made them for a friend who lives in one of the great lake states. I knew she likes bright pink. There was a small amount of variegated bulky baby Alpaca lurking in a drawer. The magenta skeins I had were a bit dark to be a perfect match. Tying both together seemed like a good opportunity to try Angora dying with materials I already had in the house. (The hat and scarf made my friend very happy. Even though I sent it to her in early Feb. she’s still had plenty of opportunities to wear them.)

The protein fibers (animal wools) are usually dyed with an acid mordant. Since I clean my rabbit cages with it, there is always a large jug of white vinegar. I used two types of food coloring as the dye stuff, gel and liquid. These first choices were based mostly on the fact I was dying very small amounts of wool. Plus, I already had it. (Leftover from our younger daughter’s high school baking days.)

Commercial dyes, especially some types preferred by fiber artists and professionals, generally have very specific technical requirements. They also need dedicated equipment and sometimes must be worked with outside. Dying outside wasn’t going to happen when it was cold and rainy/icy. Though to be honest I won’t do it when every tree in the neighborhood is pollinating, or it’s 100° with 90% humidity. Kitchen dying just suits my environmental circumstances better. It’s also well suited for a fiber which isn’t likely to register on a scale. Angora is far lighter than a feather. The small amounts I wanted to dye wouldn’t even make my digital scale blink. Most dyes require weight, not volume, to determine amount of water, dye and mordant for the dye bath.

Lola's wool with a skein of  bulky aplaca in Magneta.

(Cloudborn from Craftsy.)

For my first foray into Angora dying, I wasn’t very concerned with dye lot consistency, since the yarn for the hat band was variegated. When in the process of learning new things, take the pressure off yourself and toss perfection out the window. Just make notes about your varying results, in case you want to successfully repeat something you found pleasing. Unless you accidentally felt your fiber, there is no reason to discard something if the finished product isn’t exactly what you expected. Put it back in your stash and use it in another project. A felted fabric isn’t the end of the world either. When working with an expensive fiber like Angora, you don’t throw away mistakes. Save the “fur” fabric to trim hats, collars, sleeve cuffs, etc.

Yes, all the opaque fiber has air trapped in it.

And it's bone dry in those air bubbles.

Avoiding felting starts before the fiber gets in the dye bath. Even if my Angora wool didn’t need to be combed/washed first, I learned dying is still a two-step process. You will need to wet it in hot water before dying. The properties which make Angora desirable require patience when you decide to dye it. Even when working with small quantities, I didn’t find any shortcuts. It took time to break the locks up over the water, and it took more time to poke air bubbles out of the fibers. I used an old serving fork to hold the locks under the water and a small spoon to remove the bubbles. You’ll know when you finally have all the air out. The fibers will almost disappear in the water, and they’ll sink. A pre-soak in hot water means better dye penetration. Until you attempt to wet it, you won’t really appreciate how much air those fine fibers trap between them. A lock of Angora wool which isn’t separated and thoroughly wet will only dye on the outside. The fibers inside the lock will be barely colored, if at all. Aggressive stirring while the wool is in hot water should be avoided. I used my 9” x 13” glass baking dish for the soaking process. It’s shallow enough that I could easily keep the water hot on the low burner setting. It also didn’t take long for the heat to come back up if I needed to top off the water level. By the way, use filtered water for soaking, dying and rinsing. You won’t want chlorine and other contaminants in your dye projects.

When it was finally wet, the same fork was used to scoop the wool out of the baking dish into the dye bath. Also in a heat-proof glass dish and kept hot while I was working. Now, I’m going to be honest and admit my first Angora dying attempts haven’t been very technical. I didn’t really measure anything. I put in coloring until I was satisfied with the intensity. A couple of tablespoons of vinegar seemed like plenty. If you get an occasional whiff of it, then there is enough. How long you need to leave the fiber in the dye bath will depend on your dye stuff. I found the gel food coloring needed more time and was least likely to dye true. My rose-pink gel tended to produce more orange/coral tones. The liquid neon pink, when in a dye bath by itself, stayed pink. Start by leaving the wool in the dye for at least 10 minutes. Remove a small amount and rinse it. Like the results? Then your batch is ready. Otherwise, retest periodically until you get what you want.

Angus' wool dyed in shades of blue and purple.

I suspect the purple came from gel food coloring which is supposed to be royal blue.

Save that stuff for frosting, unless you want to be surprised by the results.

The dark blue in the lower left corner is acid dyed.

It was easier to use than I thought it would be, and my current go-to. 

When it came to the shades of blue I dyed for the current project I’m knitting, I tried some craft store liquid dye, food coloring and a powdered acid dye. At first, I was concerned about possible results for the acid dye because of the small quantities of fiber being dyed. But it was the one which impressed me the most. I tried ¼ tsp. in about 3-4 cups of water. The color stayed true and intense, even after being rinsed. If you’re going to purchase dye, buy the powdered stuff. Otherwise, you’re just buying colored water. (A high-priced liquid dye is a very concentrated product. The adage “You get what you pay for”, is very much true here.)

What I learned from my preliminary dying experiences will hopefully help with some of my future spinning endeavors. Time and continued practice will tell. In the grand scheme of things, how my Angora wool gets into finished projects probably doesn’t matter. It’s a special fiber which doesn’t deserve to sit around in storage containers. And until you actually use and enjoy it, you’ll sometimes question your sanity in choosing to care for such high-maintenance creatures. Yes, I love my bunnies. They have sweet, silly personalities, and my daily interactions with them bring me joy. But they were bred for a specific purpose, fiber production, and more than earn their keep . Making something with their wool finally brings me full circle. There is another reason to value what they produce, too. Angus is now 8 years old. He’s showing his age a bit. Earlier this year, he developed a little cold. It scared me that he could have snuffles, and I may not have him much longer. Such episodes always make me wonder what I’ll do with his wool after he’s gone. Of course, I’ll continue to use it. Though there may be some tears at first. Even when my storage containers are finally empty, Angus and Lola will continue to have a presence in this world. Their wool is their legacy. With a bit of care from the recipients, the fuzzy bunny hugs I make with it will give warmth and pleasure well beyond the bunnies’ lifetimes, and possibly even mine. Which is quite a feat for a humble rabbit.

The Project Queen

Angus hanging out in the Airstream while we were at San Angelo State Park.

Lola in a box. She's now 3 years old. You can see another photo of her in a box at three months.

Just look for the "Crazy Bunny Lady" post.

Fraternal Cookie Twins

Last week, I made Christmas cookies for a relative in South Dakota. Anyone who has made something which needs to be shipped, knows it’s best to keep decorating to a minimum. And the goodies should be a bit sturdier.

When you need a cookie chameleon, sugar cookie is your dough. Basic round slice & bake, decorated cut-outs, sculpted shapes, wrapped around a filling – I’m not sure there is anything this dough can’t do. It also lends itself to different flavors, a nifty trick I took advantage of for my gift.

Since these cookies were going to be shipped more than 1,000 miles, I made choices which could easily be packaged in vacuum-sealed bags. (Single layer per bag, with packing peanuts filling gaps in the shipping box). Cookies decorated with hard icing like Royal, or covered with sugar sprinkles, might be OK in a snug-fitting plastic bag. However, I knew the recipient wouldn’t mind something a bit simpler. I settled on Christmas Bells and Chocolate Mint Pillows. Both recipes came from Better Homes & Gardens publications. (See pics below) The Chocolate Mint Pillows are made from one third of a big batch sugar cookie dough recipe. I didn’t need so much dough, and after a bit of comparing, realized the Christmas Bells recipe was a sugar cookie with a smaller yield. If I was making two different kinds of sugar cookie, why not make one big dough recipe? Each cookie has flavor add-ins in addition to vanilla. The bells have orange zest. The pillows have green food coloring and mint extract. (You can use mint oil instead. A few drops are enough.) It’s much easier to customize during the “construction” phase, rather than kneading into the dough. Then you know everything is completely incorporated. Over-working the dough will also create a tough cookie. Sugar cookie dough isn’t very complicated, and doesn’t take much extra time to make separate batches.

Christmas Bells are a slice & bake cookie with a twist. After the rounds are sliced, a maraschino cherry half is placed near one edge and the dough above is folded from each “side” to create the bell shape. Dried, candied maraschino cherries, found in the produce dept. during the holidays, are the usual choice here. The Chocolate Mint Pillows are rolled out and cut into squares which are large enough to fold over the individual sections of chocolate candy bars (think Hershey). I decided to use Andes chocolate mints instead. The recipe yields 30 cookies, so unwrapping individual mints wasn’t exactly a time saver. Probably took as much time as breaking/cutting a few candy bars apart, but easy enough to do while the dough was chilling. I also didn’t decorate with a melted chocolate drizzle as instructed by the recipe. Like icing, I didn’t think it would do well in the vacuum-sealed packaging. No point in wasting good chocolate on a plastic bag. Despite a lack of fancy embellishment, both cookies were delicious. (Yes, I had to sample a couple to make sure they were good.)

The package arrived at its destination early this week, apparently with the cookies intact. And even though simple, they made someone happy, which is what matters most.

The Project Queen

Christmas Bells

“Holiday Desserts”, found at a grocery checkout, was an impulse purchase I made in 1988.

My husband and I got married in early October, and since we dated less than a year

before we got married, it was our first Christmas together as a couple.

Which probably explains why an old magazine is still lurking in my cookbook collection.

Chocolate Mint Pillows

My copy of “Christmas All Through the House” is copyrighted 1999.

 Mine was a book club purchase when it was first released.

A few months later, it made the move to Texas with us

where I was anticipating decorating a larger house with a real fireplace.

Though no longer in print, it doesn’t seem difficult to find used copies available

for a reasonable price.

In six more years, it will be vintage.

Bunny Trouble

Lola with a mouthful of cardboard, hay and hair.

Well, maybe it’s not trouble, exactly, but owning rabbits as pets (especially long-haired breeds) comes with its own set of challenges.

Angus developed weepy eyes which forced me to keep the hair short on his face. The weeping seems to have slowed down recently, but I still think his age has earned him the right to stay retired from fiber production. Buns suffered calcium sludge twice. Each time he’s had it, I needed to try removing and re-adding things to his diet to locate a cause. I had a suspicion the higher protein pellets needed by the EAs didn’t quite agree with him. He now has a separate bag of pellets, though I came to the conclusion his main problem was lack of water. It isn’t that he isn’t given enough. He was supposedly feral for a while. It’s possible he got into the habit of not drinking much, because water wasn’t always easy to find. To get enough water into him, I resorted to wetting his greens every time I feed him. By and large, Benjamin is a very healthy bunny. Probably helps that the only long hair he has is around his face. He’s a sassy little bugger, though, quite fond of grunting at me whenever I put my hand in his cage. He also stomps his back feet, for no apparent reason. A habit which completely freaks out Alexa, our Cattle Dog. Some of the other dogs recently decided if the Queen Bee finds the noise so disturbing, then they need to worry about it too.

Now, we come to Lola. I noticed a while back she was putting on a bit more weight than she should have been. Even though I don’t feed anyone things they’re not supposed to eat. I couldn’t quite decide if it was a doe trait, or if it was particular to her. There were some other things that seemed to be improving with time as she got a bit older. I finally got her to make regular use of her litter box, and she stopped banging her hay bin against her cage.

Recently, I needed to place her in the playpen with Angus for a little bit. Despite sterilization surgery, instinct kicked in, and I now have a doe who thinks she’s having babies. She resumed banging the hay bin about, at all hours of the day, and then popping off the litter box grate so she could dig there. She also got sassy with me, especially when I wanted her out of the cage for cleaning. (Which is a daily chore here.) Of course, she didn’t want me undoing her handy-work and removing all the hay she was stuffing around the perimeter of her cage. After more than a week of this craziness, I came to the conclusion it was necessary to give her something to nest in, until she decides she isn’t pregnant. Otherwise, it’s possible to needlessly prolong this behavior. No shortage of cardboard boxes around here, so I took the flaps off a box that was big enough for her to root around in. It was my hope I would just remove her mess when she was finished with it. No such luck. Despite the extra pieces of card board I gave her, and all the hay she has at her disposal, she ripped out at least half of the box bottom.

In the midst of the baby drama, shearing time has rolled around again. I got Angus finished in a couple of days. However, Lola tends to take me a bit longer, since she’s bigger and the hair is even thicker. The other evening, I pushed myself to trim the hula skirt off her booty. Which left her legs and tummy to finish. It was getting late enough, and my hands hurt. I decided to finish the next day. Hands hurt enough yesterday it seemed a good idea to take a break. This morning, while feeding everyone, I discovered clumps of hair in Lola’s nest. This is typical behavior of a nesting doe, and it was in the back of my mind she might pull hair to complete this project. So now the remainder of her haircut will wait too, until she abandons the nest.

Despite the fact she’s making a royal mess and not eating much right now, it has been interesting to see instinct in action. It’s also a good reminder of how powerful, and tricky, this survival tool really is. Still, I’m glad I started buying bales of hay from a farm/ranch supply store for a very reasonable price. I got the current bale around Easter weekend. Half of it has been used to this point. Every time I give Lola hay right now, she’s stuffing it in her nest area. Occasionally, she’s nibbling on some of it, but I’m going to end up throwing most of it around my blackberries. Needless to say, the very rare “play date” she had with Angus will never be repeated, with him, or the other boy bunnies.

The Project Queen

Single Serve Cold-Brew Coffee

No, there isn’t mud in my coffee maker.

Turns out it works well for making single serve cold-brewed coffee.

Like many people I developed a fondness for iced coffee a few years ago. I generally enjoy it more when the weather is hot, and definitely prefer to use cold-brewed coffee when I make it. While making cold-brewed coffee isn’t particularly complicated, it does take a commitment of counter space and time. Brewing it strong enough to be diluted with ice means planning ahead. It’s usually recommended to allow the grounds to steep at least a day. Then it takes some time to strain it. If you’re the only one drinking it, a larger batch may last anywhere from a few to several days. Not bad for a little bit of work. But still not as convenient as just brewing some coffee in a coffee maker.

This year, as the weather got hotter, I resisted making cold-brewed coffee. I just didn’t want to mess with it. For those so inclined, you can purchase systems for cold-brewing coffee. As a general rule, I don’t necessarily like to buy a lot of specialized equipment for my kitchen. Not too long ago, I cleared out some cabinets and would prefer to keep clutter to a minimum. Cold brewed coffee is not something I make year-round. So it seems kind of silly to buy a product solely for that purpose. I have a couple of 4 qt. glass batter bowls, with lids, I’ve used for the large batches. A wire mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter and placed over the storage pitcher did the job of straining. This past weekend the craving became too much. However, I still didn’t want to make a large batch. I also didn’t want to go to the coffee shop, on a shopping trip, or wait for a single-serve brewing device to be delivered. I just wanted some iced coffee with a minimum of effort.

Guess what? You can make a single serving of cold brew coffee in a standard drip coffee maker. Just leave the machine unplugged. (Not talking about the K-cup brewers here. Think “old fashioned” Mr. Coffee type.) Our coffee maker basket & coffee filters will hold 10 -12 oz., or 1 ¼ - 1 ½ cups of water. This works best with a coffee maker that allows you to remove the pot while brewing. When setting up, taking the pot off the coffee maker is the first thing I do. A filter is placed in the basket, then I add 4 tbsp. of coffee grounds. The water is poured into the basket at a steady rate. Taking your time, just a little bit, means you’re less likely to overfill the coffee filter. After I let the grounds steep for a while, the pot is returned to its place under the basket.

The first batch I made in the coffee maker steeped for about 2 hours. It made a decent enough batch that I concluded this was a viable option for getting my iced coffee with a minimum of fuss. At least 4 hrs. is probably long enough for smaller amounts of ice. A steeping time of 8 hrs. or a bit longer will make it strong enough for those who like lots of ice. To make sure it is already chilled when ready to drink it, I started setting up a batch late in the morning, draining it into the pot in the evening, then placing it in the refrigerator overnight. I recommend putting it in the container you plan to drink it from, before it goes into the fridge. It’s not a good idea for another member of the household to use a chilled coffee pot if they want to make hot coffee in the morning.

Do you make coffee with pour-over equipment? Pour-over is our preferred method for making coffee when we travel with our trailer, since the stovetop kettle helps keep our use of electricity to a minimum. Our pour-over filters aren’t breakable and take less storage space than a drip coffee maker. A pour-over filter will make a dandy strainer. They’re just not designed to hold water for a long period of time. Using the filters for cold-brewed coffee stumped me until I recalled my collection of Bonne Maman jam jars. We don’t travel with a lot of glass, but a couple of coffee steeping jars in a well-packed refrigerator will be fine. Otherwise, I know there are a couple of Karl’s stainless steel Thermos canisters still lurking in a kitchen cabinet. (Nice heavy ones which are hard to find now. He used to take them hunting.) They will probably be easier to pour from without making a mess on the countertop.

The Project Queen

Fun with Faux Succulents

Succulents should be easy care houseplants. As members of the cactus family, they actually prefer neglect and small amounts of water. So why would anyone want fakes? Well, maybe they already have too many plants. (Me) And can’t resist the opportunity to do something that doesn’t work so well with live plants. (Also me.)

I blame this project on the dollar store. I actually went in looking for something else and came across the plastic dish garden now containing the succulent arrangement in the attached photos. Since it’s clear, how could you not put some fun, plastic ice “crystals” and LED fairy lights in it? Obviously, I couldn’t resist. Another bonus? Faux plants can stand having a bit of glitter glued on them.

The succulents, crystals and lights weren’t available at the dollar store. Bummer. So the project did cost a few more dollars. I considered making it more permanent with resin poured into the stones, then ruled it out in case the lights die at some point. The resin did add to the cost, but I have pendant molds and was out of resin. It won’t go to waste. Without the resin pour, this is a quick project. The tiny LED lights on metallic wires work best, especially when they have an equally small battery compartment. It’s easier to hide. Besides hiding the wire as the bowl was filled, I also added 2 bags of large faceted plastic beads from my stash. The crystals are turquoise colored. The beads are purple, blue and green. They tied the bowl filler with the succulents I chose. After the bowl was filled with lights and filler, the plants were arranged and a second strand of lights was interwoven into them. They were added after doing a test in a dark room. While the bowl looked nice, the succulents themselves were hard to see. Since I purchased a set of ten LED strands from a certain internet retailer, I had extra to play with. Battery compartments are stashed between a couple of the plants at the edge of the bowl, where they’re still easy to access.

Now, I have a fun night light which can also travel with us in our Airstream. (Bottom shelf in cabinet while on the road.) At home, I can enjoy it upstairs in my studio, without having to worry about whether or not I remembered to water the plants.

The Project Queen

Happy Spring, Y’all!

The temps are warm enough here that it’s time to put the fancy boots away.

I didn’t wear my boots on our excursion. They came along as a prop.

The goal was a photo where it looked like someone took off their boots
to run thru the flowers.

But I wouldn’t recommend doing such a thing.

Those pretty flowers actually harbor some not-nice critters like snakes and Fire ants.

Technically, we didn’t have much of a winter. And the some of the wildflowers, like the Bluebonnets, are early in Texas this year. After living here almost 17 years, we finally went out to Brenham for a photography session before they’re gone for another year. There are wildflowers blooming next to roadways here in the Houston area, but they aren’t good locations for such an activity. Besides, there is nothing like seeing large, multi-colored swaths of flowers in the open fields.

Taking photos of the Bluebonnets is a Texas Spring rite. If you live in a major city like we do, you don’t necessarily have to travel hours away to find the fields of flowers. Thanks to the Grand Parkway, we can now get to the Brenham area in less than an hour, as long as traffic on Hwy. 290 isn’t too heavy. On a nice sunny day, like we had this past weekend, plenty of people were leaving the city for posy peeping and stopping on 290’s shoulders. (Especially by mid-afternoon when we were on our way home.) It was a little too crowded for our taste, and I never pass up an opportunity to visit the Antique Rose Emporium. It’s located several miles slightly NE of Brenham on Hwy 50, just south of the historic town of Independence. The ARE wasn’t open for at least 20 minutes when we got there, giving us an excuse to finally visit Independence.

I did most of my wildflower photography there. We found the old school house, which had a circular drive and a small parking area in front of the historical marker signs. Karl entertained himself reading the signs while I walked around the lot and some of the town taking photos. He learned Sam Houston lived in the big white house across the street and Baylor University was originally founded in Independence. Other than some motorists passing thru, and folks who were attending church, we mostly had the place to ourselves. It was a nice spot for me to take pictures, especially close-ups of various flowers. There was a nice variety of different species, and it was far more relaxing than taking pictures where there were large crowds.

We arrived at the rose nursery about 40 minutes after it opened. A few people had already arrived. By the time we left an hour and a half later, it was getting busier. Go on a week day if you want the place to yourself. However, we still enjoyed our time there. When breezes blew from the right direction, the scent of roses filled the air. Lots of the plants in their display gardens are blooming their heads off right now. Since I usually prefer to plant my roses in the fall, I actually didn’t plan to buy anything on this trip, and had just finished taking my last photo of the day. The subject was a yellow beauty, in a planter, named “Julia Child”. Perhaps it was her sunny, buttery color. Or her strong licorice scent. Either way, she’s a wicked enchantress. I came home with one of her clones. Early this morning, I needed to get my butt outside to plant her in the rose bed. Stormy weather has been rumbling thru Texas the last couple of days. Today, it’s our turn. Skies were darkening with a distant rumbling of thunder before I finished some other chores I wanted to squeeze in. Hopefully, we won’t have anything too wild here. However, there is nothing like a good Spring rain to water a new transplant.

The Project Queen

The Edible Romance of the Rose

Balthasar van der Ast (1594-1657)

How many species of roses can you find in this painting?

As Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us (tomorrow), and procrastinators are scrambling to buy last minute gifts, including those very expensive rose bouquets, perhaps it’s time the human race becomes reacquainted with our most powerful symbol of love. And the one plant family whose own history is so intimately entwined with ours.

The Rosaceae family is incredibly large and very diverse. Besides the tremendous number of “ornamental” varieties we plant in our yards, and often torture, there are species of roses we eat all the time. Most of us just don’t realize it any more. My interest in rose history was piqued when heirloom roses really started becoming mainstream. I took notice in the early to mid-1990s, but I think the old rose movement was part of the return to organic/natural gardening, which started making a resurgence in the 1960s & 70s. Of course, growing and using fresh herbs was occurring at the same time; along with rediscovering old recipes for cooking, freshening the home (potpourri), and curing what ails you. Before the Victorians came along, with their notions of beating nature into submission with science, and ornamental gardening became a hobby of the new middle class, roses were multi-purpose herbs. Yes, that includes the rose we now prize for its flowers alone. They’re edible, and once upon a time most of them produced fruits called hips.

Have you ever been to a fancy celebration where sugar coated rose petals decorated a cake? Or perhaps the crazy old lady down the street gifted you with a jar of rose hip jam. Since those items became a lost art, especially in the 20^th Century US, you might have thought eating roses was a strange thing to do. I know I did, when I first started seeing rose recipes in magazines like “Victoria” and “Country Living”. But that’s because I kind of forgot what I learned in Biology. Are you a strawberry jam junky? Guess what. You’re eating roses. Remember, I mentioned this is a diverse family. Other members include apples, pears, and quinces (Fall fruits). The drupes; otherwise known as stone fruits like apricots, peaches, cherries, plums and almonds (Summer fruits). Then there are the berries like raspberries and strawberries (late Spring & early Summer).

So how did the rose become the flower the of love? Well, I think it started with humankind’s love of eating. Some nutrition experts seem to be fixated on the hunter part of our history, and maybe downplay the gatherer part a little too much. But let’s be honest here. We’re not the biggest creatures on this planet. We also don’t have fangs and sharp claws. Having meat in our diets took a tremendous amount of work and the outcome of a hunt certainly wasn’t guaranteed. That makes meat a treat, most likely in jerky form. The bulk of early man’s diet was plants, because they don’t run from you, and unless they’re poisonous or have thorns, don’t fight back. Plants from the rose family are probably one of the first superfoods. Rose hips are very high in Vitamin C. They’re generally available from late summer into fall. It’s not hard to imagine stone-age man carrying dried rose hips around in their pouches, like raisins, once they made the association that consumption of their rosy snacks kept them from getting sick in the winter. And what’s not to like about a plant family that makes food at least half the year. 

Because of that early relationship, the rose became civilized with us. Once we settled down and started becoming all philosophical, it was only a matter of time before roses meant more than a means of filling our bellies. The heady fragrances of their flowers spoke to our souls, and their longevity made them mythical forces to a species which often didn’t get to live very long. (Yes, when this large plant family is left to its own devices, many members can live a very long time. Perhaps a resident of one of the Johnny Appleseed states can verify if any of his apple trees are still alive.) It was everything we admire in roses which made them the old world’s enduring symbols of both religion and love. (Even after chocolate hopped the pond, it couldn’t unseat the queen of flowers from her throne.)

If your budget isn’t compatible with a big, fancy bouquet of the flowers, don’t be ashamed of your chocolate covered strawberries or cherries. Heck, if you want to be globally inclusive, give the gift of a chocolate coated, gourmet candy apple. Quite frankly, I can’t think of a more poetic way to show your devotion (and express your amorous intent). In the event your significant other complains you didn’t give them even a single rose, you smile sweetly and say, “Of course I did, my darling. You’re eating it.”

Happy Valentine’s Day!

The Project Queen

P.S. – If you can’t find chocolate covered, candied apples or truly procrastinated to the last moment, core and slice a couple of your favorite apples and turn them into a shareable dessert for two. Place them in the prettiest bowl you have, then drizzle with good quality caramel and chocolate sauce. Indulge in the sensual act of eating with and licking each other’s fingers. After all, the spirit of the holiday is about reconnecting with the one we love the most.

Caring for a Senior EA Rabbit

Though it should be something you do throughout your pet’s lifetime, making the best decisions for them as they reach senior status, starts becoming more complicated. It can be hard to find a balance between what we want, and what’s best for them. In our household, the oldest of our dogs will be nine, and one of the rabbits seven, next spring. Alexa, with a possible lifespan of 12 yrs. or more, is technically middle age. However, Angus, the EA buck, is a senior. The average lifespan for Angora rabbits is 6-8 yrs., but some short-haired breeds can live to be 10 or a bit more.

Whether kept as livestock or pets, the Angora breeds require excellent husbandry to be healthy fiber producers. Though one of the smallest breeds, English Angoras are probably more labor intensive because they are covered with long hair everywhere. I’m not going into detail about what cecotropes are, in this post. (An important element of rabbit digestion. Please research if you want a bunny.) Seeing cecotropes generally means a rabbit is consuming more nutrition than they need. However, if you’re suddenly finding these specialized droppings with no change in diet, it could mean something else is going on. Even my youngest rabbit, the EA doe, occasionally leaves cecotropes when her hair gets long and increases in volume. It’s just one reason booties need to be kept trimmed and grooming must be very thorough. When I start finding cecotropes in cages, I look for signs of hair ingestion, keep the hay plentiful (always), and step up my grooming. Sometimes, the problem doesn’t completely go away, making me wonder how much all that hair interferes with body functions, just by getting in the way. Because I do shear my rabbits and their hair is short half to three quarters of a year, I have noticed fluctuations in weight when their hair grows out. When it’s short for a while, my bunnies usually put on some weight. Growing out all that hair takes a lot of energy. A bunny as light as dandelion fluff may be experiencing some malnutrition, and though an increase in food seems to make sense, it won’t help much if they aren’t consuming their cecotropes.

It was partly because of finding more cecotropes than usual that I considered retiring Angus from fiber production last year. The fact that he chewed on himself when I tried to let him grow out, influenced the decision as well. Beautiful as he is in full EA glory, it’s been almost a year since I’ve allowed him to grow out completely. His last haircut was two months ago.  Because we’ve had warmer than usual temps this fall, I’m observing him closely. As long as he leaves his coat alone, I’ll wait until the middle of December to harvest the usable fiber. Right now, he’s sporting a modified hair cut on his back feet and legs, because he’s been knocking about and ignoring his litter box lately. His tummy will get trimmed up too. Not using the box is mostly something Angus does when his hair gets longer. I think he knows the dirty hair will be trimmed. When his hair is short, he very rarely relocates the “furniture”, so it looks very much like a form of communication.  (It’s my opinion that calling someone a “dumb bunny” is an insult to bunnies.) He has been mostly on the thin side ever since I’ve had him, too. Keeping his hair shorter most of the time means weight isn’t fluctuating as much, and he stays more active. Since Angus is already used to having his face trimmed up, it helps with another issue which popped up recently.

He has developed an occasionally weepy left eye. Sometimes the right gets a bit crusty too. Because he got a clean bill of health from the good doctor a couple of months ago, and he eats with gusto, I’m pretty certain its age related. (Yes, eyes get checked frequently for irritants and everyone has good teeth.) According to an article from the University of Miami, rabbits can experience bone loss as they age. If some of that loss occurs in the skull, it may cause the ducts that drain tears to the nasal cavities to compress. No cure for that, if it is the problem. The best I can do for Angus to minimize skin irritation is keep the hair short on his face. It just makes it easier to keep things dry, and less crusty.

Speaking of bones, bunnies are fragile throughout their lifetimes. Be extra gentle when they get older.

A retired fiber bunny doesn’t necessarily mean less work for me. Other than the long hair on ears and tail, I don’t have to do much brushing for a couple of weeks after a haircut. But the shearing is done twice as much, with haircuts occurring every month to month and a half. (Instead of quarterly.) I think Angus is enjoying his mostly retired status.  He’s always been the most affectionate of my bunnies, and with his hair kept shorter, he stays engaged. For special treats, he often acts as silly as Lola. I’m not the fastest spinner right now, and I can’t accuse him of being stingy with his soft, fluffy goodness. Since I enjoy his company, it’s not much of a hardship to help him enjoy his golden years. Hopefully, it will allow me to spend an extra year or two with him.

The Project Queen

Caftan Convert

This caftan was made from the 1970s Simplicity pattern pictured below.

It was given to a friend as a just-because gift.

I had initially purchased the fabric for a different project,

but wasn’t completely sold on it for that project, mostly due to the print.

I think it had been whispering all along it was a caftan.

I already knew the friend liked the colors when I decided to make something for her,

and it turned out she liked caftans too.

So this project was a win for 2 different reasons.

I whittled my stash down just a bit and had the pleasure
of making someone else happy when they weren’t expecting it.

Once upon a time, if someone had asked me what item of clothing best defined my personality, the answer would have been blue jeans. There are still jeans in my closet, but as I’m getting older (and the waistline fluctuates), I’ve had a growing fondness for athletic stretchy pants (not yoga) and dresses. Courtesy of the hot, humid environment we have at least 6 months out of the year, dresses have become necessary to my survival. I probably wear them 75% of the time when the weather is hot.

I’m really not sure what category of clothing caftans belong to, dress, robe or tunic, but they found their way into my conscience early this summer. Like many hard-core project people, I’ve accumulated a respectable stash in my studio. There is fabric yardage (some for specific projects), patterns, ribbon, trims, buttons, yarn, jewelry making, embroidery and art supplies. Oh, I can’t forget my Angora Rabbit wool. There are a couple of large plastic containers holding the bounty from my very generous bunnies. We’re giving serious consideration to down-sizing, but even if we don’t move soon, we’ve reached the point where it’s time for serious decluttering. Some of the fabric I’ve purchased in recent years wasn’t for specific patterns. I just liked it. If I bought it to make a future garment, there is usually at least a 4 yd. piece to guarantee there is enough to make something. After we got back from our 5-week trip, I started eyeballing some of that fabric, since it was already too hot to do much work on our trailer. A lack of patterns to use with it wasn’t the issue. But a growing scrap stash was.

And that’s how I found myself examining caftans. Those who have studied human history know it’s probably one of the world’s oldest garments from the cradle of civilization. A fine pedigree indeed, and most definitely designed for a part of the world which experiences plenty of hot weather. The caftan made its way around the globe in various forms and has many different names. Due to Colonialism, it probably wasn’t unknown to globe-trotting Western Europeans. If they owned one, they weren’t wearing it in public though.  That didn’t happen until fashion discovered it in the early 20^th century. The Czarina Alexandra wore a traditional Russian robe for her coronation in the 1890s. By the early 1900s, a few haute couture European designers were courageous enough to embrace the caftan as a means of freeing women from restrictive undergarments and fashion. The voluminous garment took a hiatus from the 1930s thru the war years, then started making its presence felt again in the 1950s. During the 60s and 70s it became the ultimate symbol of Bohemian culture, and its ethnic roots provided plenty of inspiration.

Despite being a creative sort, I never really identified myself with Bohemian culture. There’s something funny about getting older, however. You start caring a lot less about what others think. Bonus? Giving yourself permission to be both comfortable, and maybe stand out from the crowd while you’re at it. When I was studying my extra fabric, the first priority was using it in a project which didn’t generate much, if any leftovers. That’s how I found myself considering caftans in the first place, but after thinking about it for a bit, the thought of wearing something which wouldn’t have been in my closet 20 years ago, didn’t disturb me.

This pattern did include the ties,

but they were joined to the waistband in front and left inside.

Reaching under all that fabric didn’t seem very practical to me.

So I made 2 buttonholes in the back to pull them thru.

When researching caftan patterns, I had seen pictures of this one,

including the instructions.

Since its destiny was to be a gift, I decided it would be better to have the actual pattern.

I got lucky and found it on Ebay.

What do caftans have to offer the sewist besides a minimum of scraps? (Scraps or no scraps will be determined by your style of caftan.) There is actually a variety of styles that can challenge your creativity and skills. You can make them more structured or keep ‘em simple. There’s a lot to be said for simple. It’s equally satisfying, kind of like a project vacation where you still feel productive, only with less effort. A wide variety of fabric choices are suitable, meaning you could have a caftan wardrobe for any seasons you want. The vintage sewist is not excluded here since caftan patterns from several decades are available. They can also be a good entry into making patterns or even going pattern free. The first two caftans I made were produced with a tape measure and try-on as I went. I did have a picture from a pattern as inspiration. Since I couldn’t find a copy of it for sale, I didn’t see any reason not to try without a pattern. It looked like two rectangles sewn together. It’s a little more detailed than that, but I’ll provide more information with the photo included below.

The 4 yd. piece of fabric, used here, was large enough to produce ankle-length twin caftans. It was 60” wide. After cutting the yardage in half, each 2 yd. piece was cut in half lengthwise to make 2 pieces 30” wide. This caftan is reversible in that the front and back pieces are the same. The slit making the neckline was cut in both pieces at the same time. I can’t give exact measurements for the following. It’s a personal choice which depends on what you want to do with your caftan. For the neckline, if you want to fold the fabric back and hem for a finished edge, small horizontal slits need to be cut at the bottom of the vertical slits. Double-folded bias tape or other trims are finishing options too. Since I gathered under the bust of each piece, I used 1 1/2” wide satin ribbon to cover the gathering and the bottom of each neckline slit. The shoulder seams and side seams are next. Length of the side seam will be determined by the size you want to make your arm holes and whether or not you want side slits. I opted for the slits. They start just above the knee. This caftan can also be made tunic or knee length.


Don’t think you’re the type to wear a caftan? Try making at least one for home use. They are great for lounging about, and I can’t think of a better reason to give yourself a mini vacation occasionally than a groovy caftan in your closet whispering, “Take a day off”.

The Project Queen