Tea on Tuesday

Tigger is posing next to the June Loom-a-long "Simple Lace Wrap". The colors seem much more vivid in the photograph than in person.

For this very nice summer day, something apricot for your tea. This has long been a family favorite.

Apricot Gratin

Bake this luscious dessert while the main meal is being served. It will smell heavenly and taste even better.

10 large ripe, firm, apricots
1 cup flour
1 cup almonds, finely ground*
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick (8 Tbsp.) butter, softened
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Halve and pit apricots. Place in a shallow gratin baking dish (about 1 1/2 - 2 quart size).
Grind almonds in the food processor with the sugar. In a large bowl, combine almond mixture,flour, and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or fork. Cover apricots with topping and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve warm.

*Grind the almonds with the sugar to keep them from becoming too
paste-like.

Copyright 2000-2010 by Invisible Loom and Craft, Renee Van Hoy. All Rights Reserved. Personal Use Only.

Looming Up Hill

Sometimes looming, surprises me by going from wonderfully simple to just plain impossible. I am always taken aback, especially when it is a pattern I have made over and over - and when it is a pattern that I have written! This is looming uphill.

Right now, it is yarn that is confounding me. The “Simple Lace Wrap” for the June Loom-a-long was made with Nashua Wooly Stripes. This was a wool yarn that varied in width from worsted to heavy worsted. It was wonderful to work with, and made a nice, soft wrap that was just warm enough for the transition from winter to spring.

Thinking that our warmer days needed a lighter wrap, I cast-on with Knit Picks “Comfy” in worsted weight. UGH! Even though I had just made my Aunt a gorgeous cape (The Peony Cape) with this yarn, it refused to work for the Wrap. I swatched several other lighter yarns with no success. I even tried switching between the CinDwood and the Knifty Knitter purple hat loom. Uphill all the way.

At last I pulled out an inexpensive, but similar yarn, Lighthouse Waves, a 70% wool, 30% soy yarn. It has the same varied thickness as the Nashua. Now I am happily looming-a-long. I may be a little short in the yardage (350 yards) but I will see how the wool/soy blocks out, and add a border if needed in another yarn.

What baffles me is how I can make a pattern over and over in several yarns, and have not a problem, and then, have days where nothing seems to work. I think this is not at all unusual, and hope that newer loomers won’t be put off by the occasional day of uphill looming. The downhill is pretty nice.

On and Off the Loom, Sunflower Spring Shawlette

There is just not enough to say about the "Sunflower Spring Shawlette" made from the gorgeous hand dyed yarn from My Heart Exposed Yarn. It is a dream to work with and to wear. I love this yarn, and the shawlette! The pattern link is below, and please let me know how you like it. It includes the new stitch pattern "Diamond Box". $4.50 More photos are below.

I just finished this sweet baby blanket. It is made from Knit Picks "Comfy Bulky", a 75% cotton, 25% acrylic yarn that is very soft, and also easy on the hands to work with. The pattern was a simple 3 stitch rib, made on the 90 peg CinDwood small 1/2 inch gauge afghan loom.

Copyright 2010 by Renee Van Hoy, Invisible Loom and Craft. All Rights Reserved. Personal Use Only.

June Looming

June has crept up on us quickly, and I am hosting the June Loom-a-long. You can find the pattern here on the blog, or in a pdf down load on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/simple-lace-wrap

This is a very easy loom pattern, and a great first step into lace. The wrap is made with worsted weight wool, but could also be made with a cotton blend for summer weather. You can join the loom-a-long on Ravelry, and also at the DA Accents yahoo group. Hope you will come loom with me!

Looming Up Hill

While needle knitters call it "visiting the frog pond" or "frogging", because you "rip-it", I think of the less successful loom adventures as looming up hill. For me it feels like there is always a period of "up hill" before I find the rhythm of a project, and slide down the hill to completion.

My up-hills take on many forms. Recently, it has been finding the right loom for the yarn. I had the yarn, "Comfy Bulky" cotton for a baby blanket. But, cotton can be tricky, and I had to try two looms before I found the downhill. I had my hopes pinned on the new Universal S Loom. The cotton did not have the "spring" needed for this loom, and the stitch was loose and sloppy. I can see the potential of the loom - with the right yarn - but this was not it. I tried the CinDwood small round afghan loom next. Right loom, but wrong stitch pattern. Finally, an "ah-ha" moment, and a lovely ribbed pattern made this all come together. Three inches down, I could see the pattern, I could feel the rhythm of the yarn and the loom, and we all work together to slide down the hill, smiling all the way.

On and Off the Loom

All of a sudden, projects are everywhere! The first photo is a peek at my almost finished afghan. It is on the CinDwood large round afghan loom.

The second photo is of the shawlette I am making with the lovely hand-dyed yarn from My Heart Exposed Yarns. This has been just incredible to work with, and the shawl worked up very quickly. It is off the loom now, and I am finishing up the edging.
Also on the loom is a "Baby Cozy" for a baby shower coming up in June. I'm using James C. Brett Marble Chunky yarn for the cozy, and it is just so soft and babyish - a nice switch off from the afghan, which has become heavy as I reach the end.

Tea on Tuesday - on Wednesday

The pdf files of my loom patterns seem to be well received over at Ravelry. I have almost all of the patterns available now. Let me know how you like them.

For our tea table today, one of my favorite cookies. From the herb garden, Chocolate Tarragon Biscotti. Enjoy!

Chocolate Tarragon Biscotti

You will be delightfully surprised how the tarragon brightens the chocolate in these biscotti. These are a softer biscotti, but if you like a very crunchy dipping cookie, extend the bake time of the second bake another 5 -10 minutes.

2 cups flour
1/4 cup dutch process cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. (kosher) salt
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 TBSP. finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 TBSP. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with a silicon baking mat or parchment. In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and tarragon. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, extract and oil. Add liquids and chocolate chips to dry ingredients and stir with a fork until all are combined. Turn dough out on to a sheet of plastic wrap, and divide in two. Knead each portion a few times, and place on the baking sheet. Form each portion into a log 8 inches long, 2 inches wide, and about 3/4 inch thick.

Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and let stand a few minutes. Place on a cutting board and trim off the ends. Slice the logs into 3/4 inch thick slices. Lay biscotti on their sides on the baking sheet, and return to the oven for 5 minutes (longer for a very crispy cookie). Cool on rack. Makes 20 biscotti. These will keep several days in a well sealed container.
Copyright 2000 -2010 by Renee Van Hoy, Invisible Loom and Craft. All Rights Reserved. For Personal Use Only.