Tea on Tuesday

We have been enjoying the most wonderful tea, sent by Helen from England: "Twinnings Afternoon Tea." To serve with the tea, a lovely orange scone.

Orange Cream Scones

I can not tell you how well these scones will keep, because my family (the official tea party taste testers) ate them up immediately, and I was never able to try them out the next day! Cream scones like these should be quite delicious the next day, but they are truly wonderful
served the day they are made. These are very simple, and so pretty and delicious.

2 cups flour
2 TBSP. (vanilla) sugar
1 TBSP. baking powder
1/2 tsp. (kosher) salt
zest of 1 large orange ( 1 1/2 TBSP.) very finely grated
1/2 pint heavy cream
ORANGE GLAZE:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 TBSP. fresh squeezed orange juice

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and zest in a large bowl. Stir with a fork to combine. Add the cream to the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork until absorbed. With your hands, gently knead the dough until a soft ball of dough is formed. Let the dough rest a few minutes. Place the dough on a sheet of plastic wrap. Gently press the dough to a 1/2 inch thickness with your hands. Cut with a fluted 3 inch biscuit cutter into 8 rounds. Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the powdered sugar and orange juice to make the orange glaze. Remove the baked scones to a wire rack. While warm, spread the orange glaze thickly on the top.

Copyright 2000-2010 by Invisible Loom and Craft, Renee's Tea Party. All Rights Reserved. Personal Use Only.

Yarn Inspired

My Heart Exposed Yarns is the perfect inspiration for Spring projects. This stunning tencelino (merino wool and tencel) was hand dyed from flowers by the amazingly creative Helen Jacobs-Grant. Helen is a dear friend, who is visually impaired. She is the mother of 6 children, a gifted designer of loom knit patterns, and most recently, the proprietor of an on line shop with her hand dyed yarns. Helen is also now spinning her own hand dyed roving! You can read about Helen's creations on her blog My Heart Exposed and see her yarns at My Heart Exposed Yarns, both in my links list. Thank you for inspiring me Helen!

Photo of Macintosh tencelino sock yarn cones from My Heart Exposed Yarn, with my orange tabby.

For Spring - The Pansy Purse

The Pansy Purse

This is a fun purse that is felted and perfect for Spring. The link to the pattern can be found on my pattern pages.

Supplies:

Round Hat Loom in regular gauge with 60 pegs (Décor Accents adult hat loom used for sample.)

4 skeins (about 300 yards) Moda Dea Cartwheels in Coral Reef (number 4 all wool variegated yarn.)

Loom tool

Crochet hook

Tapestry needle

KK Spool loom (optional)

Zippered pillow case (for felting)

Copyright 2010 by Invisible Loom and Craft, all rights reserved. Personal use only.

My New Loom

My New Loom: CinDwood 48 inch Universal S Loom - Wonderful!

Tea on Tuesday

Tea time has become a true event at our home. We have a canister of wonderful, fragrant "Paris" tea from Harney & Sons Tea, and a lovely new tea tray and cake stand in Robin's egg blues. The tray and cake stand are designed by Mary Englebreit, and were found on the way to the yarn section at Michael's Craft Store.

Yarn Candies

I'm in love with the beautiful colors at

http://www.folksy.com/shops/myheartexposed

The yarns are hand dyed with natural plants, and just SO lovely to look at. I can't wait to start knitting with this gorgeous yarn!

Geranium Petal Shawl

I love this little shawl. It is versatile and comfortable, and I have been wearing it with great joy. I've ordered more Suri yarn to make these as gifts, in lots of colors. I hope you will enjoy the pattern, too.
Geranium Petal Shawl  $4.00 US

Supplies: ½ inch gauge loom with at least 45 pegs [Sample used CinDwoods ½ inch gauge round loom with 66 pegs.]

2 skeins light weight alpaca blend yarn, about 300 yards [sample used 2 skeins Knit Picks Suri Dream Hand Dyed in Sherry.] Pattern notes: Karius and Baktus are two simple scarf or shawl forms that are made from side to side, starting at a narrow end and slowly increasing to a center point, which should also be the half-way point in your amount of yarn. The shawl then decreases gradually to reach the other end. The finished shawl or scarf can be worn in many ways, around the shoulders, around the neck, with the point to the front, back or side. The Suri Alpaca yarn gives this shawl a wonderful soft, cuddly feeling, but it is very light when being worn. The garter stitch rows create a very flexible piece of knitting.

Finished Size: 100 inches long, 2 inches wide at the ends, 16 inches wide at the center.
Update 2014: This pattern has been updated and now includes two versions, the original Geranium Petal Shawl, and a larger, full sized shawl version.
Geranium Petal Shawl $4.00 US

Copyright 2010 by Invisible Loom and Craft, all rights reserved. Personal use only.

Crafty Day

Collage
We have had several rainy Spring days, so I worked on a project for a friend. The box looks like a small travel case, and has 3 lift out drawers inside. It is paper on the outside, so I painted and made a collage with scraps from magazines, buttons, ribbons, stickers, and whatever else my sticky glued fingers could find. Inside, I lined the drawers with felt, and filled them with small gifts. I think it makes a nice gift box. The case came from Stampington & Company.

On and Off the Loom

April is a wonderful month for Loom-a-longs. Helen Jacobs-Grant from My Heart Exposed, http://neat-and-pretty.livejournal.com , is teaching a beautiful loom knit beret. You can join in the Ravelry Loom-a-long group, or in Helen's yahoo group or the Decor Accents yahoo group.

Just off my loom is the Karius inspired shawl, seen in the photo at the top of this post, made of Alpaca blend. It is warm yet light to wear, and I am planning to make more of these for gifts at the holidays. Look for the pattern next week.

On my looms another version of the Peony Cape, this time in cotton for Spring weather. On a second loom, in a pretty lilac bulky wool and alpaca blend, a test of the true "feather and fan" pattern, helped by Helen's Wavy Feathers" shawl. This is a trial run for the "Fan Ridge Afghan" I am planning to make (awaiting arrival of the yarn.) Plenty to do, and a few more patterns in the works.