Dawning of the Age of ...

... today's project: Aquarius constellation embroidery hoop art, in honor of my birthday month/astrological sign month. This project was inspired again by the great Honey and Fitz blog. She drew inspiration from an adorable Etsy shop and even created an AWESOME DIY Anthropologie-Hack Star Chart Cardigan. Finally I'm chipping away at the mountain of great DIY expectations I created for myself. Do you ever feel like you've put too much on your plate? My philosophy: one step at a time.

Tools needed for this project:

18" x 21" navy fabric sample from a big-box store : $1.00 - $2.00

6" wooden embroidery hoop (I prefer the natural look and feel of the wood for this project, rather than plastic) : $1.29

white embroidery floss : $0.40

Total : under $4.00!

I began by ironing the fabric sample, since it had been creased into a square in the packaging. Next, I measured and cut a 7" x 7" square (leaving 1 inch overlap around the circumference of the embroidery hoop.)

Then, I separated the embroidery hoop into two pieces, centered the fabric, and placed the outer ring over the inner ring and tightened the screw at the top of the hoop, pulling the fabric taught.

Next, I searched Google Images for my desired constellation - Aquarius, in this instance, but you could use any constellation. I recommend printing a copy of your constellation, as a reference, and scaling it down (or up, depending on the original size of the image) to have a picture around the same size as your embroidery hoop. You could also eyeball it, sewing directly onto your hoop from the image on your computer screen.

You may have a better method than I did for this next step. I cut the photo of the constellation in four, centering the essential part onto the fabric. In order to ensure proper alignment of the stars, I placed the paper over the fabric on the embroidery hoop and punched my needle through both the paper and the fabric to make a place marker hole in the fabric. I used this as the starting point for my three-part cross stitches, which acted as the main stars on my constellation. I continued in this fashion, aligning the paper with the existing stars and punching a hole to place the next star, estimating if necessary.

Finally, I added little French knots (which I learned from this youtube video, suggested by Honey & Fitz), simple stitches, and cross stitches to fill in the other stars in the night sky. I was creative with their placement.

After the night sky was completed, I turned the embroidery hoop over and cut the remnants of the blue fabric into a circle, about 1/2 inch from the edge of the hoop.

    

I used some fabric glue I had lying around to glue the edge of the fabric to the back of the wooden hoop. You could probably cut the remaining fabric flush with the edge of the hoop, instead of gluing it.

And voilà!! 

My fabric is pretty thin, so from certain angles, you can see through to the embroidery floss on the back spanning between the stitches. Once it's hanging on the wall, however, this view is obscured. 

I'd like to make another one, this time with the Virgo constellation (my husband's astrological sign) and hang them side-by-side. It has been impossible to find another small wooden embroidery hoop ANYWHERE! Perhaps this was a popular holiday gift idea and the stores that sold out haven't re-stocked yet? This could also be a cute nursery decoration or personalized (and inexpensive) gift for a friend! 

Stop While I'm Ahead

Last night, I came to the realization that I have a tendency to, depending on the situation, toe the line or  push a little harder, with hopes that the extra effort will make the difference/pay off somehow. Timing is an art that I have not yet mastered, but which I admire very much in others.

I had this moment of introspection while cooking from a great recipe by Martha Stewart (there she is again!), Quinoa and Apple Salad with Curry Dressing.

Photo by Carl Carter for marthastewart.com

In the recipe, Martha asks for 1/4 cup whole almonds, lightly toasted until fragrant. Either I haven't developed "the touch" yet or my subconscious can't compute the word 'toasted', and I lightly charred the almonds. Also, during a phone interview yesterday, I started and ended the conversation insisting on my computer literacy. Perhaps only once would have sufficed? Oh well. Work in progress. 

By the way, the reason I picked this recipe was because I wanted a new way to use the apples from our AWESOME CSA we've joined here in the Bay Area called Farm Fresh to You. If you want to check them out, they have a retail store in the San Francisco Ferry Building. We first joined a CSA in San Diego and had such a great experience that it was at the top of our list of priorities after our move. I love the idea of eating fresh, seasonal organic fruits and veggies from a local source. You're supporting the community and staying healthy! Win-win! It also forces you to try new foods that you may not have tried before and find creative ways of cooking them!

REASONS WHY FARM FRESH TO YOU ROCKS:

1.) You can choose the size of box that fits your appetite, or your family. 

2.) They deliver the CSA box to your doorstep! You can't get any more convenient than that.

3.) You can choose the frequency of deliveries. Weekly, every 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th week!

4.) No commitment required. You've moved/changed your mind? It's no hassle to cancel/suspend delivery.

5.) Customization options available, if you loathe one thing or want more of another.

6.) It's affordable!

New Year's Eve...ntually I'll Get to Everything

Happy New Year to all! For me, 2012 began with no hint of how it was to end. I was living in San Diego but celebrating the New Year in Boston, toying with the idea of moving back. By the end of the year, I was living in San Francisco and had recently closed one big-ol' door in my life, eager to open new ones. Who knows what 2013 will have in store!

I've begun 2013 by putting (too?) many projects on my own plate. I have a blog post in the works about my recent trip to Geneva, which is proving to be more time consuming than I had anticipated. I'm extremely invested in getting it right, since travel writing is my job fantasy. Stay tuned.

Today, I'll begin with dessert:

FROZEN CHOCOLATE WIND AND STRAWBERRY RAVIOLE:

FROZEN CHOCOLATE WIND

85 g dark chocolate

1/2 cup H20

1 sachet soy lecithin

Combine the dark chocolate, water, and soy lecithin in a pot, stirring until boiling. Let cool 15 minutes in the fridge. Use an immersion blender in a wide-brimmed bowl to create foam from the cooled liquid chocolate. Carefully scoop the chocolate foam into a separate bowl. Place in the freezer 45 minutes, and you have frozen chocolate wind. 

STRAWBERRY RAVIOLE

2 cups strawberries

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp calcium lactate

1 sachet sodium alginate

3/4 cup water

Medium-sized mixing bowl filled with cold tap water

(This was complex, to say the least.) Use a blender to liquefy strawberries, sugar, and calcium lactate. Separately, combine water and sodium alginate in a bowl to create a "bath." Refrigerate bath for 15 minutes. Then, slowly scoop half-teaspoon size portions of the strawberry mixture into the sodium alginate bath. (They fall apart easily.) Let sit 3 minutes. Gently scoop strawberry "ravioles" out of sodium alginate bath into the bowl of tap water. Stir to rinse. Carefully scoop ravioles out of water bath onto serving spoon or nested in the chocolate wind. 

THOUGHTS: The chocolate wind was divine. Light, airy, delicate. Don't scoop too much foam into the same container when it rests in the freezer, as the weight of the top foam will crush the foam at the bottom and cause it to liquefy. The strawberry ravioles were a different story. The texture was gelatinous, almost like slurping a poached egg yolk without breaking into it. The flavor was under-whelming (although that may have been due to the quality of strawberries) and the process was tedious. The ravioles were difficult to scoop out of the two baths and broke apart easily, ruining the consistency (and, undoubtedly, the appeal) of the final product. In the Cuisine R-Evolution recipes DVD, they show a beautiful red sphere sitting prettily in a sterile white spoon. That's what happened to me, never.

OTHER PROJECTS GOING ON:

LAMPS

I've decided to make more lamps. Yes, it's a peculiar hobby of mine (with help from my husband!!), as can be seen on my Etsy shop. The following teaser photos are part of that project: 

And a dramatic before/after shot from a silver pitcher made in India, found at a local Goodwill. I, for one, was not aware of the magical alternate uses of toothpaste.

AFTER

BEFORE

And, finally:

That's all I'm going to share about that project for now, but stay tuned! More to come!

STRING ART

This wood panel used to be part of a shipping crate found discarded behind a warehouse in Berkeley. The wood originated in Brazil, according to the convenient lumber grade stamp located on one of the slats. Again, to be continued... 

EMBROIDERY HOOP ART

Do I know the first thing about how to use an embroidery hoop? Nope. Am I going to teach myself? Abso-flippin-lutely. I want to try my hand at the CUTEST DIY project I found recently, which I'll post soon. 

By the way, I'm not sure how I ever accomplished ANY kind of DIY/craft project without the Martha Stewart Crafts 18 x 24 Inch Cutting Mat. No, I'm not hired to advertise this product (although it certainly wouldn't hurt...) I recently got it from Michael's, using their ubiquitous 40% off coupon. (Thanks, mom!) I briefly hunted around online to find the best bang-for-my-nerdy-craft-monster-buck, and decided that this one would do the trick. No more eyeballing or using recycled cardboard as a protective layer between my project and the kitchen table for this gal! I have to say that it's pretty large, so you need to use it on a large work space. Also, it comes folded in half, so there is a little bit of warping on the center seam, preventing it from lying perfectly flat. After a couple of days flattening it (with my laptop), it's like a crêpe. Perfect! Now, I impulsively find myself straightening or lining up anything that finds its way onto its infallible grid. 

In the spirit of the New Year et cetera:

"The beginning is the most important part of the work." - Plato