I started off the week with a FO (finished object). This is a shawl that has a lot of meaning to me. I made it for the first time for my Mom as a prayer shawl and I blogged about that here. It was ruined here. And I made a new one here. I still have the brown one down in my knitting room.
I believe in prayer shawls. I believe that when we craft, we not only put a bit of ourselves into everything but we can put our energy as well. I made this for a woman who took time to talk to me about my Mom and Dad and her Mom and the things we have to face when we are letting them go. I cried and she cried and we both admitted one thing: in the end, it is all about love.
I know the last thing I said to both my parents was, "I love you." I never leave a conversation with someone I care about without saying that. If I am with them, I always give them a hug. I hug everyone that I care about, I think it is important to leave someone with a little love and light.
A prayer shawl is like a hug that you wear. When our knitting group makes blankets for the assisted living, the residents love that these blankets were made for them. They use them all the time and talk about them.
Little things really can make a difference. Kindness does matter.
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I normally don't share things like this. But this touched me deeply. It is hard to watch without feeling some sort of overwhelming emotion.
My Mom had dementia her Mom had Alzheimer's. My Mom was very confused on and off in the last few years of her life. She would forget things like how to turn on a light or even her beloved TV. Thank the Goddess she always remembered us. I send blessings of love and light to all those people who are faced with people they love forgetting who they are. You are angels filled with love and compassion.
The experiment really opened up a window on the things that we cannot see. My prayers go out to all the families struggling with this horrible disease.
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I cast on something new this week, but it is a secret for now. Unfortunately, that doesn't give me much to talk about on the knitting front. lol
I sent Caitlin off for her photoshoot and I'm so excited to see the pics!
Oh, and this:
I am going to be making some things to sell and see how it goes. You'll be seeing FO's in the weeks to come after I finish the secret thing. That is Knitpicks Brava Bulky yarn and it is really soft and has bright and pretty colors.
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On a totally different note...I've been looking for hummus without lemon for a while now and I couldn't find any so I made my own.
I have a recipe that I've tweaked over the years with little adds to make it yummy for me so it may be way too strong for you if you don't like garlic. This hummus is perfect to help ward off anything if you have been around too many sick people or vampires for that matter. lol
Ingredients
15 oz chick peas/garbanzo beans
1/4 cup tahini
(tahini can cause a reaction if you have a peanut allergy; so please omit it if you are allergic)
2 tbs of olive oil
a head of garlic cloves with the skins removed (use less if you don't like a lot of garlic)
1/2 cup roasted red pepper (roasting really brings out the flavor)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
(you can make a delightful little chili powder with the heat and chilies you like by taking dried chilies and heating them to get the moisture out, and then pulverizing them when they are crisp - but don't do what I did and lean over to take in how good the cooking chilies smelled and basically pepper-sprayed myself in the face. I was totally blind trying to find milk. I ran outside screaming for help and then couldn't find the door again...so be careful with the chili powder concocting...it can be really dangerous.)
...but I digress...
Emeril says to take the garlic and the salt and combine them to cure the garlic a bit; so I put those in first and blend them into a bit of a paste before I add in the roasted red pepper. This way the garlic permeates into every bit of the hummus.
Then, I add in the cumin and chili powder and blend that into my paste. Next add the tahini, pulse for a bit and then add the garbanzo beans / chick peas and slowly drizzle in the oil as you pulse. When the whole thing is blended you can let it sit over-night to deepen the flavors or just enjoy it on anything right now. I like to eat it on yellow or orange pepper sticks or high grain crackers. Sometimes I will put it on my salad as a dressing.
If it is too thick you can add a little water a tsp at a time - more oil just makes it more oily IMHO
Yum! Can you smell the garlicky goodness? Hummus is super good for you, especially with the red peppers and garlic!
And hummus is not just healthy snack food. You can:
- take veggie curls and stuff them with hummus
- use it as a spread on sandwiches or wraps
- coat meat in it before putting it on the grill; it will come out moist and tender
- make a cold pasta salad with it as the dressing
- make a warm pasta salad with it as the sauce
- use it as a dressing on a salad
Happy crafting,
Hugs!
Ruinwen
:)
NOTE: The prayer shawl is made in Dark Horse, Fantasy Multi #FA-36. I love this yarn for softness and it really shows the stitches nicely.
Also, we've been updating the side bar. Wow! Things were really out of date over there. We still have a blog feed app to add...we are looking at different ones right now. Hope you like the changes. Hugs!
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